Disclaimer: You know the drill. I, ArleneLee do not own anything except the *lousy* eherm – plot.

Notes: Thanks for all those amazing people who reviewed the last chapter… Some of them reprimanded me and I found myself giggling for no apparent reason at all. 'Guess I'm just happy for all those reviews I'm receiving from you guys… ^_^ Thanks a lot. And oh, I won't call this fic crappy again. Maybe I should try the word 'lousy'. Nee? Hahaha! Kidding… kidding…

UNBETAed.

Missing Someone

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Fujimoto was having a hard time concentrating on his university assignment. He was already sitting there for two hours straight yet he couldn't even start this goddamn essay for some reason. 'Some reason' includes a certain long-haired quirky girl who was too cheerful and happy for her own good. He kept on glancing outside the Yomogi Nursery where the playground was situated and where the girl was usually seen playing and smiling happily while running with the kids.

"Tch." Fujimoto clenched his fist and sighed. This has to stop. He closed his eyes and sighed again – much louder and deeper than the last and concentrated on his book once more. He tried to empty his mind – again and focused to his readings at his hand. The words written on the book was fairly simple. He tried to read it again.

Japan's judicial system, drawn from customary law, civil law, and Anglo-American common law, consists of several levels of courts, with the Supreme Court, as drawn up on May 3, 1947, includes a bill of rights similar to the United States Bill of Rights, and the Supreme Court has the right of judicial review. Japan does not have administrative courts…

"Fujimoto-san! Look at this butterfly! Wow! It has two wings Fujimoto-san! That was fairly amazing nee?"

…or claims courts, and the jury system have only come into use relatively recently. Because of the judicial system's basis, court decisions are the final judicial authority.

"Whoah! Fujimoto-san! Look! It's a caterpillar! I haven't seen one this big before! And it's yellow Fujimoto-san! Yellow!"

Japan has a unitary rather than federal system of government, in which local jurisdictions largely depend on national government financially. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (formerly Ministry of Home Affairs), although much less powerful than its prewar counterpart (the Home Ministry), intervenes significantly in local government, as do other ministries. This is done chiefly financially…

"Are you okay, Fujimoto-san? You're kinda quiet today. Are you feeling ill? You should rest for a while then Fujimoto-san! You should not abuse your body in any way!"

…because many local government jobs need funding initiated by national ministries.

"Fujimoto-san!"

Japan is divided into forty-seven administrative divisions, the prefectures: one metropolitan district (to—Tokyo), two urban prefectures (fu—Kyoto and Osaka), forty-three rural prefectures (ken), and one "district" (note district is different from gun which appears later)(dō—Hokkaidō). Large cities are subdivided into wards (ku), and further split into towns, or precincts (machi or chō), or subprefecture (shichō) and counties (gun).

"Nee! Fujimoto-san?"

Cities (shi) are self-governing units administered independently of the larger jurisdictions within which they are located. In order to attain shi status, a jurisdiction must have at least 30,000 inhabitants, 60 percent of whom are engaged in urban occupations.

"I'll my best Fujimoto-san! So that Fujimoto-san will not be angry at me. Kobato, ganbarimasu!"

The terms machi and chō designate self-governing towns outside the cities as well as precincts of urban wards. Like the cities, each has its own elected mayor and assembly…

"Ah… Fujimoto-san… You're reading complicated words again, I see. It's so hard to understand… Mi… Mi… Mi-do… Mido-nai-… Midonai-to. Midonaito?"

"Baka. It's midnight. Mid-night." He said while shaking his head in disapproval. And then, Fujimoto abruptly stopped – eyes widening while his mouth gaping like he had just seen a ghost. The book and the pen he was holding slipped on his hands and fell at the cold floor, making a loud thump in the background.

What the hell…

"Fujimoto-san? Are you really okay? You don't look okay to me…"

"Argh…" Fujimoto banged his head on the desk and clenched his hair with his fist.

"Nee… Fujimoto-san… A woman I met at the store told me that chocolate is actually a vegetable? You know why? Because it is derived from cocoa beans. And bean is a kind of vegetables, right? Thus, chocolate is a vegetable! Isn't it great Fujimoto-san?"

Fujimoto palmed his face and closed his eyes – tight. He will not finish anything if he continued this kind of dilly-dallying.

"Fujimoto-san?"

"Argh! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Fujimoto boringly stared at the book sprawled in the floor.

"Hai! Fujimoto-san!"

He banged his head on the hard desk once again, fisting a handful of his hair.