We build cathederals to our pain,
establish monuments to attain
freedom from all of the scars and the sins
lest we drown in the darkness within.
Darkness Within - Machine Head

Just a small one shot from inspiration I got from this song by Machine Head. Akiza's cathederal is her rose garden if you missed that

I really like Faithshipping (:::

This was on my account on deviantart if you'vbe seen it before but i decided to publish it here as well

The sun was bright outside, a rare but welcome change in the pits of late autumn in New Domino City. Yusei reached up, wiping his brow of the sweat that had formed from a combination of the heat and a day's hard work. Yusei had asked Crow where Akiza was - only to hear a mumbled "no idea" from under the Duel Runner. Yusei had then set out the find the burgundy haired heroine, who was unotibly somewhere in the vicinity.

He had searched from room to room in hopes of finding the female, all to no avail. That is, until he walked past the verandah of his apartment, only to find a bun of messy burgundy hair and a pair of gloves working diligently on what seemed to be a mess of dirt everywhere he looked. He smiled softly, poking his spiky black and blonde head through the door.

"What are you doing, Akiza?" He said warmly, and she turned around, smiling and stopping her work as she saw his face.

"I'm trying to build a small garden here." She said calmly, smiling affectionately at what seemed just like a pile of dirt to the young man. "A man sold me these small rose seeds, and hopefully by spring they will have grown enough to bloom."

"What are they?" Yusei asked, curiousity getting the better of him.

"You'll just have to wait and see." She laughed, smirking at Yusei as if to challenge him to get the information out of her. Noticing the duel disk lying diligently next to her on the ground, Yusei decided to take his chances on waiting and finding out.

The months passed by, and Yusei had come to completely forget about the secluded garden hiding right under his nose, the demands of the daily life taking a toll on him. It was only when Crow injured his leg in a duel runner incident, and Akiza was needed for a Team 5Ds practice that he found her in the same place, perched over the same garden lovingly. The only difference was the amounts of tiny green stalks hanging from the garden's edges, and one rather large green stalk running above Akiza's burgundy hair, and on the very end stood proudly one single black rose in full bloom. It hung over her like a cloud, exposing her dark past and the pain and anguish she had suffered because of it.

"Oh, hi Yusei." She said, noticing him and stopping her work. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The man who sold them to me said that it make take a few seasons before they all start to bloom, but I'm a patient woman."

Yusei was dumbstruck. Never before had he seen such beauty in something as simple as that of a flower, but in the person who stood before him as well. Acceptance and happiness shone through her smile, highlighting her face in the invisible, but blinding light. Acceptance of her past actions and their consequences, and happiness fro the bright future ahead of her. Her face was no longer hidden in the shadows, and it was only now that Yusei had begun to see how strong she had really become. He had been barely able to mumble a "We need you for a Team 5D's practice" and Akiza had to ask him to repeat himself a few times before he collected his thoughts and spoke outright.

With a smile on her face and a swish of her cape, she had left Yusei alone witht he lone flower, before calling back for him a second later.

She smiled, but Yusei couldn't help but feel like something was up. There was more of a reason to build the Black rose garden apart from mere love for the flower, and Yusei knew it.

He was sure that Akiza kept those flowers as a reminder of all the things she had done, and the thorns she had embedded into everyone's skin.