Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Tears blurred her vision as Akane rushed home, memories from the lunch flooded her mind.

A girl.

A girl.

Memories rushed through her mind of her past relationship, the betrayal of trust through the same situation. Uncertainties filled her mind, her heart dropped as she visioned Yamada and the girl together. 

What happened after that was a blur, and she found herself on FOS, the only place she could find solace anymore. Not wanting to be around the guild anymore as every place she saw linked back to Yamada, she found herself wandering uncharted territory. A sudden hit from the back that almost completely depletes her health bar startles her .Shocked Akane makes a feeble attempt at fleeing but the creature blocks her. It was an enormous serpentine creature with long fangs and large red beady eyes. Akane knew it was a lost cause to fight it.

To her surprise a fiery attack from behind kills the serpent in one shot. The attacker was a cloaked figure, which then turned to her. 

ping!

A message popped up on her screen. Akane squinted into the screen to read it. Kageya Hikaru: “Are you ok?”

Kageya Hikaru? She’s never heard of that name before, and taking a better look at the character, which was a sorcerer adorned with high rarity artefacts, she had never seen him around in her guild or the game in general. But what surprised her the most is the lvl.999 that showed above him. Which reminded her too much of a certain someone.

Hastily with her hopes high she typed in quickly, “Yamada?”

Hikaru Kageya: “ Who is that?”

Akane: “ Oh. Sorry i thought you were someone else.”
She sighed, she knew he was probably busy with Alex having the time of his life playing games together, laughing.

Hikaru Kageya: “It’s alright. What are you doing in this side of the game alone?”

Surprised he was still here, Akane wondered if she should reply to him. Its not like she was doing anything important anyway.

Akane: “I came here to clear my mind, I didn’t expect there to be so many enemies here though.”

Hikaru Kageya: “Haha, yeah there are a lot enemies here. It’s where I usually exp farm.”

Akane: “Yeah, I noticed you’re lvl 999, are you a hardcore gamer?”

Hikaru Kageya: “Yeah, you could say that.”

Akane: “That is so cool!”

She hesitated before sending the next message

Akane: “My boyfriend is also a hardcore player.”

Hikaru Kageya: “Are you ou talking about Yamada?”

Akane: “Yes! do you know him?”

Hikaru Kageya: “No haha, you just mentioned him and I assumed.”

Akane: “Well yeah, he’s really good at this game, and sometimes I feel like I am not good enough.”

Hikaru Kageya: “Well that’s deep. I am just going to assume you mean that in game.”

Hikaru Kageya: “ Haha just kidding. Why do you feel like you’re not good enough?”

A small smile snuck its way onto Akane’s face, she hadn’t smiled in a while. It felt good. 

Akane: ”Well, I don’t know all the tips and tricks like he does, now there’s this new girl he plays with..”

She knew it was wrong to confide in a stranger online, moreover a boy, but she couldn’t help it. The weight on her chest and the overwhelming feeling of suppressed feelings left her and she felt free of the tension that she was stuck with since the lunch.

Hikaru Kageya: “Ohh, you’re just worried about the competition?? Well I can help with that.”

Curiosity struck her and she quickly typed a response

Akane: “I doubt that.”

Hikaru Kageya: “I mean I could help you improve in the game. I am lvl999 anyway. Plus I’ve got noting better to do, I’ve maxed every single thing that is useful anyways.”

Akane: “You’d really do that?”

Hikaru Kageya: “Yeah I wanted to steal someone’s credit card anyway”

Hikaru Kageya: “Just kidding.”

Akane: “Not funny. How am I supposed to know you’re not going to steal my credit card now? Or you could even be a creep!”

Hikaru Kageya: “Well, I don’t need to steal anyone’s credit card, and I am not a creep, if I was it’d be obvious by now.”

Akane: “How can I be sure? All creeps say that.”

Hikaru Kageya: “ You could just add me on discord.”

Akane: “ Umm, sure.”

Still a little hesitant to this, Akane’s finger hovered over the ‘add friend’ button. Just as she’s about to do it, a notification pops up. It was from Yamada. 

“We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

The morning sun arose and the soft golden rays peeked through the curtains awakening Akane. She wasn’t on her usual spot, the bed, but actually for the first time in a while on the desk. She fell asleep while playing, nay, learning how to play FOS from Hikaru.

Hikaru. She forgot about him. Hastily she switched on her laptop and opened Discord, skimming through the messages to search for the last one.

Hikaru Kageya: “ You’re asleep aren’t you? and here I thought I wasn’t boring.”

Hikaru Kageya: “ Goodnight”

She smiled softly to herself, feeling guilty for sleeping. Thankfully she learned a few tips and tricks from Hikaru, like how to dodge, how to combo attack and more.

A memory hit her like a slap on the face, the memory of yamada sending her a text message. Panic and Adrenaline entered her bloodstream, wondering if she texted him back. 

She rushed to grab her phone from her bed and checked the notifications, 4 text messages from Yamada

She was surprised, Yamada rarely double texts anyone so a quadruple from him was completely new. 

Hesitantly she opened his text messages

Yamada♡: “We need to talk” at 9:13 pm

Yamada♡: “Akane are you there?” at 9:56 pm

Yamada♡: “Are you okay Akane? at 10:03 pm

Yamada♡: “Are you sleeping?” at 11:24 pm

Guilt creeped into her, and she rushed to reply to him.

Akane: “Sorry! I was asleep.”

Not even a few minutes later he replied

Yamada♡: “Really? Because I saw you online”

Akane: “Oh haha, I was playing with a friend.”

Yamada♡: “With who?”

The directness of his question caught her off guard. Why is he asking this? Is he upset? Her hands hovered over the screen for a moment before she typed

Akane: “Just Hikaru..”

Nothing. Three dots appeared on the screen but disappeared as fast as they came. Minutes passed before the next message.

Yamada♡: “Who is Hikaru?”

Akane: “Oh, he’s this guy I met on the game yesterday! He’s actually level 999, just like you! He saved me from these monsters and is helping me improve at the game. Isn’t that cool?”

Nervousness engulfed her like flames when she saw the 3 dots reappear at the screen, but just how flames disappear without oxygen, so did the 3 dots. 

Nervousness was replaced by anger, Why didn’t he reply back??

Her eyes shifted to Discord, and there it was, bright as daylight, Yamada on call with someone else for over 4 hours. And it was obvious with who. 

Not knowing what else to do she tossed her phone aside trying to forget about him and saw a message pop up on discord.

Hikaru Kageya: “You’re finally awake, I thought I killed you from boredom”

Smiling, Akane replied;

Akane: “No.. It’s not that.”

Hikaru Kageya: “You okay? you sound depressed. Wanna talk about it?”

Akane: “I don’t want to bore you with my troubles.”

Hikaru Kageya: “Haha you won’t bore me, and if you do I’ll just play FOS while you rant to me.”

Akane: “Are you sure?”

Hikaru Kageya: “Yeah, and if you want you can join me on FOS so I won’t bore you to death”

A second later another message appeared

Hikaru Kageya: “Maybe we can call too? ‘Cause you might be an old man who wants my credit card info.”

Akane laughed, the first time since yesterday

Akane: “Sure.”

Hikaru’s voice was in complete contrast to Yamada’s, it was more warm and inviting giving it an approachable feel along while also carrying a sense of confidence. 

He gave Akane such a good time, listening to her rant and making her laugh all while teaching her how to play the game properly. She was having such a good time she didn’t even notice Yamada’s character joining the game.

On the other hand, Yamada had joined the game because he had thought since Akane wasn’t replying to his messages she must’ve either still been mad at him or busy. He hadn’t expected her to be busy with him.

His hands gripped the controller tightly to the point his veins popped out, watching their avatars fight monsters intently. Hikaru did seem like a strong character, with his high level artefacts and his skilful fighting, but if Yamada did try Hikaru would be just another person to fall beneath him. That’s atleast what Yamada thought.

Should he interrupt them or should just leave them be? Why was he acting this way? Why did he feel so angry when he saw them together? Why did he want to challenge Hikaru to a duel he knows he would win and Akane would not bat an eye towards Hikaru anymore.

His grip grew even tighter, as if that was even possible, to the point his knuckles turned white. The thought of Akane praising Hikaru, laughing at his jokes or even thinking of him the same way she once thought of him made his blood boil. But what could he do? watch silently from the shadows?

Was this how Akane felt, when he spent his nights and days with Alex? But she must’ve known it was for the tournament, no? Because Alex can’t even compare to Akane on any level. 

oh shit.

He never told her that. And now he might lose her. 

Chapter Text

A week passed by like it was nothing. Akane’s and Yamada’s relationship was on thin ice, the air was thick with tension, and soon one of them would blow. Still, Akane was cheering Yamada on at his game, which he had been practicing with Alex all day and all night for.

Yamada knew he had taken Akane for granted, and he came to his senses quite quickly. The first thing he did was schedule a reservation at a fancy restaurant for today. Next, he made sure to buy the biggest flower bouquet he could afford, and finally, he practiced his apology. Not being able to express his feelings correctly, while also not being an emotional person, this would help a lot. He knew that Akane deserved the best, and the best version of him was a man who was in touch with his emotions, especially when she was vulnerable like this.

As usual, Yamada won the competition, and Akane was the loudest cheerleader. Alex came over to congratulate him, and while he respected her, he didn’t have time for her right now. She had already taken away too many nights with Akane from him. He smiled politely at Alex while his eyes wandered to search for Akane.

And then he saw him.

Hikaru.

He was a handsome man, golden locks tied in a bun, gold-rimmed glasses, piercing green eyes, and a sharp jawline. He did not look like a native—maybe Scandinavian? As if that wasn’t enough, he was perfectly built, with toned muscles that peeked through his sleeves.

And he was talking to Akane.

His Akane.

Jealousy spread like wildfire in his body. Every inch of him flared with that ugly emotion. He had never felt that way with any other woman, ever, except for Akane. He did not like the way Hikaru looked at her; only he should be allowed to look at her that way. And Akane, as always, was curious.

His steps resounded through the stadium as he rushed towards them, extremely close to punching Hikaru’s face so hard that no woman, especially Akane, would ever look at him again.

“Hi,” Yamada spoke, barely suppressing the jealousy sneaking into his voice.

Akane looked up with those beautiful eyes of hers, ecstatic to see him regardless of what had happened before.

“Yamada!! You were great! Congrats on winning!!” she exclaimed joyously.

“Thanks.”

He turned to Hikaru. “Yamada,” he said as he extended his hand, veins popping in his arm.

Hikaru looked down at his hand and shook it. “Yeah, I’ve heard. Hikaru.”

Yamada’s handshake was firm, and his eyes locked onto Hikaru’s with the intensity of a thousand suns. But Hikaru seemed unfazed.

“Ah, Yamada, this is Hikaru, the guy I told you about! He’s been showing me these hard moves to learn in FOS. Hikaru, show him one of the moves you taught me!” exclaimed Akane, obviously oblivious to the tension brewing between Yamada and Hikaru.

“Maybe not now, Akane. He’s just won a game, hasn’t he? And it’s a big one,” chuckled Hikaru.

Yamada’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. Hikaru’s tone seemed quite condescending.

“Well, if you’d excuse us, we have a reservation,” Yamada said while grabbing Akane’s arm and dragging her away from Hikaru.

“W-we do?!?” exclaimed Akane, loud enough for Hikaru to hear.

The tension at the restaurant was no better. Akane was appalled at how Yamada had behaved, and Yamada was furious—though he didn’t show it—at Hikaru.

“Why did you act that way?” Akane asked with angry curiosity. “He did not deserve that!”

“You should’ve asked me to help you, not him,” Yamada said sharply. He didn’t want to spoil their perfect dinner at this restaurant—it was meant for him to apologize to her, not possibly end their relationship. Maybe he should just suck up his ego and apologize.

“What is your problem, Yamada? He’s just a friend who’s helping me. You’ve been busy with Alex for weeks—I didn’t think you’d even care!” Akane said with a hardened expression. The way the candlelight illuminated her face perfectly made his heart hurt. How could he lose something this beautiful?

He opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. Finally, he managed to string together, “I don’t want you to forget about us.”

“Forget about us? Yamada, I’ve been cheering you on every single step of the way. Even when you were with Alex every night. Can you really say the same about me?”

The tension between them could be cut with a knife. It was extremely uncomfortable for both of them.

“I-I can’t do this right now. I’m sorry,” Akane said, tears pouring down her face. This reminded her too much of her previous relationship.

And then she fled.

But he wasn’t going to let her leave.

“Akane, wait,” he said, running after her. He wasn’t going to lose her again.

“I’m sorry.”

Chapter Text

Yamada had never chased anything in his life. Not his father when he left, not a girl, not even the skills he needed to excel in video games. He never chased grades, never chased approval, never chased anything that required vulnerability or effort. So why was he chasing her now?

A girl he’d known for only six months. He knew he loved her, but he didn't know he loved her. It was the intense, overwhelming, mind-numbing type of love. 

His thoughts collided with each other, his pulse racing as adrenaline surged through his veins. Akane was running, her back to him, her footsteps growing more distant with each passing second. Why was she running? Why was she leaving? It brought back memories of Yamada's dad leaving both him and his mom, when he was just 8 years old. His mom crying on the dining table while he sat on his bed wondering when his dad would be back. Yamada's mom made him promise her, to only bring the girl he truly loved to her, so he won't have to go through what she had. He was wondering if he should've brought Akane to meet his mom. 

Why was he thinking of this now? While Akane was running away from him?

It hurt. Seeing her run away, not being able to stand beside her, not being able to reach out and hold her hand. Not being able to comfort her when her heart was breaking. But what stung the most was knowing that he was the reason she was feeling this way. The thought of being the source of her pain—of her sadness—felt like a weight in his chest he couldn’t shake.

He slowed down. Should he chase after her? She was running from him, which surely meant she didn’t want him to follow, right? He’d never shown much emotion before—why start now?

But then he caught one last glimpse of her. Her tear-streaked face hit him like a ton of bricks. 

And in that moment, he knew why.

Her.

Without thinking, he sprinted after her, his heart pounding in his chest. He wouldn’t forgive himself if he let her slip away. She deserved more than this. She deserved to be chased, to be loved, to have someone who showed her emotion, his emotion. She deserved reassurance, comfort, and everything he could give her. He wouldn’t let her walk away without making her feel that.

When he caught up to her, he grabbed her hand, turning her around, desperate to meet her eyes. But when he saw her face, he wasn’t prepared. The tears she wore so painfully were his doing, and the guilt crushed him.

"I-I'm sorry, Akane," his voice cracked, the words trembling on his lips. He hadn’t spoken like this in years, and never to a girl. This was a side of him he didn’t even know existed. 

"I shouldn't have spent so much time with Alex, especially after everything you’ve been through." He barely held on to his composure. "I didn’t understand until I was in your shoes how wrong it was." 

His throat tightened, as if trying to prevent the words to be spoken. "I know it might be... hard to forgive me, but please..." His composure was slipping from his grip.

And then it slipped, opening the floodgates. The thought of her leaving him was unbearable, and the tears started streaming down his face. He quickly turned away, not wanting her to see him like this, embarrassment flushed his face . What if she left him after seeing this side of him? The side he’d shown to no one, not even his own mother.

His eyes burned as he whispered, his voice barely audible, "Please don’t leave me." He gripped both her hands, as if he let go she'd run and never turn back but he was desperate for her to stay.