Jyushimatsu sat at a small table next to his one and only friend at school, waiting for the final bell to ring.

Kicking his feet back and fourth with a hug smile on his face, Jyushimatsu started to color in a picture he had drawn of him, Ichimatsu, and Karamatsu all eating dinner together.

In the image, Karamatsu, well, the blue blob who could have been mistaken for Sonic the Hedgehog, was sitting at the table with a book. The book was just a brown smudge, which could probably be mistaken for a pile of poo.

"What are you drawing?" Jyushimatsu's friend whom was a girl asked, leaning across the table to see.

The girl was one of the most plain, yet beautiful, girls in the entire school. She had cute, little round freckles scattered about her face. Then her eyes were just the sweetest, softest, brown Jyushimatsu had ever seen. Her hair, which was also quite long for her age, was just as beautiful as her eyes. It was a soft, nearly angelic, brown color, yet she always kept it tied in a braid.

But, the most beautiful thing about this girl to Jyushimatsu, was her name. Homura. She had no last name, or if she did, her parents never spoke of it. For some reason, knowing this, Jyushimatsu loved her even more. She was so different compared to the other girls their age.

"I'm drawing my family!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, his smile growing even more as he stopped coloring to let Homura see.

"Where's your mommy and daddy?" Homura asked innocently, analyzing the image.

"I haven't seen them in a few days! Uncle Karamatsu said they're busy!" Jyushimatsu replied innocently, taking his prized possession back to finish coloring.

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling for the children to go outside the school to wait for their parent or guardian to pick them up. Some of the children took the school bus, but it was a very small amount. Most of the parents were scared that their children would be exposed to "evil" things on the school bus.

Jyushimatsu quickly finished his drawing, putting it carefully inside a book so it wouldn't get bent.

"Let's go!" Homura said, pulling on her light red school skirt just a bit. "I want to be able to say goodbye to you today!"

"But we always do, it's okay if we miss one time!" Jyushimatsu laughed, but quickly took Homura's hand, running down the bustling school hallway as they dashed towards freedom.

Homura giggled in delight, loving just how fast Jyushimatsu could run and manage to not get in trouble.

Once the two reached outside, Homuea quickly hugged Jyushimatsu, having seen that her mother was already there to pick her up.

"Bye bye, Jyushimatsu!" Homura said, waving goodbye with a huge smile on her face. "I hope your parents come back soon!"

"Bye, Homura chan!" Jyushimatsu replied, waving back at her as she climbed into the back seat of her mother's vehicle.

As soon as Homura left, a strange feeling began to build up inside of Jyushimatsu. Feelings of worry, regret, and loneliness almost. Things he didn't feel on a daily basis.

"Ichimatsu said he would be here," Jyushimatsu said after several minutes of watching all of his classmates disappear, one by one. "He's never been late before..."

Jyushimatsu slumped down on the school's sidewalk, starting to create snow bunnies as he waited for his brother....

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes...

Twenty minutes....

Tears began to well up in Jyushimatsu's eyes as he stared at his small zoo of snow bunnies he had created. He didn't want to think that Ichimatsu could have possibly forgotten.

Finally, his teacher whom had been waiting outside with him, brought him back into the building.

"You'll catch a cold, Matsuno," his teacher said, leading him to his office. "Where is your brother? He always picks you up, doesn't he?"

Jyushimatsu nodded his head sadly as his teacher swung open her office door.

Sitting down on the sofa a little ways away from his teacher's desk, a single tear escaped from the little boy's eye.

"Would you like some hot chocolate while you wait, Matsuno?" his teacher asked, sitting down beside the upset child.

Jyushimatsu shook his head back and forth vigorously.

"Well, is there any number you can call? Surely your parents will pick you up," his teacher suggested, handing her phone to Jyushimatsu.

Luckily, Jyushimatsu just so happened to have memorized Karamatsu's phone number. And considering that Ichimatsu wasn't at the school, he had no choice but to call his eldest brother.

"Are you going to be okay now?" the teacher asked sweetly, taking her phone away from Jyushimatsu once Karamatsu, who sounded almost ill, had confirmed that he would pick the little boy up.

Once again, Jyushimatsu shook his head, trying his best not to cry.

Biting his cheeks, Jyushimatsu fought back the tears that wanted to escape so desperately. He couldn't cry. He wasn't supposed to cry. He had to be strong.

"Well, what do you want, Jyushimatsu?" the teacher asked, finally calling the boy by his first name.

Jyushimatsu stared down at the floor, his hands gripping the couch as a tear escaped. Then another, and another. And before he knew it, he was sobbing.

"I-I just want I-Ichimatsu!" Jyushimatsu cried out pitifully, sniffing loudly. "But Ichimatsu isn't here!"