Author's Note: You'll see the term Neechan (big sister) used by Ryuto from here on out. It just sounds better than big sister.

Chapter Sixteen

Do Those Marks Mean . . . .

Yuki didn't notice that she'd been humming while she worked until Haku remarked, "That's a really nice tune, Yuki. What song is it?"

Yuki jumped, startled, and faced Haku's red gaze. Quickly, her face went up in flames, and she wondered, "I was singing?"

Haku giggled and nodded. Yuki looked quickly toward where Piko was meant to be sitting, but both he and Neru had disappeared to talk to the teacher. "It was very nice. It went something like this." Haku closed her eyes in gentle concentration before beginning to hum. Yuki knew better than to cringe, but the tune was unrecognizable. Haku's tempo was nonexistent, her tune far off, and each note crashed violently into the next. Haku quickly stopped herself and laughed tentatively, looking self-conscious. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good of a singer."

Yuki quickly cried out, "No no, Haku, you've got a really pretty voice!"

"Pfft, Haku, pretty voice? What've you been smoking?"

Neru had arrived once more, sliding beside Yuki and gazing down at the math worksheet they'd been given like it was a despicable beast. Then, she turned her golden gaze onto Yuki and stated, "Haku can't sing for the life of her."

"You don't have to be so mean about it," Haku mumbled, disconsolately turning her eyes to the table.

"H-Haku, I thought you were really good!" Yuki insisted. She knew it wasn't true, but Neru was so mean!

"What song were you singing then, shorty?" Neru wondered, casually brushing off the topic.

"She's taller than you, Neru, and you know it," retorted Piko upon arrival, slipping in beside Haku. Neru scowled at him, but it was true. Everyone in the class was taller than Neru. Then, he turned his gaze on Yuki. Yuki felt herself blushing now that all three gazes were concentrated on her, their math worksheet forgotten. "So what was the song you were singing, Yuki? I'd love to hear it."

"Piko's got a really nice voice, too," Haku interjected.

"My voice is better than anyone's, though!" Neru insisted proudly, smirking at Yuki. "Sorry to burst your bubble, shorty."

"She's gonna be taller than you no matter how many times you say that, Neru," Piko said, rolling his eyes at the yellow-haired girl.

"I-I really don't know what song it was," Yuki mumbled, locking her eyes on the fractions below her. "I didn't even notice I was humming."

"I bet some guy admitted that he likes her," Neru announced with absolute certainty. "Why else would she be in such a good mood?" She leaned across the table to grin cheekily at Piko. "So, Piko? Am I right?"

His face going bright red, Piko glared at Neru and hurriedly exclaimed, "Why would I know anything about that, idiot?"

A glint of anger flashed in Neru's eyes as she leaned further forward and grabbed Piko by the collar of his shirt. "Who're you calling an idiot? !"

"Children, quiet down and do your work!" Miki called to them from where she was working with other students.

"Sorry," Yuki, Haku, Neru, and Piko said in unison, quickly returning to their work. It wasn't long until Yuki noticed herself humming again, and her friends' gazes had fallen onto her, awaiting a response. She paused, trying to identify the tune, until she recognized it.

Len.

"It's called Kyouka 99," Yuki stated, keeping her eyes locked on her work as she pretended to do it. She remembered that song now. It was one she'd made up with Len, and they'd sung it together all the time. "It's about a girl packing up her most precious belongings in a box because the world's going to end."

Neru raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Well that's depressing. You totally threw me off with that happy tune."

Yuki smiled fondly, though, as she remembered her days spent with Len. She'd always loved it when Len came in. She liked it when her other visitor came, as well, of course, but Len had been the only one to express an interest in adopting her.

"Yuki, you have a visitor."

Yuki looked up to Miki's voice and turned her gaze toward the doorway. Peeking his head around the door was a little boy, five years old, with buckteeth and scraggly green hair. Yuki smiled at the boy, who looked down shyly, and excused herself from the table to make her way to the door. She bent at the knees to bounce on the balls of her feet at the little boy's eye level.

"Hello, Ryuto," she said kindly. His eyes met hers for a moment before he sheepishly averted them to her chin. "How are you today?"

There was a moment of silence before his quiet voice sounded, "Okay."

She smiled a little more. She absolutely loved his voice. He was so incredibly adorable. He just needed a little more confidence. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

The timid little boy softly replied, "But Neechan is here."

Yuki looked to Miki, who nodded to give her approval, before she looked to Ryuto and stated, "Well, I guess it would be okay for you to stay here for a little, but you have to be quiet, okay?" Ryuto gave a little nod. "Did you tell your teacher that you were leaving?" Ryuto nodded again. "Okay, then let's go in, alright?" She pulled herself upright and reached out her hand to Ryuto. Taking his smaller hand in hers, she led him back to her table and sat beside Neru once more. Ryuto quickly clambered onto her lap and locked eyes with the table.

"Hello, Ryuto," Haku welcomed with a sweet smile, giggling a little at the way his cheeks reddened and he withheld a response.

"I'm at least taller than him," Neru mumbled, concentrated on her math work. "Dang it, fractions are so stupid! They make no sense!"

"You're the one that's stupid," said Piko with a scowl on his face. It didn't seem directed at Neru, though, and his mood had suddenly gone foul. "Fractions are easy."

"Do you wanna fight or something?" Neru growled, slamming a hand on the table and standing up to stare Piko down. He cast her a mirthless look. Then, she smirked. "Or could it be that you're jealous?"

Piko cast her a withering look. "I don't think I'd ever have a reason to be jealous of you, Neru."

Putting that comment aside for the moment, Neru continued with her previous point. "It's not me you're jealous of. It's Ryuto."

The expression on Piko's face said she was right, curiously enough, but Yuki didn't have a chance to hear his answer. Ryuto was tugging gently on her sleeve, so she looked down curiously, and he pointed to the sheet with an inquisitive expression. She leaned down toward him and started to explain fractions as simply as she could. He gazed up at her with eagerness. Miki said that Ryuto had a certain love for Yuki's voice, or he'd mentioned it to his teacher once, at least, so Yuki had no idea whether the math actually interested him or he only wanted to hear her talk. In any case, she did the math work while explaining her steps in a hushed whisper to him until Miki finally told her that Ryuto had to go back to class and Lily arrived to take the child away.

"Come to the park with me afterschool today, Yuki," Piko insisted the moment Yuki had finished bidding farewell to the little boy who'd been placed under her charge. She looked at him curiously.

"I have to go home, though. Mama will be coming to pick me up."

"You can call her from the office," Piko insisted as Neru sniggered. He glared at her for a moment before looking back to Yuki. "Come on, why not?"

To be honest, Yuki had been hoping that Rin might come pick her up tonight, as well, and then they could go to the café with Iroha. Yuki's recommendation the previous day had earned a short work of praise from Rin, but it was enough to keep her smiling the whole day. "What about Haku and Neru? Are you two coming?"

"Actually, we'd love to—" Neru started eagerly, only to be cut off by a frantic Haku.

"But we can't," the silver-haired girl quickly interrupted. "Neru and I already have plans afterschool."

"No we—" came Neru again with a glare to Haku, but the silverette shoved her hand over Neru's mouth.

"So it'll just be the two of you. Have fun without us."

Yuki paused. There had been something she wanted to talk to someone about, and Piko was really nice. He'd probably listen and know what to do about it. So, she replied, "Okay, I'll go."

Piko beamed immediately and said, "Great! I can't wait!"

. . .

After their energy had worn out, Piko and Yuki sat on the swings and began to rock back on forth in the air, swinging their legs under their seats as they moved forward and kicking them out before them as they pulled back. Quietly, Yuki wondered, "Can I ask you about something, Piko?"

Piko blinked at her as their swings passed each other, perplexed by her seriousness, and nodded. "Yeah, anything."

Yuki listened to the creaking of the swings for a little longer before stating, "It's about Ryuto."

Piko's eyes flashed, and he swiftly explained, "I wasn't jealous, Yuki, I swear! Neru was just being a stupid . . . ."

He went quiet when he noticed Yuki shaking her head as the swing threw her forward and him back. "No, it's not that. I've just noticed something a little strange about him."

"Like the way he never talks?" Piko snorted, a little bit of that foul mood returning as he placed a light glare on the ground below him.

"No, he's just shy in that manner." After another moment of pondering how to say it, she slowly explained, "He has marks all over his body."

Piko gazed at her curiously. "What kinds of marks?"

Yuki gulped, whipping her eyes swiftly open as she blinked. The memory of the plate that had shattered upon hitting the wall above her head played on the darkness of her eyelids. "Bruises and cuts."

Piko frowned, obviously not understanding what she meant by that. "Well, he's a kid. He just got a little rough when he was playing. It happens."

But Yuki shook her head again. "They were more rough, worse than that. It was like someone had hurt him deliberately. There were too many to just say he got them when he was playing, and he doesn't have any friends his own age, anyway."

Her friend looked up to the sky in contemplation. "So you think somebody's been hurting him?"

Yuki looked down, a little embarrassed. Was she reading too much into it? Maybe Piko had been right. Boys played differently from girls, after all. Maybe it was normal for boys to be covered in those marks. "Yeah, I guess so."

Piko was quiet for a little while before saying, "It's possible. I've seen it before."

Yuki whipped her head toward him, startled. "When?"

Sadness played on Piko's rueful smile as he refused to look away from the bright blue sky. "Mama and Papa. Papa had a temper."

Yuki didn't know much about Piko's parents, but his eyes told her that she shouldn't ask, so she kept quiet until Piko leapt off his swing and stretched his arms up above him. "Well, we should be heading back soon. Miki said she'd meet us at the climbing tree at five." At Yuki's concerned look, he confidently stated, "Don't worry, Yuki. We'll keep an eye on him, okay? We'll find out what's up. I promise."

Yuki nodded, unable to argue with his confidence, and leapt off the swing beside him, walking with him to the tree they often climbed.

Author's Note: I've written up to chapter twenty so you'll be getting daily updates for the rest of this week. And I finished plotting out the story. It'll be 41 chapters plus an epilogue. I hope you'll stick with me to the end! Please review if you have the chance!