I turned to the girl- wanting to get the truth out. I put on a stern face. "Is she really your mother?"

"M-Mister Naofumi! Don't you believe m-" Raphtalia was screeching behind me, betrayal evident in her tone. Regardless, I wanted to verify things.

At this- the girl actually paused what she was doing, thought about it, and said, "No...'

"So you were lying," I said. I heard Raphtalia huff behind me but I ignored her again. "Why'd you do that? And where is your real mother?"

This time the girl took another bite before answering. "Filo doesn't have a Mommy. Or a Daddy."

What? Was she some abandoned orphan girl- no way, her clothes were far too expensive for that to be true. She definitely came from a wealthy family.

"S-so why'd you tell lies then?" Raphtalia asked, still flustered.

"Because," Filo said. "Filo heard that Mommy is someone who makes delicious food for her kids." She took another bite. "And this is the best that Filo's ever had!"

"Well, first of all, don't lie like that," I told her. "And secondly, I was the one who made that pasta."

She blinked at me. "Then will you be Filo's Daddy?"

She said it in a very innocent tone- though I knew that if at that moment someone saw me they would definitely think I was quite a suspicious character. "No. Ugh, let's just call the police." She had very distinctive features and clothes, so it was almost certain that it would be easy to find whoever it was that she lived with.

I went to go get the phone, but at that moment, Filo stopped eating and then leaped at me- dragging my hand away from the phone.

"Sit down!" I said.

"Filo doesn't want to go! Filo doesn't want to go!", the girl kept saying over and over.

Eventually, I had to get Raphtalia to pry her off of me so that I could actually make the phone call. She then pouted at me afterwards but there was little that she could do and she eventually sat down, looking none too happy but also not misbehaving.

Or at least, that's what she did initially. The moment it looked like she was going to sit quiet, Raphtalia unfortunately let down her guard, which gave Filo the opportunity to break free and dash for the door.

"Then Filo's leaving!" she screamed. I nearly face-palmed; how on earth was I going to stop her? Technically Raphtalia and I weren't even her guardians, so if she got outside, we might even be charged with kidnapping if we ran after and restrained her.

"Hey! Wait!" Raphtalia exclaimed.

"No! Filo is running away!"

I decided to pull out the only card I had left to play- hoping that it would work.

"If you agree to stay, I'll cook something nice for you," I said.

"Promise?" she asked, hands seconds away from the doorknob. It was almost comical the way she asked it- hey, if someone else was watching this scenario unfold they probably would've found it to be hilarious as well. But I can tell you that from my point of view, it definitely wasn't hilarious.

As a matter of fact, when I saw this, I swear I saw Raphtalia's ears perk up. Was my cooking honestly that good?

"Promise," I said. Fio hesitantly sat down. Well, I was relieved- I definitely did not want her wandering around the streets.

I picked up the phone, called the police, and gave them a description of the girl, pretty sure that we would find her family soon enough.

"Food?" Filo asked the moment I put the phone down.

"Yeah, sure,' I said. I had to check what ingredients I had left- I could possibly throw something passable together, but she was likely expecting a big treat.

What did kid's like? Well, their palates were a bit different from that of adults, that I knew. They preferred extremes of flavors- particularly things that were extra salty or sweet. My mind then went to something when it hit me- macaroni with pizza sauce! It was something my younger brother had loved eating when he was younger- though he hadn't like it since he was eleven. Would someone like Filo like it?

Well, I had the good fortune of actually having the ingredients with me so I set to work on it. I was about halfway done when the phone rang. Thankfully, Filo had been quite obedient until then.

"Yes- hello, is the Mr. Naofumi Iwatani?" a voice asked on the other line.

"Yes, that's me," I said. "How can I help you?"

"I believe you put in a call regarding a missing child- well, the child's guardian actually reached out to us and we believe that you might have found the child that she reported missing."

I could easily believe that- with Filo's distinct features the possibility that she had been mixed up with another girl was virtually nonexistent.

"Let me connect you with her right now."

After a pause, a female voice spoke. "Hello? Is this Mr. Naofumi Iwatani?"

"Yes," I said. The voice was surprisingly high-pitched, if I had been told that the voice belonged to a middle-schooler I'd have believed it.

"My name is Fitoria- I am Filo's guardian," she said. "Could you describe her for me please?" I did. "Ah, so it really is her. I apologize so much- Filo has been... unhappy lately and had said that she would run away multiple times. I just... never expected her to actually do it or get very far."

Honestly, she sounded like a terrible parent, though I didn't say that out loud. "But first, could I please speak with her?"

I handed the phone to Filo- I didn't know what they were talking about, but after about five minutes Filo handed the phone back to me.

"Alright, so when can you be by to pick her up?" I asked, getting to the meat of the matter.

"Unfortunately, that is where there is a problem," she said. A cold pit began to form in my stomach- this sounded like it was not going to turn out well for me. "Regrettably, I am in another city. I had left Filo with a babysitter- who will no doubt be fired, but I cannot come to pick her up any earlier than the day after tomorrow. She did tell me that she was enjoying her time with you though, so I do have a solution."

The pit in my stomach now felt like an all-consuming black hole. "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but can Filo stay with you for a while longer?"

I wanted to decline. I wanted to say that there were a bunch of other options- hiring another babysitter, leaving her in police custody, or perhaps abandoning her at a street corner. However, before I could voice any of that or even begin to decline, she said, "Why, thank you very much Mr. Naofumi! The police already gave me your address so I'll be by to pick her up first thing Monday morning. Take care of my little Filo-chan until then!"

She then hung up on me.

A/N: Let me reiterate here that I am well aware that what I'm describing is kind of pushing the boundaries of what would be believable in a real-life Japan- but like I've mentioned earlier it's hard to conceive of the story I want to write in any other way. If anything- let's just say that 'the spirit of the Shield' is helping Naofumi in a way.

Also, Season 4 of Shield Hero has been confirmed! Let's go!