Akihiko's Short Stories!

I won't cry, I won't cry, I won't cry.

That's what I told myself while I was on the way to that place. That place where we first met. The cherry blossom tree ontop of Karakuri Hill where you could see the town in full view. I could feel tears blurring the corner of my eyes but held them back before gulping. My phone was clutched tightly in my hand and in my heart, I screamed out 'why' but my head knew what I was doing was right. I willed a smiel to form on my face as I passed by old lady Tanaka's house. Her house was a bright yellow and it always perked me up on the way to school but now served as a painful reminder. She spared me a sad smile at the tears in my eyes and a gentle wave as I went on my way.

Soon my gentle walking pace sped up and I ended up running while trying to keep back the tears. My aching heart reached out as though I could touch you with it and show you how I truly felt. But I would hide behind the mask I always did, the mask I let down when we first started this romance. This romance that brought me the most happiness I could ever feel in this life. A happiness that would soon come to an end, and I had all that happiness that was given to me from you. I want to talk to you about us. The words rang in my chest as I ran losing sight of what was around me. I didn't know the clear blue sky and the wisps of clouds with the sun shining high overhead.

Or the fact that I was wearing the scarf you made me despite the fact that it was blistering hot outside. All I could think of was that I was running to you, running to see you, running to meet you, running to say..goodbye. Finally, I stopped almost out of breath in the towns square. The sparkling fountain that we first kissed at, the pain of the memory shot in my chest. However, as I looked over I felt that pain echo as I could see my reflection in the crystalline blue water. Me without you. My hair was messy as it always was, longer now to which my bangs covered my eyes.

I stopped cutting it a while ago. It was a tousled mop of brown hair that was quite ordinary but you thought was special. My eyes, a dark grey were cloudy and full of troubled emotions which you thought was cute. I was tanned from the sun, and at times I would get sun burns so you made me a scarf to hide my skin. I placed my hand against it, it was pink but I didn't care. It was ours and the last piece of you I would have, I believed. I wiped away the tears in my eyes and smiled at my reflection imagining you were next to me smiling happily and scolding me for crying before I set off again towards that place.

The place we would say goodbye.

I climbed the stairs that led to the cherryblossom tree feeling each step heavier than the next before coming face to face with you. Your hands clasped tightly around your phone behind your back. Small tears in your eyes, staring at the ground like you usually do. I followd your gaze down and we both stared down silently at the ground before I looked up and broke the silence. "So what did you want to talk about?" You raised your head up to me and all over again, I felt myself falling in love. Dark violet eyes that were filled with tears, inky black hair that came to your waist. A white cotton dress that hid your frame but seemed so beautiful to me.

"..I think we should break-up." Then there were the words that broke my heart into pieces. I wanted to do so many things at once. Scream why, beg you not to leave me, ask what I could do to change. It seemed like time slurred around me and I shut my eyes before willing a soft smile to show on my face. I would hide this pain from you, I wanted you to move on. If I couldn't make you happy maybe someone could. Someone better. Someone happier. Someone who could make you smile so happily that your face broke. "I think so too. I.." The words love you were choked in my throat but I chuckled softly and reached out, patting your head softly. "Hope you will be happy forever." My hand soon fell and as did the red line between us, the red line that connected us and made us fall in love.

It soon broke into a million pieces falling from your finger but staying connected to mine. You walked past me, and as I looked back I could see the image of the two of us walking away hand in hand fading before my eyes. You walked away, without me and I stayed behind and smiled until you left. As soon as you were gone from my sight and gone from the area where the tree resided, I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled. "I love you!"

I stared at my phone with a blank expression.

Nothing.
No texts.
No calls.
No picture messages.
Nothing.


A soft frown crossed over my features as I flopped back on my bed with my arms behind my head and sighed. Did I do something to upset you? I thought back to our last conversation where you were irritated with me. Were you that mad that you wanted nothing to do with me anymore? I lifted myself up off my bed and looked at the face-down picture on my nightstand soon lifting it up. It was of the two of us. My dark-brown messy hair and confused emerald green eyes, with your arms wrapped around my neck; inky black hair and dark violet eyes staring at me. The two of us were nose to nose, a scarf wrapped around us, but I could feel the love from inbetween even through that picture.

I was taken from my thoughts by a rapping at the door. Who was that now? I sighed and opened the door before an arm wrapped around my neck. I only let one person do that. You. But you weren't here right now. My best friend grinned at me, his smile beaming in my face. Usually I'd laugh and bonk him on the head but I could only muster up a small smirk. Obviously, he noticed something was wrong and offered for us to take a night out on the town. Usually I'd make plans with you before, but as I said before you weren't here. My lips twitched a bit and I chuckled before nodding my head.

Grabbing the pink scarf you made for me, the two of us headed out on the town. The bright lights, the cute girls, the night sky twinkling all of it reminded me sullenly of you. So much of you that I wanted to cry on the spot. This was a new low for me. But without you it was hard. I was unable to cry. I was unable to smile. I couldn't even think straight when you weren't with me and it pained me so much. My heart seemed to throb and as I looked to the sky, some tears pooled in the corners of my eyes.

Suddenly, my phone rang and my eyes widened as I looked down at it. So many thoughts ran through my mind that I should see you, that you'd be happy again. That I'd do everything to change for you, but what came next shocked me. I want to talk about us.. My entire world broke into pieces. My friend touched my shoulder, and as I looked to him, I could feel the tears spill down my eyes.

--! You need to get up from this. There's a lot of more fish in the sea!
--. I know you loved her. But you're killing yourself doing this.
--, please call me?
-- don't kill yourself, okay?

The barrage of text messages rattled in my pocket as I walked down the street bundled up in a winter coat and my scarf despite it being somewhat warm at night. The streetlamps were my only sense of light besides the moon and they didn't even bring me comfort. A soft frown crossed over my features as I tightened my scarf and headed on my way content on finding my way to my next destination. I shut my eyes and tried to keep myself from crying again. The pain was too much, and my chest couldn't take it. Everytime your face, your kisses, your 'I love you's' crossed my mind, my chest would ache. I wanted to scream to the heavens but whatever deity was listening wouldn't respond.

You were gone, I had to realize this. Lesson learned. The traffic seemed to slur, the people around me were moving in slow motion. This had to be some type of dream I was soon going to wake up from. My memories of us together couldn't have come to a stand still just yet. There was still time, more time for us to be together. For us to love one another, grow old together, laugh with one another, be apart of one another's lives until the end of our breath. But now I have learned, that when I wished for forever. Forever did want us. A few tears spilled down my cheeks but I sniffed and gulped them down with a small smile.

I continued to walk but felt every step become numb and the entire world around me become nothing but black and gray. As I looked up, I saw an orange-haired girl standing before me before looking at me. "I'm glad you came, are you okay?" One glance into each other's eyes, we both knew the answer and she sighed before touching my head. "--, this isn't healthy for you. You haven't been sleeping, you need to wake up.." I chuckled softly and touched her hand before lowering it from my head and holding it tightly in my own. "There is no waking up from this nightmare."

The two of us walked silently, hand in hand. We weren't dating. No. This was to keep me sane. To keep from running in front of a car or spiraling off a cliff into whatever unknowns before me. I clenched her hand tightly in mine and smiled at her for a moment. "So, how is she?" She looked at me with a sheepish smile and started her story in which at points my eyebrows would raise and fall. Eventually, my hand unraveled from hers and I stood a bit of a distance from her as she continued walking only to stop and look back at me. "Aren't you coming?" She raised an eyebrow before noticing the broken expression in my eyes.

My eyes that were void of any emotion and filled with tears that threatened to spill down my face. All I could see before me was a shadowy image of her leaving me, and tears ran down my face. That is all I could see. All I could feel. The cold around me. And my own hollow voice, the words I wanted to say. "I know you're leaving me, but please do not forget about me!" Her arms wrapped around my body and hugged me close. Yet, I couldn't feel her. I just opened my hand to that shadowy figure that seemed to fade into nothingness.

This isn't how a relationship is supposed to work, --.
Maybe not, but it's perfect for her and I.

My eyes slowly widened as my phone vibrated across the table lazily falling into my hand. I yawned before bringing it to my ear pressing the ANSWER button that blinked green. "Are you still snoozing?" Your voice was sweet in my ear almost contradictory to your personality but perfect. A smile curled upon my lips making me hate my somewhat bored tone. "I was trying to sleep, --." I could hear you huff, and I bet you had your lip poked out in that cute pout you always possessed when I didn't respond positvely to your advances. Incredibly cute.

My chest rumbled with laughter as you continued to try to coax me into responding and I wish I could show you this smile of mine. As you spoke, your words seemed to blend together as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. The clock on my nightstand blinked 8:40 and I grumbled angrily. Who woke up at 8 in the morning? That's utterly ludicrous to do such a thing. "Let me guess, you forgot about our date." My entire mind broke at the last word as my eyes turned to the calendar where your 'special' sticker sat plastered against today's date. From my silence, I'm sure you caught on that I didn't remember.

You scolded me, but I couldn't help but find that even cuter than your usual energetic tone. It took my entire being not to say 'I love you', instead I rolled my eyes and told you I'd be down in a little while. My phone snapped shut and I briskly got dressed the entire time imaging you. Chocolate brown eyes behind square black-rimmed glasses, petite and poportionate, black hair that came to your shoulders and a sweet smile only for me. However, I found that smile annoying. I could never smile back at you, only in secret. I could only smile at you when your back was turned to me or when we kissed and my lips would twitch upwards ever so slightly.

I sighed and threw on my loose jacket that I wore on every date we had. You liked it, and it smelled a lot like you even after I washed it. Not that I was complaining however. I pocketed my hands and smiled a bit before heading downstairs to greet you with a short curt nod. You rolled your eyes at this and grasped my arm already used to my lack of communication. However, no words needed to be said and the love betwen the two of us was enough, no words were needed. I could see in the corner of my eye that you spared a glance or two towards me. I wonder, what was so interesting you wanted to look at me?

A smile formed upon my lips but evaporated as soon as you turned to face me. Your eyes were gleaming brightly as you spoke animatedly about a certain topic. All I could catch hints of was an amusement park, tunnel, and love. A small smile formed on my lips mentally, you were such a child. The way you acted and the way you tasted. Innocent and sweet. It was utterly beautiful. I sighed softly before stuffing my earlier plans in the back of my mind allowing you to drag me into this place full of people.

How would you feel to know that even with this place compacted with humans I could only see you? You were the only thing in my line of eyesight. You were the only thing I wanted to see. I felt ashamed to know that I couldn't even smile in front of you. It was demeaning and shameful that I couldn't share my feelings with you the only person I actually WANTED in my life. I was snapped out of my thoughts by your pulling at my jacket sleeve. "Geeze, you're more spaced out than usual. Come on, get into the rhythm. You're here with me, right?" I wish you could see how hard my heart bursted at that. I laced my fingers with yours and let you drag me towards this strange tunnel.

Of course it was the Tunnel of Love, but I didn't care to realize it at the time. The sign was too annoying to read and it served no purpose to me. All I wanted to see was the excitement in your eyes. A smile curved on my lips ever so lightly as you drug me into the ride. It was tedious, boring, only smooth rocking against a low current in a canoe inside of a dark tunnel. Your arms wrapped around my waist and my hand found its way to the small of your back. Energy surged within my chest, and I felt compelled to try something new and fresh. My fingers finding your chin lifting it up ever so slightly.

Even though it was dark, I knew you had a dark blush on your face. We usually never touched one another except for our hands. My eyes narrowed and i leaned down, our lips brushing lightly. The words slipped from my mouth and I hadn't meant for them to, the ride came to a stop as we were engulfed by light, I stared into your widened eyes small tears in them. Our arms were wrappeda round one another, and not even the conductor could snap us out of our stupor. My mind desperately asked for a way to get out of this situation until your lips pressed hard against mine and I could take in every bit of your essence.

Your rosy pink lips that becokned me closer, the delicate way your lips curled up when you smiled, how your eyes fell to the ground as you walked, the touch of our lips when we kissed. All too soon, those feelings were taken away from me as you leaned away, our bodies pressed close as though we were melting into one another. "Yes. Yes. YES." Your arms wrapped around my neck as you sobbed into my shoulder. I could feel my body calm, and a genuine smile spread across my lips. This caught you by surprise, and you stared at me astounded. "I love you." The words weren't foreign to us, our actions said them all however we never voiced these words to eachother.

My hand found its way to your cheek and we stared eye to eye. "I love you so much, my beautiful bride." That day, you became my future wife. And my shield of ice melted and restored a warm beating heart.