“So for now, she’s my responsibility,” Hayate finished.

All of his friends stared at the two with wide, curious eyes. The fact that their friend had shown up at the dango shop with a new person wasn’t all that surprising, Hayate was rather friendly for a shinobi. They’d been introduced for several people in such a fashion. What was surprising was the fact that the girl he’d shown up was introduced as someone that his family had promised the third they’d look after for him. Which in simple terms made her basically like a foster sister.

After a second one of his friends broke away from the others with a wide, friendly grin. He stuck his hand out towards the girl, using the other to point at his chest with his thumb.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Guy! Don’t be afraid to ask me for anything!”

The girl in question blinked, not reacting beyond that. Since leaving the hospital, she’d allowed Hayate’s family to convince her to do simple things that while strange to her, seemed completely normal to others. Her once wild hair had been washed, brushed, and trimmed so that it fell to her mid-back in rather frizzy, yet straight stands. Her skin that had seemed slightly dark before was now revealed to actually be a very pale, almost sickly, color. She’d even been convinced to wear a simple, tan sun-dress.

Guy’s smile faltered slightly and he turned a questioning look in Hayate’s direction. The boy simply shrugged, pulling out one nearby chairs and gesturing for her to sit down. To everyone’s surprise, the silent girl followed the direction without as much as a second of hesitation.

“Don’t worry, it’s not you,” he told him. “She doesn’t respond to anyone, really. Although the Third got her to at least answer a few questions. I think the only reason she listens to us is because he told her to.”

The others studied her curiously once again, taking this new information into account. After another moment had passed, the only other girl in the group offered her a smile and pushed a plate across the table.

“I’m Kurenai,” she explained, picking up one of the dango sticks and holding it up for the girl to see. “These are one of my favorite foods, which is why I come here a lot with everyone. Why don’t you try it?”

She held it there for a long moment until the girl took it from her, examining it closely. After a second she glanced at Hayate, who gave her a good-natured sigh before nodding.

‘Is she going to do anything without me telling her to?’ he wondered silently.

The girl had started to take a bite when suddenly Guy ran out of the shop. Surprised, she peered around Hayate, a small amount of smoke suddenly beginning to curl around her. When the others eyes widened in alarm at the sight, Hayate gave a small shake of his head in their direction and put a finger to his lips. The smoke seemed to be her reaction to everything new.

“Kakashi!”

When she saw who Guy was calling out to, the smoke instantly disappeared. Hayate stared at her in shock as an actual expression seemed to cross her face, even if it was just for a moment- something similar to surprise. Within a second she’d slipped out of her seat and ran over to where Guy had jumped in front of a white-haired boy.

'White hair… is he the one?' she wondered silently.

“Wait…” Hayate called out, following after her.

She didn’t pay any attention to him, instead stopping behind Guy. He stopped talking the second he realized that there was now a small red-head peering around him, as if using him as a shield. Even Kakashi seemed surprised by her sudden appearance.

“Sorry,” Hayate said as he joined them. “She suddenly took off…”

For a long moment, she simply stared at him from around Guy. Her fingers gripped the sleeve of Guy’s jumpsuit and she gave it a small tug.

“Huh? What is it?”

Her eyes flickered to Guy for a moment, then returned to Kakashi, the silent question obvious to those who were watching.

“Oh! That’s Hatake Kakashi, my sworn rival!”

She blinked, taking that information in. Then, silently, she stepped around Guy and got closer to Kakashi, clasping her hands behind her back. Her eyes studied him from head-to-toe before she suddenly turned on heel and walked back to where Hayate had her sitting before. Everyone simply stared after her in amazement. Hayate raised one hand to scratch the side of his head, glancing at the white-haired jounin for a moment before shrugging.

“Have you met her before, Kakashi?”

Kakashi shrugged in return, turning his back to the two boys and continuing his way back down the street. It wasn’t as if he could tell them the answer. ANBU were sworn to secrecy after all.

_____________________________________

Later that night found her trailing Hayate back to the house. His eyes kept flickering to the girl as they walked, occasionally a soft cough escaping his lips. Having noticed this before, the girl paused, cocking her head thoughtfully. She didn’t question him, she’d learned over time that asking questions normally only ended up in irritating people. That, as well as talking in general, she’d deemed useless long ago. If she thought about it, she couldn’t actually remember the last time she’d spoken a word.

Her best guess was that perhaps she’d spoken before she’d ended up in his possession. The earliest thing she could remember, however, wasn’t any different then she’d indicated to the third. She couldn’t remember her parents or anything of the like, she could just remember a sharp, stinging pain on the back of her neck from when she first met him after waking up in the dark. That was it.

So perhaps she’d never spoken.

She knew words, however, so it wasn’t a stretch to say that she had.

When Hayate realized she wasn’t walking anymore, he stopped as well. With a small sigh, he studied her, trying to figure out the problem this time around. Clasping her hands behind her back, she simply studied him in return. After a moment Hayate gave up, a wry smile appearing on his face.

“Well, what is it?”

The girl blinked, surprised that he bothered to ask and that he had a smile on his face when he did. Within a second she raised her hand and mimicked his coughing. Hayate frowned as he thought the action over, then that wry smile returned as he figured out exactly what she was talking about.

“Oh. Don’t worry, that’s nothing.”

She frowned this time and started walking again, pausing to give a small tug to his sleeve when he didn’t do the same. A chuckle escaped him as he shoved his hands in his pockets, obediently walking ahead of her as he figured she would want.

“Yes, yes, I understand. You’re not worried.”

Once they’d arrived back at the house, Hayate was surprised to discover both of his parents standing in the hallway. When he gave the idea a second thought, it no longer seemed surprising if he took the girl into account. When they spotted him, he gestured over his shoulder good-naturedly.

“She’s there, and she’s fine of course.”

“Thank-you for watching her,” his mother replied as his father ducked around him to inspect her.

“I didn’t lie,” he commented wryly.

Hayate’s father paused, raising his head slightly abashed. Instead of replying right away, he offered an apologetic smile.

“I know that,” he replied after a moment. “There are special circumstances is all, we have to be careful.”

“Because of the Hokage asking you to watch her,” Hayate guessed instantly.

His mother nodded, stepping around him as well. Unlike his father, she seemed slightly more tense. Hayate watched curiously as she moved so that she was standing behind the girl. Smoke instantly curled around her body, although it wasn’t very thick. His mother offered a thin lipped smile as she quickly thought of what to say to make her relax.

“Don’t worry, I’m just checking something that the Hokage wanted me to be sure about. You don’t mind, do you?”

The smoke slowly disappeared as the girl clasped her hands in front of her. Guilt fluttered through the woman, only to disappear in an instant. It wasn’t like she was lying, it was just that there might be a reason to be worried. Those who lived with what she and her husband thought they had seen were most likely destined to lead a hard life. If she could, she would have liked to pretend that she hadn’t seen a thing. She couldn’t, though, the Hokage had ordered them to report anything and everything of importance.

This was important.

“Hayate,” she commented lightly before continuing. “You ate dinner already, didn’t you?”

The boy displayed a sheepish smile as he put one hand up to cough into.

“Sorry.”

She rolled her eyes, gesturing towards the stairs.

“Then go up and take a bath. I’ll have to help her once again, so I’d prefer for you to be done early.”

With one last curious glance between his mother and the girl, Hayate obediently headed for the stairs. No matter how curious he was about her and how she’d ended up in their care, he wasn’t going to just ignore a direct request from his mother. Shinobi women could be scary when they wanted to be.

Once her son had left, Kaminari turned back to the girl. Her husband was frowning in the direction of the stairs as well as she stepped forward, easily shifting the girl’s hair over her shoulder.

“I hate this,” he admitted softly, wanting to make sure they weren’t overheard. “I have no problem with taking in the child, you know I’ve wanted a daughter, but…”

She nodded, her eyes settled on the black curse mark that decorated the girl’s neck.

“I know what you mean. I wish we could just help her.”

Neither of them felt uncomfortable talking about such things in front of her anymore. They’d begun to realize that no matter what they said, she wasn’t going to respond. If anything, the girl probably knew that she was being watched closely, she seemed intelligent enough. When it came to this sort of topic, there was no harm in their opinion of expressing their wish to take care of her when she was right there. If anything it could only help their relationship with her.

“I’ll go report this,” Kaminari continued after a second of silence. “If Hayate wonders where I’ve gone, say I went to pick up a few things for her. He’ll know you’re lying, but it’s better than telling him the truth. I have to say that I’m grateful her hair is as long as it is.  And… Tomi?”

Her husband pulled his eyes from the girl to her with a reluctant smile.

“Yes, yes, I know. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

_____________________________________

Days passed simply, the report doing nothing but making those who knew of it more cautious than before. Anyone who was around the girl for more than just a few minutes, however, slowly began to realize that it was obvious what the Hokage had decided upon meeting her was true. She was was simply a victim, no one to be afraid of.

Well, to a point. There was one person that most people believed had at least a small right to be slightly creeped out by the child.

“Hayate, where are you going?”

The boy in question paused, his entire body heaving with the effort it took him to pull in a breath. Before he could say a word, he raised one hand to his mouth and coughed into it. Kurenai pursed her lips, concern appearing on her face as she and Asuma waited for him to catch his breath.

“The girl,” he offered in explanation after a moment had passed. “I can’t find her.”

The two other shinobi tensed, exchanging a quick look between them.

“Where have you looked?” Kurenai questioned immediately.

“About everywhere I can think of. It’s not like her to suddenly disappear, I mean, she doesn’t even move without waiting for someone to tell her to!”

Asuma crossed his arms as Kurenai glanced around them, pulling up the layout of the village in her mind. A second later Asuma cocked his head, a wry smile appearing.

“Hey, Hayate?” he asked.

Hayate coughed once, waving for Asuma to continue.

“Look over there.”

Asuma raised one hand, gesturing in a direction off behind the boy. As he spun around, a sigh of relief escaped him at the sight that met his eyes. Walking down the street, with one hand clutching a book and the other shoved in his pocket, was Kakashi. What had caught everyone’s attention, however, is how a small red-head was trailing along behind him. Her hands were clasped behind her back in what was starting to become a recognizable habit of hers. The girl’s eyes, however, were stuck on the figure walking along the street in front of her.

Whenever Kakashi would glance back, she’d dart behind a nearby figure as if that would hide her from him.

“It seems she’s taken a liking to him,” Asuma mused as Hayate spun around and darted down the street.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Kurenai replied as she gave the scene one last look before heading into her favorite shop. “It’s not like anything the rest of us do gets through to her.”

By the time Hayate reached her, she’d gotten slightly brave in her trailing. She’d made it so that there were only perhaps two feet left between her and Kakashi’s back. The jounin simply sighed, flipping a page as he tried to decide what exactly to do about her. He couldn’t quite figure out what she was expecting of him, and to be frank he didn’t really care. He could only hope that she wouldn’t follow him all the way to the hokage’s office.

Hayate opened his mouth to call out to her, then shut it as he came up blank on what to say. Scratching the side of his head, he paused for a moment while being careful not to lose track of her with his eyes.

How did you call out to someone who didn’t have a name yet? His parents had talked privately with him about broaching the subject, but none of them really knew how to go about it. She was old enough that by all rights if she didn’t have a name it would only be fair for her to choose it for herself. They all knew, however, that the chance of the girl doing something like were lower than them suddenly discovering who she actually was. She didn’t speak, nor did she respond when she didn’t have a reason to. The only thing that had changed since she arrived was that she was slightly less wary of them than when they’d started.

And that was only slightly.

“Hey!” he finally settled on calling out. “What are you doing?”

He knew that there was no chance she didn’t know he was talking to her. At the same time, he also knew that if she didn’t feel like responding, this would just fall under the realm of things she ignored. Which was what happened. With a small, slightly irritated sigh, Hayate jogged to catch up with her once again. His breathing was just as heavy as when he’d stopped to talk to Asuma and Kurenai. A trio of coughs escaped him a moment later, which finally caught her attention. The girl gave him a single, disapproving frown before turning her gaze back to Kakashi’s back.

“If you’re against me stressing myself-”cough”then don’t disappear!” he retorted.

The girl blinked, not bothering to look at him this time around. Hayate was a rather patient, easy-going person, but even he found this to be slightly stressful. Darting forward, he clasped one hand on her shoulder, which instantly was covered in smoke. He released it and the smoke disappeared.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he grumbled. “I mean it. Just don’t disappear.”

He stopped walking at that moment, seeing that she’d stopped walking as well. Within a second she’d concealed herself behind him as Kakashi turned around, easily snapping his book closed with one hand. He raised his free hand to point at the building in front of them that Hayate only now realized was the one the Hokage’s office laid in.

“You aren’t going to follow me there, are you?” Kakashi asked.

“I wasn’t-”

“I know,” he cut Hayate off. “I was asking her.”

She peeked her head around Hayate and cocked it to the side. Kakashi stared at her in return for a moment before looking to Hayate for translation as most people did anymore.

“My guess…” he began, running through the possibilities in his mind. “She’s probably wondering if she can.”

“...no.”

A tug was instantly delivered to Hayate’s sleeve. His eyes switched from Kakashi to her as he ran through the possibilities once again.

“Ah… I think that’s a ‘why not’?”

He then looked to where Kakashi was, only to discover that the boy had already left. Scratching the side of his head, he quickly decided that it’d probably been after he’d declined her request. Another tug to his sleeve and he was looking to where she was now standing beside him, her lips pursed. She pointed at the building before turning her gaze to him.

“The hokage’s office is there.”

The questioning look appeared again.

“It’s probably for a mission, that’s why you can’t go. Missions are for shinobi, which you aren’t.”

A second later he regretted telling her as she blinked, then took off towards the doors into the building.

“Ah, wait!”

_____________________________

“So, as a member of ANBU, I was wanting you to-”

“You can’t go in there!”

The Hokage paused, his eyes turning to the door into his office with interest. A second after the voice had cut him off, a girl suddenly burst through the doorway. It only took him a moment to realize who it was and he found himself feeling more amused than anything else. Hayate flew through the door after her, freezing when he realized that the Hokage was watching him.

“Uh, oh… uh… sorry!” he declared instantly, quickly bowing as his entire face turned red. “I… she’s hard to catch!”

The third chuckled, his eyes flickering away from them for a moment and to Kakashi instead. The boy already had his mask positioned in place, making it difficult to read how he’d reacted to the interruption.

“You’ll understand if I take care of this first, won’t you?” he questioned, before turning his attention away from the boy and once again directing it to the small red-head in front of him. Leaning forward in his chair, he studied her as she glanced between him and Kakashi then directed her eyes to Hayate. The boy in question sighed, straightening himself as he attempted to figure out how exactly to explain what she wanted, that’s if he could completely figure it out himself.

“We were talking about shinobi coming here for missions,” he explained slowly. “And how she couldn’t just follow Kakashi up here. That’s when she suddenly took off and came in. It’s pretty hard to catch her when she doesn’t want to be caught, she just does that smoke jutsu of hers and you suddenly lose grip.”

The Third thought this over for a moment, doing just as Hayate had done in trying to decipher the reason for her actions. A second later a thought occurred to him and he smiled, letting his eyes settle on her once again.

“I see. Is that really what you want?”

The girl gave an impatient nod of her head, her hands clasped behind her back once again. He thought about it for a moment as Hayate glanced between the two of them, at a slightly loss when it came to what was going on.

“You’d be a bit older than everyone there,” the Third continued after a moment. “It might be difficult to make friends.”

Hayate just stared at the third when he heard that comment.

'Her? Make friends? She doesn’t interact with people other than me or Kakashi unless she has to!'

The look she gave him this time asked the third if he was done talking yet. He laughed, shaking his head for a moment as he gave the idea just a bit more thought.

“Well, I’m not against it. I’ll have to see what I can do. Meanwhile, how about you work on something that you’ll need if you’re going to be attending the Academy.

You need a name.”

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! It was a good relaxer after a stressful day! I'm not sure how many more chapters this will have seeing as it's really just a prequel to the Naruto fanfiction I had planned. I know that it will at least have one or two.