Akai was rolling in her bed, feeling that her mind had already woken up, though her body still needed several minutes to catch up with the pace the mind had set. The sun was getting into the tiny room right through the window and it seemed as on purpose, was landing its sunrays on Akai’s face. Feeling annoyed, because disturbed, the woman hid her face under the pillow, lightly pressing it on her head with both hands. Feeling that it wouldn’t do, Akai loosened her hands to the side and the pillow fell down off of her head, ending on further falling to the ground. Useless. To try and sleep after the mind is all active was indeed useless. Realizing it, the red head pushed her stiff body up from the bed, the only secure place which she had right now and where she would rather stay for the rest of the day.

Akai made her way towards the big mirror, placed next to the wall. This mirror was the size of the human body. She hesitantly gazed at her own reflection. There was a red haired woman gazing at Akai. The woman had black bags under her eyes, which indicated that she must be physically worn out. Her hair was all messed up, indicating that she was absorbed by chaos. Her ghostly looking eyes were piercing at Akai. The gaze held that shade of apathy in it, as if would be staring into nothingness. The woman in the mirror raised her hands and pressed her palms to her cheeks.

”What am I? “ Akai voiced her doubt out loud while gazing at the woman in the mirror, which resembled her looks so much, but felt so distant at the same time. She was gazing silently as if not believing, that the woman in the mirror was actually herself. Since Akai left her village, she indeed changed in a way. Though the woman did not expect she would change so much, that she would not be able to recognize herself. While trying to figure out what had happened to her, Akai heard the voice coming from the shadows. The voice, which seemed as if it would be recalled from the past.

”You are a village member. A family person.” The silent voice of a male declared. It was not a threatening one, sounded more like a soothing and calming melody to Akai’s ears. A melody, which tune she was so used to. The woman slowly moved her gaze to the corner of the mirror and saw a reflection of the man lightly leaning towards the wall, with his chin tilted up and his eyes aiming at the ceiling. It was as if Akai had seen a ghost from her past, thus, she kept staring at the reflection trying to convince herself, that she did not leave the bed actually and her body was still asleep. While staring at the mirror, for a second there it seemed as if the woman in there stood together with the man, two matching pieces coming into one. Akai felt the déjà vu as if she was in the moment she already had been once already. However, suddenly there, in that very spot of the mirror, her eyes and the man’s gaze finally met. Even though it was indirect meeting of their eyes, it was enough for Akai to realize how familiar the former gaze was. Still feeling uneasy to turn around and see for herself, if what she was seeing was truly real, Akai spoke to the reflection of the man.

”From all of the people…from all of them…so many of them…” The woman stopped for a brief moment to sigh. ”He decided to send you.” With those words being voiced out, Akai turned around to meet the man directly. At one point, she was hoping that she simple imagined things there in the mirror, as there is that saying that one could see his soul while gazing at it. Though, even after turning around, the previously seen reflection did not vanish. A figure of a man was still physically there, leaning his body lightly against the wall, but now trusting his gaze onto Akai, rather than the high ceiling of the room. Seeing this, Akai felt as if being suddenly trapped. At one point she wanted to run and cling to him, to even cry on his shoulder. On the other hand, she knew that if she would do so, it would mean she was not happy and doubted her own decision. Thus she basically stood there, with her hand half raised towards the painfully familiar figure.

”I am your one and only friend after all. How could I have not come to see you?” The voice answered in a rather soft voice. It seemed as if he saw through Akai, as if he saw that she wanted to run to him and get comforted for a moment. Though for Akai, that sounded ironic. The woman was sure, that it was the reaction the man knowing her well was expecting for from the very beginning. Though, Akai stood there strong and calm, at least as much as she could, not wishing to give her own doubts away.

”A friend….”The woman emitted the word in a rhetoric tone, making a brief pause to think after. ”A friend whose service has been always well paid off. The words came as a complain, which had been a burden deep in Akai’s heart for a long time now. She always talked to this person, always spoke her mind and soul out, always had the right answers from him and the kind of support that she needed. Though, the doubt remained present through all of that time. Was it all solely for the money? Indeed. Was it?

The man, reacting to the words being thrown at him, pushed himself from the wall. Akai was carefully scrutinizing him, including every tiny movement he would make. Even though only several months had passed since the last time she saw him, it seemed as if that would make decades or even more. One part of Akai wanted to ask how he had been there without her or how was her family doing since she left. Were they missing her at all? Though, fearing to hear an honest answer, Akai restrained herself from asking. She seemed hopeless in her stance. Even her face, not quite recovered from the nightmares yet, indicated a high level of doubt and exhaust.

”You’re wrong. I came here on my own.”The man explained. It should have made Akai happy, it should have made Akai feel being cared of. Though there was one little detail that kept her from feeling so. All of that was a lie. By himself, he wouldn’t have known where to come looking for her, he wouldn’t have known where she lived. This information he gathered was solely the harvest of her father. Akai loosened the intensity of her hands as if given up on her hopes. That was it. She knew he was ordered here. The one and only person she would not be able to fight against. Is this the end of her already though?

”Why are you really here, Ayu?” Still hoping to hear some other reason, Akai softly asked. However, it was worthless to ask this question, because she knew he was sent here for only one reason, which was to try and bring her home. In this situation, Akai actually thought very well of her father. Making this decision of picking this exact person, he proved to be a very strategic man. However, the Hyuuga woman was not going to give up on this one just yet. She would show her father, that none of the means he would use, could ever buy her soul back.