There were many legends about the old Namimori Shrine; that it was the location of an ancient, spiritual ritual that went wrong, that if you confessed your love to someone on a full moon your love would be eternal, that if you prayed to the Guardian Spirit there, it would grant your deepest wish.

That last legend was the reason one five-year old Sawada Tsunayoshi was currently kneeling in front of the old altar, trembling hands clenched together as he prayed to the Guardian Spirit rumored to reside there. He had been kneeling on the wooden floors for what seemed like forever and his legs were starting to go numb when a blast of frigid winter air sent the brunet into a fit of uncontrollable shivers.

A tired whimper escaped from his trembling lips and the child slumped forwards in exhaustion. He had been wishing and praying to this 'Guardian Spirit' for the past few hours and so far, nothing had happened. Tears started rolling down the brunet's cheeks as a realization dawned on him:

No one was going to answer his wish.

Tsuna began crying even harder as he clutched the front of his shirt. His last hope had been dashed.

Exhaustively, he pulled himself onto his feet and wearily made his way towards the shrine doors only to stop when they suddenly swung open.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was in here," the newcomer said with a bashful duck of his head. He was young – maybe a year or two older than Tsuna – with black hair, pale skin with a spattering of freckles here and there, and bright blue eyes. The boy was dressed in a blue kimono – a shade lighter than his eyes, Tsuna noted – with cream colored hakama, and a white haori thrown over his shoulders. A small wicker basket full of mochi, dried fish, oranges, salt, and water was in the boy's hands. "Did I interrupt your prayer? I'm really sorry if I did!" The boy attempted a bow but the sudden movement sent a few items from his basket to the ground.

"I-I-I'll h-help y-you…?" Tsuna quickly bent down and picked up the fallen things.

"Utsunomiya. Utsunomiya Makoto is my name. Ah, thank you." Makoto extended the basket so Tsuna could return the items. "May I ask for your name?"

The brunet jolted in surprise and shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Um… M-My na-name…? I'm… I'm S-Sawada T-T-Tsunayoshi!" Tsuna prepared himself for the oncoming sneers and jeers but to the brunet's amazement, none of that occurred.

"It's very nice to meet you, Tsunayoshi-kun," Makoto said with a graceful dip of his head. "May I ask, what you were doing here?"

Tsuna looked away in embarrassment. "I… I was p-praying to the G-Guardian Spirit he-here…"

"I see," the dark-haired child nodded his head in understanding, "well, there's nothing to be ashamed about that, Tsunayoshi-kun, many people come by here to pray to the Gods."

"Wh-What are you d-doing h-here…?"

Makoto smiled brilliantly at the brunet, before stepping further into the shrine. "My family is in charge of taking care of the shrine – cleaning, fixing, and things like that. I'm here to offer up my family's thanks and appreciation to the Gods for blessing my family with such a prosperous year."

"A-Are those wh-what t-those offerings are f-for…?"

"That's right! These are all offerings my family has harvested or cooked for the Gods," Makoto replied as he began placing the items on the altar.

"… The Guardian Spirit didn't answer my prayer…" Tsuna admitted after a moment of silence.

Makoto knelt before the altar and clapped his hands together, words mouthing a silent prayer to the Heavens. "… That's understandable, Tsunayoshi-kun. The Gods and Spirits can be quite… fickle in their actions and answers," he said after a couple minutes.

"B-But w-why?! I p-prayed and w-wished so hard b-but n-n-nobody an-answered me!" Tsuna clutched his shirt once more and doubled-over, tears falling from his eyes. There was a rustling of clothes before a cool hand cupped the brunet's cheek, thumbing away his tears.

"Sometimes the Gods answers in ways we will never understand, Tsunayoshi-kun," Makoto murmured softly, gently, as his blue eyes stared into Tsuna's eyes. "And it may take months or even years for them to answer, but, I guarantee you this, Tsunayoshi: the Gods always answer the prayers and wishes of those who need it most."

"D-Does that m-mean I… that my w-wish wasn't i-important?"

"… I do not have the answer to that, Tsunayoshi-kun," Makoto smiled gently, "What I do know is that your wish will be granted one day. Do you think you can wait until that day arrives?"

Tsuna sniffed. "I… I don't k-know… e-everything i-is so b-bad r-right n-now!"

"I know things seem bad right now, Tsunayoshi-kun, but, you must believe that things will get better one day, because things will get better."

"I-I d-don't know if I c-can d-do th-that…"

"I believe you can. I believe… no, I know that you can believe and wait for your prayer to be answered because you are strong like that, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Something warm grew in Tsuna's chest at those words. No one had ever called him strong before.

"O-Okay… I'll wait f-for my wish to be a-answered…"

Makoto flashed the brunet another brilliant smile and withdrew his hand. "Great! I'm positive that things will get better for you, Tsunayoshi-kun!" The dark-haired child herded the brunet towards the shrine doors with a comment of, "It's getting late out, you should probably head back home before it gets completely dark."

"Y-Yeah… you're right…," Tsuna stopped at the sight beyond the doors, "L-Look! It's snowing!"

Snow gently floated down from the clouds above and there was already a thin layer of white coating the ground.

"It really is winter, huh…?" Makoto murmured - his eyes locked onto the clouds above. A cold gust of wind broke the child from his thoughts as he turned to spot a shivering brunet. "Ah! You're freezing! Here take my haori," Makoto quickly shrugged off his white haori and securely wrapped it around the other child.

"I-I c-can't t-take this! Wh-What if you get cold?!"

Makoto waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about me, Tsunayoshi-kun; I'm not the one wearing only a shirt and pants in the middle of winter."

Tsuna flushed in embarrassment and pulled the haori tighter around his body – it was really warm. "Th-Then I'll d-definitely r-return it the n-next time we me-meet!"

A soft chuckle escaped Makoto's lips and he grinned at Tsuna. "I wouldn't worry about returning it too much, my family has a lot of haoris lying around – one won't be missed."

"B-But s-still…"

"… Then how about this then: when your wish is granted, then you can return my haori, okay? But! You absolutely cannot return it before then, got it? Trust me; I'll know if you do." Makoto wagged a finger in front of Tsuna's face, a semi-stern expression crinkling his blue eyes.

Tsuna ducked his head. "How… how will I know th-that my w-wish was granted…?"

Makoto straightened and smiled once more. "You will know your wish has been granted when you find the answer to your question."

"T-That doesn't make any s-sense…," Tsuna trailed off, brow furrowed in confusion.

The dark-haired child laughed lightly. "It doesn't, does it? But, that's my condition, okay? Return my haori when you find the answer to your wish."

The brunet nodded his head. "Okay… it's a p-promise!"

Makoto returned the nod and waved as Tsuna walked off. Once the brunet had disappeared down the shrine steps, Makoto smiled mysteriously to the sky, the winter air blowing against his hair and kimono.

"… Your wish has been heard, Sawada Tsunayoshi, though it will take another ten years for it to be answered, though I know you'll be able to wait. Until then, I will pray for your safety and good health, Little Lion."

With that whisper to the air, Utsunomiya Makoto turned and disappeared back into the Namimori Shrine.

"I wish for a family and friends."

So… this started off as a sort of potential spin-off of Fujikage Ryota and A Delinquent Boss which has somehow transformed into this Japanese-mythological piece of work. I'm undecided if I want to make this into another series or if I should just make it a two-shot (or three-shot) depending on how I feel.

What do you all think?