And, because it's been awhile, and the previous chapter was so short, here is the next part! Enjoy!
Steps
Aya + Aki
By: L 0 K I
Concession
The appointed place, the appointed time came. Aki shifted his weight from foot to foot, running nervous fingers through his already mussed hair. The streetlight shining down on it turned it into a burnished halo, but it also stretched his shadow out on the concrete until its shape only vaguely resembled a man. He stared at it blindly a moment, and then shifted his gaze uneasily up, trying to find stars through the clouds. It was easier to see the stars from his grandfather's house.
He flinched imperceptibly, just a slight flexing of his shoulders. His grandfather---two different people in his mind. A frail, doting old man from his youth, bringing gifts, and candies, and stories...
And the cold-hearted man that could orchestrate the murder of his own granddaughter. Who could kill his own son. As far as he was concerned, his grandfather was just as dead as his father. No. It was more likely that he had never even existed. As far as he was concerned, Aya was it. His only family, the only person he could trust.
The one he needed to protect.
The one he needed.
He could keep going, because of her. He could be strong, for her. And he would.
Minutes passed. Long minutes where his thoughts clamored around him, and he let them whirl in an amorphous storm. He didn't listen, and he didn't examine, he was afraid that if he focused too hard on what was going on in his own mind, then the tempest would blow out of control and destroy everything in its path. Better to let the storm simmer and linger, then allow it to gather strength enough to sweep the foundation out from under him.
Where is she??
She said she would be here, and she would. He knew that. But how long did it take those people in that house to fall asleep?
He didn't like being out in the open here. On the bridge, with only two paths to choose, three if you counted certain injury---he could easily be spotted, surrounded, captured.
But this is where he said he would meet her, and this is where he would wait.
Aya.
He went still a long moment, sliding his hands slowly down into his pockets and taking a calmer stance.
Aya, she was all he needed. Things were strange now, things were a nightmare, but once Aya was safe, he knew he would finally be able to rest. He would take her far away from this place, where the Mikage name meant nothing, and someday things might be okay again.
( Take her far away, from Touya and Yuuhi...with only you to rely on?... )
NO. He shook his head once sharply. If in answer to that sweetly dark voice, or to try to dislodge its presence from his life, not even he was certain.
All of this, Ceres, Touya, living in the Mikage building---it was doing strange things to him. He took a deep breath, and forced himself to relax. Tamping down his reflexive denials, he let the thought slowly come.
Is this strange obsession I have with my sister...overshadowing my decisions?
The storm of defensive excuses instantly picked up in his mind, tossing destructive half-thoughts and ripping at the precarious balance he had managed to maintain. He stood still and let them rage, swaying slowly with their force instead of trying to withstand them all. And after awhile, the fury calmed, the swirling, stinging winds died, and he was left with the ringing taste of...
Maybe.
Then the sudden justifications.
But I would never hurt Aya! I would never force her to do anything she doesn't want to do.
I would never hurt her.
Never hurt her.
Never.
( But you want her. )
A sharp breath, as if he had been punched in the gut. He covered his eyes with his right hand, pressing his fingers down hard.
He stood there for several long moments, tense, but feeling as if he was miles above the ground and flapping in the breeze.
Then slowly, oh so slowly, he relaxed. He dropped his hand and stared up at the waning moon.
Yes.
A noise, and then Aya appeared at the end of the bridge, her hair glowing a burnished gold...
A beacon in the dark night.
Concession
1 a the act or instance of conceding b : the admitting of a point claimed in argument 2 : something conceded: a : acknowledgement, admission b : grant
Synonyms: Allowance. Dispensation. Indulgence. Compromise. Special consideration. Recognition. Yielding. Surrendering. Granting. Giving way.
TBC...