"Life is a game and so far I'm losing." She muttered, tears splattered the concrete. "Life is a game and unfortunately, money is how we keep score." (Y/n) turned around the corner of a building before walking along a rough floor.

She could feel the dirt on the floor and the sharp stones and sticks, giving her splinters and scratches as she walked.

The park was empty. There was no noise apart from the occasional car honk which reminded the girl of how lonesome she was. She walked through the bushes on instinct and found herself walking towards the small cubby house made of stone.

By now, the tears in her eyes had dried up completely and sitting in the dark stone hut scared her. She didn't know the sound of absence until she was truly alone. And it was horrible. It just goes to show, by the time you learn the rules of life, you're too old to play the actual game, she should have gone freestyle and shot a lucky shot, but she spent so much of her time learning how to fit in that she didn't realise Hiro had changed.

The game goes on, people change and adapt to the events that occur, no-one waits for the new person learning the rules. And Hiro had passed her. She never knew there was such a cold side to Hiro, perhaps if she did take the lucky shot, she would have seen what he had become sooner.

(Y/n) cried harder as the time ticked by. Was life waiting for her to take her turn? Roll the dice? Had she not received a "miss a turn" already?

Hiro and the gang had been worried the moment (Y/n) ran off. They didn't know where to look. None of them could recall the direction she took off after watching her turn around a street. What was worse was that it was late. The time that thugs and bot fights came out.

This worried Hiro a lot, if he didn't find her soon, he was almost certain someone or something would find her and not appreciate her presence. They had to be fast.

"Let's split up." Honey Lemon suggested. "I'll go with Gogo and search the mall, there can't be many places she remembers from her last time here." At her words and as if by magic, Hiro's brain clicked.

"That's it! I think I know where she is, you guys check the mall quickly to double check while I go look near the park, if I don't call you in 15 minutes then assume I found her and we went home."

Before the gang could protest about the dangers of the night, Hiro ran off, around the corner to the secret hideout from 9 years ago. He prayed she was there.

He didn't know where else to look apart from there and if she somehow wasn't, he had no back up plan. He ran, faster than he ever had before, his heart beating wildly with every step, he dashed through the bushes and charged into the wild nature. Tears began to form in his eyes but Hiro wasn't sure if it really was the wind or his emotions.

The night was setting in by now and he swore he could hear the illegal activity in every dark nook and cranny of San Fransokyo. And for once, it scared him. "(Y/n)?! Where are you?!" He called out, shoving aside the scratchy branches. He didn't care what he ran into, his heart was just begging she was there, hoping nothing would happen.

And then he heard it. It wasn't loud at first, just a little sound, sniffles and gasps for air. They soon became quiet whisper like cries that lead to sobs and loud whale like sounds. Hiro kept quiet as he ever so carefully made his way towards the clearing.

There it was. The stone hut like house that he hadn't visited in 9 years. It stood proudly with a couple of loose rocks littering the floor, a small being inside. It was (Y/n). Hiro felt his heart pound light and quickly as he let out a quiet sigh of relief. His footsteps effortlessly snuck towards the side of the stone opening and paused, listening.

"This is stupid" He heard her sob, "I should have known that Hiro wouldn't stay and wait for me. He played this game without me and by doing so, he has changed...all for no reason. There can't possibly be anything that changed him but himself, it's how you play your cards." He wanted to feel angry. Her last remark made him mad. But the second he was about to reveal his presence to her, she burst into tears. "Oh I'm such an idiot" He heard, "Why did I come here if my only purpose is to be yelled at for helping people? Doesn't the gang not care either? Gee, I wonder what would happen if I actually WERE homeless."

Hiro pretended to not hear his friend, straightening his posture and walking back a few steps, making it clear that he was making his way to her to give her some time. As the dry leaves crunched under his shoes, (Y/n) gasped and wiped the tear stained face she wore, her head filled with fears.

Who was outside? She knew of the dangers in San Fransokyo, bad people were everywhere. There was no getting away from them once they found you and she was almost certain she would die of fright.

"(Y/n)?" A familiar voice called out. Dread filled the girl's body as she realised it wasn't some thief but her supposed friend, Hiro. Sure enough, his head poked out from the entrance of the hut, staring deeply into her eyes.

"What?" She spat, glaring at him. Hiro sighed before crawling inside the tight space. Hiro looked at his hands before responding.

"Come on, we have to get home, Aunt Cass will be worried." (Y/n) couldn't believe he said that. The two crawled out of the darkness and out into the open as Hiro attempted to grab her hand to lead the way. Quickly, (Y/n) pulled away, glaring at the boy in front of her.

"Go Home?!" She repeated bewildered. "You want me to go home with YOU?! After all you and your friends did, you think I'm just gonna forget and forgive?! WELL! You are absolutely-"

"Okay." Hiro cut her off, "I've be worried to, and do you have any idea what I was thinking? The world isn't always a happy place you know, bad people exist, now let's go." Before she could open her mouth to protest, (Y/n) found herself being dragged back to the café.

Hiro smiled brightly when Aunt Cass spotted them. "Oh there you guys are! I was beginning to get worried!" She smiled as she placed something in the oven. (Y/n) continue to have a frown plastered on her face however Aunt Cass barely noticed.

"Well, we're back now!" Hiro grinned, eyeing (Y/n).

"Why don't you go bring (Y/n) upstairs? Dinner will be ready in a few." Aunt Cass suggested, still not noticing (Y/n)'s solemn face. Hiro nodded, leading the girl up the staircase and into his bedroom. (Y/n) only sat down on Hiro's bed.

"(Y/n)? Hello?" The 14 year old boy asked, sitting down at his office chair.

"What is it Hamada?" (Y/n) glared daggers at him, if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead.

"Are... you mad at me?" He hesitated, (Y/n) only rolled her eyes.

"Read between the lines." She spat, holding up three fingers on her left hand.

"I don't get it." Hiro stated as she pulled her index and ring fingers down. "Yep you're mad..." He muttered. "Damn girls are hard to understand when they go through puberty..." Hiro could only pray (Y/n) didn't hear and thankfully for him, she did not. 

He could only wonder why (Y/n) was upset, in the time he could remember being with her, she had never spoken in harsh words before. Something was up. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked uncertainly.

"Don't play dumb." She sneered.

"I'm being serious... (Y/n)?" Hiro asked as (Y/n)'s face softened, her face grew sad as her eyes watered a little.

"You... You guys were hating on innocent people!" The hurt in her voice was showing clearly. Hiro was flabbergasted by her comment, realising that what she had said was true, their actions were not those of a group of friends.

"Is there a way I can make it up to you then?" He asked gently, fearful that she would cry a river. (Y/n) looked up at him with glassy eyes.

"Promise not to think so badly of those less fortunate than yourself." She muttered. "Tadashi would be saying the same thing if he weren't at camp or where ever you said he was." At the mentioning of the older Hamada, Hiro went stiff. He wasn't so used to being spoken to about his brother so openly. But nevertheless, he agreed.

(Y/n) nodded before walking to the brother's side, closing the divided paper screen and began to get ready for bed.

"We are all in the same game," Hiro mumbled under his breath. He didn't expect (Y/n) to hear what he said or notice the tears in his eyes but she did. He turned and looked at Tadashi's side of the room where (Y/n) was supposedly getting ready for bed. He sighed before continuing, "We are Just at different levels... and those at higher ones, have experienced more brutality than the lower ones...(Y/n) isn't wrong when she says I've played this game without her..."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened when he said this. He had to have heard her outside. How long had he been listening to her for? She kept quiet as she heard the boy mumble.

"But she isn't right when she claims I have changed for no reason. This is the game of life, it does stuff to you...weird stuff, that you often question how it will help you win... but the more you think about it...the more you truly look at the brutal cards that have been played, you realize that not everything is created to help you win. It indeed just depends on how you play your cards."