Okay, for my whole Yu-gi-oh!-fandom-life, I've been spelling Akefia wrong, I've spelled it Akiefa. I still pronounce it that way, 'cause I can't get used to Akefia. :I *Shrugs* Oh well. Enjoy~
(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of the characters in it. All I own is this story, Korra's character, and a dream…)
Akefia walked into his brick-like home. As soon as he stepped inside, his mother scooped him up in her arms.
"Akefia!" She yelled, "Ra, what I would have done if something happened to you! You know you're not supposed to be out by yourself, no matter what!"
"Mum, I wasn't alone. I was with Korra, like always!" He decided to lie, seeing as he didn't want to be punished for being with a stranger or out alone. "What makes you think I wasn't?"
His mother put him down and knelt to his eye level. She was thinking, hard. "Akefia, I know this because… Korra… is dead." Though he knew this was coming, he couldn't help but let a tear fall. His mother wiped it away lovingly, and then continued: "The sickness got to her."
Akefia had forgotten about the sickness. Korra had a disease; the healers said that there was a growth in her body, with no known cure to this evil slowly consuming her. They said that they could take it out, but the risk of her dying during the removal was so great that she would have a better chance of fighting it off herself. Besides this, all that anyone could do was sit down and watch her die. It proceeded slowly, though, and once in a while caused her nearly unbearable pain. Apparently, it was a slow and sometimes painful death.
Akefia fell to his knees, his mother picking him up and cradled him in the crook of her arm. "Would you like to see her?" She asked, and he weakly replied yes. His mother quickly put on her shawl and carried Akefia out the doorway.
They soon arrived at a nearby home, but Korra's father met them at the entrance. "Go away. You have-" He saw the boy in the woman's arms. "Come with me."
The man turned to reveal a mattress filled with straw covered by a blanket. Akefia jumped away from his mother and ran to the bed. Not taking the time to prepare himself for the sight, He threw off the sheet.
Beneath it laid a girl with long black hair, about five years old. She had a round, friendly face, though the rest of her body was wan and emaciated, being a highly-ranked thief, had been able to afford decent burial cloths. This still could not hide the fact that Korra would just be thrown in a hole with other corpses.
Akefia flinched back as though he had been slapped or pushed. He stood up.
"Korra!" He hollered, "Korra, wake up!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. She was cold. "Korra, fun's over. Stop it. Stop it right now. You wake up this instant." He shook her harder. "Please, Korra! You are strong! You are brave! You can fight off this evil in your body! You can!"
Korra's father pushed him away. "Get your grubby little paws off my daughter's body!" When Akefia began to protest, he knelt down to Akefia's height. His breath carried the scent of ale. He must have been at the bar, drinking away his sorrow. "She's gone. It's too late. She's not coming back, and nothing you can say or do will change that."
Akefia was shocked and saddened by this mans insensitivity. Was he not grieving for his lost offspring, even a little?
"But-" The tears were returning, "She can't die now! Why would the Gods do this to her?"
"Honey, it's time to leave." His mother approached him, "Say goodbye."
"No!" Akefia stood over Korra's cadaver defensively. "Not until she wakes up, or I die with her!" His mother picked him up and proceeded to leave. "Korra! Wake up! Please!" She didn't budge. "KORRA!" He lost sight of his friend when they turned a corner in the middle of the road. Now, all that he could think to do was cry into his mother's breast. She tried her hardest to quiet and comfort him, but found this attempt as useless and quickened her pace to get home.
Akefia ran inside and sat on his lumpy bed. After he had time to relax, his mother walked into his room which was separated from the rest of the house by a curtain hanging from the ceiling.
"Akefia? Can I talk to you?"
"No. I don't want to talk about it." He turned away from her. "I just… No." She left him alone for the rest of the day, only disturbing him to eat.
The next afternoon, when Akefia still hadn't left his room, his mother checked on him. "Are you alright? Can we talk now?" When he was about to argue, she said, "It's not about Korra."
He sighed. "Fine."
"Yesterday, when you went out to play, were you alone? You're not in trouble, please just tell me."
"I wasn't alone."
"So you were with someone?" He nodded. "Really? Who was it?"
Akefia explained Atem, careful not to give his name. He didn't know why, but he felt that she shouldn't know. He didn't want her to.
"That reminds me-" He fling himself to his feet, "-I promised that I'd see him again today. I hope I'm not too late…"
"Be careful!" His mother called to him, "Your father and I were worried about you, last time!"
"But now you know I'm with someone!" And with that, he fled to the edge of the village.
I kind of feel bad for giving Korra cancer. But, I guess she needed to go somehow. Heh. His mother doesn't even have a name… I'm such a lazy writer. I have, like, four chapter drafts written out but not typed… R+R if you want to see them come quicker! ~Noodle-licious