Author: TippierCoffee
Discalimer: I do not own "Codename: Kids Next Door", all credit goes to rightful owner, Mr. Tom Warburton.

KAPOW! SURPRISE ATTACK! ;D
Yes, I am working on "Alone" and have half a chapter done, AND I replaced the "Quick note" with a chapter. Go check it out :P
I am also working on the "Ever after" comic, as well as the fic "Decisions"

Finding names

Kuki carefully set the box back into the hidden room in her closet, and with shaking hands and careful steps brought the picture with her to her bed, handling with utmost care as if her mere touch would shatter it to thousands and thousands of pieces.

She gently placed it underneath her pillow while taking time to put her plush boxes into her closet. She wasn't really sure what had possessed her to think it was necessary to put the picture underneath her pillow, surely nothing would happen if anyone saw it. And still she could feel something, so deep in her brain trying to gnaw it's way to her conscious mind. It gave her her doubts about the picture. Like it was a bad thing that she even had it there, and if it was ever discovered something horrible would happen to her.

She closed the closet door behind her and with quick and silent steps she hastily walked to her bed, tossed herself onto it, laying flat on her stomach, and reached down for the prized photo.

She ran her finger across the cool dusted glass, dragging a trace of clean with her, then she wiped it all clean and looked at the children from left to right.

First kid was a white bald boy, his eyes covered by a pair of black sunglasses, his mouth in a straight line, but still there was the slightest hint of a smile there on the corner of his lips. He had a red turtleneck, gray knee-length khaki shorts, and brown hiker boots. He stood with crossed arms next to a black girl, with her long black hair in a braid, and a red cap upon her head. She wore and oversized blue T-shirt with white stripes, and to Kuki it looked more like a mini dress than anything. Her feet was bare underneath white sandals, and her light brown eyes glistened at her, accompanying the girl's subtle smile. She stood with her arms and legs crossed and leaned into a chubby kid, with an aviator hat covering almost all of his brown hair, and yellow goggles only revealed the shape of his eyes. He wore a light blue button up T-shirt, brown pants and black converse sneakers. He too had his arms over cross, but his face was light up in a childish grin that seemed to tell what kind of personality he had.
Kuki couldn't help but to giggle that she thought of him as somewhat of a prankster. She looked to the next person. He wasn't that tall, his blond bowl-hair cut almost covered his eyes completely, but Kuki could just make out that they were green. He wore an orange hood sweater, blue baggy denim jeans and white sneakers. He looked like he was trying to smile, but had been distracted, or even embarrassed, about the ten-year-old Kuki who stood partly next to him, partly behind him, embracing him with a huge smile plastered upon her face. Her green oversized blouse completely covered her hands and stopped right beneath her buttocks area, and she wore black slim fit leans, green sock covering the bottom of the leg of them, and black converse sneakers.

Kuki looked at her picture self saddened that she couldn't remember ever having felt as happy as the person in this photo looked. She stroke the four unfamiliar faces feeling tears prickle in her eyes.

She angrily wiped them away filled with confusion and hurt. Hurt she didn't know where cam from. She would never be able to tell anyone – not even herself – why she felt this so strongly, but she needed to know who the four other kids in this picture were. What her connection to them were. Why she couldn't remember them, when they all seemed pretty happy together.

She rolled on her back and pushed her right hand – clutching tightly onto the picture – to the side f her bed, and covered her eyes with the back of her left hand.

She wondered if the orange goo who had saved her in her previous dream had been the blond boy on the picture. She wondered who he was. Where he lived. If he remembered her.

-Remember?- she though to herself -Ha! I don't even remember him!-

An unbearable pain clutched its claws tightly around her heart, making her sob uncontrollably and heave lightly for her breath, as she felt warm tears escape her eyes and travel her cheeks.

Why couldn't she remember them?

The air was cold around her, she was freezing in the dark emptiness of the nights. Stars peeked in the sky, almost illuminating the grass, but the moon was well hidden behind darkened clouds.

Autumn was closing in on them, chilly yet fresh. Her breath created little skies in front of her, as she followed troop with the four others, holding herself in a tight embrace.

None of them wore jackets, and for a moment she wondered why, as she felt the dough of the droplet-covered grass slowly soak into her shoes and making her socks wet.

She went closer to the blond boy in front of her, pressing herself discretely against him. She knew he would notice and protest in due time, but this time he said nothing. He let her walk this close to him, using him for heat.

Then she heard the first blast, and the bald kid in front yelled something at the top of his lungs. She couldn't hear his voice, yet she knew he was yelling for them to run back to safety, and she felt the blond clutch onto her hand. But she slipped in the grass and fell to the ground, then she got up and was frozen to the spot.

Fireworks made their way directly towards her, and suddenly she couldn't get her feet to move no matter how hard she willed them.

She sensed the blond scream her name as he jumped in and swept her to the side a matter of seconds before the firework rocket blast to the ground. Then he helped her to her feet, clutched onto her hand, and this time he made sure to hold onto her so she wouldn't fall again.

Kuki woke groggily realizing it was already time for lunch. She sat up disorientated and looked at the picture again. The blond boy had saved her life third time in a row in her dreams. A person like that must be someone she or her parents would remember.

"Hey mom?"

"Mmm? What is it Kuki?"

Kuki swallowed another bite of her lunch before looking at her mom again.

"Was I involved in an accident involving fireworks when I was a kid? I mean. No one was hurt, but the fireworks mis aimed and went downwards?"

Genki pondered a little upon her daughters question, searching her brain for anything at all.

"Not that I recall no. Why are you asking?"

"Oh. No reason really" Kuki said, feeling a pinch of disappointment ache in her entire body. Almost as if someone had placed pieces of shattered glass randomly on her entire body, making her feel fragile, weak, and for some reason foolish.

"Did I use to have a blond haired guy friend when I was younger?" she suddenly heard herself blurt out.

This time she sense, more than saw, that it triggered something in her mother, and she started really wondering and emptying out her memory.

"I do think there was one" she then said thoughtfully. Kuki felt how her heart skipped a beat and the excitement within her grew. "Hmm... That's odd. I don't remember his name. I could have sworn you used to play a lot. Oh I remember you played tree house with him and some other kids" her mother giggled.

"Really?" Kuki felt both excited and sad. Why couldn't she remember playing tree house? "What did we usually play? Do you know that?"

"Oh" her mother giggled, amused by the mere memory of it. The memory Kuki wished she had. "Just some game about saving the world. You really fancied that. We even let you sleep over in the tree house sometimes"
"We?" Kuki's anticipation grew

"Well, all the kids parents" her mother stopped for a moment "Strange. I don't even remember their names. But I do remember you had this cute little habit of writing on the backside of your photos"

Time stopped for a moment as Kuki realized this fact. Her mother didn't know it, but Kuki still wrote things on the backside of her photos, and not just anything; names. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that before, it was so simple and obvious that she had simply left out the possibility that she might have been doing this since forever.

She got up from the chair, almost knocking it to the floor, then she stormed to her room yelling Arigatou* to her mother, as she stormed up the stairs and into her room.

She tore out the picture from underneath her pillow, and removed the frame. If she accidentally broke it, it could be replaced.

She read the text with her heat beating hard against her rib cage as hope filled her. Her unsteady – yet strangely neat, handwriting danced on the backside of the photography.

'Left to right: Nigel Uno. Abigail "Abby" Lincoln. Hoagie P. Gilligan Jr. Wallabee "Wally" Beetles. Me :)'

She couldn't help but giggle at the little smiley she had set at the ending, and she had to wipe away new arriving tears. She knew their names now, and maybe she could go look for them.

First step her school, and if nothing checked out, the yellow pages would have to do.

* Arigatou: Thank you (Japanese)

Tadaaa~

Hope you liked it ^^

Remember to keep an eye on "Again" and "Decisions" ;D

Criticism and/or advices on improvements are highly appreciated :3

~*~TippierCoffee~*~

PS: If anyone know where I might be able to take a "course" in punctuation, feel free to tell me yeah? :) Don't know why, but for some reason we never really had about punctuation (or proverbs) in English class =.=