"Why won't you fight with me! Why?" Tokito shouted over the howl's of the desert's winds. The elder fighter payed no heed to her and continued on. Why did he refuse to fight? Three years had passed since Kyo's disappearance and so had three years of persistence on her part.
Three years! For three years she followed the ice-user to the ends of this Earth, begging for a re-match. He payed no attention to her ever, at max telling her to give up and return to their friends. Did he not understand her? She wished to fight him before that! Not return empty handed, with not even a second match to memory.
"Tokito, give it up. If after three years I have not fought with you yet, I will not in ten years!" Finally, for the first time, Akira turned to face her. Always, always, he had spoken to her over his shoulder. Never did he look at her straight in the face. Even if he was blind, it was different. It felt like, finally, he noticed her, acknowledged her possible re-match.
The blonde then turned around, shattering her hopes. Was he that stubborn? Would be not give her the re-match she so wished for? After three years! Tokito huffed, but never the less followed the man as he continued his journey. For threes she followed him, then she would follow him for more years to follow if needed! She would show him, that stubborn ice-wielding samurai, that she was just as insisting and stubborn as him!
Through chilling tundras of Southern Russia, devastating heights of Mt. Fuji, ferocious tsunamis, the mightiest of earthquakes, frightening forests of the south; all of them did she encounter while following the paths of Shiseiten's Akira. Tokito had lost track of the amount of time she had followed him. All that she was still sure about was two things: Akira still rejected her request and both continued as stubborn as ever.
Then, Akira set up camp for that night. Tokito stopped and rested next to camp, relieved that every once in a while the ambitious male would remember to rest. Fire started burning and so began some food. Tokito clutched her stomach, close enough to the camp to feel the meal's overpowering scent.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" Again, Akira turned to her and asked her. Silently, despite her pride, she sat down in front of the fire next to him. They ate, not speaking to each other as was usual. The silence was not awkward, but calming and something that became a part of Tokito's life as she trailed behind him.
"Tell me, Tokito," Akira began, breaking his usual aloof silence," Why do you still trail after me? Do you not understand what I said? I will not fight you."
"Shouldn't I be the one to ask if you don't understand? I will continue to follow you until you do fight me again. Until you fight me, I will follow you even to hell waiting for my chance at a re-match." The ice-wielder said nothing in return, simply returning to his food. The silence returned, but this time it was unbearabled.
Did he not understand her reasons? Did he not understand what she stated over and over as time passed by?
"I'll follow you. You opened my eyes back then... I'll follow you until I can no more! Can't you understand that?" She whispered this over her breath, staring at her half-full bowl. He did not response and for quite the while they remained in a silence unlike any other they had over their time together. Tokito's hands clutched at her bowl tightly, nearly breaking it. Her heart sped as she anxiously awaited Akira to reject her and, as was his routine, tell her to go home. A million scenarios played in her head, all of them with practically the same result. Both of them were too stubborn... His response would be obvious, it will be expected.
But instead, a soft yet rough hand made its way to her head. Gently, she was pulled closer to the blonde. They remained like that for a long while; soft hands playing with Tokito's hair followed by the usual silence they were accustomed with. Neither said a thing, the younger of the two almost afraid to break this surreal scene. She didn't understand exactly what his gestures meant, what he wished to convey with his hands and unusual warmth.
And then the silence broke, with what was Akira's gentle and quiet response. "Yes, I understand."
I just finished SDK and just had to write this... Does anyone else agree that Akira and Tokito were meant to be an adorable yet stubborn couple? I'm not too sure about how I portrayed them... So please to tell me what you think and what I could perhaps do to make this an even better one-shot! Thank you so much for reading and possibly giving me a review with some tips! Thank you!