"You are trespassing into kannagi territory , are you aware of the consequences?"
The person who said that had a harsh voice filled with authority.
"Chill,You won't get no trouble from me ,uh, I'm just looking for a kid that ran off."
"A Kid?..."
His voice turned darker .I say the kannagi girl's hand roll into a fist from the conner of my eye, she was trembling . 'was he the one that hurt her?' I wanted to ask , but silence was diamond right now.
"Y..Ye...yeah , little brat took off ...and I was looking for...hi..him , I swear."
"Him?..."
"Yah , a little boy ,blond , has blue eyes ..."
"Leave now ."
It was not a request, it was a command ...and he knew it. I felt a tug at my sleeve and turned to see the girl,...um...Ayano signal me to follow her , her finger on her lips showing that I should be quiet. I didn't protest and followed her lead . Meanwhile , the guy that was chasing me had left or rather,...was leaving . A few seconds later , we were just a small distance away when ...
"Ayano, I know you are there so come out."
It was the same man. I saw her stiffen and fear filled her eyes. There was almost no doubt remaining on weather he was or was not the one who hurt this little girl so much but she soon calmed down and continued walking when that same voice thundered .
"Let me rephrase , Come out now and I will not have to resort to more...drastic methods..."
She stood frozen then turned to me with a very , Very fake smile and said pointing to a side of the forest. The same side she was going.
"Go"
Then she shot past me and entered the view of that man. I watched that man smirk and say looking in my direction despite the fact that I was hidden .
"Good girl. You know trespassers aren't treated kindly."
The realisation hit me like a tidal wave. He knows I'm here. He used Me to get to Her .but...why?...rather ,...why did she go? I'm a nobody. We only met a few minutes ago. I turned to see him grab her by the hair and drag her off saying .
"You will be punished for your arrogance, Brat"
My feet turned and I barely went two steps towards them before my path was blocked ...by fire. A pillar of flames stood in my path. It appeared out of nowhere . And in a few seconds it disappeared and along with it , so did they. They were nowhere to be seen. I wanted to shout her name but I knew I wouldn't get any reply...just trouble . I looked in the direction she pointed , my mind clouded with questions. What was he doing to her? Why? Wasn't she a member of the kannagi's ? Shouldn't she be protected? Why ...why did she help me? ... I looked towards the path where I came from, where the cliff was . I remembered what I was going to do . I almost jumped... She...saved me.
I heard footsteps coming closer. A while ago , I didn't care if I even died . Heck, I wanted to die . The footsteps were getting closer , if I stay here, I would be caught. I looked ahead towards the direction she told me to go...'So many questions...'
...and I began to run ...as fast as I could.
'...and for the answers ...I have to live. Just ...just until I get the answers'. I wanted to see her, help her , ask her why she did that, yell at her for doing that... And I wanted to pay her back. For the first time in a long time, no matter how long or how short a time this feeling would last... I wanted ...to live.
I ran and ran until I came to a dead end , a mountain or a rock-hill , I guess. I looked around panicking and noticed something...a hole. I went towards it and saw that there was indeed a hole in the rock. A small one , but big enough for a kid like me...or her. I heard the footsteps come closer and I dashed into the hole. The walls of that small gap seemed smooth , like someone ...made them , and I don't mean nature . The footsteps came closer and I squeezed myself in as hard as I could , desperately hoping that they wouldn't find me...and suddenly, I fell. No , not I fell down a cliff or had a long drop. Simply put, I was pushing myself into the rock as hard as I could and suddenly ...there was no rock...and I fell ...on my butt. 'Ouch'.
It was pitch black, I couldn't see a thing ...but I could smell something and it smelled delicious . Following my nose , I tripped over multiple things multiple times before giving up and not getting up from the flat-on-the-face position my previous try at walking in pitch darkness got me...then my stomach let out a growl and I continued . Only because I didn't want someone complaining about a growling rock. Suddenly , my feet made contact with something soft ...and covered in plastic . I bend down and took it in my hand and sniffed . Yup, that was it. The smell of a bakery good which I have never tasted but have often drooled over when we begged near bakeries . I didn't know what it was but before my mind could register it, my hands had unwrapped the plastic and popped the piece of who-knows-what into my mouth and my mouth had savoured the taste for two seconds before swallowing it...
Then, it crossed my mind that maybe I shouldn't have done that . I took another step , tripped over the plastic and fell again ...only this time , I fell unconscious as well. Not sure why , maybe the sharp pain that I felt on the back of my head as my head made contact with the ground had something to do with it? ...Who knows?

.
Cold...it was cold. I woke up to find the room lit but there were no tube lights or anything . Just two candles, one on each side of the room.
"Finally awake ? wow ! you were out like a light"
My eyes shot open and I got up fast . Too fast as my head began to spin and I immediately fell back down.
"Woah ..."
I looked up to see the red-headed girl,...Aya...Ayano ...yeah, that's it. She was ripping bandages and wrapping them around her leg. There was a Nasty bruise on her face, a little girl's face . She looked up to see me staring and gave a smile so honest that I twitched . Seriously though , how can someone so battered up smile so ...happily ...maybe I'm just bad at reading people.
"Don't worry..."
My eyes narrowed . If she was going to say something like 'I'm fine' or 'this is nothing' I'll...
"...I'm used to it."

"Who was that man?"
She tied up the bandage and got stretched . Then with a satisfied look went to a bag-pack that may or may not have been one of the things I tripped over.
"Knowing isn't going to do you any good."
She opened the bag, not even looking at me as she said that .
"Why don't you tell your family? They'll protect you."
At this , she let out a sarcastic laugh with dry humour.
"Yeah right... The only person I can rely on is myself . My family is...otherwise occupied."
I raised an eyebrow.
"occu...wha..?"
She looked at me with a small smile as she kept an ice pack on her bruise .
"occupied, it means he's too busy with other stuff ."
"He?.."
"My dad...he's the only one I consider family . Well, him and two of my cousins . The rest either want to use me or get rid of me."
I could tell that she was trying to shut up but I became single-minded when I saw her toss a packet out of the bag towards me . I didn't what it was , but I knew it was food and I wanted it...badly. Then, I noticed that I was still lying on the ground . Propping myself up by my elbows , I took the packet and unwrapped it , then looked at her to see if it was okay . She wasn't paying attention to me , but was eating a similar thing while staring blankly at a hole in the wall. Probably the same one I came here through . I quickly swallowed the food and said thanks. She looked at me and said.
"So , who won the bet?"
"Huh..."
I looked at her . She had a defeated look on her face . I don't know why but that look Did Not suit her At All.
"You don't have to tell me your story . Just answer truthfully , whose life sucks more."
My eyes widened as I realised what she was talking about.

'We both complain about how miserable our lives are and the whose life is most miserable gets to kill him or herself and the other person can't interfere . Deal?'

"What do you mean? You were serious ?..."
What the... Did she really want to die?.
"Of course , why do you think I was at the cliff in the first place?"
I eyes widened and I sucked in a large amount of air trying to wrap me head around this. This girl had everything and she wanted to die ... On the other hand , she's being hurt , but if she tells her dad , then that's problem solved too right? So ...why ? ...how could she...?..."
"My dad is the head of the kannagi's ..."
My eyes shot up.
"...but he's too busy for me... My mom's ...dead? ...I don't know myself but she's ...gone...my brothers hate me being the new successor , rather , they're jealous..."
She looked at me , her eyes were dead . So different from what I had seen before. Hopeless .
"So, do I win..?.."
I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to tell her to go ahead and die . How could I do that ? Suddenly an idea came my mind. She looks like the prideful type.

"So basically,You want to die cause you just can't take how miserable your life is . Instead of fighting , you just want to give up , right ?..."

I asked . They were the same words she said to me. Her reaction was ...unexpected. Her eyes widened and then narrowed and she shot up, annoyance evident in every bit of expression she had.

"THE HECK, YOU DID NOT JUST USE MY OWN WORDS AGAINST ME ,...ME. LISTEN BUSTER! AT LEAST ,YOU'RE FREE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT INSTEAD OF BEING FORCED TO BE SOME PERFECT LITTLE PRINCESS THAT YOU COULD NEVER BE WHILE YOUR UNCLES TORTURE YOU TO GET YOUR OBEDIENCE AND THREATEN TO CHASE YOUR DAD OUT OF THE FAMILY IF YOU SAID ANYTHING . I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING TO ANYONE . YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHT TO JUDGE ME, GOT IT?"
She said or ...shouted , the end of the shout-out met with me covering in fear and sympathy of the beast in front on me who was glaring at me and poking me in the ribs...Hard.
"I said' .?."
I quickly nodded and she moved away from me with a huff and crossed her arms . Wow! Talk about mood swings .
"I...I don't think you should give up..."
She looked at me with a face of annoyance . Something told me that making her angry would be very bad but...I wasn't scared ...not in the least. She let out a sigh.
"I know...I wasn't really planning to."
I raised one of my eyebrows and gave a Very suspicious look . She snorted and raised her fist.
"You really think I would give those bloody , selfish imbeciles the satisfaction of killing myself. No way , I'll take everything they've got and I'll become so strong that they can never take advantage of me using my cousins or my dad again. I'll become strong enough to protect everyone ."
I smiled , still confused though .
"Then why did you make the bet?"
She turned towards me with a sheepish smile.
"Well, I figured if you saw how horrible my life is , you wouldn't hate your's so much ..."
Wait a min...WHAT?..she gave me a heart-attack for nothing.
"...although , I admit ...I have considered it. But suicide is a cowards way out . I'll fight till the end."
She said fist-pumping the air.
"You know , you did save my life..."
She looked towards me with confusion.
"...so how about, as payback ,...I'll help you fight."
Her eyes widened and tears began to form and being a normal boy, I began to panic.
"Hey!wait? Don't cry..."
"I'M NOT CRYING"

"yes , you are."

"NO.I' "
"ALRIGHT THEN, STOP SPILLING WATER FROM YOUR EYES."
We both shut up and and stared at each other .
"Um...forget I said that ,Kay?"
Instead of replying , she broke out laughing. She was so ...transparent with her emotions . In a few seconds , I joined her.
After we calmed down , I extended my hand to her.
"So...friends?"
She got up and turned around .
"Being friends with isn't really ...smart. Or safe."
I got up and turned her around by her shoulders and offered my hand again .
"If it weren't for you, I'd already be dead. So that's not a problem . Plus even if there's nothing I can do to pay you back for saving me from death and living a dead life , at least you can vent out you frustrations at me . Plus you have to take responsibility for me living , so you can't ditch me and well, I'm not really a smart guy . Therefore, I'm asking you one more time...friends?"
She looked at me with pure disbelief in her eyes witch turned into happiness and then worry.
"I won't regret this even if I die in two minutes."
I said. She hesitantly took my hand and then a big smile broke across her face and she replied .
"Friends."

A.N:-

And this is how Ayano and Taichi first met . The story will continue from where it left of from the next chap . All the reviews helped motivate me to finish this.(WARNING:-I'm seriously occupied with real life now , so I apologise iad advance if updates take too much time.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

PEACE ON EARTH AND GOOD WILL TO ALL MINKIND.

P.S:- Thanks for all the support.

P.P.S:-Please review.