And we see something haunting Akashi in his sleep.
Chapter 5: Painful Memories
During the night, Akashi was asleep on his bed and during that time, he was tossing and turning around in his sleep as he hears the sounds of his past surrounding his head and it's something that could never be left behind, no matter how many times he's tried to get over it, but it always keeps coming back to haunt him.
Akashi kept moaning and panting heavily as it overtakes him and the more he tries to forget about it, it doesn't go away so easily and it was like his past just breaks him down mentally and he's almost losing a huge amount of sleep over this.
"What do you want? Just leave me alone..." Akashi groaned.
He swiped his paws in the air like he wants to fight this, but it felt like he was forced on being sucked back into his dark life in a sense than can never go away.
'You can't get out of there...'
The haunting sounds of his stepfather continues to torment him deeply and it was like his guilty conscience got stronger and it couldn't be controlled or stopped in any way like Akashi was gonna be doomed with all the stuff he used to do for the rest of his life and will never get out of it.
Soon enough...
Akashi was in a nightmare where it shows all of the stuff he had been through was being viewed and it all shoved him back into his face ten times harder and as he witnessed looking back at everything he's done and also being tormented and beaten by Dotsu everyday. Those parts always deeply left a mark on Akashi and he has never felt so low in his life.
'You see? For everything I put you through...those scars are a reminder of what you are and always will be...a daemon.'
Akashi wanted to fight it and he covered his ears to stop hearing everything Dotsu is saying and said, "Just stop it! Leave me alone!"
'You can't protect your loved ones. Everyone will see you as a daemon...and that's all you'll ever be.'
Akashi got down on his knees as those words stung him deeply, but Akashi refused to let it get in his head and he just kept covering his ears and started screaming out loud as the dark space grows tighter and tighter...
Suddenly, Akashi wakes him up and sat up frantically, panting heavily as he looks around and sees that he's still on his bed and realizes that it was all just a dream...one that's just all too real for him and he laid his head back down on his pillow still awake and thinking about that dream and how his trying to redeem himself will be a challenge for him.
"What have I done to deserve that? How can I possibly say that I'm a warrior now?" Akashi asked.
Just then, Akashi's ears perked up something heading this way and before he knew it, he saw Max walking there and he asked, "What are you doing up?"
"I heard you scream." Max replied.
Akashi looked at Max and he could tell that the cub is a little concerned about him and he lets out a sigh and said, "I'm fine. You should go back to bed."
"Are you sure?" asked Max.
"Yeah." Akashi replied.
Then, Max was still standing there and he climbed onto the side of his bed and he told him, "I had a nightmare too."
That surprised Akashi the most after hearing that Max had a nightmare as well and he wasn't sure what to say, but he could tell that it was about his mother and he looked at the cub in the eye and asked, "You wanna stay here with me?"
"Uh-huh." Max replied.
Akashi scooted over to make room for Max, but the cub crawled towards his chest and curled himself there and it made Akashi smile a little and he rubbed his head a little bit and said, "Good night, Max."
"Good night, Akashi." Max said.
As Max was asleep, Akashi could tell that there's something special about this cub and he's not sure why...but he's actually glad that he's not alone now and he hopes that he'll do good in taking care of Max.
Amazing, isn't it? If you guys want to know about Akashi's stepfather, read The Master of Stories' fics, 'dark apprentice', 'The Legend of Akashi', 'A Burning Soul' and 'A Dark Past' (one of which serves as the main inspiration behind this fic) Stay tuned for more!