It was another normal day at work, nothing unusual. Thankfully the day was over, and Jin wanted nothing more than to pick up some dinner, get home, kick her feet up and relax. She worked as a secretary's assistant at the hokage tower, and while she was satisfied with her job, chunks of her day were spent going up and down stairs, walking back and forth through long corridors, and scurrying around the village running errands. Jin could only count the minutes until she would be home, with her body and aching feet soaking in a warm Melon scented bath. The gloomy cool drizzling weather simply called for it! "All in due time, but first dinner, then home…maybe some hot tea might make this journey more bearable" she reassured herself after spotting a tea house. She entered, the opening of the door causing a small wind chime to softly tinkle, getting the attention of the shop keeper.

"Hello dear! What will we be having today?" the middle age woman asked from behind the counter

"Can I have a small chai tea to go please? Jin asked

"Of course young lady, right away" the shop keeper replied.

Jin stared out the window at the drizzle, slowly but surely becoming a steady rain fall. The clouds in the sky casted dark shadows over the village, making the streets dark, giving the illusion that it was later than it actually was. Darkness would fall soon, and although Jin was not afraid of the dark, or walking home alone, after the day she had, she was hoping she'd make it home before night set in, and the rain picked up. Her attention was drawn back to the shop keeper placing a lid on her cup. Jin placed the money on the counter with a kind smile. "Now be careful not to burn yourself dear, and come again soon!" the woman said enthusiastically. "Of course, thanks again!"

Stepping out of the shop on to the street, a cool breeze blew, feeling like it pierced through Jin's fall jacket. The thought of her small apartment never seemed more welcoming than at moments like this! Sipping her tea she continued to make her way through the streets. There weren't many people around, everyone seemed to have found themselves in one of the many shops waiting for the steady drizzle to pass, or busily making their way through the streets to get to wherever their destination might be, just like Jin.

Maybe it was her busy walking, or the wind in her ears, or the distraction from the delicious hot chai tea, whatever it was, she didn't pick up on the sound of tiny feet splashing through puddles, coming from her right. Before she knew what was happening a small body slammed into her right thigh, the impact sending her precious cup of tea flying into the mud. Before she could yell at her would be assailant, a small body with a messy head of blond hair tumbled onto the ground in front of her, from his small hand a rice ball rolled into the mud, landing next to her now empty cup. She looked down at the small boy, with surprise written on her face. Locking eyes with his blue orbs, she noticed his heavy breathing, but more so the frightened expression on his round face. The pair's eye contact was broken by the sound of an angry voice rapidly approaching them. If the kid didn't catch Jin off guard, the large stampeding woman coming towards them definitely did!

"You little thief! You already know I don't want you in my store! Yet you come in a steal!" the woman raged angrily at the child. The boy seemed scared out of his wits! Stammering to make a sentence the kid managed "I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't wanna steal but…" he was sharply cut off by the woman "I don't give a damn about your 'buts' stay the hell out of my store you pest!" she shouted. The boy hesitantly continued "I'm sorry!" he squeaked "I'm supposed to get some more money this week, I promise I'll pay you back!" the kid pleaded. "Next week's money isn't going to pay this week's bills you vermin! Just like a nasty little street rat, you come in, stink up my store, and take food that isn't yours. You have no money to pay?! I'll make you pay" shouted the evil woman, standing above the child while raising her hand. Was she serious? This woman had to be insane! Like one rice ball was really going to break her pockets. Before Jin knew it, she was standing between the kid and the woman, with the woman's wrist tightly gripped in her hand.

Jin wasn't some kind of hero, but she didn't like bullies

"Why don't we calm down lady?" Jin said, giving the woman's wrist a squeeze and taking a step towards her, causing the vile woman to take a couple steps back and snatch her wrist away.

"Why don't you mind your business girl? Unless you're going to pay for the mongrel" the woman sneered. Jin tilted her head to the side in frustration.

"…How much was it?" Jin asked through her teeth. Jin wasn't one to get angry easily often, but this woman was pushing her. The woman spat out her price, and Jin pulled some money out of her purse. The woman stood there with her hand held out waiting for the bills, Jin quickly slapped the money onto her palm not wanting to make contact with this vile woman's hand. "You got your money, now leave the kid alone" Jin stated standing protectively in front of the child creating a barrier between him and the woman. "Stay out of my store you piece of trash!" the woman yelled at the kid, then 'hmph-ed' and quickly as she could shuffled away. Good riddance awful woman! Jin exhaled sharply "now that that's over with…" she turned around and stared at the small form in front of her. A pair of long pants and just a shirt covered the boy, which were both now lightly covered in dirt. Luckily for him, he missed any major puddles that would have left him drenched and filthy.

Bringing her gaze back to his face she took in his features. Messy blond hair, blue eyes, and three odd markings on his cheeks. Why does this kid look so familiar? Jin thought to herself. Squatting down in front of the boy she looked at him with a stern expression gracing her features. "Are you hurt?" The boy still on the ground, shook his head 'no' and stared at her with a confused expression on his tiny face. "Little boy, why are you stealing food? Are you homeless?" Jin asked him. Working at the Hokage tower she had knowledge of a lot of the services the village offered. While it was extremely rare, maybe even unfound of there being a homeless child in Konoha, if he were in fact homeless, Jin would probably be able to find a shelter for him to stay in for some time. The boy remained quiet, so Jin pressed, "well? Why are you stealing food? I'm waiting." Finally the boy spoke "I'm not homeless! …and…I only took the rice ball because I lost my money" he stated staring blankly at the floor. "Why didn't you ask you parents for more?" Jin asked. The boys eyes shot up to her face, an unreadable expression coming over his face. "I don't have any parents!" he yelled, then crossed his arms, and looked away pouting his lip. Jin was slightly surprised by his response, from what she could remember there were currently a handful of orphaned children in Konoha, and they were all wards of the Hokage. The Hokage provided housing for the orphans, and covered living expenses for them, money they would receive in the beginning of the month. It was the child's job to make sure the money lasted them. The cash was enough to cover their monthly expenses and then some, enough to even splurge a bit, but like the kid said, he was unfortunate enough to lose his.

Sighing Jin came to her resolution. The kid was hungry, and so was she. He didn't have any money and she did. No way would I be able to enjoy dinner knowing this kid is hungry looking for food on the street she thought to herself, and so it was settled. "I'm guessing you must be hungry, otherwise you wouldn't have resorted to stealing. Alright kid, what's your name?" she asked.

"Me? I'm Naruto" he said staring up at her confused. "Well it's nice to meet you Naruto, I'm Jin" she stated, softening her expression and giving him a soft smile. "I was about to get myself dinner, would you like to join me?" Jin asked. "But I don't have any money" he told her with a depressed expression. Jin replied to him with a cheeky smile "Don't worry about that, it's on me" standing up from her squatting position, she held her hand out for him to take. Naruto slowly placed his hand in hers, then Jin pulled him up from the floor. "Really?" Naruto asked. "Yes, really. What do you feel like eating? Anything you like. I'm sure a crummy rice ball would not be your first choice if you had the option"

"Anything I want?" Naruto asked just to be sure

"aaanything you want. You might want to pick quick, the rain is starting to pick up" Jin smiled at him

"Can…can we have ramen?" he asked hesitantly

"Ramen? That actually sounds pretty good…especially with this gloomy weather. Ramen it is! Do you have a place in mind?" she asked

"Ichiraku's has the best ramen in the entire village! It's just down that way!" he said excitedly pointing in the direction Jin was headed.

"Ichiraku's? I've never been there before. Well there's a first for everything eh Naruto? Why don't you lead the way" she said with a smile. The boy's face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree, causing Jin to chuckle in amusement.

"Wow Jin-chan, you're awesome!" Naruto screamed, grabbing her hand and pulling her off in the direction he pointed out earlier.

Her long legs were easily able to keep up with Naruto's tiny ones. "You're gonna love it at Ichiraku's! The old man is really nice! He always smiles, and never yells at me, or makes me leave and Ayame-chan is really nice too! She's the old man's daughter. I can't wait till we get there! There's all kinds of ramen! Miso, vegetable, chicken, you name it! My favorite is the pork broth ramen with extra barbequed pork!" Jin smiled down at Naruto, his little hand still gripping hers as he pulled her along. He sounds as if he's actually surprised at the shop keeper's kindness towards him…that's odd. Jin thought to herself. Naruto continued to rant about his love for ramen, and explained to her that he lost his money when he put what was left of it in his pocket that happened to have a hole in it, as they continued their walk.

Coming around a corner, she spotted a white awning, with the characters spelling out "Ichiraku's Ramen Bar". "There it is!" Naruto yelled out excitedly. The two made it inside, where they were greeted by a man.

"Naruto! Back again I see! How have you been?" the man asked

"I've been good Teuchi-san!" Naruto said excitedly

"That's good to hear! I see you brought a friend" the man, Teuchi said, noticing Naruto still holding on to Jin's hand.

"Oh yeah! This is Jin-chan, she's treating me to ramen!" Naruto stated with a wide grin

Jin gave the man a kind smile and a small wave "Hello, I'm Jin Haruna. It's a pleasure to meet you"

"The pleasure is all mine! I am Teuchi Ichiraku. Please, have a seat anywhere you like, I'll get you a menu" Teuchi said

Naruto less than gracefully made his way on top of the tall stool, Jin took a seat next to him. The menu was placed in front of her and Jin began to look over the menu. "Everything sound so good! I don't know what to pick…" Jin pondered before Naruto interrupted her, "I already know what I'm going to get!" "Oh yeah? Let me guess, Pork broth ramen with extra Barbecued pork?" Naruto looked shocked "Hey! How did you know that?!" Naruto yelled pointing an accusing finger at her. This caused Jin to chuckle, lowering his finger gently with her hand she enlightened him "You spent the entire walk here talking about this place, and your favorite ramen, I figured that's what you'd get. That sounds pretty good, I think I'll get the same" Jin said, closing the menu and placing it in front of her.

Ichiraku returned, "Are you both ready to order?" he asked kindly

"Yes we are! I'm gonna have the pork broth ramen with extra barbequed pork, and Jin-chan's gonna have the same thing!" Naruto explained animatedly. "Coming right up!" was Ichiraku's reply.

"Hey, since you like ramen so much, maybe you can open up your own Ramen place when you get older! Then you could eat ramen whenever you wanted" Jin playfully suggested

"Whaaaat?! Nah, I can't do that! I'm gonna be a great ninja! One day I'm gonna be Hokage!" Naruto replied

"Oh really? So does that mean you're in the academy? You look about old enough"

"The academy? Ahhhh! Don't remind me about the academy! I got a stupid test on the clone jutsu tomorrow!" Naruto stated franticly rubbing his head with both hands as if trying to erase the thought of his dreaded test. Jin had to give it to him, this kid had quite a colorful personality. She found herself chuckling again, I've been with this kid for maybe 30 minutes he's got me laughing more in this short amount of time than I have all day…

"Naruto if you're going to be Hokage someday you're going to have to be good at ALL you justu, that includes the clone justu" Jin stated matter-of-factly

"I try, and try, and try, I practice a lot! But I can't get it!"

"New things can be hard to get the hang of at first. But if you try your hardest, and don't give up, eventually you'll get it, I know from experience" Jin told Naruto kindly with a smile.

"What do you mean from experience? Do you know the clone justu?! Can you teach me?" Naruto asked hopefully

"Ah, no. sorry Naruto" Jin apologized.

"Eh?! Why not!" he whined

"Well I'm not a ninja" Jin stated with a sheepish smile "I'm considered a civilian. I work at the Hokage's tower as an assistant to the main secretary. As for the experience I was talking about, well…learning anything new can be hard and frustrating at first. For me it was this new typing system we're trying to adopt to file information. At first I kept making mistakes, which caused me to turn in work late because I had to go back and fix all my errors, which got me in trouble with my boss. But eventually with enough practice, and asking friends for help and tips I finally got it. Now I can type faster than anyone in the office! Even with my eyes close" Jin stated with a proud smile "turns out my problem was I had my fingers in the wrong position on the key board. Maybe you can ask your friends or sensei for some advice. To point out what you're doing wrong?"

Throughout her little story, Naruto stared at her with wide eyes, listening to her boring little story like it was a great tale. But after giving him her advice he sat with his arms crossed staring intently in front of him before he replied "well…I guess I could ask Iruka sensei-But that's gonna have to wait! Ramen's here!" he exclaimed immediately forgetting his worries. Jin sighed with a smile the kids got the right idea, no talk about work or school. Picking up their chopsticks, they each put their hands together,

"Itadakimasu!" was followed by the sound of wooden chopsticks separating, then the slurping of noodles ended their conversation

Jin was halfway through her bowl when Naruto finished his.

"Wow kid that was quick!" He must have been really hungry…" would you like another bowl?" Jin asked, and Naruto's face lit up once again "Really? Can I?" Naruto asked, Jin replied to him with a smile and a nod

"Ichiraku-san, another bowl for Naruto please" She stated politely. Naruto looked at her with the most comical emotional puppy face, like she was a hero wearing a cape and just saved him from a burning building, if you looked close enough it looked like the boy had tears on the brim of falling!

"Coming right up!" was heard from somewhere in the kitchen. Within no time, Naruto's second bowl was brought out, and the pair finished their meal. Jin took the left over broth in Naruto's bowl as a sign he'd had enough, but just to be sure "would you like another bowl Naruto" "no way! I'm so full, I think I might pop!" Jin again let out a chuckle. After eating the last bit of pork in her bowl, she opened her pocket book and placed the money for their meal on the counter. Teuchi came forward to bid them good night

"Thanks for the ramen Teuchi-san!" Naruto exclaimed "Thank you Ichiraku-san! Have a good night" Jin said kindly

"My pleasure! See you both next time" With that the pair exited the warm ramen bar.

Well shit. This is why I wanted to get home early Jin thought to herself. Within the time spent at the ramen bar, night had fallen, and the rain fell steadily. Looking down at Naruto, she saw him wrap his this arms around his body, the shirt he was wearing doing nothing to keep him warm or protect him from the rain. She sighed with her lack of options knowing exactly what she was about to do. She was not about to be warm in her jacket while a kid got soaked with rain and froze himself into sickness.

"Naruto come here" she ordered slipping off her jacket. Following her command Naruto stood in front of her, staring up at her while trembling from the cold. "Here, put this on" Jin said with a soft smile, placing the jacket around the boy, helping him get his arms into the sleeves, then buttoning it up. Naruto seemed surprised out of his wits.

"b-but Jin-chan… then you'll be c-cold!"

"I'll be fine" she placed her hand on his head "If you're going to be Hokage, you can't waste any time getting sick, correct? You need your health intact if you're gonna master that pesky clone jutsu!"

Naruto looked at her, then his lip began to tremble. He sharply looked down to hide the tears forming in his eyes "thank you…" No one has ever been this nice to me…Don't cry Naruto! He thought to himself.

Blinking at his odd actions, Jin stayed silent for a moment

"No problem Naruto. Now let's get you home, I'll walk you" the two began walking

"You don't have to walk me if you don't want to Jin-chan" Naruto stated suddenly feeling like he was taking advantage of her

"Nonsense Naruto, I want to make sure you get home safe. Kids shouldn't be out this late by themselves" Jin stated as though it should be obvious to him

Suddenly a thought hit him "Get me home safe? But you're not a ninja! What could you do if something happened?!" Naruto mocked her with a wide grin

Catching her off guard Jin didn't know how to reply "what do you mean kid! I'm sure I can manage!" Jin dramatically defended herself "Ninja or not, as an adult, it's my duty to make sure little squirts like you are safe" she chided

Naruto suddenly had a huge grin on his face, he placed his hands behind his head and exclaimed "When I'm Hokage I'll protect everyone in the village! Including you Jin-chan! Then I'll have to walk you home to make sure you get home safe!"

"Well aren't you the little gentleman" she replied to which Naruto gave a bright grin

"We're almost at my place, it's just up that way and around the corner" he pointed to an intersection up ahead. No way, that's the street my apartment is on Jin thought

"Naruto exactly what building do you live in?" Jin asked abruptly.

"hmm, how can I describe it… there are six floors…and all the apartment doors are painted green-" Naruto was cut off by Jin "and the door to the entrance is green with the Village symbol painted on the front in white? Building 1002?" Jin said in a rush, is she was right about it, then it answered why he seemed familiar when she first saw him today. The both turned the corner and started walking towards said building

"Yeah that's the one" Naruto answered without a second thought

"Naruto, I live there too! I knew you looked familiar! I remember now, you've ran past me a couple times on the steps!" Jin said with excitement, solving the little mystery of why he seemed so familiar

"No way! Really?! That's so awesome! I had no idea! That makes us neighbors! What floor do you live on?! I live on the fourth floor, on the third door from the steps" Naruto yelled unable to contain himself

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise! And I live on the third floor, in the apartment right under yours, third door from the steps" the pair entered their building complex and began walking up the stairs. Suddenly Jin asked

"Naruto when are you supposed to get your money?"

"Um, on the first of the month. Which is 2 days away. If you want, I can pay you back as soon as I get it!" Naruto said desperately as though he were afraid she's be mad if he didn't give her back money

"What? No! Ahahaha Naruto! That's not why I'm asking. I told you, tonight was my treat, and I'm not expecting payment back for anything." She laughed, reaching her floor but continuing to Naruto's

"I was thinking, if you want, how about you come have breakfast with me in the morning? I can even make you a bento for lunch if you like. And I usually cook dinner every night. It can be a little routine until you get your money."

Naruto was speechless. This woman, who he met just a short time ago? Why was she going so far to help him? Why is she being so nice! No one is ever this nice to him. Staring at her with surprise written clearly on his face Naruto struggled to get words out but managed

"Jin-chan…why…why are you doing all this for me? No one…is ever this…nice to me"

"hm? Why am I doing this? Naruto, it's not hurting me in any way to help you. You're a little down on your luck right now, and I don't mind" Jin smiled warmly at him "it's the will of fire! Everyone in this village…we're like a family, we have to take care of each other. And I have no reason not to be nice to you…now I don't want you wracking your brain over it anymore." Naruto slightly stunned by her response lightly nodded his head. Jin motioned for him to open his door, which he complied with. Naruto stepped inside his apartment, and turned around to look at her. Staring down at him with that warm smile, Jin bent over slightly and placed her hand on top of his head giving his hair a little ruffle.

"Now, get some sleep. We need you well rested for your Clone justu test! I'll see you in the morning for breakfast?" Naruto could only not his head

"alrighty then" Jin turned around and began walking towards the steps

"Wait!" Naruto shouted. Jin stopped, turning to look at him, raising her eye brow as if to question him

"…Good night Jin-Chan! See you in the morning!" Jin grinned, "good night" she said sweetly, presuming her walk down the stairs. She waited at the bottom of the stairs until she heard Naruto's door close, and the sound of his lock turn.

Sighing, she mumbled to herself "Now, for that bath I promised my poor feet…"