Red Line || Chishiya Shuntarō ✓

ten

"What were you before you came here?" Himari asked. Ren and Himari were sitting outside, letting the sun hit their skin while Himari waited for nightfall. It had been five days since Ren's last game - and she was starting to feel stir crazy. Himari decided to take her out of the shopping center for a few minutes, get some fresh air and walk around a bit.

"I was a bartender." Himari looked her up and down. "Yeah, I lied about my age to get the job." Ren did the simple math in her head. "They have me down as... 23 now?" Ren shrugged.

"I'm afraid to ask why." Himari said, looking down at her legs.

Ren knew that Himari saw the picture of her with her siblings. Sousuke showed her when he went through Ren's purse. Ren bent her knees, barely flinching at the burn. It was healing nicely after a few days of rest. "I needed the money, even if the money's shit." Ren grabbed a stone that was off to the side. She tossed it into the empty street. "Bills can't pay themselves." Ren commented.

Himari glanced over at Ren. "That picture... the hospital you're in..." Himari wanted to tell Ren that was the exact hospital that she was on her way to before appearing here. That was the interview she was headed to. "The little girl in the picture, she's..." Himari trailed off.

Ren looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "She was diagnosed at a year and a half. Her name's Kaida, and I visit her every day... well..." Ren closed her eyes. Ren wasn't sure how she was going to explain any of this to anyone, not even her sister. "I was heading to the hospital to visit her when I ended up here." Ren said.

"Takeru said something about his sister being sick, I didn't realize it was cancer." Himari sighed heavily.

"He doesn't understand why Kaida's sick or in the hospital. I tried to explain it, Sara tried, but he didn't understand." Ren said.

Himari looked at Ren, resting her arms on her knees. "What about your parents? Aren't they concerned?"

Ren opened her eyes, lowering her head. "They're dead." Himari's eyes widened. "They were killed by a drunk driver on the way to the hospital. Okaasan was in labor with my siblings when it happened." Ren looked out over the distance. "I was fifteen." Himari closed her eyes, looking away from Ren. "I had to drop out of school to take care of them. I've been their guardian ever since." Ren said, picking at the grass that grew out from under the stones.

Himari placed her hand to her mouth, trying to process what Ren was telling her.

Ren decided to ask her questions now. She turned, sitting criss-cross. Himari opened her eyes when she felt eyes on her. "Tell me about Junichiro." In the back of Ren's mind, Junichiro seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't place him.

Himari shrugged. "There's really nothing to tell. He's a nice older man who I met during a game. It was his first game and I guess you can say I took pity on him." Ren raised an eyebrow at her. Himari shook her head. "I didn't take pity on you." She stated.

"No, no, you took pity on him?" Ren asked.

Himari nodded. "Sōma told me not to, but I felt bad. He's an older man, and I didn't want him to wander and lose hope of ever getting back home." Himari said. Ren could tell Himari had a big heart for people, she wouldn't have seeked out Ren if she didn't. "I don't know, there's really nothing to say about him, Ren." Himari stated.

Ren knew she was lying. "What about this rule you can't take anything from the shops?" Ren asked.

Himari swallowed, rubbing her hands together. "When Sōma and I arrived here, the center was already picked over. Whoever was here last, they took most of the food and even anything we could use to defend ourselves. There isn't a single kitchen knife left. When Junichiro came in, he took over." Himari said.