Chapter three. I don't own Shugo Chara! Rima's P.O.V.

I ran blindly out of the house, not daring to turn around to see if he was following me. The stars began to appear in the midnight-blue sky, as I ran without any hesitation or doubt. My cheek hurt where he hit me, and my head ached because of my thoughts. I was never going back there again. This time I wouldn't give up. I would rather die in the streets alone than live in the same house as him.

I decided to pause for just a moment, trying to catch my breath and look at the stars. They were beautiful tonight. The last time I saw the stars was when my mom had disappeared. I do not remember a single thing that had happened that day, maybe because I was too young. Or maybe, because I wanted to forget. I still remember how my mom looked like, and how she smelled like. I even remember her smile. The only memory of my mother that was blurry in my mind was that day...when she disappeared like she didn't exist in this world in the first place.

Tears started dropping out of my eyes, as I just stared at the stars, not knowing exactly what to do next. The confidence that had led me up to running away had faded, just like that. Now I knew why he never followed me out when I ran away. He knew I'd come back after an hour or so. He already knew I didn't have any courage to run away from him. I knew I was trapped. I couldn't do anything...I was so small...powerless...

"Don't give up. Keep going. Fate is on your side. I'm on your side"

I looked around the place to see who had talked. Nobody was there. For one moment I thought it was ghost, but something...no someone in my heart told me that everything was going to be okay. I took a deep breath and continued my way. This time I didn't run though. I took my time, and walked. He wouldn't come after me until he needed me, and I still had some time left before he was going to begin his search for me.

I walked and walked until the sky turned completely black, and that was when I decided to rest underneath a maple tree. The tree gently swayed in the wind, and it seemed to welcome me home. I sat down on the soft grass below the tree's branches, and fell asleep hearing that voice again. The voice of my heart:

"That's right. Don't give up. Everything will be okay. Rest in peace"

I slowly opened my eyes as the sun shone on my face, only to be blinded by the direct sunlight. When the sun stopped glaring at me for a second, I was startled to see a pair of bright yellow eyes staring back at me. I immediately jumped up from my spot, and turned my back on him, refusing to look at this boy. My mom had always taught me not to talk with strange kids or adults, and I was always going to listen to my mom, no matter who I was dealing with. The boy was the one that decided to speak up first, ignoring my rude attitude towards him.

"What are you doing here at 5:00 A.M. in the morning? Why do you have scars all over your face? Do you have a mother or a father?" he asked, the questions flowing out of him in a calm way.

At first, I wasn't going to give a reply. One of the reasons why was because of what my mom had said. But the other reason why was because he was treating me like a kindergartener. He wiped my face with a soft handkerchief, and patted my head as if I was a little doll! It was totally insulting. Even though I was kind of small compared to my age, I was capable of protecting myself. The only reason why I gave him a reply was because of my anger. I couldn't help it. I would later apologize to my mother.

"Isn't it very illogical?" I asked, turning around to face the boy directly.

"What?" asked the boy, surprised by my sudden interruption.

"I can take care of myself. I don't need someone worrying about my parents, or about my face, or about why I ended up in this place. It's a very illogical thing to do to ask a total stranger about their personal issues. It's also impolite" I said, the words kind of tumbling out of my mouth in a disorderly manner.

The boy seemed to smile for just a second, but the smile instantly disappeared, and was replaced by his regular expression. I was about to make a remark about the smile, but something inside me told me to keep my mouth closed.

"You're obviously not seven years old. Sorry for being mistaken" said the boy, gently apologizing.

Maybe it was the loneliness in me, or the strange boy's attitude, but I decided I wanted to talk more to him.

"It's alright. Hard not to be small when my own dad's blackmailing me. Wouldn't you have run away if your father and mother were useless people?" I asked, suddenly getting angry at my mother too. I was angry at her for leaving me with my father.

I thought this boy wouldn't be able to understand what I had said. I was talking figuratively. There was no way he could have understood what I was saying, right? Believe me or not, he seemed to understand everything about me, after listening to three of my figurative sentences. Well, maybe not completely, but he seemed to know exactly what to say to me next.

"No one in this world is useless. Everybody in this world is born for a special reason" he said, smiling down at me.

"You sound just like my mother. Caring, yet annoying at the same time" I said, slowly, bit by bit, opening my heart towards this boy.

"Is that a good thing?" he asked, as I sat down on the grass again.

"Of course not" I said, as he sat down next to me, frowning.

He soon forgot about my remark, and asked, "What brings you to this part of the town? It's dangerous for a girl to be sleeping alone in this area. A lot of beggars, thieves, and all those bad people live in this place. It's a miracle you managed to stay alive until now"

"Thanks. I take that as a compliment. Plus, the word "bad", is too simple. As I've already told you before, I'm not a kid. I can understand more complicated words if you have enough thoughts to use them" I said, still trying to act stubborn and headstrong.

"I've never met a girl like you before" the boy said, laughing out loud.

"I don't know why you find this funny" I asked, looking at him as if he was a weird person, which he was.

As the sun started to shine on both of us again, I noticed for the first time that the boy was wearing rags. I slowly began to realize my location. I also began to understand why this boy had said that this place was dangerous. I was in the darkest part of the town, the place where my mom used to warn me never to go to, no matter what the circumstances may be...

I thought things over, and I asked, "Do you live in this district?"

"Yes...why do you ask?" the boy replied, confused by my question.

"Well, you don't look like you're a bad person, and you don't act like your dangerous...so why do you live here?" I asked.

"My family can't afford to live in a better place than this. My mother's sick, and my father works, but the pay is very little" he said, looking at me directly in the eye.

"Oh..." I said, looking down at myself. My father was rich despite his weird actions, and my mom...used to be...great at everything. That was when I realized how lucky I was. I didn't have to wear rags, and I had enough food to eat everyday. I looked at this boy once more, and decided that he looked pretty handsome even though the dirty rags made it hard to figure it out. We looked at each other, and smiled. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by shouting though.

"Nagihiko, where are you?" asked a woman's voice. She sounded desperate and worried.

The woman soon came into view, and she came running towards us as soon as she saw Nagihiko.

"Nagihiko, go back to your parents. You know how worried they were? Didn't they tell you not to come to this place? Why do you always disappear in the morning?" asked this woman, the questions coming out of her as if she already knew them by heart.

The woman got out her phone, and started to call somebody. I stared at the woman in front of me. She had pink hair that was all tangled up, and she looked like she had just woken up from bed. She also had a worried expression on her face as if she knew something unpleasant was about to happen. Overall, she was pretty, but something about her told me that she was not a happy person. It seemed as if something was bothering her...

The call soon ended, and the woman started to drag this boy, who was apparently called "Nagihiko", away from me. I turned around from the woman, and Nagihiko, and started to walk the other way. I had run away from home, and I was determined not to go back. I would figure things out by myself. I had to do this on my own.

I was about to disappear around the corner, when Nagihiko suddenly called out, "Is it okay to leave that girl over there in this place?" The words seemed to be an order instead of a question.

The woman stopped in her tracks, and seemed to notice me for the first time. She looked at me for a while, before dragging Nagihiko to where I was, gripping his hands tightly against hers. She sighed as she looked at me directly in the eye, worry built in her face.

"Who are you?" she asked, "You should go back to your parents too."

"I don't have anywhere to go. I'm never going back", I replied, ready to run away just in case the woman attempted to grab me and drag me back to him.

"What is your name?" the woman asked, her expression softening up a bit.

"Rima", I answered, not adding anything I thought was unnecessary.

"Follow me, Rima", she said, "It's dangerous even for adults to be in this place for long."

The woman indicated with her hands to follow her. The woman didn't attempt to grab me. She had given me a choice. Usually I wouldn't have listened to strangers, but the warm expression Nagihiko gave me convinced my heart that I would be safe underneath the protection of these people.

It's alright. Follow them. Your path had been decided. Your light.

Chapter Finish. Sorry for taking such a long time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll update A.S.A.P!