A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Lost Baby Bear

Umeko and Ushijima continued to walk around with full intent to go straight to the lantern site, that was until they picked up on the sound of a small child crying. "Where is that sound from?" Umeko perked up to the sound but couldn't quite place where it was coming from amongst all the chatter surrounding them. "Can you see the kid?" Umeko looked up at Ushijima hoping for a positive response.

"Over by the benches and tables." Ushijima held tight to Umeko's hand as he walked at a faster pace. Not too fast that Umeko had to jog along, but fast enough that Umeko could potentially be left behind if he didn't hold on to her. He was fully aware that it wasn't the most pleasant pace to walk at, but they couldn't just leave the kid alone for any longer. Who knows what could happen?

Once they arrived Umeko approached the little girl carefully. She didn't want to scare her away or worse, make her cry more. "Hey there, what's wrong?" Umeko's voice was soft as she spoke, "Are you lost?"

The small girl wearing a bear-eared headband nodded with a long sniff. Her brown eyes were swollen and red from crying and her face was a tear streaked mess. The poor thing couldn't have been more than five years old. "I don't know where my mummy and daddy are." The girl began to cry again.

"It's ok, take a deep breath." Ushijima knelt down next to Umeko so all three of them were at the same height. He kept his tone smooth and his movements slow, he was well aware that he was rather intimidating and that wasn't exactly the best trait to have when dealing with children. "Where did you lose them?"

The girl's sobbing slowly died down to quiet hiccups and sniffles. "By the goldfish game..." She whimpered. "I wanted to get a goldfish but when I turned around mummy and daddy were gone." Her bottom lip quivered as she tried her best not to cry again. "I-I tried to find them, but I don't know where they are."

Umeko wiped the girl's tears away using her thumbs. The goldfish game was rather far from where they all were currently which in itself was very concerning. "Shall we go look for them together?" Umeko wasn't sure if there was a 'lost child center' nearby or if there was one at all in the festival.

"Are they wearing anything we should keep an eye out for?" Ushijima stood up slowly. "I am very tall and can spot them easier."

The girl nodded her head vigorously. "Mummy is wearing a pretty orange yukata and daddy is wearing a really ugly red yukata." She wiped her tears away with a newfound determination then held her hands up towards Ushijima. "I want to help find them too."

At first neither Umeko nor Ushijima understood what the gesture meant, luckily it didn't take the pair too long to understand what the bear-eared girl was talking about. Ushijima picked her up in his arms then ever so carefully sat her on his shoulders.

"Are you ok? It's not too high, right?" Umeko fretted over the girl before turning to Ushijima. "Be careful, don't walk too fast." Once Ushijima nodded in confirmation, Umeko turned back to face the child on his shoulders. "Make sure you hold on tight, ok?"

"We can start by going back towards the goldfish stall." Ushijima started walking in that direction making sure to be extra careful, there was a literal kid on his shoulders, and he couldn't afford to drop her.

The girl held tight to Ushijima's head as she looked around vigorously, as fate may have it, it didn't take too long to find the girl's very distressed parents. Thanks to the extra height Ushijima provided, it was easy to spot the brightly dressed couple. "Mummy! Daddy!"

"Kira!? Kira baby, where are you!?" The woman clad in orange desperately looked around to pinpoint her daughter's voice. She easily spotted the group of three and hurried over to them, husband in tow. "Oh my baby, we were so worried."