They celebrated their seventh birthday inside the walls of Konoha. There were no parties or gifts, just a cake at each orphanage on the first day of the month to celebrate all May birthdays. Hiroko was fine with that, considering that pretty much anything was a step up from last year's blood soaked birthday.

She and Mayuri were sitting across from each other, plates balanced on their knees. Hiroko was chatting idly with TenTen, while Mayuri and her Uchiha friend sat side by side in comfortable silence. Mayuri was smiling as she watched the people around them, head swiveling this way and that as her eyes scanned the small crowd of academy students.

Hiroko scraped some frosting off her half eaten slice of cake before taking another small bite. The academy orphanage's cake was, admittedly, a lot better than the civilian one. She had promised herself that she would only have half a slice of each, but it was proving difficult to resist the temptation to finish the whole thing. Sugar was a rare treat.

She felt eyes on her, and shifted her attention towards Uchiha-kun. He was watching her with dark, unblinking eyes. She was usually pretty good at reading people, but his face was always so...empty. It was a little unnerving, if she was being honest. He was one of the only people Mayuri hung out with, though, so she ignored the prickle of unease she felt whenever he was near and smiled. He tipped his head towards her but did not return the smile.

The Uchiha boy had somehow gotten away with never telling them his name. He had been popping up randomly for months before it occurred to her to ask Mayuri what it was, and Mayuri had only blushed and shrugged. By that time it would have been too awkward to ask, so he remained Uchiha-kun. He didn't seem to be too much older than they were, and he wasn't one of the four Uchiha in her class. She hadn't seen him around the academy during her year there, so Hiroko was pretty sure that Mayuri was correct in her guess that he was probably as close to a civilian as a clan kid could get.

He had turned his attention away from Hiroko and was picking at his cake like he wasn't sure how he felt about it. She could relate. By that point TenTen had turned away to chat with one of the other kids, and Mayuri had wandered away to dispose of her empty plate.

"You don't have to finish it, you know," Hiroko told the Uchiha, her own empty fork held loosely in her hand. His black eyes stared back at her, unerringly empty for someone just a few years older than herself. Not that she could really judge, though.

"I'm aware."

"Just wanted to make sure." She shrugged and put her fork down. "I'm surprised you came, actually. I wouldn't have thought orphan birthday parties were really your style."

"I like sweet things."

"Really? Is that the only reason?"

He shrugged and took another bite of the cake before laying his own fork down. He didn't break eye contact with her, and leaned forward. Unconsciously, Hiroko copied his movements. They were almost nose to nose.

"I have a request for you," he told her, voice barely above a breath. Hiroko's eyebrows rose before she could school her features. This was the most interaction they had ever had, and if she was being honest, it was kind of exciting. His soft words felt like a well kept secret.

"What could you possibly need from someone like me?"

"My brother is entering the academy soon," he said. "I want you to keep an eye on him."

"Me? Why?"

"I've been watching you—"

"That's creepy. You know that, right? That's not something you should just admit to."

"—and I have seen your skills. My brother is not weak, but...it would make me feel better. To have someone to keep an eye on him while I am not able to."

Hiroko sat back, frowning as she considered his words. She had known that he had a little brother, and Mayuri had mentioned that he seemed pretty protective of the kid. Having her keep an eye on him seemed a little weird though. It sounded more like he wanted a bodyguard for his brother than a friend.

"Do you think he's going to be bullied or something? I guess I can keep an ear to the ground to make sure that no one's bugging him if you're really that worried about it." Uchiha-kun shook his head and Hiroko sighed. "Listen, if you just want someone to spy on him and make sure he's doing his homework, I'm really not interested."

"It's nothing like that."

"Then...why?"

"It's...irrational. But I worry when I am not around to keep him safe." He was gritting his teeth, like admitting he had real human emotions somehow caused him physical pain.

Hiroko understood that feeling all too well. It had been almost a year since they had left Otogakure, but she still felt a twinge of terror if she went too long without seeing her sister. There was always the lingering fear that Orochimaru had come back to throw her into whatever hell she had been spirited away to for those horrible months. She glanced away from Uchiha-kun and scanned the gathering of children for her sister.

Mayuri was talking with a black haired boy that she vaguely recognized as being from one of the other classes of first years. She looked vaguely uncomfortable at his enthusiasm, but Hiroko could see the hunger for conversation in her sister's eyes. Even in their other life, she had always wanted so badly to connect with people but had never been very good at it. Maybe that was why the first friend she made in Konoha was such a strange, awkward one. Hiroko smiled fondly and turned back to Uchiha-kun.

"Don't worry. I get it, so I guess I can keep an eye on him for you. Just make sure to introduce us first, okay? I don't want anyone to think I'm stalking him or something."

Uchiha-kun nodded, though for some reason he looked vaguely uncomfortable at the thought of having to introduce them. Hiroko rolled her eyes and hid her smile behind another bite of cake.

"So what made you decide I was the right person to be your baby brother's bodyguard? Did you hear all about my awesome skills from Mayuri?"

"I knew of your skills before your sister and I met," he said bluntly and Hiroko's fork froze halfway to her mouth. Her features twisted into a scowl as she felt a burst of hot fury blaze to life in her chest.

"So you used her to meet me face-to-face?"

He seemed to consider it, then nodded and said, "I supposed I did, in a way."

Hiroko set her fork down so it would be easier to resist the urge to use it to maim his pretty face. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She fought back the urge to freeze him where he sat.

"So does that mean you befriended Mayuri so that you could get close to me?"

"Your sister was the one who called out to me."

"Sure, but you're the one who kept showing up in her life."

The boy seemed to really consider her, his dark eyes searching every inch of her face. He cocked his head and Hiroko gritted her teeth. She recognized the movement as one of the few tells he had. It meant that he was about to say something stupid.

"You really care for your sister."

"Wow, I didn't realize it was quite that obvious. I'll hide it better in the future." The sarcasm was almost dripping from her words. He tipped his head the other way and she thought she saw his lips twitch.

"It was coincidence that brought your sister and I together. I'm not going to pretend like I'm above taking advantage of our relationship to request this from you, though."

Hiroko watched him with narrowed eyes, searching his face for any sign of insincerity. She cursed the fact that he was so hard to read but allowed herself to relax. She picked up her fork and angrily took another bite. Her cake slice was almost completely gone.

"So your friendship with Mayuri?"

"It is not a farce, if that is what you're worried about."

They were silent for a long moment, sizing one another up with unwavering focus. Hiroko was searching his face for any tell, any sign of insincerity or manipulation. He was as empty as usual, though his posture was as relaxed as she had ever seen it. She released the breath she had been holding, the sound of it whistling through her teeth. The frost that had been forming beneath her sleeves began to melt.

"Fine. I'll keep an eye on him. But if I ever find out that you were using Mayuri to get to me—" She jabbed her fork at him in a way she hoped was threatening. Uchiha-kun looked at the splatter or frosting that had flown from her fork to land on his pant leg and silently nodded. She figured that that meant her threat had been received well enough.

"Understood."

"Okay. Cool."

They fell into uncomfortable silence again. Hiroko ran her fork through the frosting on her plate, etching intricate designs that reminded her of her time helping Riza make weapons back in Otogakure. She sighed, and again scanned the faces around her for her sister. She tried to ignore the twinge of panic when she couldn't immediately locate her.

"Tell me about your brother."

"He will be six years old in July, and joining the academy when the new school year starts." He paused, seeming to consider what else to say. "He is smart, and a good child. He's also very...stubborn."

She recognized the tone of his voice, and she couldn't help but laugh. She turned back to him, smiling, and said, "He sounds like a cute kid. What's his name?"

"Sasuke."

She froze, smile still stretched almost painfully across her features. Slowly, things clicked into place. She shoved her plate of frosting into his hands.

"Hey, hold onto this for a minute, would you? I've gotta go make sure Mayuri knows why she's suddenly shitting herself with excitement. Or terror. Only time will tell."

She stood and walked away, the boy watching her go with what was probably as close as he got to bafflement.

She found her sister after the black haired boy from earlier pointed her towards where he had seen Mayuri dart off to. She was crouched in the alleyway behind the building, examining something in her hands. It wasn't exactly a weird sight, considering Mayuri would sometimes find any excuse to leave crowds behind. It was weird she chose to hide where the orphanage kept their trash cans, though.

"Hey, you're never going to believe this, but I'm pretty sure your friend is Uchiha fucking Itachi."

There was no response. Hiroko frowned, watching as Mayuri slowly stood from her crouch. Hiroko felt the blood drain from her face when she saw the snake wrapped loosely around her sister's throat. Then she turned, and Hiroko's heart dropped.

Mayuri's face was blank, her eyes shuttered and dark. She wasn't afraid or sad; she was completely empty. Hiroko felt tears spring to her eyes immediately, because she knew what that look meant. She shook her head and took a step back, hands flying up to cover her mouth and to muffle the screams she felt building in her throat.

"Orochimaru-sama has called me back to the village."

Bonus scene:

Hiroko shook her head slowly, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. From around Mayuri's throat, the snake hissed, its tongue flickering out to taste the air and its golden eyes trained on her. She wondered if Orochimaru was watching through them, if he could hear their every word.

She hoped so.

She stepped forward, holding out a hand, and the little snake slithered obediently from Mayuri's neck to coil loosely around her hand. She smiled at it, holding it up to eye level.

"Hey there, little guy. So, listen, no offense, but could you please let Orochimaru-sama know that this is what I think of this idea?"

And with that, she tossed the snake in the garbage can and lit the whole thing on fire.