Hideki chose to forego his usual 5am run in favor of a little more sleep.  His body felt heavy and sluggish on the walk to school.

‘I hate waking up so late,’ he thought as he trudged his way to class, ‘At leastit’s only a half-day.  I don’t understand how normal people can do this every day.  Suu-chan doesn’t get up this early, how can she be so chipper?  I suppose I understand why Aunt Shino drinks coffee...’

When he entered the class, he could see that Suu was not chipper today.  She was already seated at her desk, leaving two empty seats behind her; Hideki’s desk, and Kazuo’s desk.

On a normal weekday, the students would be breaking for lunch after the first four periods, but on a Saturday, Nara-sensei returned to make class announcements before the weekend break, and to dismiss everyone for the day.

Once most of the students had finished their cleaning duties and left for the day, Fumi, Hideki, and Suu approached their teacher.  Fumi spoke up first, and asked, “Nara-sensei, can we speak with you?”

“It’s about Kazuo-kun,” added Suu.

Nara-sensei looked at the three students, surprised to see them approach her like this, but she nodded and sat her paperwork down for the moment; “Of course. What can I do for you? Were you able to deliver his schoolwork packet yesterday?”

“I’m afraid not,” Fumi said, shaking her head, “We knocked on his door but no one answered.  I was wondering if you could get me the contact information for his parents.”

Nara-sensei paused a moment, looking slightly uncomfortable.  She shook her head and said, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t believe I can do that.”

Hideki looked at the girls for a moment, his brow furrowed, before he leaned in a bit closer and said, “Nara-sensei, we really need to know this.  His parents never answered and we think that Kazuo-kun might be in some kind of danger…”

Nara-sensei was quiet.  They noticed her eyes follow another group of students across the room, watching them until they walked out.  Once they were the only ones left in the room, she stood and went to the door, sliding it shut, before turning to face them.

“What’s wrong?” Suu asked quietly,

“I shouldn’t be sharing this information,” said Nara-sensei, “but Kazuo-kun doesn’t live with his parents.  He’s an emancipated minor.”

“What?” Suu asked, “What does that mean?”

“He has legal permission from the government to live by himself and manage his own finances,” said Fumi, “It’s a rare thing for a sixteen-year-old to be granted that sort of permission.”

“Why is he allowed to live on his own?” Hideki asked.

“I don’t know,” said Nara-sensei, “I know that he previously lived with his grandparents, but they no longer reside in Midorioka.  I’m sorry that I can’t give you any more information than that…”

“Even that much is helpful,” said Fumi, bowing her head.

Nara-sensei sighed and said, “I’ve known Kazuo-kun was a troubled child.  I’ve more than once had him arrive late to classes, often with bruises.  When I tried to ask him if he was being bullied, he treated me as though I were his enemy.  I am grateful to see he has classmates that show a genuine concern for him, but I feel terrible that it’s come to this.”

As they were leaving the school, Nara-sensei’s heartfelt words hung heavily on Hideki’s mind.  His eyes watched the lines in the sidewalk, as he said quietly, “It’s so easy for someone to fall through the cracks, isn’t it?  Everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives… If I didn’t have the two of you, or Aunt Shion, I could just as easily vanish without anyone noticing or caring.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Suu said, worriedly, “I’m sure someone else would miss you, even if you don’t realize it.  You’ve mentioned your dad before, right?”

Fumi shook her head and said quietly, “Suu-chan, I know that you’re trying to be comforting, but… You need to realize that not everyone has the sort of relationship with their family that you do.  Not everyone can count on their parents to be there for them.”

Suu looked at Fumi, quiet.  Her heart ached, and her eyes misted a bit, before she looked down and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” said Hideki, gently putting an arm around Suu’s side.  However, he looked past Suu to Fumi, watching her stoic profile as they walked.  He hadn’t ever thought about it before, or had reason to, considering Fumi always seemed so put-together, in-control, and pristinely dressed, even if overly-made-up… But he realized that he’d never heard Fumi talk about her own parents or home life before.

As they neared the corner where they parted ways, Fumi told them that she planned to stop by the library on the way home to take a look into any public directories or newspaper records she could.

“What should we do?” Suu asked, worriedly.

“Get extra sleep, I would say,” Fumi replied, “I don’t imagine that any of us slept very well last night.”

“That’s for sure,” muttered Hideki, “Any morning that I miss my jog, I feel like zombie until lunch time.”

“You jog every morning?” Suu asked, surprised.

“Yep,” said Hideki, “My alarm goes off at 5am every day so I have time to jog and shower before I cook breakfast for myself and my aunt.”

Suu smiled softly at him and said, “I’m never up that early, but I like waking up early enough to cook.  I fix breakfast for my parents and pack our bento, though I also like to prep things the night before so I get a little extra sleep.”

“Industrious,” said Fumi, “I barely leave enough time to get ready and eat a piece of toast before getting to my bus stop.”

“That’s not good for you!” said Suu, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”

“That’s right,” said Hideki, “It gives you all of the energy you need.”

Though their messages were technically correct, Fumi still took them with a grain of salt, as she was being encouraged to eat more heavily by a rather ‘Rubanesque’ girl, and a boy who look like he probably ate whole turkeys to maintain his muscle mass.

That evening, Hideki snuck out again, and once more, he walked to the FamilyMart up the road, where Suu and Fumi were waiting.  He could tell as he neared them that the air was tense.

“What’s wrong?” Hideki asked, eyes narrow.

“Fumi-chan wanted to wait until you got here to say,” said Suu, looking worried.

Fumi nodded, and pulled her cellphone from her pocket.  She loaded a photo, before offering it to them.  On the screen was a photo of a computer monitor, with an old newspaper article displayed onscreen.

Hideki pinched to zoom in, squinting, and asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s a newspaper article reporting the initial arrest of Takahashi Mamoru and his wife Kanako,” said Fumi, “The names of their children were not released, due to laws on publishing the names of minors involved in legal cases, but it’s not hard to figure out.”

“So that’s why Kazuo-kun’s parents aren’t in the picture,” Hideki muttered, “What were they charged with?”

Fumi closed her eyes and said, “The criminal neglect of both of their children, abuse, and the death of their daughter.”

Suu cupped her hand over her mouth to silence a sharp gasp.  Hideki paled, and slowly offered the cellphone back to Fumi, who remained quiet.

“H-How could someone do that?” Suu whispered, her eyes misted, “Their own child…”

Fumi sighed softly and said, “I told you before that not everyone can count on their parents to be there for them… It’s easy to think of your parents as simply your parents, but they’re people as well, with their own lives and agendas, and sometimes people are awful.”

“It’s nice to think that parents put their kids first,” said Hideki, “But they don’t always.”

Suu wiped at her eyes, shaking her head.  She lifted her head after a moment and said with a weak smile, “I’m sorry, I must seem so oblivious…”

Fumi’s lips faintly curled into a small smile, and she said, “It’s nothing for you to apologize for.  I’m happy for you, to have that sort of family life.”

Hideki looked at the two girls a moment, as he thought of all of their differences; not just their appearances, but how starkly their lives contrasted one another.  He thought to himself, ‘It would be weird for two girls like themto become friends, with so little in common between them, but here they are... not only trying to comfort one another, but intent on helping someone else they have almost no connection to.’

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he realized the last place he’d heard that word, when Vincenza said with a sigh of resignation, “I suppose you’rejust not ready to start making connections yet.” Hideki smirked a bit, wondering what she’d have to say about their current situation, before he glanced up at the clock over the payphones.

“Hey, it’s almost time,” he said.

Suu sniffled and dried her eyes, before taking her place in front of a payphone.  The three of them watched the clock tick down, and once again, at midnight, they lifted the receivers and simultaneously dialed zero.

Feeling as though they were being dropped into their bodies, Suu wobbled, and gently thudded against Hideki’s side.

“You okay?” he asked, helping to steady her.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that,” she whined, rubbing her forehead awkwardly, before realizing that her headphones had appeared on her head again.  She ran he hand back over the band across the top of her head, and over the cups that covered her ears, before asking, “It’s like it’s made of flowers, huh?”

“Suits you,” said Hideki with a smirk, as he started walking.