Eximius (Echo)

No sooner than he reached for her, Akihana was flying once more. Some people walked on air when they felt like this. Not Akihana, she flew, because she was in love with the wind itself. And as the blonde was held safely cradled in Echo's arms, shooting upwards, leaving the world behind, she could finally understand that the wind loved her just as fervently. It was an exhilarating sensation, shooting upwards until she's left the clouds behind, left the stars behind, left everything but him behind. When they finally came to a stop, she refused to let go, her face still safely buried in his chest as the kunoichi simply enjoyed the moment, the closeness that she had craved for so long. She stayed holding on to him for an immeasurable moment because these moments couldn't be measured. She stayed that way for a brief eternity until Echo gently pointed out the sight below them.

The view was breathtaking.

And his promise more breathtaking still.

As he assured her the wait would be worth it, she could only nod in agreement. She believed him, any wait that ended with him by her side couldn't be anything but. Earlier, she has expressed a wish, a secret between just the two of them and now, he was granting it. They would get the chance to do everything in the world together at the end of it all.

As he leans in to kiss her again, Akihana finds herself smiling into it, her bright gold eyes wide open instead of closed. Perhaps it was rude, but she wouldn't have missed this moment for the world. When the moment finally pauses, she manages a soft whisper. "Nothing is impossible when we have the rest of forever." With that, she closes the distance once more, returning to his embrace amid the star studded skies.

He wishes he had more time, more time with her when he was alive, more time to prepare this for her, more time with her...More time with her right now..
But, next time..He knows, next time they can embrace like this? When he can kiss her like this, lose himself in her embrace and capture her in one of his own. He won't have to let go.
His arm snakes around her waist, pulling her even closer, before desperately and lovingly he deepens the kiss, his lips curled into a smile as his eyes begin to shut and he loses himself in one of the last moments he'll have with her for awhile.
Untainted by the ache behind his eyes as his chakra runs low, untarnished by the pain in his chest at the thought of having to leave her again, untouched by what she's going to have to go through before she reaches him.

Instead, he simply pulls her closer, puts more love into his kiss, more affection in his hands light caress of her cheek, and replaces the ache in his heart with the love that's allowed him this day with her, that's let him share the first of their last embraces a the sun begins to get low on the perfect day...
When the Sun sets, the next time he'll see her, will be at Dawn.

"I love you.."

He whispers again, murmuring it softly against her lips, crimson hues peeking from behind black lashes, his smile unending, yet somber, because he can see it reflected in her own eyes.
The Sun setting behind him, and the Beginning of the Night that marks the end of the Perfect Day.
But though his heart aches, and soon this vision will fade..And he'll have to leave again, he takes heart, that Old Hag was never wrong, and though it will be long...He can wait, he'll wait as long as he has to, until he can finally hold her like this again.
The color of the world beneath them begins to drain away, the crimson in his eyes beginning to fade into onyx, he doesn't actually feel chakra exhaustion anymore, but he can have it..But this was worth it, seeing her again was so worth it.


He says, with a watery smile spreading over his face, before he leans in again, pressing his lips softly against her brow.

"Save your Home love, live your life, and...Heh, bake some cake-pops for me when it's all done okay~?"
He asks cheekily, as he begins to lose color as well, starting from his feet, they give them the stars though...The stars are still shining around them.
He had an ulterior motive for bringing them up here it seems.
"Aki...Until next time, until Forever is up...I love you."
He tells her, his lips briefly brushing against hers, even as Day begins to fade to Night.

The less time they had, the more urgent his breath become. The sadness mingled with joy in her eyes reflected her own so that in that one instant, they were exactly the same. Try as she might, Akihana couldn't move, crippled by the fear that this would be over soon. He knew it, she knew it, the universe knew it. And nothing could stop it.

But if there was one thing she would do, it would be to not cry. Echo's final memory of her would not be with tears in her eyes, it would be hope reflected in those two golden pools, hope and certainty that they would meet again. Time would wait for them, the stars would wait, entire universes would wait for them to be reunited once more because there was no other way.

"I'll find you," she called out as he began to fade all around her, or perhaps it was just she who grew more solid. The stars were brighter, bigger, sparkling down on the fading scene as he tried to cling on to her just as hard as she tried to hold on to him. "No matter how long it takes, I will always find you" she promised as she felt the sinking sensation that came with being on solid ground. Yet Echo was still with her, and she refused to say goodbye.

"Echo... one last thing..." she managed, doing her best to keep the tears at bay until he had fully disappeared. "If you see him... if you get the chance... Tell Maku I'm on it please."

The world around her faded, morphing back to the grey it had been when she'd first arrived at the false grave of the man who had lived his life for his people and died for them. And despite there being little change on the ground, one thing was different.

The sun was starting to peek over the edge of the horizon.

And still Akihana remained where she was for an hour more, replaying the incident in her head because she would never forgive herself if she forgot even the smallest details. the crooked smile, the dip of his eyebrows, the touch of his soft fingers as they ran through her hair, the smell of the food, the millions of roses.. She couldn't forget any of that.

When she was sure she could stand again, the kunoichi rose to her feet. A new day was breaking over Kumogakure and with it, a new hope. Casting her eyes to the sky, she fancied she could see a morning star.

As she made her way to Akuoy who would escort her back to her apartment, only a slight change was left in her wake. Whereas the grave had only born a name and meaningless dates, a small inscription joined the text, written only for those who could see it.


[Exit Akihana]

TWC: 5, 138

He smiles, a smile only for her as he completely greys out, hearing her words, before he steps back and just before he vanishes, he gives her a wink and a two fingered salute, before he pointedly sets in a resting position. Like he's getting ready for a long wait.

He blinks, and his eyes are coal black, his time with her over, as he rests on a familiar barstool, his head cranes up as his eyes find the ceiling, somber once more, smiling still, before his eyes close and his tilts his head as if hearing something.
"Huh..? Oh, no, just taking a break...Yeah, I'm getting back to work now...Heh, yeah...I think she will, right, right..I'll get back to it. Thanks boss."
He speaks, appearing to have a one-sided conversation with the open air of the Bar, before he stands and walks off to the side of the bar, finding a closet, he shrugs the jacket from his shoulders and hangs it up, before another jacket, thicker, with fur lining the collar and a special logo on the side takes the place of his own.
And so Echo Uchiha once again exits the bar, appearing briefly as a vision, to foretell a Prophecy, to continue a story, and to set the pieces in play...And to one day, find his Happy Ending.
The light is blinding as he opens the door to the dimly lit establishment, and he walks out, door shutting softly behind him.
The Tale of Echo the Invincible is over, never to be reopened...But there are many more Stories in this world..





[Exit, topic closed.]