A/N: Now Nowaki comes into the picture, it is his time at the orphanage (It's going to go bad in this chapter after the first section) Which then transcends into the current timeline in the next chapter. I might not do a whole lot of flashback type of chapters but maybe have them talk about it in current conversations and have them be only part of a chapter instead. This is a good idea right?

All of these nice reviews are just making me want to type more of my fanfics, they really mean a lot to me. Those that are curious as to why Akihiko reacted the way he did, you'll find out in later chapters just you wait. :)

-Lucicelo

Chapter 3: Lonely Blue Eyes...

Nowaki stood beside the rest of the children while they saw one of their friend's standing beside a couple from America. A small suitcase containing the few possessions the child had stood right beside his feet. Pictures of his new home were shown to him during the period when the couple was looked over and interviewed to see if they were suitable parents. The process took such a long time but the child couldn't have cared less, he was going to finally have a home to go to.

The younger children who stood behind Nowaki were awed by the father's blond hair and blue eyes, they saw many foreigners in the city and on tv but the fascination still stuck with them. Which earned Nowaki compliments on his blue eyes but most of them were from potential parents who didn't pick him in the end.

This still hurt him on the inside even if he presented a smile to everyone else. He hated how easily he could disguise his feelings, children were supposed to be overly earnest and honest with their emotion. They were not supposed to hide them behind a fake smile.

The woman had long flowing black hair and brown eyes, from hearing her fluent usage of the language and appearance they knew she was Japanese. She talked with director Akira Kusama about many topics that the children weren't interested in. Her husband joined in as he told a joke which had the rest of the adults laughing along with him.

The boy's face showed pure bliss that he was picked, he was selected from all of the children that ran through the halls of Kusama Orphanage. Even though he was happy, the sadness of not seeing his friends hit him hard. He grew up surrounded by children of all ages that for the most part got along with each other.

Nowaki gulped and held his hands behind his back, his smile didn't match the sadness he felt inside. How he wished he was the one that got adopted instead of his friend yet he didn't want to behave like the teens that weren't there to see him off. A number of them were bitter after so many instances where parents came in and chose someone over them. Where their naive enthusiasm and dreams of leaving the orphanage, dissipated as the years passed.

He was ecstatic really, his friend got an opportunity to share life with loving parents who cared for him. Nowaki looked at the silver lining of the situation, he still resided in the place he grew up and the people he cared about so much. He was still 10 years old, he still had plenty of time to get adopted before he was sent out on his own. Unless he took on a job at the orphanage itself, he had to leave his only home afterward.

Nowaki shook his head and got rid of those negative thoughts, he saw the couple telling their son to say goodbye and the child ran toward them. He stood still as the boy went to each child and hugged them, one little girl bawled her eyes out while trying to keep a hold of him.

Akira chuckled as he gently removed her from the boy. "Now now he has to go with Mr. and Mrs. Jones, they have a flight to catch."

The girl wiped her eyes and she waved at the boy. "Bye..Ichi."

Ichi smiled as he waved at back at her, he said. "Smile...everything is better when you smile."

She rubbed her face before she looked at him with a smile, he ruffled her hair which caused her well-kept hair to be in disarray. She pouted as she tried smoothing it down and one of the caretakers went to her

More children ran to him in tears as they had their turn to hug him. Everyone had grown accustomed to see each other every single day, it took them a while to get used to their friend's absence. Nowaki waited until they all retreated away from him before he went to Ichi and held him tight.

He told him with the biggest smile he could muster and he patted him on the back. "I'm so happy for you Ichi! You are so lucky!"

Ichi nodded his head with an equally big smile when he said. "I know right! All I had to do was keep up hope and I would get adopted! Your advice on looking at everything with optimism worked!"

Nowaki gripped his hands behind his back as he said. "See I told you, nothing is gained by just giving up."

"I'll hold onto what you said Nowaki," Ichi told him as he held him one last time as he told him. "I don't know if we'll see each other again but I'll be thinking of everyone here while I'm in America. I'll try to send letters or call when I'm already settled."

Nowaki remembered those same words from another child who left a few months back, she told him the exact same thing. She pinky promised him and she wrote the phone number of the orphanage in her diary which she always wrote inside of every single day. Nowaki thought a few days after she left she would call them and talk about her first day in her new home.

She didn't call them or try to contact them through letters like she promised.

He assumed she was busy with settling in her new surroundings and getting used to the new language she was learning. Maybe she was waiting for a perfect time to call them, what if she didn't know the time zone changes?

Nowaki made so many excuses in his mind for every child who left he orphanage not just this particular girl. It was as if their time at the orphanage was erased from his mind when they were adopted and didn't want to remember their days at the Kusama Orphanage.

The caretakers didn't reassure them on their friends making contact with them. They explained that long-distance calls cost so much money and their parents wouldn't want to spend a large amount of money just for a chat. It was mostly to discourage the kids from attempting to call them themselves which worked and they stopped asking.

After more and more children left, only the littlest children asked if the adopted would call them after classes or when they had time. The teens and preteens gave up on asking their friends to contact them, unless they made a secret promise and they took the initiative to use the phone in the middle of the night. The older kids who had a small job on the side had cell phones to call their overseas friends and saw for themselves how expensive the distance calls cost which proved their caretakers right.

Nowaki kept staring into Ichi's eyes, trying to see any indication of lies. To see if he had an eye for seeing through lies like the adults who raised them and knew when they lied or told the truth. When he realized he thought his friend could be a liar, his heart filled with guilt on letting his disappointment and sadness get the best of him.

He held Ichi to hide his distress on being such a bad friend, Ichi was clueless as he held Nowaki again with a smile on his face. A tear cascaded down Nowaki's cheek and he quickly wiped it away.

Ichi heard his parents call him as he ran to their side. His mother held his hand while his father grabbed his small suitcase, the director walked alongside them as they went to the front gates. The smaller children were escorted to the playground with some of the caretakers and the rest stayed at the front door.

Nowaki stared at Ichi and his parents as they went inside of a cab, the driver placed the bag inside of the trunk. The director waved at them when the car speed up and left their sights, he returned back inside of the gates and closed them shut.

A boy named Yayoi appeared beside Nowaki as he scoffed. "He isn't calling us back,"

Nowaki turned to him. "How do you know Yayoi?"

He counted his fingers. "Did you think Hana, Ichigo, Cho, Hazuki, Taro and Tetsuhiro would be calling us back? They were beyond excited when they found out they were leaving, it meant they wouldn't be seen coming through those gates and having other people know they have no parents."

"I believe in him Yayoi! I know he will call us! His new mom has family here, he'll want to call us!" Nowaki insisted.

Yayoi shrugged his shoulders. "All of the kids say that but when they set foot in their new home they completely forget to call and forget about all of us too."

"But..I wouldn't do that...I would be calling back any chance I would get!" Nowaki told him as the older boy patted his head, a bemused smile showed on his face.

"You're different kid. You actually keep your promises no matter how small they are." Yayoi noticed some of the older teens whispering between one another with scowls on their faces, he already knew what they were talking about. "Hopefully you don't turn out like half of the older kids here."

Pushing away all of the negative seeds that were planted in his mind when he was young, Nowaki turned to Yayoi and assured him. "I won't, I'll make sure I won't."

The future was what he looked forward to the most, the present hurt him too much.

Nowaki scrunched off his eyebrows as his eyes adjusted to the light coming off of the nightlight in the other side of the room. He sat up on his bed as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. His body shivered from the chill of the night and he pulled up his blanket closer to his body. He stared up at the clock on the nightstand next to his bed, it was so early that he needed to go back to sleep unless he wanted to fall asleep in class.

Once in a while he fell asleep in class which worried his teachers, thinking that something must be wrong at the orphanage where he couldn't sleep properly. Which wasn't the case, Nowaki couldn't sleep on days after kids were adopted. Having thought about his own outcome when he was adopted kept him up half the night or he woke up to ponder about it even more.

Thinking too much brought up embedded insecurities which he assumed were long extinguished when he was younger resurfaced. His subconscious hit him with the worst possible reasons on why he was overlooked as a potential son. He pinched his arms and cuddled with his pillow, then closed his eyes.

His eyes opened when he heard the child in the next bed whimpering in his sleep. Nowaki sat up on his bed, wrapped his blanket close to his body and sat on the child's bed. He hummed a lullaby he often sang to the younger kids to comfort them, almost instantly the child went into a peaceful sleep.

Nowaki yawned as he waited a few moments before he left the bed. He poured himself some water from the plastic jug they refilled earlier so they didn't have to go downstairs to get water. The caretakers got angry at the kids who were out of bed so late, then they placed each room with their own jug with small plastic cups.

He finished his water and placed the cup back on the stack when a burning smell reached his nose. Nowaki scrunched up his nose at the stench as he walked to the door and carefully opened it to make sure the door didn't creak loudly. He peeked outside and the smell grew stronger, Nowaki tip toed down the hall and followed the smell to the end of the hall where the stairs were located at.

He saw flames consuming each step of the stairs and he stared at the flames in disbelief. Nowaki pinched his arm and slapped his cheeks to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He rubbed his eyes then stared back down the stairs where the flames were already half-way up the stairs.

Nowaki inched backwards before sprinting to the first door and started banging the wood with his small fists. "Wake up! There's a fire! Fire!"

"Shut up Nowaki! Stop lying we're trying to sleep here!" One of the teens yelled from their room, a slam even came from inside before they fell back asleep.

Yayoi appeared from the room next door as he rubbed the sleepies from his eyes. "Nowaki..what the hell?"

Nowaki ran to him and pointed to the stairs where Yayoi's eyes widened when he saw the fire consuming part of a wall. He ran to the room where the fire was closing in and he opened the door harshly then ran inside to wake up those children. Seconds later, Yayoi ran with some kids in his arms while the rest of them trailed behind him.

More doors opened and when the children saw the oncoming flames they alerted the rest of the inhabitants of their room without a second thought. Kids stampeded out of their rooms and went to the other side of the hall as Nowaki signaled them to enter his room for safety. The noise didn't persuade the people in the room across from them to get out of their room to investigate.

They all gathered inside of the room quick, thinking the flames were chasing after them. They shut the door behind them but that didn't settle their nerves as they started freaking out.

"What do we do now?!"

"Should we yell for help?"

"I'm scared!"

"I don't want to die!"

The older children had groups of kids holding onto them for dear life, they comforted them the best they could but they didn't show they were scared as well. None of them had gone through any fire drills and as a result their knowledge on how to handle such a situation didn't configure in their minds.

Seconds went by like hours as they felt the heat growing stronger while the rest tried to figure a way out safely with panic clouding their judgment. Nowaki saw a few of them staring at the window as if speculating whether to go through it or not.

Nowaki took the initiative, he ran to the window and pushed it open as he instructed them. "Go through the window! Go! Go!"

The older children didn't hesitate and they ran to the window, they crawled through it onto the roof. Nowaki helped the younger kids climb through the opening and they held onto the bigger kids when they stood on their feet.

To their surprise, there was a ladder leaning against the building and the bigger kids collected children on their bodies as they climbed down. They assured them as best they could while they held on tightly while sobbing in fear.

Time passed in slow motion for all of them, a few minutes felt like hours to them as they climbed down the ladder. When a group was sure they touched the grass they bolted for it or stayed near if anyone needed anymore assistance. This went on for five more minutes as the ones on the grass saw the fire progressing close and closer to the room.

Relief filled their bodies when they heard the sirens of the fire trucks coming toward the orphanage.

They were now safe, the firefighters were going to resolve everything.

"Wait...where are the others?" Nowaki asked as he recalled all of the kids who left through the window, not all of them got out yet.

"What others?" Yayoi asked.

Nowaki exclaimed. "The guys from across the hall, I didn't see them in here! I have to go back to help!" Nowaki placed the last young child onto the roof as he turned around to the direction of the door.

Yayoi yelled with despair in his voice. "Don't go back Nowaki! Let the fire fighters help the other kids! I can hear them coming down the road!"

Nowaki exclaimed as he poured the water jug on the nightstand over his body. "No they won't make it in here in time! If I don't then I'll regret it for the rest of my life!" He opened the door and smoke gathered inside of the room, obscuring the older boy's vision of his friend.

Yayoi guided the children down the ladder as he dodged the broken glass when the window exploded from the fire. The children who were still on the ladder let go and fell onto the grass before they ran off to hide in the brush or any place they could hide in.

Nowaki ran out of his room and covered his mouth with his soaked t-shirt from beyond the smoke he made out a wooden beam blocking the door of the room across from his own room. The flames almost encased the hall as Nowaki gulped in fear but when he heard the kids screaming for help that urged Nowaki to tread forward. He pushed the beam from the door with all of the strength he had and managed to move it away from the door.

Someone opened the door and the teens saw their chance as one of them slipped out to help Nowaki move the beam from in front of the door. Another part of the roof collapsed from the flames as the guy grabbed Nowaki and pulled him out of the way before the wood hit either one of them.

Nowaki looked up at the guy as he said. "Thank you..Ritsuka."

Ritsuka smiled wearily at him. "No problem..." He looked around and asked Nowaki. "Where is everyone?"

Nowaki pointed to his room. "They all managed to escape through the window...I think they made it out safely."

One of them exclaimed. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Everyone ran directly into the room and shut the door thinking it could prevent the flames from reaching them for a while. The heat skyrocketed in the room as they ran to the window in hopes of seeing this ladder Nowaki told them about.

Ritsuka exclaimed. "The ladder is gone!"

"What!? It was there before I left!" Nowaki said in desperation as he ran to the window and saw the parts of the ladder consumed in flames as well as part of the roof. "Oh no.." Nowaki stared outside in desperation and a chill went up his spine, the adrenaline lowered and panic set in.

He took a few steps back and his mind swirled with his unspoken screams of panic. Fear coursed through his body and he got closer to the door, burning hot by the flames closing in. His ears blocked the teenagers spoken concern at the expression on his face and his harsh breathing.

"Nowaki?" Ritsuka inquired, reaching out to Nowaki who backed away from him.

The fire spread up to the roof as the wood split apart in large sequences right above where Nowaki stood. Nowaki heard the cracks and didn't realize it was the roof until he saw a large piece of burning wood breaking off the ceiling.

His mind screamed at him to move but his body remained frozen on the spot. He wasn't prepared for the impact as it came into contact with his left side and he collapsed to the floor.

"NOWAKI!" All of them screamed in terror as they ran to his side and they tried to remove the wood.

They flinched from the flames burning their skin, one of them ran to the window and screamed for help until the smoke cut him off into coughing fits. More flames peeked through the door and the walls, some of them huddled together while they cried, others resigned their fate as they stared at the flames with emotionless expressions.

Ritsuka gritted his teeth as he grabbed onto the wood and yanked it off of Nowaki. He threw it toward the door and the burns on his hands ached but he ignored them when he checked Nowaki's body.

The others tried finding any water to at least keep the flames at bay or to soothe Nowaki's injuries. They found the pitcher on the night stand completely empty and swore under their breaths.

"What do we do now Ritsuka?"

He held Nowaki from his right side as he said. "I don't know..."

Nowaki passed out from the shock and the pain from the flames, hoping, wishing, someone would come save them.

Smoke filled the area as the orphans clung to each other while the EMT's checked them for any possible injuries. A few of them had some burns but they were not that serious, they made it out on time before their rooms were consumed by flames. They were eternally grateful to Nowaki saving their lives, if Nowaki wasn't awake at the right time then they would've all died in that fire.

Yayoi kept his eyes on the burning building and wished with all of his might that Nowaki was safe. Nowaki was the kindest soul he had met and devastation would hit every single one of them very hard if he wasn't around anymore.

He let the EMT check him over and just found small bruises from the kids grabbing hold of him in fear of falling onto the ground. An oxygen mask was placed on his face and he breathed in the pure oxygen which cleared out his lungs of the smoke a little bit.

A group of teens ran with the assistance of the firefighters who hosed down part of the building and managed to get them out through the window with the ladder from the truck. The wooden one the children used had burned completely to ash when it caught on fire from the flames of the broken window.

No one could give a correct recollection of their experience in the fire without their voice quivering and breaking into tears. The older kids almost made it through before they collapsed into sobs like the younger kids.

Yayoi gulped down his fear as he talked to a police officer and told them that Nowaki was the one who woke them all up. He told them everything that happened until his voice gave out and he started drinking water to soothe his throat.

They all saw a woman carrying a child and she was on her way to the ambulance. Now they knew they were all safe from that fire but they didn't know how Nowaki was fairing.

Nowaki stared up through blurry eyes at the woman who carried him out of fire, he muttered. "Are the kids okay miss fire fighter?"

The fire fighter smiled down at him as she caressed his face. "You saved a lot of people young man, you should be proud. I know your caretakers will be glad you're okay."

"They're okay? Everyone?" She confirmed their safety while Nowaki smiled lightly. "That's good...to know." Nowaki winced as he touched the left side of his body.

She told him. "Don't touch yourself, you will irritate your injuries." She handed him to one of the EMT's but before the man left with the child, Nowaki reached out to her with his small quivering hand.

The woman stopped in her tracks when she heard his grateful voice. "Thank you miss fire fighter." She clasped his hand in hers as she smiled.

"You're welcome." She let go of his hand when the man holding Nowaki told her they needed to examine him.

At that, Nowaki slumped in the EMT's arms as he hurried him to the ambulance and the child was examined. The personnel hooked him up to an IV and laid him on the stretcher while they carefully cut Nowaki's shirt from his body to get a better view.

Akira ran to the ambulance when he saw them taking one of his orphans in the vehicle. When he stopped, he saw Nowaki unconscious on the stretcher and he was shocked at the scattered injuries on Nowaki's left side.

"Are you the guardian of this child?"

"Yes I am." The director answered as he flinched when he looked at Nowaki again, shivering at the burns scattered on Nowaki's left side.

He was ushered into the ambulance as they asked him questions about Nowaki's health and anything that came to mind. The rest of the personel got into the vehicle as they drove away as quickly as they could to the hospital.

Akira kept his eyes on Nowaki while someone added ice bags on Nowaki's burns in hopes to lessen the irritation on their journey.

He patted Nowaki's dark hair and the boy groaned in pain. "You really are a brave kid..I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Nowaki opened his blue eyes and stared at the director, he closed them again when he felt his eye lids growing heavy. His mind swirled as the pain medication took affect in his system and he breathed in the oxygen from the mask on his face.

A smile graced his face while tears trickled down his cheeks, Akira was stunned at the display as he wiped the tears from Nowaki's face.

In his hallucination, Nowaki thought it was his birth mother giving him comfort, he saw her as a grey blob with the softest touch. A fake soft voice whispering sweet nothings to focus him away from the pain he felt.

He didn't realize that reality was harsher than his sweet illusions could ever muster.

TBC