Red Girl Blue Boy

Cold choices.

The two unlikely companions met up again many times after, and Ao still questioned why everyone hated the tiny girl. She was misunderstood, yes, but talk to her, or say hi, even once, and she lost her claws, becoming as harmless as the kitten he called her.

"Kitten?" Ao called, he had seen her rush out the door as class had started to end. A piece of lined paper was clutched tightly in her fists. Shaking his head he called over, "I'll see you next class!" When he didn't see the tiny girl, he assumed she had skipped and had hidden in the library however on the way there he saw the bright flash of red that had become so normal for him. She was running into a room, an old classroom. When he called for she didn't reply, and when he knocked on the door all he received was cold tension until finally she replied.

"G-go away....." Rae stuttered. Startling Blue, who had never seen the headstrong, confident Red, stutter, she sounded like she was in pain. He couldn't see her though, she had closed the door to the class room she had run too. A quiet mewl brought him from his thoughts. It was Shade, the kitten who was always with her.

"Shade...?" The quiet call shocked him again, the pain was evident this time, and the weakness in her voice was abnormal, it worried him, this time he picked up the kitten quickly, and shoved the door open, going into the classroom before closing the door again. Turning he looked at Rae.

Shock was all that registered as he looked at the poor woman.

There was a scratch on her cheek, a bruise on her wrist, multiple rips in her clothing, a large ugly purple-green bruise on her ankle. There was crimson blood on the floor, not enough to panic with, but enough to show concern. Her beautiful ruby eyes had rusted to a dull faded red-orange. She was trembling, and when she saw Ao holding Shade she lunged forward and practically pushed him to the ground, as tears started to drip from her once lively eyes.

"Blue... Shade..." she mumbled, embracing Shade she she knelt and held the kitten to her chest. She leaned forward, and sobbed. Ao sat up on the classroom floor, his legs spread out so Rae was between them. Hesitantly he reached forward and encompassed the tiny, frightened, child-like woman in his arms, he brushed her midlength crimson hair smooth, holding her close.

"Don't cry..." he whispered. "Your tears aren't meant to fall, you don't deserve this torture, you need so much more, darling, it's cold outside, but I'll keep you safe..." he murmured softly, he continued the soft reassurances hoping only to comfort her.

The only response he received from the young woman was soft whimpers and the desperate movement of her fingers, they were tangling and untangling from his shirt, as if she wanted warmth but didn't know how to ask.

"Will you be okay now?" Ao asked.

She whimpered, nuzzling her nose into his chest, as if his words had burned her skin.

"Why can't I be left alone..." she began, "I just want to be left alone, I never asked to fight them, I asked only to be left to my own rules..." she sobbed softly.

"The world's harsh isn't it," Ao whispered, looking out the classroom window he sighed, "Yet all we can do is grin and bear the weight of history, we repeat each mistake until we learn all we can from it, as that's how we learn..."

"It's not fair..." Rae growled, before she looked up at the comforting glow of Ao's sky blue eyes, "Life's not fair Ao!"

"Life is fair, it's the people who make the choices around it that are not fair."

"But I want to hide, I don't want this reality, it scares me, and I want to cry..." the words that bled from her mouth made Ao want to sob, the girl he held had grown on him.

"You're making me go soft little Red," he mumbled, and softly cradled the girl, he looked out the window of the classroom, a determined look in his sapphire eyes, "I guess I'll have to the mist out of it." He picked Rae up, as Shade nuzzled into her arms, the tiny figure he held still trembled slightly from her tears.

"I want to go home..." was all Ao needed to hear from Rae's lips.

"Of course my dear," he replied, his voice was kind, yet he felt like he was ready to scream his frustration.

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