Naoko sat on a park bench one morning with an itchy wool scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, as he waited patiently for Ms. Kozuki to finish her work. Gazing out at the colorful dawn, he sighed pleasantly and relished in the warmth of his new, ruined clothes. From atop this hill, he could see the entirety of the outdoor mall down below, both the busy stalls and the vibrant flags which settled near it; he could even make out the store where Ms. Kozuki worked, so much so he couldn't help but wave a cheerful hello, knowing full well she wouldn't notice him there. There were a lot more tourists there than usual today. Was that a good thing?

The fiery leaves surrounded him readily. Their ember-like dirt thrashing around with the assistance of a few weary souls here and there, all of whom were giving him those same, weird looks. Now normally, he would be bothered by those people, and would walk up to them accordingly and see exactly what was wrong. Since he couldn't talk, he would have to cock his head and give them a confused expression, all of which were, apparently, offensive. So he chose to simply ignore them, and continue with his trivial little nature viewing; after all, the animals don't seem to mind him at all.

He closed his eyes, and was about to drift into a light, comfortable slumber, when he felt a leaf hit his nose. He brushed it off. Then there was another leaf. Then another. Then another. Then another.

He opened his eyes and gazed around, trying to see if there was anyone nearby. No, they were all keeping their distance, as usual. He didn't hear any squirrels running about, or any birds chirping their usual melodic lullabies. Naoko couldn't help but look up, pondering just what on earth could have interrupted his usual day.

Then he heard a quiet meow from above his head.

There was a strange, feline-like shadow hidden high in the tree branches. Two bright yellow eyes stared back at him. Soft, purple fur was entangled in the twigs of the tree, with a red collar which grazed its neck so badly. The creature had a dark purple spot on its left eye, and even from here, he could make out the bits of dirt that coated all over its paws. He only had to squint to see that one of its paws a bit crooked.

Perhaps that's why he couldn't come down.

Naoko stood from his seat and stood back. His eyes were trained on the cat, who was, as of this point, ceasing its incessant cries and peering down at him curiously. It cocked its tiny head and leaned over a bit, before accidentally slipping. Naoko held his breath, and his arms immediately jerked forth in. No, it didn't fall; rather, it remained where it was, and stared down at him once again, pondering on what the strange person was going to do.

Well, it's clear the tiny thing can't get down on its own. But then again, it'd only been a few days since Naoko started walking again. Still, it wasn't like he was doing anything else for the day, aside from going grocery shopping with Ms. Kozuki. Besides, he felt strong enough, even if he had no muscle on his limbs, and had no confidence in his physical strength whatsoever. So he took a deep breath, took off his coat, and grabbed one of the lower branches.

Then he started climbing.

This is not what the Prime Minister of Japan should be doing.

Oghi ran back and forth from the park, calling out Arthur's name, all the while drawing more and more attention to himself. Thankfully he hadn't made a lot of public appearances, nor was his name well known in the public, aside from a few international circles. Since everything was fine nation-wise, no one bothered making much of a fuss about him, which, during moments like these, worked to his advantage. What made it humiliating, however, was the fact he had to come out dressed in his white boxers and t-shirt, along with some worn out slippers the maid left out and what may very well be Villetta's night robe.

He remembered getting a call from a neighbor, saying that Arthur had gotten out again. Like an utter fool, he decided to rush over with little regards to what he'd been wearing. After all, this was urgent; the last time Arthur had gotten out he managed to disrupt an entire meeting involving Japan's new trade agreement with the EU by spilling coffee all over Lady Florence's dress. And the time before that, Lady Kaguya ended up, unfortunately, as his scratching post, which of course, caused the International UFN's security conference to be delayed by ten whole hours. Not to mention how he was scolded by nearly half the representatives there, with almost all the insults coming from none other than Xing-ke himself.

Oghi would wince every time he saw his face.

Personally, Oghi loved Arthur, just like everyone else in Japan, but honestly, he had no idea what everyone saw in the feline. Though he can have a sweet temper, there were times when his playfulness did a lot more harm than good. He bites a lot of people (mainly Zero), scratches a lot of people (again, Zero), and hisses at so many guests (what did Zero do to him anyways?). And somehow, someway, that fur ball managed to become one of the top celebrities in the world, garnering more fame than Oghi could have possibly imagined.

He had to laugh every time he thought of it.

He was panting extremely hard, and the fatigue from running around all morning was wearing him down. He plopped on a wooden bench and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The cool autumn breeze melted away his efforts in an instant, and immediately, he began to relax. All the pretenses of chasing a demonic cat vanished from his mind, as he stared out at the scene in front of him.

He'd been so busy lately, what with trying to keep up with another one of Villetta's reforms, or even his own bills, that he hadn't been getting a lot of time with his family. His son was doing well in school, so well he keeps following his teachers around all day to the point where a few of them referenced him as "the creepy child." And that wasn't all; just yesterday, the doctor had just told Villetta that she was pregnant. Not to mention there's Alfheimr to deal with, and increasing controversial action regarding the military funds…

He sat back, and decided to rest for a few more minutes. It wasn't every day he'd get an opportunity as golden as this. He closed his eyes, and felt the peaceful, soothing zephyr the wind had so lovingly delivered unto him. He felt the tension in his body release, and slowly but surely, he started getting a little tired. Maybe a nap wouldn't hurt…

"Meow!"

Oghi snapped awake and turned his head. His eyes scanned the empty park, trying to catch a glimpse of something dark. It shouldn't be that hard. Where was that fur ball anyways?

"Meow!"

Slowly, Oghi tilted his head upwards.

And there that stupid little cat was, cradled in the arms of some stranger he managed to rope into coming with him.

Oghi stood hastily, noticing the brown coat that was so carelessly lying on the ground. He scooped it up and looked up at the stranger. "Hey!" he called.

It seems the boy was asleep. His bangs were covering his eyes, but the sudden jolt reassured Oghi that, at the very least, he wasn't dead. He smiled briefly, before narrowing his eyes. Why was he just sitting there? "That's my cat!"

He could feel the boy's eyes staring him down, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. Yet it was only a couple of seconds before he smiled, and held Arthur gently in his arms. Carefully, he started to make his way down. He put one foot on a seemingly strong branch, and was about to walk on another, when it cracked and broke. He tried another, then another, then another, all of the following resulting in the same, pathetic end.

Violently, he jerked back, and sat back in his original spot, unwilling to move anywhere else.

Oghi barely dodged the falling tree branch, and timidly peeked upwards. "Are you alright?" Much to the his relief, the boy nodded.

Arthur must've gotten his attention, so he decided to climb all the way up to try and get Arthur down. Now neither of them can leave because a majority of the tree's branches can't support both their weights. And there was just no way they could jump down without hurting themselves, at least, not without support. So Oghi held out both his hands. "Jump!"

The boy stared at him.

"Come on, jump!"

He shook his head.

"I'll catch you! That's my cat you have there!"

No.

His arms fell back to his side. Was he scared of heights or something? No, that couldn't be it; if that was the case, even if Arthur was up there there'd be no reason for him to go so far. Maybe he recognized Arthur and wanted to do get credit for saving him? Was he trying to be on amiable terms with the Prime Minister? Not likely, considering he didn't say anything when Oghi came here.

He sighed. "You shouldn't be afraid! Just jump!"

Again, the boy refused.

Thankfully, that strange man was still there, shouting at him exhaustively for him to jump down, so that made things easier for Ms. Kozuki to find him. It'd already been seven hours since the problem began, and neither of the two have made any progress whatsoever. Truth be told, Naoko was a bit worried about him, considering how scary and desperate he looked just to get his cat back. There were tears in his eyes, as he kept holding out his arms and ordering Naoko to jump; there were goosebumps all over his skin, and he was shivering.

He really should have worn something heavier than that.

Arthur the cat was sleeping soundly on his lap, curled next to his scarf; poor thing's been up here for the past two days due to a mean dog that keeps chasing him around. Just minutes before, he'd been telling Naoko about his new life, about the people he's messed around with, about the memories that came and went. There were a lot of toys around this city, some of which including the various politicians, students, strangers, and some guy that tastes like carmel. Recently, he was rubbing himself on Naoko's fingers, before succumbing to his own weariness.

He watched as Ms. Kozuki stormed up to the man, demanding just exactly what he was doing there. Naoko's eyes met hers briefly, and automatically, her tone intensified; he then had to watch sadly as the man began crumbling right before the mother's strong presence. Well, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't understand; though Naoko has tried communicating with the man a variety of times, he just couldn't quite grasp whatever silent language he was using. Arthur was hurt pretty badly, and Naoko simply wasn't going to risk injuring the cat any further by jumping down.

"Naoko!"

His ears opened to the sound of Ms. Kozuki's voice. He leaned over, gripping Arthur tightly while gazing down with concerned eyes. "Naoko, can you get down?"

No.

"Is the cat alright?"

No.

She put her purse down and whispered something to the man's ear. Quickly, he grabbed one of the lower branches when she stopped him. "Naoko, I need you to hold the cat close to your chest!"

Obediently, he fixed Arthur's position while pressing the scarf against his cheek. Got it.

"Are there any branches you can walk across?"

No.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to jump!"

His eyes widened.

"Don't worry! Mr. Oghi here will catch you!"

Oghi?

That name sounded so familiar.

But Naoko brushed it aside and held Arthur close. Steadily, he stood up, and fixed his gaze on where Oghi was. Funny; it never occurred to him how high up he was.

He took a deep breath, and jumped.

Oghi found himself lying on the ground with that stubborn child sitting on top of him.

With the exception of those strange, golden eyes, he was the splitting image of Lelouch. He looked just like him, even with that innocent, childish aura surrounding him. The shock of such a strong resemblance rendered him speechless for a while, and though the breath was just returning to his body, his voice failed him. Oghi's hands trembled at the sight, and he almost turned away shamefully, expecting some kind of judgement that was long past due.

Then he felt Arthur's nose rubbing against his chin.

He sat up. "I uh…I…I apologize-"

The boy called Naoko simply held his hand up, and gave him a warm, apologetic smile, before climbing off of him very clumsily. The woman helped Oghi up. "I'm sorry. Thank you for watching over him."

"N-no. Thank you for getting my cat." Oghi hesitantly turned to Naoko, who stared at him curiously. A faint shimmer of recognition gleamed within his pupils, but other than that, there was no indicator of whatever past sins Oghi may have committed. He caught his own reflection in the boy's eyes, and was drawn in by the benevolent radiance Naoko seemed to dwell in. "And I really appreciate it that you kept him company."

He simply nodded.

Oghi couldn't help but grasp for words, doing anything he could not to seem incredibly anxious. Arthur however, couldn't comprehend his master's nervousness, and reached out to try and lick Naoko's hand. "Well, I hope…you both have a wonderful evening…"

"You as well," the woman said kindly, before taking Naoko's hand and leading him away from the scene altogether. "Take care."

The boy turned around, and wished Oghi the same farewell, before turning around and disappearing through the crowds of people.