I opened my eyes, both me and the stranger had survied by the grace of God. 

He got up and angrily kicked me in the leg, staring me down with those tired eyes of his. 

"We're alive!" I screamed for joy, throwing my arms up. "Sir, are you okay?" I got up and looked him up and down. Assuming he was fine on the outside I grinned, nearly overflowing with emotions. "It was Jesus that saved you, not me." I said proudly. 

Honoka was frozen in place, she was very obviously shocked. 

The man let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob. "I don't give a **** about Jesus, and he doesn't give a **** about me. I was right, you really are a silly little girl." He started to walk away.

"Hey! Stop that, get back here Mr..." I stopped running after him, awaiting an answer.

He slowly and reluctantly spun around, "Naoya Ito." He replied in an annoyed tone of voice. 

Using my tiny brain, I connected the strange coincidences. "Ito is my last name too! Maybe we're related." I joked. I was going to try to help this random stranger, not mess around. 

"Maybe, if your dad is a horrible person and your mom is American. Maybe..." He kept on walking while he talked. 

I followed Naoya, forgetting all about Honoka. I just really wanted to help him even though I couldn't, I felt like I had to for some reason. "Well... my father isn't a horrible person but my mother is American." I was silent for a moment. "Why do you want to die?" I asked, tilting my head as I looked up at him, he was so stupidly tall. 

Naoya started walking faster. "Why do I need to tell you?" I hated it so much when people answered my questions with another question. 

I sped up to stand in front of Naoya and put my hands on my hips, making my little angry face at him. "Look, Mr. Grumpy! I don't know why you have such a bad attitude but trying to kill yourself won't make your problems go away." I probably looked silly yelling at him on the sidewalk. 

Naoya stared at me blankly for a minute or two. "Maybe I have a bad attitude because my whole life has been a pile of ****. If I was never born a whole lot of bad things wouldn't have happened. I'm trying to do everybody a big favor by killing myself, it's a shame they won't accept that gift. Besides, I'm tired of going in circles every day." 

I thought for a moment. Maybe I could use all of my advice that I needed to follow on him. "Well maybe you're going in circles because you don't care to change! Try doing something different for once, then you won't feel so terrible." Sometimes my own life felt like an endless loop, just like my nightmares. 

Mr. Grumpy seemed surprised at me for saying something so logical. "Perceptive silly little girl..." I wondered if he was just going to keep adding things onto that title. "You're probably right, I would feel better if I did that. But like you said, I don't care to change." 

I was beginning to feel frustrated, this guy couldn't possibly be more stubborn. Actually, he was kinda like me... perhaps I had finally found out how bad I made my father feel. "If you know you'd feel better then why don't you do the thing?!!" I screamed in confusion. My thoughts seemed to be racing, they were all over the place and wouldn't stop. "What went wrong in your life?! Did you have parents that fought? I'm stubborn just like you!!" I was so stupid, telling some random stranger everything about me. 

The man's face went from blank and tired to angry. "You're lucky you have parents so that they can fight! You've got it really good, little girl. I never met my dad, Mom was never even around, and when she was she was always in her room... sleeping." I guess he was a lot like me. Overflowing with hurt, wanting so bad to tell someone of it. 

"Are you the kid that my father had with some Asian lady?! The one that gets brought up and then the fighting always gets worse!!?" I stared up at him, teary eyed. 

Naoya looked even angrier. "Dad left for you and your sister! I hope you're happy!" He said with a fake smile. Soon after, his expression went back to being furious, and he slapped me in the face. 

Instead of getting mad or running away, I hugged him tight. He didn't deserve to feel upset like he did. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry! Daddy isn't mean like you think... I'm sorry!" I was torn, I didn't know what to do. 

Honoka was standing right behind us, she had been watching almost the whole time. "Setsuko... we need to go home..." She reminded me timidly. 

Naoya sighed. "Go home with your sister, Parasite." He pushed me away from him and looked at us both. "I don't like either of you, but I like you better because you don't talk." He tapped on Honoka's head, and then walked away. 

My sister and I walked home in silence. Once we reached the front door we saw Rui right there outside of it, about to ring the doorbell.

A big smile spread across Rui's face. "Ah, Setsuko! I missed you... so I decided to come over to see you." He took a few steps closer to me and hugged me tight, stroking my hair gently. 

I raised an eyebrow at him, we hadn't even been apart for long. "Clingy, I see?" I laughed, hugging him back. 

Rui giggled at my comment. "You believe you're any different? Every time we're together you never leave my side, squished right up against me." He pulled himself away a little, and made his hand go in a circle around my face a few times before booping me on the nose. It felt almost like he thought it was funny to observe me as I watched his hand go around and around. 

I slowly turned away from Rui, opening the door. When I turned to look at him again he was gone, so I proceeded to go inside, but he was right in front of me. "AAH!!!" I shrieked, throwing my hands up and dropping the keys. "Why are you so sneaky!? You snuck into my heart, then you snuck into my house! Next thing I know, you're gonna rob me."  

Rui laughed at me, "It wasn't hard at all. Maybe one day I'll rob you..." A little smirk appeared on his face. 

I did a fake gasp, I knew he was joking that he would rob me. Or did I? "What are you going to steal? Tell me so I can lock it up." 

He shook his head no at me. "Now, now, I'll leave that to your imagination. Why would I tell you anyways?" The way his smirk looked so mischevous was starting to get a little concerning. 

I walked into the house with Honoka. Rui was following me close behind as I went up the stairs. "What do you want? Why are you still here?" I asked him like a stupid idiot. 

Rui began to do fake sobs. "I wanted to give you hugs... but you keep running away! Woe is me!" He whined. 

I stared at him in confusion, when was I ever running away? "I'm not running away from you, I'm walking up the stairs!" I waved my arms around, frustrated. 

"It's the same thing! You're leaving." Rui forced tears into his eyes while he looked up at me a few steps down. 

I sighed, jumped down the steps and stood close next to him. "You're silly... I love you." 

Rui smiled at me as he picked me up. "You're silly as well. I love you too." He hugged me close, almost like I was a doll. 

All of a sudden, Emu was there. "Setsuko! That's only a half smile..." She looked terrified, it was almost like she knew I felt horrible somewhere inside. 

I jumped up in Rui's arms, if he wasn't holding me so tight I would have fallen. "When did you get in my house?!! How did you know?" I gripped tighter onto Rui's shirt to make sure I wouldn't fall.

Emu looked at Rui and I for a few seconds. "Rui! Are you bullying Setsuko?" Her cheeks were all puffed out, her hands on her hips. 

Rui was surprised. "No... I wouldn't ever do such a thing." 

"What if she doesn't like or want to be held by you? What if she doesnt like being hugged by you or anything like that?" Emu tilted her head at him when she asked this. 

Rui stared at her blankly. I didn't know it, but he was actually starting to feel bad. "Setsuko... would you rather me not touch you? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable..." 

"I don't mind it when you pick me up or hug me. I love hugs, they make me feel safe. I actually like it when you kiss me... don't tell anybody, please." I said to him shyly. 

Emu's eyes started sparkling, what was it with her and Rui and I liking eachother? "Awwww!" She sqeauled. 

"What a weirdo..." I whispered to myself, thinking nobody heard me. 

Rui laughed at me. "Says you." He joked, still carrying me. 

"He says as if he thinks he's not weird as well." I commented, a silly little smile on my face. 

Emu was watching us the whole time. She looked so focused, she could have been a cat staring at a laser beam. 

"Ah, well I suppose we're all strange in some kind of way." Rui sighed. "What truly is normal?" He asked. It was actually a very good question, it was one that I'd already wondered. 

"Hmm, I don't know." I replied. 

We ended up going into this long conversation about people's different perspectives on life and what is really normal. I had forgotten all about my long lost half brother, until Emu asked me why I was upset. 

"What's wrong, Setsuko? Why are you sadder than you usually are inside?" Emu questioned me out of nowhere with a little frown on her cute face. 

I quickly looked into her eyes, she seemed worried about me. Why? Why did she care for me, and how did she know about the sadness I had deep inside? "I just met that long lost brother of mine, he's obviously horribly depressed." 

Emu was extremely confused, and I could see it on her face. "うわー、何?! You have a brother?!!"