At that time, you were in the lower ranks (well, you couldn't blame them, they wouldn't let you in to the G-force officially till you were like, eleven or twelve), simply investigating undercover and going to dark alleys to find any clues about mischievous stormriders - Kaito was crazy, or... is still crazy, as a matter of fact, about capturing stormriders. Those were some pretty rough days when your voice went unheard, but it went passed through when you were around your two... err... three buddies (Akito, Agito, & him). Even though it was hard, you still had fun, nothing mattered back then except the laughter and happiness you all shared. You rubbed your head where it had hit the window and leaned against the seat, looking out the window to spot two of the Bulls. You weren't aware of how long you were in daze, and you just began to notice that you got a weird stare from the man of the car - Kaito. You tried not to make any eye-contact, knowing that you would probably provoke him ,"Well, I'm going to look around!" you chirped rather optimistically, you knew the silver-haired man wouldn't really care, so you opened the car door and jumped off. You didn't fear Kaito, but you knew he could hurt you if he wanted to, so you were careful not to annoy him to an extent. Closing the car door behind you, you caught the attention of one of the two Bulls, which had happened to be the leader and just a member ,"Hey!" you cried out in a friendly tone, lightly waving at them ever-so cheerfully ,"I'm looking forward to see how you guys are goin' to do!" you smiled at them, pretty much full aware of who was going win in this A-class match. Your friendly skills always won the hearts of many stormriders (that is, you've lured many bad stormriders into clearing and then BAM!), and that's where looks can be quite deceiving. Deep inside, you couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for the Bulls at what they were about to experience, but you couldn't show anything that hinted about the battle. "You with Agito?" the one that you have assumed was the leader questioned, he looked kind of gruff. You glanced over your shoulder at the open window that Akito leaned on and glanced back at the Bulls' leader ,"Well, I'm not fighting alongside with him, I'm just...-" you began and paused, they probably wanted a blunt answer ,"Yeah, more or less rooting for him." you honestly answered, lightly shrugging, only to earn a small laugh and a pat on the head from the leader. Experienced in fighting? Well, yeah, you can't be a damsel in distress. In the force, you weren't going to rely on other people to have your backs even though Agito and... Akira had your back all the time, and you had their's - however, they didn't really need your extra help since they had each other's back, and those two were more than enough in the "WIND" G-squad. Most of the time, you three played "rock, paper, scissors" to see who would act as decoy; and unfortunately, you always lost. Well, then again, there was this one time when one of you guys had to dress as a fine lady, and you and Agito looked too much like kids at the time, so Akira had to cross-dress for that one day to lure the big bad wolf into the trap. It was hilarious to see him trying to mimic a hot girl like that. To see that, Agito only turned away, a stiffled snicker escaping his lips while you couldn't hold in your breath during the mission, causing the mission to turn awry when you laughed out loud (Agito tried to stuff a rock in your mouth to shut you up) and the big bad wolf found out it was all a plan, yet the mission turned out to be successful when Agito threw the rock (in which he tried to stop you from laughing with) at the target's head and BAM, unconscious. Gee, why were you always the cause of things? No, you just made things even more risky and thrilling. Oh, right, back to reality. Turning your heels to the side with one hand placed on your waist, you lowered your gray eyes down to the rusted ground ,"Anyways, I hope you have fun in the match. It looks like this match is going to spread some fame, hm? -If you win, that is." Your eyes darted back to the leader, Gonzo, and his fellow Bulls' member, a small smile spreading over your lips ,"Be careful, alright?" With your best wishes, you walked away to the stairs where you could get a good view of the match. "Oi!" Gonzo called to you ,"... The place is pretty old, and the floors are weak. Watch your step, alright, pretty lady?" he cracked a grin at you, a thumbs-up in the air. You hesitated to look at him, eyes dimming ,"Umm, thanks." you quietly muttered, unsure of what to say. The worst part about the G-force is that you couldn't get to know more about the people Agito was up against, but you understood at why you couldn't become warm with them. It just hurt to see new friends have some of their years of life shaven off of them like that. That team, the Bulls, didn't really deserve facing Agito. To see a hard-working team like that who meant no serious harm get their wings ferociously ripped off kind of... ached. You never really said anything to stop the massacre because Kaito-sensei was the one pulling the strings in the background - and he was the guardian of Akito. So many cases, so many deaths you have seen, all to obtain one thing - the sky. ".......!" you gasped at a crack, and then BOOM! Your ankle was sucked into a whole, stuck in the narrow hole that you accidentally caused. You should have been careful when that Gonzo guy had told you to be careful around these parts, but you weren't good at keeping notes in your mind ,"Stupid me." you mumbled, a sorry chuckle emitting from your mouth as you attempted to tug at your ankle out of the hole, yet you slightly flinched as your ankle met with the sharp end of the broken steel. Okay, okay! If I'm going to get out of this, I'll have to endure it! One pull was unsuccessful, the second pull was showing some improvement, and the third... was good! Yet, when you finally pulled yourself out, you fell back incidentally, but you blinked when you found yourself to be supported by... Hesitantly glancing over your shoulders, you blinked to see a gigantic guy in back of you, his wideness pretty much cushioned you from your fall. Probably the fourth most biggest and tallest guy you have ever seen in your freakin' life ,"Hello?" you nervously greeted, quickly getting onto your two feet. Just when you were about to dash up the stairs, you were stopped by one, no, two familiar voices. You were able to classify one of the voices, which was... "Ikki?" you claimed, looking over at the "big" man behind you, and behind that big man, a pair of hands waved back and forth. "Right," you slowly responded to their wavings before dashing up the stairs, you were pretty much in their way to see the battle, seeing that that guy behind you filled up the space in there. Once you were up in the floor, the first person you met eyes with was... Akito, who was below you guys. He was standing in the field next to Kaito, parallel to the Bulls. Agito never ceased to amaze you by being able to take on many tough opponents single-handedly. If only you could be that tough. You nearly jumped when a light pat tapped you on your shoulder, calling your attention. "Hey," the wonder crow-boy said, but he had a certain look to him that just rang "alert", an expression that you thought you would never see since you expected him to be more goofy and anxious. You glanced at his two familiar friends that had rescued you the other day and waved a tiny "hello" at them as your eyes locked onto the biggest person out of everybody else. That "big" person wasn't intimidating because of his gentle expression, but; ... you bit your lip, you couldn't recognize anyone except Ikki and his two friends. Great, how awkward was that. You told yourself that you have been surrounded by many unfamiliar faces; heck, you didn't even know some of the people you worked with each and every day. Then again, the people you worked with had helmets covering their faces, and well, you couldn't see them. I'm such a dork. 'Friends', ha. Your only friend was Akito and Agito, it was sad, wasn't it? Crud, you weren't usually all "low self-esteem"-ish, but the fear of losing any friends scared you ever since he walked out of your life and disappeared. "OH! The match is starting!" you heard of the girls ring. You immediately darted your attention to the field, your eyes tracking down Akito, no, Agito's moves. Never once had you got tired of that boy's dazzling and natural moves with his airtrecks. Never. How amazing. You felt stupid that you hadn't realized these signs that airtrecks were amazing and wonderful to begin with. It was the first time when your eyes shimmered, you actually treasured every moment of the battle; however... FWAP! Your hand immediately covered your nose at a sudden foul smell coming from... Yes, you dared to look around. You gaped at the corner of your eyes, only to see a... n-naked... naked Itsuki?! Most of all, he was doing "number two". What the he--?! You could also tell his comrades were surprised that he had to do it out here, in the public. Shouldn't he go to the restroom before he comes? You wondered to yourself, scooting away from Ikki, but at it, you froze as his voice echoed in your mind: Yes, those words. Akira... he was a person you admired, his strength, and his heroic personality, but that image was shattered long ago. Itsuki, anyways, was starting to fill up that empty space in your heart as a role-model to look up to. "You're Kakari, huh?" A girl spoke, she had glasses, a friendly smile peeking through her face ,"You're new in school, hm?" It took a long time to respond to realize that she was calling you by your first name; boy, you were almost sure that the girl thought you were ignoring her. Seriously, you weren't used to the name "Kakari", and, well, not just anyone would call you "Najika", so... and.. besides, you had a feeling that this wouldn't be last time you would be seeing them, so why not? "Just call me 'Najika', that's what most people call me," you informed and received a questioning 'why' look at that ,"... Kakari's my first name, but I like 'Najika' better." Only to receive a mouthed 'oh'. You studied the girl's features, taking every inch of detail in your mind, in case anything happened to come up. "I'm Ringo Noyamano," she responded, taking her eyes away from you and into the battle with high interest ,"... do you airtreck?" You were surprised at her question, not knowing how to answer, but you shook your head ,"Nope. Not at all," you smiled, still a bit unsure as you focused back onto the fight, following each attack that you were able to comprehend. Your eyes fell back to the starting circle, noticing Akito's brother walking away from the match. I guess everything is going smoothly for Kaito-sensei, huh? you deeply sighed and glanced at Ringo, noting her shocked expression at Agito's unrealistic battle moves, especially when Agito was against five people who weren't even at his level, despite it being an A-class match. You knew it was weird, so you understood her shocked state of mind. "Doesn't this seem a bit..." Ringo trailed off, detailing the knocked off opponents that Agito took out and finished her sentence ,"off?" You didn't realize she was talking to you, and again, it took a few moments to answer ,"OH! Umm, well, yeah, but..." you flinched at the sight of blood squirting onto the ground coming from the opponent. Agito. you fearfully thought, biting your lower lip at the beaten Gonzo, who was hanging from Agito's four long hooks that latched onto the poor man's flesh. That sight, the bloody horror. Visions of that historic past battle with Agito and Akira flashed into your head. Why now? You couldn't hold it any longer, you had to call Agito to stop. "AGITO!" you screamed, calling Agito's name at the scene above you. The predator and the prey were both on an edge of a floor above whilst the shark-boy made a bloody speech ,"Hey, I-I... I think you over-did...-" you were cut off, your eyes darkening at the totally different Agito ,"-... it.." Yes, you should be used to this by now, but... usually, Agito did things quietly and ended it as it was. That's not true... When did everything start to spiral downward for you and him? It was lonely. Tears were fought back, trying hard not to escape your eyes as you continued to lift your eyes up at the scene. Your tears were suddenly wiped away by unfamiliar fingers. Slowly, you glanced at the person beside you, who only smiled in reassurement - it was that big guy who scared you earlier. You giggled, a forced one ,"... umm, thanks, it's just... that... I... ugn..." you couldn't explain as you slowly gaped upward again, only to see something you didn't want to see - Ikki's crotch. You had almost sworn you had saw him put his clothes back, but... he was naked? Again?! You winced a bit at the sound of tearing, it was the sound of clothes being ripped. It was Gonzo! Being unhooked by Agito's hook accidentally, Gonzo began to fall lifelessly, diving to the hard ground. Fortunately, Ringo and two girls were able to catch him with a jacket. You stiffened, but then relaxed in relief ,"... Thank goodness." Yet, inside, you knew there was more to come as you continued to watch the scene above you, your eyes avoiding Itsuki for "that" reason. Smiling just slightly, you stared at Agito hard, something off in the situation. Agito's eye-patch is not properly fitted, and... that might cause a problem. Then, BAM! A gunshot was heard. A third figure stepped onto the scene, joining the party, a gun pointed at Itsuki steadily. You were scared, even though the gun consisted of mainly rubber bullets, they hurt... a lot, you knew. "Ah! No! He didn't mean to-!" That was Akito's voice. Oh, gawd. There were so many G-men here, one of them was bound to step on that "number two" thing Itsuki made a while ago. Glowering your eyes down to the left, you noticed green air coming off of one G-men's shoes - that G-man didn't seem to notice; however, the other G-men did and happened to stay a solid five feet away from that "dirty" G-man. You stood in the crowd of G-men, blending in with the force that surrounded the innocent. EXPLOSION! You gasped, what was going on? Everything was going a bit too fast for you, it nearly flashed in your mind as the G-men soon decided to break their alignment and lose their focus by the sudden explosion. It wasn't long before you were taken by Itsuki's hand, joining him in the runaway ,"I-Itsuki-kun! I-I'm not..." you couldn't finish your sentence when you turned your head over your shoulders, noticing Kaito and his groupies show-off their portable A-Ts in the flesh. It was not long before they began chasing all of you guys down, shooting in every direction with their rubber bullets. You winced as one bullet nearly hit you - for one thing, Kaito was surely determined. "Ah! B-But... ah... Itsuki-kun, we should help Agi... to." Just when you finished the "to" part of Agito's name, you spoke too soon when Agito began charging after you guys, but this time, he seemed as if he was forwarding away from Kaito and his G-squad ,"Shark-boy!" you whispered in surprised, but he didn't come after you guys for the reason you had thought he did at first. In fact, Agito came lunging after Ikki, kicking him in every direction. Okay, now you were freakishly scared. "SHARKIE!" you pleaded out his nickname, but he had shunned himself out from reality. Frowning, obviously pissed at his "shunning" mode, you leaned in and pulled onto Agito's blue hair like it was nothing and released it once he had dropped out of his beserk stage and gave full attention to you ,"Shark-boy, I am trying to tell you that this is your freakin' chance to escape! You can fight Ikki-kun when he doesn't have his hands full! Let it be a fair match next time, al-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGHT!?" you suddenly heightened your voice near the end of your sentence when everybody decided to jump off a high cliff. Your heart pumped loud, all your worries soon being dropped. You covered your mouth, trying hard not to laugh freely, but you surrendered and laughed, a true laugh. A feeling you had not experienced since two years ago. Honestly... where had the rainbow in your heart gone to in these years? Had it came back? You hoped so, you wanted to be happy again, you wanted to unfold many mysteries that laid ahead. Maybe... Maybe we can still try. "You can't enjoy this the way they can." Itsuki suddenly remarked to Agito, pointing at his friends who had no care in the world. It was then that you decided to butt in on the small ride, a light-hearted smile grazing over your lips as your hands lifted in the air, as if to grasp the sky ,"The frog in the well doesn't know about the great sea outside of the well, so it spends its entire life looking at one thing," you closed your eyes and re-opened them ,"... the sky." You neared toward Agito who only stared at the sky, long and wordless, before he swiftly unlocked his sleeves and swapped his eye-patch, letting Akito be the one to take over. Akito graciously smiled and took a quick glance at Ikki before turning to you, his small fingers enlaced themselves with yours as his forehead pressed against your own fondly. You giggled and pulled yourself down along with the innocent boy, ready for landing at any moment ,"Akito...," you whispered ,"... we're free." Everytime you asked Akito to tell you the story of "the frog in the well", he was telling it to you. Bridging the gap between the sky and the earth for this first time. He's the bird. However... we're all connected. That's our one earth, and that's our one sky.
"Hey, hey! Thanks for letting me hitch a ride with guys." You piped up in the backseat of the car while the Wanijima brothers sat in the front. You dared to break the moody silence as the hummer made a sharp and sudden stop, causing you to hit your head against the window; Kaito, the head of "WIND" G-force, wasn't always the best of drivers when he was in a rush - and you were wearing a seat-belt, too, and you still got hurt. Without the airboard (that was destroyed in the previous chapter by a train) with you, it was harder to get around. These past few days, you had been walking to school, but it brought back memories when you had to train long and hard to become a part of the G-force with Agito and him.
You couldn't help but feel as if those days were still there, but they were not.
You felt a shiver when the older man patted you on the head, it felt warm.
Isn't the sky for all to share instead of fulfilling one's selfish desires?
You weren't sure if Itsuki considered you as a friend, after all, you guys only had at least two encounters.
"No time to look for a toilet - if I blink, I'll miss out." was what he said, those words were simple, but they rang strong and true.
You uncovered your nose bravely and smiled, the soft breeze pushing your bangs away from your forehead ,"I never looked at it that way before." was the first words you had spoke of. Honestly, Itsuki was a bizarre person, yet inspiring and unlike anyone you had ever met. On the other hand, Agito wasn't like anyone you had ever met, too, but... in this case, it was much more meaningful and different. You kneeled down to sit comfortably, gazing longingly at the fight that entertained you so. Gently, you pushed a lock of hair behind your ears, a thought knocking through your head.
It wasn't that you didn't like him anymore, it was just that image you thought he had was now broken. That girl... That girl who changed him... - why?
I thought you'd stay with us, I thought you'd fly with us... peacefully, but... now, you changed so much...
Ikki, you thought, clasping your hands together tightly ,... don't fail me.
However, he soon made speech about teams, emblems, and stuff related to that ,"... are f**king s**t!" was his last comment.
That's... not true...
Dang, how did things get to out of hand?
When did you become the only one who faced forward while they all stood and looked back, frozen in time.
You wanted it to be "right" again, when everything were happier times. Agito... Aki.. to... and... Akir..a.
"What the..." you grimaced, the signs of it all starting were coming quick and strong. Hard military-like footsteps were coming near. What to do, what to do...; quickly, you turned toward Ikki's friends, a frightened look upon your face. Never had you done this before, but... "RUN! -- everybody!" you haughtily forewarned at the situation to come as you swooshed your arm across to give everyone a dramatic signal to show that you were serious. G-men pushed past you and began to surround Ikki's party of friends, excluding you since the many men were fully aware that you were with them, in the force. You were too late.
Crud. What was that smell?
A red car hurried into the scene, crashing into a few G-men.
You blinked, lost in daze, but soon realized that the red car carried a lady that was an accomplice of Itsuki and his friends. By the time you knew it, Gonzo escaped within the car with the accomplice.
The first thing you felt was the wind, pushing your back supportively. The first thing you saw... was the sky.
Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.
But all this time...
It was Agito who needed to hear it all along.
What a wonderful feeling.
The bird that we looked up to everytime we saught for the sky.
To the frog in the well, to the shark in the pool of blood, to the dolphin who lived in both dimensions, and to the bird who brought the song in all of us.
But there are many rainbows, not just one, because... we have a rainbow in all of us - all in an alliance with one another.
You couldn't believe it. You were bunking at the Noyamano's house all thanks to Akito. Both Ringo and Itsuki didn't mind you guys staying, but they certainly weren't sure of taking in Akito at first because of the Bulls' incident yesterday (it seems as if they didn't realize Akito had a split-personality, though). In the end, Akito won them over; or, at least, you persuaded them to let Akito stay. Yeah, it wasn't like you didn't have a place to stay, and you knew Akito could come over to your place, but the Noyamano's house was much safer, considering that Kaito would suspect you of bunking in Akito first.
Well, how did you get here? It all began when Akito said:
"Eh? Niji? Isn't it lonely being by yourself?"
From those small, meek words followed a strong, persistent argument from Itsuki, who didn't want you to live by yourself in the darkness out of his kind heart. Okay, you had a problem with staying with a household full of people you weren't familiar with (however, Akito was in the same situation, but he was rather comfortable with it). Right, living by yourself wasn't fun because you lived off of ramen and cup of noodles, yet that wasn't the case! It... - no, you felt accepted, and that feeling was awkward to you.
Durn Akito. He did that on purpose.
Well, you started living by yourself all because of your dad, he was extremely busy.
With no one to take care of you, you were suppose to listen to Kaito-sensei, your dad's partner. And if Kaito wanted to transfer to another city, well, you had to transfer, too. Your dad was one of the loyal members of the G-force and was determined to stay in a different city for the time-being to "destroy" some stormriders there, then, he would move to another city within Japan - and if he had to, he would fly over to America.
That sucks, really.
As you entered the Japanese-styled room, you caught Akito asking Itsuki to feed him, opening his mouth in an assumption that Itsuki would feed him. You brushed a few strands of hair out of your face, a somewhat dazed expression appearing across your eyes, your clothes weren't the same from yesterday since you were wearing Ringo's school uniform which she insisted you borrow till you bring your clothes and necessary items to stay over at the house. Snapping back to reality, you noticed Akito greeting you with a usual "good morning". You smiled and waved unsurely back at both him and Ikki ,"Mornin'."
"Oh, hey! Breakfast is on the table!" Itsuki announced, pointing at the loaded table with his chopsticks while trying to escape Akito's urge to be fed.
You slowly nodded and eyed the two before looking away to grab your chopsticks, putting a few pieces of meat and vegetables on the bowl of rice. Lowering your head, you set the chopsticks nearly over the bowl of rice and glanced at Akito, smiling ,"Akito, I'll feed you if you're hungry." you sweetly offered, you were just too nice that way at times, but at other times, you could be way worst, depending on how you have slept. It was odd, though, you always found yourself sleeping on the end of the bed, it was much more comfortable than sleeping properly; but because of that, you had often fell on the floor.
Without a moment to spare, Akito swiftly swooshed over to you, starry-eyed with his mouth wide open ,"OHAYY! Ahhh~!" he childishly glamored whilst Ikki, in the background, surrended with an 'Okay, okay! I'll feed you!', but crow-boy was ignored thereafter.
Scooping up a piece of meat along with the white rice, you gently placed the chop-full of food into Akito's mouth. Seriously, you didn't know whether you were a sister or a mother to this older boy. You couldn't help but wonder if Kaito had to spoon-feed Akito.
"Hey," interrupted Ikki in a sudden rush of thought ,"... how do you two know each other? You guys seem awfully-," Oh, did he dare to add ,"-close." he finished, a slight suspicion toned in his teenage voice. He stared from you to Akito, barely popping some food into his mouth in wonderment, his button-down shirt's collar being popped up.
You parted your lips to explain, but was soon cut off by Akito, who had decided to inform -
"Well - well..." Akito immaturely blabbered, suddenly latching onto your arm, a cheeky grin falling over his thinking face whilst his other arm flapped around ,"... you can say that Niji and Akito are childhood buddies! We're both in the 'WIND' G-force so we see each other some times~! Her papa works with Kaito-nii, yeah." he explained in a chip manner, sometimes, he liked speaking in third person. 'Niji' was a nickname Akito had given you, there were times when he called you 'Najika' whenever he was surprised, upset, or saddened. 'Niji' clearly translated to 'rainbow', unlike 'Najika', which was combined to mean 'rainbow'.
Ikki apparently dropped his food back into his bowl of rice, nearly losing his appetite at the small information that was given to him ,"W-Wait! Niji- uhh, I mean, Najika-chan's in the force?!"
Unsure of what to say, you only nodded and dug into your messenger back (which you had happen to bring during the 'Agito vs The Bulls' fight) to bring out an I.D. of certification ,"Mmhmm~!" you hummed, shoving your I.D. back into your bag ,"We used to work in the same group when... ah..." you pressed your two index fingers together and lightly shrugged. -... when Akira was still here. "... but I was eventually put into a different group, y' know."
"Different... group?" Akito chirped up, somewhat surprised as if he had not heard from his older brother ,"Ah, Niji, wh-" the child-looking boy was soon cut off by Ringo, who entered the room, fully dressed in her school uniform.
You glanced at Akito who was unable to finish his sentence; somehow, you felt relief overwhelming through you at the time, thankful that Ringo had came just in the nick of it all. 'Different group', yup, that was it. Not a lot of people knew what you did for the "WIND" Organization ever since Akira departed and Agito was unwillingly forced to become Kaito's shark-servant or lackey. Basically, you worked undercover... and you didn't want anyone to find out as of yet till the time came when you would be ordered to...
"Hey! Let's head for school!" was the first thing the long-haired girl said, breaking your thoughts.
"I wanna come~! I wanna come~!" cheered the blue-haired boy, jumping onto his two feet as he tugged your arm to follow.
"Najika-chan, what happened to that wicked board of yours?" Itsuki was the first to break the silence as you four walked along the road to school. The air was fresh, the daylight felt new, and moreover - Akito's voice could be heard humming, skating amateur-ishly while Ringo only watched in somewhat of a disgust.
"Board? What bo-" you abruptly halted and forced a small laugh ,"... oh, umm... well, I accidentally crashed it... badly. I won't be getting a new one soon, but... hey! You know what? I'm going to look for a pair of airtrecks if I have time, wanna help?" Ah, well, you had to get over your board for good, and instead, had to look for what's coming ahead.
Listening into the conversation, Akito twirled around, his arms waving up and down cutely ,"I'm coming, too!" he pouted, attempting to hide the offended tone in his voice that you had not asked him first. However, he blew it off in a second of a laughter when he jumped onto a rail nearby, trying to keep his balance.
You gaped over at Akito, smiling at his assertiveness. You didn't mind at all, actually. Agito knew a good-deal about airtrecks, so you were happy to bring Akito along. You were planning to ask Agito later, though, but this worked, it made things smoother for you.
"So, what's up with this cutesy-wootsy stuff?" Ringo had suddenly spoke up, deeply agitated at the mood of what Akito was in.
Falling down onto an area of grass, the innocent boy landed on his stomach, glancing over at Ringo ,"Oh! You mean you didn't notice? I'm Akito, not Agito!" giggled Akito as he rolled onto his back ,"We're like light and shadow, he's the opposite of me!" he continued on with the explanation that was cut short ,"I know, Agito's amazing on airtrecks, but Akito can barely skate in a straight line even though we use the same body. Haha~, the two of us don't really get it either."
Wow, I never really thought about it before, but... You scratched head, a lop-sided grin assuring your face ,... it really is weird. I mean, if shark-boy is capable of doing all those tricks, then shouldn't Akito be that flexible, too? Then again, it's all in the mentality. I can't really remember, but... when did I meet Akito? You tensed a bit when you heard Akito call you by your name, not your nickname.
"Najika," the fourteen year-old, his hands behind his head as he stared up upon the sky freely, a relaxed aura surrounding him ,"Remember when you mentioned the story about 'the frog in the well'? Well... I've always liked how you made it sound as if the frog had a chance to change." he grinned, his one eye dazing out into the sky.
"The frog knows nothing of the well in which he's trapped in; he knows not the depth of the water, but the depth of the sky." You quoted, making sure you got that right. You slightly dumbstrucked at Akito's sudden reminiscence about the story, wondering why he decided to bring it up at an odd time like this.
"And though stuck inside the well, that frog, better than anyone else, values the true meaning of 'freedom'." Akito, who was depicted as the frog whilst Agito was depicted as the shark ,"I've been... wanting to tell you my view of the story for a long time, but I never got the chance to."
You lowered your head for a full minute in thought and laughed heartedly. Oh... I see. you grinned, happy to hear ,"Your view is... beautiful, Akito!" you nodded your head, your fingers playing with a key-chain hanging on your bag - a silver dolphin that locked onto your zipper. Ikki's the bird, Akito's the frog, Agito's the shark, and... I'm the dolphin, living in the same water with the shark, but that dolphin has a purpose - to bring hope.
Why do dolphins jump from the water?
I think, no, I believe... it wants to touch the sky.
&&&. Go my way!
Anywho, I hope everybody enjoyed the story? Yes? I guess you are finally able to grab the sky for that one moment with Akito, eh? Well, anyways, until next time!
For going to the results, I hereby give you a reward >> :
You softly whimpered in the corner of the room, wrapping your arms around your knees for the safety that you so desired; the bruises on your arms and body hurt so much that it somewhat began to redden and bleed on your delicate skin. You shuddered at the sudden cold breeze that flew by from the open window that was the only source of light inside the room. You were alone. It was only Kaito and you, yet... you were inside the cage like a pet. It was that day when your feelings for Najika began to change - thinking of her something else other than a good and kind friend.
"Hey! You're in here again, huh, Aki-chan?" a perky voice appeared from outside the window; grunts were heard as 'she' attempted to climb up the window, which she soon successfully did, which was surprising because of her short stature ,"Aki-chan? Why are you here?" asked Najika, jumping inside the room as she hopped over toward you with a friendly smile planted on her face - she didn't know anything, espcially when she was so free outside of this cage, she had the change to fly, but... she stayed and continued to nurture you.
You whimpered once again, your face buried in your knees, hiding your tear-stained cheeks from your dear friend.
Najika tilted her head, still keeping that same warm smile ,"Aki-chan... you're hurt." she obviously stated, gently putting her fingers aroudn the bars of the circular cage that blocked you away from freedom ,"Aki-chan..." whispered Najika once more, calling your name warmly as she gave you a gentle nudge for your attention.
You froze, tingling at the human contact and flinched.
"Akito?" Najika called your name, this time, without any honorables.
Your eyes snapped open as you lifted your head, hearing the sound of something ripping.
Najika was seen ripping her white, long-sleeves of her shirt, using her sharpened tooth to tear her sleeve successfull; she smiled once again at you and wrapped a piece of clothe around one of the bleeding areas ,"There!" she laughed joyously, glad that you finally faced her. There was only silence as your friend studied your expression, she then began to talk once again, this time, with a thought in the back of her mind ,"Say, have you heard of the proverb? You know... the frog in the well? It's my favorite story! But... it's kind of sad, too!" Even though she said the story was sad, she kept smiling cheerfully, an attempt to cheer you up.
"You see, it's about a frog, trapped inside a well; somehow, no matter what, even though it lived in the well, it kept looking up." the young girl had paused before continuing ,"... and what was it looking up at? Well, the sky, of course! The frog has that chance to make a change, because the birds of freedom will always be there to pull him out!"
Deeply heaving a small sigh, you slowly nodded at her short proverb, managing to smile a little.
"Oh! I guess I better leave, huh? Otou-san will get mad at me again!" she softly murmured, scratching her head and softly laughed at her dorky self ,"Aki-chan... I - you really... ah! N-Nevermind! I'll see you soon, anyways~!" Najika cheekily grinned, rushing toward the window after glancing back at you and waved a good-bye for the day. Honestly, Najika was pretty upset that Akito wasn't as lively and active as before, but she hid her sadness behind her smile.
You glanced at the piece of clothe around your ankle; the blood stopped, but the pain continued. Somehow, you managed to crack a smile, a happy smile, unaware of how red your cheeks were ,"Agito, I also want to see Naji-chan soon," you told yourself, giggling childishly as you pressed your back against the cage, a bit pained ,"I want to... I want to fly with her, too. The reason why the frog looks up to the sky is because... it appreciates freedom more than anyone..." you softly claimed to no one except your conscience ,"I want to tell Naji-chan that..."
"Najika! What are you doing out her- and oh! Gawd! What happened to your shirt!" you heard from outside the window faintly, your expression suddenly stiffened.
"O-Oh! Umm... I-I... I tripped over a rock and well... a flower attacked me and ripped off my sleeves!" your friend, Najika, obviously told a bad lie.
You couldn't help but release a giggle once more.
You're my bird...
