"Are you sure you're not, NOT a prince?"

"No."

"Are you an exiled prince then?"

The albino's eyes twitched, snapping between the girl and his lunch box. The little girl held her gaze, head tilted to the side whilst chewing on her rice.

He chose to keep quiet.

"Oh, oh, I get it now! You're trying to keep your identity hidden!"

He let out a deep sigh, loud enough to make it seem as though he'd held it for the past century.

The people present within the class stare in amusement at the one-sided banter between the two. They were even more bewildered at the fact that the older boy was very clearly annoyed, something which appears to be out of character for the usually calm boy.

They didn't know where the girl came from, they didn't even know what she was doing here. She appears out of nowhere and just starts talking to him. At first, they assumed she was a little sister of his, but the lack of similarities between the two sent the assumption out of the window. Which then was later further strengthened by later claims.

Then they assumed she was an acquaintance, maybe a friend. But that was also thrown out of the window when he claims to not even know her name. She then proceeds to loudly announce it, much to the dismay of their eardrums before asking for his.

The mystery revolving around the two's relationship remains unsolved.

"For the last time, I am not a prince."

She looked around the class. Her nose wrinkled before leaning towards Hirano. "Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me." She whispers loudly, which kinda beats the point because everyone is practically listening.

"What secrets…?" He replies.

"I have secrets too! Nobody knows that I lost a tooth to a donut."

"Are you secretly normal?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Kuroko, whose name he'd learned at some point yesterday, scrunched her face, letting out an exhale as she closed her eyes. She's back into her thinking mode.

He stared with a narrowed eye. He basks in the silence, but knowing that this was the time when she would think of the most ridiculous of assumptions made him feel wary. Kuroko scoffs at common sense! She spits at their restrictions.

"Is she always gonna be like this?" The shapely boy asked from the side.

"God no." He blurts, sandwiching his head between his arms. He dragged them across his scalp down towards his face, covering it. He let out the pent up frustration in another sigh. "I don't even know."

"How did you two even meet?" The talkative girl asks, leaning her head against her palm right at the head of the join desks.

He shrugged. "She came out of nowhere asking if I was a prince."

She then raised a finger towards the younger girl, clearing her throat with a smirk donning her face. "The Shinto Gods are usually described with white hairs, symbolizing purity or wisdom." He scoffed. She heed this no mind and continued. "Since the royal families are said to be the direct bloodline of the Gods, and with how few the population with a white hair is, kids her age would more often than not mistake you as one as well. Right, Kuroko-chan?"

Said girl was staring, listening to the whole explanation the entire time. Her reddish brown eyes widen, sparkling as exploding stars seemingly brighten them. Oh no.

"YOUR ANCESTOR IS A GOD?!" Hirano groaned hard just as she slammed her hand atop the desk.

The diminishing attention immediately spiked back up towards them. Even outside on the corridor, people gathered to peer in just to see what the whole commotion was about.

His chair shrieks as he stands up, fast enough for it to be pushed back. He didn't take his lunch box, he didn't even close it. He just walked towards the forming crowd by the door. The others stared as the sea of people moved away.

"He's had enough, it seems." The short girl comments. "You should go back to your class, Kuroko-san."

Nobody knows where he went. He disappeared throughout the lunch hour after his initial burst earlier. He was nowhere to be found until just minutes before class started.

He didn't say anything about where exactly he went. He wishes not to. But he seemed a bit more refreshed, so whatever it is, it might be a good idea not to pester him.

The last 2 classes passed by in a breeze. They felt quite short, as most of the time was spent reading and listening to lectures. Homework was given, but with what little time he had left, he worked on whatever he could to lessen his efforts for tonight.

Down just by the front entrance, crowded with students making their way out to go home, he was approached by that familiar face.

He'd learned his lessons by then, and instead of reacting, he simply ignored her whims. Shirai Kuroko was not one to give up so easily. As even this did not deter her.

He didn't say anything, he didn't bat an eye. He just stood by the front gate alongside her. Her mouth yaps on with what has been happening in her class and what she was learning. The girl seemingly never runs out of topics to speak of.

A minute or two later, a black car with silver rims stops by their front. A man, with greying hair walks out, equipped with standard driver outfits, comes out and opens the back door.

"That's my ride." She said, pointing to the luxurious car. "Wanna come? The driver could take you to your place." She added. There was a hint of expectations in her tone. He didn't even blink.

A second later, it was her turn to sigh. "Sorry. I'm bad." She quietly whispers. His eyes twitched when she walked towards the car, staring with a sad expression as the car sped away.

The silence did not feel as good as he had hoped. He exhaled as the tension across his body relieved. Yet he feels no satisfaction. He rubbed the back of his head. 'What am I doing.'


The sound of the lock clicking as the door flips opens. It closes with a slight thud as shuffling from the hallway across gets louder. "I'm home!" Yomikawa Aiho announces.

He leans his back by the leg of the couch. His arms rested on top of the coffee table with the same height as his shoulder. He writes in a book, explaining why the Axis Power lost WW2 and who was in Paris, all in his own words.

The older woman walks into the living room, her body slouching. She was yawning. "God, my back." He looks up towards her as she closed in."Whatcha doing there?" She greets, landing on the couch before laying on it.

"Homework. They're world history if you're wondering."

"Cool, cool." She stayed quiet for a bit more. She could hear his pencil scribbling on the paper beneath it. She could see his eyes snapping between her and the book. "What's it about?" She added.

"Hn. Just some angry man with a funny looking moustache."

"No, not the homework." She groaned as she got into a sitting position, before slipping down the table, just right beside the younger boy. "The thing that's in your mind right now. You wanted to ask something, didn't you?"

He looked away. Was he always this easy to read? A second after contemplating, he relents. "There's this girl at school." He starts.

Without missing a beat, Yomikawa's fatigue vanishes into thin air. Something pulled him as he was squeezed between her and her shoulder. There was a massive grin on her face. Her eyes were staring right into his. He felt uneasy just by looking at it.

"Go on…" She wasn't asking him. She was demanding him. He gulped.

"She thinks that I'm a prince." He noticed her vacant arm pumping for a split second. Her breathing got a bit heavy.

"Now we're talking." She sounded weirdly happy about this. "So who was it? What does she look like? When did you meet? How did it happen and where do you want it?"

"Uhm, what?"

"The girl. You're dating her right? How cute! It's not even a week in and you already got yourself a girlfriend." She smiled wide just as he frowned in confusion. "Ah, the innocence of teenage romance."

"She's in 1st grade."

"It's still cut- wait what?" She wondered if her ears were lying to her. It's not. It took a second more before it all registered in. "Oh come on, just when it gets good." She mused as her cheery expression shifted into a disappointed one.

"What were you thinking?"

"Something that could have been... something. Continue with the story."

He suddenly felt that telling her this situation was a bad idea. He shook his head lightly, pushing the thought aside.

He started telling her the important points, skipping the minor details that wouldn't be of any use for reaching any sort of conclusion. She listened through it for the next minute. She appears to be thinking.

"So you want her to leave you alone?" He nodded. "Well, she wants you to grant her wishes, then give her what she wants, easy as that." She got up back to the couch.

"What're you talking about? I can't do that!"

"How do you know? Have you heard what she wants?" He opened his mouth to retort, but she beat him to it. "Don't worry. If she wants something crazy like a unicorn, you just have to make her forget about the unicorn." She sat and lay back down, nodding to herself. "If she wants more, then say that it was just a one-time thing." She shrugged.

Somehow, someway, that last line sounded as scandalous as it is innocent in his ears. This woman just really, REALLY likes to speak in codes.

His mouth opened but he couldn't think of anything else to say. Eventually, he clicked his tongue in distaste. What she said does have a sense of logical and complete quality to it. But the fact that he has to play along with such an act still stood.

He bit his tongue. He ran his hand across his face. "I can't believe I'm gonna do this."

He felt her hand suddenly settling atop his head. "Calm down. It's better to do it now and deal with it than avoid it and suffer for the rest of your life."

Her fingers massaged his scalp gently. His mind felt foggy at her ministrations. He leaned to it and yawned, feeling drowsy.

The guardian and the ward found themselves sleeping in the living room.


He watched as the 5 usual people pulled their desk over to his, joining it and creating a bigger one. They laid their box and snacks right at the centre to share.

"Hey," Hirano starts, the short girl by his right side turns. Everyone else took a seat. "Have you seen that brat? Kuroko or whatever. I've been meaning to ask her something."

She shook her head. "I haven't, sorry."

He turned towards the other 3 boys. They all shook their heads, replying with the same words as the short girl. He turned towards the talkative girl who was across from him.

She deliberately stared right at the board behind him, whistling suspiciously. It was clear that she had a plot right in mind. "Have you seen her?"

"Yep, I did." she cheerfully answers. "She came by this morning, asking for you as well~." she appears smug, her head laying atop of her palm.

"Ok. What did she want?"

"Secret!"

He fished something out of his pocket. "Three hundred yen for you to spill it out?" He offers, placing the three silver currencies on the desk.

"Nope. Too cheap."

"But that's all I have."

"Then you're poor."

His eyes twitched hard from the taunt. He's not poor, he just doesn't have any money! "Damn capitalists." He cursed under his breath, searching through his other pocket.

He found two more.

"I'm only capitalizing my advantages and using it in a way that benefits me. Sorry not sorry. Knowledge is power, after all."

He stared in dismay as the 5 coins fell into her breast pocket. He could hear them clinking as they crashed atop of another. He hoped for the month to pass by quickly so that his allowance would be given out. He can't wait for them.

"So, what did she want?"

She placed a finger on her chin. "Let's see…" She stretched it by taking a long pause. "Ah, right. She's planning something." She finally answers, snapping her finger.

...

"That's it?"

"Yep."

His eyes turned into a glare. The mischievous grin on her face was slowly wiped off until it turned into a frown. "H-hey, don't blame me! She wanted it to be a surprise!"

He kept it on until he released yet another sigh. That seems to be a common theme these past few days.

The talkative girl unwrapped her box with a sour expression. "Didn't know you can be that scary." She told him. He winced. "Why do you wanna know anyway? Didn't you want her to leave you alone yesterday?" She added.

He softened a bit. A surprise for the 5. "I might have overdid it yesterday." He sounded a bit guilty about it. Another testament to that was him keeping his gaze low. "I wanted to apologize."

The grin that he finds so damn annoying immediately returns. There was a hint of something in them that reminded him of Aiho's expression from last night. It scares him for some reason.

"How sweet~, she said the same thing."

The response elicited a wide eye from the boy. He stopped in his movements and stared at the talkative girl in surprise. He felt very confused. Why would she apologize? He's the one to blame for it.

He blinked several times, he averted his gaze. "Oh," was all he could say. Suddenly he doesn't feel so hungry anymore.


Lunch went on uneventfully. They spent the first half hour just chatting. The 5 of them got bored of the silence when they ran out of topics to talk of. The shapely boy suggested taking a walk around.

All agreed with the exception of him. They were reluctant, but didn't try to reason with him, eventually just shrugging it off and walking out. He didn't really mind being alone, he was used to it. He was mostly the observer within the group anyways.

He pulled out his book and began reading, waiting. The book was picked by him personally when he and Aiho were getting some school supplies a few days back. Its covers alone caught his interest with just a single glance.

It has a black and white picture of an old man, hair messed and shit with his tongue sticking out. On his fingers he held a chalk, writing on a board 22=5. The title was written in red cursive. 'How Math Fools You.'

Bullshit, he thought.

The book itself was filled with some ridiculous theories and such, but he had found that he enjoyed reading it. Reading it made him realize that not all humans have the capacity for logic.

There was no reason for him to read such rubbish other than trying to pass some time. Other than that, he also was curious how such nonsense could be supported by evidence.

He yawned and continued to read for 10 more minutes. There was nothing interesting in the book so far. The white haired boy mumbled the same thing and put the book down.

He stretched. Although his head was facing the book, his eyes were glued to the window. He exhaled a breath and let out a very soft hum. "She's not coming." He mumbled under his breath.


The bell rang, signalling the end of school. Everyone got up from their seats and bid the teacher goodbye. Most got out in a bundle, eager to hang out with their friends or whatever.

His group isn't that much socially adept with the exception of the talkative girl. The girl has always been easygoing, making her the most popular person in the class, perhaps the school. The group was busy after school, even for the blond. She always seemed apologetic whenever someone offered to take them somewhere.

So it isn't that much trouble for Hirano to leave on his own. He easily blends in with the throngs of kids rushing to get out of the school. Putting his indoor shoes back into the locker, he went to the exit.

The sun was rather dim, clouds looming over the city. The air around feels quite humid. It might rain again tonight.

He pulled the strap of his bag down and walked. He grimaced a little. Ever since he'd started walking home, his legs are now in a constant state of cramps. His guardian is certainly to blame for that.

A few yards away from the gate, he felt something pull on his bag. He looked back and saw the girl, looking sheepish, unlike her usual cheerful self.

He sighed a little before turning to face her. "Hey." She greets, putting on a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

"Hey." He replies back.

"I…" She trails off, tapping her foot in nervousness. His eyes narrowed. He remembered what the talkative girl told him. Without a hitch, he beats her into it.

"I'm sorry." She stiffens, her hands clutching the strap of her bag tightly. "I was really rude." He states.

"But it's my fault." She snaps back, her voice an octave higher. "I don't mean to be nosy. Mama always told me that manners are very important." She lowers her gaze to the floor.

Hirano nodded a little. "Then that makes the both of us." He shrugged.

The girl looked up to him, staring at him intently. "I'll try to be better." She promises. Her smile, although forced, doesn't leave her face.

She then perked a little. "Oh, and here." She pulled her bag off and pulled something out of it. "I brought you a present."

It was a black can.

He hummed in surprise. "How did yo-" he cut himself off as a certain capitalist's head rears its face into his mind. "Nevermind."

She tilted her head for a second there. "Frenda told me that you liked black coffee. I don't know where to find one so it took me a while to get it."

He took the single can and let it longer on his hand, allowing the cold to seep into his skin. "Thanks." He mumbles.

"You're welcome!" She seemed to be back to her normal happy-go-lucky attitude, if the tone of her voice was of any indicator.

He eyed her for a while. She did the same. He couldn't help but feel bad for having made her sad. The innocence in her eyes is something that should be preserved.

It reminded him of a few people back then. They were the souls of the orphanage he was kept in, just before he was transferred into the special class. He couldn't remember their name, nor can he recall their faces. All he knew was that their perspective of the world isn't tainted.

And her eyes. He was sort of reminded of it. Not entirely, at least.

He rubbed the back of his head, averting his gaze. He's not doing this for her or Aiho, but simply for himself. Yes, that.

"So what do you want?"

Kuroko tilts her head. "Your wish." He added. It was her turn to be surprised.

"N-no, you don't have to."

"This is a one-time only deal, so after this, there will be no more. So just tell me what you want before I change my mind." He scolds, planting his hands into his pocket.

"Was it a unicorn? Or a castle." He sweats a little when he spoke of those, even more so when her eyes shines bright. He does not have the capabilities of fulfilling that. This is a really dangerous territory he's treading on.

"No."

"Then what?"

"I don't want my parents to leave again!" She yells with conviction, catching the attention of the remaining kids around.

"You see, Papa and Mama are always away. They've been around a lot this week since we moved in and I love having them around to play with me. But..." She then paused, the burning fire in her eyes melting into sorrow. "They'll be leaving again for work next sunday." She reveals with a slight trembling in her voice.

Hirano sighed. He doesn't think he can actually do that. He thought for a moment until his eyes caught a familiar sight. "I'll see what I can do." She nodded. "Let's walk you to your driver then." She turned around and saw it as well.

She skips over towards the vehicle with him trailing right behind. She walked right into the car. Before the door closed, she looked over. "I'll see you again tomorrow, okay? So don't forget to fulfil my wish, alright?!" The door was closed by the driver right after.

The older man eyed him briefly before moving for the driver's seat. Just as his fingers made contact with the door handle, he called the man out.

"Something I can help you with, young man?"

"Yes. I have a message for Mr. And Ms. Shirai or whatever her family name is." Hirano's bold reply caught the driver off guard.

He told the old man everything he needed to know, summarizing it into a short story. The driver nods in understanding before slamming the door shut, whipping away to a destination unknown.

He let out a sigh once again. He hoped that to be the last for the day. He opened the can she gave him and drank it slowly enough to last halfway through the trip home.

Unfortunately it's lukewarm. Making the coffee almost unbearable under the shining hot sun.


"Think about it. He's taken care of her ever since she's 5. He's more of a grandfather than we'll ever be as a parent for her." The mother reasons.

"Don't forget, we still have to provide for her." The father argues back, though his voice wasn't raised.

"How much is enough money, exactly?" The father stiffens. The mother has struck a weak point. "Would you rather be richer than you've ever yet treated as a stranger by your own daughter?"

He stays quiet. He didn't know what to say. "Just… let us be with her until she's old enough to take care of herself. By then, she'll understand what our obligation is." Her hands wrapped themselves around her husband's. The man sighed.

"I guess what we have is enough for several years." He softly replies.

The rest of the night was spent doing the sucky-sucky boom boom. There was a very low chance of Kuroko having a younger sibling after that.


Hirano let out a deep yawn as he passed by the school gate. The chilly air barely touched his skin, reflected away just as they made contact with its surface.

He winced when he held the cold iron that is his locker. He pulled his shoes out. He puts them on when suddenly a voice calls him from the outside.

"It worked!" Shirai Kuroko exclaims with such joy, rushing over, hugging him from the side. "It worked!"

"What worked?" He felt rigid when she held his arm harder.

"My wish has been granted!" She pulled her face away, grinning with delight. "You really are a prince, senpai! You're the best!"

He feels weird with the hug. He didn't know how to respond towards the girl, trembling with such delight, that he merely chose to stand still.

It was a good thing the place was still pretty empty.


This one's decent, I hope. Anyways, new chapter next week!