It was a on a late summer evening that she first met him. The days were already starting to lose their blistering summer heat, and on this day particularly, it was slightly chilly.

Whether that was from the coming night, or the coming rainstorm foretold by the blanket of clouds overhead, she couldn't be sure.

But she knew that she would have to head home soon.

She only wished it could be her own home she was returning to.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps, and the brief clinking of chains as someone sat down in the swing next to her.

Looking up from where her gaze was trained on the sand between her feet, she saw a young man sitting beside her.

He had eyes the colour of freshly ground coffee beans, and hair of the same shade. He had the kind of face that made it hard to tell his age, but judging from the clothes he was wearing (a pair of comfortable, worn skinny jeans and a black hoodie over a tank top), she would guess he was in his early twenties.

"You're Ninomiya Miharu-chan, aren't you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side questioningly, a child-like grin on his face.

Miharu didn't answer him, merely staring at him guardedly. How did he know her name? Could he be somebody suspicious?

Seeing her expression, the young man seemed to guess her train of thought, and hurried to introduce himself.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi," he said, holding out a hand. "A distant cousin."

Miharu kept staring at him, still not sure if she should believe him.

"Really, I'm telling the truth!" he said, reaching into a pocket to pull out his phone. Turning it on, he tapped the screen a few times, then turned it to show her a picture of himself and an older woman, whom Miharu thought she vaguely recognized.

"See here?" he said, "She's my mother. Her birth name was Ninomiya Nana. She and your mother are second cousins."

Miharu nodded shortly, believing him, but no less guarded than before. So they'd established that they were related. So what.

The man, Tsunayoshi-san, didn't seem the least bit put off by her unfriendliness.

"So, why haven't you gone home yet, Miharu-chan? Your aunt is worried about you, you know."

"Don't patronize me," she replied.

Tsunayosi-san's eyes widened slightly, and the corners of his lips tugged up into a wider smile. He seemed amused.

"She's probably relieved I'm not there. Or hadn't you heard? Her precious Haru-chan is taking his university exams this year! He needs to focus."

She tried to put as much faux concern in her voice as possible, and was awarded when her companion chuckled.

"You know, I think I may have heard something about that. You know, right after she said," and here he adopted a ridiculous falsetto, "'Miharu-chan is such a good girl, and I feel terribly sorry that I can't look after her. Terribly sorry."

Miharu couldn't help it, she burst into laughter at his horrible (and yet scarily accurate) imitation of her aunt.

He grinned proudly at her reaction, as if making her laugh was the single most important thing he'd done in his life.

They joked around like that for a few more minutes, Tsunayoshi-san doing equally hilarious imitations of her uncle and her cousin as well.

Miharu was laughing so hard, her stomach hurt. She hadn't laughed this hard since...

She froze, the laughter draining out of her as she remembered her situation.

Tsunayoshi-san, seeming to notice the shift in her mood, stopped goofing around.

"Miharu-chan," he said, and she flinched, hoping that when she looked up, her expression didn't look as vulnerable as she felt.

Tsunayoshi-san's soft smile told her it did. But strangely, she found she didn't mind, if it was him seeing it.

Coming to crouch in front of her swing, he looked up at her with eyes devoid of pity, something she'd gotten used to seeing in all the adults in her life lately.

"Would you like to live with me, Miharu-chan?" he asked, holding her gaze. "I promise I won't do anything strange. And we can even live in your own home, if you want. But if you don't want to, that's okay too. I have a nice apartment in this city that we could live in. You wouldn't have to transfer schools, and I could even help you look for your mom."

Miharu stared at him.

Surely this was too good to be true.

"W-what about the bills?" she asked.

Tsunayoshi-san smiled, obviously thinking he had convinced her.

"I'll pay for everything, don't you worry. I've got more than enough money to get us by, and some left over to get however much junk food we need as well," he replied with a wink.

"Why would you do this for someone you don't even know?" she asked.

His smile flickered a bit, dimming slightly, and Miharu grew curious.

Then, it was back full force, and he said, "Because we're family. And every kid deserves to feel loved and supported, and not have to worry about being a burden."

Miharu still hesitated.

It was such a tempting offer.

But she really didn't want to get hurt again.

The truth was, she liked Tsunayoshi-san. She liked him a lot. He was funny and nice, and he didn't talk to her like she was stupid. He talked to her like she was an adult, like she was smart.

She wanted to open her heart to him, but what if she disappointed him? What if he decided to leave because she wasn't a good enough girl, or if she wasn't as smart as he thought she was?

She didn't think she could bear it.

But...

"Y-you said you'd help me find okaa-san?" she asked, and cursed herself when she realized how small her voice sounded. Tsunayoshi-san probably thought she was a total baby. He was probably regretting his decision right now.

He was going to get right up now, say he changed his mind, and leave.

But he didn't.

Instead, he smiled, reached out a hand, and said, "We'll find her. Together. And then you can give her a piece of your mind."

Miharu laughed a slightly watery laugh – even now, he was so silly.

Accepting his hand, she got up off the swing and gave it a firm shake, as if they were closing a deal, before letting go.

She fell into step beside him as the two of them headed home (her real home), exchanging friendly banter as they went.

SkyGem: That's it for this chapter! We get a short prologue, and an introduction to Miharu! Next chapter will have a Tsu pov, though I haven't decided yet if the whole thing will be his pov, or Miharu's as well. Either way, look forward to it! It'll be up tomorrow. This is a short one though. It should be over by the end of the weekend, or possible early next week. I'll be updating it every day. It's kinda weird though. At the moment, this fic seems like it's not really part of the KHR world. It is though, don't worry! You'll get to see more about it next chapter.