Much had changed for Kai since his last match.
He not seen the rest of the team since he left the hospital, and had hardly been home at all since the tournament season began.
He hadn't been training as hard and completely missed the last weeks practice program, but he couldn't see the point of training if his heart wasn't in it, that's just not the way he did things.
He wasn't sleeping as he should and he just couldn't bring himself to eat ... he would always imagine Daichi being fed through the straw under the nurse's supervision.
The thought made him stir suddenly and he broke from the daydream.
He rested his chin on the railing of the marina and watched the lazy waves lapping aimlessly at the side of various boats.
He was wearing an old blue t-shirt and baggy jeans with a tear in the knee, his dark hair stirred as he faced the sea's breeze.

He'd come here allot lately, he enjoyed the calm and the only sound was the chattering of seagulls and the occasional fog horn.
But he was unlikely to hear any horns this morning as the sky couldn't have been clearer, it was approaching 5:30am and the sky was tainted with orange and pink, a slight sea breeze wiped his face and he straightened up stretching his arms like a cat.
He took a few short steps back with his hands in his pockets and turned looking up and down the street the only person he found was a sleeping bum who he had noticed a few days ago and the jogging girl.
He didn't know why he labeled her "the jogging girl" but it just seemed appropriate as it was all he ever saw her do.
As she got closer she slowed down and stopped at a nearby bench.
Panting she then tied her lasses and moved on.

She wore three quarter length shorts, black with a red line down one side and a black t-shirt with some sort of logo across her chest, as always she wore her hair in a tight bun and her face seemed firmly set in concentration.

What happened next was completely beyond Kai and the jogging girl but for what felt like the first time since Daichi's accident he spoke.
He didn't know why, and he certainly didn't mean to do it, but it just happened.
"you're lifting your knees too high, it's as if your just jogging on the spot" she stopped and they looked at each other, "okay, thanks I guess" she said reluctantly and was about to carry on jogging when she stopped short in front him and looked straight into his face.
A little shocked at this, Kai took a step back and eyed her suspicion
"your Kai Hiwatari right??" she demanded
he looked into her eyes, they were icy blue and fixed on his face.
"um, yeah ... why?"
"I'm sorry about your friend Daichi",
she wiped a drop of sweat from her hair line and said stiffly "but just because you're missing him doesn't mean you can go around telling others how not to make his mistakes"
Kai was stunned, first she knew who he was and then she apologizes for what happened to his friend, and now she's telling him to get over it!!!
"I don't know who the hell you think you are ..."
"the names Red"
"...well Red ... mind your own business"
she just raised an eyebrow and carried on jogging.

He watched her go, and when she was far enough away not to hear he cursed her with all the names under the sun.

Who was she to figure out what he was doing before he knew?

"Lucky escape their ma' boy", Kai spun on the spot trying to find the person who had spoke. A moment ago he was sure he'd been alone.

Then it dawned on him, the bum he thought had been asleep was now sat up, with bleary eyes and with a gruff voice he said "she's not one to have someone else have the last word ya' know."

"What?"

"That Red she's quite a hot head you could say" the old man smiled to reveal a set of yellow teeth and a broken smile.

"You're lucky she didn't rip your head off for talking to her like that, I remember the time when she stopped by the fish mongers to catch her breath and have a drink from the water fountain, and Kyle ... you know Kyle I think?"
Kai just stared in bewilderment the fact that this guy could form a whole sentence what a revelation to him.

"Well anyways Kyle's the kind of person that can't take public transport cuz his ego won't fit on the bus, and him and his friends had had an eye on red for a while now, you could tell cuz she always goes to drink from the fountain on Tuesdays and every Tuesday they'd be their watching."

The bum wiped its nose on its sleeve and scratched its un-shaven chin with stubble fingers before carrying on.

"well Kyle isn't one to go try something new on his own so he and his friends all made their way over to Red and she turned to face them asking what they wanted, well he couldn't have given her a straighter answer" the bum chuckled gazing up at Kai "he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her tight with hands all over her ..." he trailed off.

"What?" exclaimed Kai "they kissed?" this made his heart sinks, he didn't know why but he would have thought that she would have put up some sort of a fight. From what he'd already learned of Red she didn't sound like the type to be taken advantage of.

"No" the bum said simply

"She head butted him and threw him and three of his friends in the fountain"

Kai stood astounded.

"But she's smaller than me and ...and she's ..."

The bum stared up at him amused

"A girl??"

The bum had finished his sentence and tom dropped his shoulders in dismay, he knew that girls were often formidable opponents but he was so used to seeing them loose that the idea of Red beating four guys and having the strength to throw them into a water fountain was alien to him.

"It's not that girls can't fight" he said almost apologetically

"It's just ... they usually only do it as a last resort" he thought of all the girls he'd faced in the past, often muscular but clumsy or fast but weak.

"All girls fight to the death"

The bum's smile faded and he looked stern

"Apparently not all girls are red"