A/N
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"Will I end up losing you one day? I want to protect you and your smile."
~D-Technolife by Uverworld

Holding both kids' hands with each of my own, we walked down to the shelter. Walking back inside, I made my way to the desk. "Excuse me... " The woman looked up. "Leaving?" She looked like she was almost smiling. "No, um... these two kids..." I trailed off. She looked further down and scrunched her face in disgust. "No." She simply replied, going back to twiddling a pen in her hand.

"But-"

"We have reached maximum capacity. Now leave or go inside without the kids." She added. I looked down at the kids, their faces full of disappointment. Then the girl approached the woman slowly. She didn't notice until the girl touched her hand.

"Please, we just need some-"

"Don't touch me you filthy scum!" The woman screeched, shoving Hikari away from her. Her nail nicked the side of the girl's cheek, resulting in a small cut.

I gasped at the woman's sudden act of violence. Livid, but knowing there was nothing I could do about it, I pulled Hikari up and intertwined our fingers. "Let's go," I said pulling the kids' hands, leading them outside. A touch of a smile engraved itself on both of their faces at the gesture. I won't abandon them.

"But what about... "

"Don't worry." I smiled interrupting the girl. "I have a plan."

I led them to the back where boxes were stacked under the window. We locked eyes in understanding. They sprinted towards the boxes and started climbing on them. I grinned and jogging to catch up. Since they were so small, I picked up both, one at a time to get them through the window, then climbed in myself. Both looked up grinning toothy smiles at me. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Alright then." I started placing my bag at the edge of a bed. "Stay in here till I get back, do not venture off." I stated seriously.

They nodded and looked down at their shoes.

Smiling, I ruffled their hair and made my way to the dining room to get dinner. Once I got a plate, I went back inside to see the two of them sitting on the bed. I presented the plate to them and they gasped gleefully.

"Aren't you going to have any..."

"Aoko. Saito Aoko." I answered the boy. "I'm not hungry," I said forcing a reassuring smile.

"Thank you Aoko-sama*" the boy smiled before stuffing his face with food. The girl followed after. I couldn't help but smile again, something that I've grown accustomed to by just looking at them. Especially when I noticed whenever the girl wasn't looking, the boy would push some of his portion to her side of the plate.

After eating, we all layed down in a comfortable silence. "You know," I said breaking it. "You two never told me your names yet."

The boy spoke up first. "My name is Hikaru," he grinned. "I'm seven."

"H-Hikari," she mumbled shyly. "Five."

"What, no last name?" I questioned. They shook their head. So my assumption was right, they had no one to take care of them.

"Well I guess that's settled then. Your surnames are now Saito. You kiddos are stuck with me now," I winked.

Both lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Can I... can I call you Okasan**," Hikaru mumbled with a slight blush flushing his cheeks.

"Well how can I say no to that cute face?" I teased making Hikari giggle. Hikaru looked away embarrassed.

We talked through the night until both passed out from fatigue. They were on either side of me, curled into my side. Wrapping an arm around both of them, I smiled at the ceiling and fell into a dream. A dream with Hikari and Hikaru.

I finally felt like I had a family.

? ﾟﾔﾥ?

I held Hikaru's hand as we walked through the bustling town. Hikari was placed on my shoulders since she got tired of walking. I scanned the windows of shops until I saw the sign I was looking for: Help Wanted.

With high spirits, I entered the restaurant. It was an American styled restaurant wish the smell of grease in the air. I saw an employee and approached them. "Hello, my name is Saito Aoko." I bowed. "I saw your sign, is there anything I can do to work?" The employee took a few steps back and motioned for me to follow. After letting down Hikari and instructing them to sit at a take and wait, I followed. The employee, which I learned name was Lizzy by her nametag, lead me to the back of the restaurant to where the sinks are and made a scrubbing motion with her hand. I nodded and bowed once more. "Thank you Lizzy-san***." Lizzy smiled and left the room leaving me to do my job for the day. I smiled pitifully to myself. She was obviously mute.

After about 8 hours, I decided to was time to leave since dinnertime was approaching. I let the manager know and he gave me an envelope with cash in it as payment. I saw Hikaru and Hikari coloring with some crayons with Lizzy smiling over them. She truly was a sweet woman. I walked towards the kids, the sound of my footsteps alerting them of my presence. They grinned up at me. "Thank you Lizzy-san for everything. Especially for looking after them," I said motioning towards Hikaru and Hikari. When she realized we were about to leave, she stopped us with her hand and jogged to the kitchen and came back with two bags that she gave both Hikari and Hikaru. They both looked inside to see a box of nuggets, fries, and a cookie. I smiled to myself. I guess I get to eat today. They looked up and smiled gleefully at Lizzy.

"Thank you so much Lizzy-sama!" They both gave her a hug and said their goodbyes.

Once we were outside, I ripped open the envelope and smiled sadly at it's contents. It was 770 yen (approximately $7.50 dollars). Normally, it would be enough but now... I gazed at the two kids walking ahead of me, bickering about which sauces are better with nuggets. It's been two days at the shelter already, I needed to get more money for our trip to the next town. After all, I have a family to take care of.

? ﾟﾔﾥ?

The next day, I woke up to Hikaru shaking me. "What's wrong Hikaru?" I asked worriedly. He looked on the brink of tears. "Okasan... Imoto**** is..." I gazed to me other side. Hikari was panting slightly with beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. "Shit." I mumbled quietly enough so Hikaru couldn't hear me. I placed the back of my hand against her forehead feeling the heat it was emitting. She temperature was at least 38°C (100.4°F). "No no no no no." I repeated panicked. Hikaru gave me a solemn look before looking down at Hikari. I looked down, ripping a part of my tee where my bellybutton would show, and rushed to the bathroom to wet it. When I came back in the room, Hikari had her eyes open. "Oniisan*****, Okasan..." she whispered while trying to get up. Suddenly she went into a fit of coughs. "Hikari!" we both exclaimed running to her aid. I gently made her lay back down while Hikaru took the wet cloth from me, placing it on her forehead. She instantly went back to sleep. Frowning at her condition, I turned to Hikaru. "Hikaru, with the money that I got yesterday, I'm going to try to find some medicine. Stay here and watch your sister." He nodded towards me as I ran out.

? ﾟﾔﾥ?

I looked in at least 10 stores and it was all the same. Medicine prices increased, the cheapest bottle being 1540 yen ($15 dollars). Knowing there was nothing else I could do, I jogged back to the shelter, but once it was visible, something or someone gripped my arm tugging me back. I was knocked off balance and ended up falling on my ass. I looked up and saw an old geezer looking down on me with a predatory smile. He had grayish white hair, dark brown eyes, and wore baggy clothes. I slowly got up and flinched back when he trailed his fingers along my exposed stomach from when I ripped my tee. As he approached me I backed up only to run into someone who held me in place by taking my hands and putting them behind my back. I couldn't see his features.

"What is a young thang like you walkin' around at night for?" He whispered in my ear pushing his body into mine, as did the guy behind me.

"None of your damn business." I snarled back.

He chuckled and leaned back a bit. "So what do ya say?" he asked pushing on me again. "Wanna show me and my pal a good time?"

I spat in his face.

It landed on his cheek but his reaction was much different from what I expected. He took my saliva off face with his finger and licked it. I cringed.

"Don't worry babe," he purred. "I'll pay you good." The one behind me suddenly put his hand in my shirt, putting a total of 5,000 yen (almost $50 dollars) in my bra and took his hand out. Well, not before getting in a quick grope. I felt the man's eagerness pressing harder and harder against my leg.

Hikari...

? ﾟﾔﾥ?

After making sure Hikari took her medicine and both were sleeping soundly, I went to the bathroom and locked myself in there for a couple hours. After a while, I stood up and looked into the mirror, but avoided looking at my eyes. I didn't want to see what was staring back at me. I looked to my stomach which was becoming thinner than it was before. I haven't eaten all day since I was out looking for medicine. Not to mention the meals I've skipped giving it to the kids. Then I looked to my exposed stomach. I shivered in disgust remembering how they touched me. And how I let them. Lastly, I looked to my arm that had blood streaming down it and dripped into the sink.

I am truly pathetic.

*Honorific showing deep respect or admiration.
**Title for Mom.
***Honorific for respect. Less than -sama.
****Title for younger sister.
*****Title for older brother.