A Falling Star
Chapter 18: Shaking Stones
Kouki stayed a moment, wondering if she never left his arms, that she could remain ignorant to it all. Though those three words were her desire, what he meant behind them was no what she sought.
Her love and his were too different. the young sister in his eyes when he looked at her would never disappear. There was only one thing she could do. she could pull out the dagger impaling her fractures heart and mend what was left. Glass may be fixed, but it would never be the same again, because scars can't be fixed, even on hearts.
Finally, Kouki took a hard, painful step back away from Akio, and away from her feelings. A deep breath traveled and calmed her on the inside. Rain washed coolly across her skin and the wind curled around her. Sea blue eyes looked out over the ledge scanning the forest of green, the golden sands and the blue, clear ocean that stretched over the horizon.
"Kouki?" Akio's voice carried behind her.
A strange sense of tranquility swept over her, washing away the twisted curling pain inside of her, leaving its calm touch. Fog that shrouded and squeezed her heart was finally swept away.
"Let's go." Kouki sighed, her voice softened and gentle. "We have a village to save don't we?" The coldness of a single tear rinsed down her cheek, catching the flow of the drowning rain from the clouds clotting around them. Kouki turned and smiled with a gentle flicker of her lips.
Akio waited. Cool eyes assessed her up and down, his eye brows knitting together. Then, they relaxed on her face. He didn't return the smile, but Kouki didn't expect him to. All he did was nod and turn, looking up at their climb.
"Let's climb together then." Akio nodded reaching to fit his hand on a protruding from the face of the cliff.
One last time, Kouki cast her glance over her shoulder, letting her resolve turn into stone inside of her.
Akio's eyes flickered over, watching the small girl, coated in the rain with her hair whipping in the biting winds. For some reason, Akio had the strangest idea that something was missing, and that, made him ache a little inside.
Finally, Kouki turned back, reaching smoothly to climb by Akio's side, clambering the dowsed stones again. With the world being left behind them, Kouki moved forward. She would climb the mountain, abandoning the life she had, the future she would never have and the feelings that were never returned.
Days and months felt like they had passed them by as they climbed higher and higher. But they actually didn't. They had climbed high enough now that they had been locked in the capsule of time; no man aged, no rock wore and no time passed.
"How many days have passed in the village now?" Kouki wondered, her numb fingers lifting herself high. Clouds warped around the cliffs below them, like a wall, separating Earth and sky.
Weather hadn't followed them up the face of the hard stone. Not even the wind blew her hair anymore. No moisture hung in the air. Nothing.
"Isn't it amusing, Akio?" Kouki spoke softly, her fingers moving swiftly into each nook and cranny in the unweathered face of stone.
"What is?" Akio replied distantly, his focus absently on his hands. They hadn't talked much over the climb. There wasn't really much to talk about after Kouki wore down nearly every discussion topic to a nib. But now and then, they would bring up a few words to each other.
"Everything is below us and we are so high, but we still can't touch the sky." Kouki mused softly, with an almost sad overtone. Akio hesitated a brief second, glancing towards Kouki. She looked face forwards at the stone in front of her, moving at a calm pace upwards.
"You sound like Amira." Akio continued, his voice dropping from barely interested to cool and reserved.
Kouki felt something like a cold breeze chill inside of her and shivered. She ignore it. "I wonder how Amira is doing?, And the children? James too?" Kouki asked aloud the same questions she did frequently.
"Maybe she left the island, explored like she wished." Akio supplied, his pace increasing by just a little bit to catch up.
"Amira...She'll be okay." Kouki's voice carried wistfully in the air. Akio stopped, his body tensing a little. Something unraveled inside of him as his eyes jumped to Kouki. She looked a little dazed and on some kind of auto drive as she climbed, crawling passed him. Kouki was something different, she had a way with words that no one else had. Amira was the inspirational one, who dreamed of adventure and travelling. Kouki, she made everything seem like a blessing. Though she was younger, she had a strange way of seeming like she had lived for a thousand years, and understood the balance of the world. That simple mindedness she had, seemed more complex than he could ever imagine.
"Akio." Kouki's voice called him slowly.
"What?" Akio answered, climbing up again.
"Akio." Kouki's voice stressed again. Akio stopped, and looked up at the girl who had managed to get a lead on him by a few feet. They had learnt not to look up, not to see the dreading climb ahead of them that always made Kouki whine. But, now, looking up was a blessing. "It's...the top. It's the top!" Kouki exclaimed, her body racing ahead. Akio stared at it for a long, few seconds. It's really there, Akio thought, they really climbed to the top. Pulling himself out of his frozen state, Akio began to climb faster, eagerly up the wall, practically bounding up its face.
"WE MADE IT!" Kouki's voice screamed at the top of her lungs, as Akio reached for the edge and pulled with a force that flung him up and over the edge.
Pale sandstone bricked the smooth surface that extended out 50 feet to either side from him. But, there was nothing else? Akio expected more. It was the top of the God's mountain after all. The sky extended out above them from one side to the other, everywhere blue.
"PLEASE!" Akio heard Kouki shout, as he whirled on her.
Kouki's body keeled over, crouching to the floor, begging and begging. "PLEASE!" She cried. "SAVE MY VILLAGE! SAVE THEM FROM THE PANDEMIC! PLEASE!" Kouki screamed. For a few minutes she waited, unmoving from her position. "PLEASE!" Kouki began again. "SAVE MY VILLAGE! SAVE THEM FROM THE PANDEMIC! PLEASE!" She repeated.
"Kouki-" Akio moved forward, crouching besides her. "Maybe we should rest first, regain our strength?" Akio reached a hand to place on her shoulder, but before he could, Kouki slapped it away.
"No." She growled, her hair falling over her downwards face. She hesitated, then carried on again.
"Kouki." Akio sternly growled.
"NO." Kouki snapped whirling on him. "Screw our strength! We need to save the village now!" In a split second, from joy and relief of arriving on the top, Kouki had switched, her face brimming with seriousness. She shook her head and hissed a sigh, turning back and began screaming again.
Finally, Akio caved in, bowed beside her and prayed with her. Prayed and begged to the Gods that hid in that towering sky.
Many, many months passed. Day turned to night in a blur, and time still stayed, fixed with only the changing of the sun as a watch. It had been a while since Kouki had lost her voice, but she stayed. Not having a voice didn't stop her. With all her heart, mind and soul, she still screamed. She would stay and beg until the brink of exhaustion, where she would collapse. Though, she would not stay down long. As soon as she woke, she would fight and scream to the Gods. Kouki kept her unshakable will and determination strong, baring the pain of the passing, unchanging days without a single shred of hope. Akio, in that aspect, was not so strong.
The day quickly came, when Akio's resolve shattered. They won't be coming, Akio thought, they will never come. The thought repeated and repeated in his head. Slowly, a numb coat crept itself up, into and around his body, seizing his bond with everything. They weren't coming.
His strong body pushed and climbed to stand, catching Kouki's eyes. She turned, sea-blue eyes baring into his body. But, the dullness had given him a strange shield to that. "What are you doing?" She wheezed in a mix of partial voice and air.
"Kouki,...let's go home." Akio muttered, his own voice not quite as worked. "They're not coming." Kouki's body went to stand up in a flash. She only made it half-way before her muscles gave up and she collapsed to her knees.
"Akio, don't...don't do this." she whispered, her eyes now fully focused on him. Akio shook off her gaze, looking up at the sky.
"They're not coming, Kouki. They never were, never will. You know that right?" Akio muttered, his eyes trailing back to her. Kouki gasped, looking into the brown eyes that were once so warm, feeling cold and dead.
"Akio..." she whimpered, moving her hand out to reach him. He stepped out of her reach. Kouki flinched, hesitating to coil her hand back in.
"We were so foolish. Gods, there are no such things. We deceived ourself into a fairy tale. I, let myself be fooled." Akio growled to himself.
"No!" Kouki snapped, her voice escalating into a cracked and failing cry.
"NO, Kouki!" Akio whirled on her. "You can barely stand. For months we've been trapped here, screaming to the Gods that will never come. It's been years Kouki. Years. They're all probably dead by now. Amira she'll be-"
"SHUT UP!" Kouki cried, tears rolling and streaming from her eyes. "I won't give up! I WON'T!" She snapped, her body shaking. "I WON'T LET MY FAMILY DIE!"
Akio silenced, his eyes staring back at hers. Those sea blue eyes pierced straight through his steeled layer, grabbing him by the heart and squeezing. "You and Amira are all I have." Kouki cried. "I will protect you."
"Kouki, I-" Akio moved forward, reaching a hand.
"You needn't trouble yourself. I will stay and wait for the Gods to come. They will come. You may go if you wish." Kouki dismissed him, turning and bowing against the stone tile floor.
Akio felt stunned. The dull shell had cracked and shattered around him, drawing the last of his strength. Akio's body faltered and dropped against the numb stone floor. In a second, he whipped out his sword, plummeting it into the stone. His hands clasped around the top, holding him upwards.
Kouki dismissed him. Dismissed. Really? Akio laughed, his eyes falling back on her. Soft, shiny black hair fell down over her lean, slim back. Her pale skin glistened under the light of the sun. Her narrow, thin waist bowed over. Thin strong arms held her body crouched, as her gentle, caring hands spread out on the stone. Deep blue eyes sparkled and glowed like the true sea under the glimmer of the day. She's beautiful, Akio thought with sudden surprise.
Kouki was no longer a child, Akio knew that. But, he hadn't, not really. Until now, that is. Kouki was a woman. A strong, beautiful woman with a heart that no one could shake. Why hadn't he seen it until now? Something inside of him squeezed, his blood flowing wildly through his veins, his heart beating rapidly. So...beautiful.
As more and more time passed, Akio began to notice that beauty fade. Everyday she looked weaker and weaker than before. Her beautiful silk hair fell out at the gentlest touch. Deep sea blue eyes began to fade and dull into a chalky grey. The voice she belted into the skies, sound and soul, began to slowly chip away. Kouki had long given up on trying to stand, forever in an unshaking bow. Sometimes, Akio wasn't sure if she could even move. When he had asked if she needed his help, she always refused. But, Akio felt the ache in his heart tighten every day as Kouki slowly started to slip away.
This time capsule where they stayed didn't freeze time. It stopped aging. The new, unweathered rocks they climbed are as new as the day they came into existence. The sky was as beautiful and clear from the start. And then, they had just stopped aging. Even so, that didn't mean that they would always stay strong. Law of conservation: To gain means to lose something of equal value. For all of Kouki's pleads and cries, something had to be lost.
Weatherless night skies over cast their heads, lit by the twinkling starry skies, that seemed to be gathering closer in the sky. Akio sat away, watching from a safe distance as he always did. Kouki was quiet as she had been rather recently. Her voice came and went and this time, it had gone for a while. Jet black hair veiled over her face, sprawling across the newborn stone surface. Her fragile, thin body lent over on her arms wrapped around her head. Starlight seemed to glimmer and sparkle, illuminating her pale skin. In some way, Kouki was a lot like a star herself. Wherever she was, no matter what happened she would always glow with an undying radiance, chasing away whatever darkness that tried to consume her. Always.
Akio found himself chuckling a little to the thought. What a strange thing to describe her to. That's because stars were always so far away, out of reach. A little voice inside of him doubted if he would ever be able to get close to that beautiful light that shone from her. If he did, would the light go away, or would it shine brighter? Akio didn't get chance to answer.
Kouki suddenly collapsed against floor, falling onto her stiff side. Akio's body moved on its own, lunging from his seat to dart to her side. "Kouki!" Akio cried, scooping up her fragile body in his arms. "Kouki, answer me!" he snapped, scraping away the black tangle of soft hair that tangled over her face. Crystal grey eyes flickered between awake and slumber as Kouki fought to keep them open. The ice white skin in his arms felt cold, and her weak and limp body felt stiff. "Kou-!"
"I'm...I'm okay." Kouki wheezed, her voice coming out in little threads of sound. Finally, she pushed open her dull eyes. They looked up at Akio, studying his face that burned with anxiety. "I'm fine." she whispered again.
"Like hell you are!" Akio snapped, catching Kouki off guard. She turned to face him in a slow motion that made her feel dizzy and shaky. For a long moment, those big eyes watched him, contemplating her thoughts that faded in and out like her voice.
"I'm fine. Let me go, I need...I need to call them or...they won't...they won't come." Kouki whispered again, trying to slither free of Akio's grip. The force she felt with was a thousand times worst that last time. Last time she only just got free, this time, she could barely lift a hand.
"No!" He protested. Akio couldn't help it, the burning in his heart was screaming and screaming not to let her go. If he did-... If he did, he didn't know if he would be able to hold her again. So he didn't. Akio's strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her tightly and close to him. His arms held her gently, pushing her weak and fragile body against his chest. "I won't let you go. I can't." Akio whispered in her ear, his voice verging on tears. "I don't want to lose you, Kouki. I would be so lost without you. Please, Please don't do this to yourself anymore."
"Aki-" Kouki whispered back weakly.
"I love you!" Akio snapped, burning his face in her neck. Kouki's heart thundered in her chest. He...what?
"I know." Kouki gasped.
"No you don't!" He defied. Akio took in a deep breath and slowly pulled her back, just enough to see her face barely an inch from his. Big brown pools of chocolate looked into her eyes. Hot tears began to water and slide slowly down the sharp edges of his handsome face. Kouki had never seen Akio cry before. Never. But something, something about that soft, weakened side of him, dragged her in.
"I love you." Akio whispered, his lips grazing hers. "I really, truly...love you." Akio repeated. Before Kouki realize it, hot lips pressed against her lips. Heat pulsated and radiated through her body, glowing and burning with a beautiful, spicy sensation that exhilarated every cell in her body. Those feelings, the ones she thought she left behind, had awoken and were screaming inside of her. It wasn't one sided. After all this time, he finally loved her back.
Slowly, they parted. Both faintly gasped for breath, locked in an intense, unbreakable stare between them. A small smile pulled on the edges of Akio's soft, damp lips, as his hand reached up to her soft face. His big, strong finger gently brushed a strand of black behind her ear, caressing her cheek. "Akio, I-"
"Let's go home, Kouki." Akio butted in.
"What?" Kouki gasped, her eyes widening at the shock of her heart crashing hard into the bottom of her chest.
"We can go home, be together, Kouki...we can get marr-" Akio began, his eyes lighting with a hope she hadn't seen in a while. But, what he was saying, she couldn't stand it.
"No." Kouki stopped him, her hands flattening out against his chest, pushing him back at arms length with the little strength she had.
"What?" Akio gasped, this time it was his turn to feel shocked.
"We can't Akio. I thought...I thought you understood. I can't leave. I have to stay, I have to summon the Gods to save the village." Kouki protested, her voice dropping into a cry as tears began to race down her face.
"Kouki..."Akio whispered. He looked betrayed. The hurt in his eyes was shooting straight into Kouki's heart. No matter which way she saw it, Akio looked utterly heartbroken. "I want...I want to be with you but, but if you do this...you'll..." Akio voice shook, softening into a whimper like a small child.
"I know. The price I have to pay is high Akio, but I am willing to pay it anyway." Kouki admitted, turning away from his gaze.
"You can't!" Akio snapped, grabbing her wrists. "You'll give everything for the village; your life, your friends...us?"
"Akio, I will give up everything, if it's my life, my friends, even our love to save that village. I will do it for the villager's lives, for their friends and for their loves. I can't be selfish." Kouki stated, her eyes leveling into his. She had done it again. Once more, Kouki had turned into a young, mature and far more wise woman than Akio had ever realized. Over and over again she had proved it to him. But, this time he really didn't want to believe it.
"I don't understand." Akio finally replied, his gaze dropping to his hands. His thumb soothed over the back of her small white palms clasped gently in his grip. "But, I trust you. So, I'll accept them, your wishes."
Kouki sighed softly, pulling her hands out of his. They rose and cupped his lean cheeks in her palms. She rested her head against his and whispered. "I have one more wish." Kouki whispered.
"More?" Akio whined in his old, normal voice like he did when they were younger. Kouki let out a weak chuckle.
"Let me be selfish one more time, and say " Kouki pleaded. "I love you." she whispered. Slowly, she brought her lips to his, giving him a soft, gentle kiss.
"I love you too." Akio whispered again.
Those were the last words Kouki heard, before her world was suddenly wrapped in an ocean of white light.
The Star Key flash back is reaching its climaxe. What will Lucy do when it's all over? Will she change her mind? or will her resolve carry through?
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-A-ccentric