Violet Roses | Saiki K

Chapter 1

Akemi set down the last box with a small huff. She had been hulling boxes up the stairs into her new room for the past hour and was now finally going to be able to start opening things up. Akemi could've sworn she had only brought the bare minimum with her, having thrown most of her old stuff away or donating it. But somehow, she had managed to keep 15 boxes worth of stuff. From clothes, to little trinkets, to photos, Akemi never realized how much stuff she had until the move.

Letting out a sigh, Akemi glanced around at her new room. The furniture had already been moved in a week before her and her father had even got to the house. The bed had been placed in the right corner furthest from the door, with a nightstand and desk next to that on the back wall. Her dresser was to the left of where she was standing at the center of the room and the door to her closet was on the right. The space that wasn't occupied with furniture was occupied by boxes, but that didn't stop the room from feeling a lot larger than her old one. The room was actually smaller than the one at her old house, yet this house had somehow made her feel like she had gone back to being as small as a five-year-old.

Compared to her father, Akemi had not been excited about the move. The idea of living in a new town with a new school alone had been enough for Akemi to wish she was still at her old home, forcing herself to believe everything was fine. But Akemi's father had insisted that a change of scenery would be good for them.

Akemi sighed and sat down on her bed. The past six months had been the worst months of her life and she had no doubt it wouldn't get any better.

Six months ago, Akemi's mother had been diagnosed with a deadly illness that had sent her to the hospital. She had only lasted one month before Akemi and her father had to say goodbye. The two months following that had been miserable. Akemi had spent every day wanting to see her mother again but hadn't been able to. She had locked herself in her room and rarely came out for food. Akemi's father hadn't been much better and the two had locked their selves in unhealthy solitude. Akemi's relatives had tried to help the two, but they were also dealing with the grief.

It was another month before something in Akemi's father snapped. To this day, two months after it happened, Akemi still didn't know what caused her father to suddenly become his old self again. He just woke up one day and started looking for a new place for them to live. Akemi found herself hating hearing him go on and on about how a change of pace would be good for them. But after having a real conversation with him about everything that had happened to them over the course of five months, Akemi had become more open to the idea.

She had only wished she could've kept her promise.

Akemi shook her head and wiped her eyes before getting off the bed and opening one of the boxes. 

"Hey, Akemi," Akemi looked up from the open box of clothes to her father, Taiyo, who was standing in her doorway, "how many boxes do you have?"

Akemi tilted her head, "15?"

"You're sure?"

"Yeah?"

An unreadable expression appeared on Taiyo's face that made Akemi uneasy. He let out a sigh, "Don't worry about it. It's probably with my stuff and I just looked over it."

"What are you looking for?" Akemi questioned.

"Nothing," Taiyo answered. Then he turned and walked away before Akemi could ask any more questions.

Akemi just stared at the spot her father had been standing in confusion. She took a second to wonder what just happened before shrugging it off and going back to her box.

Akemi then spent the next hour unpacking her boxes. She had only managed to get through four before her dad called her out for dinner.

"So, you start at PK academy next week," Taiyo started as they were sitting at the table, eating. "I tried to see if you could have another week to settle in, but it's probably better that it worked out this way."

"Yeah," Akemi muttered, poking her food with her fork.

Taiyo sighed, "Listen, Akemi. I know this has been hard for you. It's been hard for me too. Just... at least try to be more open with this change. I know you know that this will be good for you."

"Yeah."

"You know you can talk to me if things go wrong. Right?" Taiyo questioned, earning a shrug from Akemi. He frowned and shifted in his chair, "... I know I'm not... I'm not... your mother..." Akemi felt her chest tighten as Taiyo took a sharp breath. "She had a way of doing things that just... worked... It's not going to be that same... We both know that. I just... please let me help you when things are getting hard. We're both going through this and things may never get better... We just have to keep going... For Hanaka."

Akemi took in a shaky breath, setting her fork down and leaning back in her chair. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She felt tears prick her eyes from behind her eyelids and didn't dare open them. Taiyo didn't need to see her cry. Not over something as simple as this conversation.

It took her a few minutes, but Akemi opened her eyes again and stood up from the table, "I'm going to my room. I still have some stuff to unpack and I'm tired."

"Akemi-"

"I'm fine," Akemi interrupted, her violet eyes not meeting her father's brown ones. "I just want to be alone for a bit."

Taiyo hesitated before he let out a sigh, "Alright. Just... let me know if you need anything."

Akemi didn't respond as she walked out of the dining room and down the hall to her room. When she walked in, she closed the door behind her and went back to unpacking her boxes.

That conversation would be forgotten in the morning. They would pretend he had never brought up Akemi's mother no matter how badly either of them wanted to admit that it had happened.