Part 5: Persistence
That first meeting hadn't gone too well, but there was no way Yusei wouldn't try again, now that he finally had Divine's okay to make friends with Aki. But the girl avoided him and soon seemed to have figured out his schedule so they stopped running into each other. It was frustrating to say the least.
*
As for Aki, it wasn't just Yusei she didn't want to talk to under any circumstances, it was everyone – except for Divine, of course. She hadn't wanted to hurt Yusei, but she had known it would happen. It was inevitable. So it was better if she didn't get close to others. That way she couldn't hurt them and, even better, they would never find out what a monster she was.
No one but Divine could love her for what she was.
*
Another late night in Divine's office and yet another time that a certain boy disrupted his work, again, with good intentions.
Yusei leaned against the desk next to Divine, unconsciously playing with a ball pen while explaining his dismay. "Aki won't let me talk to her.", nimble hands started to disassemble the pen without even looking, "She won't even stay in the same room. I'm sure I could get through to her if I had the chance, I just know it, Divine.", the pen lay in neatly arranged parts.
Divine laid a hand on Yusei's, stopping their work and making Yusei look him in the eye. "Come here.", he said, pushing back his chair so the boy could settle in his lap as he had done so often in the past.
Yusei didn't hesitate, pressing close so Divine could pull him into an embrace. He liked the man's comforting presence, it always made him feel like everything would somehow work out, no matter how difficult or impossible. Divine made it happen.
"Aki is a complicated person.", he said as he ran his fingers through Yusei's raven hair, " Because of her abilities she's been badly hurt by the people she loved most."
The boy nodded. "I felt this fear of rejection in her.", he thought he understood Aki, at least a little, "But how can I make her understand that I won't do that to her?"
Divine regarded his charge for a moment, taking in his sincere blue eyes. There was no deceit in them. Divine doubted Yusei had ever encountered betrayal the way Aki had; his bad experiences were limited to what he had learned from and through the other children. His empathy gave him a good idea of their pain, but it wasn't the same. And in Aki's case, pain was the key.
"Maybe there is something you and me can do for Aki.", he finally said as a plan took shape in his head and Yusei's face instantly lit up. "But you will have to trust me."
The boy smiled one of his rare smiles. "I always trust you.", was his answer, so open and honest, like everything about him.
Divine hoped he wouldn't have to destroy this part of him in order to help Aki.