Prologue II – Start

After Makoto was born, Honoka started working from home, while Daisuke found himself at what he would call the 'perfect' position at his job, one that gave him enough money to support his growing family and also still allowed him to pass time with them.

Life was good for the Naegi family and it was about to be even better. As Honoka became pregnant again.

This time with a girl.

While Daisuke would admit that taking care of his pregnant wife and his son while still working full time was hard, seeing their happiness and well being was the best reward any man could ask for.

Soon enough, Komaru Naegi got into their lives and life suddenly became a lot more hectic.

Having to take care of a newborn plus Makoto starting preschool soon, it could be pretty tough on the parents.

It was just like they thought it would be. Makoto wouldn't stop calling for them on the first day, and would cry for the entire time he was there, on the coming weeks, he stopped doing that though, instead, the teachers reported that had become, quote: a 'social butterfly'.

The little boy would be very quick to make friends with both the kids and the teachers. He even helped some of the more stressed out kids to calm down, becoming kind of a big brother to his class, even though they are all the same age.

Not that it surprised the parents in any way, as he did that at home too.

On one particularly stormy night, Komaru wouldn't stop crying and the parents couldn't find a way to calm her down. When Honoka had come down to grab a glass of water and her husband had gone to the bathroom.

Komaru's cries stopped.

Worried sick, the two ran back to her room and found the cutest sight a parent could find.

4-year-old Makoto had climbed onto her bed and was cuddling his younger sister, that seemed to calm her down enough for her to sleep. The boy was still awake, but very tired, so he fell asleep just a little bit after.

Not wanting to disturb the two, the parents just pulled the strawberry themed blankets over the them and went back to their own room. After that, Makoto and Komaru became somewhat inseparable, with the younger Naegi starting to cry whenever the older one was at school.

But life was not just flowers and happy moments.

One day, Honoka received a call that almost made her pass out on the spot.

Makoto was involved in a accident, while the teachers clarified that nobody got hurt, Honoka could hear through the phone, the cries of her baby boy.

Quickly grabbing Komaru and running to the, hopefully very close to their home, preschool, the brunette woman ran towards her son and embraced him just as he got into view, calming him down a bit, after which a young Komaru tried to comfort him, not being able to speak very well, she just hugged him, which was arguably one of the most adorable things Honoka has ever seen.

While speaking to the teacher that was watching over him, the brunette heard of what had transpired: a very strange incident, where a badly aimed soccer ball hit a tray of food that fell into the ground, the lunch lady then tripped over the tray and somehow threw a knife towards Makoto, which luckily moved just enough out of the way for the knife to fall by his side.

After which all of the teachers got worked up and started bombarding the boy with questions, some them asking 'how did that happen?' and others asking 'are you okay?'.

Arguably, the bombardment of questions scared him more than the actual incident, of which he barely even noticed.

After checking to see if everything was alright, Honoka took Makoto home earlier, although she noticed something interesting as she did that.

Some of the children are crying because he was going home, others are asking if he was okay. After asking one of the teachers, they said that it was always like that, whatever he was going home, they would always cry and ask him to stay.

That put a smile on Honoka's face, knowing that her boy had become so loved by those around him and that they cared so much about him was heartwarming.

After getting home and letting Makoto and Komaru play around the house, Honoka called Daisuke and told him what happened, although in a abridged way as he was in the middle of work.

Once he got home, she explained everything to him and the two sighed in relief, knowing that at the very least Makoto wasn't hurt.

The only thing they could really do is pray that nothing like that ever happened again.

Too bad it did, multiple times in fact.

It was not all the time, but incidents just as weird, if not weirder, than that one keep happening to the poor boy.

Once Makoto hit 6-years-old, he had started to grasp what was happening and he began feeling anxious, although not for the motive some would think, he was starting to fear what could happen to those around him, not even thinking about his own safety.

Daisuke decided to talk with his son, explaining that none of those accidents are his fault and that Makoto was a 'strong little guy'. Although his words made the young boy feel better, they didn't quell his worries.

Surprisingly, the one that would help Makoto with his thoughts was his younger sister.

Just like the boy had done it when she started going to preschool, Komaru hugged him affectionately and said. 'Don't worry Nii-chan! I'll always be by your side!', while she was just mimicking what he said back then, it still worked and Makoto stopped worrying about those accidents for the time being.

It really surprised both parents the bond that Makoto and Komaru created, they are always supporting each other and while they did fight sometimes, as all children do, they would always feel bad whatever that happened and would come crying and apologizing to each other arms right after.

While not as strong, Makoto also created bonds with the children from the preschool. He would help the teachers to calm the other children down and whatever they misbehaved, the teachers would send Makoto to another room and say that he was never coming back, making the children instantly regret what they did.

That made the Makoto the unofficial 'little helper' of the teachers.

Even at such a young age, he was able to create bonds with those people, even if they aren't that strong, they are still bonds that he would care for the rest of his life.

He befriended almost everyone at his preschool.

All but one, a mischievous young girl with scarlet eyes and red hair.

She was always pranking the other children and making them cry, whatever anyone tried to talk to her, she would just act like she was sorry, then go back to her mischief just as they turned around.

The girl was surprisingly cruel in her pranks, she was also incredibly smart, some may even say, too smart.

While Makoto himself was a fast learner, it was not everyone that could read kanji, katakana and hiragana flawlessly and make middle-school level calculations at the age that girl could.

But when not pranking the other children, she would find a secluded place and just be alone, if anyone tried to talk to her, she would just lift her head up and be mean to them.

Seeing this, Makoto tried everything that he could to get closer to the girl, and it didn't work, she would always just scoff at him, call him a idiot and leave.

Makoto thought he was never going to bond with her, but, just like with his mother and her thoughts about love at first sight.

Life had a very funny way of proving Makoto wrong.

Bonds, what are they?

They are the proof of one's trust, the way one can became closer to others.

A bond between those that truly love each other is powerful, unshakable and unbreakable.

It may take time or some attempts at one's life, but if given the opportunity, the chance, one's bond can grow and turn into the most beautiful thing in the word.

Prologue II – End

Wait a new chapter so soon?

Don't get too excited about it.

The schedule of this story is: I'll post whenever the chapter is ready.

Anyways, this is the second part of the prologue, just a small montage of moments to build up the mood of the story, next chapter is going to be a lot more involved.

Anyways, see ya around!