Makoto happily chatted with Haru as they walked from university to head home. Haru nodded along, knowing Makoto wouldn't stop until he was finished.

"Hey, Haru. I'm actually going to take a detour before heading home. Go on ahead without me." said Makoto before taking off.

"Okay...?" mumbled Haru as he watched him cross the street before heading off.

Makoto checked the time then picked up his pace. His mom expected his visit later on, specifically after his last class ended. She more of demanded he come over since he hadn't been over in months. He impatiently tapped his foot as he waited for the light. It finally changed and he hurried crossed the street.

He finally came to a stop outside of a building hidden from plain sight. It was easy to miss if you weren't carefully looking. Especially since it was in a lightly populated area. He sighed then pulled the door open. The sound of children's voices filled his ears as he walked in. He walked over to the front desk and waited.

"Oh! Makoto, you're early. Are you here to help out today?" she asked with a tired look.

"I would love to, but my mom wants me home. I came to tell you in person." said Makoto with an apologetic look.

"I understand. Oh, your old caretaker was stopping by today. He should be here in a few minutes. Can you wait?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"I can manage that much. It's not like she hasn't nagged me for being late before." said Makoto as he placed his bag on the desk.

"Thank you so much. The troublemakers are at it again." she said with a weary sigh.

Makoto followed her into the back then presented him to the children. They collectively rose to their feet and ran to Makoto.

"Makoto, what did you do today?" one asked.

"Makoto do you have any snacks?" another asked.

"Makoto, do you have a girlfriend yet?" yet another asked.

"You all act like you haven't seen me in months." joked Makoto as he gave them pats on the head. "I just stopped by to say hello before leaving. I'm going to see my mom today."

"Will we ever get parents...?" a little girl asked quietly.

The mood had dropped and Makoto felt guilty. He had forgotten where he was.

"Of course you all will. It just takes a while for your destined parents to find you." said Makoto with a bright smile.

The children cheered and collectively hugged him. They heard a knock then pointed at the person behind Makoto.

"Mr. Tsubasu..." Makoto said quietly as he stared at the aged man.

"Makoto? Is that you? Ha, I hardly recognize you. Look at you, all grow up. I remember when you were yay big and running around like a nutjob." Mr. Tsubasu said with a hearty chuckle. "How old are you now? 18? 19?"

"19. I'll be 20 in a few months." replied Makoto as he walked out with Mr. Tsubasu.

"Ah... have you kept in contact with any of your old friends?" he asked, referring to his orphan mates.

"Oh, of course. I'm currently attending the same university as Haru. I still talk to Kurapika and Rei too. Illumi is a bit iffy but yeah." said Makoto, referring to his schoolmates.

"I don't remember anyone with those names... are we talking about the same people?" Mr. Tsubasu asked.

"I'm talking about schoolmates..." said Makoto.

"Oh. So I'm guessing you don't remember any of your orphan mates..." asked Mr. Tsubasu with a sigh.

"Just one. Chrollo. He's actually coming into town for a week." Makoto said with a smile. "He lives somewhere in another province. He moved a few years back."

"Ah. Do you remember anything from back then?" he asked with curiosity.

Makoto shook his head with a bright smile. Mr. Tsubasu blinked in surprise. Did he really have no memories of being here?

"Oh! I do remember the day I was adopted. I don't remember their faces, besides Chrollo, but they were wishing me well." said Makoto cheerfully. "With that being said, I should get going. Mom's probably super angry since I'm late."

"Take care, Makoto. Make sure you bring Chrollo next time." said Mr. Tsubasu as he waved.

Makoto hurried out then bumped into someone. He quickly apologized without looking and dashed off. He soon noticed he wasn't moving anywhere.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" the person asked in a cold tone. "And after giving such a shitty apology?"

Makoto sighed heavily. Of all people he had to bump into, it had to be an asshole. He turned around to make a remark then stopped and stared. The way he dressed was whore-ish and practically said "sex is my native language". He snapped out of his trance then glared at the person.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know there was a proper way to apologize to a stranger." snapped Makoto as he walked back over.

The person looked at Makoto as he had gotten closer. Upon closer inspection, he was pretty cute. He'd let him off just for being cute, but he didn't plan on never seeing him again.

"Well, I'll let you off since you seem like a generally kind person. What's your name?" the person asked with a glint in his eye.

"Makoto. Tachibana Makoto. Yes, this is my birth name. I get this every time. I dare you to tease me about it." snapped Makoto as he was tired of it all. "Tell me your name. It's only fair."

In all honesty, he wanted to get to know this person better. Especially to learn why he dressed the way he did. He wasn't really into guys, but something about him seemed alluring.

"Hisoka. Hisoka Morow. Pleased to make your acquaintance." said Hisoka as he held his hand out. Makoto shook his hand and couldn't help but notice how smooth yet cold it was. "I hope to see you again."

Makoto was left with his mouth open as he had gone inside the building. He didn't have time to ask anymore questions. He quickly took out a pen and paper and wrote his school's address on it. He handed it to the current caretaker to give the guy named Hisoka. He hurried back out and ran to the train station.

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Makoto rubbed his head as he sat at the table. His mother had hit him repeatedly for being late. His mind drifted back to Hisoka and how strange he was. One moment he was close to cursing him out then all nice the next. He took out some paper and a pencil then started to poorly sketch Hisoka from memory.

"What's that you're drawing" his mother asked as she placed food on the table.

"It's for a friend. She's collecting drawings from all of her friends." he mumbled as he continued to draw.

"Ah, speaking of girls, have you thought of dating?" his mother asked cheerily.

That was enough to ruin his mood. He folded up the paper and stuffed the pencil in his bag before grabbing it and leaving his seat.

"Makoto, sit." she said sternly.

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to you go on about finding a girlfriend or how I should be getting A pluses and hundreds on tests and projects or how I should change my style of dress and hairstyle. I'm tired of it. This is why I moved in with Haru. To get away from you." Makoto explained as he was finally fed up with her. "You can play the victim card and say you're just looking out for me and my future, but in reality you're just worried that I won't find someone pretty to marry and give you grandkids or land a good job and be able to take care of you in your old age."

His mother was at a loss for words. Makoto rolled his eyes then continued towards the front door. She wasn't going to change.

"Makoto! Come back here right this instant!" she shouted.

"What if I don't? I'll be banned from visiting you? Taken off the will? Fine." said Makoto as he put on his shoes. "You stopped being the mom I loved years ago."

Makoto quickly left before she could say anything else. He couldn't believe he passed up hanging with the children for her usual bullshit. He checked the time and wondered if he'd still be able to help out a bit.

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Makoto stepped inside and found the place quiet. They weren't in the play room. The caretaker came downstairs and was surprised to see Makoto.

"Are they asleep?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. Why'd you come back? Left something?" she asked curiously.

"Nah, just thought I could help, but looks like I'm too late." said Makoto as he turned on his heel. "See you tomorrow."

"Oh! I gave that guy the piece of paper. He told me to give you this." she said then handed him a playing card. It was the king of hearts. "I don't know why but he said you'd understand."

Makoto thanked her then left. He squinted at the card as he wondered and thought. Nothing came to mind. He turned it over then noticed something was amiss. He scratched at the back then saw it was coming off.

"Clever..." muttered Makoto with a pleased smile.

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Haru quietly welcomed him back then noticed he was absorbed with something in his hand.

"Makoto, did you eat?" he asked as he followed him.

"Nope. Did you cook?" Makoto asked as he placed his bag down.

"Take out. You know I suck at cooking actual meals." pouted Haru as he cleared off Makoto's desk. "You're back early... she pissed you off again?"

"It's not that I hate her really. It's more I hate what she says to me. Can't she realize that society's changing and the youth of today are different than her generation? It's perfectly normal for men and women to not get married or get married and not have kids." complained Makoto as he took out his books. "Sorry for unloading on you."

"It's fine. I know how much she's stressing you out. Should I bring the food in here?" Haru asked as he checked his phone.

"Yeah. Please and thank you." muttered Makoto as he highlighted and wrote things down.

"Oh? Someone named Chrollo is coming to town?" Haru shouted from the kitchen.

Makoto waited for him to come back before explaining. Haru entered the room and offered to feed him while he worked.

"Chrollo's one of my childhood friends. Before I met you. I don't know where we met, but we've been close." said Makoto with a smile. "I don't want to ask him as I'm afraid he'll get upset with me. He's not pleasant when upset."

"How come I've never met or seen him before?" Haru asked as he'd remember someone with such a unique name.

"He went to a different primary school and high school. He moved to another province after he finished his junior year of high school." Makoto explained then remembered he had to text him the address. "Could you text him this address? I need to finish this. You can also stop feeding me."

˚ ༘ ༘˚˚ ༘ ༘˚

Hisoka tossed playing cards at the cork board which stuck upon impact. Shalnark entered the room then walked out. Hisoka was in one of his moods.

"Do you need another deck?" Shalnark asked, despite already opening a new pack.

"No." said Hisoka as he stared at the cork board.

Shalnark dropped the cards in surprise. No? Did Hisoka hit his head? Was he sick? He hurried over to him and felt him for a fever. Hisoka swatted him away in annoyance.

"You said no... right?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Hisoka asked as he lied back.

"You always demand for another pack of cards. Are you feeling okay?" asked Shalnark quietly.

"I'm fine. Though, I did meet someone interesting..." muttered Hisoka as he crawled towards the foot of the bed then unstably pulled the king of spades out of the board. "They gave off a rich scent."

Shalnark rolled his eyes. He's heard that line more than he wanted to. He's said about every person he felt sexually attracted to, forcing him to wander aimlessly until he had his fun.

"I'm going to start charging you for bringing your 'meals' home soon. Why don't you go to their place?" fussed Shalnark as he sat on the bed.

"I can't get comfortable anywhere else..." pouted Hisoka. "I promise I won't leave you out long."

Shalnark kept silent.

"I'll treat you to an expensive dinner." he added in. Shalnark was still quiet. "Okay, okay. I'll do whatever you want for 24 hours on top of it."

"Fine. You better keep to your word or else I'll have you pay double the rent." Shalnark threatened.

"You wouldn't. I only make so much from that measly styling job." whined Hisoka as Shalnark was being mean.

"Then behave and keep your word." he replied with a shrug."

Hisoka pulled him into a hug and repeatedly promised and thanked him. He was grateful to have a close friend like him, especially after his past.