A/N: HOLY SHIT I UPLOADED SOMETHING. Writing is hard guys, especially when you keep distracting yourself from WIPs to start writing some new bullshit. (that stuff may or may not be posted soontm) Anyway this is kind of a sad fic, based on a dream I had. So if you don't feel like angsty stuff check out my- oh wait Rose in Winter is also sad. Oops.
Also I've been given a suggestion to make an Ao3 so I can actually reply to comments in a dedicated section as they come in instead of waiting for 5 months and replying all at once. So... look out for that? Whenever I get around to doing that.
Read and Respond!
Akko was never a religious girl growing up. For all her-wide eyed optimism and belief in magics and fantastical creatures, she never could bring herself to believe in the pearly gates or fire and brimstone that supposedly awaited after the end. Her mother and grandmother still followed the old ways of their homeland- the latter more than the former, but for the most part she let the world come at her day by day regardless of what higher powers thought or wished.
She was a free spirit, rocketing towards her north star with reckless determination and abandon, loving hard, laughing loud; from her first moments on the earth to the day she finally left it behind.
Atsuko Kagari died in May, it was a Sunday in the afternoon; barely a cloud in the sky.
She was 24 years old.
"See you later Bretta!" The brunette called as she left the shop, waving to the cashier with a bright smile.
The warm rays of the sun kissed her skin as she stepped out from under the awning, feeling the light breeze of dying spring as it transformed into summer. It was a beautiful day outside, not too hot yet not cold either; the kind of day you remember as a child, drawing with chalk on the road or running through the grass.
With a spring in her step Akko began her way down the sidewalk, passing by and smiling at many different people: a young couple pushing their newborn in his stroller, an old man arranging flowers in his storefront, and at least two very excitable dogs.
One of the most intriguing people she met was a young girl with pale purple hair, roughly 14 or 15 sitting on the edge of a planter between two buildings where the sun couldn't reach.
She wore a simple black sundress, light ruffles over her shoulders and subtle lace down her torso, as well as a large sunhat to protect her incredibly pale skin. The girl's red eyes held a weight to them, a deep sadness that contrasted against the otherwise lovely day.
"Chin up hun, its a beautiful day!" She attempted, smiling warmly. "You can always save that look for another day, one with rain. Be sad later!"
Sun hat tilting downward, the pale girl mumbled almost inaudibly to herself. "But what if... what if I can't be sad later?"
Akko blinked. "What do you mean? The sun sets and then it rises again don't it?" Her question seemed to only make the hat tip further down, blocking most of the girl's body from sight.
"it's nothing miss." She deflected after a moment's pause. "I'm just a bit under the weather. Please enjoy the rest of your day." And as much as Akko wanted to sit and chat with the curious child, she had places to be; things to do. Reluctantly patting the girl on the head as some sort of consolation, the brunette continued on her way.
On any other day that might have been it, just a sad teenage girl hiding from the sun in an alcove- pretty normal all things considered, but then she saw the girl again an hour later.
Crouched next to a deathly skinny cat as it lapped up water from her cup, she gave the creature a warm smile before morphing her face into a hateful scowl as it scanned over the patrons of the cafe that sat and smiled and laughed undisturbed. Was she really 15? No, had to be at least 16 or 17.
And then she saw her again, standing at a stoplight across the way, watching the cars rush past with a frown creasing her lips. No one seemed to pay her any mind.
Her hair was so much longer than Akko remembered, had it always covered her right eye like that? How could she have ever thought 15 with a figure like that? This woman was clearly 19 or 20.
Right?
Squinting her eyes against the sun even with her glasses, Akko stopped and looked up at the cloudless blue sky. 'Maybe the sun's making me see things' she thought; she had been been walking the whole way and that sucker was bright today.
Making sure to empty the last of her water bottle into her mouth, Akko ran ahead to catch up with the other pedestrians who were already waiting for the next crosswalk.
There was a screeching of tires and a frantic honk as she darted out from behind the building and across the small side street then-
AkkoHappyBirthLookatyoubabybirdYou'regroundedImsoproudofyouLet'sbefriends
Her entire life flashes before her in a mess of black and white.
"-ey..."
"Hey!"
Suddenly she was sitting on the ground, staring up at a pale outstretched hand. Following the hand up the arm to the head, Akko found herself looking once again into a pair of red eyes.
The woman again.
She still wore her black sundress and hat, still had that same sad expression; Akko never thought about it when they first met, but she looked-
"Oh my god!"
"Someone call an ambulance!"
"Is she dead?!"
-like she was going to a funeral.
Creaking her neck ever so slowly to the right, Akko saw many different people all scrambling around, some huddled around something lying on the road.
Blood.
A body.
Her body.
She saw her own body lying in a crumpled heap, blood sticking to her hair as it seeped from a wound somewhere on her head. Her bag was not far, contents spilled out on the asphalt; her empty water bottle, her phone, the book she was going to read that night.
"I'm sorry."
The soft sad words brought Akko's teary eyes back to the person in front of her; to the hand offered to her. A shaky hand- noticeably seethrough -reached out to take it, and she was effortlessly pulled up to standing.
"You died instantly when your head hit the ground. He was going too fast."
The brunette couldn't say anything in response, only stare down at her shaking ghostly hands as they lost more and more colour.
"A-Are yo-u an angel?" Was the first thing Akko said, sniffling loudly as tears streamed down her face. "Is t-that why you were everywhere today?"
The red eyed woman puffed a mirthless laugh, grasping tighter the staff that she held.
"Something like that."
Reaching out once more, the purple haired young lady gently grasped Akko's hand; squeezing and looking at each digit. "I've been watching you since you were born, silently waiting in dread for the day we would meet."
"...The... The day I die you mean." Akko finished, wiping her eyes on her sleeve like a young child.
"Yeah..." Was the only reply."
A large sniff and a clearing of the throat brought the reaper's scarlet red eyes back up to see Akko's face explode in a teary eyed sunny smile. "Well!" She said, cupping the woman's hand with both of her own and bringing it up between them. "I'm thankful Kami-Sama sent the most beautiful angel down to pick me up!"
Genuinely chuckling, the angel in question closed her eyes, a slight tint of pink on her cheeks. "Always the optimist, even in death."
Tugging on Akko's hand, the reaper offered a small smile and began walking in a seemingly random direction as the world dissolved into a white blur.
"My name is Sucy, and I'll be your guide."
Atsuko Kagari died in May, it was a Sunday in the afternoon; barely a cloud in the sky.
From the day she was born until the moment she died and ever after, she was a free spirit, taking the world step by step, day after day, no matter what higher powers thought or wished.
Loved hard, laughed loud, died young.
She was 24 years old.
A/N: By the way I love The Bucket List its a good film.
Still actively working on Rose in Winter, about a third to halfway done the next chapter. o7
Three other WIPs maybe on the horizon. A Megami Tensei one, a Kirby lore one, and a Dark Souls one. Non SukkoYuri! Blasphemy!
Sekiro is coming out in 5 days so that might cause nothing to get done writing wise lel.
Uhhhhhhhh... reviews are my lifeblood even if they're like 4 words long.