Chapter 1: The First Meeting

It was a normal day in Central Tokyo, the early hustle and bustle of the people hurrying for their daily task was evident since early morning. Some went to school; some went to work while others, are still sleeping inside their large, luxurious and comfortable home.

"Briing! Briing! Briing!" the ring of the telephone downstairs flooded the entire unit. Upstairs, the owner of the luxurious penthouse on the best spot in the city was still covered by his white thick blanket. The man stirred as he heard the continuous noise.

"So noisy early in the morning," he grumbled as he sat up on his bed. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.

'Another stupid day…' he thought as he grabbed the life-size teddy bear beside him. He abandoned the king size bed and headed downstairs.

The phone continuously rang madly for 2 agonizing minutes before it turned to voice mail, "If you want to say something, I can't answer right now. I'm too busy to talk to you, so say everything you want after the tone" beep─

"Usami-sensei! You stupid lazy writer! You better work on that manuscript or I'll freaking kill you for the last time!" A woman's voice erupted from the receiver.

The silver haired man rolled his eyes and went to open the curtains of his glass panel. Yellow rays of the sun flooded the whole penthouse. The light was so bright that the man squinted his eyes to slowly adjust to the sudden brightness.

His lavender eyes slowly opened to gaze at the busy streets of Tokyo. It was almost noon and he missed breakfast again. Well, it wasn't a first anyway. That was just part of his daily routine. As a writer, Usami Akihiko, recipient of the Naomori Award and son of the president of the multi-national corp. Usami group, there was not much to do in life. He writes, eats and sleeps. He sometimes wanders around for inspiration for his novels. An average guy would be satisfied and say that he couldn't ask for more. He has a huge house, money more than enough for his entire life, an imported luxurious sports car and unmatched writing prowess. His Adonis-like looks and stature is a big bonus.

But for Akihiko, everything meant nothing to him. For him, life lost its meaning 10 years ago, the day when his love died on a tragic accident. Since then, the 28 years old novelist lost interest in everything. He lived on but did not move on. For him, his life stopped that very moment when he lost his beloved.

Akihiko thought about committing suicide but he knew that his beloved wouldn't want that, Takahiro wouldn't be happy. So, he continued to live.

Akihiko fixed himself coffee, the only thing he can manage to make for himself without making a mess in the kitchen. After that, he took a quick shower, got dress and grabbed his car keys. He decided to grab a bite on a nearby restaurant and kill time outside/ a.k.a. finding inspiration for his next work.

He rode his red sportscar to the 2-star restaurant to eat his brunch. The silver haired novelist can't do anything outside writing. So, he couldn't cook for himself or take care of the house. He didn't want to hire maids because he doesn't want to spoil the solitude of his overly spacious house. He only orders the attendant of the condominium to bring his laundry to the cleaners. He also only eats out or order from a restaurant to eat. That's how Akihiko lived until today.

After eating his brunch, Akihiko drove through the streets of Tokyo until he saw a familiar face walking through the crowd. He rolled down his window, "Hiroki!" he called out.

The brunette looked around until he saw his silver haired friend in his flashy sportscar.

"Bakahiko!" Hiroki growled. His loud voice earned him everyone's attention. He blushed as red as a tomato as he marched towards the foreign car.

"What do you want, O great novelist?" Hiroki scoffed.

Akihiko looked at him disinterested, "Why so grumpy Hiroki? Don't I get a good morning?"

"Don't be smug with me Bakahiko! I have an appointment to attend to!" The brunette hissed.

"I'll drive you to the university if you need a lift."

"I'm not going there, I'm on a day-off." Hiroki averted his gaze and crossed his arms. He tapped his foot on the pavement.

Akihiko raised a brow and a smirk trailed on his lips, "You're meeting you lover, don't you?"

"What? No! I'm not!" Hiroki stammered and got another weird stare from the crowd.

"Get in here Hiroki, so you won't look like a flustered high school girl." Akihiko opened the door. The brunette reluctantly got inside the vehicle to avoid the embarrassing atmosphere sat beside Akihiko and buckled up. He crossed his arms and scowled, "Savvy?" he grumbled.

"Well, where are we heading to?" Akihiko asked.

"Kusama Orphanage"

"Orphanage?" Akihiko asked again.

"Yeah, the orphanage where Nowaki grew up. It's near the public playground near the border." Hiroki sighed.

Akihiko nodded, "Got it…" he drove away.

Hiroki Kamijou was Akihiko's childhood friend, he's an assistant professor in Mitsuhashi University department of Literature. In fact, he was Akihiko's only true friend despite their little arguments.

Kusama Orphanage…

Akihiko and Hiroki got out of the car. The brunette turned to his childhood friend, "Thanks for the ride."

"Its fine Hiroki, I don't have much to do. Anyway, can I come in?"

"What for?"

Akihiko looked away, "Nothing, just want to kill time and maybe get some new ideas."

Hiroki sighed, "Fine, come on."

"Hiro-san!" Nowaki called out as he ran towards the two.

"N-Nowaki!" Hiroki blushed. The raven haired giant pulled the shorter man to a tight hug.

"I'm glad you came!" Nowaki smiled.

"B-Baka! Akihiko's here!"

Nowaki turned to the silver haired man in front of him, "Usami-san… What are you doing here?"

"I gave Hiroki a ride here." Akihiko mumbled as he lit a cigarette.

Nowaki threw the cancer stick on the pavement and stepped on it, "This is a non-smoking Usami-san. I thank you for bringing Hiro-san here. You may leave…" he spoke as politely as he could but his voice had the usual ice on it whenever he encounters the novelist.

"Nowaki" Hiroki mumbled in nervousness.

"I brought some candies for the kids." He added trying to soothe his lover.

The doctor smiled at his lover, "That's very sweet of you Hiro-san… But I really need to talk to you about something. Let's just give it to them late."

Akihiko grabbed the pack of sweets, "I'll handle this. You two should just talk and take you time."

"Are you sure Akihiko?" Hiroki asked.

"It's fine, so where are the brats?" the novelist asked.

"They're at the back garden, Usami-san. Someone is with them so just ask the house parent there for help. Thanks…" Nowaki smiled a little and dragged Hiroki away.

The silver haired novelist sighed, "Such an impulsive brat…"

Akihiko made his way around the large building to head to the back graden of the orphanage. As he drew close to the said place, Akihiko could hear the noise of children playing. And then, a melodic voice began to speak, "okay, who knows the Bear Family Song?"

"Me!" the children cheered.

'Who's that?' Akihiko thought as he walked closer.

"There are 3 bears inside a little house~" the voice sang.

"There's Papa bear, Mama bear and Baby bear," The children chorused.

"Papa bear is very strong,"

"Mama bear is beautiful"

"And Baby bear is cheerful and kind"

"There they are, there they are, a happy family," they all sang.

At last, Akihiko reached the back garden. There he saw a bunch of kids cheering and squealing. The novelist scanned through them and there he saw someone sitting on a small stool, a chocolate haired person wearing an apple green apron with a small chick logo on front.

"Let's sing it again!" a kid squealed.

The brunette chuckled and stood up, "Okay, okay…" he smiled.

'That must be the house parent…' Akihiko thought.

"Excuse me," the novelist approached them.

A child pulled the apron of the brunette, "Misa-chan!, Misa-chan! There's an ojiichan!" the child pointed at Akihiko.

The other looked back at Akihiko. The 28 years old novelist froze on his spot as he came face-to-face with the house parent. His eyes met the most lustrous eyes he ever saw.

'Emerald… no… the softest shade of green… so clear, so soft…'

"Is there something I can help you with?" the brunette asked with a smile.

Akihiko blinked and quickly composed himself, "Yes, I've brought candies for the children." He showed the pack of sweets.

As if on cue, the children immediately stopped on whatever they were doing and rushed to Akihiko, "Candy!" they all squealed.

"S-Stop! Stop! You shouldn't run like that! Fall in line if you want to have candy like I've taught you before." The green eyed angel instructed.

"Hai!" the kids answered and fell in line in front of the two.

The brunette turned to Akihiko, "You shouldn't show them the candy openly. They might hurt themselves."

"Sorry… What's you're name?" the novelist asked.

"I'm Misaki, Misaki Takahashi," the brunette smiled as they shook hands. "And you are?"

"Usami Akihiko,"

"Nice to meet you Usagi-san"

Akihiko blinked twice, "Its Usami…"

Misaki blushed, "Sorry, I must've misheard you…"

The silver haired chuckled lightly, "it's alright… It sounds cute…"

"Oh…" the brunette trailed off.

'He looks so innocent… and somewhat familiar…' Akihiko thought.

"Tell me… Have we met─"

"CANDY! Misa-chan!" the children interrupted, taking the attention of the green eyed angel.

Misaki quickly opened the sweets and started distributing, "Sorry, here you go…" he gave one each child, "Now, don't forget to brush your teeth after eating okay?"

"Okay!" the children replied as they munch up the candy. The line ended, leaving one piece of sweet.

Akihiko watched the brunette walk towards a kid with silver hair and olive green eyes who was sitting alone on the swing.

"Here Akito-kun, I saved some for you." Misaki smiled and held out the last piece of sweet.

The child looked up to him with a faint smile and took the sweet slowly, he moved his hands as if signaling something. The brunette smiled and planted a kiss on the other's forehead, "You're welcome." He smiled and patted him on the head. He then left the boy to savor his candy.

"Thank you for the candy Usagi-san, I mean…" Misaki trailed off.

"It's alright…"

"Do you want to adopt a child here?" Misaki asked.

The silver haired novelist was taken aback by this. Usami Akihiko? Adopting a child? For everyone who knew the silver haired novelist, child and Usami Akihiko cannot be used in the same sentence, ever! The world must be ending as we know it!

The silver haired novelist shook his head, "No, I've just accompanied a friend here. He visited Kusama-kun and told me to give those candies here." He explained.

Misaki's eyes saddened, "Oh…"

"What's wrong?" Akihiko asked.

The teen shook his head, "Nothing, I thought that a child will get adopted to day and have a new family… You know a real family who will take care of them…" he smiled sadly as he gazed at the children.

Akihiko just looked at the other. He felt something when he saw sadness in those green orbs, something that was left in the past which had trapped him for a long time. Somehow, he wanted to take those away.

"You're taking care of them so it'll be alright if they don't get adopted…" he mumbled.

The brunette looked at him with such bright eyes. Misaki softly smiled and turned back to the children, "Maybe you're right but I don't want them to end up like me…" he sadly spoke.

The novelist blinked, "What do you mean by that?"

Misaki chuckled nervously, "I never got adopted that's why I stayed here until now…" he trailed off and glanced at the other. When he saw that the other would give the usual response by the usual people who heard about his case, Misaki quickly smiled.

"Maybe I wasn't just lucky… I was never an excellent kid so maybe that was my fault…" he added.

Akihiko knew that the other didn't want to be sympathized and be pitied upon so, the silver haired novelist didn't say a word. He didn't want this person to feel that he's troubling others, somehow, Akihiko knew how he felt, to be left, to be alone, to be blaming oneself for such incompetence. But now, the novelist wanted to know more, to discover more from this person who seemed to be someone he knew in the past. Why would he do that? Why be so interested at a person he just met? Akihiko found himself pondering over such trivial thoughts.

Suddenly, a very loud ringing noise interrupted his trail of thought. It was coming from his coat pocket.

"Usagi-san, I think someone is calling you," Misaki reminded.

The novelist fished out his phone from his pocket and lazily answered it, "What?" he grumbled.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING NOVELIST? WHERE'S THE MANUSCRIPT! I'M SO GOING TO HAVE YOUR HEAD TODAY!" a shrill voice roared from the other end of the line. Akihiko was holding the phone away from his ear, a safety measure taken to save his ear drum from being broken.

After sensing that it was safe enough to speak, he held it closer to his ear. "It's finished… I'm going to bring it later today. Don't you trust me? You're my editor…" he spoke smoothly.

"I'VE ALREADY GIVEN THAT UP A LONG TIME AGO! JUST BRING THE MANUSCRIPT HERE! THE PRINTERS ARE WAITING…" After the ear-splitting order from Aikawa, she cut off the call.

Akihiko slipped his phone back to his pocket, "Damn woman…" he cursed under his breath. When he looked back at Misaki, the brunette was looking at him with a flushed face.

"I need to go…" Akihiko spoke as he glanced at his watch.

Misaki simply nodded, "I think that is quite obvious…" he nervously chuckled and turned to the children.

"Everyone, Usagi… I mean Usami-san is going to leave now…" the brunette announced. The children quickly gathered around him, "Bye-bye Usagi-san!" they chorused.

"Bye brats…" he mumbled and turned to Misaki, "I have to go…" he bid goodbye and walked away, leaving the children and their green eyed guardian alone in the garden.

"Will he come back and bring us candy again, Misa-chan?" one of the kids asked.

"I don't know… He just dropped a friend here, so he may not…" Misaki answered. The children groaned in disappointment.

Akito, the child on the swing, approached Misaki and started to sign, "Will he comeback here?" The brunette sadly smiled and shook his head, "I don't know Akito-kun but maybe… I think he's a good person…" he answered as he looked back to the direction where Akihiko went.

Akihiko got in his car and started the engine. He glanced at his rear view mirror to see the Orphanage. He was still pondering about Misaki. Something inside him told the novelist that he needs to comeback there another time. But why and what for?

Thus, he rode the red flashy sports car to his condo to pick up his manuscript and drop it off to his devilish editor (who went through hell lot of trouble because of his lack of ability to meet his deadline.)

"I thought you would never come…" Aikawa grumbled as she snatched away the manuscript from the novelist.

"I just dropped off a friend to an Orphanage. He wanted to visit his lover so, I, as a very reliable and understanding friend, gave him a lift… I can't just let him walk all the way there…" Akihiko explained trying to sound as if he was a gentle and o-so responsible friend.

Aikawa eyed him, "You can't weave lies before me sensei… I know your style like the back of my hand…" she grumbled and gave the manuscript to the intern to be delivered to the printers.

Akihiko scowled at her and left the establishment. He drove back to his house and upon arriving, he plopped on his couch. He didn't even take off his coat, he was too tired. He never went out that long, so it was taking a toll already.

'I really need to exercise…' he thought. 'Now, what is there to do? I've already finished the book for now… What will I be working on?'

"Takahiro… Give me a sign…" he mumbled and noticed that a leaf was stuck on his hair. It was probably from a tree in the garden. A chuckle escaped his lips.

"Maybe I have something to write after all… Thank you…" he twirled the leaf between his thumb and index finger. He got up from the couch and went to his office.