Play with me!

Toshi, in Kusa, was playing, all alone, in a very grassy meadow. Why was she alone? Why did she have no friends? Why didn't anyone like her? she thought, playing with a kitten.

Karkien comes out from behind some trees with some food on his back.

Toshi looked up, curiousity and loneliness in her eyes. No fear. And looked up at Karkien, tilting her head. "Who are you?"

"Heh?" Karkien who had just returned from a hunt looked at the girl that talked to him.

Toshi smiled up to him, blushing in embarrassment a little. "Oops, sorry about being so curious. I'm Satoshi Kuroda. Call me Toshi. Who're you?"

"I'm......" Karkien holded his head with his free hand not being able to give an answer.

"You're...?" Toshi asked, getting up with the kitten, curiousity in both their eyes.

"Karkien." He said at last trying to do a bow.

"Nice to meet you, Karkien-san," Toshi said, smiling, and extended her hand for him to shake.

Karkien looked at her. "San? Is that a term you use?" Some confusion could be seen on his face.

"Oh, um, it's a honorific used to indicate that you're older or that you're a stranger. W-would you you like me to call you Karkien-kun instead?"

"Lady...you can call me just Karkien." He said with a friendly smile.

"Oh, okay!" Toshi smiled back to him and the kitten mewled. "Wanna be friends, Karkien? I lost all mine because I'm a bad girl."

Karkien puts the food down and sits. "Why is that?" He asked while looking at her.

"Because...well...um...promise to keep it a secret?" Toshi sat down infront of him, and held her pinky finger out to him. For once, fear and hurt was shown in her eyes.

Karkien tilted his head.

"Promise?" Toshi asked, furrowing her brow and taking one of his hands in both of hers.

"S-sure." Karkien just keeped looking at the girl.

Toshi took a deep breath. "I used to have a best friend. And well, it turned out to be more than just friendship. But...then girls started to notice him. And he said, he'd love me the most no matter how much they liked him."

She gulped, and rubbed her eyes, looking down. "One day, my female best friend and I were talking. And...it turns out that the two of them liked each other too. In the end, he chose her. Even after all he said. And then I ran," she said, smiling weakly. "I lost my two best friends. Three minus two will always be one..."

Karkien looked at the girl for a while before putting his hand over her head.

Toshi sniffed, smiling wryly. "I hope they get married...maybe they'll have a baby girl in the future, too. At least they're happy, right?"

Karkien smiles and grabs a pendant that looked like a heart from his pocket. "When i feel sad. I look at this for a while. And it helps me."

Toshi giggled demurely through her sadness. "What does it do?"

"It shows me that my heart will never break no matter what." Karkien grabbed her hand and slowly putted the pendant on her hand. "You can have it." He said with a smile.

Toshi sniffed again, the closed her hand over the pendant and hugged him tight, almost crying. "He hates me....!"