Katsuko Kinoshita, a beautiful young girl with ruby red hair. When she was born, it was a rainy day in the middle of May. Her mother had been taken to the hospital after being in a car crash, bleeding out. While her mother survived, she stayed in the hospital for quite some time.

    Katsuko would brush her hair, and remember she received its silky and long appearance from her mother, but now she barely remembers anything. Katsuko only remembers one thing from her childhood, the day her father left. He took everything in the house, along with Katsuko's happiness, and her mother's trust. Katsuko never knew why he left, and she stopped caring. She realized eventually how meaningless it all is. 

    Katsuko felt groggy getting out of her bed that day. The day her life changed forever. She slowly pulled herself out of bed, preparing for another day of high school, just like everyone else. She put on her skirt, tied her tie, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Her crimson eyes glistened as she gazed out of the window. Why does she feel something will happen today? 

    The silver butter knife glided over the fresh toast, the butter spreading easily. She took a bite into the toast, feeling it crumble and leave a mess of crumbs all over her face and shirt. Katsuko quickly wiped the toast crumbs from her shirt as she finished eating and calmly gathered herself, grabbing her bag and ready to enjoy another day. She reached the dark brown door that was a gate to the outside world that hurt her so many times, and this time was no different. The sunlight splashed Katsuko's face, her eyes adjusting to the light, her eyes darting around the area, looking for her usual friend group that walks with her to school, but it's only one girl, Mutsumi. The girl was only a year older than Katsuko. Her physique was something all the boys admired about her, and even Katsuko couldn't help but blush at her friendly flirtatious behavior, but today her pale face was somber. Her brunette hair in bubble braids didn't seem as unique today, something was off.

    Mutsumi shyly looked towards Katsuko. Mutsumi's lips parted. "We decided that it would be best if you found other friends. I know you've dealt with a lot, Katsuko, but you've been really... clingy. You follow each of us around, you constantly ask for someone to come over so you're not home alone... We can't take it anymore.". Katsuko stumbled out of the doorway, silently. She knew this day was coming, she noticed them pushing her away, but this was a painful stab to the heart for Katsuko. Mutsumi bowed before running towards the school, leaving Katsuko all alone. A sudden thunk to the ground, Katsuko's bag now beside her as her eyes fill with tears. Her sobs couldn't be heard amongst the bustling people, women and men going to work as children and teens head to school. They couldn't hear her crying, nor did they hear her knees hit the concrete as she flooded the ground beneath her with tears. Katsuko covered her own mouth and sat on the ground for a while, thinking of staying home, of remembering she's the reason her father left, the reason her mother is unhappy, and finally ending her pain. 

    Walking into the school felt like hell, everyone's eyes on her. She had never felt this kind of loneliness, but she had been prepared for it for so long. When lunchtime had arrived, she found a small corner area of the school where hardly anyone would visit and ate her bento slowly, trying not to cry on her homemade onigiri. Katsuko yawned, realizing how tired she is from all of the emotionally draining crying. She had been so focused on trying not to cry, she didn't even see the boy sliding next to her. She had seen him a few times before in the hallways, but had never spoken to him. His hair was as red as hers, but his eyes were a beautiful grey. They felt so deeply moving for an empty color. He put his arm around Katsuko and held her close, almost as if he knew how she felt and why she hadn't responded to him. 

    Katsuko's throat clenched up before she finally let go of all the emotions she had been holding back. She cried into his chest, holding tight, refusing to let go of him. Her sobs caused the few people in the area to leave, as the boy gave them dirty looks for not showing any compassion towards Katsuko. When her crying finally ceased, she sat up and finished her meal quickly, scarfing down everything she could, the boy leaving his arm around her the whole time. Once her meal was finished, she looked at the boy once again, noticing how his hair covered his right eye. He brushed it out of his face and looked at her, before finally saying the first words she could comprehend. "Hey. You must be Katsuko, yeah? I-I'm Hidetaka. Taka-Kun for short. I've heard a lot about what's going on, and I think it's awful how everyone's treating you, so I thought... maybe I could be your friend. I don't really get to spend time with a lot of people, so maybe you and I could hang out?" he uttered. Katsuko nodded, her throat too raw to let her speak. She hugged Hidetaka tightly before he stood up and reached his hand out towards her. "C'mon! Let's go walk around before class starts again. Maybe we can get to know each other?". Katsuko nodded once again. She picked herself up and picked up her bento box. She held his hand and followed him from the corner of the room to the hallway. Butterflies flew into her stomach, the world suddenly seeming to have a new vibrance to it. She may have lost a lot of people that day, but she found someone she can't let go. So she never did.