Building Castles
Written by ginny who is sorry she hasn't been able to update in years

nine: angels of the silence

For everyone, there were defining moments in life. For some people it lasted a year, for some people it was only a second long. It was different for different people, and different for different situations. For Akira, one of the most defining moments in his life was when he mistook Akari for an angel.

One second—half a second.

From that instant on, his simple life had become infinitely more complicated.

It had been three weeks since then.

It had been three weeks, which was dangerously close to four. Akira found this fact unsettling because four weeks meant a month and a month would multiply in time to turn into a year.

The amount of time Akari was staying at his house was marked discreetly on his calendar. And though he was, surprisingly, not too bothered by the fact that she had barged into his life uninvited and unexpected, something else unnerved him much more.

The whole time Akari had been there, she had not left the house once. The whole time that Akari had been a guest in his home, Akari had stayed inside her room and not once stepped outside the front door.

That it was unarguably unhealthy for Akari to shy away from the world outside her domain did not bother Akira so much as the fact that he suspected Akari wanted to go outside. He caught her several times now staring out at the window with a longing sort of look in her eyes, confirming his suspicions.

He had gotten into the habit of inviting her out on his walks or to go matches, but she always politely turned him down.

He had a feeling she wanted to leave, but for some reason, she was hesitant.

Akira wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. He couldn't very well force her to leave the house, dragging her out and such. He feared that doing so would only incur her wrath, which could be scary enough just when Akira avoided eating the vegetables in her meals.

Akira sighed.

It was a dilemma that Akira did not know how to solve, and he was finding himself encounter more and more of these dilemmas—to the point where sometimes he'd be playing go with Hikaru and his mind would wander to Akari and his dilemmas, rather than the dilemma of capturing all the pieces in front of him.

Sometimes, too, he'd be doing something normal and think of her randomly for no reason. Sometimes his thoughts would drift to her at inappropriate times, such as laundry or reading, and he'd wonder what she was doing or what she was thinking or how she felt.

Akira couldn't fathom why; it disturbed him and he was constantly frustrated.

He heard light footsteps.

Akira lifted his head and saw Akari at the door with a worried expression on her face.

"You're troubled." Akari's voice was soft, and although she tried to disguise, it was also laced with concern. She was never very good at hiding her emotions; she'd been told since she was young that she had a very expressive face. Akari wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

Akira simply shook his head. "It's nothing," he muttered.

Akari frowned. "You're lying," she accused, not angrily. Akari was told she was easy to read, but at the same time, she was adept at reading other people's emotions. At least, she did possess that skill before she had slipped into her depression. She had even perfected the skill before the accident. Having a child was in conjunction with a heightened sense of intuition.

Akira paused before he looked up and stared at her straight in the eye. He took a hold of her hand and Akari's instinctive reaction was to flinch her hand away. Akira's hands, however, firmly grasped onto hers and Akari was taken aback by his bold action.

"Fujisaki-san," Akira spoke, his eyes studying hers.

"… Yes?" Akari's voice was weak. Her heart beat sped up. She wasn't sure if it was because she was simply surprised, or if it was because of the fact that they were in such close proximity and touching physically. She wasn't sure if she liked the touch or not.

"Are you… unhappy?" Akira's dark eyes continued to study hers for a reaction.

Akari bit her lip. "What do you mean?"

Akira let go of her hand and Akari clutched her fingers to her skirt. The place where his hands touched hers burned. Akari was sure her cheeks were flaming crimson at this point. She hoped that Akira did not notice, but she doubted he didn't. He was much too observant and she was much too readable.

"I'm going out for a walk." Akira stood and walked towards the door, grabbing his coat and putting it on. "Just a short walk, not too long," Akira said. He turned and stared at Akira with a meaningful look. "Would you like to accompany me?"

She was confused.

"I think I'll stay here," she responded, her throat dry. Akari fidgeted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She felt restless.

"Are you sure?" Akira asked again.

Akari nodded her head slowly.

Akira smiled. "I think you should come with me," he said.

At his words, Akari looked at him strangely. Akira usually never pressed on so stubbornly. Normally, he would give her a resigned look and leave alone, but from the way he spoke now, Akari almost felt like a disobedient child being rebuked by an adult who knew better.

A flame of annoyance sparked up in her, but instantly vanquished when she looked at him again and realized that he was not commanding her.

He was pleading almost.

Akari smiled and she suddenly felt shy.

Akira seemed to pick up on her vulnerability because he stepped towards her and took a hold of her hand, leading her to the door.

"Come," he said.

The door opened.

Akari stepped outside and she took a breath of fresh air.

She looked at Akira.

"It's cold. Hold on, I'm going to go get my jacket."

A/N: I'm quite sorry I haven't updated in an eternity, but I've been really busy with school and I meant to update thanksgiving weekend, but I got into an accident and couldn't type for a while.
Thanks for those who continue to read; I hope the next update will be soon since winter break is coming up. Hopefully I will update then, but nothing is certain.
On a positive note, I am absolutely certain that I will finish Building Castles eventually, even at a snail-pace rate. Although I've written dozens of fics, and though Building Castles is not the most highly demanded fic I've written (My PoT fics are in higher demand), it is one of my favorite fics I've written and very close to my heart, and it is the only fic that I am certain I will finish.
There are a planned 20 parts, each about 1000 words, so I'm almost halfway there!

Yvie: I never tried to commit suicide, but a few years ago, I was in a state of perpetual, worsening depression that spanned four years and I did often think of suicide at that time. I was fortunate to get out of it before it got any worse, however.
Alli: I'm glad you reviewed. :) Reading your reviews inspired me to work on this again.
Rayearthann: Thanks for constantly lending your support. I haven't had time to catch up on Eternal Snow yet, I think I'm like eight or so chapters behind, but I plan to after finals. BTW, I've always been curious, but do you just ship Akira/Akari or also Hikaru/Akari. (I ship both.)
And thanks to everyone else who has left feedback! White Alchemist Taya, fff, xiar, tsubame-chan, Aeris, Coiling Death, Snow Slushie, Lokiador, Go-Angelchidoriochibi, FloriaCharms, Dumber, augustinehuiA Fake Reality, Naoku, sally-wu-99echy, meme.
Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy!