I don't own Anna, Yoh, Ren, Ryu, Manta or HoroHoro.

Rose 6: Together

Loneliness surrounds those who fear it most, but pretend to be impartial. They act as though they don't notice; don't care that they have no "friends". No one close, to wipe away tears or stop pain or put pressure on a wound that won't stop bleeding. A wound like their heart or soul, open and festering for the world around to see, but ignore. And they say they aren't lonely.

Anna Kyouyama believes she is one of those people. She turns her head, averting her gaze from everyone else's. Ignores the attempts at friendship from the others around her, telling herself that they don't care; they aren't there for her. And she believes she just pretends that they are there. But she's wrong.

She's full of loneliness, but she is never alone. Someone is always by her side, to lead her along the right path. But she ignores their light and stumbles along in her darkness. And only one of these trying to light her way see this.

He holds his lantern out to her, hanging it over her shoulder, trying desperately to bring her to him. But she refuses to come. He occasionally looses his way, not from the inability to read the road before him, though that plays its own part in every life, but because of his own lack of light, trying to help her.

He trips here and there, every so many paces. More often than Yoh or Ren, both uncannily gifted at picking their ways along life. Ryu steps through the world in long strides, but even with his height, he can't see very far down the road; but he doesn't try. Manta strains to see ahead, and sees plenty of possibilities, yet he can't seem to make his way to the ones he wants.

HoroHoro trips and stumbles and sometimes falls flat on his face, just to jump back up, brush off his shorts and trot to catch up with Anna; to hold his light for her. But she doesn't notice. She watches her own feet, merely putting one in front of the other, unaware of anything else around her…

"Anna?" he called, walking into the Inn. "Hello? Anybody home?" Anna sighed.

"What do you want?" she called back. HoroHoro stepped into the living room.

"Here you are!" he exclaimed. Anna repeated her question, annoyed. "Well, I know Yoh's gonna be gone for a coupla days, and I figured you were here alone. I thought you'd like some company."

"Well, you thought wrong. Please leave." He looked at her, fighting not to get lost in her cocoa colored eyes. He blinked several times, then walked over to her.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

"Trying not to kill you," she growled. "Get lost!"

HoroHoro stared at Anna before answering, "Oh, come on. You're all alone today!"

Anna stared blankly. "Just go before I get violent."

"You don't have to be violent," HoroHoro told her.

"I do to get anything done!"

He sighed. "All right, I'll leave. But you should consider letting somebody stay so you aren't completely alone today. Being lonely sucks." He stood and started towards the door, but stopped when Anna spoke again.

"Today? So I'm not alone 'today'?" HoroHoro turned around. "I'm alone every day. Do you not notice?"

"Anna, I notice more than anyone else that you're miserable. That you're lonely. But I don't know what you want. You are surrounded by people all the time."

"But they don't care about me. No one tries to help," she whispered.

"Anna, yes they do. But you don't pay attention, so you don't realize it. But I'll leave, if you want."

"Yes. Just go!" she ordered, before she could start crying. HoroHoro left quickly, pausing outside and hearing her begin to sob. He sighed…

Anna walks blindly, stumbling further and further from her path, and HoroHoro follows, to try and help her, now just walking in her footsteps, going where she does. They trip over similar obstacles and are hit by the same tree branches. She doesn't know he's behind her; she doesn't warn him of anything ahead…

Two days later, Anna opened her bedroom window and found a white rose on the sill. She looked at it for a moment, then smiled and brought it in. She put it in a vase and opened the kitchen window to put it in the sun. There she found a golden rose. She added it to the vase, smiling slightly, unsure who had left these. As she continued to open windows, she found more and more roses on every sill. When they were all found, the bouquet was full of roses of every color she could picture them in; except red.

She stared at the flowers for a few minutes before walking to the door to get the paper. As her hand touched the knob, she realized she didn't get the paper that day, but she opened the door anyway.

There stood HoroHoro, smiling brightly and holding out another bouquet of roses, all the deepest red imaginable. He was expecting little more than for her to take the flowers and slowly warm up to him, if even that much, but what happened was beyond the wildest dreams he had dared allow himself to have.

The most beautiful smile burst across her face as her dark eyes met the light blue of his. She took the flowers in one hand and grabbed HoroHoro with the other, hauling both inside. She put away the flowers, her lips pressed strongly against his, and pulled him back to her bedroom where they made love four times before either spoke a proper sentence, the first coming from HoroHoro:

"Is that a yes to a date?" Anna merely nodded, pressing her lips to him again…

And now the two walk along the road, holding hands, guided by his light. They were always far from the paved street, but Anna has pulled them clear off of the rock-path, or even the somewhat beaten one. They have nothing to go by but their instincts, but they trust them as they walk along, together.

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