7

Once outside, she starts to make her way toward her house. She stops when she sees a woman sitting against the alleyway wall with her legs crossed. The redhead turns around and approaches the woman who has been sitting quietly.

"Excuse me, miss," The redhead calls out politely, "Do you know where I could find a place to stay?"

The woman looks over at her, her expression unchanging.

"Where exactly are you staying right now?" She asks bluntly.

"I'm staying at a bar not far from here. Do you happen to know where that is?"

The woman remains quiet for a moment before slowly rising to her feet.

"Follow me. You can sleep at my house until tomorrow morning."

The woman walks ahead of the redhead and walks down the alleyway before stopping in front of a small, run down looking apartment complex. The woman glances over her shoulder briefly at the redhead.

"My name is Akane. Are you alright?" She asks as she turns back around to face the redhead.

"Yeah, yeah," The redhead replies nervously as she scratches the back of her neck, "My name is Uozumi Karin. It's nice to meet you."

Akane smiles slightly at the redhead and opens the door to the apartment.

"Come in," She gestures.

Karin enters the apartment cautiously and sets down her suitcase next to a pair of shoes that are sitting in the middle of the floor. Akane places her bag in a chair and motions toward the couch.

"Please take a seat, I have to get something out of the kitchen." She tells Karin as she walks toward the kitchen.

"Sure, thank you." Karin replies as she sits down on the couch and leans back against the backrest.

Akane comes back carrying a glass filled with water. She hands it to Karin before making her way over to the couch where she proceeds to sit down next to the redhead.

"Thanks." Karin states softly taking a sip of the water.

Akane leans back against the couch and crosses her arms over her chest as she looks at the redhead beside her.

"So how did you meet him?" She questions nonchalantly.

"Oh, we met at a bar a few weeks ago. We had gotten pretty drunk," She explains smiling slightly at the memory.

"What happened after that?"

"We both passed out…" She trails off awkwardly, "And then when I woke up later he was gone..."

She shakes her head softly as she stares off into the distance with a troubled look on her face. Akane watches her quietly for a few seconds as she waits patiently for her to continue.

"He said that he needed to leave...and that I was his best friend…he said that I shouldn't feel lonely anymore…" She finishes, her voice becoming slightly quieter than before.

Akane listens to the redhead's story silently.

"He always wanted to leave and go to another city to search for someone else. He told me goodbye and said to wait for him to come back."

"Did you?"

"Not really…I didn't want to leave him behind, so when he disappeared without telling me anything else, I decided to stay."

"And why do you think he's gone?"

"He was acting strange recently," The redhead responds with a slight smile. "It wasn't anything serious, but when I mentioned our names together he seemed a little flustered. When he went to check up on me a week later I realised he hadn't come back. That made me sad, but when he didn't call me back, I figured that he must have done well for himself, or he'd have been back by now. But it's not like I expected anything else; he doesn't deserve any of my affection anyway."

"You mean to say that you weren't happy with him?"

"Of course I was happy with him," She says defensively. "He treated me better than anyone else ever did. He saved me more than once, and gave me hope," She pauses for a moment and looks down at her hands. "I wish he would come back. I miss him. I love him…and no one deserves to be left alone."

Akane nods slightly and takes hold of the redhead's hand which rests on top of her lap. The redhead glances down at their intertwined hands briefly before meeting the woman's gaze with a confused look on her face.

"Do you think it might be worth it?" Akane questions as she stares at the woman.

"What do you mean?" Karin asks confusedly.

"Do you think it's worth waiting for him?"

Karin hesitates for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Because…when you said that you loved him," Akane says slowly, "There was a certain emotion within those words…a desire to protect him that no one else seems to possess. Is that true?"

Karin stays silent, her gaze fixed upon the table. After a few moments of silence, she finally answers.

"Yes…"

A small smile graces the redhead's lips as she squeezes the woman's hand gently.

"Maybe it isn't too late. Maybe he will return to you eventually."

Karin looks over at the redhead, a frown appearing across her face.

"But if he does, then there's nothing I can do about it now. There's just no chance."

Akane raises an eyebrow curiously at the redhead's response. The redhead notices the confused look on the redhead's face and clears her throat before continuing.

"I just…" She starts before trailing off.

"You…what?"

The redhead looks away embarrassed, "I've never been in love before…so it's kinda hard to picture what it feels like to lose someone."

"Oh…" Akane whispers before shaking herself from her thoughts. "Are you saying you don't love him?"

Karin gives Akane a soft smile, "I can't say that I'm not attracted to him. I guess I just haven't found the right person."

Akane sighs, "Well I suppose you're free to choose whoever you'd like to spend the rest of your life with."

"I'm not sure what kind of person he would be though. I couldn't imagine myself spending the rest of my life with someone like him. He could destroy anything he touches."

"So what exactly makes him different from other men?"

"Other men?" Karin repeats raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Akane replies nodding her head slightly, "I don't think I've seen you with anyone before."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You know," The redhead begins softly, "There aren't many people who would be attracted to a man like that. And even less women."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't see any women around here."

Karin glances around the room, almost in disbelief.

"Where are they then? If you live here, surely they'd have been living in this area too?"

"That's where I live." Akane replies softly.

Karin's eyes suddenly widen.

"You lived here?"

"Yup."

"All alone? For years? With no friends? No family?"

"Yup."

"How could you? How could anyone just abandon you?"

"It's not like I didn't try to find them. It took years to find where everyone came from and even longer to find any of them. But they were all dead by the time I found them. They were killed because they looked at the wrong people."

"That's awful. What sort of people would do such a thing?"

"I don't know."

"They should have been arrested!"