Watching Mirai Nikki made my heart shatter into pieces. I'd happily forgotten about that fact until I was searching for some soothing music today and came across a picture of Akise and Yukiteru standing amidst the pile of broken rubble... Oh my god. Those feels. And then I remembered what happened... and it officially broke my heart again.

I couldn't bear the thought of Akise dying alone and OMG THOSE FEELS so I dumped my history essay on the table near the bin and typed this (lol). Can't throw my essay away, sadly.

Anyway, this is completely AU, so enjoy!

Amano Yukiteru, age 14, would be lying through his teeth if he said that he wasn't terrified.

It had been a whole week since he'd begun feeling this way. Wherever he walked, he could feel a disturbingly intense gaze in his direction, but when he turned around, there would be no one there.

Initially, he had thought that it was one of the bullies that frequently cornered him after school. Indeed, it was an entirely plausible train of thought. Yukiteru was bullied on a frequent, if not day-to-day basis, and the idea of a bully tailing him home only to beat him up in some old, rundown alleyway was not impossible.

He began to avoid alleyways and anywhere he could potentially be assaulted at.

He spent the first two days in sheer terror, running home right after school ended to avoid anyone who was tailing him. Nothing happened to him however, and he decided to continue his daily life as usual, shaking off ominous thoughts of being stalked.

The fourth day however, he had been asked by his mother to buy some groceries at the nearby supermarket. The moment he stepped out of the house, he immediately felt that gaze on him again. Hoping, and even praying that it was just his imagination, he made a dash to the supermarket to purchase the goods.

His physical education teacher would have been proud.

As he finished buying the goods and carried the plastic bags out of the supermarket, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched again. He barely contained an irritable sigh. As terrified as he was of his unknown stalker, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at how this person was interrupting his daily flow of life.

Noticing that it was already dark, he decided to risk it and take a shortcut through the narrow alleyway which led to his house. He almost expected to be assaulted there and then, but nothing happened, and he half-jogged out of the alleyway unscathed and very relieved.

The moment he entered his house, he felt a sense of liberation overcome him. Here, and only here, he was safe from all prying eyes, safe from anyone who could potentially harm him.

On the seventh day, he went out with his distant relative who would be staying in his province for the next few days. She was an extremely honest person with a straightforward personality, and openly declared that she wished Yukiteru would transfer to her school instead, so that they could hang out every day. They'd laughed, and he spent the rest of the day showing her around the famous places for sightseeing.

When she sent him a text message after he reached home, explaining in an uncharacteristically short and precise manner that she had to cancel her trip and go back home due to unforeseen circumstances, he was left staring at his dully flickering cellphone screen with an overwhelming sense of dread.

Yukiteru decided that it had to end. All of it.

His stalker hadn't done anything to him yet. However, it was likely that the stalker would attack him, and soon. He didn't know why he was being followed, but it was obvious to him that it would be bad if things went on.

He'd had enough of running around like an idiot, but he knew, even without investigating, that physically, he was most probably weaker than his stalker was. After all, Yukiteru was most probably bullied in school because he couldn't fight back, and he knew it.

He spent the rest of the day in school, writing in his cellphone diary about the people around him, whether their behaviorisms were out-of-place, and the probability that they were his mystery stalker. It wasn't much, but still, he reasoned, it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

Whether for the better or worse, no one took notice of his behavior at all. He had a feeling that he had about zero presence in the school, since he was antisocial and seemingly unapproachable most of the time.

"Hey, what do we have here?"

A mocking, familiar laugh reached his ears, and his fingers stilled in his typing. He kept his head bent down as he tried to remember whose laughter it belonged to. It was already after school, and most of his classmates had already gone home or went for their club activities, leaving the classroom empty.

Ah… that was it. It was one of the bullies who regularly cornered him after school. To think that he would be disturbed by them of all people during this crucial period!

Well… conversely, they were the only ones who acknowledged his presence in school. Not that he was particularly happy about it.

"Oi, look, it's Amano Yukiteru! The loser who hasn't gone out with a girl even once!" A bout of laughter followed this declaration, and Yukiteru sighed inwardly. Well, he couldn't refute that insult; it was the truth after all.

Wakaba-san had… well… He didn't even feel like thinking about how badly he had failed that day.

"Don't ignore us, Amano!" Insults were hurled at him as he ignored them and continued to type in his cellphone.

He felt his cellphone being snatched out of his hands, and he instinctively reached up to grab it back. Instead, his arm was seized by one of the bully's cronies, and his cellphone was dangled tantalizingly out of reach. For the first time, he felt his heart rate speed up as panic began to creep in on him. He had to get his cellphone back! These… These bullies didn't have the right to take it away from him!

He swung his free hand towards his cellphone, stretching desperately to reach out for it. It was stopped even before it reached its target, and he flailed helplessly in his captive's grip.

Stop…

"Come on, Amano! You can do better than that!" The laughter surrounded him, jeering and derisive. He felt the telltale sting of tears welling up in his eyes, and he hung his head down. He really was a loser. Crying over something like this… It was no wonder no one wanted to be his friend…

Stop it…!

"How boring! Looks like that's all the fight he's got in him!" One of the bullies sneered. The one holding his cellphone looked at it thoughtfully before smirking.

"Guys, let's see what he's been typing all day in school! Maybe it's something pathetic like text messages to his imaginary girlfriend!"

The bullies cheered, spurred on by the thought of making someone else suffer in humiliation, and Yukiteru struggled violently in their grasp again, desperate to break free.

There was no way he would allow anyone to look at his cellphone diary! He had to get it back… somehow…

"That's as far as you'll go." A cool, dangerous voice spoke up, making the bullies turn around, intimidating expressions on their faces.

Yukiteru froze. No one had spoken up for him before, mostly because they were too afraid of the bullies. Even Yukiteru, who had once fervently wished for someone to notice him, had long since given up on receiving help from the rest of the student population. He lifted his head, trying to see who it was, but the bully twisted his arm, and his head was pushed down, forcing him to let out a pained gasp.

"What, isn't that… What was his name again? Akise Aru?" The bully holding Yukiteru by his arms remarked, and tightened his grip on Yukiteru, the rough friction causing Yukiteru to wince.

Akise Aru…? He'd heard that name before. If he wasn't wrong, it was one of his classmates who were in the popular crowd. He was also very popular amongst the girls, due to his handsome looks and cool personality. What was he doing this late after school…?

"Let go of him, you delinquents." Akise sounded rather calm, certainly not the tone one would take when dealing with a group of bullies.

"Right, what can you do? You're just a make-believe detective with a pretty face after all!"

Detective…? Detectives were one of those… right? The ones who solved cases that even the police couldn't solve?

"I may be just a 'make-believe' detective…" Akise's voice turned frosty, sending a chill down Yukiteru's spine. "…But that doesn't mean that I don't know how to fight."

"W-Why, you disrespectful little…!" The supposed leader of the group spoke up, his voice shaking with anger or fear; Yukiteru couldn't tell. "Let's see how big you can act after this!" Without further ado, he charged at Akise, his fists raised.

Akise side-stepped him gracefully, and the leader, unable to stop his charge in time, tumbled headfirst into the tables and chairs which were neatly lined up, sending many of them skidding against the floor. He crumpled to the floor easily, pained from the impact of hitting the chairs and tables.

Akise smiled, making the bullies cower in fear. "Does anyone else want to have a go?"

With a yell of frustration and humiliation, the leader got up again and ran out of the classroom, yelling. "You won't get away with this!"

"You got lucky today, Amano!" The bully holding Yukiteru dropped him to the floor painfully and the rest of the gang followed soon after, running after their leader like their lives depended on it. Yukiteru blinked. He hadn't actually expected the bullies to flee. Suddenly, he felt stupid for worrying about Akise, when it was obvious the other was much tougher than he was. He hadn't even used his fists, and he'd managed to chase off the bullies! A sense of relief overtook him, and he sank back to the ground, feeling like a weight had lifted off his chest. His phone clattered to the floor beside him, and he picked it up, looking it over carefully for cracks.

"Are you okay?" Akise's voice, which had been unapproachable and cold before, now sounded warm. Yukiteru looked up to see the other looking down at him, a gentle smile tugging at his lips. With the orange-tinged light of the sunset bouncing off the silver locks of his savior, Akise looked almost angelic. Yukiteru started, a blush coloring his cheeks immediately.

Did he just think of Akise as… angelic…? What kind of thoughts was he having?

"Amano-kun…?" Akise looked at him in confusion, making Yukiteru's blush deepen. He nearly hit himself for having such a reaction. Akise must be thinking that he was a strange person now! Yukiteru sighed to himself in defeat.

"Is there something wrong?" Akise asked, his lips twitching as if he was holding back a smile. Yukiteru shook his head quickly, keeping himself from running off there and then. It would be bad manners to run from the person who had just saved him, after all.

"N-No, I'm fine…!"

Akise looked at him thoughtfully, before bending down and offering him a hand. Yukiteru took it after a moment of hesitation, and was hauled to his feet. Not knowing what to say, Yukiteru bowed in gratitude. "T-Thank you for saving me, Akise-kun."

"It's no problem, really." Akise ruffled Yukiteru's hair, making him flush once again.

Just then, a thought struck Yukiteru. Just a small one, but it gave him a brief moment of hope.

"Akise-kun…?" He looked up at the other shyly.

Akise gazed at him kindly. "Yes?"

"I-Is it true that you're a detective?" Yukiteru tried not to seem too eager to find out, hoping that he didn't seem creepy to Akise. He had to admit, though, that the first impression he gave to Akise must not have been especially great.

Akise didn't seem too bothered by the question, but he looked away contemplatively. "Well, they call me a detective, but I've only really helped the police a few times…" He sounded slightly sheepish, as if he had expected a true detective to achieve much more than that.

Yukiteru gaped. "That's amazing!"

"Ahaha… thanks." Akise smiled, and pushed a silver strand of hair aside, away from his eyes, almost as if he was embarrassed. "But why so suddenly…?"

Yukiteru opened his mouth, then closed it again. This was the moment he couldn't afford to lose. His future would be determined by the other's answer, whether he liked it or not! His hesitation must have shown on his face, for Akise smiled at him encouragingly.

Taking courage from that smile, Yukiteru took a deep breath, and spoke.

"A-Actually… I have something that's been bothering me…"

I fancy Akise as Yukiteru's eternal protector, HAHA.

Don't forget to review! :)

Thanks for reading!