Disclaimer: I do not own Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyoushou.

Note: Hello. This is my first Haruka's relection of the relationship between Akane and Akuram based only on the anime, not the game nor the manga. This is how I interpreted the series as a whole, and might differ with others' interpretation. And just keep in mind, there is spoilers here. Hope you'll enjoy it!

Without the Unwanted Burden

By: LilDreamyGirl87

As a member of the Oni clan, a clan that had traveled the seas a long time ago to settle in Kyou, he had seen the sufferings of his clan. The native people of Kyou feared his clan, and named them the "Oni clan," only because they were unfamiliar with the different appearances his clan had. His clan were being discriminated, abused, and nearly chased out of Kyou cruelly. Unable to be accepted and harshly treated, hatred burned in the hearts of the Oni clan and war had been fought for a long time between the native people of Kyou and the Oni. That same hatred his clan shared also burned in his heart.

On top of all that, a heavy burden had been put onto his shoulder ever since he was young – the burden of being the first and only person able to take up the power-enhancing mask passed down in his clan. The mask was said to give the person wearing it the greatest power in the world, a power to glorify his clan, a power to destroy those who discriminate them. Thus, he became the leader of the Oni clan. And as a leader, he had to bear the hatred and sufferings of his clan. As a leader, he could only take the lonely path bearing his burden of glorifying and avenging his people. So, he set his goal to terminate the war by destroying Kyou.

To destroy Kyou, he needed her power – the power of the Ryuujin no Miko. Therefore, he called her… and brought her to this world from another world.

She was called to this world by him, and unexpectedly became the Ryuujin no Miko, with eight Hachiyou protecting her. But it was never her desire to become the Ryuujin no Miko, but it was a task she must take up, a burden even, in order to save the people of Kyou from destruction.

Yet, ironically, the enemy endangering Kyou was him, he who called her to this world. He was the person she saw in that dimension prior to her arrival at Kyou. He was the first person she met in this unknown place with unfamiliar people and customs upon her first arrival. She still remembered the dark, unfamiliar, and lonely street, with only her in the middle of the mud road, crying helplessly. It was at that moment when she was lost and most helpless that he appeared, reaching his hand to her.

Are you crying? Are you lonely?
Did painful things happen to you? Are you scared?
Leave everything to me.

His voice was very comforting. Even though she shook her head implying that she wasn't scare, but that was a lie. Indeed, she was scared, lost, and helpless in an unknown world. Yet, he seemed to understand, and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the carriage, into his warm and comforting arms. She felt protected and safe in his arms, in his warm embrace, in his persuasive voice, and she truly trusted him completely at that moment in the carriage.

However, he was her enemy as she soon learned. His goal of destroying Kyou, in the process hurting her important friends, deeply pained her. Seeing him wounding her friends and other innocent people had forced her to stand against him. What he was doing must be wrong, she had told herself, and that she must stop him.

Seeing him being blown away, leaving a piece of broken mask behind which she picked up, yet again pained her. It throbbed her heart to have to fight against the person she loved, and it took all her strength to set her mind in saving the people of Kyou from him.

The piece of broken mask he left behind was kept with her at all time. It was wrong, she knew, to continue to harbor feelings for him, but she couldn't help it. She tried throwing away that piece of mask into the river, and she failed miserably at that attempt.

"Do you still like him" Tenma-kun had once asked her.

"Right now… he's the person who hurt Yorihisa-san and was laughing about it with no concern, so… I hate him!" That was her answer. That was the answer she forced herself to say. It was a lie. She couldn't hate him, and she still harbored feelings for him. She hated herself for that, knowing that he was wrong yet still love him.

It might have been easier just to choose one of the Hachiyou to replace him, that thought had came to her once, but not only was that wrong, she also just didn't have the same types of feelings for them than that she had for him. She knew they all cared deeply for her, and she cared deeply about her precious friends, the Hachiyous, as well, but only as friends, as companions, and nothing more.

Fate, however, seemed to be toying with them. He continued to pursue her power, and seeing how he had hurt Tenma-kun's sister, Ran, finally pushed her to throw away her feelings for him. She threw that piece of mask, which she was very fond of, back at him. She put all her heart not just at stopping him, but also saving him from the Oni clan's sufferings.

But occasionally, she still thought about him, about her own feelings that she must suppress as the Ryuujin no Miko.

Originally, she, the Ryuujin no Miko, was only a pawn in his plan. What he really needed was her power. He tried multiple times to take her away, but the Hachiyou would always prevent him from doing so. It was irritating, it was humiliating, but he had confidence in himself that he would soon destroy Kyou, along with the Hachiyou.

He would destroy her if she has no more use to him, he told himself. All he wanted was to destroy those who discriminates the Oni clan. All he wanted was the destruction of this colorless world with only war and sufferings.

Yet at the final battle, she tried to save him. He almost wanted to believe her words.

The Oni have suffered so much.
But if you do the same thing to the citizens of Kyou,
The struggle will never end!
I won't allow you to hurt others, regardless of whether they're human or Oni, and yourself!

Yes, he almost wanted to listen to her. She was the first person to ever say that she wanted to save everyone, including himself. It was the first time he felt warmth at heart, but he soon denied her words. He scorned at her words and laughed unbelievably.

"I can't believe I'll be sympathized with." He had said. What he said was more to himself than to her. He didn't want anyone's pity. So when the Hachiyou and she almost defeated him, he even offered his body to the Black Dragon without caring if he would be forever gone in the world as long as he can bring the ultimate destruction upon Kyou.

As he was standing in the darkness glancing down at Kyou, he could feel no joy. Kyou was about to be destroy, but all he could feel was the coldness and loneliness. But she came, she came to him.

What is your wish?
Look at me.
Tell me your true feelings.

As she touched his face, warmth once again filled him, creating unknown ripples in his heart.

"Feelings, how boring." He once again scorned her. But she hugged him, and it was comforting. She seemed to care very deeply for him. It felt nice to have someone caring for him, it felt… a lot less lonely. Gradually, he picked up his arms and returned the embrace tightly. He didn't care if the Kyou was destroyed or not at that moment, all he wanted was to stay that way with her, with Akane the person, not Akane the Miko.

She stood behind him, and he seemed lost. He wanted the destruction of Kyou, and he almost got it, but he did not seem happy or satisfied. Instead, he seemed lost, like a little boy not knowing what to do in the middle of nowhere.

With just the two of them, she let her feelings flow freely. She walked up to him, wanting to save him from all the sufferings he had endured as an Oni. When he refused her, mocking that he didn't care about feelings, she could only hug him tight, letting her feelings reach him. She truly, truly loved him.

Miko, What is your wish? Ryuujin asked her.

"It is…" Her wish… As the Ryuujin no Miko, her wish was to save Kyou, to stop the war and the sufferings of both the citizens of Kyou and Oni. But as Akane, her true wish was to disappear with him, together, to save him from himself and the torments he went through. As long as she's with him, everything will be fine, and she can finally be free to love him.

However, the eight Hachiyous called out to her. She had been selfish. All she wanted was to be with him, to disappear with him. She never thought about all her friends and family who cared about her. If she were to disappear, a lot of people would be sad…

Without time to time, Shirin appeared before her. Shirin begged her, saying she must understand Shirin's feelings as a woman. Reluctantly, with tears in her eyes, she pushed him towards Shirin, deciding to go back to her friends and family, leaving him. It was a painful choice, but it was too selfish of her if she just disappears and broke the hearts of so many other people, including her family.

I want to go back to the world where those important to me are… And be together with them always.

That was the wish she told Ryuujin.

Those important to her, that also meant him. Of all her friends, he was the most important person to her. She wanted to go home, go back to her world, because this world would only remind her of him.

On her way home through the dimension that she had passed through prior to her arrival at Kyou, she saw him again. As she floated down into a field of white petals, he reached out his hand to her, he who called her to this world. He, who she first met after she received the power of Ryuujin when she was pulled into the well, at this very same field of white petals, was waiting for her to take his hand.

"The one who called me…" Thus, she reached out to him too, smiling.

It must be Ryuujin that granted her wish.

After she returned to her own world with Tenma-kun, Ran, and Shimon-kun, she also returned to being an ordinary student. There's only one thing that had changed…

As she was resting peacefully under the white cherry blossom tree, she thought back to her journey in Kyou. She was grateful to meet the other six Hachiyous and Fuji-Hime; they were all very kind to her. She was glad that Kyou was at last saved, and the humans and Oni can finally live peacefully together without discrimination. But most importantly, she was grateful that she didn't lose her precious person. Fate, she concluded, brought her to Kyou, so that she could meet him.

"This was surely a journey to search for what's most important to me, something precious that warms me… and yet makes my heart ache." She whispered to herself.

That precious person that warms her heart, yet made her heart ache… it had always been him. His words, "leave everything to me," warmed her and she trusted him immediately without suspicion. Forced to be his enemy, to defeat him, made her heart ache. But in the end, she was glad everything turned out fine.

As the footsteps got closer to her, she opened her eyes. She looked at him, and smiled contended at him. She found him in Kyou, almost lost him, but at the end, he was still with her miraculously.

"Akuram." She called his name, bathed in happiness. It was a miracle, perhaps one that Ryuujin heard and granted her. Her wish of living with those important to her, including him, was granted.

As he took her hand, they walked down the garden will fallen white petals, without worries and burden…

In her own world, there was no discrimination against people with appearance like his. In fact, it was quite normal to have people with blonde hair, just like Shimon. He could live a free live, forgetting about the burden of being the leader of the Oni clan, forgetting about avenging his clan, and be accepted as who he was, as Akuram. And she could also forget about the burden of saving Kyou and its people as the Ryuujin no Miko. In her own world, she was just a normal high school student, Akane.

End.

Note: Again, as I've stated, this is my own interpretation of the ending and on the feelings of Akuram and Akane based on the anime. People could disagree with me, as the ending was pretty vague. Throughout the anime, Akane only seemed to like Akuram, at least to me it seemed like she only cared for the other Hachiyou as friends and nothing more. At the end, with the red cloth that fly above her, plus Akane's feelings for Akuram, I think that she ended up with him, somehow. Of course, other pairings are possible too, but I like this pairing the most.

Hope everyone enjoyed it.