Hello everyone, author here.

It's been... a long time. And a lot of things have occurred since this last outing. Hopefully everything remains coherent.

Mai Hime and related belong to Sunrise

Part 3: Motorcycle Drive-by on a Monday Afternoon

Nao paused as she looked up from the open anatomy book in front of her. It was a rather balmy day, strange for the time of year, and as the sun warmed her face she found herself unable to keep reading. She shrugged and closed the book, settling it next to a closed notebook. The loose papers in the notebook stuck out in odd angles that she chose to ignore for now.

The door opened with a soft announcement of Mai's arrival, and Nao looked up from her book. Inwardly she cringed—if she had a tail it would have been wagging by now. But Mai was oblivious to Nao's conflicted self as she made herself at home near the kitchen, setting a bag on the table next to her.

"I brought back a few things from Okinawa," Mai announced softly. "We thought it'd be a fun idea to bring back several shells too."

Nao raised an eyebrow.

"Shells?"

Mai nodded and placed several white shells on the kitchen counter. Nao gave them a cursory look before tilting her head over towards the small display cabinet in the corner of the living room. In it was a small collection of similar white shells, all neatly arranged around a single framed photograph. Mai looked over as well and frowned slightly.

"She still has that photo?"

Nao didn't trust herself to do anything but nod. Mai sighed.

"It's killing you, a little bit, isn't it."

The younger of the two shook her head and walked over to her desk, sitting down at the chair that had just been occupied by her. Mai followed her and picked a spot on the bed beside the desk. They settled back into the routine that had been broken up by a week's worth of vacation with a small sense of resignation. They had started this unenviable trek through the past, and it was only fair to finish it.

Nao took a deep breath and let it go in one long sigh.

Come to think of it, there's really nothing one can do about a love lost. It's not like a toy that can be fixed. Speaking of which there's an old model of a motorcycle sitting on my desk—something Kuga ended up leaving behind during what I could only guess was a mad scramble to pack and get the hell out of Fuuka. It's not one of those cheap plastic models, either. This thing was a roving beast of metal parts, lovingly crafted and painstakingly painted. It sits on my desk with its front wheel slightly tilted to the right, as if the miniature rider had simply left it only for a moment to go grab something to munch on or some smokes to indulge in. The motorcycle obediently sits, waiting for its master to go on rampant adventures once more. Except this time there is no adventure. Maybe I'm a bit melodramatic in describing a relationship in terms of a toy that seriously needs some dusting. The red paint is nearly pink, and the streaks are painfully noticeable as I draw a line from the fuel tank to the handlebars. However, it's now time to pick up where I left off.

Where was I? Oh yeah.

There is a huge blank between the events of that night and the week following it. But one thing was certain—Kuga had disappeared. Upped and left. Of course there was confusion followed by a bit of outrage on Suzushiro's part, but I would have been surprised if it was genuine outrage as opposed to just being angry over everything and nothing in particular. According to Kikukawa she had quite nearly managed to headbutt a hole through her bedroom window, which would have been pretty funny to say the least. We all needed a source of amusement back then no matter how over the top.

The hard goodbye came in the form of a letter: one page, handwritten in black ink. To be honest I was curious that Kuga even considered a letter, but the girl manages to surprise me every so often. The envelope had been delivered to Fujino's flat at precisely 3 in the afternoon on a rather pleasant day. Blue sky, puffy white clouds. Birds were chirping despite the fact that there was an absolute silence ruling over Fujino's humble abode at apartment 734.

Fujino looked up from the letter, which was now cradled loosely by unresponsive fingers. Her gaze was focused on what was directly in front of her, which was a small display cabinet beside the TV. In it was a tidy collection of various knick-knacks that Fujino had collected from various trips around Japan and even a few childhood trips abroad. There were sea shells from Okinawa neatly arranged around a sizeable conch shell from the Bahamas. I wondered once if she could still hear the ocean through it.

What stood in the middle of these displays was a small framed photograph of two individuals wearing Fuuka school uniforms. It was one of the few photographs where Kuga was smiling at the camera—trust me, this thing would have gotten a pretty penny if it was ever sold in the underground fangirl market. The two of them were seated on a picnic blanket near the trees that made up Fuuka's campus. It was the last photo Fujino had received before everyone went their separate ways after her graduation. Now she stared at it with empty eyes.

I stared at the photo as well. Kuga's smile looked alien to me, but I'm pretty sure that Fujino saw it enough to be accustomed to it. Of course the Kaichou looked flawless. I didn't trust myself to look at Fujino now as her hands slid down from her lap and the letter now rested on the cushion next to her. I had spent so many years cultivating this image that I had loved to hate. I wasn't too sure I would like this new, unnerving version of Fujino. I wondered if those scarlet eyes could get any darker. At this time the envelope, which had been on the cushion after being opened, now slid from the cushion and fell to the floor beside her feet. Brass had a distinctive noise whenever it hit wood. I winced and looked down; I couldn't help it. She didn't have to look at it. She couldn't look at it.

"Did you know?" Fujino asked me in a soft voice.

I sighed. It wouldn't do me any good to lie to her.

"A week ago, give or take some time."

Fujino looked like she was nodding but I wasn't too sure.

"I drove her away, didn't I? I got drunk and stupid and overstepped our boundaries."

I chose to remain silent. Fujino smiled a thin little smile that made me want to shake her until tears or candy fell out. I weighed my options accordingly and settled instead for balling up my hands into fists and standing there until I couldn't feel my nails digging into my skin anymore. Fujino then stood, but the movement was unlike anything I had seen from her—sluggish, unsure. I watched her for a moment before I realized that I wasn't focusing on her any longer. This was wrong. This was absolutely wrong. Where was the episode of awful bawling followed by ice cream and declarations that Kuga was a pig-headed doofus who would never amount to anything? I mean of course I'd be providing the latter point, but if anything I had at least expected to be treated to the rare spectacle of the beloved Kaichou completely losing over the one thing that couldn't want her back. I paused and waited for something unexpected to happen.

But Fujino quietly folded the letter and placed it back on the coffee table, followed by the envelope. Even the brass key was retrieved to be set on top of the letter. I glared at the careful collection as Fujino took a measured breath.

"Where are my manners?" It seemed like Fujino was asking herself more. "I'm sorry, Yuuki-han. I shouldn't have burdened you with this. Would you like some tea…"

She made to go to the kitchen to busy her hands when suddenly I turned. To this day her look of surprise has always given me a small sense of satisfaction. I had never been able to get her completely off-guard since then, when I grabbed onto her in an awkward embrace. I'm pretty sure that I got the procedure right. Wrap arms around someone and squeeze. But it felt all sorts of wrong and I nearly let go, but now wasn't the time to fall back on what was comfortable.

I'm sorry, Fujino.

Fujino clenched her jaw and choked back a sob, but it wrenched itself out of her throat so viciously that the strangled noise made me flinch. Her knees gave out and she took me down with her as she sank down, and the sudden movement cased me to feel her heart for the first time. The initial disquiet of a thundering heartbeat was offset by the disturbing revelation I had stumbled on.

I hated her, yes, but she was no lifeless husk. Beneath that storied reputation there was simply a girl who only had a few more years on me and some money, but there wasn't much else to talk about. Of course Fujino would have no clue how to deal with this sort of situation. Being Kaichou only gave her a primer on how to deal with wild fangirls and to keep the school's benefactors rolling in with the checks. There was never any manual printed on how to deal with having her entire life dangling in front of her, only to have it yanked away by something that no one could ever really prevent. Here was a girl who lived and breathed and laughed and cried just like everyone else.

People have described me as morally ambivalent and I'm highly inclined to agree. I did enjoy watching the suffering of those I disliked… I mean, who doesn't? I let go of Fujino and pushed her away to arm's length to study her for a moment. She had stopped crying audibly but her eyes failed to register anything. She had retreated to some point deep within herself that I was only too scared to digging into. So I held her face and roughly brushed away at the tears with my thumbs. In hindsight I probably should have been gentler, but for some reason knowing that I was the one tracing these red lines across her face made me… needed.

I was needed.

"Look at me," I said, and when those blank eyes finally locked onto mine I took in a deep breath.

Was there an easy way to go about this? Not really.

"There's nothing more you can do. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be to live with it."

I stood, leaving Fujino on her hands and knees. I ignored the shaking shoulders as I shuffled in my pockets for a bit. A white handkerchief was pressed against lifeless hands. I couldn't stay here anymore.

I turned, and walked out.

What.

Did you expect me to stay?

I'm sorry, but who are you to dictate what I do. Your disapproving glance is borne from one of two things: compassion for something that was none of your business in the first place, or guilt from not staying behind yourself. Neither option sounds appealing now does it. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Just because I left doesn't mean I never came back. In an hour I had returned with confusion and adrenaline creating a rather awkward little mix of the jitters. The apartment was empty in terms of human presence aside from my own. I chest heaved and fatigue buried itself into my legs from running earlier. I spotted a tiny slid of paper wedged underneath a pair of brass keys. I guess it was the day's theme that all important messages would be carried out through letters. What an interesting concept.

I cannot stay here in Fuuka, not right now. Please don't worry. You are free to use my apartment if you see fit, or sell it. In any case the movers will be here in three days.

Shizuru

I turned the note over out of habit and found another message.

You are absolutely right, you know. There is nothing more I can do.

I exhaled sharply and crumbled the note up into a ball.

"… So that's how it happened."

Nao sighed and inclined her head slightly to the left.

"You can fill in the blanks from here, I bet."

Mai found herself nodding before she could stop herself, but it was too late to pretend to hide anything from this sordid tale.

"She had packed everything the night before, and announced she was leaving in the morning. I had no idea why, at the time. But she had this look in her eye that I can still remember to this day."

Mai paused for a bit.

"There was a cage, around her, and it was closing in on her."

"And she had to get out, before she was suffocated by it," Nao added.

Mai nodded as Nao absently drummed her fingers against the desk.

"To be honest… I don't think I would have minded getting suffocated by someone like Fujino."

Mai looked up with a raised eyebrow, but by this time Nao had turned her back on her so it was impossible to retain eye contact.

Days passed, followed by weeks and then months. The summer winds and searing heat were now buffeted by cooling temperatures and a crisp northern wind that promised snow. It was now autumn. The maple leaves turned rich colors—don't they remind you of something? I would surely scoff and walk on. Autumn found me wandering around the clubbing district of Tokyo in search of something minutely interesting to do. Life was uncommonly good for me during that period of time. Mom had been given a clean bill of health and moved back to Tokyo to stay with her sister, and naturally I came along. It was rather nice to go back to the main island sans handcuffs.

I was just spending another weekend out of University floating around the wash of colors and beats of the underground clubbing scene. Life was wonderful…

Of course. This story would have had an absolutely atrocious ending if it were to end here.

Those haunted crimson eyes were always somewhere, hidden deep within the clubs that blinded me with neon lights and thumped my head in with raw beats from the speakers surrounding me. Maybe I had even bumped into her somewhere along the lines, while taking a break to get drinks, while pulling a fast trip on someone to take their wallet for more drinks. To be fair I did keep a rather paranoid eye out for anything even when the color red was beginning to look so disheartening. Sometimes, when I was especially bitter, I berated myself. I found myself playing through possible scenarios. What if I had stayed with Fujino?

Then again sometimes I just kicked myself mentally until my thoughts traveled somewhere other than towards Fujino.

During this time I had actually created something of a working partnership with former Vice President Minagi Reito. Granted these conversations were brief at best and the man never ceased to weird me out with that smile of his, but I knew all too well that underneath his quiet exterior he was getting awfully worried over the erratic behavior of who I could consider was his best friend. Pretty-boy even confessed that he, the one who seemed to know more about Fujino than anyone else on board this crazy train, was clueless as to how to approach this delicate situation.

The use of the word "delicate" always made me snort. The only thing that's going to be delicate about it is Kuga's ass after I ram my foot up it.

The night was getting boring. I decided to book it early—I had a class to attend in the afternoon that I couldn't exactly miss. The key in my pocket was silver, not brass. Pretty-boy had handed it to me wordlessly when I showed up at the prescribed address many months ago. It opened the door to another tidy one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, my home base of sorts. I was merely watching over it for now until I could afford my own place. There is something distinctly unnerving about staying at Fujino's apartment, no matter how long it had been since the apartment had an occupant.

I paused in the middle of the street.

Well, there you are, standing right in front of me now.

Shizuru.

I knew I couldn't get my hopes up too much. A lot of foreigners with the same light brown hair did grace the streets of Tokyo. But my body was viciously overruling my mind and I began to walk towards it. Then this walking business turned into a jogging one and soon I whipped around a corner before my voice finally caught up with me.

"Fujino!"

The person stopped and my legs refused to move even for one more step, but their job was done.

"It's you… isn't it?"

She stiffened but remained still. I finally managed to catch my breath.

"Turn around. It's just me."

I almost wished I hadn't said that. The gaunt face that entered my vision was merely a shadow of the Kaichou I had grown up around. No longer was this the person that clapped her hands like an idiot and cheerfully went through the day manipulating others to do all the dirty work for her. Those muddled eyes were nearly black and only accentuated in their deadness by the hollow cheeks and overall loss of weight of their bearer.

Where the hell had she been? What had she seen?

"… Fujino."

An exhausted sigh wheedled its way out of Fujino's lips. There was an unhealthy blush to her cheeks—was she sick?

Wait a minute. Why did I care?

"Yes, Yuuki-han? What would you like?"

Ouch. Her voice had never sounded so bitter. I found myself entranced.

"Would you like a congratulatory party upon finding a failure such as myself wandering the streets?"

I was torn. On one hand I kinda wanted to laugh at her. On the other I definitely wanted to shake her and demand to know just what the hell happened. Confusion swam up my stomach and multiplied into a full-blown case of the jitters when Fujino suddenly turned and began to walk away. But by this time my body acted on its own again and I rushed forward to grab her wrist. My thumb and middle finger clearly overlapped as I did so and I nearly let go when I realized it.

No, I couldn't let her go again.

"What do you want," Fujino hissed bitterly. "Do you want to go back to babysitting me again?"

What?

For a second I wasn't quite sure what to say. How did she figure out Kuga's bargain? It didn't matter. I had to play this game better than her. In record time my lips twisted into a frown.

"Look at you babbling like that. Shut up with that crazy talk, Fujino."

Fujino obviously didn't hear me.

"This must have been some sort of game for you, hasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I am not something for you to fuck around with."

Well that was unexpected, but Fujino wasn't done even when she nearly made me jump at the sound of her voice.

"You always, always had it in for me, Yuuki-han. But did you honestly think I'd be fooled when Natsuki… when Natsuki decided to pay you a bribe to watch over me so I don't go fucking insane while she goes and falls off the face of the fucking earth?"

A few things were registering deep red flags in my mind, but I was astounded by the language being used. Really now, such things can be conveyed with less colorful language.

"… Did you realize you just said 'fuck' three times, Fujino?" I paused for a moment. "Well, 'fuck' once and 'fucking' twice, but that's beside the point. This must be some sort of record."

"… Yuuki-han."

I stopped as she knocked her head back an inch and stared at me through lidded eyes. Ah, there she was.

Hello again, Kaichou.

A shiver formed at the base of my spine and I fought to keep myself grounded as those unearthly crimson eyes locked on.

"If you are going to ridicule me, please don't talk to me again when you are finished. Your voice is annoying enough and I do not want to deal with wanton stupidity as well."

It was arrogant enough to make even Mai get ticked, so right now you're damn right in thinking that I was angry. But I coughed to hide it.

"I'm not going to ridicule you, Fujino… at least, not right now." I sighed, this wasn't going well. "Just… Just come with me. You've got nothing out here waiting for you."

"Are you to tell me that you have something for me instead?" she asked.

"Well uh… I can't really promise that. But I do have certain things like hot water and some food. And tea, if I can remember where it is." I shook my head. "A kid could probably beat you into the pavement right now, Fujino."

Fujino's brow was furrowed. Uncertainty swam over the brittle shell that cracked over her heart and for the first time I took the time to see my own reflection swimming in blood-red pigment. Something seemed to click and Fujino finally nodded once. My fingers easily slipped down from her wrist to her hand, grasping onto it with a firm grip. For a moment we both paused and stared at our interlocked hands. I gave her a gentle tug and she obediently shuffled into place, following me out into the sleepy streets in time to catch the last subway going home.

Home…

Fujino stared at the walls of her apartment as we walked in and I tossed the keys against the couch. The stack of economics textbooks and collection of novels written in other languages was a clear argument that indeed, she had spent some period of her life within these welcoming walls. I pushed her into the bathroom and set out some towels along with a change of clothes.

"Here you are. Don't drown. If you do I will beat you, and if you're still alive after that I'll beat you again." I paused for effect. "And don't lock the door, either."

I figured she was a pretty reasonable individual despite wandering Tokyo for several months. It would, quite simply, be impolite for her to kill herself after being shown this much mercy in one night. When I heard the shower start up as opposed to the bath I parked myself over at the couch and grabbed my phone. After a quick scroll through the contacts I reached pretty-boy's number.

"… Hey, pick up."

He seemed to be in for a lovely all-nighter with an advanced physiology textbook. I wandered over to the kitchen to turn on the heat for the lone pot sitting on the burner. While it heated I went back to the couch and waited.

"Ah, Nao-chan. What brings you to call so… early."

"Listen, I found her."

There was a pause.

"How… how is she?"

I heard the brief static of his sigh wheedling its way through the speakers when I failed to reply.

"… That bad, is it?"

"Yeah. She looks like she hasn't eaten in weeks." A sudden thought had occurred to me and I wrinkled my nose. "With that rich family of hers I wonder how she ever managed to live penniless."

"Well… people can manage."

There was something he wasn't telling me but my eyes had already traveled to the clock on the DVD player. I noticed the time and heard the water shut off almost on cue.

"Listen, I left her in the shower so I'm going to hang up and make sure she didn't go drown herself."

"Alright. I guess… Well. Take care of her."

I clapped the cellphone shut and tapped it against my lips once, twice. The door to the bathroom opened, emitting a gust of steam that trailed out into the hallway. Fujino stepped out of this cloud wearing pajama pants that were a little too big and a navy t-shirt. Her hair had been neatly combed and if it were drier she would have made a most wonderful portrait of the Kaichou minus a few pounds. I cleared my throat.

"Sit down."

She looked at the small dining table and obeyed. A plate of warmed rice had been set out and I stirred the contents of the pot once before scooping out a sizeable portion of curry on top of the rice. Fujino stared at the display with a surprised expression as I stuck a spoon in her plate.

"I'm sure my cooking isn't the best and Mai agrees. So she stopped by a couple of days ago and left a pot of curry after dinner."

After a few minutes of quiet chewing and swallowing Fujino set the spoon down.

"This is… this is actually very good."

"Isn't it? Sure beats having to rely on convenience stores."

The rest of the meal was carried on in relative silence but it didn't really matter at this point. After the plate had been cleared I noticed that Fujino had now taken the liberty of walking around her own apartment for a little bit. She settled on a framed photograph.

"… Where did you get this?"

I plopped down on the couch and crossed my arms.

"I grabbed it from your apartment. Seems a shame to box it away."

Fujino closed her eyes and sighed. The question needn't be spoken, because I had already asked it too many times tonight to myself.

Why am I doing any of this?

"Maybe I'll try to kill you with kindness this time around, Fujino."

She allowed me to walk her to her room, where she eased herself onto cooled white sheets that accentuated an unhealthy red blush on her cheeks. Was she sick? A quick check of her forehand by my hands alerted me to the searing heat that I had failed to register earlier.

"Fujino, you gotta take care of yourself better."

I fished around the bedside table and emerged victoriously with a set of pills. Fujino took them without question and sank back into bed. I stared at her for a moment before frowning.

"Fujino. That was poison you just swallowed. I suppose it'll be good to know that it'll make you fall asleep first, though. Be thankful I'm that generous."

My cruel ruse was taken extremely well. In fact Fujino chuckled humorlessly and turned over so I couldn't see her face.

"That's fine. It's not like I had a lot to look forward to anyway."

My smile fell. The room was filled with the sound of soft, even breathing. Without thinking I found that my fingers sank down to the warm of her scalp while being tickled by silken strands of hair. Despite Fujino's response there was no denying that she was still very much alive.

"… Idiot," I managed to whisper in the darkness.

The sun was going down. Mai had since stopped nervously chewing on her thumbnail and was instead drumming her fingers against her knees as she sat on the corner of the bed. Nao leaned back against her seat and stretched her arms above her head in one long stretch. If she had yawned, she would have made a perfect caricature of a cat. Mai shelved this thought in her head for further amusement before refocusing on the information she had yet to digest.

"So what had happened, during those months?"

Nao offered a half-hearted shrug.

"No one knows. Really. No one does. Except Fujino, but good luck trying to get that answer out of her."

Mai's lips quirked to the left for a second before her fingers stopped drumming against her knees.

"You know, for a rich, old-money family, the Fujinos were rather liberal."

Mai looked up.

"Oh?"

"For one thing, they sort of accepted Fujino's comings and goings. It doesn't explain her financial situation with them, but she was never disowned."

"So why do you think she was running around?"

Nao rolled her eyes and turned to face the older woman.

"Mai, I just told you—"

Mai put a finger up and Nao paused mid-sentence.

"You told me that no one else knew. I'm asking what you think."

Nao opened her mouth for a moment only to shut it. She rubbed at her neck.

"…. To be honest, I just think she was in a cage herself, and the walls were closing in. So she had to get out."

Life also has a funny way of making one clean up after oneself.

Over the next few weeks we mostly avoided one another. To her credit Fujino remained relatively sane. She remembered to smile when appropriate—and sometimes not, to my amusement and pretty-boy's concern—and she kept herself clean and polished like a proper Kaichou should. Very little passed between the two of us in terms of conversation and I had even begun to think of Fujino as a pet of sorts. A very well-behaved and elegant sort of pet, but a pet nonetheless. Pets were fed and kept for company. Fujino was fed at regular intervals and she was content to be left alone by herself for hours on end.

Hey, I never said I was any good at this sort of thing. It's a learning process, isn't it?

Minagi never really knew when to back off until I gave him a kind reminder to mind his own damn business. Mai had attempted to visit at first, but this tapered off as well. I like to think that this was because of Fujino's tendency to do nothing but drink tea and stare at her funny, as if asking Mai if she knew the reason why everything was so awkward. This was fine. I wasn't much for friends anyway. I didn't have people falling all over themselves trying to help me in the past when I wanted someone to listen to me. Therefore, it's perfectly logical for me to ignore the inane advice I was being given by all these people who had just now come out of the woodwork for our wonderfully bonkers Kaichou.

After all it's not like Kuga asked any of them to take care of Fujino.

Sometimes when I wasn't careful I'd laugh about it, only to have Fujino stare at me with that horribly empty stare. But it was funny. The one person who could have given less than two shits about Kaichou was now cleaning up the empty bottles and locking up the liquor cabinet only to find it unlocked in the morning. And it wasn't like I could do anything about it… or maybe it was because I didn't care. I had no real reason to.

If she wants to drink herself to death then that's fine too.

Despite all of this, Fujino always managed to wake up before me and stumble in the shower for precisely twenty minutes, after which she would emerge fresh and ready to take on another hard day at school. To be honest I was rather impressed. Every afternoon Fujino would drop her bags by the door, finish her work for the day, and then it was off to the cabinet for a few hours before she passed out in the early morning hours. I would yell out one excuse after another as I ran out the door to disappear until the early morning darkness brought me back. Sometimes, if I was early, I knew I could turn and see those crimson eyes glowing in the darkness. But I never did. I was never in a mood to deal with these sorts of problems.

So on, and so forth. Life goes on.

The apartment was cloaked in silence as soon as Mai left. Nao found herself sitting in the darkness until the door opened once more, bringing with it the soft scent of jasmine. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"Another difficult talk?"

Slim fingers traced a long line on her forearm. Nao leaned back and felt Shizuru's cheek rest against the side of her head in the process. Her eyes opened slowly.

"What if I had been there for you back then?" Nao asked quietly.

A month ago, those fingers would have stilled. There would have been a sharp inhalation of breath not so easily masked, and a shake of the head that would imply that such a gesture would have been unnecessary. But this time Shizuru kept up her ministrations and even offered a small chuckle.

"You wouldn't have received this, then."

Nao looked down. Even in the darkness she could see the long, thin scar that stretched across her arm. She sighed once more.

"I suppose it's too hopeful of me to ask whether I get to hear you say those words anytime soon."

Shizuru's fingers stopped, but only because they shifted over to the chair's arm.

"A life for a life, Yuuki-han. The debt has been repaid."

"You know… that's not what I meant."

Her words were strained, her voice only a hiss.

"…. I know. And I'm sorry."

Shizuru walked out of the room just as abruptly as she came in, leaving Nao alone with the dimming glow of her green eyes providing the only change of color in the room of gray.

AN:

I was reading over recent reviews and to be fair, I've been having the same thoughts on where I was going with this piece. It's starting to write itself, but I too am wondering where the emotion is. Perhaps you as readers could help me out on this one.

Cheers.