RED-EMPTION

Chapter 8

They were calling out my name

but I could not be found

I was falling through the flames

~Heart of a dancer~

~***~

She wore a devilish smirk upon her lips. Josephine didn't regret giving Yagami a hand job, in fact she felt quite pleased with herself. Her back ached from her injuries, but she didn't feel as scared. She felt confident for the first time since being dropped into this reality with nothing but the clothes on her back.

She entered her shared room only to be tackled into a hug by her roommate, Yuki. Fin winced in pain at the strength of the petite woman.

"Oh, Yuki, easy on the old back, will ya?" She whined, returning the hug as best she could.

"You could have died, Fin!" Yuki scowled, her eyes glinting with worry and anger. "You know that, right? You could have been killed!"

"Yeah, I get it, Yuki," Fin replied, wincing again as the other girl squeezed her tighter. "But I had to do something. I couldn't just let you get hurt."

The petite girl seemed to deflate a bit at that. "I'm sorry, Fin. I shouldn't have... I mean, I'm just glad you're okay." She let go and stepped back, rubbing the back of her neck.

Yuki seemed embarrassed by her outburst of emotions, but Fin just smiled at her fondly.

"Hey, it's okay. I get it. You're just looking out for me. And I appreciate that. You're a good friend, you know?" She patted the smaller girl's shoulder, trying to reassure her.

"Where did you disappear to when the cops showed up? I couldn't find you anywhere. " Yuki suddenly remembered and asked, curiosity in her tone.

"I went to Asahi's house." Fin answered simply.

"Your boyfriend's house." Yuki said underwhelm with a deadpan expression printed across her features.

Fin rolled her twilight eyes at the older woman. "He's not my boyfriend." she corrected.

"Yeah, and I am the Queen of England." Yuki retorted sarcastically. "So what? You went to ask for his help?"

"Something like that," Fin smiled. "But you know, Asahi, he's not the type to just stand around and let something happen. He's a good guy, deep down."

Yuki didn't look fully convinced.

"Like he's a really good guy deep, deep, deep down, like in the bedrock of his soul." Fin drawled; her expression still dubious.

Yuki snorted, shaking her head. "You're digging yourself a bigger hole regarding the issue of Asahi being your boyfriend, you know that? One of these days, you'll have to face the music, admit you like him, and deal with whatever comes next."

"Maybe," Fin said, sounding unconvinced. "But for now, I'm just glad we're all safe."

"Is this a bad time to mention the boss wants you to work the lunchtime shift today?" Yuki asked, a mischievous glint in her eye.

Fin groaned, rubbing her temples. "Of course. Can't a girl catch a break around here?"

"You knew what you signed up for," Yuki chuckled. "Come on, at least it's just for a few hours."

Fin groaned again but couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, yeah. I guess you're right. Alright, let's go get some food. I'm starving!" With that, she stood up, wincing slightly from the movement but managing a weak laugh.

"You go on ahead. I've got a hot date later tonight, and I need to have an 'everything bath'." Yuki teased, winking at Fin.

Fin raised an eyebrow at her roommate, knowing full well where this conversation was going.

"You're kicking me out of the room tonight, aren't you?" Fin asked, a knowing smile on her face. Yuki grinned back, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"It means you get to spend more time with Asahi." Yuki retorted with a playful grin.

"He's not my boyfriend." Fin repeated, though her tone lacked conviction.

"You keep saying that, but you know it's not true." Yuki teased, her expression still playful. "Now, get going. I've got things to do."

Fin rolled her eyes and made her way down the stairs to the bar area, where she saw Kenji setting up for the lunchtime shift.

"Hey, Fin," he said, greeting her with a warm smile. "You're up early today."

"I don't think 10 am is classified as early, Kenji." Fin teased, leaning against the bar.

"Get your grubby mitts off that; I just cleaned it." He said, hitting her playfully with the tea towel that rested over his left shoulder.

"You're one to talk," she countered, "You look like you've just crawled out of the dumpster."

Kenji laughed good-naturedly. "Well, I did have a bit of a rough night," he admitted, "but I'm still here, aren't I?"

"That reminds me." The snake-tattooed man pulled out a piece of paper from his apron pocket.

"Some guy told me to give you his number," Kenji confessed.

Suguru Shima (***-***-****)

Why did that name sound familiar?

Shima Suguru. It rang a faint bell, but she couldn't quite place it.

Oh, well, maybe Yagami would know why. She took the scrap of paper from Kenji and slipped it into her pocket, promising to give him a call later.

"Anyway, I am on why way to, Azuki's, you want anything." Fin asked.

"Nah, I am good kid." Kenji said as he continued to set up. "But if you do feel like grabbing something, I hear that new ramen place just opened up a few blocks over. They've got this amazing miso broth that's to die for."

Kenji hinted that he didn't want anything from the bakery but rather a ramen restaurant.

"Is this you're not-so-subtle way of asking for ramen?" Fin asked, grinning. "Fine, I'll get some. I've been craving it anyway." With that, she left with her purse in hand, heading towards the new ramen place that Kenji had mentioned.

AN: Chapter 8 was really, really long so I decided to split the chapter, this is the shorter half of it.