Hiro never seemed to leave the guild hall, some of them realized. She was there when most of them arrived, and she was still there when most of them left. She ate most of her meals at the guild, even when they knew she had enough money, the only food she actually seemed to buy was for Bud. Now that her den was finished and fully protected- Bickslow, Freed, and Evergreen had made sure of that, her pack still keeping an eye on it even with all the protective spells-, she went on more jobs with anyone who asked.
Some people she only went with once or twice, others she went with often.
Sometimes, random guild members would find her asleep in the most random of places and, having no idea where she lived, would take her back to their place for the night.
Wendy had said that, often, Hiro would just stay in her room at the dorms, sneaking in through the window. When people asked worriedly if she left her windows unlocked at night, she said,
"No, Hiro just knows how to lockpick, and locks the window back when she gets inside." when asked how Hiro knew how to lockpick, "Hiro's just like that. She'll learn some new skill for no reason whatsoever."
A week after the realization, Mira had brought some of her old blankets for Hiro. When the girl beamed and went to go upstairs to her den, Mira stopped her.
"Ah, Hiro." She said, "You can put them in your den if you want, but I brought them so you could have them at your house."
Hiro Hidashi, 9-years-old, with no blood family, merely tilted her head. The confusion of her face at the words, 'your house', had only become worse when she opened her mouth,
"What house?"
For seconds, you could hear a pin drop, before Mira said, brow creased with worry.
"Hiro..." she paused, "Where do you live?..."
"Magnolia." The girl hummed back, obviously still confused. "You know that?.."
"Hiro, honey, that's not what she meant." Cana said from the bar, "She means your house address."
"What house?" Hiro asked again, looking up at all of their faces, "Why do I need a house?"
"Because you can't sleep outside all the time, Hiro."
Hiro only grew more confused,
"But I don't need a house? I don't sleep outside all the time?" She scrutinized their faces, before turning to Wendy, who had moved next to her. "Wendy, what's a house?"
Silence, once again, before Wendy replied.
"Oh! I remember!" she said, turning to everyone, "Hiro and I, when we lived at Cait Shelter, lived in a community house with all the other guild members. No one really had a house, as every building was shared with everyone."
"Hiro doesn't know what a house is because she's never called it a house." Carla agreed, "It was more like the dorms, where everyone had their own little area, but ultimately everything was shared. And she never really claimed her own space. She shared with Wendy or slept in her..." Carla's voice cut off in realization at the same time Wendy seemed to have her own epiphany.
Hiro tilted her head between everyone, some of them coming to their own realizations. She shifted the blankets to Bud's back, and reached out to tug on Wendy's sleeve.
"Wendy?" she asked again, "What's a house?"
Wendy turned to her,
"Ok, um... how do I explain something like a house?" She murmured to herself, before seeming to have an idea. "Okay! I just have to explain it using things you understand!" she took a breath, "okay, Hiro, you know how your den is? Soft walls and floors, and not exactly a solid building like the guildhall? How only people you want to come in, are allowed in?" Hiro nodded, "That's kind of what a house is. Usually larger than any of your dens, but still works similarly. Houses, unlike dens, usually have different rooms for different purposes. Bedrooms are for sleeping, kitchens are for cooking and eating, things like that." Wendy clapped, ending her explanation with, "Houses are just bigger dens with more rooms!"
