A few days have passed since Kana was released from the Hospital. Ruby had visited her house every single day, sometimes Mem-Cho came along, but it was mostly just Ruby. Yet Kana never opened the door to her room; she never even responded. Ruby doesn't even know if Kana really is inside her room; only a faint glow comes through the cracks of her door, which is telling her that somebody might be in there.
31st of December, 4:00 pm, Streets of Tokyo
Ruby's skin felt warm as the beautiful afternoon sun shone down from the sky; it was a stark contrast to the cold wind which whistled through the streets. Around Ruby, who was on her way to visit Kana again, were a few other people, mostly mothers with their children or teens around her age, perhaps a bit younger. Ruby, who was lost in thought, paid no attention to any of that; her movements must have seemed robotic from an outsider's perspective, but she was oblivious to that.
Suddenly, she felt an impact and tumbled back a bit. Without noticing prior to making impact, she had walked right into a man who was walking in the opposite direction.
"I-I am sorry," Ruby stuttered out as she held her forehead. She raised her head to look at the man's face. His hair seemed to be quite disheveled, obscuring one of his eyes. A gentle smile that exposed his yellow teeth to Ruby crept over his face.
"Don't worry... It's not your fault. I should've looked where I was going, but I was distracted..." he said.
Ruby and the man continued to look at each other; the already resolved situation turned more awkward by the second; then, Ruby made the first move and stepped to the side to continue along her way. Ruby thought about the situation that had just unfolded as she took step after step. She hadn't made it far when she stopped and turned around again.
Why is he still standing there? Is he like... okay? Maybe he's just high on something, I mean, the way he looks is not the way someone looks who takes good care of themself...
What am I thinking? When did I start judging people by their looks?... No, stop wasting time thinking about him. I'm already running later than usual.
She turned back and continued to stroll down the sidewalk, about to dive back into the same thoughts she was pulled out of just a minute ago, but then she realized something. Her hair whipped through the air as she snapped her head around once more to look at the man, yet by now he was gone without a trace left behind.
Wait? I definitely knew that guy from somewhere; I have definitely seen him before.
Oh no...
Maybe we knew each other from a shoot or something, and he expected me to recognize him… And when I didn't, I hurt him...
I mean, I would certainly be a bit offended if someone I know didn't greet me… How rude of me… Oh damn it, should I go looking for him?
But Kana… I wouldn't want her waiting… He is gone anyway. When I see him again, I'll apologize.
With a heavy heart, she turned away and reluctantly proceeded with her walk, while trying to forget about the encounter altogether.
...
She finally arrived at Kana's house and rang the doorbell. Ruby could hear noises inside, and a moment later, the door opened. She was met by an annoyed gaze as the door was swung open by Kana's mom, still dressed in a nightgown. "Can't you just finally stop visiting her? If you always treat her like a baby and enable her stubborn behavior she'll never grow," She said with a harsh tone.
"I just have a different approach when it comes to this, okay?" Ruby, who bowed initially but quickly raised her head again, said.
"What would a brat like you know about what someone in Kana's situation needs?" Kana's mom snarled as she reluctantly stepped aside to make space for Ruby.
Ruby, who had taken a step forward and was just about to pass by Kana's mother, froze for a moment, her eyes turned empty before she caught herself again. "You're right... I probably don't know the first thing," she muttered.
Before Kana's mom got the chance to reply, Ruby had already passed by her and walked down the hallway. She waited till she heard the front door shut and the distant noise of a TV program resume before she knocked on Kana's door.
Then she sat down with her back against the door.
"Hi Kana... I made you some soup, so you get well again. I know this typically only works for the flu, but here's hoping. You can just grab it once I'm gone. Or maybe you could come out now and grab it?" Ruby said.
She placed her ear against the door.
"Anyways…" Ruby continued after she cleared her throat, "Uhm, Mem-Cho and I will soon hold auditions for a new member. Maybe you'd like to help us pick one."
Ruby stayed silent for a moment and listened for movement while she tried to think about what other trivial topic about their life she could bring up to draw Kana out.
"Aqua and Akane have been spending a lot of time together the last few days... So if you still want to shoot your shot you should hurry up with it, otherwise she might just snatch Aqua away from you..."
Ruby fell quiet.
"No…" She said after a good 5 seconds, "I'm sorry for saying that. You should do this at your own pace."
…
Ruby continued to talk about her life, making small breaks for Kana to fill, breaks which were only filled by silence.
After her throat had already begun to dry up due to talking nonstop for about 25 minutes, she couldn't find any new topics anymore.
"Kana, I think I'll get going now," Ruby said, as she stood up and used her hands to brush any dust off her pants, "Text me... or maybe even call me if you want to talk."
Ruby walked away.
Kana sat on the other side of the door, leaned against it with her back, the same way Ruby did. After she was sure that Ruby was gone, she opened the door by just a few inches and peeked her head outside. When she saw that the coast was clear, she rapidly grabbed the soup from the floor and shut the door again.
...
Her once so clean and tidy room had turned into a chaotic hellhole over the past days. The bowls Ruby brought to her every day were empty, placed on top of almost every surface there was. Her wardrobe was empty, its contents scattered across the floor. In between the clothing were pictures of herself; some were ripped up, while others just had her face crossed out with a black marker. Kana began to quietly slurp down Ruby's soup. It was the same kind of soup Ruby had brought her the past few days.
Huh, slightly different than yesterday once again. She must be trying to improve her recipe. I hate this. Why waste so much time on this? I don't deserve tasty food, not after all this trouble I've caused.
But I also can't just throw it away… No, it was Akane's fault; I trusted her… If she hadn't been there then… then… Then it wouldn't have ended, and everybody would still be in danger.
I can't put the blame on Akane. It wouldn't be fair... She took initiative when nobody else did. I bet she's pretty messed up about all of this, too. And I just make it worse and worse for her by staying inside all day long. I could go outside... For her sake.
Kana finished her meal and headed into the bathroom, picking up her makeup for the first time in what felt like ages.