"You're Kisame Hoshigaki, right?"

A blue skinned boy with gill-like features turned to face the voice. The boy blinked his small dark eyes once and nodded, ignoring the strange looks from passer-by's who stared in his direction.

In front of him was a young child similar to his own age. He couldn't tell their gender due to the unruly straight short purple hair and big eyes the colour of the night sky. That person wore a casual plain T-shirt and long shorts.

"Yeah. Who are you?" Kisame asked with caution. Suspicion was building inside of him. He'd seen this kid around. Who was this person and why had they called out to him? Were they an adult ninja disguised as a kid? The spikey blue haired boy's eyes narrowed.

"I'm Amaya! Amaya Mizushima! I see you all the time! Do you want to play with me?" Amaya grinned, showing gaps between her teeth.

Kisame realised that it was a girl due to the high voice and name. He thought back to the girls he'd seen in the academy, who all had their hair and dresses neat and the complete opposite of Amaya.

"You see me all the time? Why do you want to play with me?" He questioned. People didn't often ask him to play. He had grown to be fine with it.

"Yeah! I see you all the time. We live next to each other! I can't believe you don't even see me!" Amaya sulked, hunching over slightly, before she bounced back up and nodded, "Yes, yes! Let's play together!"

She was so bubbly and bouncy that it was almost annoying. Kisame suppressed a sigh. "Yeah, I mean why do you want to play?"

The girl stared at him as if he was missing a crucial point. "What do you mean why I want to play? I have fun because I play. So, let's have fun!" Amaya reached forward to grab Kisame's hand. The moment she touched it, Kisame jerked it away. Surprise etched itself on her face. "Kisame?"

The blue boy sighed and let his arm dangle. He wasn't so sure why this girl wanted to get so close to him. Sure, he had seen her around near his house, but he thought she was just passing by. But it was because she lived next door.

"Amaya!"

"Daddy?" The female turned around to see her father running up to her from the distance, stopping near the girl.

Kisame saw the similarities between the duo – they shared the same purple hair, albeit the father's was a tad lighter, and the same dark blue eyes.

So she was his daughter...Kisame thought with understanding. He had met the father before on several occasions. He helped him adjust when he first moved in next door by himself.

"I see you've already met Kisame." The father smiled and nodded his head in greeting to Kisame. The boy did the same.

Kisame mentally sighed. He could let his guard down a little due to the fact that she was his daughter. He thought of her to be an assassin or someone dangerous, but now that it's been cleared, he wasn't as cautious.

"Yeah! We were just going out to play!" Amaya grinned at Kisame before turning to her father, Sho, with the same grin.

"Hey...I didn't say I was going to play with you." Kisame deadpanned.

Does this girl not listen to people...?

"Amaya, what did I say about forcing people to play with you?" The father gave her daughter a stern look.

The girl chewed her bottom lip and stared at the ground. "...that I shouldn't do that."

"That's my girl." He smiled and nodded his head in approval, patting her head gently. Amaya lit up like a light bulb. Sho turned to Kisame, "Sorry about Amaya. She really likes playing ninja and wants everyone to play with her. She wants to be a ninja in the future."

"Is she in the academy?" Kisame asked. He had just started the academy a few days ago. He didn't remember seeing her among the others.

The fatherly figure nodded and smiled. "Yes. She started a few days ago. It should have been around the same time as you. Amaya has been telling me that she sees you around and wants to be your friend."

Amaya puffed up her embarrassed cheeks and hit her father's leg. "Daddy! Don't tell him that!"

"Sorry, sorry." He laughed and apologized. He found it cute that his daughter was like this.

Kisame just stared at the display. He felt a little envious that she had a parent; one he didn't have. It annoyed him a little that they were purposely in front of him, showing off the family bond they possessed.

"Kisame! Let's play ninja!" Amaya grinned and extended her hand.

"No." Kisame's eyes narrowed at the hand. He curtly turned on his heel and walked off.

Amaya just stared at his back in disbelief, her dark eyes widening with shock. Her arm flopped back to her side and she frowned, her hands clenching into fists.

Noticing the action, the father placed a hand on Amaya's shoulder, hoping he could quell her anger.

"Now, now, Amaya." He spoke gently. "Calm down."

"But daddy, I'm not angry...I just don't get why he doesn't want to play. Did I say something bad?" Amaya raised her brow and tried to think of the reason. She couldn't think of anything.

It's good she's not mad...Sho gave a gentle sigh.

"Come on, let's go back home. I'll tell you a little bit about Kisame." He held his daughter's hand in his and they travelled back to their home.

-----

"Kisame is an orphan. He lives by himself next door." A hot cup of water was placed in front of the young girl.

"An orphan? What's that?" Amaya asked, taking the cup in her hands. She blew the water to let it cool faster.

"An orphan is someone who doesn't have any parents." Sho explained.

"Doesn't have a mommy or daddy?" Amaya's eyes were widened at the thought of that, but then she stared into the water, seeing the reflection of the top of her head. "He doesn't have a mommy as well..."

"Amaya, this topic is probably a little sensitive for Kisame. He might not want to talk about this." Sho warned his daughter.

"Okay!" Amaya nodded. "But I'll still keep asking him to play ninja. I want to be his friend." She grinned at the end.

Sho gave her a warm smile, taking a sip from his mug. He was proud and happy that his young daughter wanted to make friends, even after being brushed off many times. He remembered she used to cry after the girls wouldn't play with her because she didn't dress like them or act like them, but she learned to accept it and try harder on other things instead.

"Why do you want to make friends with Kisame so much?" The older male enquired.

"Well..." Amaya frowned a little, staring at the table. She faced her father, "The other kids don't want to play with him because he looks different. They say he looks like a shark and that he'll eat them if they play with him." Amaya shook her head, "But I think that's dumb! Isn't Kisame like us? We all look different so are we going to eat each other if we play with each other?"

Sho's dark blue eyes widened with shock at his daughter's reasoning. It was quite smart, considering she had just entered the academy.

It's good she's not prejudiced. Is she inclined to be his friend because she had been in a similar position?

"I want to be friends with Kisame because he's lonely." said Amaya.

"Lonely?" The father quizzed.

"He's always by himself because no one plays with him." The female clarified. She paused. "He looks lonely. I don't like when people are lonely. Because lonely people will cry. I don't like crying." Amaya stared straight into her father's eyes, her gaze unfaltering.

What Amaya said brought back a flood of memories. When Amaya was born, her mother died. Sho was devastated and cried often due to the loss of the woman he loved most. It continued even until Amaya grew older, but she could tell that her father had been shedding tears, however brief they were.

The older Mizushima searched her eyes; trying to find the truth. It was all there, displayed as a billboard right in front of him. She was earnest.

Sho thought, 'I don't like when people are lonely. Because lonely people will cry. I don't like crying.' You don't want others to be lonely; yet you're afraid of being lonely yourself? What an honest child.

He smiled and nodded his head. "Do your best, Amaya."