𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅 | 𝐃𝐑 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬

*+. Runaway .+*

Hiyoko Saionji was at her breaking point, she was sick and tired of her family life. She was sick of the constant Neglect and words her family would throw at her. She wanted excitement, adventure, but most importantly, she wanted love. She wanted a love to call her own, she didn't care who it was, girl or boy. She just needed to be loved.

It was just around dawn, the sun just barely peeked out from behind the hills. Hiyoko stepped outside of her small family home. Inside her bag was extra clothing, food and water. She was going to run away today, and she didn't care if her parents were worried or not.

The girl took off, heading down the path she took to school. She was not heading to school today however. For she was doing quite the opposite. It was also at this time that another young girl, one who's hair was a brilliant shade of red, took off from her home as well. This girl was Mahiru Koizumi.

Mahiru, like Hiyoko, was sick of her family. But her reasons were not because they ignored her and treated her like trash, but rather that almost all of their attention was poured onto the girl. The redhead started to despise the attention and wanted to be left alone. She didn't care what her parents would say, and she didn't care about skipping school, all she wanted was to run.

And as the two girls ran further into the lush forests and down the dirt paths, it only seemed like fate was drawing them closer and closer together. Hiyoko was a good distance away from her home when she heard a crack and rustling through the bushes. She turned around to see Mahiru trying to climb her way out of the bush. Out of shock, Hiyoko took a few steps back.

"Who are you?!" She demanded. Mahiru walked out of the bush and up to the short blonde girl. Hiyoko almost immediately recognized the redheads uniform, after all, they both attended the same school together. The two had occasionally passed each other in the hallways a few times, but never really got to know each other.

"I'm Mahiru Koizumi! I wanna run away from my home and begin my life again!" The redhead stated, bringing a hand to her chest and holding it to her heart. Hiyoko was frozen in place, not knowing what to say. Was it really just a coincidence that this girl and herself were planning on running away at the same time?

"I-I'm Hiyoko Saionji! I-I want to run away too! I can't stand my family ignoring me anymore!" She stuttered. Hiyoko was always afraid to talk about her family situation, so telling a stranger about her misfortune was new to her. Neglect had a harsh impact on the blonde all her life, but she could fake a smile and act no problem.

"Neglect huh? I see..." Mahiru thought aloud, tapping her fingers against her arm. The redhead always did this when she was thinking. Hiyoko stiffened, waiting for what the redhead had to say. Just because the two were planning on running away at the same time didn't mean fate wanted them to meet, right? At least Hiyoko thought this.

"Well, we both wanna run away...so why don't you come with me!" She smiled, extending her hand out to shake the other girl's. Hiyoko timidly offered her own hand out and the two shared a quick handshake. This handshake would seal the deal and make them so that they were stuck with each other. That is until one of them left the other for some reason.

"Then it's settled! Cmon! Our parents we'll probably find us if we stick here all day! I have some money so we can get a ride to the next town!" Mahiru cheered, grabbing the blondes hand in her own and running further into the sea of green. As Hiyoko ran with her, she stared in awe at her new friend. She noted that Mahiru did talk a lot, but the focus of her sentences was always clear, and she always knew what she was saying, like she was planning out what to say in her mind right before.

The two were able to escape from the forest and head to the bus stop. There, they purchased two tickets to go to the next town over. The two together both took all of their savings, which was a decent amount. This meant that they could afford a motel room and rest for that night before leaving the next morning. The two didn't pack that many belongings, so unpacking and repacking would be a breeze.

Mahiru orchestrated most of the plan to escape. Hiyoko followed closely behind and obediently helped the redhead in anyway she could. The two had never done anything like this before, of course. But they were able to get a general idea of how it would work from reading books and watching movies. Hiyoko especially since she was all alone most of her life. Although she had been to scared to run away up until now.

As the two approached their motel room door, Mahiru used the keycard to open it and Hiyoko ran in. It was smaller than expected, and it only had one bed. Other than that, the floors and walls were pretty clean. The shower smelled a bit strange, but the two decided to brush that off. Hiyoko lazily dropped her bag on the ground in the corner while Mahiru took hers off and walked over and placed it gently next to Hiyoko's.

"U-um...there's only one bed here..." Hiyoko whispered. Mahiru turned her attention away from unpacking her bag to look, there was only one bed. The redhead sighed and pulled on her worn nightshirt. It did bother Mahiru a bit that she would have to share a bed with someone she had just met a few hours earlier. But she was certainly not going to let Hiyoko sleep on the floor now was she.

"It's fine, we can both sleep in it! I won't hog all the covers now!" Mahiru laughed, climbing in and facing her back towards Hiyoko as she pulled on her own sleepshirt and shorts. The blonde got in shortly afterwards and faced away from Mahiru, so that they were now back to back.

And for some strange reason, Hiyoko felt a feeling, it wasn't one of fear and sorrow. It was small feeling of hope, almost happiness. She had been alone all her life and never really had that many friends, her parents neglected her and she felt like her life was spiraling downhill. Now that she had met the redhead, things almost felt like that were turning up. And for the first night in a long time, Hiyoko fell asleep feeling like she was wanted.