I was surprised the next morning when I went to the café. I walked in and...

Aka wasn't there.

I thought about just leaving, but figured that since I was already there, I may as well get something. I ordered my usual and went to sit on my usual two person booth. I turned and...

There she was.

Right in my spot, on the other side of the table where I always sat. She was flipping through pictures on her camera. I hesitated. Should I choose somewhere else to sit?

"Just go for it. Even if she's not interested, at least talk to her. Maybe she'd like to talk." I thought. I forced my feet to move and moved myself forward. I stood at the end of the table, frozen. She hadn't noticed my presence.

"Oh, God... What do I say? What could I even tell her? I should walk away." I thought. I swollowed hard and mustered all the strength in my body.

I cleared my throat so I wouldn't startle her. She looked up from her camera. Her silver eyes met mine. I swollowed hard again.

"May I join you?" I managed to ask with a steady voice. I expected her to tell me to get lost. I expected her to make a face of disgust at me.

I didn't expect her to smile.

"Please do." She said. I was suprised, but I slid in to my usual spot. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I was racking my brain, trying to find the words to say to her. Trying to think of a conversation starter.

"My name is Aka, by the way." She said. I was suprised at her sudden introduction, but then realized she was waiting for me to introduce myself.

"My name is Law. It's nice to meet you, Aka-ya." I said. She smiled at me, bringing a small smile to my own face.

"So, Law, what brings you to a café this early in the morning?" She asked me, sipping on her cappuccino.

"I'm a surgeon at the hospital not far from here. When I'm not on vacation, right about now is when I take a small break before heading back to work. Home is too far away from work and this little café is in a convinent place. What brings you here so early in the morning, Aka-ya?" I asked. She smiled.

"Couldn't sleep. Nothing to do at home, so I figured I'd hit up the nice café. The food here is so good. Plus, with the lighting from the sunrise here, the way the light will hit things on that table over there." She pointed to the table she normally sat at. "Makes a beautiful picture." She said. I smirked.

"Well, if the pictures are best over there, why are you sitting over here? Looking for new perspective?" I asked. She giggled.

"Nope. Just decided to take a break today." She said.

"Here's your caramel latte, Law." The young barista put my cup down on the table.

"Thank you, Ruby-ya." I said. She smiled at me, then at Aka, then returned to work. Aka sighed as Ruby walked away.

"So I see you've come here enough to know everyone by name." She said. I chuckled.

"Not everyone. Just Ruby-ya, Weiss-ya, Blake-ya and Yang-ya." I said. Aka sighed again.

"I kinda feel bad for Ruby, though." Aka said. I looked at her.

"Hm? Why's that?" I asked.

"She's only 15. Yet, she's on the same school level as Weiss, Blake and Yang at an elite combat school. It's so much pressure on one little girl like Ruby. Especially when your sharing classes with fighters like Pyrrha Nikos and Coco Adel." Aka said. My eyes widened.

"Really? I didn't know that Ruby-ya was in the same school as Pyrrha-ya and Coco-ya." I said.

"Oh? You know Pyrrha and Coco?" Aka asked me. I nodded.

"They came through the hospital a few weeks back. Pyrrha-ya needed surgery on her ankle and Coco-ya needed sitiches on her head." I said. Aka smiled.

"Well, hopefully they were in good hands?" She asked. I nodded.

"I tended to them both myself." I said. She smiled at me.

"So what do you do, Aka-ya?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm a freelance photographer." She said.

"A photographer? So it isn't just a hobby?" I asked. She smiled and shook her head.

"It's my passion. I'm only freelance for now. But I hope to go to the best photography school in the country and then I hope to work in the Pheonix Photography company. Or even start my own photography company." She said.

"Those are some pretty high goals, Aka-ya." I said. She blushed lightly.

"Yeah. I guess they are pretty out there, huh?" She asked. I smiled.

"A wise man once told me "as long as you try your hardest and believe in yourself, you'll make all your dreams come true." If you put all you have in to your dreams, Aka-ya, then I have no doubt that you'll reach them." I said. She smiled brightly at me.

We continued to talk like that for quite a bit of time. However, Aka had to deliver the final copies of some pictures she took to a client and then she had to do photoshoot a for a school club. But before she left, she handed me her card.

"If you ever want to hang out again outside of the café, then give me a call at this number. See you tomorrow?" She said. I gave her a soft smile and nodded. After that, she left. I waited a bit, then left.

It seemed as if things were finally starting to look up for me.