Recap- Chapter 2- Akiya's Pain
Hiro tells the Spirit Detectives about Akiya's past with Yoko and Hiei, and how she came to the village, and why Imaru and the villagers hate her so much. Afterwards, everyone met at the training building at eight. There, the detectives were introduced to two new children, Mika and Yomi, Katsu's friends. Imaru came by and dropped Botan off. A little later, a very powerful ninja demon attacked. He offered Akiya a chance to join him, and though she refused, he said that he'd be back when she made her final decision, and if he didn't like it, he would kill her, all of the villagers, and her friends. In the evening that same day, Koenma dropped by and asked to have a word with Akiya. Outside, he offered her a chance to join as a Spirit Detective and escape from her pain, or continue to live the way she is, and continue suffering. He went back inside the house and left her alone to ponder over her choices.
Run Away Forever Chapter 3- Akiya's Decision
Koenma went back into the house.
"Hey Koenma, that was quick," Yusuke said.
"Where's Akiya-chan?" Keta asked.
"She's outside," Koenma answered simply.
"Oh," she replied as she began to walk towards the door.
"Leave her," Koenma ordered more than asking. "She needs to think over something… undisturbed."
Hayate glared at Koenma suspiciously before walking to the door and swinging it open. Koenma sighed. Everyone else just looked at him oddly. Hayate went outside and looked at Akiya who seemed deep in thought. The other ninjas and the children went to the doorway with the detectives following. Botan went over to the door as well. Koenma himself went stepped outside a bit to look at Akiya. She finally noticed everyone and stared at them.
"Akiya-chan?" Keta asked. "Are you okay? Why don't you come inside? It's getting chilly outside. You'll get sick."
After waiting for a while for an answer, Hayate walked up to her and forcefully grabbed her arm.
"Get inside!" Hayate yelled.
Akiya's eyes grew wide.
Koenma was right… she thought. They really don't care about me. All those times they were kind to me… they were acting.
She swung her hand out of Hayate's grip and glared at him.
No! she thought.
Her eyes softened a bit as she slightly looked down. Everyone noticed her hands ball up into a fist. She suddenly turned around and took off. Hayate's hand extended to grab her arm and prevent her from leaving but he never grabbed her. Everyone turned to Koenma as Hayate angrily walked up to him and roughly grabbed him by his shirt collar. The detectives immediately became alarmed and got ready to go in there to keep Koenma from harm. Hayate threw a punch at Koenma's face but his punch was caught by Hiro.
"Stop it Hayate!" he shouted holding him back. "Doing what you are right now isn't going to help Akiya out of her pain!"
Hayate snatched his fist Hiro's grasp and glared at Koenma, gripping his collar even tighter.
"You better hope that Hiro's around next time because if I find out that you ever try to do any more harm to Akiya, physically or mentally, I kill you!!" he threatened dangerously.
He let go of Koenma and walked away. Hiro, Keta, and Kohira stared at Koenma with slight anger before following Hayate. The three children glared at the teenage ruler.
"We don't appreciate what you're doing!" Yomi said dangerously. "Don't ever go near her again! Or else I'll break every single bone in your body!"
"Consider this a friendly warning!" Mika said in a very firm voice. "If you ever hurt her again, I'll snap your head off!"
"There better not be a next time!" Katsu warned threateningly. "You can't always be surrounded by protection! If there ever comes a time where you make her feel like this again, I'll break you!!"
"I won't stay that long sorry," Koenma said calmly.
The three children glared at him hard, but Koenma only glared back at them. They walked back inside angrily. Hiei, who couldn't care less what happened next, went off somewhere on his own.
"What did you do?" Yusuke asked.
"Not much," Koenma answered. "I only offered her a chance to join up or to stay. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go inside. It's getting cold."
The rest of them walked back inside. No matter how hard the ninjas tried, they couldn't seem to be able to look at Koenma without glaring at him. After all, Akiya seemed upset with whatever Koenma and she were talking about. It soon came time to sleep. Everyone went off to sleep though the thought of Akiya kept them up. It was nearly one in the morning and she still hadn't returned yet. Koenma went outside to get some fresh air.
"What did you say to her?" Kurama asked from behind him, leaning against the house, who Koenma obviously had not noticed.
"Ahh!!" he yelled in surprise a bit. "Kurama! When did you get here?"
"It doesn't matter," Kurama answered shortly.
Koenma sighed. "Fine," he said. "I just asked her to either join the team or to continue to live life here, suffering."
"It had to be more than that," Kurama said looking for a further explanation. "She seems like a strong girl."
"She is," he answered.
"Then you tried to persuade her, didn't you?" he asked pushing for a clear answer. "She couldn't have reacted like that if you only said that."
"But she did," Koenma answered quickly.
"Really Koenma, what did you say to her?"
He looked directly at Kurama. From the looks in his eyes, he wanted some answers. He sighed yet again.
"I told her that she was hated and that no-one here appreciated her. They were only using her to take out there frustrations on. No-one paid attention to her and how much pain she was feeling. I also told her that this village isn't all that great and that they only hate her in return for everything she's done for them. Maybe I might've said something about the villagers and her friends keeping her here to have something entertaining to watch like her suffering, but that's it. Then I offered her a chance to join or stay here."
"You questioned her friends' loyalty?" he asked.
"No, not really," Koenma answered him hesitantly.
Now it was Kurama's turn to sigh.
"Koenma, why would you do that? If she wants to stay, then let her. Just like what you said to Hayate and the others, you shouldn't interfere with her decision. Do you want her to join that much?"
"Yes Kurama, I do. She's in a lot of pain. I want to help her get away from it all. If she agrees to join the team, then she can be rid of all of her suffering and then we'll be a lot tougher team. Not to mention that she'll be so happy to be reunited with Yukina."
"But… wouldn't it all be pointless if you force her against her will by questioning her friends' loyalty and her trust in them?"
Koenma twitched.
"Whatever Kurama," he said walking away.
-----Akiya-----
What am I thinking? Akiya thought shakily. They care for me a lot. Don't they? They've always been worried about me and my well being… or is that all an act?
She shook her head and held it in pain.
What am I thinking? What am I suppose to do? Should I go, or should I stay here? I don't know what to—!!"
She swiftly turned around. Nothing… she thought for sure that there had been someone there. When she turned back around again, she jumped back a few feet. Hiei just appeared right there in her front of her, staring at her with his crimson eyes. Akiya just stared at him silently. The wind gently blew. She looked down.
"What's wrong?" Hiei asked uninterestedly. She looked at him. "I don't care, I'm just curious about what that baby told you."
Akiya tried to run off but Hiei grabbed her arm. She looked at him.
"Let go," she said firmly.
"No," Hiei challenged.
"Let go!!" she yelled starting to get angry.
"What did he offer you?! And what is the relationship between you and Yukina?!"
"It's nothing god damn it! Now let me go!'
She roughly swung he hand out of Hiei's grip and ran off. Hiei stood there glaring at her as she ran off.
What's with that onna? he thought.
Akiya ran back to the house and quietly went to her room, making sure not to wake anyone up. She shut the door silently and fell asleep thinking about Koenma's offer. Hiei came back about half an hour after Akiya. He went to Hayate's room to get some sleep. When he opened the door, he found Hayate standing there waiting for him.
"I know you met her," he said.
"And?" Hiei asked in an I-don't-care voice.
"What did you talk to her about?" he asked angrily. "What did that guy with the pacifier say to her to be able to get her that upset?"
"I don't know," he answered teasingly but also half truthfully. He really didn't know what they were talking about.
Hayate growled as Hiei went over to the spot where he was the night before and slept.
-----Akiya-----
Akiya twisted and turned in her bed. She couldn't sleep. Her clock read 5:33am. Deciding that she probably wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, she went downstairs, surprised to find the other ninjas already there with the Spirit Detectives, even Yusuke and Kuwabara. Everyone stared at her as she shifted a bit. She looked down and walked right past them to the door. Kohira's hand grabbed her arm when she was halfway out the door.
"Akiya, what's wrong!" she asked getting irritated that Akiya wouldn't tell them.
"Nothing," she answered with a bit of anger. She wanted time alone to think, but they just kept on bothering her.
What am I thinking? I've never felt like this before… Why is this happening?
"We have a right to know," Keta said calmly.
"It's nothing!" she shouted a bit.
"Akiya…" Hiro said quietly.
It's nothing," she said much more calmly. "I just have a headache. I need some fresh air."
She gently pulled her hand out of Kohira's grasp and walked out of the door leaving the others there.
Hiro ran after her.
"Akiya! Wait!" he shouted.
She ignored him and kept on walking. Hiro caught up with her and grabbed her wrist and swung her around to face him. The others followed afterwards. Akiya looked at him with annoyance.
"Akiya, we won't know what's wrong until you tell us," he said softly.
"Nothing's wrong," she replied trying to stay calm. "We can talk about this later. Now if you would excuse me—"
"No!" Hiro said firmly cutting her off. "Let's talk now!"
She stared at him shocked. Hiro had never used a firm tone with her before.
So this is their true selves. Koenma was right then… Argh!! Stop thinking like that! They're worried! That's why they're asking! she thought.
"What's the matter?" Hiro tried again, his tone a bit softer than before.
"I said nothing," she said calmly once again.
Hiro smacked her in the face. Everyone stared at him in shock. Usually, he's the one who's always trying to keep everything together and prevent such things. Akiya turned her head back around and stared at Hiro in shock. He looked angrily at her. After a while, as if just noticing what he did, he let go of her and stared at her with uneasy eyes. He made his eyes firm again.
"I've been sick of the way you've been acting lately!" he shouted at her. "If there's a problem, then tell us!! Don't just act like everything's okay!! Don't just act like you're okay!! If there's a problem, let us help!!"
"The five of us have been best friends for years," Keta said. "If you feel uneasy, then at least don't try to hide it from us. Would you at least trust us enough to do just that much?"
After some time, she replied. "Sure. Just to let you know, in this kind of situation, a best friend would leave me alone."
She walked away as the ninjas stared at her leaving.
"I feel like she's walking out on us, pushing us away from her," Kohira said a bit shakily.
Akiya, who was watching them secretly from a nearby tree, felt as if something stuck her when she heard that. They all walked back to the house as she went off into the woods. Little did she know, the children followed her. She stopped in front of a lone tree that grew on the edge of a cliff near the ocean. It was a sakura tree. The children who tailed her wondered how a sakura tree could grow near the ocean. No tree such as a sakura tree could grow near salt water. Akiya stared at the tree before the three children came out.
"Akiya Ni-chan," Katsu called as she turned around quickly.
"Katsu, Mika, Yomi…" she said acknowledging each one of them. "Is there something you want?"
"Are you okay Akiya Ni-chan?" Katsu asked innocently.
"I'm fine," she answered assuringly.
"Mika frowned at her.
"No you're not!" she accused. "Why are you lying to us? Why won't you tell us the truth?"
Akiya looked at them, not wanting to discuss the matter, as the three innocent children stared back at her with some what, sadness in their eyes.
"Akiya Ni-chan?" Yomi asked innocently. "Please tell us what's wrong. We want to help. You're in pain…"
Her eyes widened a bit. They had actually noticed… or was it like Koenma said? They knew because they enjoyed seeing her in pain.
Why am I… she thought weakly.
"It's exactly because of that that I don't want you guys to know," she said.
"You're hurt," Katsu said. "You feel alone, don't you? I can tell. We all can tell."
"That's why I keep these kinds of things to myself," she explained. "I don't want to let anyone else feel the pain that I constantly feel."
"But—!" Katsu began.
"Forget about it," she said with a warm smile.
"You always say that!" Katsu yelled at her. "How much longer are you going to keep us away from you!? When are you going to welcome us into yourself?!"
She looked at Katsu a bit taken back. He had tears in his eyes. So did the other two.
"You think you're doing us a favor by keeping these things from us, but you're not! Even if I have Mika and Yomi and the others… if you keep keeping these things from me… without you… I'll always feel alone no matter what!!" Katsu shouted at her as he ran away holding back the tears from falling.
"You were always like this. How can you expect us to truly feel happy and content when you won't even trust us with this much?! Do you have any idea that you're causing us so much pain just by doing this?! We probably can't even imagine the pain of being alone, but we don't have to imagine it any more, do we?! It hurts a lot to know… that the person you care for most… is keeping secrets from you and won't let you help!! It's like you're pushing us away from you and won't let us get close! I don't know about Katsu and Yomi… but to me… that's being alone!!" Mika shouted running away as well, tears managing to escape her eyes.
"Katsu and Mika are right," Yomi said sadly. "You're like our sister. You've always been a guiding light, leading us in the right path in life, helping us make the right decisions, and caring for us and comforting us when we need it, and protecting us from all sorts of things… but… how can we even trust you anymore when you don't even trust us with these little secrets?!"
Akiya looked at him sadly.
"Yomi," she said softly. "I didn't know…"
"And you never will," Yomi said, his voice shaking a bit. "You'll never know the true pain of being alone, because you never really were. We were always by your side! But hearing you that you were always alone, that really hurt. I guess you never even considered us as your friends, or any of the others, because if you did, you would've seen that you were never really alone to begin with! We always cared for you, and you only pushed us away in return!"
"Yomi… I'm sorry," she said softly. "I never knew that I was causing you guys so much pain by keeping these secrets. I thought that if you guys never found out, you'd never have to go through what I'm still going through…"
"You lie!" he shouted. "You just want us to forget about it, don't you?! Fine! I'll forget about it, and I'll forget you too!"
He turned around and began to run when Akiya's hand gently grabbed his wrist as he turned around to face her.
"Yomi I…"
"You wanna know what it feels like to have a person walk out on you?! I'll show you!!" Yomi shouted as he yanked his hand away from Akiya's gentle grip and ran away, tears now flowing freely.
The wind gently blew as Akiya walked to the very edge of the cliff. She looked down, clenching her fists tightly.
"Why don't you jump?" a voice asked a bit mockingly.
Akiya turned around to face Hayate.
"Are you here to lecture me about how much pain I've been causing you too?" Akiya asked a bit angry, trying to hide the fact that she was hurt.
"Having trouble babysitting the kids?" he asked mockingly once more.
Akiya looked down and sighed. "Their words cut me like a knife," she said sadly.
"And they should," he answered.
"What the hell did I do wrong?!" she shouted frustrated.
Hayate only stared out to the sparkling ocean as the wind once again, gently blew.
Akiya turned around and began to walk away when Hayate's voice stopped her.
"Everyone lives to achieve their life long goal. Theirs… was to rid you of your pain and make you happy."
"Hn," she said walking away as Hayate's voice stopped her again.
"You should know… not everyone has a life that has a happy and meaningful tale behind it. Let them be one of those people who have that happy and meaningful tale behind their lives."
"Then they should just change their life long goal," she answered. "There's nothing they can do."
"That true… if you won't let them," he replied.
"They're still young. They're weak…"
"That's right. They are weak… and only you can make them become strong. As a ninja, you should also know that what makes a ninja strongest… is to protect something important to them, something that they hold closest to their heart. To them and to us, you're that important something."
"What about the others then?"
"They're important too. Don't you get it? Our closest friends are important to us. That's why we hold them closest to our hearts, but there's always one person that's more important to them than anyone else. I don't know about anyone else but… to me… you're that person…" he finished softly and hesitantly.
Akiya slowly turned to look at Hayate, shocked. He never showed any emotion and has always acted coldly towards her. She had always thought that he was angry with her for taking away his only family left, his brother, Hoyuta.
"H-Hayate-san—" she began but Hayate cut her off.
"-kun… Hayate-kun…" he said.
"Hayate…kun…"
"Stay," he said as he walked up to her. "Don't go."
"How did you…"
"No-one told me. We've been best friends for so long. You think I wouldn't know what was bothering you? I know what Koenma offered you, and that's why you've been acting this way lately. I heard him. I heard everything. I don't want you to leave."
"Hayate-kun, I want to go though. I want to have a second chance at being happy."
"So you're gonna leave me all alone this time? Are you going to leave everything behind for those strangers?"
"They're good people. I really want to get to know them."
"Akiya-san, I'm asking you as if we were in deeply in love… would you leave me behind for them?"
"Hayate-kun I would… stay…" I guess…
"Then stay," he said trying to convince her.
"But were not deeply in love!" she shouted. "There's nothing you can do to convince me to stay!"
"I…love…" he said trying to confess. "I love you a lot…"
Akiya stood, completely frozen. Hayate had never shown this side of himself to anyone before, his soft, caring side. Hayate stood waiting for some kind of reply from Akiya, any kind. He wanted to know how she felt just out of curiosity, but she only stood their, frozen, staring at him as if it were all a dream. Hayate looked at her, searching for an answer in her eyes, but they only showed confusion and most of all, uncertainty. He soon averted his gaze away from her eyes. Akiya looked at Hayate, avoiding his eyes, or at least trying to.
"Hayate-kun," she said, "I'm going to leave."
Hayate's eyes remained emotionless. Akiya had just noticed. The whole time he was talking to her, his eyes had no emotion at all. And his voice… the way he talked was so emotionless. Did that mean that he didn't really mean to say any of it? He silently stared out to the ocean, sparkling beautifully from the sun's reflection.
"Tch…" he said. "Figures, I really can't convince you after all. Do whatever you want. It's not like I give a shit what you do, and I definitely don't give a shit what the hell happens to you."
Akiya remained emotionless as well though she felt something inside her feel somewhat… uneasy. If Hayate had said that to her before all of this had happened, she would've felt something, even if it was very slight. It just bothered her a bit, but she didn't really care about it. It wasn't important to her. She figured that she must've heard that from the villagers so much that she got used to it.
She turned around again and began to walk away, expecting Hayate to say something to stop her again. He walked away as well, but not before stopping her one more time.
"You didn't expect me to say something nice and mushy again to get you to stay now did you?" he said mockingly and disgusted a bit. "Hn. That's why I hate people like you."
Akiya stayed silent and continued to walk away. She stopped at the front of her house and opened the door to go in only to find Hayate about to open the door to go outside again. He walked right passed her without even glancing at her. She stared straight ahead, as if in a trance, as the three children inside did the exact same thing. Hiro, Kohira, and Keta walked up to her and stared at the four that walked off, wondering what was wrong.
"Akiya," Keta started. "Is something wrong?"
As soon Keta asked that, Koenma and the other detectives appeared at the already opened door.
"I'll be right back," Akiya said. "Koenma, we need to talk."
She walked away with Koenma staring at her a bit awkwardly at how she said it. After a bit, Koenma followed her.
"You guys stay here for a bit," he commanded his detectives as he walked away.
The ninjas couldn't help but feel a bit angry and uncomfortable around them. Their boss just completely changed Akiya. It may just seem like she's depressed but the ninjas knew that it had to be more than that.
-----Near the Village's Front Entrance Gate-----
They both stood there in silence. Hayate happened to be nearby. After a while of just standing there, Koenma asked her,
"So uh… what did ya want? Surely you didn't call me out here to have someone to stand in silence with."
"This past day, I've been thinking a lot about what you said and offered me,"
"Welcome to the team Akiya," Koenma said, not waiting for her to finish. "Listen… I'm sorry too. I know I said some things that weren't true to get you to lean more in my favor and–"
"I knew," she answered, "but I want to get two things straight. I don't ever want you to question my friends' loyalty and my trust in them again. Also, I don't want to hear you insult this village and the people in it, ever. They're not trash, and I don't care how much they hate me as long as I can protect them. Got that?"
Koenma's slightly shocked expression for the moment softened into a small, warm smile.
"Sure," he answered. I'll never be able to understand that girl and how she can be so kind-hearted and forgiving, even after all she's been through…
-----Next Chapter's Preview-----
Running Away Forever Chapter 4- Convince Her! Difficulties Leaving
Akiya has her mind made up, but the others don't want her to leave, so what do they do? They all try to convince her to stay. Hayate and the children have already failed. Will, surprisingly Imaru, Kohira, Keta, and Hiro be able to convince her to stay? And will Katsu, Mika, Yomi, and Hayate even bother giving it another try? Deep down, Akiya doesn't want to leave, but she also doesn't want to stay. Which side will pull on her more, the urge to leave, or the urge to stay with her friends?