A Moment Alone

Author's Note: The hopeless-romantic in me couldn't help but write this. Just a quick, little one-shot to fill those cravings for the Satoru/Saki pairing. I hope you enjoy!

If you haven't seen the anime, "Shinsekai yori," then I highly recommend giving it a shot. It gets really good towards the middle when the characters hit age 26 because there's a lot of action and suspense. You won't be disappointed—especially if you like dark anime. ;) Also, this story contains spoilers on some deaths (but doesn't specify how they died), so beware if you continue reading.

…

Satoru and Saki laid side by side in the grassy tundra of the hillside as they gazed at the star-speckled sky overhead. The rhythmic sound of cicadas chirping filled the silence between them as a soft breeze blew by, creating tiny ripples in the river before them. Satoru closed his eyes for a moment to enjoy the peace. It served as a nice reprieve from all the chaos that surrounded him the past few days.

"Thanks for coming out here with me."

He opened his eyes, turning his head slightly to face the brown-haired girl beside him.

Saki was the only other surviving member from group one besides himself. The one with whom he had spent the past few days running with and desperately trying to fight off the "ogre" and humanoid rat attacks on their village before the psychokinesis users were finally able to claim victory. In those few days' time, he was finally able to grasp just how much Saki had meant to him. All the hardships and pain they had endured together had brought them closer in ways that no other person could understand.

That's why, even as he said nothing, he could tell that Saki knew he didn't mind being out there with her by the way her lips turned up slightly.

Saki turned her head back to the sky. "I just . . . had to get away for a while," she said.

Satoru also turned his head to the sky. "Yeah. I know what you mean," he remarked softly.

The two continued to gaze at the stars silently.

"I can't believe they're really gone," Saki replied suddenly, causing Satoru to look over at her. "Maria, Mamoru, that girl who was with us in the beginning . . . Shun. They're really gone, and we'll never get to see them again."

Satoru's chest tightened at the mention of their old friends' names.

Saki's voice trembled. "I hate it. I hate that all this happened. I hate that-"

"Saki," he interjected. "There's no point in beating yourself up over what happened. None of us could've expected it. What's done is done."

Saki brought a hand to her face, quickly wiping a tear that threatened to fall from her eye. "I know," she answered. "But when I look up at the same sky that Shun and I used to gaze at, and lay here in the same place that our friends were during that camping trip years ago, I can't help but think about them."

Satoru frowned. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here after all," he reflected.

Saki shook her head. "No. I didn't just come here to get away from everything. I also came here because I wanted to remember them," she revealed. "We spent so much time dealing with threats to our village and worrying about surviving that we never got a chance to mourn properly. It was only recently that we learned that Maria and Mamoru were actually dead, and even the true identity of the person we both fell in love with."

She turned her head to him, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Satoru, I don't want to forget about them. We've already had our memories tampered with twice. If that were to ever happen again, then I at least want to think about them and mourn them for as long as I can. And I needed you here with me because you're the only one who truly understands me, and I don't have to always be the strong one around you."

Satoru's face was etched in concern. "I don't know, Saki. Why can't we just write a book about our friends and the war from our perspective to make sure that we won't forget them?" he asked. "And besides that, I doubt that we would have our memories tampered with because you're now an esteemed member of the Ethics Committee and I'm a respected scientist."

Saki sat up from her spot, her body turned slightly to him. "Well, maybe I need an emotional outlet, okay?!" she argued. "Writing a book isn't the same thing as talking about it, and you and I both know that our careers would make it increasingly difficult to find the time to write a book, even if we decided to take turns with it. Plus, can you imagine what might happen if the information in the book came to be in the wrong person's hands?"

"Okay, fine," Satoru agreed. Then, he frowned. "But, mourning our loved ones . . . wasn't that what the memorial service was for?"

"A memorial service isn't enough," she replied. Then, she added quietly. "It'll never be enough. At least . . . not for me." She bit her lip. "I- . . . I know you think I'm a strong person, but, even though I may appear that way, I still hesitate to bring them, or my parents, up around people. It just makes their deaths feel more real. Even though I've already accepted their deaths, that doesn't make it any easier for me." She paused, frowning slightly. "And, I can't help but think that, deep down, you feel the same way as I do about this."

Satoru said nothing for a few moments as he allowed her words to sink in. Then, he shook his head. "Time sure hasn't made you any less stubborn," he remarked with a slight grin.

Saki immediately took offense, narrowing her eyes at him. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

He shook his head again. "Nothing. Just listen, okay?" he replied, sitting up to face her. "I used to be jealous of you and Shun."

He could see Saki's face twist in confusion, but he continued nonetheless.

"Remember how when we were younger I used to tease you and we would always end up fighting?" he asked.

Saki raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What about it?"

A slight blush colored Satoru's cheeks. He averted his eyes. "Well, newsflash. I did that because I wanted your attention," he responded. His eyes shot to Saki's face to see a look of shock pass over her features. He looked away again. "I liked you, and when I saw how Shun always came to your rescue during our fights and how much you went all gaga over him, I got jealous because I couldn't get over why you liked him so much."

Saki frowned. "I didn't become gaga over him!" she fumed.

He rolled his eyes. "Right," he replied in a tone that lacked sincerity. He met her eyes again. "Anyways, it wasn't until I actually dated him that I finally understood why you chose him over me. I would choose him over me. The guy was an angel that could do no wrong. He was brilliant, kind, talented, good looking, and he always kept his cool even when things got rough." Then, he grimaced slightly. "Even towards the end, he was still looking out for all of us. I miss him more than anything," he admitted.

Saki's face fell at the memory. "Shun . . . ."

He continued. "Mamoru and Maria didn't deserve to die either. They did everything in their power to survive, and look where it still got them!" he exclaimed. He put his face in his hands for a moment before lifting his face up again. "There's not a day that passes that I haven't wished that I could've done more for them. I wish that it didn't have to be this way, but maybe . . . maybe things can change now."

"It will change now. I will see to it once I become Chairwoman of the Ethics Committee," Saki responded.

Satoru nodded, giving a small smile. "Yeah, and I'll help in any way that I can," he agreed.

"Although . . . it's funny that you say that you were jealous of Shun and me. Actually, I was jealous of you and Shun," Saki revealed with a small smile. "That day, when I saw you and Shun together from the tree I hid behind, all I could think about was how much I wished the two of you would break up, so that it could be me there kissing Shun."

"Can't say I blame you. Shun was one heck of a good kisser," Satoru replied casually.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Your opinion on that wasn't needed," she replied coolly. "As I was saying . . . even though he didn't love m-"

"Wrong."

Saki frowned. "What?"

"Shun was in love with you," Satoru replied. As he predicted, Saki's eyes lit up immediately, a clear look of hope on her face. Admittedly, he was still a little jealous by how much happier Saki seemed at just the prospect of learning more about Shun. Part of him wished that she could feel the same about him.

"What? What makes you say that? How can you be so sure?" Saki asked earnestly.

"The kissing was half-assed. It was like he wasn't putting much thought into it," he explained.

She frowned. "I thought you said he was a good kisser. And . . . and how does that prove anything?"

He shrugged. "Maybe that's why it took me so long to figure out that he wasn't in love with me," he replied. Then, he frowned slightly. "But, the more I think about it, there were other signs too. Like, anytime we were around you, he always went out of his way to acknowledge you and would sneak glances at you when he thought no one was watching. And he always asked about you too in his own way. He'd frame it like it was the last thing on his mind, but it was always only you that he'd bring up."

He continued, lowering his eyes to the ground so that he could no longer see her expression. "It was always me initiating the kissing, never him. Even when I told him I loved him, he would just give me one of his kind smiles and find some way to change the subject. If I brought it to his attention, then he would tell me that I was only imagining things and that would be the end of the discussion. Even that day you were talking about, when you were behind that tree, he kept urging me to stop what I was doing because he probably knew you were there watching."

If he was being honest, saying all of this to Saki wasn't doing any wonders for his self-esteem. In fact, just remembering it all was painful for him. However, Saki needed to hear all of this. He was sure that Shun would want Saki to know this, so ignoring the pain, he pressed on.

"The more I think about it, the only reason he stayed with me so long is because he was doing it for my sake. I'm sure he realized that I was in love with him, and he didn't want to hurt me. Also, the academy encouraged all of us to pursue same-sex relationships while we were at the academy to prevent any premature pregnancies, so I guess there was that too. And even during the war, he came to you in visions, not me, and those visions are the only reason that you and I started to remember things about him. So, he was in love with you."

With that, he leaned back onto the hill with his arms folded behind his head, and closed his eyes. So much for getting Saki to ever have feelings for him. He was certain her mind would only be filled with thoughts of Shun from now on. He sighed heavily. Oh well, he thought. As long as Saki is happy, I suppose I can't complain.

He laid in silence for a few moments until he felt a weight settle against his chest. Startled, his eyes flew open to see that it was Saki's head resting against it.

"Saki," he breathed.

"You're an idiot," she responded.

He frowned, before eying the river in front of them. A small pool of water dropped on Saki's head. She sat up immediately, hair dripping wet and glaring daggers at him.

"What was that for?!" she demanded.

He grinned deviously. "Who's the idiot for insulting someone so close to a river?"

Waves from the river splashed him from both sides. He frowned, sitting up and looking down at his now sopping wet clothing.

"That would be you," she remarked coyly, having just used her own psychokinesis powers against him.

The result from that point on was a full on psychokinesis water fight. After a few minutes of splashing exchanges, Saki decided to be the killjoy.

"Okay, okay. That's enough. At this rate, everyone's going to think we fell in the river," she said, wringing out her long ponytail of excess water.

"I guess I won then," he replied with a smug grin.

She sighed. "This was supposed to be a mourning session, you know."

He looked up at the sky. "Somehow I don't think they'd mind."

She frowned slightly before sighing once more. "Yeah, well, I suppose you're right," she admitted.

"We should probably head back now," he said, walking over to the boat they travelled on.

"Satoru?"

He turned around to see Saki standing there with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Saki shook her head, giving a soft smile. "Never mind."

He frowned, but turned back around nonetheless. He climbed into the boat and, moments later, Saki followed.

As the boat moved in silence, Satoru decided to ask the question that was on his mind.

"Mind telling me why you called me an idiot back there?"

She laughed. "If you recall, you implied that I was an idiot too," she retorted.

He gave a small grin. "Yeah, but that shouldn't have been a surprise."

"I could say the same for you."

He frowned slightly. She was avoiding the question. "Look. Just tell me why, Saki."

There was silence. He stopped the boat.

"Saki."

Receiving no response, he turned around and was caught off guard by Saki leaning in close to him. He could smell the sweet fragrance of roses from her perfume.

"Sa-"

"Kiss me," she whispered.

He stared at her face for only a moment before his gaze slowly lowered to her lips, parted slightly in silent invitation. He closed the distance between them, his lips meeting hers in a slow kiss. Their lips moved against each other's softly, their lips savoring each movement from the moment they touched. The two leaned away, breaking the kiss.

Their eyes met once more, neither saying a word. They leaned in for another slow kiss. And then another. And another until they slowly broke apart and their foreheads touched.

Satoru smirked. "Hmph, you're the idiot. You would've won way more arguments if you had done this sooner," he said.

Saki rolled her eyes. "We're both idiots actually," she answered. "But, not for the reason you just mentioned." She leaned away from him, gazing up at the star-speckled sky for a moment before sighing. Her eyes met his again. "Your story earlier made me realize something. There was no reason for the two of us to be jealous of one another."

His eyebrows raised. "Huh?"

"You still have feelings for me, don't you?" she asked.

Satoru's heart leapt in his chest, his eyes widening slightly. The way she had said those words seemed almost like a statement, rather than a question. And why was she bringing this up now?

Saki continued, not waiting for an answer. "When I told you to kiss me, you didn't hesitate. And when you looked back up at me, your eyes, they-" she paused, her eyes darting to the side. A small blush colored her cheeks. "I've never seen that look on your face before. There was no doubt that you had feelings for me, and I couldn't help but desire more when you looked at me that way because I suddenly realized . . . I have feelings for you too."

The admission sent shivers down his spine. "Saki, why are you-"

"Look around us," she explained.

Frowning slightly, he moved his head away from hers to examine the area. Sure enough, the river sparkled oddly around them as luminous fireflies circled them.

Saki smiled tearfully. "Shun did this while we were on the camping trip years ago," she explained. "Even now, he wants to make sure his friends are happy."

She continued. "You have to understand. Everything that Shun does is for a reason. While it might be true that Shun was in love with me, his actions were not done for himself, but for the both of us. All of those times you said that Shun was acknowledging me—that was because he wanted to make sure you didn't forget about me. He wanted you to see his glances in my direction, he wanted you to stop when I was around, and he wanted you to notice me because it was the best way to keep you thinking about me, even if it was through jealousy.

"Breaking up with you was the only way to help you sever any ties to him. He knew that you were the one who would make me the happiest. You were the one that was always there for me, and the one I couldn't bear to live without. He wanted us to understand that."

Satoru looked from Saki's smiling face to the sparkling river around them. A reflection of Shun smiling gently at him appeared in the water for a moment before disappearing again. Satoru smiled.

The boat moved onwards towards the village.

…

Author's Notes: And that's my take on how Satoru and Saki got together. At least . . . how I'd like to imagine it happened.

Anyways, thank you all so much for taking the time to read this! I hope you enjoyed this one-shot, and that it made you like this pairing a little more now. Reviews are always welcome, appreciated, and fill me with joy!

Until next time . . .

Cheers!