This One is Different, Honest.
Yoko Sakaki had promised her mother, promised with her hands out in the open and her socks off so that she couldn't get away with having anything crossed, that she wouldn't bring back anymore strays; no dogs, no cats, no squirrels, not a single living creature that was down on its luck and needed a home even for a night. Still, Yoko looked down at the unconscious boy face-down at her feet, his top-hat broken at the top, his hair all greasy and dirty underneath it, his fingernails with dirt underneath them, and rationalized that a human being was different from any old animal and so her promise to her mother, despite the broad category of any living creature, did not apply. "Hey." She was down on her haunches, she nudged his shoulder. "You awake?" She heard a mumble, saw his head rise while the rest of his body stayed still. "Thirsty?" He opened his mouth, he had thin hair over and under his mouth. Yoko took out her water bottle from her bag and put it over his mouth, he drank from it in a way that reminded her of a puppy she'd found two years earlier.
"Thank you." He had a smile like she'd given him thousand year old wine. "I'm, I'm afraid I can't repay you with money, but if you were to feed me, and let me have access to a bath and some fresh laundry, I could give you a show that you would never forget."
"Hmph, is that how you pay for everything?" Yoko sighed; it probably was, there were patches and holes all over his clothes, and they really did look like they might have been good clothes once upon a time. "All right, but you're going to have to be quiet, I'm certain my mother would object to me sneaking you into my home."
"Your Mother?" The man blinked. "Huh, I would have figured you'd be living on your own already."
Yoko felt a twitch at the corner of her eye. "And just how old do you think I am?"
"Old enough to have the maturity to forgive a homeless boy the error of his ways?"
"...if your feet are as fast as your tongue, you should be a great entertainer." Yoko reached under him and hefted him up onto her shoulders.
"I can walk you know." He pushed back, stumbled, Yoko caught him again. "I assure you, I'm normally much more graceful than that."
"We'll see." Yoko carried/lead the boy back towards her house, which was still a fair way off.
"Yusho." She turned her head at his face, wrinkled her nose at his breath. "Sorry, I just wanted to tell you my name."
"Yusho..." No family name given; whatever story was there would have to wait until after he'd gotten his teeth brushed and flossed and had a gallon of mouthwash rinsed thoroughly. "Yoko Sakaki, that's my name."
Yusho nodded and kept silent, but his eyes spoke to her, they had that inner light quality to them; they told her he was not going to forget her name, even after they'd parted.