Minato Arisato did not remember the car crash, or his parents' faces before the life faded from their bodies. He did not remember the monster, or the girl fighting the monster, nor what the girl did to him. Perhaps that is for the best.

But, he did remember how big and full the moon was, up in that green-hued sky - how when he looked up, for a moment, that was all he saw, and then, there were people around him, pulling him every which way, saying and muttering things just out of earshot. These vague shapes must've been saying arcane gibberish to weave together some strange spell, because every time they said something, he did something they wanted, without him really understanding the reason why.

So, until his relatives could come by to help him understand, he was put in this grey little box that wasn't his home, and wasn't his room, and wasn't his family. He saw the way the light moved as the door opened before the adult. It was an adult that he didn't know, and she was telling him that it was time to eat.

"But, my dad didn't make it."

The woman gave him a strained smile, and said, "No. But I'm sure that it will be just as good."

"How do you know that? You didn't know my dad. You don't know if he's a good cook or not."

Nonetheless, he stood up from the bed that wasn't his, and trailed behind her, because she seemed to stiffen when he came too close to her side. He didn't understand that, either.

"I… I'm sorry."

"Everyone keeps on saying that. I don't know what it means."

"You'll understand someday."

"Everyone keeps on saying that, too."

He followed the woman. Why did the adults always talk about his parents as if they knew him? They didn't know him, nor did they know his parents. What he wanted was so simple, yet everyone around him only seemed to look at him with sadness, or like they were angry at him for saying what he thought was true.

He knew how death worked. While he was eating, Minato remembered what his mother and father told him. It was when people stopped moving, and they wouldn't move ever again. They wouldn't send you new years cards anymore, and they wouldn't call you on the phone to ask about if they were going to visit during the summer festivals. They wouldn't eat with you, and they wouldn't tell you how proud they were of you when you told them that you got perfect on a test score.

Like most children, he didn't really get it at first. It kind of sounded like it was something they would wake up from. After all, even though he sometimes didn't want to get up early in the morning for school when it was really cold, he still got up anyways.

One day, when he was about four, - so three years ago, now - he saw a black thing in his room, and he was really scared of it. Minato had seen other bugs like beetles before, but he didn't like the way it scrabbled along the floor and up the wall near him, and too close for comfort. He called for his dad to help, because he was big and strong, and he could take care of anything.

So, his dad came and smacked the thing with one of the shoes he normally wore out of the house. There was some white cream stuff coming out of it, and the black thing was broken, and not moving.

Minato asked him what happened to the cockroach, and his dad told him that he had killed it, and it was now dead. Then, he probed further, asking if the cockroach would wake up again, because death was just a really long sleep, and that meant that the cockroach could come back to scare him at any time. He didn't want that at all.

His dad told him, 'no'. The cockroach wouldn't come back, and he made sure of it. At night, Minato looked in the trash to see the bit of cockroach leg sticking out of the tissue his dad had wiped it up in. He had to make sure it wasn't waking up again.

His mum was very confused when she saw Minato looking in the bin. He told her that he had to make sure the cockroach wouldn't wake up again, and his mother just laughed, and told him to go to bed, because he had to go to school the next day.

The cockroach didn't wake up, as far as Minato knew, which, for him, meant that it absolutely didn't wake up while he wasn't looking. It was gone for good.

So, he knew he was right. He'd seen it happen right before his very eyes. Minato had just never thought that this could also happen to his parents, too. After all, his dad was really big and strong, and his mum always knew what was right. Maybe he was wrong about that.

But, he knew for certain that the people he knew now couldn't possibly know anything about his parents unless he or someone who knew his parents really well told them. Why did they always talk about them like they knew them and they were still here? It made him really mad. His parents were really smart and nice, and all of the other adults around him? They were really dumb, and he hated them. Why couldn't they be like his parents?

When Minato was done with his food (which wasn't as good as his dad's), he stomped back to his room as well as a child could, and slammed the door shut behind him.

Minato didn't feel like he was sleeping for a short amount of time, but he woke up early compared to everyone else. He didn't really know why.

Someone came by his room and asked him to come out. It was the woman who always said those really weird things. Of course, Minato didn't listen to her, or the other adults in this grey box, because they were really dumb and stupid, and they were only going to say more things he didn't understand, because they were wrong, and he was right. Minato said, "Go away."

"But, Minato-kun, your aunt is here. She wants to see you."

"No. I hate you."

There was a sigh from the other side of the door, and then profuse apologies.

"Minato-kun."

Minato stared at the door, trying to remember where he had heard that voice from before. He slowly walked over, the floorboards creaking under his weight. That was apparently enough for the two of them to know that he was listening.

"It's your Aunt Hinako. I… need to talk to you about something important."

"Something important?"

"Yes. But, I want to see you, first. We should talk, face to face."

"Are you gonna say dumb things that I don't understand?"

"What kind of… 'dumb things?'"

"Everyone's always saying stuff like 'I'm sorry' and… I don't know. It's like they think they're better than me. Like I don't know what's going on. But, if they weren't so dumb and confusing, then maybe I would."

There was a pause. Then, she replied, "I'll try not to say those kinds of things."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Minato opened the door, and looked up slightly to see his aunt standing in the frame. He sometimes saw his aunt, but only during family gatherings, birthdays, and sometimes on trips, because she lived a bit out of the way, and she was a 'very busy person.' She had a daughter, but she was a bit older than Minato. He didn't feel like he knew either of them very well, but his cousin's favourite Pokemon was Haunter instead of Pikachu, so he thought that made her pretty cool.

The woman next to his aunt breathed a sigh of relief, and started leading the two of them to another room. Minato looked at his aunt sceptically, wondering if this was all some kind of trick, even if he wasn't sure that there was one in the first place.

His aunt didn't hold her hand out for him to hold like his mum did. Minato was glad for that. His aunt wasn't his mum, after all.

When they got to the room, the woman gave them some tea, and then left. He looked at the tea as if it had offended him personally.

"Minato-kun… How are you?"

"I don't know. I'm mostly angry at the adults here."

"Because they're dumb and stupid?"

"Yeah." Minato even smiled just a little bit. He was happy that someone was listening to him.

"Well… Then, you already know your parents are dead?"

Minato nodded fervently. "Yeah. They're asleep, and they're never waking up. Right?"

"Y-Yes…" His aunt looked away, and breathed out slowly. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her skirt. She wasn't really sure what to think, now that her brother was dead, and all that was left of him was his seven year old son.

Nonetheless, Minato seemed satisfied by that answer.

"Well, because your parents are gone, someone else has to take care of you, now."

Minato looked down at the tea that the woman gave him and his aunt. That was true. He didn't think of that. After all, dad always did the cooking, and mum always drove them to the city to do groceries. He hadn't done that for the past few days, and he didn't even realise it. "Like who?" he asked.

"I was thinking… someone like me. If you would be okay with that, I mean."

He and his aunt shared a long look.

"Aren't my mum and dad the only ones who can do that?" Minato asked.

"No… Well, not 'no', I mean… I won't be able to take care of you like they would've. But, I know that they cared about you a lot, and they would rather have you be safe with someone you knew better."

Minato wrung his fingers together, trying to hold them still. "I guess…" It still felt wrong to him, but he didn't know why exactly. It had to be his parents that did that, even though he knew it simply wasn't possible.

"Do you want to stay here?" his aunt asked.

"No. I don't like it here," Minato answered immediately.

"Well, if you don't come with me, you'll probably have to stay here. No-one else will take you."

"Why not?" Minato asked. "Why not Uncle Nanaki, or grandma?"

His aunt pursed her lips, looking very much like she didn't want to answer that question. "They… It's complicated."

"I want to know. Do they not like me? Is it because I said a bad word in front of uncle?" Minato pressed.

"Well… No, it's not because of that. They just… Don't like you enough to want to take you in," she offered weakly, getting the gnawing feeling that that was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"Do you like me?"

"I… I don't know yet."

"I don't know if I like you either," Minato replied frankly. "But, I don't want to stay here, so… I guess I'll come with you."

Secretly, his aunt was very grateful that he didn't press his line of questioning further. How was she supposed to explain that they didn't want to take someone who wasn't their own flesh and blood? That they didn't want their relative's sloppy seconds?

How was she supposed to explain that she was just the one who didn't argue enough against them to say 'no'? She couldn't stop herself once she'd started - that was something Minato's father had always teased her about - but this was not something she felt she was qualified to explain.

"It's settled, then. I'll take you home with me, Minato-kun."

"Your house?"

"Yes, my house."

He wasn't sure that it was his 'home' yet.

His aunt lived closer to Tokyo, not too far away from Iwatodai City, but not close enough that it felt like you could go there all the time.

The car ride back to her house was quiet, and tense, and it made Minato's skin itch with anxiety. For some time, as he looked out the car window, watching all of the scenery of Iwatodai go by, he thought that he was on a normal car drive with his mum and dad. There were all of these familiar, squat brown houses made from brick, and though they were a little odd to those who weren't from the area, they were very normal to Minato. Those were his buildings that he knew so well.

They had stopped at a Seven-Eleven to refuel, and he had even asked politely if he could have a cup of seaweed Jagariko from the store, like he always did. His aunt came back, and gave him the cup in a little plastic bag. He said 'thank you' and tore it open, and stuck one of the sticks in his mouth as the engine started.

As he bit off a piece of it, and his aunt drove further out of the gas station, he slowly started to realise that the scenery was starting to change, and not in a good way. The brick houses were giving way to more and more different houses - pretty little two-storey buildings with big fences stretching outwards to wall them from the outside world. He had seen them before, but now, Minato decided that he hated them. They weren't his buildings.

He wasn't even hungry anymore. His fingers were covered slightly with oil and salt, and there was an occasional 'snap' sound that wasn't him crunching up the Jagariko sticks.

Minato shifted to look behind the car as the city that was his was slowly starting to fade from sight. He didn't want to go. He wanted to go back home, where his mum and dad would be waiting. But, they wouldn't be waiting. Because they were gone, and they were gone for good, and now, he was in this strange situation with a relative he barely knew, going to a place and a house that definitely wasn't his.

When his aunt looked over in the mirror, for a moment, she saw the cup knocked over and crumpled in on itself next to his leg. Almost all of the Jagariko sticks in the cup had been broken into quarters and thirds, apparently without Minato having even eaten most of them.