Akane walked into the Battlefront meeting room, in her usual 'brilliant red' attire. She never cared for the normal uniforms, so she wore what she wanted to instead.

She got the the room, said the password and went inside. When she turned back around from closing the door, she saw the room was entirely dark.

'What? I thought there was a meeting right about now.' Akane thought to herself. She was about to call out and switch on the lights when a hand pressed firmly over her mouth.

She was only dragged a small distance, to the underside of Yuri's desk. But in the few feet she forcefully traveled, a fair number of different thoughts crossed Akane's mind.

'Am I being kidnapped?!'' 'Wait, no, we only by Yuri's desk...What's going on?'' Were her two main thoughts.

"Sorry about that, Akane." She heard someone whisper. She quickly placed the voice to his owner: Hinata.

"Hinata! What the Hell are you doing?!" She whisper-yelled. "And what the Hell is going on!?" She added. "We're playing hide and seek." Hinata explained. "...You're playing...Hide and seek?" Akane asked. Hinata nodded; But when he realised she couldn't see him, he rushed a quick: "Yeah."

"So...Whose seeking?" Akane asked. She tended to stay fairly serious, but now was sort of an exception. "Naoi." Hinata answered. He almost spat the name, but he managed not to.

Akane dazed out. She began thinking about her death in her previous life.

-Flashback-

Akane's father, a very high-class business man, but sometimes, because of that, he had to dabble in the 'assassination' corner of the world. Yes, sometimes he would kill people for his business(s).
He thought, for expense purposes, that he should get Akane herself into the assassination business, so that he would not have to pay dodgier people to do his dirty work. So he could have it for free instead.
Akane was only young, around 10 when her father signed her up for multiple classes such as: Karate, Judo, Capoeira and classes which taught her how to use a Katana.
Akane enjoyed those lessons, she though her father had tried to help her learn self-defense. She had gotten to the red belt in Martial Arts and almost an expert in using her katana.
What Akane did not expect, however, was her father planning on testing her. He hired the hitman he usually liked to use for his dirty work to come at Akane and attempt to kill her, to see if her skills had developed.
Akane had recently turned 11, her test day was on the day after her birthday. It was a Monday, and Akane was walking home from school in a large group of friends.
The further Akane got to home, the more friends disappeared leaving her alone quite close to her home.
Akane was about four streets away from her house when she felt a strange feeling; As if she was being watched by someone. She looked around and sped up a little bit.
Akane padded the place where she usually kept her katana, before remembering that she wasn't allowed to take it to school. She suddenly felt very unsafe. Comparing her Martial Arts skills to her katana, if Akane was going to get attacked here and now, she was very likely to get very badly hurt or worse. She wasn't as good as Martial Arts as she was with her katana, despite the red belts, she stil lacked a bit.
Akane was round the corner from her home, she thought she would make it, when someone hit her from behind. It was a blunt metal object, and they had hit her in the head. Akane had not expected it, and she passed out then.

5 years later, Akane woke up from a coma. She didn't remember anything and when she saw two people standing above her, she realised she had no idea who they were.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice very weak. "We're your parents." They answered. "I'm sorry Akane, for assigning that...5 years ago..." The man who was supposed to be her father said. "I don't know what you're talking about..." Akane trailed, almost in a whisper. She felt very weak. The last thing she heard were her 'parents' calling her name.

-End of flashback.-

"Akane!" Hinata whispered. "You were dazed, sorry." Hinata explained. "Oh." Akane answered, wiping a stray tear from her face. "Hey. What's the matter?" Hinata asked, shuffling closer to Akane, wrapping an arm around her. "I was thinking of my death, sorry..." Akane admitted. "Oh, well, uh..." Hinata stumbled. "Well, I-"

"FOUND YOU!" Naoi yelled loudly, cutting in. He had a torch with in and saw Hinata and Akane sitting together in such a way. "Hinata what did you do?" Naoi accused immediately, helping up Akane with his free hand. "WHAT'RE YOU TALKING ABOUT I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Hinata rambled loudly back. Akane accepted Naoi's help and stood up quietly. "Look, she's even crying. Now tell me-" Naoi stopped to pause, eyes turning red. "What. Did. You. Do."

Akane pulled back Naoi from Hinata, as she wiped a few more tears away. "He didn't do anything, Naoi, but thanks anyway." Akane smiled politely. "Now, go find some others." Akane said in a polite tone. Naoi smiled back and obliged. Akane slid herself back under the desk because there was nowhere else to sit. Nowhere she could see anyway.

"Sorry about that." Hinata and Akane said at the same time. Then they both smiled and giggled softly.

The game soon came to a close and Hinata went off to talk to Otonashi as Akane went to speak with Naoi.

Herself and Naoi were talking about some random things when they heard Hinata yell: "What?! No! I don't...NO, Otonashi!" Quickly followed by: "I won't. Not her..."

Otonashi quickly shushed Hinata as Akane watched from a far. "What d'yu think they're on about?" Akane asked Naoi. "I think Otonashi just told Hinata to try and obliterate you." Naoi answered bluntly. "Oh well that's reassuring, thanks, Naoi." Akane said sarcastically.

"I know how to test that theory." Naoi said, placing both of his hands on Akane's shoulders. "Go. Leave. Don't make too much of a fuss, but make it obvious your pissed. Pretend to be pissed at me if you want. If he follows you, then he probably does need to obliterate you." Naoi explained. "Um, I don't really want to yell or be obliterated, but here goes nothing." Akane said.

She stood up briskly. "I can't believe you tried to hypnotize me to try to make me do that, Naoi! You're sick!" Akane shouted at Naoi, walking out quickly. She heard Naoi shouting back in response as a performance, but she ignored it as a part of her own performance.

Akane made it outside quickly, she managed to find a quiet area away from everyone. She started to think.

If she never got a chance to be a proper child or kind of teenager, is that something that could obliterate her? If she played a game of tag and then a game of spin the bottle or kick the can? She never did anything with her youth because she was passed out for most of it. What did she want to even do...?

"Akane!" She heard someone yell. She looked back to see Hinata. 'Oh.' She thought sadly.

"Are you here to obliterate me?" She asked bluntly. "Huh?" Hinata asked. "Oh." He said quickly. "You heard didn't you?" He asked, coming and sitting next to her. "I did." She nodded.

"This better be worth it. What are you obliterating me for?" She asked. "W-well Otonashi asked, he's obliterating everyone one by one...It's for the best! It is...I just..." Hinata trailed. "You just can't explain it?" Akane filled in. "Yeah." Hinata answered sheepishly.

"Well, fine, but go and get Naoi." Akane said. "Naoi? Why?" Hinata asked. "I want to play tag." Akane said simply.

A few minutes later, Naoi had joined them in their game of tag. What? Akane did want to act as a child.

When they were all out of breath, Naoi decided he was leaving to go back to the meeting room to speak with Otonashi.

"Wait, Naoi." Akane said, following after him at a distance where Hinata wouldn't be able to hear them. "He's obliterating me, but that's okay, one of my saddest thoughts is that I'll probably never see you again." Akane admitted sadly, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm...sad you're going, but I'm also glad you managed to acknowledge me. Remember me." He smiled. The two shared their final hug before going their separate ways.

Akane got back to Hinata quickly and racked her brain for anything else she wanted to do before passing on.

"Hinata...?" She asked carefully. "Yes?" He answered. "You know because I was in a coma and never did anything?" (Hinata and Naoi were the only two to know about her past. She trusted those two the most.)

"Yeah...?" Hinata answered slowly. "I missed out on five years of youth. I missed a lot, huh?" She asked, lying back. He followed her lead. "Yeah, I guess so." He answered.

"So, if you're going to obliterate me, which you are." Akane began. "Stop saying it like it's the worst thing ever." Hinata answered. "Well, in a way it is, Hinata." Akane began. "I'm never going to see you or anybody else again. Anybody I know here and I...Uh..." Akane stuttered.
"You what?" Hinata asked, rolling on to his side. This time Akane copied his actions. "Well, I...I've grown really close to you, Hinata...And I...Um..." Akane stammered. "Oh. I get it." Hinata smiled.

He pulled her close in a warm embrace. "You never got to do..." He began. "What everyone else did." He finished, lifting up Akane's chin with one hand and holding her up with his other. "Wait." Akane whispered. "Is this all real? I don't want to leave here with false feelings..." She admitted awkwardly. Hinata smiled. "Of course it is." And when he moved in to kiss her, which he had wanted to do for so long, he felt her leave him. He felt her disappear. He felt her pass on.

Hinata clutched the air. His hands fell to the ground and he sat slumped over. He pulled himself up and clutched his own forearms. He took deep, steadying breaths to try and stop the tears in his eyes from falling.

Hinata walked back into the Battlefront meeting room. He saw Naoi sat on a couch. The two of them made split-second eye contact and for once, they agreed on something. They were both going to miss Akane. They were going to miss her red clothes and perfect personality. They'll miss the times they had together. They would miss her until it hurt them. Which it already was beginning to. Naoi noticed the slight red-ness around Hinata's eyes. Hinata saw him looking and turned to where he found Otonashi. "Did you...?" Otonashi quizzed. "I did. I hope you're happy." Hinata said, looking down, some-what bitter.

Hinata managed to let things go. Not too easily though. He knew he had to get on with his life now if he ever wanted to meet Akane again.

When Hinata's, Otonashi's, Kanade's, Yuri's and Naoi's "Graduation." rolled around, Hinata was both pleased and sad. He didn't want to leave, yet he wanted nothing more than to get out of here.

When Naoi began to say his goodbye, Hinata stopped him. "If you see her, tell her I miss her. A lot." Naoi looked at him without anger or red gleaming eyes. "I will. And if you see her, tell her I miss her also." And then Naoi disappeared.

When Hinata's turned to say goodbye came around, he said his goodbye to Otonashi, but he couldn't get Akane off his mind the whole time. He wanted to see her again, to finish what he couldn't on the day she passed on.

Hinata left the underworld, smiling at the thought.

In their next life:

'Next-life-' Hinata stood by his friend 'Next-life' Naoi. They were always so close and you never saw one without the other. They were walking the halls of their high school one morning when they saw an unfamiliar yet familiar face.

Hinata grew confused, but then a small burst of deja vu. He walked up to the girl with Naoi at his heels. "Have we met before? You look so familiar." He said. And then Hinata and Naoi spoke at the same time: "Hinata says he misses you." "Naoi says he misses you."

And then it was like the three of them knew they would be great friends.