𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | 𝗠.𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘂𝘆𝘂

────── twenty-one

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═══ CALM BEFORE
THE STORM ═══

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IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT when Inui dropped her off at home. Time had flown by as they had sat at the river bank, talking about life. It had taken her mind off the matter for a little while and she had been able to breath again. Sometimes she felt as though the weight on her chest made it harder to breath.

When she stepped inside, Akiko peaked into the living room to find her grandfather had fallen asleep in front of the TV. He wasn't the youngest anymore, and after teaching lessons at the dojo he was tired. She smiled as she turned off the TV and draped a blanket over him before she headed upstairs.

Considering the late hour, Emma was already sleeping soundly in her bed, cuddling a stuffed bear that Draken had given her on her last birthday. Not wanting to disturb the blonde, Akiko quietly closed the door and went downstairs to sit in the kitchen.

Akiko felt lost again. The same kind of lost she had felt living in the Hoshino house for fourteen years. All around her was chaos. With every new piece of information, the ground beneath her feet shifted and slowly but surely Akiko was losing her balance. Soon, the danger of the situation would be at its peak. Hoshino Ken and Kurayami were after her, ultimately putting everyone who protected her at risk. The Sano family and two whole gangs were fighting for her in this battle.

It was completely overwhelming. Akiko had wanted to get as few people involved as possible, yet hundreds of them would be fighting each other in less than two days. All over some stupid will.

"Did you know the kind of predicament this would put me in?" asked Akiko into the darkness. "How could you do this to me, Junto?"

If she had the chance, she would get her hands on that will and rip it to shreds. For once, she wanted to be irresponsible and act on an impulse. She didn't want to grow up yet. She didn't want to carry the responsibility of an adult at the mere age of fourteen. She didn't want to fight anyone.

She didn't want to die. And she wanted nobody else to die for her.

People who had been strangers to her almost three weeks ago were now the very people who would take Pandemonium and their allies head-on. She was physically unable to protect them. She didn't have the kind of influence to convince them to back out. Hell, she wasn't even strong enough to face the man who had raised her.

Growing up under Hoshino Ken, you would have thought that Akiko had adopted some sort of strength and resilience, that she was among the few people who would know how to defeat him. Years upon years, she had been focused on running away from him, escaping the problem instead of dealing with it. Now, she didn't have a choice but to face it.

"I'm surprised to see you're still struggling to realize your own potential," commented a male voice.

Akiko jumped up and looked around hastily, heart thumping furiously, hands shaking. She would have recognized it anywhere. She had heard it since she was a baby.