Written by a rather insane chicka named ginny
two: burning flowers
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It was such a nice dream.
Akari was still just ten, watching fireworks with Hikaru's family along with her own. She stared wide-eyed as she saw a strange object shoot up into the night sky and explode into magnificence. The beauty was absolutely breathtaking, dozens upon dozens of shimmering colors transforming from one complex design to another.
"Aa…!" The fear that tiptoed around Akari's features earlier disappeared as she got used to the explosive noise and realized that the fiery colors faded into darkness and could in no way burn her. A radiant smile soon grew on her small face and her big, dark eyes reflected the fireworks in the sky.
In the next instant, Akari was grown and all other people disappeared. She sat by her lone self in the middle of a never-ending sea of barely green grass. Her torso leaned back all the way and her head hung upwards to face the sky. She would have fallen on her back if not for the fact she kept her arms wrung around her knees. The childlike smile was still on her more mature features and she slowly unfolded her fingers, allowing herself to fall onto the grass. Her eyes continued staring up at the sky.
The fireworks flew and one by one, they faded until there was only one left. The smile on her face remained and her eyes followed the traces of the last one's glitter fading and then there was nothing but black.
The grass should have caught her fall but it had disappeared and instead, she was sinking through tons of soft but strangely piercing clouds. She continued to drop but she was unafraid and did not attempt to scream. She did not feel happy, but she did not feel sad. Peacefulness washed over her and she forgot everything. As she fell, the clouds nipped at her clothes until she was naked.
At last, the ocean was visible beneath her but before there could ever be any impact, Akari felt herself lift up, swooping above the dark waters.
She had wings and she flew.
She flew higher and higher and higher… she never looked down.
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Long eyelashes fluttered for a while before eyelids swept open to reveal dark, wine orbs. Sunlight flooded into Akari's eyes and she blinked rapidly, her eyes darting back and forth around the view. Her mind was foggy and Akari could not place where she was nor remember the exact event of things.
Akari's fingers and toes felt icy, though her head and body felt too hot. She could feel sweat crawling up her legs and a strange, fever-like heat burning her face. Everywhere felt sore and she attempted to sit herself up but found it near impossible. It seemed that every ounce of her body turned into lead.
An image of a young girl who resembled Akari engulfed her mind and a strong urge to call for the girl grew. Akari opened her mouth in attempt to call for the little girl, but no noise would come.
She hurt everywhere, but the most painful was the strange throbbing in her chest.
Akari's eyes grew heavy and she fought to keep them open. Hundreds of fragmented questions came and go in her hazy mind. She wanted to know where she was, who had rescued her, and why. She wanted to know what had happened, whether she jumped or whether she fell. Last night's events came together in a broken picture, but Akari could still not recall everything. She fought to stay awake, but she was fighting a losing battle.
Akari's eyes fell shut, no energy left in her to keep them open.
As she drifted back to sleep, Akari decided she must not be dead and was sorely disappointed.
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She did not know how much time went by since she last woke, but she knew it couldn't have been too long. She was still hurting everywhere and she was even more miserable now that her mind cleared and she remembered last night perfectly. She had not fallen from the bridge, but she couldn't say she exactly meant to jump either.
For the last half-year, Akari had regularly went on walks, especially near the bridge. Akari hadn't exactly planned to kill herself when she went out on a walk that night, but the idea hadn't come from nowhere. She had been miserable for a very long time and had thought about how death might be a nice reprieve from her life.
It was already an unusual day. Her landlady had kicked her out of her apartment and so Akari packed what little she had left in a suitcase and went on her walk much later than regular. When she crossed the bridge she noticed the river looked especially beautiful and the moon was hardly there. She was not used to seeing the river during the night and discovered that staring at the dark waters was calming. Akari was sure she spent at last an hour just watching the slow currents of the river.
She wondered how cold the water was and she wondered how it would feel if she could fly, even only for an instant before falling.
Without really thinking, she slipped off her shoes and shed her jacket, allowing the cold to sink into her skin.
A feeling washed over her and all her misery seemed to fade the colder she grew.
The stars enticed her, whispering in her ear about how nice it was to fly. The dark waters beckoned her, telling her to come in. Akari stared back at the water and she saw a young girl staring back at her, sending her an inviting smile.
It was then Akari jumped.
In that instant, she was truly happy. She was flying and life was nothing compared to it. The dull pains in her heart were gone and for a moment she felt free.
Akari would have been glad to die.
Her life was miserable. There were many problems wrong with her life. There were many problems wrong with her self. There were many things she found inadequate with herself, many things she hated. There were countless failures, and each and every one haunted her memory and lay in a piling hill at her feet.
Akari felt even more miserable when she realized she tried to take her life but failed at that too. She was an utter failure in everything.
Then there was her, and there was him.
For months, an empty feeling had lingered in her heart and enveloped her soul.
Akari did not deserve to live.
She was not sure what she was still doing alive.
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A/N: I can't imagine what compelled me to write an Akira/Akari. I am a huge Akari/Hikaru fangirl and I have been meaning to write an Akari/Hikaru fic forever. Instead... I wrote this. Oy vey!
I'm quite surprised that so many people are welcome to the Akira/Akari shebang. I'm even more surprised that some people have been wanting it. The things I learn… Anyway, thanks for reading. According to the outline in my head, I have quite a long ways to go before I'm done with this fic. :)