She was more delicate than a flower petal floating softly to the ground. She was so easily breakable that nobody dared to be near her, afraid of killing her just by looking into her dark, beautiful, emotionless eyes. Her whole life depended on a balance. If you found something to resemble this balance, she would be a thin piece of glass standing on its side, threatening to tip over any minute. If anything disrupted this balance, the glass would fall, and she would shatter.
He stared at her, clutching his heart, his deep blue eyes shining with tears of sadness. It hurt him to see her like this. He loved her so much, and he was sorry he ever left her, making her think that he was never going to come back. Although she used to be full of energy and strength, she was on the verge of death, in pain and fear. He knew that if she saw him, her protection would not hold, and the fond memories of them -those happy times, would destroy her. Her walls that she'd spent so long to make, was what kept her alive. She wanted to hide from her past. She didn't want to remember him. She tried to push him out of her face, but all those years of building and hiding behind her walls of safety, had turned her frail and weak. As he stared at her, her defense broke, and tears ran down her cheeks. He could see it in her dark, green eyes – the flashbacks of abuse and betrayal that she'd locked herself up from. He could see the walls cracking and crumbling down as she fell off her bed, her eyes wide with fear, onto the cold, marble floor of the hospital.
"I'm sorry."
He dropped down onto the floor, and sat next to her body, tears freely running down his face, hearing the drips on the ground. He saw a tear trickle down her pale cheeks, and kissed her.
"I love you Karin."
She smiled at beautiful blue sky, her bright green eyes shining in the sun. The cold breeze was blowing, but she seemed to not notice it. Leaves of red, orange, and brown flew past her, dancing in the wind, and were getting caught in her long, blond hair.
She looked like an angel - so carefree, so innocent. Nothing seemed to disturb her.
But a question in her mind was bothering her, and would never go away.
Am I just a bother to him?
She had been living with Kazune-kun and Himeka-chan for a year now. They've had their fun times, and their conflicts, but Kazune-kun had never really treated her like a close friend. Of course, he protected her, and cared for her, but she kept on wondering if that was just to protect the ring.
She stared at the ring. The ring that had started all this. It gleamed in the light, sparkling and shining. Yes, it was special to her, more special to her than anything else in the world, but it had also caused trouble, chaos, and turned her life upside down.
Why was she chosen to be the caretaker of the ring? Kazune-kun was strong, and smart, that made sense, but why was she, an average girl with nothing special to offer, chosen to be the protector?
---
When Karin opened her eyes, she was still on the grass, and could feel them tickling her cheeks as they swayed in the wind. Kazune was next to her, chewing on a turkey sandwich.
Karin sat up quickly, startled that Kazune-kun was there, innocently eating his lunch. She blushed, seeing the wrapped sandwich next to her.
"Did you make this for me?!"
Kazune nodded, not saying a word. He turned back to his sandwich again. Karin wondered why he never smiled.
"Oh." she whispered, pushing the sandwich toward him. "You didn't-"
In a second, Kazune-kun pushed her hand away, and set the sandwich onto her lap."You're hungry. Just eat up." His serious blue eyes glittering in the sun.
"But!"
"Whatever. I can't waste my time out here. I have to study." He quickly turned his face away, and stood up, muttering something under his breath. "Stubborn girls..."
Karin watched as he walked away, staring at the sandwich. She went over what had just happened, in her head. She realized that they were less than an inch apart when he pushed her hand away, and told her to eat.
Another thing kept sneaking into her mind.
Was Kazune-kun blushing when he left?
He walked back into the house, feeling embarrassed. She had looked so sweet when she was sleeping - so delicate - he didn't want to wake her up, so he had stayed with her, once in a while looking at her soft face.
Kazune shook his head wildly, wanting to escape the feelings creeping up on him. What was he thinking? She was just an ordinary girl...but similar to him. Why was he thinking these things?
That was the first time he had been so close to her, and he was scared to face her again, worried that next time, he might even go closer.
Kazune was denying the fact that he loved her.