The Cycle
Summary: AU The three times Akane Tsunemori and Shusei Kagari meet tragedy strikes. The fourth time, they almost don't meet at all.
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms…
-The Hollow Men, T.S Eliot
…
The first time they meet, it's during war.
She's just a wounded civilian and he's the king of the opposite country (and he should kill her, or take her prisoner, or leave her there) but for whatever reason, he saves her. Maybe it's her watery amber eyes, or the way she looks at him without fear, or her voice that reminds him of wind whispering through tall blades of grass. Regardless, he carries her through the smoke and fire (through hell's maw itself) until he comes to paradise; a little strip of land in the eye of the war, a place which neither side had ravaged.
It's warm and the sun beats down on the pair, drops of sweat dripping down the man's brow as he gently lays her down next to the stream. White, fluffy clouds move lethargically across the robin blue sky, unaware of the raging war just miles away. The grass tickles her bare arms and legs as the king walks away, iron boots creating heavy footfalls against the soft terrain.
"Don't go, please." She pleads, hand curled around his leg.
He almost doesn't. He wants to stay, to learn more about this strange girl and give up all notions of war and pain and sadness. But, he was bound to honor, and as such, walks away from the woman.
Just out of earshot he makes a final promise.
"I will come back, once it's safe."
He never gets the chance to return. Thus, the cycle begins, with each trying to meet again, only to be tied (tangled) in Fate's endless red chord. They do not meet again, until another three-hundred years.
…
This time it's 2012 and they're seniors in high school. Kagari, ever the jokester, the class clown, the idiot, meets the ever studious Akane Tsunemori. They can't be any more opposite. But, Fate has tied them together and both eventually become friends. Neither is willing to take the relationship further (as if memories of a past that ended in tragedy swim beneath their conscience) and the opportunity to become something more flies away.
It's the final school trip, to Europe, where the two souls part once again. The plane is losing altitude and everyone is crying. People are praying in the aisles, screaming, as the plane plummets towards the ocean. In the chaos, the pair is surprisingly calm.
"Don't let go, Shusei." She whispers, fingers curled in his orange hair.
"I won't. I promise." He hugs her tightly as the plane nosedives into the ocean. Water fills up the broken pieces of the plane and they feel weightless and free. This was a promise he could keep.
Akane Tsunemori and Shusei Kagari die in each other's arms, unable to share a final kiss (but able to share a final promise). In the time between death and life the two remember their past life. And like that, it's gone as Fate cruelly tears them apart again.
…
They meet for the third time in the MWPSB. She's an Inspector and he's an Enforcer and the strange feeling that he's seen her somewhere returns. Neither has time for love, time for anything and soon, they are ripped apart for the third time.
Shusei smiles as the light from the Dominator explodes, swallowing every particle that made up the man. Seconds tick by and he remembers. He remembers and it's too late to change anything as his soul is pushed back into the endless cycle.
Akane cries for the man, the Enforcer, the friend, and it feels as if her soul has been split in two. But, she continues on, if only to avenge his death.
Years pass and she hopes that one day, someday, they'll meet again in a world where the Sibyl system isn't needed. Fate watches and listens, and grants this single wish.
…
The fourth time and they almost miss each other. Both are normal civilians in this utopia (a true utopia) and pass each other daily on the street. She has her head buried in a book (one with real pages, and binding, and the faint scent of ink) and he's playing a handheld videogame.
One day, he bumps into her. She falls, book flying from her hands into the street.
"Ah, sorry, miss!" He apologizes, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He helps her stand up, feeling a shock, a pulse shoot up his hand when their skin meets.
"It's fine. But…" She motions to the nearly flattened book, ran over by numerous cars.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know people still read paperbacks…"
She smiles. "Most don't. I feel that E-books lack character."
"I see. Perhaps I can pay you back?"
The girl laughs. "How about a date?"
He blushes furiously, exchanging numbers with the cute girl.
"My name's Akane. Akane Tsunemori."
"I'm Shusei Kagari."
"Well, I'll see you later, Shusei." The girl walks down the street, pausing to glance back at the man. He's smiling like a fool, waving wildly.
"Bye, Akane!"
Fate sighs, untangling the red string from the pair. She gives them a happily ever after, since they'd been able to find each other in every single life.
The cycle is broken; honor, the Sibyl system, and Fate could keep them apart no longer.