Title: They Left Her Alone

Author: shimasama

Pairing: Akane Narita and Subaru Yagi

Fandom: Hot Gimmick

Theme: #9 – dash

Disclaimer: I do not own Hot Gimmick. It belongs to Viz and Miki Aihara.
Note: Spoiler for Volume 10. AU, since I don't know what happens in Volume 11. Also, more OOC attitudes, since once again, I don't know what happens, or Akane's take on it.

They left her. How could they leave her? What was going on

His feet were starting to hurt, but he couldn't stop. He needed to find Akane before she did something stupid.

--Not that she was stupid. She wasn't. Not in the least. But she was hurt, and he had seen her when she was hurt before…

Where are you?

Playing video games late at night, Subaru had only half-heard the concerned noise on his mother's face as she spoke with "Narita-san." When he finally registered the name, he had practically thrown the controller to his Playstation 2 across the room.

They had left her.

His mother had been brief: Hatsumi and Shinogu were both missing, and Akane had gone running off, supposedly to "look for them."

But Subaru knew better. He recalled the conversation they had had not too long ago in her bedroom (she had asked him to study with her! That was all!):

"She doesn't get it." Akane quipped, seemingly out of nowhere. Subaru looked up from her math book where he was trying to figure out the next problem-he wondered why she had wanted his help if math in the first place-and stared at her.

"Who?"

"Hatsumi. She's got guys all over her and she just keeps being selfish." Akane looked at him. "She had you, even. But she doesn't get it!"

Subaru was bewildered. What was she talking about now? "Shinogu loves her." Akane brought her knees up to her chest. "Asahi told me. And Ryoki loves her too." Tears were beginning to come from her eyes. Subaru wasn't sure what to do. "And Azusa—even if he doesn't say it, he cares about her. But she keeps leading them all on." Now she was quietly crying. Her voice was cracking. Subaru placed an arm around her shoulders while she buried her head in her knees.

"I'm sure Hatsumi will choose soon." Subaru whispered to her, only to hear another choked sob.

"She won't! She doesn't even get it! Shinogu wants to run away with her! I heard him talking to himself about it! They all think I'm stupid and don't know what's going on! BUT I DO! THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE ME! THEY ALL ARE!" Akane cried loudly, raising her head only to bury it in Subaru's chest. He froze for a moment, once again not sure where his hands should go, but as her grip tightened on his t-shirt he began rubbing her back with one hand.

"I don't think they're going to leave you… But if they do… I won't."

Now he desperately needed to find her. He had looked everywhere in the complex, the roof even-where he hadn't even found Ryoki-and she hadn't been there. But soon enough he had realized where, just maybe, she might have gotten to.

It was cold outside, so there weren't many people at the little outlet mall where Subaru went often for Gundam toys.

There she was.

Next to the machines, a crumpled girl looking younger than she had in many, many years was rocking back and forth. As there was next to no one about, she was being left alone by anyone who happened to pass by. Subaru crossed the street and came close to her, quietly, not trying to interrupt her as she cried.

She didn't want to be alone.

"I-I knew they would go…" Akane was sniffling. She looked up with red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks at Subaru, as if she had never seen him before. "But I still couldn't believe they-without even saying goodbye-" Subaru placed a hand on her cheek and she stopped, staring at him, confused.

His eyes softened as she left out a small sneeze. Akane played the role of someone experienced beyond her years-which she was, Subaru thought, and blushed-but she couldn't shake the fact that she was still young. And regardless of how immature she may have thought him, Subaru still happened to be older. He gently leaned over and kissed her forehead as her tears ceased, then brought her into his arms.

He wasn't sure where his hands were supposed to fit, and the motion of holding her was awkward, but he didn't know what else to do.

They had left her alone. So he had run to find her. And now, he would never leave her.