Please Be My Sunshine

An Akihiko x Minako Fanfiction

You're about to break.

In your arms he had to die—in your mind's eye you still see his bloodstained coat, redder than it usually is—with two gunshots to the chest. You lean him on your lap, and with eyes of suffering, he looks at you, ready to breathe his last. He tells you, with great effort, "Never forget... please..." he chokes with the blood in his throat, "You'll be all that's left to him."

You forge a smile and tell him that it's all right. And with your peripherals, everybody is seen casting helpless revival spells.

But it is too late. The bullets have pierced him irredeemably; his organs were failing—all bodily functions had ceased. You take his hand and grasp it tightly. With his last inch of strength, he mouths a few words, but they never manage to reach your ears.

And just like that, the warmth escapes his flesh.

He is lost and gone, and but just a simple memory.

It is now that you snap back to reality, and find yourself in the school clinic; a few days have passed since his wake. You've been stationed with today's health committee duties, yet, it appears that no one is in need of medical attention. You spend several minutes gazing at the window, where the afternoon sun glows from the school garden. All you can do is watch tiny specks of dust float in the light.

It is the calm after the storm, yet the remains of grief still settle in you. Perhaps you've taken on one of the bigger hits? Why is it that such inklings of affection stir at the memory of Shinjiro Aragaki? You cannot deny that you have had a blossoming relationship with someone else other than him inside the Iwatodai dorm. Needless to say, you were torn—torn between two young men, to be considered brothers, in fact.

You decide to call it a day. It occurs to you that you have no intention of venturing into Tartarus tonight. You still feel a heavy weight on your shoulders—too heavy, that carrying a naginata seems to be such a burden. Sleep waits for you tonight. It calls for you. And with such mourning, it seems to be a sanctuary.

As you switch off the clinic lights and lock the doors, you spot a limping Akihiko make his way through the faculty halls with great difficulty. With his long-sleeved arm pressed to his nose, he stops at the sight of you and turns back, only for you to follow and for your hand to find itself on his shoulder. You notice multiple, moist stains of blood on his shirt as he faces you, still with an effort to avoid your eyes. You look at him wholly, worriedly scrutinizing him from head to toe. The profuse bleeding has come from his nose and mouth. With that, an accompanying bruised eye and a busted lip and eyebrow.

"I...I guess I need an explanation, do I?"

You remember that the clinic remains open. You take him by the arm, gently leading him into the clinic.

"And your explanation?" you ask him as you open cabinets for bandages and ointments.

"I just had an intense sparring session. That's all."

"You're a bad liar."

Indeed, he is. You had kept it in your mind when he did attend to his boxing club. And today was not one of those days. You approach him with an ice pack in hand, signalling him to place it on his nose. He does so, and takes a seat on the nurse's chair.

He remains silent.

"You worry me, Aki. Tell me, please?" you request of him as you graze your hand on his, with an endearing tone at the word please.

He reddens at the undertone that he can never resist. In the many months that you have known him, you had known what buttons to push. You begin to clean his wounds with disinfectant. He flinches at the searing pain of its contact.

"A fight. I got into a fight. With a number of other seniors."

"How?"

"They...how do I say this—They wanted my girl. At the school entrance— one of them told me he'll take you away from me. I knew asking you to be my girl would jeopardize me. My fists tensed. I don't know. Before I knew it, I punched him in the gut. Then about five of them—his friends, I couldn't take them all at once. They cornered me. Held my arms against the building walls and punched me until they were satisfied. They talked shit about Shinji while they did—"

Abruptly, he stops in mid-sentence. He burrows his still-bloodied face into his hands. It is too painful to watch. You realize that Akihiko had again lost a loved-one. Undoubtedly, the burden on his shoulders weighs more than anyone's.

Akihiko Sanada, the senior that is thought so highly of. The cool, level-headed boxing team captain breaks down right before your eyes.

You pry his hands away and twine yours around them, revealing a face that is about to shed tears. Lines below his eyes are apparent, from sleepless nights of Shinji's loss. You gaze at him intently and give him your most comforting smile.

"Thank you, Aki."

"Minako," he takes a deep breath, " I'm selfish. I want you for my own. Shinji... the night before he died... he made me promise. He—he wanted me to have you. To protect you no matter what the cost. I will do so, not for my own sake, but also for his. I knew..." he continues as he moves his grasp to your arms, "that he loved you to the same extent as I do right now. He knew he was going to die. He didn't want you to suffer like I do right now. You're all I have right now. You're all that he had. Tell me, tell me you won't leave me."

Silence shrouds you both as you digest his words. You feel his hold tighten as he waits for your reply. Running a hand through his bloodied hair, you tell him, "I'm not going to leave you. I made the same promise."

Abruptly, he looks up to you, with eyes of disbelief, "What?"

"I did. 'Take care of Aki for me.' That's when... he knew I was in love with you," you say, while averting your eyes from his, "I feel like we've left him, instead of him leaving us. I did love him. I still do. It doesn't feel right at all. The two of us—and Shinji."

You distance yourself away from him, thinking of how it could have been, had Akihiko not been who you had chosen. Shinji would have left you, more wounded than you are—desperate in yearning for a dead man's presence. You again look out the window, with your back to him; the golden sun sets. A dreading silence occurs. You are left to wonder how much time passes as the silence leaves unbroken.

The chair screeches against the cemented floor as he stands. His steps are irregular. He struggles to walk towards you.

You feel his arms from behind wrap around your waist. The smell of his blood permeates as he leans in and kisses your nape.

"He wouldn't have it any other way, Minako. He entrusted you to me. I'm going to protect you. These bruises—these cuts... I couldn't care less. I can't risk to lose anyone else." he whispers to you as you glance at his reddened knuckles. "At his wake, I realized—I needed to live for him. We need to live on, as much as it pains us."

You drape your arms around his neck as you turn to face him. You see a gentle smile on his face. Your heart holds tender feelings. You tiptoe as you graze your lips on the wound of his eyebrow, and you continue to do so on his blackened eyelid, on the bridge of his nose, and on his swollen cheek. Lastly, you kiss him on his lips, tasting the remnants of his dried blood. He deepens the kiss, pulling you in closer and holding you tighter, like a child who never wants to let go of his prized possession.

The kiss breaks. You can hear his shallow breaths as your foreheads touch. You open your eyes to see that his face has been filled with a sudden rush of blood.

You stifle a giggle.

"hmm?"

"You're blushing, Aki." you chirp back.

"I-I'm still new to this... was that—was that too much?" he stutters, "Besides, I'm not the only one."

You realize that your face feels warmer than usual. Your heart flutters. You giggle again, this time, wholly, with beaming eyes.

"That's my girl. My sunshine. Be happy for me. For Shinji."

Burying your face into the hollow of his neck, you feel the rising and falling of his chest. All is sound, when you reply, "I will. Though, try not to get into anymore reckless fights, please? I can't see you like this anymore."

He chuckles and answers, "I'll take it out on my punching bag next time. Really, I will."

You both hear the sounding of the last bell. Outside, the sun drifts away into darkness.

"Let's go home, Minako." he says to you. He limps as he takes his belongings, as well as yours, but you stop him midway. From his hand you take your bag, and sling his arm across your shoulder, supporting him.

"My turn, Aki." you say and smile at him. He kisses your hair and thanks you before leaving the clinic.

Needless to say, that that night upon reaching the Iwatodai dorm, the both of you had begun to sleep soundly again, at peace. You wake up in each other's arms, with a brighter beginning, and with memories of a lost friend in your hearts.