"Hey Nanami, what's a carbuncle?" Shuichi asked as he stared at the unfamiliar word.

Nanami paused her game, swiveling her chair around to face Shuichi as he sprawled out on the futon. She soon pictures a fox-like creature from the Final Fantasy series, also called a carbuncle. The creature is most defined by the jewel seemingly lodged in it's head. "I believe it's a gemstone, why do you ask sweetie?"

Shuichi flipped over his book, a large collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Nanami perked as she read the title page Shuichi was on, "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle." She smiled as she recounted Shuichi's uncontrollable excitement when he received that book on his birthday a month ago, hugging Komaeda's leg tightly in gratitude.

"Do you know this story at all?" Shuichi wishfully asked.

"Sorry, can't say I'm familiar." Nanami giggled. Truth be told almost all of her knowledge of the classic super sleuth came from the mystery obsessed child. She and her boyfriends had quickly gotten used to their foster son spoiling every meaningful event in whatever mystery story Shuichi found last. Nanami considered it a cute reminder that Shuichi was a Kirigiri by blood after all.

As Shuichi turned his focus back to his book, Nanami resumed her game as the two enjoyed comfortable silence. It was, after all, another lazy Saturday.

Ding Dong

The front door bell rang, startling Shuichi just as he was settling back into a comfortable position.

"Shuichi, you have some at the door for you!" Hinata yelled from downstairs.

"For me?" Shuichi asked himself in disbelief. Shuichi placed the paper bookmark on his current page, closing his book to start the jewel adventure another time. Racing out to the hallway, Shuichi paused upon reaching the end of the wall and the start of the railing overlooking the living room. Peaking past the wall, he saw three people standing by the front door. It sounded like a woman was talking to Hinata, the voice unfamiliar to Shuichi. He made out a few locks of blond hair past Hinata's leg as well, a hopeful idea at who the visitor could be rushing to Shuichi as that hair could only belong to two of his classmates.

"Kaede?" Shuichi yelled out, fully revealing his presence as he stood over the railing.

Curious eyes peaked past Hinata as they searched for the new voice. Kaede smiled as she saw her friend, relief filling her heart as she went to the right house this time.

"Hello Shuichi!" Kaede excitably called out, waving frantically as her friend quickly descended the stairs and approached her.

"Someone's happy to see their friend." Hinata laughed.

"Trust me, she was ecstatic when I told her we could invite Shuichi to play." The mystery woman cheerfully agreed.

Reaching the door, Shuichi couldn't help but smile back at Kaede. He didn't think she'd ever actually come to see him outside of school, especially after the mess with Kokichi last week. The grim memory of Kaede's look of sheer horror as Shuichi cooled off after his rage boiled over stung worse than a million bee stings all at once. Here she is now though, happier than ever to see him.

"No use worrying over water under the bridge." Komaede once told Shuichi. Advice Shuichi felt would be wise to follow.

"Wanna come to the park with us?" Kaede formally asked Shuichi, who was getting lost in his thoughts again as he stood behind his dad.

Shuichi looked up at Hinata with puppy dog eyes. "Can I?"

"Of course you can kiddo." Hinata smiled. "As long as you guys don't mind me coming along as well." Hinata said as he looked towards the mystery woman.

"The more the merrier." The older woman shrugged.

Shuichi took his gaze off of his friend and onto the unfamiliar woman she stood in front of. The woman hid her eyes under expensive sunglasses, her hair tied into a neat bun. Her large black coat was fashionable and practical, one that went down to her thighs. Upon second glance Kaede wore a similar jacket, albeit in pink and white instead.

"Um, is this your older sister?" Shuichi asked Kaede, who stared back at him like he was a fool.

"Oh you little charmer." The woman laughed. She cherished the moments where she was just another person, unspectacular in the eyes of her community. "I'm Kaede's mother, Ms. Maizono." It was only a matter of time before Shuichi would figure her out, but Sayaka felt excused in cherishing the moments before that revelation.

"Yeah you goofball, my mom doesn't look THAT young." Kaede laughed.

"Thank you sweetie." Sayaka sighed, her sarcasm going over her daughter's head.

"I'm going to grab some coats for Shuichi and I and we'll come join you." Hinata moved the conversation back to it's starting point. Shuichi had already ran to the coat closet and grabbed his silver and black windbreaker, one of the many new clothes Komaeda bought him during his exhausting back to school shopping spree. Hinata walked towards the stairs before addressing Shuichi. "I'm gonna let Nanami know we'll be out, I'll be right back."

Once Hinata climbed the stairs, Shuichi shuffled his feet back to the front door. He stared at Ms. Maizono intently, looking past her sunglasses. Shuichi didn't see it at first but Ms. Maizono looked a lot more familiar now that he's thought about it.

"You think you recognize me now, don't you?" Maizono asked.

"W-what." Shuichi gasped. "How could you tell?"

"Well I am psychic, sweetie." Sayaka giggled knowingly. "So tell me, where have you seen me before?"

Flushed with new found embarrassment, Shuichi shot his eyes to the ground. "Um. Aren't you in that Panta commercial on TV?"

It was certainly the first time she was recognized from that stupid soda commercial she was roped into doing earlier this year. "Oops, my secrets out." Sayaka winked.

"That's amazing!" Shuichi gasped in excitement. "You look just like one of those pop idols in that ad!"

"That's because she IS a pop idol, Shuichi." Kaede revealed.

"WHAT!?"

"I WAS an idol, I retired from performing a few years ago as a matter of fact." Sayaka smiled. There were days where she missed the crowd cheering her on as she sang her heart out. Every once in a while one of her old songs would play while Sayaka was out and about, memories both sweet and bitter flooding her brain in the middle of the grocery store. It was those bitter memories that soured fame. The long hours spent on the road away from the most important person in Sayaka's life made her quit. Sayaka was content with her life now, only having to make the occasional TV appearance or uncredited producer credit to make ends meet. It was more than a fair trade if it meant being the mother she wanted to be for her precious Kaede.

"What was it like?" Shuichi curiously asked. "Being an idol and all."

"Well, for me nothing is more exhilarating than making people happy with my performances. No matter how I may be feeling that day, as long as I could make the crowd smile then I did my job." Sayaka smiled.

"Hm, that sounds pretty cool." Shuichi smiled.

"Well it wasn't all fun and games." Sayaka sighed. "I can't even tell you how many hours were spent practicing my dance moves to perfection. Having my every move monitored and criticised gets old pretty quick. Don't even get me started on the nearly endless traveling too."

"Being an idol is hard work, you know." Kaede butted it. "I know it's not for me."

"The day the industry gets their hands on you is the day they pry you from my cold, dead hands." Sayaka murmured to herself.

"Hm, did you say something mom?" Kaede asked.

"Oh, nothing sweetheart." Sayaka sighed.

Interrupting the moment, Hinata emerged from behind Shuichi wearing his favorite green jacket.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Hinata asked with no lack of enthusiasm.

"I believe so." Sayaka warmly smiled.

—

The park wasn't far from Shuichi's house at all, the boy already familiar with the route thanks to Komaeda's consistent visits with his foster all throughout the summer.

The playground was a lot like the one back at school in terms of its size and quality, even if the school's playset was actually larger. Not that Shuichi and Kaede even noticed, joyfully playing without a care over the last 45 minutes or so.

"You know, you're the first person to ever invite me out to play." Shuichi admitted as he and Kaede sat at the top of the play set. Kindergarten and first grade only added to the paralyzing loneliness Shuichi felt in his old life. He had friends, the few that even noticed he was there in the first place. While Shuichi avoided any serious bullying at the hands of his more brutish classmates, it was due to the lack of good insults available to a social phantom such as himself.

He was confident his few friendships were genuine even if born out of circumstance. Still, he was never asked to come over to a friend's house even once. Shuichi certainly never dared to have company over at his apartment with his Father's uncertain presence. Not like there was a soul at school he was comfortable with showing his loveless former home.

"Really!?" Kaede gasped, refusing to believe such a sad reality. She knew her friend was perhaps the shyest kid in their class but did he really have no friends at his old school? Kaede had an equally hard time believing Kaito hadn't beaten her to asking Shuichi over, even if Kaito's dads were notoriously uptight.

Shuichi didn't verbalize an answer, slinking his head down as his cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of red.

"S-sorry." Kaede apologized. "Well, you better get used to me coming over then!" Kaede pepped with enthusiasm. "Heck, next time you should come over to my house and I can show you my piano!"

Shuichi lifting head matched his spirit as he stared at his smiling friend. "Yeah! I'd love to hear you play sometime." Shuichi smiled back, pushing the bitter past out of his mind. Shuichi was happy to have his new friends, companions that made the sorrows of his old life irrelevant.

"Then it's a date! Maybe you can come over next Saturday?" Kaede offered.

"I'd like that." Shuichi smiled. "I could bring my 3DS and show you my Pokemon save too! I'm not really far but my starter pokemon is cool. I named him Pen-Pen."

"Mhmm." Kaede half responded, her attention now towards the forest at the edge of the woods.

"O-oh. I can leave my 3DS at home if you'd prefer that though." Shuichi said with a hint of sadness.

"What? Sorry Shuichi, I got distracted by something." Kaede apologized.

"Distracted by what?"

"Do you see that kid in the trees?" Kaede asked as she stared out into the woods.

"W-what do you mean?" Shuichi gulped.

Kaede guided Shuichi's eyes with her finger, pointing over towards where the park ends and the nature preserve begins.

"By the corner of the woods." Kaede clarified. "Someone's just sitting there, drawing something."

Once Shuichi's vision focused he saw a small figure sitting down, holding a notebook as if they were writing down something. But of what? Perhaps they were just an avid bird watcher. Maybe they're observing the kids at the park, as unsettling as that may be. They were not well hidden if that was their intention, their black and white checkered hoodie acting as reverse camouflage in the fauna.

"Hey wait a second." Shuichi murmured, knowing he saw that same hoodie at school today. "Isn't that Kokichi?" Shuichi gasped.

"Y-yeah you're right!" Kaede agreed, knowing no one else would wear that ugly checkered hoodie around. "Why is he sitting out in the woods all by himself?" Kaede asked out loud.

"Well, ever since Kokichi returned from his suspension he has been more… quiet." Shuichi recounted, pushing back the guilt in his stomach for tyohe fight. "But that doesn't explain why he's here by himself." Shuichi added as he failed to see Kokichi's mother anywhere.

"Why don't we ask him?" Kaede shrugged as she skipped over to the nearest slide and went down.

"And what makes you think he'll respond to us? He's ignored everyone all week." Shuichi whined.

"It never hurts to try." Kaede pepped.

Shucihi could only watch as Kaede walked over to her mother and Hinata, who shared a laugh as they sat on a bench by the swings.

"Hey mom, Shuichi and I see our friend by the woods and we're gonna check on him." Kaede pointed over towards the obstructed Ludenberg child. Sayaka and Hajime looked curiously at the children, unsure how literal Kaede was being.

"Just stay where we can see you. Please don't enter the woods." Sayaka allowed.

"Be careful." Hinata calmly agreed.

Taking their cue, Kaede and Shuichi made their way past the play set and over to the edge of the woods, right where Kokichi wrote away in his notebook. The purple loving prankster seemed to pay his approaching classmates zero mind as he scribbled frantically into his spiral notebook.

"Hey there, Kokichi." Kaede greeted with glowing friendliness. Ever since Ludenberg returned from his suspension, the entire week went by without a single attempted prank or even a poorly timed joke from the resident class clown. Every recess he was sitting off by the blacktop writing down something in that plain red notebook he carried. At first Kaede enjoyed the peace, but the longer Lundenberg's silent treatment went on the more worried Kaede found herself becoming towards the prankster.

Kokichi didn't expect to get spotted so quickly at this spot, his flight instincts kicking in before realizing it was only Kaede… and Shuichi. "W-what do you two want?" Kokichi rudely asked as he settled back into his little nook.

"W-we saw you over on the playset." Shuichi pointed at the fiberglass structure. "I didn't expect to see you all by yourself here, that's all."

"Hmpm." Kokichi pouted. "And why do you care all of a sudden?"

Shuichi sighed, unable to give a full retort. Shuicihi saw Kokichi spend every recess this week writing by himself in the corner of the playground. At first, no one really paid any mind to Kokichi. If the runt wanted some space everyone would be happy to oblige. It was when his secluded ways continued after that first day that got people's attention. Maki grew increasingly paranoid that Kokichi was plotting something. Keebo tried to talk to Kokichi on the third day, but was ignored at every attempt to break the ice. Even yesterday when Kaito got Gonta to check in on the class clown turned mime, Gonta came back with nothing but a chilled shoulder.

"Are you still hung up on punching me?" Kokichi laughed.

Shuichi slunk his eyes down to the ground. "I can't help it."

"Well I still don't see why you're mopey about it." Kokichi bluntly scoffed.

"Because it's not fair that you got punished worse than I did." Shuichi yelled, his pent up regret only growing by the second.

"What." Kokichi paused.

"What you said to me was cruel but everyone has been treating me like I did nothing wrong and it just feels weird." Shuichi sighed.

Kokichi grinned stupidly, appreciating Saihara's unfounded empathy towards him. "You shouldn't feel too bad about what happened. I would have hit you if you made a similar joke about my dad." Kokichi admitted. "I crossed a line I shouldn't have Shuichi, and I'm sorry."

Did… Did Kokichi Ludenburg give a sincere apology? Kaede certainly couldn't believe her eyes or ears. She lost count of the amount of crocodile tears Kokichi spilled since preschool. His voice hung in a higher pitch when he gave his fake apologies in the past, something Kaede couldn't tell was intentional or not. What Kaede could tell was that Kokichi understood what he did was wrong.

"I forgive you." Shuichi bowed, still reeling from the shock of Kokichi apologizing to him in the first place.

"So what exactly have you been writing down in that notebook of yours? If you don't mind me asking." Kaede asked, pointing at the spiral notebook Kokichi held.

"Oh this? I-I've been scouting out this neighborhood for the ultimate prank." Kokichi dramatically revealed.

"Ultimate prank?"

"See, I was thinking of creating and setting off the mother of all stink bombs. Something that'll stick to your clothes for a week even after running them through the wash multiple times."

Shuichi and Kaede looked at one another for a response neither of them had. Surely Kokichi has been watching too many cartoons to believe such a plan was actually possible.

"Why set off a stink bomb at the park?"

"I could do it at school, but I'm pretty sure Principal Munataka would literally kill me. I'm trying to get off of his bad side for once you know."

"And the park would be the best spot because?" Kaede poked.

"Duh, it's a place with lots of people and an escape route."

"How would you even make the stink bomb?" Shuichi asked.

"I've got a few ideas." Kokichi grinned. "Maybe some mixture of sour milk and cow poop as a base. Maybe some skunk spray thrown in for that extra sticking factor. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them."

Kaede's stomach churned as she imagined the ingredients of the potentially toxic bioweapon. Shuichi was certain it would be a felony to actually detonate a stink bomb like that around anybody.

"… Do you have any better prank ideas?" Shuichi sighed.

"Yeah, maybe something that's less disgusting." Kaede coughed.

"As a matter of fact I do! I've spent all week writing down some pretty epic ideas if I do say so myself." Kokichi boasted.

"Is that why you've been avoiding everyone!?" Shuichi asked as Kokichi's grin grew more and more dastardly.

"Ding ding ding!" Kokichi sang. "I mean, yeah I was upset my first day back from ISS, why wouldn't I be? But truth be told I just wanted to brainstorm in peace. The last thing I needed was Keebo or Gonta ruining my plans before I could even start them after all."

The light bulb over Kokichi's head lit up. Now that he thought about it, there was no way he could pull off any of his pranks by himself. He needed help, as painful as it may be. While Gonta would be the perfect muscle for any operation, he needed brains to double check his schemes.

"Say, why don't you both join my gang? I could use a nerd like you, Shuichi." Kokichi offered.

"Hey, I'm not a nerd!" Shuichi defended.

"Shuichi, you're the biggest nerd I know." Kaede giggled. "But that's why I like you!" She quickly countered.

"And Kaede you're a helpful person I know you'd make yourself useful to me somehow." Kokichi brown-nosed. If nothing else, perhaps Kaede would be the perfect decoy. Who would suspect the piano obsessed weirdo would also be a part of a prankster enterprise?

"Would we really be a gang though?" Kaede hypothetically asked.

"No, I suppose we wouldn't if it's just us three." Kokichi shrugged.

"I didn't say I was in Kokichi." Shuichi sternly rejected.

"Yeah I'd have to ask my mom first." Kaede weakly rejected.

"Fine, but you gotta help me recruit more members no matter what-"

Kokichi looked behind Kaede and Shuichi and saw what he'd been dreading, a familiar bright haired teenager frantically talking to his classmates' parents over by the playground.

"Oh crap." "Quickly, don't just stand there and hide in here before she sees you." Kokichi motioned towards the brush.

"Before who sees us? What's going on Kokichi?" Shuichi beckoned.

Kokichi grunted in frustration. "That pink haired girl! If she sees me here I'm dead."

The two kids looked back at their parents, Hinata and Sayaka now walking over towards their children as the aforementioned pink haired girl ran at them. Shuichi gasped, realizing he actually knew this girl. Her name was Kotoko. It had been a few years since he went to Auntie Komaru's house with Auntie Kyoko but he certainly couldn't forget how nice Kotoko was to him while he watched a movie with her and her foster brothers.

"Kokichi, what did you do?" Shuichi demanded.

"Well I may have-"

"KOKICHI LUDENBURG YOU ARE IN SUPER MEGA TROUBLE YOUNG MAN." Kotoko screamed as she reached her escapee, ignoring the other children completely.

Kokichi hummed as he closed his notebook. "You're the one who suggested we play hide and seek." He whined, his excuse pathetic even if true.

"That doesn't mean you can run away like that!" Kotoko yelled.

"But I was gonna come back." Kokichi countered.

Kotoko mumbled to herself in frustration before turning her head and seeing a familiar boy looking back at her.

"H-hello." Shuichi awkwardly greeted the teen with a small wave. Kotoko gasped as she recognized the shy boy. He had grown a fair amount since the last time she saw Shuichi but he was still the same meek looking boy she met a few years back.

"Why hello there, Shuichi." Kotoko greeted kindly enough, even if Shuichi could tell she was repressing her unrelated anger. "How small is the world for us to meet up right now." Kotoko laughed. Kotoko remembered Komaru telling her about Kyoko's poor nephew, but she certainly didn't expect to just run into the kid at the park like this. She certainly fucking wished the timing was any other day but this one.

"A-are you Kokichi's babysitter or something?" Shuichi deduced.

"Not a very good one, but yeah." Kokichi answered.

Shuichi swore he saw Kotoko's eye twitch as she maintained her smile. "Yes, I'm babysitting Kokichi today." Kotoko cocked her head towards the unfamiliar girl next to Shuichi. "And who's this little cutie next to you? Is this your girlfrienddddd? Kotoko teased.

Shuichi's face turned every shade of red within the span of 2 seconds.

"N-n-no. She's just my girlfriend. I MEAN. My friend who just happens to be a girl." Shuichi stumbled. Kaede was only barely less red than Shuichi, but lacked the panicked awkwardness of her friend.

"Hi! My name is Kaede." Kaede greeted as calmly as she could.

"Why hello Kaede! I gotta say you and Shuichi are like totally adorbs together! As much as I'd love to catch up right now I do have to ask you two to give me and Kokichi a moment. Alone." Kotoko asked with fluent friendliness. Shuichi and Kaede were not going to protest that idea, both children running to their waiting parents.

Kotoko took a deep breath, offering a small thumbs up at Mr. Hinata and Ms. Maizono before turning her attention back to Kokichi. Kotoko bent down, staring Kokichi down at a mostly even eye level. Kokichi stared back at her with an almost smug look on his face. The kind of smug that makes you want to just violently wipe off with your hand. Kotoko of course would never resort to such barbaric tactics. No, she just needs her emotion to speak for itself.

"The past hour Kokichi, you want to know what's been going through my mind really even as I'm speaking to you?" Kotoko calmly whispered.

"W-what?" Kokichi reluctantly replied.

"From the moment I called your mother, all I could think about is "what if someone took you?""

"Pfft, come on Kotoko you know no one could kidnap me even if they wanted-" Kokichi over optimistic gloat was shushed by Kotoko's grip tightening on his hand. The way she smiled at him right now was exactly the same way his mother would in a time like now. Kokichi hated predictable acting.

"I know first hand what happens when bad people get a hold of kids." Kotoko paused, her emotions boiling over. "You don't deserve that level of hell Kokichi. The thought of someone hurting you like I've been hurt..." Kotoko paused as she tried to calm herself down. "You're safe and that's all that matters." Kokichi found himself in an unexpected embrace as Kotoko exhaled heavily. "Please don't scare me like that ever again."

Kokichi considered Kotoko's warning. What if some vicious predator decided to take him as Kokichi played cat and mouse with his babysitter. Kokichi trusted his craftiness and nimble agility but what if that wasn't enough? What if he never got to go back home? Would he suffer at the hands of his captor? Would his mother get over losing her only child as the sands of time blew away? Would any of his peers even toy with the thought of missing him? Why didn't Kokichi consider any of this earlier before making a break for the front door as soon as Kotoko gave him an opening? Had this happened a week or two prior Kokichi wouldn't even be thinking about the consequences of his actions, spending this time making up some elaborate sob story to Kotoko to evade punishment.

Sniffling away tears, Kokichi returned the hug to Kotoko right as she pulled away. Feeling her arms back around him, Kokichi finally unleashed his regret.

"I-I'm s-sorry Kotoko." Kokichi whimpered into the teenager's chest. "I didn't want to f-freak you out t-that much. I-I promise I won't run away like that ever again."

Sensing the genuine shame in his voice, Kotoko smiled with content. "I forgive you Kokichi. I know things have been tough lately but making a big scene like you did today is not the way to cope. That's a lesson I sure wish I learned at your age."

"Does this mean I'm not in trouble?" Kokichi asked innocently.

"Heavens no! Your mom sounded maddddddd on the phone earlier." Kotoko laughed.

"Ah crap."

"Ah crap indeed. Word of advice, you take as much ownership of your mistake to your mom as you did with me just now and there's no way she'll stay mad at you." Kotoko knew she was downplaying how upset Ms. Ludenberg sounded during that nightmare of a phone call but as temperamental as the goth woman is, she was still plenty reasonable. Kotoko was confident Ms. Ludenberg would appreciate her son's sincere apology if nothing else.

"So that Kokichi kid ran from his babysitter?" Hinata asked, confirming the situation playing out in front of him.

"Sounds like it, yeah." Shuichi confirmed. "Didn't really explain why though."

"Tch, trust me kiddo, I've known people just like your little "friend". They almost never have an explanation for the way they are." Hinata scoffed.

"I think he's just lonely." Shuichi admitted. "He doesn't have a lot of friends at school, his mother seems to be away all the time. I can relate to him in a way."

"I see." Hinata hummed. "Look, I'm not going to tell you who you can and can't be friends with but you gotta keep your guard up around certain kids."

"I know." Shuchi sighed. "He did give me a proper apology for the fight. I think he meant it this time too."

"Did he now?" Hinata watched as Kotoko brought the troublemaker into an unexpected embrace. If he looked closely enough, Hinata swore he could see genuine guilt on Kokchi's face. "Well, I'll believe you Shuichi." Hinata thought maybe this could be a good lesson on placement on trust for his son. Shuichi had no lack of good friends already, but Hinata just hoped that Shuichi wasn't misplacing his hope onto the wrong person. The last thing Hinata could bear to see is more heartbreak coming to Shuichi.