[It's just gonna be wholesome town where everyone knows each-other and they're friends and everything is okay!!! What death game?!?!]

Gin used to be your neighbor. The two of you would talk for a bit when he'd returned home from school and you from work. It didn't take long for you to see that he didn't want to get in his house, most specifically he didn't want to see his father. You didn't see his father often, but the rare instances you did saw him made your eyes narrow. Well, it mostly made you wanna pinch your nose, you'd feel yourself getting tipsy just by the intense smell of alcohol.

You really wanted to help the poor boy, but though it was clear his father was a terrible person, you didn't have any solid evidence that the guy committed anything. Until one night, when you were scared awake by Gin's horrified screams. Apparently his father bust down his bedroom door (which it turned out Gin would lock every night without him knowing) and started chasing him to do God knows what to him. You called the police, and he was arrested. During the investigation, Gin stayed at your place and you did your best to make him comfortable. You were held as a witness and after a quick trial, the prick went to jail.

Gin asked if he could stay with you and of course you accepted, because you had a big soft spot for the boy. You also took advantage of your and your partner's promotion and relocation (great timing and oh so in sync) to move on the other side of the city, having his old house right next door would just be painful for him.

But weirdly enough, even though Gin was the one who asked to stay with you, he started off by being prety hostile. Always being reluctant to listen to you and growling every time you'd call out to him. You thought maybe he's lost trust in adults in general so you did your best to stay kind to him no matter what. But you had your limits too.

"Gin, you can't go to school with your gloves on." you said, trying to stay calm.
"No!" he shook his head, pressing his gloved hands on his chest.
It was his first day at his new school. He came downstairs without his cat cape but was refusing to take off his big gloves (the face mask was acceptable).
"How are you going to write with them?"
"I'll write!"
"Take them off, it's inappropriate." you knelt down in front of him.
"No!" he kept shaking his head.
"Gin!" you grabbed one of the glove.
"NO!"

He pushed you away but because you still had a grip on the glove, it came off. Your eyes widen when you saw the various scars all over his tiny hand. Gin turned around, whimpering. Your eyebrows furrowed as your heart filled with a sad empathy. A long moment of silence passed. You put the glove aside.
"Oh wow~! Gin you didn't tell me you were a warrior!"
"Huh?" he turned around, his eyes teary.

You were smiling cheerfully and pointed at his hand.
"You must've had a lot of battles! So many scars~!"
You offered him your hand, and he hesitantly put his in yours. You gently traced his palm.
"You're a survivor Gin, these are proof." your smile softened. "There's no need to hide it. Take pride in it instead." you held your other hand to your mouth and leaned closer, whispering as if to tell him a secret. "You can even tell the others you fought a dragon and won." you winked.
His eyes lit up. After that, he became the precious happy beam of sunshine he is now. He even started calling you Big Sis (Y/n).

Today, Gin was worried about you. Usually, in the morning you'd be in the kitchen preparing his breakfast and greeting him with a smile as he yawned on his way downstairs. Today you weren't in the kitchen. Instead, his dad left a note saying there were last night's leftovers in the fridge.

Well, new dad actually. Though he'd only call him that during emotional scenes. People thought it was a bit weird how he'd call him 'dad' but would always call you 'Big Sis'.

So he ate his unusual breakfast and dressed up for the day. Before leaving, he slowly opened the door to your bedroom. It was dark and quiet, you were laying in bed, your blanket covering you like you were being swallowed by it.
"Big Sis (Y/n)?" he called out. "I'm going to play with my friends at the playground."
"Huh?" you turned around at sat up with a grunt. "Oh, have a nice day. Be back before sunset."
"Aren't you going to work?"
"No...No I called in sick."
"Oh! Take a warm bath! It'll burn the sickness away!"
You chuckled, but you sounded really tired.
"I'll try that, thanks."
"Okay bye~!" he waved before leaving.

But Gin wasn't stupid! He knew you weren't actually sick.
'Big Sis (Y/n) never gets sick!' he thought on the way to the playground.
He started to think really hard with his big boy brain: What could have possibly made you so tired? He remembered that, whenever he'd get sad, he'd get tired too. But then he remembered that he'd get tired whenever he'd have any excess of any emotion, so maybe that's not it. He shook his head. The cause wasn't important!
'Big Sis (Y/n) isn't well!' he thought with a determined look. 'I have to cheer her up!'
And the solution came almost immediately: a present! Presents always made him feel better!

But as he sat on the swing, looking up at the sunny sky, not really paying attention to anyone, he didn't came up with any good ideas for a present.
And then, he noticed his classmate and friend Fukashi Tamaki was showing off his new video game to the other kids. The famous limited edition Animal Crossing switch. Gin gasped and joined them into admiring it. But then it gave him an idea: this could do the trick! Everybody loves video games!

"Fukashi-kun, can I have it?"
"Nope, it's mine."
"Come on! It's for Big Sis (Y/n)! I'll just borrow it!"
"You're just lying so you could have it for yourself!"
"Nu-hu! She's sad!"
"Just ask your fake-dad to buy it for you!"
"He's not fake!"
"Yeah-eah! My mom told me your parents weren't even your real parents!"
"Shut up!"
Gin pushed him, Tamaki stumbled and dropped his switch, breaking it into pieces. He gasped in rage then jumped on him and the two boys started to fight.

"I bet you stole your real parent's video games!"
"I bet you're a moron!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
A crowd formed around them, cheering them on, but Keiji, who happened to pass by on his patrol, quickly separated them, then called the boys' moms.

"I'm very sorry." you bowed in front of Tamaki's mother while Gin was holding on the edge of your skirt, looking down.
"I know it's hard to raise a kid, but you need to be sterner." she said with a clear hint of annoyance. "That console was around 50,000 yen."
"I'll pay for it." you said, feeling a punch in the stomach at the prize (around 500 dollars).
"Thank you."
"Now now." Keiji calmly said, not wanting any tension in front of the kids. "Gin, why did you push him in the first place?"
"He called me a liar!" Gin exclaimed, still pissed off by that. "And he said I had fake parents!"

The three adults looked at him, speechless. As your eyebrows furrowed and you looked away, Tamaki's mother gave her son a slap behind the head, then bowed to you.
"I deeply apologize for making assumptions."
"I-It's okay." you waved your hand.
She held Tamaki's head and made him bow too.
"...Sorry." he mumbled
"Louder." his mom glared at him.
"I'm sorry about what I said."
"Well I accept your apology." Gin nodded. "And I'm sorry I broke your switch."
"I also accept your apology."
Then Keiji made them shake hands, you gave a check to the mother before she and her son walked away. You let out a heavy sigh, saying goodbye to 50,000 yens.

"Aren't you working on Saturday?" Keiji asked you.
"I called in sick."
"Really? You don't look so sick."
You looked away, looking a bit uncomfortable by his comment. He smiled.
"Well you should go home as soon as possible then. Have you tried taking a hot bath? I heard it burns the sickness away." he glanced at Gin.
You puffed a smile.
"Sure. Have a nice day Mr. Friendly Policeman." you waved at him as you started walking away, holding Gin's hand.
"Ma'am, Sir." he tipped his cap at the two of you.

"I gave you the idea first!" Gin said, tugging on your hand. "The bath thing, it's my idea!"
"I see he's the real thief here." you smiled.

But on the way home, your smile quickly dropped. And you'd often sigh and rub your eyes, the sunlight hurting them. Your hair was messy and you didn't bother to hide the bags under your eyes either. You still walked normally but Gin could tell you were forcing yourself not to drag your feet.

"I'm sorry I made you go out." he looked down.
"It's okay." you said. "Honestly, it was reckless of the mom to let such a expensive thing out of the house."
The rest of the way home was quiet.
"Big Sis (Y/n)." Gin stopped once you've reached the house.
"Mmh?" you looked at him.
"I'd never steal your video games!"
"Uh-Good." you nodded. "I hope you wouldn't."
"Yeah! That's why I have to go!" he paused. "I'm on a mission!"

A moment of silence passed. He kept looking at you with a determined look. You rubbed your eye.
"Does it involve fighting?"
"No!"
"Alright then." you let go of his hand and knelt down in front of him. "Promise me you won't get into any more trouble, like a big boy."
"I promise! I'm a big boy!"
"Good." you patted his head and stood up. "Be back before sunset."
You waved at each-other and Gin quickly walked away.

He began wandering around the busy main street, full of various stores and shops he'd look at while scratching his head.
Then, the smell of warm pastries filled his nostrils and he instantly followed it, his mouth watering. He stopped in front of the charming family-run bakery with a pastel yellow facade. Gin pressed his nose on the window, lingering on each cute pastries. He gulped and started to search in his pocket. He let out a long sad sigh when he found no money in them.

"Gin?"
The boy turned around and let out an 'Oh!' when he saw Kai looking at him, still wearing his red apron.
"Hello~." Gin waved.
"Good morning. Do you want a pastry by any chance?"
"Yeah. But I don't have money." he looked down.
"Well, I'm here to get an order for Miss Sara's parents. I could buy an extra for you."
"Really?!"
"Of course."

Kai smiled as he reached in his pocket.
"Ah?" he said.
He put his other hand in his other pocket. Checked his back pockets, even his apron's. Then he stayed motionless for a moment as Gin tilted his head in confusion. Finally, Kai closed his eyes and straightened his back as he cleared his throat.
"Or..." he paused, then looked back at him. "You could help me carry the order back to Miss Sara's and I'll give it to you there."
"Okay!"
"Good thing it's already paid for." Kai whispered to himself as he walked into the little shop.

Kai was carefully carrying boxes full of tiny cakes of all sorts while Gin had a single big cake.
"What're they for?" he asked.
"They are having a family reunion tonight." Kai explained. "There will be quite the crowd, so it'll required a lot of food."
"I see."
There was a pause as they both stopped and looked both ways before crossing the street. Gin sometimes wondered if adults would do it just because he was there and they wanted to set a good example. It led him to want to walk with the people he cared about all the time, or else they'd run the risk to get in an accident. It also led him to think adults without kids were pretty reckless, with a few exceptions on both parts.

"How's Big Sis Sara?" Gin asked.
"She's doing okay. Right now she's having her friend Joe over to play this new video game."
"Animal crossing?!" he looked up at him, getting excited.
"Doom Eternal."
"Oh." he looked back ahead.
"Did you want to play it?"
"Big Sis (Y/n) already has that one."
Kai blinked twice.
"I don't quite follow."
"She's sad. If she got Animal Crossing, maybe she won't be anymore!"
"Why is she sad? That sounds a bit out of character."
"I don't know~!" he hung his head back, then looked back at him. "You're an adult, do you know why?"

"Well, without context I'm not sure but..." he paused, his gaze wandering to fix the distance. "There are things adults don't necessarily tell, especially to children. They have secrets. Everybody does..." he looked back at him. "And sometimes, they have secrets in order to protect others. Maybe that's what Miss (Y/n) is doing."
"Secrets...Protect..."
Gin thought for a second as the two of them stopped in front of the Chidouin household. His sudden gasp caught Kai by surprise.

"Big Sis (Y/n)'s a spy?!"
"What?"
"Maybe she failed a mission and that's why she's sad! Like Mr. Policeman!"
"That's not what I-."
"Oh Gin! Hey!"

The boy turned over to see Joe waving at him. He just stepped out the house while Sara was still on the doorway.
"Big Bro Joe! Big Sis Sara!"
Kai quietly sighed out of relief as Gin hurrying to the two teenagers. Kai walked passed them and made his way to the kitchen.

"What was that about being like Keiji?" Joe asked.
"Big Sis (Y/n)'s a spy!"
"But, Keiji isn't a spy." Sara said, slightly frowning.
"Or is he~?!" Joe looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Kai told me!"
"Did he really? Doesn't sound like something he'd say." she mumbled that last part.
"Weren't you guys playing Doom?"
"We were, but then we got a call from Ranmaru saying he was around. So now we're gonna hang out with him." Joe smiled. "Wanna come?"
"Sure!" Gin nodded, excited he gets to hang out with the big kids.

"Thank you for your help Gin." Kai came back and took the cake from him to then give him a chocolate bread. "Here, and have a good day."
"Thanks Long-haired apron guy!"
"Send my regards to your parents."
"Why did you tell him (Y/n) was a spy?" Sara quietly asked.
The young man just sighed.

"I see," Gin scratched his chin while holding Sara's hand as the three of them walked. "So Big Sis (Y/n) isn't a spy."
"Why did you have to crush the man's dream?" Joe quietly asked, a bit disappointed he won't get to enjoy this bit any further.
"His or yours?" she smiled.

"Joe?" Gin looked at him. "What do you do when you're sad?"
"When I'm sad? I cry I guess."
"No~! What do you do to *stop* being sad?"
"Oh~! I get'cha!" he thought for a moment. "Me personally, I watch tiktok compilations. But I don't think it's the same for everyone."
"...I was thinking of giving Big Sis (Y/n) a present."
"Really?" Sara tilted her head. "Like what?"

Gin looked down at the half-eaten chocolate bread in his hand.
"Maybe a pastry?"
"Oh that's a good idea!"
"Is it though?"
The both looked at Joe.
"I mean, it's a bit basic. Plus if (Y/n) wanted a pastry, she would've just buy one."
"That's true! She has money!"
"So, it needs to be something money can't buy?" Sara tried to think Joe's way.
"Or something really expensive. Like a diamond or something."
Gin loudly gasped and stopped walking. The two teenagers looked at him.
"Of course! Thanks Big Bro Joe!" he let go of Sara's hand and started walking backwards. "Bye! Bye Big Sis Sara!" he waved before turning around and running.
Though they were confused, they waved back.

"What idea did you put in his head?" Sara glanced at her best friend then kept walking. "If he starts looking for a diamond-"
"Oh please~" he followed her. "it's not like he'll get in trouble, he's like ten! What's the worst that could happen?"

Gin was sitting on Nao's stool. Politely waiting as she frantically walked around her little art studio, looking into every drawer, turning over every canvas, and clearly trying not to freak out, or at least not to show it. At some point she groaned and rapidly ruffled her hair. Then she froze when her eyes met Gin's. She smiled and cleared her throat, leaning over the wall to play it casual.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What was that?"
Gin puffed his cheeks.
"I want your sculpture tools so I can crack rocks!" he repeated, louder.
"Ah!" she exclaimed. "I was just looking for them!" she looked around. "I remember leaving them on my desk last night, but right now they're nowhere to be found!"
"I'll help you find them."
He hopped down the stool, she sighed.
"Thanks Gin." she started walking out. "Maybe a student took them, come on."

He followed her as they walked through the campus' garden and towards the building. Good thing this art school is open to the public on weekends, so that people could visit their gallery, otherwise Gin wouldn't get to see Nao.
He liked it here. There were always new pieces of art hanging from the ceiling or painted directly on the walls (inside or outside). He remembered Nao told him that the teachers were really in favor for their students' creative freedom, which was pretty cool.

The young woman stopped in the misdle of the hallway when she heard the sound of rocks being cracked. Her eyes narrowed as she turned towards a door where the sound came from.
"Hiroshi..." she said as she slammed the door open and stepped into another art studio. "Hiroshi you sneaky snake!"
"Why hello Nao-chan~!" an eccentric looking guy slowly turned towards her, standing like a total villain, the kind that are super rich and wear suits all the time with an air of superiority and a fake accent. "Whatever are you doing here~? Is it to admit your inferiority over my art skills~?"
'Sounds like a villain too!' Gin frowned, understanding why Nao doesn't like him.

"You stole my sculpture tools!"
"Oh Nao Nao Nao~chan~." Hiroshi slowly shook his head. "Those tools aren't even yours to begin with~! They belong to the school!"
"I bought them! With my own money!"
"And you left them in your studio, therefore they now belong to the school!" he leaned back, his large smirk never leaving his face. "Leaving them out in the open was, just, reckless. Ahahaha~!"
"Talk normally!" Gin shouted.

"Oh~ and who is this little boy~?"
Hiroshi leaned closer and Gin went back to hiding behind Nao.
"He's a friend, he wants to borrow my tools."
"Oh my Nao-chan! How generous!" he put a hand on his cheek. "I would ne~ver give my precious art supplies to a mere child!"
"This is just a waste of time-Give me back my tools!"
"Mmm-Don't have 'em." he turned back to his own sculpture in progress.
"You're holding them right now!"
"Has you eyesight decreased? My name is engraved on the handles. Brand new, masterful craftsmanship!" he showed his hammer and underlined his name with his finger. "Unlike you, I am careful."

"That's why nobody likes you Hiroshi!" she pointed at him. "You're always putting up walls and being obnoxious to everyone!"
"And thanks to it, I am better than everyone in every way." he opened his arms.
"Here you go again hiding behind witty comments! Screw you!"
"Yeah screw you!" Gin added.
"Let's go Gin-Wait a minute!" Nao rushed to a table on the side of the room. "There they are! You did have them this whole time!" she took them.
"Oh right~ I forgot!" he said, not looking away from his work. "They are just so~ insignificant!"

Her eyes widen a bit when she noticed his tools were of the same brand.
"Did you took them so you could see where I got them?!"
"Mmmmmaybe~!"
"Unbelievable." she shook her head and went back to Gin. "You could've just asked!"
"...Really?" Hiroshi said with a little voice, glancing at her.
"Yes. As art students, we stick together."
"...thank you."
"I don't wanna be your friend though!" she exclaimed before stumping out.
"I don't need friends!" he shouted.
"What a lonely guy." Gin said.
"Sometimes I see him outside of campus and he just makes me sad." Nao sighed.

Nao had a set up outside of her studio. With a few blocks of stone, with a big one in the center, taller that her. She pushed another one over to Gin, one that went to his waist. Then they got started. Because it was warm outside, with a clear blue sky, she wrapped a bandana around her head and gave an apron to Gin. The two of them stood in front of their respective stone blocks.

"Alright! Are you ready?!" she exclaimed with clear excitement.
"Yeah~!"
"Let's do this!"
Gin observed her to see how she was doing and tried his best to do this properly. And when he'd get one of the chisels in the stone, he wouldn't hesitate to ask her for help (that's why she wouldn't let him sculpt alone, he's like 10, he needs supervision for this stuff). Though he'd feel a bit bad, because she seemed just focused in her craft and he could tell she put her all into it.

At some point, she went in her studio to grab a ladder because she needed to carve the stone at the top.
"Why do you do so many things?" he asked as he walked around his block, looking for an angle to smash.
"What do you mean?" she asked back as she came back.
"When I first saw you, I thought you were just painting."

"Well painting is still my passion and it's still what I want to do for a living when I graduate." she set up her ladder and started climbing it slowly. "But like, I just thought it'd be a shame if I just stick to it. I mean, I got all those supplies, all those sets, all this space available to me. And when I came here, after a while I was like 'I really should use this', you know?"
"Uh-hu."
"I mean, use this to do different things." she paused in her work. "And it wasn't easy. Between when I had that thought, and when I acted on it, I think a couple of months passed."
"That long?!" he looked up at her. "Why?"
"Because I was scared." she went back to work.
"Scared of what?"
"Of not being good. I believe everyone is scared of that when they try new things."
"I'm not!"
She chuckled.

"Of course not, sorry." she paused. "Um, and yeah guess what? I was right, it wasn't good." she laughed, now stopping completely as she recalled her little story. "But then, a teacher came in and saw what I did-it was a 5 second clip stop motion- And I remember being *so* embarrassed about it." she leaned on the stone block. "But then, she gave me some pointers, did what she came in for, and walked out." she smiled. "And that lit a fire in me, and it kept me going." she went back to work.
"I get it."
"Yeah, it made me realize that it was okay to try new things and to fail at it. The very point of this school is to fail and learn from it! And even if I did make something bad and I was embarrassed about it, I got my studio to hide it, no one would ever know!"

"It is true."
"Wha-!!!" Nao stumbled and held on to the ladder until she steadied herself, she looked at who just talked. "P-professor! I almost fell!"
"I apologize." Mishima chuckled as he walked up to her and Gin. "But to my defense, you need to have another person to hold the ladder while you climb it. Basic security."
"Right, sorry."
"Hey Old Man!" Gin waved. "What'chu doing?"
"Hello there Gin." he waved back. "I've just finished one of my lectures on art history and I was curious to see Miss Nao's progress on her sculpture project."
Mashima held the ladder as Nao continued to carve the stone.
"To add to what I previously said." he kept going. "For the students to have complete creative freedom, it does have its bad side. Someone could make a bomb again and no one would ever know...Mwahaha."

"Again?!" Gin exclaimed.
"Yes, someone who also majors in technology tried to make a paint bomb, but it was too powerful and almost broke the whole wall."
"It would've worked perfectly after a couple of tests! I was on a deadline!!!"

The three of them turned over to the main building where a girl was washing large colorful paint stains off the wall. She seemed pissed that people still haven't let her off the hook for this.
"Science isn't art Natsuki!" Nao exclaimed, climbing down the ladder. "Get that in your head!"
"Wow! And you call yourself open-minded!"
"Girls girls." Mashima calmly said. "Science and art are closely associated, that much is true. But Natsuko, you should have been more careful, which is why you're being punished."
"Sorry professor."
"I apologize."
The two girls looked down before going back to their activities. Looking at the scene that just enfolded, it just made Gin wonder.
'A robot would be pretty cool.'

"By the by." Mishima turned to face Gin. "Have you found a passion for sculpture my boy?"
"I'm not your boy. I'm Big Sis (Y/n)'s boy." he corrected him.
"Mwahaha~ of course, I apologize."
"No problem. I'm making a diamond!"
"Oh, like diamond shaped?" Nao looked at him. "That's pretty easy to carve."
"What?"
Gin sent her a confused look, which made her confused too.
"What?" she said back.
"It seems there's been a misunderstanding." Mishima scratched his chin.

"Aren't diamonds made out of rocks?" Gin asked.
"Yes, but not this type of rock." he pointed at his block.
"That's all just stone." Nao added.
"What?!" Gin dropped the tools. "I've been scammed!" he took off his apron and started walking away with big steps, pissed off to have wasted his time. "I can't give Big Sis (Y/n) some lame stone!"
"Ouch." Nao mumbled to herself, looking down.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to criticize your own creations Miss Nao, don't worry." Mishima patted her shoulder.

As he walked passed this Natsuki girl, he suddenly stopped and leaned towards her.
"Do you know how to make robots?" he whispered.
"Not yet." she whispered back.
He let out a long groan and kept walking. Thinking about who could get him a robot.

He was on his way to Shin's house when he just saw him hiding in an alleyway and staring in the distance, like he was spying on someone.
"Loner guy!"
"Gah!" he flinched and turned towards him. "Gin! Perfect!" he knelt down and grabbed his shoulder with a serious look. "I have a job for you."
"If I do it will you give me a robot?"
"Whatever you want." he immediately replied before pointing towards whatever he was looking at. "I want you to go to that guy, and ask for the time."

Gin looked over to see a beefy, dirty-looking guy talking to another guy, wearing a suit. He looked back at Shin.
"Don't you have a watch?"
"Just do it!" he lightly pushed him forward.
He walked up to the guy and tapped his forarm. He turned around and looked at him. To any other people, he would be intimidating, but Gin has seen worse.
"'Scuse me sir, what time is it?"
"Don't you have a watch?" he gestured towards the boy's wrist, which had a watch around it.
"Uh..." he glanced at it before looking back up. "I don't know how to read the hands."
"Oh, fine then."
Reluctantly, he took out his phone.
"Eleven thirty-."
"Got'cha!" Shin came out of nowhere, running towards the beefy guy, clearly not happy. "I knew it! Give it back!"
"Shit, this guy's persistant!"
The beefy guy pushed Gin, making him fall, and ran away, Shin going after him.

"Owowow." he caressed his back.
"Are you okay?" the man in a suit said, kneeling beside him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know he was also violent towards kids. Let me make it up to you."
"Could you give me a robot?"
"A-a robot...? I'm not sur-."
"Then I'm good." he quickly stood up and started running after them too.

He quickly caught up to Shin, he never was the fastest runner, but now it looked like he had a certain push because he still hasn't lost the beefy guy. Gin ran past him but the beefy guy was still progressively growing the gap between them.
"Get back here suspicious gorilla!" Gin exclaimed.
"Who...Who the fuck are you?!" he glanced back at him.
"Language."
The beefy guy bumped into someone and fell on the ground. He was shocked to say the least, blocking a guy of his size, it must've been someone bigger than him! And indeed, looking down at him was the famous baseballer Q-taro, his hands on his hips.
"Muscle gorilla!" Gin happily exclaimed while Shin caught up to him and took a moment to catch his breath, panting furiously.
"I was driving towards my team meeting when I saw you guys." he smiled as he grabbed the guy by the back of his collar and made him stand up. "You must have a reason to chase this punk, what did he do?"
"He...He...!" Shin hanged his head down and held up his index. "Gimme a second."
"Take you time."

Shin took a deep breath and stood back up, pointing at the beefy guy.
"He stole Kanna's phone!"
"What?!" Gin raised his arms. "Thief! Thief Gorilla!"
"Sh-she dropped it!" the thief quickly took the phone out of his pocket and handed it to Shin. "I didn't know it was hers I swear!" he looked at Q-taro. "Can I go now?" he asked with a little voice.
"Oh no. I'm calling the cops on you. Stealing from children!"
"She dropped it!"
"Yeah right!" Shin exclaimed. "She told me you bumbed into her on purpose!"
"And who are you?! Her boyfriend?!"
"EW! She's 14!!!"
"What? You mean you're not?"
"I'm an adult!!!"
The guy's eyes narrowed, not believing him.
"You do look like a kid." Q-taro said.
"Wow thanks." Shin rolled his eyes. "I'll give Kanna her phone back."

"Wait!" Gin stood in front of him before he could walk away. "Give me my robot!"
"Robot?"
"Yeah! You told me that if I asked him for the time you'd give me a robot!"
"You have robots?!" Q-taro asked, also interested.
"Uh..." he thought for a moment. "Well technically, the job was to catch the guy."
"And we did!"
"Nope, Q-taro did." he smiled. "So I guess they'll be no robots today. Bye~!" he waved and quickly walked away.
"Oh man~!" Gin hanged his head down, defeated by Shin's unshakeable logic.

"Why do you want a robot Gin?" Q-taro asked.
"I thought it'd be a nice present for Big Sis (Y/n). She's sad."
"(Y/n), sad? Why?"
"I don't know~! But that doesn't matter!" he closed his fists. "What matters is that she gets better!"
"Haha! That's the spirit!" he pattes his head. "Tell her I'll throw a ball for her in my next match! Hope that'll help!"

"No, she prefers the other team."
"What?!" his heart clearly shattered.
"Oh." he awkwardly scratched his head. "She didn't tell you?"
"No!" he looked really sad now. "Does she think I suck at baseball?"
"It's not that!" Gin quickly said. "She's just been a long time fan of the other team!"
Q-taro sniffed.
"She didn't want to hurt your feelings dude." the beefy guy said, patting the hand he held him with, then looked at Gin. "If I were you I'd give her something that she can look at and be reminded of the care you have for her. My mom lost a precious picture of her father a few weeks ago and I re-drew it for her."

"From memory?! That's awesome!"
"Oh come on." he waved his hand. "It wasn't even that good."
"You have a picture of something?" Q-taro asked.
"Uh, sure." he took out a flip phone.
"Wait, if you already had a phone, why'd you steal Kanna's?"
"Because it's nicer." he simply said before showing the drawing.
"Okay." Gin pointed at it. "So that's the original picture?"
"No, it's the drawing."
"What~?! Amazing!"

"I mean I'm not an expert or anything." he bashfully looked away as he showed it to Q-taro too. "I didn't even made it to art school after all."
"You know, just because you failed at something doesn't mean you can't flourish from it." Q-tari said.
"...Really?" he asked with a little voice.
"It's all about not giving up!" Gin added.
"We can get you in contact with some people." Q-taro said.
"...Thank you." the beefy guy said, touched, his eyes a but teary.

"That gave me an idea!" Gin said. "Muscle Gorilla, can I have your phone for a sec?"
"Sure." he handed it to him. "But make it quick, I still gotta call the cops on this dude."
"Uh, take your time." the dude waved his hand.
Gin began to scroll through his contact list, not really caring about the ones he didn't know. At some point, he froze.
"Why is there a heart beside Big Sis (Y/n)'s name?" he looked at Q-taro, his eyes narrowed.
"Holy smokes." the beefy dude raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to laugh.

"Huh?! Umh...!" he blushed as his eyes darted around. "Uh, you mean you don't?"
"I don't have a phone, I'm like ten."
"W-well! Uh..." he thought for a moment but then sighed. "Please don't tell her anything."
"...sure."
Gin went back to the phone, making a mental note to make sure he never ends up alone with you.

"Gin! Hey!" Alice opened the door and let him come into the studio. "Reko's recording some ad-libs right now, have a seat."

Gin looked around in awe. It was the first time he walked into a professional's music studio. There were guitars and pictures on the wall, mix tables with tons on buttons. Reko's bandmates greeted him and he shyly waved back, it was the first time he saw them. He decided to stay close to Alice until Reko was done. He could see her screaming in the other room, she looked really into it.
Alice sat on a bean-bag chair in a corner of the room. Gin tried to sit on a second one beside him, but slowly sank into the beans and was now in an awkward lying position.

"Sorry we didn't came down to get you." Alice said like nothing happened. "But if someone saw us, we'd have a storm of fans after us."
"It's cool."
"You hungry? Want something to drink?"
"...I haven't eaten yet."
"We got some sandwiches. Hold on a sec."
He went to a little fridge and came back.
"Here."
"Thanks." he took it before raising his arms and wiggling his fingers. "Could you help me up?"
"Oh yeah sure."
Alice took his hands and pulled him up. Gin decided to stay standing from now on and began to eat.

"Gin! So good to see you!" Reko joined them. "So what's the emergency you told me about?"
Gin was having a mouthful and so a few seconds passed before he swallowed.
"Could you guys make a song? It's for Big Sis (Y/n)."
"A song?" she raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"She's sad. I thought a song might cheer her up."
The siblings glanced at each-other before she checked something on the monitors and with her bandmates.
"Sure, we could do a little something."
Gin's face lit up.
"Yay~!" he hopped in joy.

The three of them sat in front of the mix table. Reko showed him various samples and made him chose which one to use. First the main melody, then the beat, the hit-hat, the effects, etc... The result had a calm lo-fi vibe to it.
"Man, this is WAY different from what we're used to!" Reko sighed, smiling.
"I feel like it fits Big Sis (Y/n) well."
"Now that you said that, it kinda does." Alice nodded.
"Wanna hit the booth?" Reko looked at the boy. "It's your song after all."
He gasped. Oh how he will brag about it to everyone around him!
"Yes!"

He went to the other room and after shouting to have fun with the sound-proof walls, he stood in front of the microphone (sitting on a tall stool to reach it), and put on headphones almost as big as his head.
"Alright Gin," Reko said. "you don't have to say anything. Just sing what feel appropriate to the song, we'll work out the rest later."
He gave her a thumb up and she pushed the record button as the track began to play. Gin's voice was soft and calming, it blended very well with the music.
Suddenly the mix table exploded and the microphone caught on fire.
Gin squealed in horror and quickly got out of there. Alice grabbed him and ran out.
"We gotta get out of here!" he exclaimed as the fire began to spread.
"What happened?!"
"The computer was never programed for wholesome!" Reko explained, running behind them. "And at this level, it overheated!"

The three of them plus the bandmates fortunately got out of the building safely. From outside, people could see the fire coming out of the window.
"I'm sorry I lit your secret studio on fire." Gin said as Alice put him down.
"It's okay." he smiled. "It'll be good publicity."
"Oh my god is that the group Samurai Yaiba?!" a woman shouted from the other side of the street, getting a lot of attention.
It was only a matter of seconds before a storm of fans built up and started to go for the group.
"Gotta go Gin, good luck!" Reko quickly said before they ran away.

Gin watched as the crowd ran passed him. Now left alone, while adults around him were shouting in total panic to call the firefighters, he let out a long sigh and squated down, looking at the ground.
"Now what?" he mumbled to himself.

A little while passed. A pair on pink expensive-looking shoes stopped in front of him. He looked up to see a little girl, a bit younger than him, with blonde hair, looking down at him.

"Who're you?" he asked.
"I'm Alice."
"Really? I have a friend named Alice too."
"What'chu doing?"
"I'm looking for a present for Big Sis (Y/n)."
The little girl glanced down, then back at him.
"On the ground?"
"Nah, in my head."
"Oh."
Awkward pause.
"My dad always gives me gifts."
"What kind?"
"Animals. I got a puppy last month."
"That's perfect!" he stood up. "Take me to the pets!"
"Okay." she said as they both began walking.

She led him to the rich district, and they stopped in front of the biggest house. Gin took a moment to look up at it before joining Alice on the doorstep. She knocked and they were welcomed by a bunch of maids and butlers, who offered them some sodas and snacks, which they refused. Gin just ate after all.
They walked upstairs to her bedroom, which was five time the size of his. She went to her bed and picked up at white percian cat.
"This is Silkie." she let it go before walking to a cage in the corner of the room where a red bird was. "That's Honey."
"...Isn't that an endangered bird?" he pointed at it. "Hawaiian Honey-something?"
"Honeycreeper, that's why I call him Honey." she walked to her desk where a caged hamster was. "And that's Sindy. Those three are my favorites."

"What about the puppy?"
"I gave it to one of my friends. The puppy was too ugly."
"Oh." he looked around. "You have any other pets?"
"Yeah, follow me."

They walked in the garden. First thing Gin noticed was the ducks walking by.
"That's Malisha, Sandra, Mila, Patricia..." she kept naming them.
"Are there no boys?"
"Nope."
As they walked through the large gardens, Gin looked around and was actually getting a bit hyped. It felt like going to the zoo: there were peacocks, goats, hyenas, frogs, koi fish, koalas and a tiny dog.

"So?" she looked at him.
"Uh..." he thought for a bit. "You got anything cooler?"
"Sure." they kept walking.
Alice stopped in front of what looked like a little tool shed, with a weird password-thingy beside the door. She entered some numbers and the door opened, it was actually an elevator. Gin was a bit confused but still followed Alice. She pressed a button and the elevator went down for a good thirty seconds, which in the awkward silence felt like forever, before it stopped and open.

"Woaw~!" Gin's eyes widen.
They walked into a big underground hangar full of cages of all sizes. And in those cages were animals from all over the world.
"And they're all yours?!"
"Yep, my dad buy them for me."
"And I can chose one of these?"
"Yep, those who are here aren't my favorites."
"Honey! You're back!"
They looked over to see the father walking walking out of the elevator.

"I just got back from a meeting with one of our providers, your new panda is on its wa-." he froze when he saw Gin. "The little boy from this morning! What great timing!" he walked up to him.
"I'm Gin."
"Pleasure to meet you Gin! Again, so sorry about this morning. To make it up to you, I called a friend of mine in the robotic field and got my hands on a robot that'll-"
"I'm good, I don't want a robot anymore."
"Wha...?" he said in a little voice, thinking about all the money he just spent for nothing.

"Daddy, he wants a pet."
"A...a pet you say." he said, looking a bit uncomfortable before clearing his throat. "O-of course! But are you sure you're equiped for a large animal?"
"Big Sis (Y/n) can handle anything!"
"Of course of course." he leaned closer to him and whispered. "Say, my daughter doesn't have a lot of friends. So it'd be nice if you hang out with her from time to time after this."
"No thank you. She's weird." he suddenly gasped and walked towards one of the cages. "Is that an elephant?!?!?!" Gin pointed at it.

"His name is Pietr-"
"That's Maria." Alice walked up to him, cutting off her father.
"So cool~! I want an elephant!"
He could already imagine the look on his classmates faces when he'll go to school on its back.
"Alright." she looked up at her dad. "Daddy, give him Maria."
"Uh..." he scratched the back of his neck. "To be perfectly honest with you Honey, I'm not sure-"
"POLICE! OPEN UP!"

The elevator doors busted open, a whole squad of armed policemen with helmets stood there.
"You're under arrest for taking part in animal trafficking!"
The two kids screamed and ran away, the dad tried to go with them but was tackled to the ground. The noise and agitation angered the wild animals who started to scream, some even broke out of their cages.

The two of them went to an emergency exit, climbing a ladder, getting out through a secret trap door in the gardens and kept ran. Policemen everywhere running around, an helicopter looking over the scene. The animals were being taken away, even the tiny dog!
"Silkie!" Alice exclaimed, running upstairs to her room. "You're not gonna steal her from me!"

Gin ignored her and focused on getting out of here as fast as his legs could go. Finally out of the house, he tripped and fell. Noticing a pair of boots, he looked up and saw one of the policemen. He looked down at him for a moment before lifting his visor, revealing Keiji's face. He raised an eyebrow and Gin started crying. He sighed and took off his helmet before picking him up.
"There there." he patted his back, speaking softly as he walked away from the scene. "It's okay, I'm here. Mr. Friendly Policeman is here."

After Keiji got permission to go, him and Gin started to walk home together, holding hands. The sun was beginning to set, shining a soft orange light onto the world.

"I got a few cases today." Keiji said. "One was this morning for a kids fight, the second one was for phone thieft, and the culprit was actually part of this big animal traffic we've had our eyes on, and he spilled the beans on one of his most frequent client for a lighter sentence. And everytime, you were at the scene of crime." he glanced at him, smiling. "So either you're the mastermind behind all of this, or you're just a real trouble-magnet."
"I'm just trying to find a good present for Big Sis (Y/n)!"
"Why?"
"She's sad!"

They stopped in front of the house. Keiji looked up.
"She's still...?" he mumbled.
They walked in, Keiji let go of his hand.
"Let me go check on her." he smiled. "You stay here."
He walked upstairs, Gin watched as he nervously played with his fingers.

Keiji opened the door to his and your bedroom. It was dark and quiet. You were laying in bed, under your blanket. Your hair was still wet from the bath you took. Looked like it didn't 'burn the sickness away'. Keiji sat beside you, on the edge of the bed.

"This morning, when you said you were tired, I just thought you were tired of making breakfast." he chuckled.
You had no reaction, his smile fell.
"I didn't think you were gonna call in sick." he turned towards you. "What's wrong?"
"...one of those days." you quietly said. "You know how it is."
Keiji didn't say anything. He held your hand, gently caressing the back of your hand with his thumb. You both stayed like this for a while, not saying anything, and Keiji planned on staying like this for longer when he got a call from work. He stood up and picked up the phone once he was on the other side of the room.

"Yeah? ... Uh-hu. ... Seriously? Can't someone else do it? You know I had a busy day. ... Right down the street?" he ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Just call Nanaka, she's also nearby. ... Fine, I'll see if I can."
He hung up and sat back on the bed. You looked at him.
"You should go." you said.
"I don't want to leave you." he held your hand again.
"They need you." you kissed his hand. "I'll be fine, I just need a good night of sleep."
"You said that last night."
You pursued your lips and looked down. Keiji sighed and kissed your forehead.
"I'll be quick. I love you."
"I love you too."

Keiji came downstairs and put his jacket back on. Gin was drawing on the kitchen table. As soon as he saw Keiji, he stopped and quickly went up to him.
"So?!"
Keiji didn't say anything at first, he knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You know Gin." he paused, looking for the right words. "We both know (Y/n) is a cheerful gal right?"
Gin nodded.
"But sometimes, even the most cheerful of people get sad. And sometimes, there are day when they can't even bring themselves to smile. I'm sure you've had days like these too."
"Nope." he shock his head.
"Really?"
"I never get sad when I'm with Big Sis (Y/n)."

Keiji blinked twice before chuckling.
"Yeah, me neither. She's always been there for the two of us." he looked down before looking back at him. "And right now, she's the one who needs us." he placed his other hand on his other shoulder. "And I have to go, so I'm entrusting you with this mission."
"Okay!" he nodded. "But...what do I do?"
"Just be there for her." he said, patting his head before standing up and walking towards the front door. "I'll be back for dinner."
"Okay. Bye dad."
Keiji froze and looked back at him. Gin was waving. He smiled and waved back.

Now Gin was alone, in the silence of the living room. He looked down at his drawing of a camstog with wings (a fusion of a cat, a hamster and a dog) and sighed, taking the paper and folding it into a ball. He turned towards the trash can and threw it, it didn't land. He went to pick it up and came back on his chair to try again. He tried three or four more times, the fifth time was the charm.
Then, his stomach began to grumble. He looked up the stairs and thought. He didn't want you to make dinner for him, especially if you're not hungry. He searched in the kitchen cupboards and found a recipe book. He sat down on the floor and flipped the pages before finding his favorite meal: oyakodon. He'd usually cook it with your asistance but tonight was the night when Gin needed to be a big boy! He prepared the ingredients and washed his hands before getting on an apron that was too big for him.

"B-Big Sis (Y/n)~." Gin said as he opened the door, trying not to cry.
"Gin? What's wrong?" you quickly sat up, turning the lights on.
You felt so bad, you didn't know he came back. You didn't realize what time it was until now.
"I...I tried to make dinner." he walked up to you, holding a food tray and carefully putting it on your lap. "I messed up."

Yeah, you didn't know what he was trying to make, but you could tell that this soup was not supposed to look like that. But what really caught your attention was the flower on the side of the tray (which he got from the vase in the living room), with a piece of paper. You picked it up.
'I love you Big Sis (Y/n)!!!!' was written on it with a little drawing of you and him smiling holding hands and flowers, a quarter of the sun on the corner of the paper. You covered your mouth as you felt your heart melting.

"I'm sorry." Gin looked down.
You shook your head, put the tray aside and sat on the edge of the bed to hug him tightly.
"It's okay. It's the thought that matters." you said with a shaking voice, blinking rapidely so you wouldn't cry. "Thank you Gin, that makes me really happy."
Gin gasped and hugged you back tightly, smiling.
"Yay~!"
You chuckled and stood up, picking him up.
"How about we make oyakodon together?" you asked.
"Yeah~! It always tastes better when he make it together anyway!"
"You're so right about that." you smiled as you walked out of the room, turning the lights off and closing the door behind you.

"You know I helped caught a bunch of criminals today?!"
"Oh really?"
"There was one when we had a whole chase scene and we became friends afterwards!"
"Oh that's nice."
"An there was this weird girl who had a whole zoo in her back-yard!"
"Oh man, must've been crazy."
"And-and I caused a fire for being too cute! But we got out of there safely!"
"Was there a dragon too?"
"No~! It's true!"
"Sure, sure." you giggled. "What else happened?"
"There was this art girl who made a bomb to paint the whole school! And also...!"

[When looking for dishes, I learned that oyakodon litteraly meant 'Parent-and-Child donburi' and I cried]