A/N: I apologise for not updating in literally forever but I had exams and homework but now I have until September to do anything I want before I start college so I'm gonna start by updating this whoop! Also please never follow Ikuya's example in this chapter because stranger danger and all that , stay safe everyone and try to avoid befriending strangers.

Natsuya returned home defeated and downtrodden. His search for Ikuya had come back empty and he could feel the gnawing of anxiety deep inside his chest, clawing at his ribs, trying to escape. Constant questions of where is he? Why did he run off? Is he okay? raced through Natsuya's head at a rapid rate as he sat down at the table in the kitchen, attempting to calm down the buzzing thoughts in his head.

He had no idea how long he sat lost in his thoughts however, he was startled by a key in the front door. His mother appeared soon after, engulfing him in a tight hug with red puffy eyes and tear stains down her face. Bringing his shaking arms up to wrap around his mother, he finally let his tears fall, an ugly sob sounding out

"I'm sorry..." Natsuya mumbled, tears falling rapidly from his own eyes as his mother pulled away from the embrace

"Natsuya, none of this is your fault, okay. We should've talked to Ikuya as soon as we realised something was wrong, we shouldn't have left it this long." She sniffed, bringing a shaking hand up to wipe the tears off her face

"I'm going to drive around town for a bit to see if I can spot him, it'll be much faster than walking would be." His father gave the two a weak smile

"I think we should all go, being alone right now probably isn't the best idea. I don't want anyone to do anything stupid." His mother explained, sadness filling her eyes. Upon hearing everyone's noises of agreement, the three of them headed out to the car, setting off at a slow pace with each of them keeping their eyes peeled so even the smallest sign of Ikuya

After another hour of walking, Ikuya once again felt tired, his legs almost collapsing from the strain if walking and running for so long. He had no idea where he was which wasn't helped by the eerie darkness that surrounded him. The panic started once more as Ikuya realised he was truly lost until he could find a map or someone he could trust to ask where he was.

The level of fear Ikuya felt was impossible to compare to anything else as he heard a rough voice behind him shout

"Hey, kid!"

The panic consuming his mind was almost instantaneous as he turned as fast as he could to see a man in what he guessed was his early thirties jogging towards him.

"Please leave me alone, I don't want any trouble, please..." Ikuya practically begged as he came closer. He could run however, his legs felt like they were a minute away from collapsing under him and he assumed he be in less danger of being attacked if he stayed where he was

"Kid, I'm not going to hurt you I promise. What are you doing out so late?" The stranger asked, not helping to calm Ikuyas racing thoughts much

"Nothing...Please leave me alone...I really don't want any trouble..." Ikuya stuttered out through the haze of panic filling his mind

"I promise I don't want to hurt you or anything, It's just me and my fiancee were walking and saw you, she was worried about a kid your age being out alone this late so I wanted to see why." The man had a calming voice however, it didn't help much to calm Ikuya's racing heart, nothing ever did.

"Kid, you need to breathe, you're going to pass out if you keep breathing that fast." The man knelt down on one knee in front of Ikuya so that he was looking directly up into Ikuya's eyes. Ikuya still attempted to avoid eye contact, knowing that he'd break down in tears if he saw genuine concern in the stranger's eyes. It had been so long since someone had been genuinely concerned about him and he knew that it could easily bring him to tears.

"Try to breathe deeply kid, can you try that for me? I'm gonna count, can you try and breathe in for 4 seconds then hold for 5 seconds and breathe out for 6 seconds?"

Ikuya managed a small nod as he attempted to follow along with the man's counting. It was hard as his breathing stuttered a lot however he managed to follow along roughly. The man took Ikuya's shaking hands in his own warm ones, feeling the coldness and the violent shaking of the small boy's hands as he gave them a reassuring squeeze and told Ikuya how well he was doing

Slowly with the help of the man's counting, Ikuya's breathing returned to a normal speed and his heart began slowing down slightly. The stranger smiled warmly up at the shaking boy, his eyes showing pure worry and concern as Ikuya's eyes began filling up with tears which began pouring down his face.

"Shhhh, It's okay, I promise you're safe. Are you lost? Do you want us to take you home? Or to a police station?" The stranger questioned, his concern growing

"No! Don't want to go home...Please don't make me, I'll just stay out a little longer then I'll go back I promise." Ikuya mumbled, not noticing the man's fiancee approaching behind the man who was still kneeling before the shaking boy

"What's your name?" The woman's gentle voice asked, reminding Ikuya of his own mother

"...Ikuya..." His voice shook as he spoke but the woman nodded in understanding as she also knelt down before Ikuya

"I'm Maya and this is Takashi, we'd like to help you but we need to know why you're out here all alone." Maya gestured to her fiancee as she introduced them and then waited patiently as Ikuya took a deep breath before saying

"I ran away from home a few hours ago after a fight with my brother...I didn't mean to go far but now I'm lost and...I've messed up so badly..." Ikuya was cut off by his own sobs which began soon after he began talking

"It's okay, you can stay with us for a few hours and we can try to give you some advice about what to do about your argument with your brother but only for a few hours. Then we'll have to take you to the police station and call your parents, they're probably worried sick." Takashi explained, his voice gentle as he reached out a hand to wipe away some of Ikuya's tears

"I'm sorry...I'll just go to the police station on my own...I didn't mean to bother you..." Ikuya sniffed

"No, you've not bothered us, and there's no way we're letting you walk around on your own this late at night, especially when you don't know the area well. I promise, it's no problem, we want to help you." Maya's soft voice explained

"..O...Okay..." Ikuya's voice was small as he replied

"Come on, we'll walk to the park and talk for a bit." Takashi stood up, Maya following shortly after as Takashi reached to take Ikuya's hand in his own as the three began walking

"I promise everything is going to be okay, Ikuya." Maya smiled softly