Lights hurriedly flicked on and hallway doors were burst open, curious orphans peeking heads out of archways.

"Nowaki-kun? He's missing?"

"What? Isn't he like, five or something?"

"How terrible…I hope he doesn't get hit by a car."

"Where could that kid have gone?"

Silence cut through the confusion, when a hand slammed onto the wall's cherry wood paneling. Said hand belonged to no other than Naomi. "Did someone say Nowaki-kun is missing?" she questioned, voice hushed yet posing a deathly growl to it.

"Y-yeah," one of the female orphans answered. "We…we think he might have ran away."

"Ran away…" Naomi repeated inaudibly, her balled fist lowering from its steady position on the wall. Just when the orphans thought there was going to be peace, Naomi punched the wall not one, but two more times before she stormed off, destination being straight for the director's office.

"He's gone."

"And who is this he that we are speaking of?" the director questioned, not even batting an eyelash as Naomi slammed his door shut upon entry.

"Who do you think, sir? Nowaki-kun!" Naomi shouted, pure emotion lacing her words.

"How? Wasn't he put to bed just recently?"

"I-I guess, but he's not there and absolutely no one can find him. I'm going to call the police."

"No can do," the director sighed. "They don't send out search parties unless the individual has been missing for over forty-eight hours. It hasn't even been one yet. The officers will laugh at you and hang up."

"So what are we going to do, then? Just sit around and wait until he comes wandering back into the orphanage? He's only four!"

"What you decide to do is no concern of mine."

"Such words coming from the director of this organization…you sicken me, do you know that?" Naomi hissed beneath her breath as she slowly left the man's office.

"I sicken myself sometimes," the director sighed well after Naomi's departure.


With clouded eyes and a stuffed nose, Nowaki idly sat on one of the swings of an abandoned playground. "It's just you a-and me, Mr. Swing. No one wants to play on you an-anymore and nobody wants me a-as their kid."

The toddler kicked his feet upon the dirt-piled ground below, little puffs of dust coming up with every impact. The metal chains of the swing creaked as Nowaki swung back and forth, sloppily using the back of his sleeve every now and again to wipe away messy tears.

"Nobody wants me…"

"I'm sure that isn't true," came a gentle voice. This had startled Nowaki, almost causing him to fall right off of the swing.

"Wh-who's there? Are you an angel?" he asked the sky, looking this way and that for some sort of celestial being. What he was faced with, rather, was an eight-year old boy, one with honey-chestnut hair and largely comforting eyes to match.

"I'm not an angel," the boy said, taking the empty seat next to Nowaki. "In fact, my parents call me their little devil, sometimes."

Nowaki didn't mean to, but he began to giggle softly at the older boy's words. "That's kinda funny," he chirped, wiping at a few more of his tears.

"Is it? Ahh, but I guess it's kind of true, in a way. I do get in a bad mood sometimes. Really fast, too. Anyways, what's a little kid like you doing out here all by yourself? It's really late. Aren't your parents going to get worried?"

Nowaki's smile faded just as fast as it had come. Looking away from the mysterious boy, the toddler said, "I don't have a mommy or a daddy. I live in the orphanage with all of the kids that don't have mommies or daddies, either."

The elder boy bit his lip. Had he had known that Nowaki didn't have a family, he wouldn't have brought up such a terrible subject. "I'm sure the people at the orphanage are worried about you, then. They're probably going crazy looking all around just to find you."

"No they're not. Everyone's probably asleep and don't even know that I'm gone."

"Wanna bet?" the boy had asked, eyes challenging. "If we go back to the orphanage and everybody is asleep just like you say, then I'll give you this." Reaching into his back pocket, the older boy pulled out a small, neatly wrapped piece of hard candy. "But if we go back and everybody is awake and looking for you, then you owe me a piece of candy. Does that sound fair?"

Blue orbs looked at the piece of candy with curiosity. Oh, how Nowaki wanted that candy! He was nearly positive that no one would have tallied his absence, so with a strong nod, he said, "Yes, it does."

Placing the piece of candy back into his pocket, the boy with chestnut hair jumped off of his swing with a gentle umph. Standing in front of Nowaki, he held out his hand. "When I make a bet, I never lose it," he said, beckoning for Nowaki to take his hand.

It took him a few moments, but Nowaki finally grasped the courage to take a hold of the boy's hand. Luck was in the toddler's favor, because had he decided to go back to the orphanage on his own, Lord knows he wouldn't have been able to find his way.

The two walked together in silence for the most part, hands clasped tightly about one another. It was little Nowaki who decided to break the quiet. "My name is Nowaki," he said, voice low and nearly inaudible.

"Nice to meet'cha, Nowaki. I'm—hey, look! All of the lights are on!" the boy shouted, pointing toward the orphanage in the distance. Pulling Nowaki forward, they all but ran the rest of the way. The boy could only think about how absolutely right he had been; Nowaki could only think of the piece of candy he would not be receiving.

"Nowaki-kun! Oh my God, you're safe!" Naomi screamed, bursting through the front doors of the orphanage. She herself had been preparing her own little search party-of-one, when she noticed two little heads of hair running by outside of the window. Wrapping her arms around the dark-haired boy, tears threatening to overflow within her lower lids, Naomi said, "What on Earth got into you, Nowaki-kun? Why did you run away?"

Burrowing his face into Naomi's bosom, Nowaki sniffled, crying tears of his own as he struggled to say, "I didn't…I didn't think that anybody cared about me, Naomi-san. I was so upset and I…I wanted Naomi-san to be my mommy, but…Naomi-san didn't want to be my mommy anymore and I…" The toddler could speak no more as his tears escalated, only sounds of crying coming from him now.

Naomi gently stroked the little boy's head, calming him down with reassurance and gentle words. "I would love to be your mother, Nowaki-kun, but the world just doesn't seem to want that to happen." Looking up to the boy who had brought Nowaki home safe and sound, Naomi said a strong, "Thank you. You have no idea how big of a deed you have done."

The boy scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, it wasn't a big deal, really. I was coming home from piano lessons, when I saw him sitting all by himself and figured that something must have been up."

Naomi nodded, continuing on by saying, "Well, it is highly appreciated and if there is anything that we can do to make it up to you—"

"Oh, you don't have to do anything like that. In fact, I probably should get going. My mom's gonna start worrying if I'm not home soon."

Patting Nowaki's head, the little boy sniffled his final sniffs before looking up at Naomi. "Say thank you to this kind boy, Nowaki-kun," she said.

Turning to look at the boy with chestnut hair, Nowaki would be lying if he said that he didn't feel like smiling. He really had wanted that candy… "Thank you for bringing me back here," he whispered, eyes diverting toward his feet. "But now I don't have a piece of candy to give you…"

Just then, a small hand came into his view, and inside of that hand was the piece of candy! "No problem. I want you to have it anyway, Nowaki. Even though I won the bet, I still think you should have it."

With bright blue eyes, Nowaki graciously took the piece of candy into his own hands and looked to the older boy in disbelief. "Really? You really mean that I can have it?"

Laughing lightly, the boy nodded. "I better go now. Hopefully I'll see you around sometime, Nowaki."

The toddler nodded, waving to the boy as he ran off into the night. Then, a thought struck him. "Wait! I never got to know your name!" But it was too late and the boy had already sped off out of hearing range.

A small pat on his shoulder made Nowaki's defeated look turn into one of shock. Spinning around, he looked up to Naomi who was now standing. "Come on," she said, holding out her hand for Nowaki to take, "it's time for you to go to bed."

Grabbing onto Naomi's slender fingers, Nowaki followed by her side as she guided him back into the orphanage and into his bedroom. Many orphans watched in silence as they walked by, some of them whispering things like, "I knew he wouldn't be missing for long," and others saying, "Such a drama causer."

This time, Naomi changed him into his pajamas and tucked Nowaki tightly into his lower bunk, kissing his and Chiri's forehead before saying, "Have sweet dreams."

Though she had wished him such, the toddler suffered from a dreamless night, however, he didn't mind it all too much. It was better than having a swarm of nightmares, wasn't it?


Name: Nowaki Kusama

Age: 4

Location: Kusama Orphanage

Status: Safe and sound


Two weeks seemingly passed by within the blink of an eye. Naomi had spent most of the time packing up her things and saying her goodbyes to the older children. But now, with her hair tied back and her battered and stuffed suitcase by her side, here had come the final and most difficult goodbye of all: the goodbye to Nowaki.

"You're going to grow to become big and strong one day, okay?" Naomi said, on her knees so that she could be at eye level with the toddler that she loved so dearly. He remained silent as she continued to speak. "You're going to be really tall and handsome, I know it. When you find that special person that you love, I want you to treasure them, okay? Treasure them dearly and they will treasure you." Pulling Nowaki in the warmest of hugs, Naomi brushed the younger's hair with her fingers, combing the strands of ebony.

"I will, Naomi-san. I'll grow big and I will take care of people. I will be just like Naomi-san someday," the toddler replied, hugging Naomi back with his tiny little arms. He had balled his fists, clenching onto Naomi's blouse to show his desire for her to not leave, but that was inevitable. It was her time to go now, and even though it was hard and she would be missed, Nowaki knew that no matter where Naomi went, she would go on to do great and wonderful things, always being kind and nurturing along the way.

Naomi came to a stand shortly thereafter, multiple heads peaking out from around corners and collecting at the doorway to watch as she left.

"Naomi-san, you'll be okay out there, won't you?" a little girl had asked. The woman simply laughed at the question, giving a nod.

"Will you come back to visit?" another girl questioned.

"Of course, I will. I'll make it my top priority."

"Goodbye, Naomi-san," Nowaki whispered, raising his hand as he began to wave.

"Goodbye, Nowaki-kun. Remember everything that I've ever told you, okay?" and before Nowaki could respond, Naomi had grabbed a hold of her suitcase and was out the door. A few of the orphans began crying at the loss of their favourite caretaker, but Nowaki wasn't one of them. No, he had to be strong. He had to be strong for Naomi's sake, much less for his own.


Hello there! Chappy here! (:

Gah! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Oh my gosh, we're so close to the end of this story, everyone! Only three chapters left! D:

I feel like this story should have been done a year ago, but I'm just so incredibly terrible with updating that...you know...yeah. XD

Anyways, I would like to thank everyone that has recently started following this story! I've had people review every single chapter and write such beautiful things that it just makes my heart flood and overflow with happiness, so thank you, thank you, thank you so very much for your continued support! It is highly appreciated and I thank each and every one of you. (:

As I promised, I said that I would have this story done by the end of summer, remember? Summer ends around mid-September, so that is my goal. And like I also said, if I do not reach my goal, come and find me and cut off my food sources until I continue writing. XD

Well! I guess that's all that needs to be said, so I hope that you all are having a super duper summer! Bye bye!

- Chappy