"Hey little one, are you okay?" asked a shopkeeper as he looked out onto the downpour to find a small girl only a few steps away from him. "You'll surely catch a cold in this weather! Come inside and I'll get something to warm you up." Walking back into his shop he looked for a blanket. Searching through his heaps of produce, he would surely not find a blanket in there. A small voice seemed to distinguish itself from the loud 'patter patter' of the raindrops falling on the concrete.

"I'm okay mister, my mommy's coming to pick me up!" Her voice, although quiet, projected through the background noise. Looking back at her, he could see her cheeky grin, instantly putting a smile on his features. But for some reason, she didn't move towards the warmth of the store's interior. Her feet were fixed to that one spot on the ground, and remained unmoving. Did she want to get sick? In this hideous weather one would surely not feel well. Maybe her mother was wise in teaching her to never follow strangers?

A few minutes later, the man recovered a blanket from the scattered items in a cardboard box hidden from plain view. He surely wouldn't use it again, and had decided to give it to her to keep."Are you still… here?" He turned around to the open door, and was met with a blank space. "What the-" He refrained from cursing as he walked outside once more. Looking both ways of the sidewalk, the only word that could describe his current emotions was dumbfounded. Where had she run off to? "Freakin' kids…" He sighed and retreated into his store, making sure to lock the door.

The girl continued to walk down the street with caution, a steady rainfall still staining the scenery. Although the hood of her jacket shielded her from the rain, she could still feel the wind blow, sending a cold chill throughout her body. "Mommy?" She called out into the rain, but no one could hear her. "MOMMY?" She screamed, and it seemed as if the rain was mocking her. "Where are you…" She fell to her knees and began to sob. In actuality, she hadn't been able to find her mother for days, and it was certainly taking its toll. The girl had even lost sleep because of it.

She wailed into the sound of the pouring rain as sadness washed over her. The emotions couldn't be held any longer, all of the pain rushed back to her just as fast as it had left her memory. In the distance, however, a light shone past the gloomy clouds. "Huh?" She wiped away the streaming tears from her face to look to the sky. Instead of grey, the sky had turned a vibrant blue, giving way to sunny skies.

"Hinami!" A voice called to her. She turned around quickly to see her mother standing only a few steps away on the sidewalk, her outstretched hand looking welcome and friendly. "Come here, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Mommy!" Hinami cried as tears began to roll down, this time out of sheer happiness. Taking no extra time, she ran as fast as she could towards her mother. However, the more steps she took, the farther away her mother seemed. The faster she ran, the greater the distance between the two. But no matter how much she screamed, the figure of her mother drifted farther, and the sky began to darken once more. "Where are you going?" she asked, out of breath, her face stained with tears. "Come back, come b-"

"Are you okay Hinami-chan? We heard you crying and were really worried." The silhouettes of Kaneki and Touka came into view. From the darkness of the room, Hinami guessed that it was still nighttime.

Oh right, it was just another dream.

"Yeah I'm fine! Don't worry about me…." She lied through clenched teeth, wiping the tears from her eyes as she gave the two a quick hug. "Get back to bed you two, I've already bothered you enough." Giving them a quick smile, which surely wasn't genuine, she watched their figures retreat through the door, slowly shutting it behind them.

After Kaneki and Touka left, Hinami had found it more difficult to sleep for the remainder of the night, the dream still fresh in her mind. She lay in her bed, her eyes wide with discomfort. This wasn't the first night that she had spent this way. Before she closed her eyes once more in an attempt to sleep, she thought aloud, her small voice echoing throughout the dark room.

"Why won't you come back, mommy?"

Well I'm pretty sure this was purely wrote to damage my feels... oh well. I'm showcasing my new work here! I hope you enjoy it, I'm way too emotional when it comes to writing these things- Rates and Reviews are also appreciated!

-Alex