A/N: Well my weeks just got about fifty times less busy. Two days are back as my own, for the most part.
Thanks go the Green Phantom Queen, Xros Hero, and zaviour for their reviews. :) Thanks zaviour for the fav and follow too! :)
XVI. Void
"There is no end to us."
"Everyone abandoned you... isn't that right?"
She looked at him, looked at his malice-free eyes, and paused. Her eyes narrowed and despite the crackling in the air and the darkness trying to seep into her skin, she rose to her feet. "No... that's not it at all. That's not you at all, is it?"
Taiki smiled at her, even as the others looked on in hesitation. Then, before he could answer, a tan arm wrapped around his throat and threw him to the ground. Aonuma Kiriha stood over him, hands resting at his throat. Taiki practically giggled at this, laughing through what had to be the pain of shins in his ribs. He giggled so hard, his cheeks flushed pink. "I thought you would never get here Aonuma Kiriha-kun! You took... so... long, I was getting bored!"Kiriha didn't answer, even as the boy laughed and laughed. "So close Kiriha-kun, so close. I thought you could do better... but... I... guess..." Red wisps became a solid glow and crashed into Kiriha's chest. "Not!" Kiriha went flying, landing flat on his back by Yuu's face. The elder coughed and slowly rolled over. Taiki stood back up and turned back to Akari. His face was childlike and focused on her, as though trying to absorb some long forgotten feature of her face.
Akari, to her credit, stared right back. Her legs didn't tremble or shudder. Instead, she stood like a queen, smile on her face, disconcerting, gleaming eyes. They were a cat's eyes trying to out stare a black hole. She looked at the black pits and grinned like Taiki was grinning. She had an answer now. With that simply assumption, she had a possibility of an answer. Maybe it wasn't entirely accurate, but it was there and that would be enough.
At least, it would be for her.
She took a step and nothing happened, save the way Nene's breath lodged itself in the tunnels of her throat. It wasn't out of fear. A quick side-glance told her that. Nene was shaking with the urge to move and punch one -or both- of them and give Kiriha the chance to stand. Recognizing this, Akari kept walking, watching her best friend stand slowly to his feet. It was not a shaky movement, rather fluid. The red wisps suddenly began to make noises, almost like music notes and birds in one demented package. They rushed toward her, though Taiki had not moved. One grazed her cheek and made it bleed. She kept walking. One wrapped around her arm and began to burn it. She winced, but kept walking.
Taiki waited. To him, there was probably endless time, endless space, endless realities to wait through for her, for them to make their choice. For everyone to make their choices.
He was probably right.
Standing only arm's length from him, she held out a hand for him to take. "Let me hear the song."
"If I refuse?" Taiki asked amicably.
"Then take us all." Akari's challenge was met with a smile. "I want the truth, and clearly, I'm not going to get it from you. So I want the song."
They were all silent, as though the dimension they stood was holding its breath. Taiki then let out a hum. The nursery rhyme left his lips in an obscene gesture at delight. "You are so much fun Akari-kun. So much. No wonder the song is for you." Before they could breathe, he took Akari's hand and they vanished together.