A/N: Agh! Now when I say this, it is truer than ever, but… there are so many other things I should be doing! I'm very sorry to all who are waiting upon chapter four of "The Second". If I get my ass into gear, it'll be up sometime this night/morning. Again, I'm sorry! But I just had to do this!

I recently discovered Nabari no Ou, and there's been some oneshots rolling around in my head that I wanted to do for it. So, I decided to do an oneshot collection, something I've never done before! Besides this first one here, there are at least two more I'll be adding on, probably more, so stay tuned!

This actually started out as something else, but when started writing it gained a mind of its own and headed in a different direction. So, the oneshot it was meant to be will be coming soon, but for now, here is this!

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Note: These will probably all be Parental!Yukimi/Yoite, since that is my favorite paring from the manga. Not really slash, but if you want to view it that way, then feel free to do so! Also, beware the extremely vague time frame… though obviously this all occurs prior to certain key events.

SHELTER 01: Welcome

It was raining. Yukimi was late. Yoite noticed both of these things, but not in coordinance with one another. Yes, it was coming down something vicious and yes, Yukimi was supposed to be back over half an hour ago, but neither of the two caused Yoite any worry and they especially didn't worry him when put together.

No, the reason why Yoite kept looking at the clock had nothing to do with bad storms. It was because of food. Yoite was very hungry, and Yukimi usually came back with take-away whenever he left for jobs for the surface world. Yoite's stomach was coiling in upon itself and Yukimi said he'd be back thirty-three minutes ago.

Not that Yoite paid attention when Yukimi started going on about how busy he was and how he didn't have time to look after brats. But he distinctly remembered hearing 6:30, and it was 7:33. Wait…

7:34. Yoite glowered at the clock from his usual spot on the living room floor. A chill passed through him despite his sweater and dark coat, and he wondered just how cold it was outside.

No, not that. He wondered when the food would come. The sound of his stomach grumbling was too soft for him to hear now, but he could feel it. Yukimi had mentioned that there was a place that made good tempura nearby the art gallery he was writing about.

Not that Yoite had been listening, of course.

But Yoite liked tempura, especially kakiage-style. He was getting very hungry, and very worried that... well, the food wouldn't be coming. Like maybe something had happened, possibly something to do with the storm blowing outside.

Yoite didn't know what was going to happen to him if... the food didn't come back. There weren't many options on where he could go. And even if there were... Yoite clenched his arms around his knees, looking away from the clock and resting his forehead atop them.

Lately, Yoite had been thinking that maybe where he was now was a pretty good place to be. It was small, but Yoite was given as much space as he wanted. Yoite knew he consumed a ridiculous amount of food, food that cost money, but he was allowed to eat his fill daily. He was supposed to be keeping up with the rest of the team even though he was slowing down and getting tired easily, but he was never ordered to do something that he couldn't perform and lately he was being told to stay home and rest more and more often.

Even though there were priorities like deadlines and missions, everything could be put on hold to make a cup of lemonade, Yoite's favorite drink.

These were all good things, things Yoite knew he had no right to. He was a grotesque creature, a being that should've never even existed. He didn't deserve to be placed in the care of someone with such kind hands. Nevertheless, somehow...

It was kind of disgusting. Yoite didn't understand how someone with such kind hands could also kill for a living. Yoite had never questioned his own reasons for joining Kairoshu, but he often wondered why other members had made the decision to follow Hattori.

One member in particular.

Suddenly, Yoite made out the sound of wet shoes slapping against the ground, coming up the stairs. He sat up, and had to resist the urge to slouch back down. A key was inserted, a knob turned, and a door opened.

"Tch. It is really nasty out there," Yukimi growled, toeing off his drenched shoes. Yoite turned to examine him, expression hidden under his hat brim. "And I left my umbrella in the car—notes almost got soaked." In one hand, he carried his usual bag with gear for his surface job, and in the other he had a plastic bag filled with white take-away cartons. It smelled like tempura, though Yoite's nose had been dulling, just like his hearing. "But I got you some kakiage, so don't give me that look for being late. Tadaima."

Yukimi finally looked up from his shoes and Yoite looked away, pulling his knees more firmly to his chest. Laying his head back down, he mumbled, muffled but loud enough to carry: "Okaeri."

A/N: If you don't know the meaning/importance of the phrases "tadaima" and "okaeri", feel free to ask, since I don't feel like writing out an explanation right here. This oneshot was inspired by my noticing that even though Yukimi uses "tadaima" and "okaeri", Yoite doesn't, even though he gives greetings and such to everyone else. I found this rather significant.

I don't know when I'll add to this again, since I'm kind of just doing this collection on the side. But there's at least two more ideas that I want to get out soon, so I'd expect it'll be within the month, probably even sooner.

This was thrown together in about an hour or so, so any comments or con-crit will be much appreciated, especially since this is my first time trying Yoite POV, and he's a rather tricky one to pin down. So, please review!