Title: the long road Ship/Character: Kurahara Kakeru &/ Akane Kashiwazaki Additional Characters: mentions of Haiji Fandom: Run with the Wind Major Tags: none Other Tags: apocalyptic au, angst, implied death and end of the world, i have no idea but here u go i guess Word Count: 656 Remix Permission:See Permissions Sheet
i have no idea what i'm doing but here goes
***
Kakeru does not know how long he’s been running.
It feels nonstop, these days, since the world ended -- a constant endless road of time, advancing onward, without interruption or change. He runs, he forages for some resources so he can keep running, he takes a short rest (you can’t rest for long, not any more) and then he keeps running.
It’s almost dusk, and he’s running along a railroad (long and flat, good line of sight) when he comes across a body lying across it. This isn’t unusual anymore (he misses when it was) until he realizes the body is moving, chest gently rising and falling with breath, inhaled and exhaled, slowly and with effort.
He assumes the body is dying.
He almost keeps running, but Haiji’s words echo loudly in his head as he passes (“you’re not actually alone, you’re always with someone else”) and he is reminded that he used to have people around him, running with him, and they would have stopped for him, always. So with an ache in his chest he slows down, and doubles back.
“You okay?”
He knows the second the words are out of his mouth that it’s an idiotic question -- none of them are okay.
The person on the side of the road shifts slightly, eyes flickering open in a glare -- a pathetic one -- before he closes them again, waving him off. “Go away. I give up, just leave me alone.”
Kakeru feels the words charging through his head, destroying his train of thought, throwing him off-balance. They sound familiar, and his reaction to them is sudden and intense.
“No,” is all he says, and he sees Haiji’s face, his smile, before leaning down to haul the stranger to his feet.
“Hey,” he says, swatting at him. “Don’t you listen?”
“No,” Kakeru says again, and starts walking, pulling the stranger along with him. “I’m not leaving you here, so come on.”
“I’m just dead weight,” the stranger says, strawberry hair falling into his eyes as he slumps, sweat pouring down his face, his feet dragging as he shuffles down the road, pulled along by Kakeru. “I’m done.”
“One more mile,” Kakeru says, still holding firm to his upper arm. “Let’s just go for one more mile.”
The stranger looks up at him, frowning. “Why do you even care? You have no idea who I am. You could easily keep going and just let me do what I want.”
“He’d be disappointed if I did that,” Kakeru says quietly, but after a few more steps, pauses, and finally lets go. “But I guess I can’t make you do anything. I’m going to go one more mile, and I think you should, too.”
“I can’t,” the stranger laments, but he’s still standing, and has his hands in his hair, distress obvious in the tense line of his shoulders.
“You can,” Kakeru says, and pauses, looking back at him. Waiting.
The stranger lets out a whine, and then sighs, and slowly looks up at Kakeru, searching his face for something. Kakeru waits.
He turns with a shake of his head and looks for a moment like he’s going to go back to the spot where Kakeru found him, but then he stops, groans, and turns back to face Kakeru.
“One mile,” he says, and Kakeru nods, and starts walking, and slowly, the stranger starts to move, trailing after him.
“I’m Kakeru,” Kakeru says, eyes fixed on the road ahead of him.
“Akane. But my f-- I went by Prince, before. I guess.”
“Okay,” Kakeru says, and they keep walking, and as it starts to get darker, Kakeru can see the tiny lights of fireflies blinking on and off along the bushes to the side of the road, and Kakeru can’t help but feel like they’re lighting the way, ushering them on.
Just one more mile, and just one after that.
Maybe, eventually, they’ll find answers, if they just keep going.
FILL: Team Home Run, G
Ship/Character: Kurahara Kakeru &/ Akane Kashiwazaki
Additional Characters: mentions of Haiji
Fandom: Run with the Wind
Major Tags: none
Other Tags: apocalyptic au, angst, implied death and end of the world, i have no idea but here u go i guess
Word Count: 656
Remix Permission: See Permissions Sheet
i have no idea what i'm doing but here goes
***
Kakeru does not know how long he’s been running.
It feels nonstop, these days, since the world ended -- a constant endless road of time, advancing onward, without interruption or change. He runs, he forages for some resources so he can keep running, he takes a short rest (you can’t rest for long, not any more) and then he keeps running.
It’s almost dusk, and he’s running along a railroad (long and flat, good line of sight) when he comes across a body lying across it. This isn’t unusual anymore (he misses when it was) until he realizes the body is moving, chest gently rising and falling with breath, inhaled and exhaled, slowly and with effort.
He assumes the body is dying.
He almost keeps running, but Haiji’s words echo loudly in his head as he passes (“you’re not actually alone, you’re always with someone else”) and he is reminded that he used to have people around him, running with him, and they would have stopped for him, always. So with an ache in his chest he slows down, and doubles back.
“You okay?”
He knows the second the words are out of his mouth that it’s an idiotic question -- none of them are okay.
The person on the side of the road shifts slightly, eyes flickering open in a glare -- a pathetic one -- before he closes them again, waving him off. “Go away. I give up, just leave me alone.”
Kakeru feels the words charging through his head, destroying his train of thought, throwing him off-balance. They sound familiar, and his reaction to them is sudden and intense.
“No,” is all he says, and he sees Haiji’s face, his smile, before leaning down to haul the stranger to his feet.
“Hey,” he says, swatting at him. “Don’t you listen?”
“No,” Kakeru says again, and starts walking, pulling the stranger along with him. “I’m not leaving you here, so come on.”
“I’m just dead weight,” the stranger says, strawberry hair falling into his eyes as he slumps, sweat pouring down his face, his feet dragging as he shuffles down the road, pulled along by Kakeru. “I’m done.”
“One more mile,” Kakeru says, still holding firm to his upper arm. “Let’s just go for one more mile.”
The stranger looks up at him, frowning. “Why do you even care? You have no idea who I am. You could easily keep going and just let me do what I want.”
“He’d be disappointed if I did that,” Kakeru says quietly, but after a few more steps, pauses, and finally lets go. “But I guess I can’t make you do anything. I’m going to go one more mile, and I think you should, too.”
“I can’t,” the stranger laments, but he’s still standing, and has his hands in his hair, distress obvious in the tense line of his shoulders.
“You can,” Kakeru says, and pauses, looking back at him. Waiting.
The stranger lets out a whine, and then sighs, and slowly looks up at Kakeru, searching his face for something. Kakeru waits.
He turns with a shake of his head and looks for a moment like he’s going to go back to the spot where Kakeru found him, but then he stops, groans, and turns back to face Kakeru.
“One mile,” he says, and Kakeru nods, and starts walking, and slowly, the stranger starts to move, trailing after him.
“I’m Kakeru,” Kakeru says, eyes fixed on the road ahead of him.
“Akane. But my f-- I went by Prince, before. I guess.”
“Okay,” Kakeru says, and they keep walking, and as it starts to get darker, Kakeru can see the tiny lights of fireflies blinking on and off along the bushes to the side of the road, and Kakeru can’t help but feel like they’re lighting the way, ushering them on.
Just one more mile, and just one after that.
Maybe, eventually, they’ll find answers, if they just keep going.