Chapter Nine - A New Friend

I do NOT own Fairy Tail

But I do own the characters in this chapter.(All of this chapter is original)

(Lucy and Natsu are not in this chapter, but you should read it because it is important to the story, plus I am really proud of it!)

Okay, get ta readin'!

? P.O.V

I stumbled through the trees, slamming my shoulder into any trunk I passed, hoping that the sudden pain would wake me from this nightmare.

But this wasn't a dream.

This was cold, biting reality.

This was the truth.

My strength faltered, and I dropped the heavy weight I was dragging behind me.

I fell, crashing into the mud, coughing - I turned my body to gaze upward.

The stars had chased the sun away a long while ago, but the moon was absent.

My eyes darted all around the sky, searching desperately for the gentle warmth my namesake gave me.

My lips cracked, burning as I opened my mouth to let out a frantic howl.

Black dots formed in my eyes and the sound of crickets became faint.

This was reality.

This was the truth.

I slipped away from existence, praying that I would finally rest.

Glass. Broken glass.

Why am I so cold?

Bright red eyes.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the darkness.

"Woah. Hey, hey. You're okay. You're safe."

My eye's flung open, my vision cleared.

A boy huddled over me, grasping my shoulders. He looked concerned but as soon as he caught me looking at him, a wide smile spread across his face.

"I found you in the forest. You were so pale and covered in blood, I thought you were dead at first. Why were you out there? And why were you carrying that thing with you?"

I remained silent as I checked my surroundings. I was laying on a ragged, yet extremely comfortable, bed that was placed in a worn-out one room shack.

My eyes fixated onto my burden, which was slumped into a corner, covering at least 1/4 of the room.

The boy followed my gaze, taking his hands off of me. We stared at it for a while as I tried to strengthen my shallow breath.

"My name is Akane," he said.

Silence. It was all I was capable of.

"You could at least tell me yours. I mean, I did save your life after all."

My eyes did not waver as I shook my head.

He had not done me any favors.

The shaggy black-haired boy sighed as he stood.

"Don't you want to be friends?"

Lie to him.

"I have enough friends." My voice surprised me, had I always sounded so weak?

Akane ran his hand through his hair and turned his back to me.

"I know you are lying."

"No I am not!" I yelled. I hated when anyone turned their back on me. Sitting up quickly I realized I was still caked in dirt and blood.

I was lying. Everyone I knew was gone.

Akane let out a small chuckle and shrugged.

Blind with rage, I leaped out of bed.

He started to turn around, but I pounced on him, knocking him flat on his back.

Akane blinked at me slowly, comprehending what just happened.

"You don't know a damn thing!" I bared my teeth and growled at him.

"You are beautiful. But you act like a wild animal." Akane's tone was easy, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

I widened my eyes, and in that second that I was distracted, he had managed to get up and push me back. I stumbled back and tripped over my own feet. As I fell, I let out a short yelp. As my skull crashed against the hardwood floor, my vision went blurry. Then, black. Sweet, silent darkness.

I woke up with a start.

I rose slowly, my eyes darted around the dimly-lit shack.

I was back in bed, that thing was still in the corner, but there was no sign of Akane.

Just as I was about to get up and to leave, the door opened.

The boy walked through, whistling as he carried linen bags.

"Oh, you're awake." He said as he placed the bags on a small table.

"You were out for two days longer than before. At least you didn't wake up screaming your head off this time."

Akane walked over to me and smiled warmly.

"Sorry about knocking you out. I didn't mean to."

I shifted to the other side of the bed to keep our distance but said nothing.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me with a hint of disappointment.

I was about to shake my head when a loud gurgle came from my stomach, finally fed up with the days of neglect.

Akane laughed, his eyes crinkled, making the mole placed by this left eye rise up.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Akane cooked on a fire outside as I left the cabin for the first time in what felt like ages.

He had suggested that I take a bath and wash my clothes, so I made my way to the hose in the back.

My ruined skirt and tanktop were exchanged for a borrowed t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

I walked back through the door, my dark silver hair clung to my back.

Akane was already inside waiting for me, sitting on the floor at the cleared table, roasted chicken on the plates.

"Well you look a lot better." He commented as I took my seat across from him.

I ignored his comment as I brought my hands into a praying position. I bowed.

"Thank you for the meal," I said blankly.

"But not for saving your life? You would've died from the cold if I hadn't come along." He looked at me with his head cocked.

I tore off a piece of the chicken on my plate and slowly brought it to my mouth.

"No. I do not thank you for that."

Akane looked bewildered as I ate. Feeling my energy being replenished, my eyes focused on my food.

"Look at me."

I looked up, realizing that Akane had not touched his chicken but instead was drilling holes into me with his gaze.

"Why can't you thank me?" He asked, pulling at the neck of his black t-shirt.

"I have fulfilled my purpose. I was ready to accept death. I welcomed it," I sighed, and continued, "But you ruined my redemption, and I hate you for it."

His mouth gaped out but shut quickly, his confusion turned to anger.

"That's a load of crap!"

My eyebrows furrowed, and I rose to me feet, jabbing my finger at the corner of the room.

"Four years ago, that thing killed my entire village as I watched. My father, my mother, all five of my brothers and every last one of my friends. And the worst part is that that thing looked me in the eyes, and turned it's back on me, as if saying I wasn't worthy enough to die with everyone else."

Tears formed in my eyes and my voice cracked.

"S-so I came back here. And I killed it. I am ready to die with everyone else."

At this point, Akane was standing too, a stern look on his face.

I croaked again, tears flowing endlessly down my cheeks.

"I had hoped that after I killed that beast that I would finally find peace, but my emptiness spread inside me like a poison. I had realized that once you are tainted with sorrow, there is nothing that can fix it. I realized the truth. My reality."

Akane continued to stare.

"I am tired. I am tired of walking this earth alone. I prayed to whoever would listen to let me finally rest. To finally walk on a ground that wasn't soiled. Soaked with blood and false hopes. In that moment that I thought was my last, for the first time in four years I was happy. Blissfully happy. But then I woke up. My hope of finally sleeping had been shattered. You ruined-"

Akane slammed into me, wrapping me in a tight hug.

I grabbed him back, sobbing into the crook of his neck.

"I'm alone too. So let's walk the earth together."

My heart jumped as I sputtered out, "My n-name is Tsukiko."

I felt Akane smile as he buried his face into my hair.

"Nice to meet you."

We laid side-by-side in the grass, looking up at the night sky.

"How old are you?" Akane asked me.

I considered not answering, but then again I am trying to leave behind my days of silence and shadows.

"Fourteen." I said, stealing a glance at him before returning my eyes to the moon.

"Ha, weird. Me too." Akane chuckled as he tucked his hands behind his head.

"Why are you living here by yourself?"

Akane lifted one of his arms and squinted an eye, covering the moon with his thumb.

"My parents don't like me, and I don't like them. But after hearing your story I feel like a small child. Pretending to have problems…" He shrugged and dropped his arm.

"Why are your eyes yellow?" He changed the subject lightheartedly.

I was more interested in his relationship with his parents than my eye color but I humored him, deciding to learn about his hidden demons some other time.

"Why do you have green eyes? We were born with them." His eyes weren't just green, but the color of seafoam, bright and mysterious.

His laughter filled the air, and I smiled for the first time in a long time.

"Look at that. The wild animal can put away her fangs."

Startled because I didn't know he was looking at me, the smile disappeared as quickly as it came.

I pushed his arm, and told him to shut up, still smiling he nodded and apologized.

"I hope I do that more often though, make you smile, that is something I will never be sorry about."

I turned my head away from him so he wouldn't see my face, which was displaying a wide grin.

"What do you think you'll do with that monster?"

"I don't know yet, but I will figure out something."

It has been six years since that night, and we still walk side-by-side, each day the distance between us lessened.

Tsukiko - From Japanese 月 (tsuki) "moon" and 子 (ko) "child". -

And that's that.

What do you think of Akane and Tsukiko?

They will come into play sooner or later.

The 'real' chapter will be up in a couple of days.

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(Tell me what you think!)