Hey all! Hope everyone had a fantastic new year celebration! 
I'm finally back after quite some time eh? I'm glad this story is still viewed! Thank you very much for reading guys, every comment means a lot to me as it motivates me to continue when I do feel lazy or lost. 
Hope y'all enjoy this update~
Oh and also to reply to a few users:
@BbSis: Yesh JuriRena shall be adorable in this fic until the time comes 
Yuko is epic, and Acchan well~ you'll just have to see! 
The mysterious character mmhmm~ everyone can come up with speculations and all, I don't mind. :p And in this chapter, you'll see... 
Thanks for reading as always, BbSis-san!!!
@sophcaro: Hahaha I haven't watched that anime though so wow~ 
Thanks for reading!!! Here's the next chapter Indestructible Fire
ACT IV
Airi’s POV - Flashback -
Another boring~ day at school. Seriously. Boredom kills.
I wonder if there’ll be anything to spice up my life…
“Hey look, that crazy girl is on that tree again!”
“Hmm?” Lifting my head that was on the desk that was supported by both my arms to turn to where the voice came from, noting that the student who was pointing at the window was slowly being surrounded by a group of students who were gasping as if they saw something disturbing and also, blocking my sight.
Then again, this was a natural occurrence. A girl known as the ‘crazy tree girl’ often climbs up the tree that can be seen from the window of my classroom. Usually the student council members would settle the issue by asking her to come down and when she doesn’t budge, the teachers are called to the scene.
I wonder what she does up there though…
… That’s it! I guess I found something exciting to do.
Getting out of my seat, I paced myself quickly to the entrance of our classroom and headed towards the tree. It was in the school courtyard, which is the center of this whole school, so most students should be able to see her but it’s either they just don’t bother with her or because it has just turned way~ too normal for that crazy girl to climb up the tree in the courtyard. I’m assuming my classmates are just busybodies unlike the rest, waiting to get gossip out of the crazy girl.
Heh. Just perfect. I wanted some of the spotlight too.
Nahh. I’m not that obnoxious.
Or maybe I am? Pfft.
Approaching the tree, I looked back towards the classroom I was in which was on the second floor. I noticed the students looking at me with a shocked expression which I shrugged off in return before walking towards the tree. The leaves of the tree were a mixture of green and orange, it was a nice sight and had the feeling of Autumn. Putting both my hands into the pockets of my blazer and standing right under the tree that shaded me from the rays of the sun, I gazed upwards, seeing the girl who had her back turned towards me, seemingly mumbling to herself.
“Oi. You there,” I tried calling out to her.
She stopped and I could see her body tense up as if she was surprised by my voice, “What are you doing?” I asked further.
A bird suddenly flew away from the tree before I heard an answer from the girl, “… None of your business,” She then swung her legs up and down as if she was having fun, sitting on a thick branch of the tree like that.
Dang this girl had an attitude.
“You have a death wish or something? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be up on the tree like that? Or are you someone who has no common sense?” I threw sarcasms at her, curious about how the girl would react.
That moment, I saw her hands slowly balling up into fists, twitching in annoyance. Whoops~ looks like I really did push the wrong button. She looked back at me with her tongue put out in irritation with her eyes tightly closed before opening them again and our eyes officially met each other’s.
I put out my tongue at her too but smirked shortly after, “Ah. Looks like you’re not an abnormal, mental girl who loves climbing up trees for no reason huh.”
She shifted her body towards me, dropping her legs towards my direction to face me properly while her arms are still supporting herself on the branch to keep herself from falling, “Of course I’m not, you jerk. Who the heck do you think you are huh?”
Man, I think I’m getting addicted to this attitude of hers.
“I’m Furukawa Airi. A bored-as-hell jerk who decided to escort you down the tree, young lady,” I made a short, prince-like bow to the girl who suddenly threw a small branch at my head which made me wince in pain briefly.
“Don’t try to act all princely, Furukawa Airi-san. I don’t know you nor do you know me,” she gave a really cute pout.
“Yeah yeah, I’m well-aware of that. But, seeing how amazing it is that you’re the center of attention of my class,” I lazily pointed backwards at my classroom with my thumb, “… I would like to get to know you a little more. Don’t you want a real friend and not an imaginary one?”
She pouted even more before letting out a sigh and jumped off the branch, landing perfectly in front of me as I stepped back.
“… I do have friends okay?” She stood up straight, crossing her arms with an annoyed look on her face.
“Oh really~” I smirked, “You were literally talking to yourself before I called out to you.”
I could see a blush forming slightly on her face, “S-Shut up. I was talking to my friend before you scared her off, idiot.”
Her friend?
I scared her off?
You know what? This girl
is mental.
“So I scared off your imaginary friend. Brilliant,” I swung both hands behind my head with a lax expression on my face.
“N-No! She’s not imaginary!” She clenched her fists again, raising her voice, “S-She’s…” Now she looked away, “… A-A… bird…”
You have GOT to be kidding me.
“HUH?!” I grabbed her shoulders out of impulse due to the shock.
Since when can humans talk to birds?! She ain’t no Cinderella!
She pushed my arms away in annoyance and continued avoiding my gaze, “… Yeah you heard me. I was talking to a bird. Happy now? You should go report to your “friends” in class about how weird I am.”
Instead of actually thinking of her weird… I think she’s really…
… Unique…?
“N-No no,” I straightened myself with a smile, “I think that’s something really cool.”
“Pardon me?”
“I mean… talking to birds,” I scratched my cheek lightly, “It’s uh… not something anyone does every day… especially climbing up trees for that sake…”
At that moment, she looked at me, eyes glimmering at my direction as if she saw a toy that she really wanted to buy. She then clasped both my hands together within hers and closed our gap between us, her face just inches away from mine with a look of excitement.
I couldn’t help but blush at that sight. No one has
ever pulled me so close to them. EVER.
“You believe me?”
“W-Wha--? Y-Yeah. Why not? People talking to birds are cool.”
“Really?”
“W-Well yeah…”
She suddenly pushed me away, acting annoyed again. I nearly lost my balance but luckily I was able to regain it before actually tripping on my back, “The heck was that for?!”
“You’re obviously taking me as a fool, huh? Furukawa Airi-san.”
“What? No! I seriously believe you!”
“You still have doubts. I can hear it in your voice,” she shook her head, as if she was disappointed in me.
What is she, some kind of psychic? More like… psychopath.
“Alright fine. Since I don’t believe you, how are you going to show it to me?”
She shot a smile at me, “Meet me here after school. I’ll prove to you that I was, and can, talk to birds.”
That is one dazzling smile she’s got. I wonder if I’m the only one in this whole school who has seen this crazy girl’s childish, but warm, smile.
I gave her a nod, “Sure. By the way,” She had a quizzed look on her face, “… What’s your name, ‘crazy tree girl’?”
“… Akane,” She reached a hand out to me, “Takayanagi Akane.”
I did the same and shook her hand, “Nice to meet you, Takayanagi-san.”
She flashed the same smile again, “Likewise, Furukawa-san,” She suddenly tightened her grip on my hand which made me yelp in pain involuntarily, “And don’t call me ‘crazy tree girl’ ever again, you jerk!”
Basically, that was how I met her, and the beginning of my crazy life with a bird-brain.
My Master—Takayanagi Akane.
The clock of fate had begun to turn without realization, the moment I decided to approach Churi.
Perhaps everything would have been different if my curiosity didn’t get to me? If I didn’t approach Churi and allowed the same procedure to happen over and over again. The student council or teachers asking her to stop her madness… Guess it’s as they say, ‘curiosity kills the cat’…
… In this case, it would have to be the ‘bird’, huh.After school that day, I complied to my ‘promise’ with Takayanagi-san and met her at the tree. She was already sitting comfortably in that particular branch with a grin on her face before putting her index finger to her lips, as if she wanted me to stay quiet.
I stared at her quietly as the serene-look on her face captivated me. She had her eyes closed and her hand was stretched out in front of her and within a minute or two, a bird perched onto her hand with a tweet and she smiled. Opening her eyes, she softly touched the head of the small bird and begun talking to it in the form of ‘chirping’.
Swinging my bag behind my back, I shrugged and continued looking on. As much as this looks and feels stupid but I just can’t help but feel captivated by her presence. Looking around my surroundings, I could see students walking pass the walkways outside of the classroom buildings which passed through the courtyard giving me and Takayanagi-san weird glances and even whispering amongst themselves.
Suddenly, I felt something land on my shoulder. Tilting my head slowly, I could see the bird that Takayanagi-san was ‘talking’ to on my shoulder, perching on it comfortably while hopping once in a while.
“I gave the bird a command~” She spoke in an audibly soft voice, which I supposed was to not scare off the bird, “I asked her to make a home on your shoulder~”
“YOU WHAT?!”
And~ I scared the bird off. Again.
“You’re seriously an idiot, Furukawa-san,” she shook her head in disappointment once again.
“YOU’RE the idiot here, Takayanagi-san! Of all things to say to a bird, why make my shoulder a home?!” I raised my voice at her.
“If not, she wouldn’t fly to your shoulder to see if it’s suitable or not,” she ogled me with an unimpressed look on her face.
“Seriously, this girl has problems…” I facepalmed while saying that in a low voice.
“But hey, you really do believe me now right?”
I looked up at her and she gestured a peace sign to me with an innocent grin.
“That I can actually talk to birds.”
As much as I hate to admit it but… I suppose her weird way of demonstrating did suffice.
“Fine fine, I believe you. Sheesh.”
“Great!” She started swinging her legs up and down in glee, “You know, you’re the first person to believe me~”
“No kidding. Who the heck would take a girl who talks to birds seriously unless they’re out of their minds…”
“So you’re admitting you’re out of your mind, Furukawa-san?”
“Just shut up, Takayanagi.” I could see her smirking with her hands on her lips, trying to annoy the heck out of me.
As much as this girl’s driving me mad but…
… At the same time… it actually feels relaxing with her.
“Churi.”
“Huh?”
“Call me Churi from now on, Furukawa-san!” She giggled in embarrassment, “It’s my nickname.”
At least she’s normal with the fact she does have a nickname, as weird as it sounds, “Then call me Airin. It’s my nickname.”
She gave me a nod, “But why Airin though? It sounds so plain~”
“Then why the heck is yours Churi?” I retaliated, crossing my arms.
“Because it’s like the chirping of birds~ Churi churi churi~” She tried imitating the chirping of birds with a smile, “So? Why is yours Airin?”
I looked away, “… Just because.”
“Oh? So you don’t have a proper reason huh~ and here I was~ thinking that you’d have a godlike reason to have a nickname so plain as that~”
THIS. GIRL. IS. GETTING. ON. MY. NERVES.
“Ugh, I’m leaving.”
As I turned my back towards her, I could hear her landing behind me and she quickly grabbed onto my free hand. Feeling the warmth of her hand clasping onto mine, it transpired in my mind that she didn’t want me to leave.
“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to say what I’ve said… it’s just that… you’re really easy to talk to, Airin… so I just let my words out of my mind without processing them properly…”
I sighed, “So you think we’re close with just our first meeting?”
She tightened her grip, but it wasn’t uncomfortable and I could feel her tremble slightly, “… Well… you’re probably the first person who has talked to me who aren’t my classmates… and I feel like I could relate to you.”
“How so?”
“… You’re bored of your mundane life… right?”
I could feel my heart jolt in surprise. I turned around slowly to face her, only to see her head facing downwards and her bangs covering her eyes.
“… A boring life… you may have friends but they just can’t relate to you right…? You may have been called weird too… So you prefer to be alone, hoping for a chance to encounter something exciting… right?”
She’s striking at all the right points. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I do have friends. Double-faced ones… I have been called weird, because of my avid love for anime… so I tend to be alone… I do long for something exciting to happen in my life…
… And that something…
… Was the meeting between Takayanagi Akane and I.
“Did I…” She lifted her head and looked at me with a wry smile, “… get it right?”
“Are you psychic or something?” I asked, in a low voice.
She shook her head, “Nope,” she then used her free hand to point at the tree behind her, “… the birds told me. They told me they felt someone similar to me. I just…never expected that person to be someone as crude as you, Airin.”
“Get off my case, Churi,” I rolled my eyes, “You’re just as much as a creep. You sound like a stalker who has been checking up on me if I didn’t believe the whole ‘you can talk to birds’ crap.”
“… And that’s what piqued my interest about you, Airin,” she winked, “your crudeness.”
I have no idea why but I could feel my face feeling hot and my heart pounding fast. Darn it. This girl is confusing me!
“Aww~ Airin’s blushing~ that’s cute~”
“A-As if you can see with the sun setting!”
“I can’t see it properly but I can feel it,” she gave my hand a light squeeze on the hand she was holding with a smile, “Your hand is getting hotter and hotter~”
I quickly flung her hand off mine which made her chuckle as if she were teasing me and I pouted, “S-Shut it. Don’t forget, today’s just the first day we met, you bird-brain!”
“And there are more and more days to come from today onwards to actually get to know each other yes, Airin?”
Everything feels like it’s just going according to her pace which ticked me off but… oh well. I didn’t mind. She was interesting after all.
I gave a light-hearted chuckle, “Yeah yeah. Guess I have to put up with a bird-brain like you from now on. Worst mistake of my life.”
“I’ll turn ‘worst mistake’ into ‘best miracle’ someday soon, Airin. Just you wait!” She grinned playfully in which I pinched both her cheeks in return.
“Try me!”
Day after day went by peacefully and our friendship slowly strengthened as each day passed by. She’d invite me up on the tree sometimes to enjoy lunch breaks together and play with the birds. Despite more and more students actually noticing our weird antics, we just didn’t give a care in the world. I would protect her and myself when I do notice the student council members and teachers coming towards us, telling them I was trying to make her stop in which it worked most of the time if the student or teacher is gullible enough. During weekends, I’d tag her along with me to arcades and anime shops to show her a glimpse of how my lifestyle was in which she seemingly accepted and enjoyed.
Yeah. We loved each other’s company.
No doubt, we turned into best friends within a matter of days…
… Until a horrible accident happened.
It was sometime in the evening. Churi had messaged me, telling me she had to return to school after a bird was pecking nonstop in front of her window and told her that a cat was trying to destroy a nest on the tree of the courtyard, while killing off the birds in the process. No one would believe that kind of story right? But I just couldn’t help but believed her and went off into the night after reading her message, still fully cladded in uniform, tossing my phone onto my bed.
When I got to school, I could see her from far that she was struggling to get the cat off the tree when the cat was putting on a fight, hearing all the fierce, screeching growls from the cat. I ran towards her, calling her name, but before I could get to her, I saw her fell off the tree before my eyes, head pummeling straight onto the ground below her.
My speed accelerated in deep fear of what would happen. When I got to her, I literally slid on the ground and checked on her, she was groaning in pain, her head was bleeding non-stop, and her eyes were shut tightly. I panicked. I knew one day she might get into such trouble but definitely not like this!
“A… Ai… rin……” She called out my name in a weak tone of voice.
“I-I’m here, Churi!” I quickly reached for my phone that should be in my skirt’s pocket but a horrible realization came to me when I remembered I left it back home. My eyes widened in shock.
“… T-Thanks… for… coming… I’m stupid… huh…” She let out a weak chuckle.
“O-Oi! Don’t go dying on me!” I looked around my surroundings, hoping for someone to be there, “A-Anyone! Please help!!! A student has a severe injury!!!!!!” I yelled and yelled until I felt a cold hand on my cheek.
Churi caressed it softly, trying to calm me down.
“… I’ll… be fine… you’re… noisy……”
I lifted her up with all my might, prepared to run as she rested her hands on her stomach, “S-Stay with me okay?! We’re going to the hospital!”
“Airin… though our time was short… thank you… for everything……”
I ran.
“… I’m glad… we met…”
And ran.
“… I just wished… it didn’t end… like this…”
And ran…
“… I’m… tired… so I’ll…… sleep now…”
… I stopped.
“Churi…?” I looked at her face, tears glimmering on her cheeks with her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her lips.
I felt my legs giving in to her dead weight as I broke down then and there at the school entrance, with Churi in my arms as I hugged her tightly, trembling, wailing her name over and over again, hoping for a response.
Suddenly, a blinding, bright light seared into my blurred vision thanks to my tears from above. A hand reached out to me, followed by a low, but calming voice.
“… Do you want to save her life?”
“… Obviously I do…” I held her even tighter to me.
“... Are you willing to give your own life in return for hers…?”
The voice darkened in tone. As much as I was suspicious, but that was definitely not the time to think about any other trivial matters.
This girl deserves to live, no matter how weird she may be.
I’m a scumbag who can die for this bird-brain… she’s my very first best friend after all! She is the 'best miracle' that happened in my life!!!
“… Yeah. I’m willing…” I looked straight at the hand, controlling my overflowing tears, “… If this idiot returns to life because of my sacrifice, fine.”
“… Take hold of my hand.”
I reached out to the suspicious person’s hand and when I did, the whole world went blank.
That was the beginning of my new life as the Guardian of Earth.
You may think it was a stupid decision to sacrifice my life for someone who just entered my life out of coincidence huh?
… Guess I wanted to feel the thrill of it, seeing how these kind of scenarios happen in anime. Not only that…
… I sincerely thought Churi deserved to live. Not that I disregard my life. I do have regrets on my decision but…
Heh… guess I’m an idiot after all. - - - - - -
“… Airin…”
No response.
“A… Airin… please…”
Still, no response.
“… This is… a lie right…? Airin… you can’t…”
“Oops! Sorry but, you are not supposed to be here, Takayanagi Akane.”
Akane who was tearing up on top of Airi’s soaking wet chest, tilted her head to see who had called out to her. The mixture of the rain and her tears that slowly rolled down to her cheeks and a few drops that landed to both sides of her lips made her taste the saltiness of her tears, and the bitterness of how she felt now.
The face she saw looked cold and cruel, as if she was about to murder her, with the help of the dark clouds that blanketed the blue sky behind the figure as the rain poured like cats and dogs. The wind was thrashing in the tree tops and the boughs moaned. It was the perfect setting for such a mentally depressing scene.
The figure then pointed a revolver at Akane, who in return, slowly lifted her head up from Airi’s chest in deep shock, placing both her hands on the muddy ground beneath her and slowly crawling away backwards with the figure following her slowly, the tip of the revolver aiming at Akane’s head.
“… W-Who… are… you…?” She asked in a small, trembling voice. As she heard the barrel of the revolver clicking, she knew she was done for. Her legs have given in, her whole body has decided on its own accord to stop moving in accordance to her fear right now and all she could do was look on straight at the tip of the gun being pointed straight to the middle of both her eyes.
“Telling you who I am will be a waste of time. So, it’s good night for now, Takayanagi Akane. I’m sorry for your loss.”
*BANG!*
Topic: Indestructible Fire (Main: WMatsui + Multi-pair) - ON HIATUS [21/5/16] (Read 56068 times)