Here's Chapter 2 of His 'Queen' and in this chapter, Mika meets two very unique individuals...

Mika kicked a lone pebble that happened to be lying on the road she was walking, sending it skipping over the dirt road for several feet before it rolled out of her path. Sure, she had said that she didn't mind Kakashi going on missions when she had left their apartment a few hours earlier; but lately, she had been really lonely. She just couldn't bring herself to say so because she knew how much the missions meant to Kakashi and for her.

She turned the corner of a street and noticed a group of six boys, five of them looking at one who looked a little…sad. Her curiosity piqued, she trotted over to them just in time to catch bits of their conversation.

"But why?" the sad boy asked. Mika also noted the swirl patterns on his chubby cheeks and that he was a little more meaty than the rest of the group.

One of the boys, the one that was wearing a cap, answered him in a harsh voice. "Because whatever Ninja team you join always loses. You're too dumb to play!"

Mika reached the outermost member of the group as another boy, this one with dark hair pulled into a ponytail that honestly reminded her of a pineapple, commented, "Look…we won't have an even number without him. You know, the only reason shogi is any fun is because both sides are equal."

Mika couldn't tell why that boy said those things but it brightened the sad boy's face considerably. That is, until the first boy retorted, "But having a pawn like him is the same as not having one at all!"

Silence fell upon the group as the sad boy hung his head dejectedly, turned on his heel, and left through an alleyway behind him. The cap-wearing boy turned around and noticed Mika, causing him to smirk and look at the boy who had stood up for the one that had just left. "See? She can join our game and we'll still have an even number."

Mika feigned shock and put her hands together in front of her chest in an innocent gesture while she gave him a wide grin. "Really? I can play with you?" She dropped the act the next second and grabbed the front of the boys shirt, startling all five boys. She scowled and her voice became harsh. "After how poorly you treated the guy that just left? No way." She let go of the front of his shirt, allowing him to stagger back a few steps, and crossed her arms. "Sorry but I don't play with jerks." She began to walk after the sad boy when she stopped and looked at the pineapple-head. "Are you coming?"

'Pineapple-head' looked shocked for a second then shrugged and said, "Sure."

The two of them walked down the alleyway they had seen the other boy walk down until they reached a street. They alternated which direction they looked before looking at each other and sighing in defeat; he was nowhere to be found.

Mika huffed and stomped her foot, startling the boy beside her. "Dang it! Why did that jerk have to say all those mean things? That boy could get better at playing Ninja if he'd just let him play!"

Her companion sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Hokuto is usually like that. If he doesn't want you to play with him, then forget it; he'll find any reason to say you can't play. What a drag…"

"Who's Hokuto?"

"Oh. He was the boy in the cap."

Mika gave a slight 'oh' as the name and the mental picture of the boy came together. She then looked at the boy next to her and asked sincerely, "Did you mean what you said?"

The boy looked baffled. "What did I say?"

"About shogi not being fun if the team's aren't even."

"Yeah. While that statement is true in a literal sense, I said that too because I didn't like how Hokuto was picking on that other guy." The boy's expression became thoughtful and concerned.

Mika gained a similar look and muttered, "I didn't either."

The boy grinned mischievously. "But I seriously thought you were going to beat the snot out of Hokuto. You were kinda scary when you went from being happy to being angry."

Mika grinned mischievously as well. "I know how to read people's emotions so I can manipulate other people pretty well when I want to. It was kinda fun to mess with Hokuto, though."

"It was kind of fun to watch, too," the boy admitted.

Mika suddenly pounded her fist into her hand and exclaimed, "I never introduced myself! I'm Mika!" She offered her hand out to the boy.

"Uh…I'm Shikamaru," he replied nervously, shaking her outstretched hand. He nearly toppled over the next second when Mika started dragging him down the street. He managed to regain his footing and then reached a pace where Mika wasn't pulling him along anymore. "W-wait, Mika-chan! Where are we going?"

"To find that boy that Hokuto was picking on!" Mika shouted happily, flashing a smile at him over her shoulder. Shikamaru felt a slight disappointment when she turned that smile away. "I want to make him feel better so we're going to go find him and play with him." She stopped and grabbed his hand with both of her hands. Her eyes were pleading as she asked, "You do want to play with him…don't you?"

Shikamaru blushed slightly as he stuttered, "Y-yeah. Of course I do."

Mika beamed at him and continued leading him by the hand. "Then we're going to find him!"

Mika sat down on a bench and sighed. It had been hours since she and Shikamaru had started looking for the boy Hokuto had picked on, but they hadn't seen him even once. They had even stopped to get some snacks the three of them could share once they found him…

Shikamaru sat down next to her and whined, "My feet are killing me…."

Mika looked down at her feet dejectedly and muttered, "I'm sorry, Shika-kun. I shouldn't have forced you to come with me."

Shikamaru shrugged. "You didn't force me to do anything, Mika-chan. I wanted to come along. But…I think we need to take a break."

Mika giggled sheepishly. "I think so, too."

"Okay," Shikamaru started, standing up. "If you don't mind walking a bit more, I know this really quiet place where you can watch clouds and not be disturbed."

"Sounds great!" Mika stood up too. Shikamaru didn't hesitate to take her hand and begin leading her down the street. They turned down an alley, then onto another street before Shikamaru let go of her hand at the bottom of a set of stairs.

"The place is right up these stairs," explained Shikamaru, as he began climbing the stairs. Mika began to follow after him. When they were about to reach the top steps, Shikamaru stopped abruptly, causing Mika to collide into his back. She heard him say, "Hey…aren't you…"

She looked at where Shikamaru was staring wide-eyed and her expression lit up.

They had found him.

In case you couldn't guess who the last boy was, it's Chouji ^^ I did my best to do a character insert here so sorry if it's kinda crappy ^^' But if you like it, then click that little button down there and submit a review~~! Ciao!