Title:Home Sweet Home: Tempest
Pairing/Character:AibaxNino, JunxNino, Kaze, ShoxOC / Ohno
Genre/Rating:Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Romance / G
Word Count:1419
Disclaimer:I own nothing but the plot
Summary:I slowly approached him, afraid that if I ran the strong winds will take me on a windy ride with the leaves.
Warning:Character death
 

Aiba Masaki, even when the recent days were dark and gloomy, always smiled the brightest. I envied him for that - which I'm ashamed to admit out loud and even to Aiba - because it seemed like the most natural thing for him. While I, on the other hand, scared off younger kids and kids my age because I tend to scowl when someone gets near me; older kids assumed that I was trying to pick a fight. Maybe that's why no one wants to talk to me except all-smiles-Aiba who accepted anything and anyone.

"Kazu," he started calling me that after we hit a month of our friendship, "that's no way to get friends," he would tell me before trying to make me smile. I let him teach me in front of a mirror once, but it came out awkwardly that the kids steered clear when they say my crooked smile. At least Jun didn't cry when I smiled at him.

"It's ok," Aiba giggled and patted him on his head. "I know it's hard, but at least you smile naturally around Jun-chan and let's keep it that way." I think that Aiba was trying to compliment me, but I took it as an insult and threatened him that if he ever teaches me how to smile again, I will shun him.

It was getting awfully cold now a days that I just didn't want to go outside and play with Aiba and Jun. I wanted to stay indoors all day besides the entrance of the manor's bakery while I inhaled the scent of freshly baked bread, but of course with Aiba around, I was unable to do so. Instead, he dragged me and Jun around the entire ten acre of land and I have never been dizzy before in my life. Jun, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. Aiba showed me the best places to play hide and seek which was right behind the staff building. Then he brought me to a pile of fallen leaves - piles of fallen leaves, actually - in places where we weren't even allowed to go. He told me that by piling up as many leaves he can gather, jumping on it would break his fall. I thought that he was just kidding, but he jumped up into the air and landed in the pile of leaves. I lost him underneath all the mess.

"It's fun!" Aiba yelped excitedly as he jumped out of the leaves and piled them up again. "Try it Kazu."

"No, I-"

"Please?!" Aiba whined like a dog wanting to play with his master.

I warily eyed at the leaves in front of me and imagined the many ways I could get hurt and that we'd get in trouble because of Aiba. However, Aiba couldn't keep calm and kept pestering me even if I kept shaking my head in disagreement. So I hesitantly obliged. After I sat Jun besides Aiba's legs, I stood at the edge of the pile, breathed in deeply, and exhaled it out as I mimicked Aiba's earlier actions. I landed on my elbow, and it did hurt, but the pain was minor and everything else seemed fine. As I struggled out of the leaves and stood back up, I gave Aiba a look that told him we could keep going.

After we had our fun, Aiba brought us back to the bench we usually hung out at. I listened to him talk while I continued to teach Jun how to walk. When Jun stumbled on a patch of thick grass, Aiba and I immediately ran besides the rugrat. I was going to dust away all the dirt on Jun's clothing, but my something caught my eyes. To the right of where Jun fell was a flower bed mixed with different colored flowers that The gardener might have planted and kept alive over summer. But what caught my attention was a heart shaped leaf that different shades and blotches of the colors yellow, green, red, and orange stuck to the branch of a yellow lily flower. I stared at it in fascination because I've never seen anything like it before, even when it was right next to me the whole time. I thought about plucking it out, but by the time I had the chance to, we were all called in for dinner.

I had forgotten about the leaf when the dinner was displayed before us. I ate like there was no yesterday, but Aiba ate more than me and had me thinking how he's still skinny. When we finished eating and we were ready to go tend to ourselves, a group of nuns came in followed by a Father. The man was Father Ohno and he came by today during dinner to tell us that it would be very windy all night throughout tomorrow night and handed all of us thick jackets. I've only seen Father twice, I think: one being the day I was admitted into the manor, the second in a TV commercial when he talked about the concerns of parentless children. But I think I've seen him before at the bakery when I looked in on what they were making for lunch last week. Or were my eyes just playing me? Either way, Father Ohno was someone important to all of us - the entire manor if you put it that way. The past Father, Father Ohno Saburo, was his biological father and the manor was passed down onto him when he died. I found it strange how the recent Father runs an orphanage when he had a father himself.

From what I've heard, the past Father was different from his son. He was extremely strict and he rarely showed his face to anyone unless you are summoned into his office when a new couple, or an old couple, or any aged couple were looking for children to adopt or give away. Father Ohno, however, invited public appearances and would let some kids get away with misbehaviour sometimes, but I'm not quite sure because I heard all this from Aiba, who heard it from Maruyama, who heard it from Ohkura. Other than that, Father Ohno's sleepy and aloof expression calmed me down and made me feel sleepy. That is, until, we heard a loud crash outside.

All the children, including me and Aiba, rushed to the window where everyone was heading to. Leaves, upon thousands of leaves were being swept away in huge circular motions here and there. I looked to my right, expecting to see Aiba pouting, but he was no longer there. Then I looked to my left. He wasn't there either. Panic overcame me as I searched for him, but odd relief washed over me when I saw a door at a corner slowly coming to a close. Aiba.

I rushed past the crowd, past the heavenly servants, and past the huge door. Then I saw Aiba. He had on the huge jacket that Father Ohno gave us, but it was loose like he was in a rush to put it on. His back was facing me, but I could tell he was looking at something by the way he sighed in content. I slowly approached him, afraid that if I ran the strong winds will take me on a windy ride with the leaves. But I stopped short when Aiba turned around. He had dried tears trailing to the left on his cheeks because of the wind and he held up a leaf as he waved at me with a happy grin.

“I wanted to save this leaf,” he said, “because Kazu liked it.”

“Since when-” I paused when I recognized the said item. The heart shaped leaf.

Aiba ran towards me and I was worried for a second when the wind became stronger, but he was still on his feet. I wanted to scold him right away for saving that one little leaf, but I stopped myself as I laid my eyes on his bright smile. I will probably never understand why Aiba would risk anything for Jun and me, or why he even cares at all about the both of us when he has himself to worry about. Instead, I smiled back at him, and this time it wasn't forced. My cheeks felt numb a few seconds after, but I kept it up as I gently pocketed the lucky leaf and walked back to the manor.

TBC