St. Gentleman's is known for its premium katsu sandwich, a high-quality fried pork cutlet with their house-made tonkatsu sauce, shredded cabbage and sandwiched between two freshly baked slices of bread. Although this restaurant specializes in baked goods, their special katsu sandwich usually sells out in a couple of hours after opening. Luckily, Josuke, the lost child who goes by Jolyne, and I were able to get three of their sandwiches and three drinks including soda, apple juice, and cold green tea for the low price of ¥9,000 yen. I'm glad that this was a treat, if not I don't think I would be willing to spend that much on lunch.

We decided to go south of the plaza to eat lunch since there were fewer people there and more empty seats. Josuke and I sat comfortably in our white iron chairs and I helped Jolyne settle in hers. The height of the chair and table only allowed her to head to be seen from the opposite side where I was sitting. As the three of us started enjoying our premium sandwiches, I knew that the first thing to do was to get some background information.

"So Jolyne," I started the investigation. "You don't look like you're around here. Are you from Morioh?"

Jolyne took a strong sip out of her apple juice container and shook her head. "Nope! I'm from the states!"

"The States?" Josuke added after swallowing his food. "That sounds cool! A lot of the music I listen to comes from there. You must speak really good English, and your Japanese is good too."

"Thank you!" The girl continued to eat and speak in intervals. "My mom said that my dad is on vacation here and she wanted me to see him. He picked me off from the airport, we walked over here to get some food but then, he just disappeared." Her pupils started to shake. I immediately placed my hand on her back to help her calm down.

"It's going to be ok," Josuke consoled. "We'll help you find your dad. Do you know his name?"

"Um...I just call him Dad. I don't see him that often, and mommy doesn't say his name often."

"What about a phone number to call?" Josuke added. "We can call your mom back in the states, or him if he has a cell phone."

The small child shook her head once again. "The last time I talked to him before today was early spring."

What's with dads abandoning their children these days. My dad left, Josuke was raised with a single mother, and now Jolyne? Is this something men do when they're tired of a relationship? "Well, what does your dad look like? What's the color of his shirt? Any piece of information will help us find him!"

"Well, he's super tall, and he's wearing a purple sweater and a hat."

I gobbled down my sandwich and gulped down my green tea in one go as I stood up and pushed in my chair. "I guess it's settled. Alright. Let's split up. I'm going to go towards the east side of the shopping center and ask around for your dad Jolyne. You two can go in the opposite direction. We'll meet back here in a few hours." My feet carried me in said direction. Goal: find Jolyne's father!

"Wait! I don't think I'm good with kids! I've never even babysat a child before!" Josuke calls out.

"You'll be fine!" I yell back as I sprint towards the other side of the outdoor shopping center.

Two hours have passed of me searching. I should've known that this would've been harder than I thought. Although the tourist season ended a few months ago, hundreds of people were walking in groups up and down the streets. Some with shopping bags, suitcases, and even babies. Once someone goes behind someone who's walking slowly, they vanish faster than the blink of an eye.

The Budogaoka arts and crafts store sprung in front of me. As I entered the establishment, the left wall was covered with special edition COPIC brand markers and a few other high-end art supplies. A familiar strangely dressed character was gawking at the stationary as if he was a child in a candy store. Picking up each marker one by one, testing them out on a notebook specifically placed on the side for customers to test, only to put back the marker he just used and grab a "new" marker in the back of the shelf. It was none other than Rohan Kishibe. His sense of fashion is incomprehensible, with low hanging oversized jeans that stayed on him with the help of suspenders. His white semi fishnet shirt complemented the ivory scissored headband he swaps out every time I see him. His emerald irises meet mine and frowned. "Hello, Kuroko. What brings you in here? I've never seen you as an art person before."

"Rohan. Have you-" he turned his head away and put his palm up into my face. I already knew my mistakes.

"Rohan-sensei," I monotonically say, rolling my eyes.

The mangaka smiled and had his eyes on me again. "Yes, Kuro?"

"Have you seen a tall man wearing a purple sweater and a hat pass by? I'm trying to find this little girl's dad."

Rohan gave me a sly smile. "What if I have?"

"You have?! When and where did he go?"

"What do I gain from telling you?" The mangaka smirked. I should've expected this.

I put my hand on my hip and sighed. "What do you want?"

"Dr. Kaneko Izumi. She's done a lot of interesting things in her field. I just want to use her for manga material."

"You want to use Heaven's Door on my mom?!" I shout. A few of the customers turn their heads towards us, filling me with embarrassment. This is expected from someone as selfish as he is. Finding Jolyne's daughter is important, but having my mom's personal information get into the hands of this guy is not worth the trade-off. "Whatever," I sneered. "I'll get someone who has more dignity to help me."

Rohan closed his eyes and gave me an insincere smile. "Your loss."

I went ahead and asked the cashier with the same description. No dice. As I exited the art supplies store, even more people were strolling through the shopping district. This is going to take forever.

.

**JOSUKE'S POV**

Why does she do this to me? Every time, when she comes up with a plan, she either does it without asking the group's opinion on it or just ignores us all together. I take a glance at Jolyne. She swings her legs anxiously as she keeps sucking on her now empty box of apple juice. "Um… what's your name?" She asks in a sugary sweet, innocent tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Josuke."

"Josuke, was miss Kuro your girlfriend?"

My cheeks blew redder than my "girlfriend's" hair. "What?! No! Of course not! What makes you think that."

"Well, you always look at her differently compared to when you look at me. And mommy said that when that happens, that means a person likes them."

I placed my elbow on the table and held my head upon my hand. "Well, she is smart, and a quick thinker. She's kind, honest, and fun to be around. My heart does feel different when I'm around her. But there's a difference between being friends, and being together. We've been friends for such a long time, I don't think she shares the same feelings for me compared to the feelings I have for her. Besides, she's oblivious when it comes to being in a relationship with a boy..." Wait. Why am I venting my teenage problems to a six-year-old? I glance back at Jolyne, who is just watching local Morioh pedestrians pass by us. "To sum it up, no. We are just friends.

"Hey! Josuke!" A familiar grouchy voice came running towards me. Okuyasu dashed towards our table as Koichi followed at a slower pace. "Didn't think we would've run into you today."

"Okuyasu!" The white-haired boy huffed and puffed as soon as he caught up with his partner. "Tell me where you're going before you run off like that!"

"Hey Koichi, Okuyasu," I greet. The two of them scanned my situation as Jolyne nervously tugged on my sleeve and moved closer to me. It's better to explain first before they get a weird idea in their head. I pointed to the person left of me. "This is Jolyne. Kuro and I found her on the walkway and we are trying to find her father. Jolyne, this is Okuyasu and Koichi. They're friends of mine so they won't hurt you. You can relax, ok?" Jolyne took a deep breath and kept clinging to my sleeve. "Have you seen anyone who's really tall and is wearing a purple sweater and a hat?"

The two of them shook their heads. "No, there's a ton of people here. I don't think we could even spot him out, but we'll look for someone with that description." Koichi mentioned. "But doesn't Jotaro match that description?"

"Well yea," Okuyasu added. "But what are the odds of Jotaro, a stoic, serious man who has no social skills whatsoever could have a relationship, let alone a child?"

"You're lucky Jotaro didn't hear you," I joke. "But you have a point. I don't think Jotaro has a child. But if I see him I'll ask. Where are you two going after this?"

"To get our flu shots," Koichi answered. "I've heard that this year's flu will hit hard and early."

"Yea Josuke, we don't want to end up sick like you!"

"Oh shut up." I playfully retort. "I'm feeling a lot better since Dr. Izumi gave me a shot. I'm not sure if it was the flu shot though." I realized that Jolyne had already finished her meal and got up from my seat. "Well, it's time to hunt for your dad. Ready?"

The child got up from her seat, held my hand, and nodded. "Yea," I said my goodbyes to my friends and continued our search for little Jolyne's parents on the west side of the shopping center. The first store we entered was Morioh's Gift Emporium. This small town is known for its beaches and coral reefs, so of course, there's a massive assortment of aquatic plushies, key chains, knickknacks, necklaces, coffee mugs, and toys in the back of the store. Jolyne's eyes widened when she spotted the aquatic display and dashed towards it. I kept my hands in my pocket and wandered over to the female cashier. She was taken aback by my presence and started to turn pink. "Hello, have you seen anyone that's extremely tall, and was wearing a purple sweater and a hat?"

"Yea!"

"Really?!" I slam my hands on the counter. "Where did he go?!"

"He went left around 15 minutes ago. He was really handsome!" The cashier cupped her cheeks with her hands. "This is the second hot guy that came in." We got some answers. All we have to do is hurry up and find his daughter. He must be worried sick.

"Mister Josuke!" I hear Jolyne call for me. Her little feet carried herself towards me as she held a plush dolphin the size of her body. A smile so bright it can blind any adult peered behind the dolphin. "Can I get this for daddy? He loves dolphins!" I reached into my pocket to grab my wallet and opened its contents to reveal it's contents. Ten ¥10,000 bills occupied the pouch. I squatted down and peeked at the price tag on the plush.

"¥99,988 TAX INCLUDED."

With my horrendous lying skills, I meet Jolyne eye to eye with the sorriest smile I could muster. "I'm sorry Jolyne. But I don't have enough money to get you that."

Her lips started to pucker

Oh no.

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes

Oh no

A tiny whimper slipped through her mouth.

"Mister," I turned to look back at the cashier. "I don't mind adding ¥12 to cover the costs."

Jolyne reverted back to her shining self as I grudgingly paid for the ¥100,000 overpriced plush animal. The female cashier took my money and counted it. "It looks like you have enough to buy it after all!"

We walked out of the store with Jolyne satisfied with her dolphin, while I'm back to square one with ¥12 yen and a wrapped dolphin plushie to my name along with a receipt with the cashier's phone number on it.

Jolyne and I followed the cashier directions as the sun started to become overshadowed by ominous clouds. We couldn't really travel as fast as I wanted to, since she has small legs and if I didn't hold her hand at all times, she would wander off. We passed an electronic store with twenty people surrounding the TV displays. The two of us stopped to see the commotion.

A female news anchor dressed in a brown suit pointing at live footage of helicopters and police cars surround the entrance of the bank. "Right now in S city's local bank, hundreds of police cars and helicopters are positioned by the entrance to stop anyone from coming in, and out. A reported heist is taking place with a hostage as of 3:30 in the afternoon. As of now, policemen and women are unable to even access the bank due to the robber containing unknown lethal weapons."

The crowd mumbled amongst themselves. A heist in japan? That's bizarre. I shouldn't be watching the news at this moment. I need to focus on finding Jolyne's dad. "Hey Jolyne, I think-"

She's gone.

I glanced around through the crowd and then looked back to the hand she was supposed to be holding. "Jolyne!" I beckoned once more. I moved through the crowds and found Jolyne's twin buns hopping up and down as she crossed the street while a black car ignored the traffic light and sped across.

Shit

"WATCH OUT!"

I summoned Crazy Diamond to deconstruct the front of the car, giving me enough time to push Jolyne to the curb. There she landed on the muddy grass. I landed right next to her, scratched and bruised on the pavement. "What were you thinking?!" I scolded. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I…" The child's emerald eyes started to water as she stood up. "I'm sorry." She began to wail, drawing the attention of mothers and older pedestrians that strolled by.

"Poor girl."

"Where're that child's parents?"

"What a terrible brother"

Raising my voice was the worst option. What do I do? What would Kuro do?!

I squat down so I would be able to make eye contact with her. She kept rubbing her swollen eyes with her muddy hands, getting more dirt on her face. Each braid along her buns was covered with guck from the muddy puddle, her kneecaps scraped to the point where they were red and bleeding. I wrapped my hands around her face and used my thumbs to caress her cheeks. "Shush," I cooed. Her wailing turned into whimpering, as she looked me in the eyes, still sulking. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Everything will be ok." I summoned a Crazy Diamond to fix her knee. The wound magically closed with Jolyne twinkling in amazement. "Are you ok now?"

"Yea," she mumbled, whipping her nose on her sleeve. "I thought I felt daddy across the street."

"Felt?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it felt like he was over there, and he was going away. I tried to run and catch him, but he just disappeared." His words slowly became slurred as tears once again threatened to appear. "Does...does daddy not like Jolyne? Why does he keep leaving me?"

I pulled her close enough to my chest so that she wouldn't mess up my raven jacket, but be comforted by my presence. "Your dad is probably running around trying to find you. He must be worried sick." I passed her the dolphin plushie which was still wrapped in its plastic cover. "And I know that you love your dad as well."

Jolyne finally gave me a slight smile. "Yea! I love my dad a lot!"

"Great. And when we find him, make sure to give him that!" I stood back up, stretched my back, and grabbed Jolyne's muddy hands. "Let's go back and meet up with Kuro. Maybe Kuro found him in the shopping plaza."

"Ok!"

We finally made it back to the same spot we ate lunch at. Kuro was sitting in the same spot that we ate lunch at. Once Jolyne spotted my crimson-haired friend, she sprinted across the pavement as if she was her prey. "Miss Kuro!" She hopped into the air and embosomed her, sharing all the mud and grass Jolyne had on herself. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" She embraced her back while examining her poor condition. Her eyes darted towards me, the man who was responsible for her. "What happened! Why are you covered in mud?"

"I tripped and fell in a puddle! Mister Josuke also bought a dolphin for daddy!" I held up the plush dolphin. Kuro nodded. I guess that makes up for the fact that I brought Jolyne to her covered in mud.

"Any leads on finding her dad?"

"Sadly, no. I even went back to the police office ten minutes ago. Most of the officers were out and if Jolyne went back to the police, she would have to spend the night in a jail cell. So change of plans." Kuro picked Jolyne up from her grasp and placed her back on the ground. "We're having a sleepover!"

"A sleepover?" Jolyne and I say in unison? Her eyes sparkled with glee. I had to object to this idea.

"Hold on a minute Kuro. If we took Jolyne out of the shopping center, wouldn't that be the equivalent of kidnapping?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Well, where else could she possibly go? Last time I checked, there wasn't anyone available at the police station. And I don't think it's safe to let a little child spend the night at a hotel by herself. I don't think we even have enough money to buy a hotel."

"Well...we can ask Jotaro to take care of her."

"Yeah right. And the first thing he'll ask is," she stood up straight, crossed her arms, and tried to puff up her chest. "Is she a stand user? Good grief. Then it's none of my business." The impersonation was horrible, but it was cute.

"Ok. Fine. But whose house is she staying at?"