#akixvalentine.

[ofsyzygies]

urdamage​:

valentine felt extremely guilty , having watched aki fall on the ice because of him . it wasn’t like it was difficult to slip and fall in these icy conditions , it didn’t take much at all for it to have happened , but none of that mattered to valentine - he knew it was merry’s bark that had startled her and caused the fall , and he knew it was him to blame as merry only barked as a warning to the other person that they shouldn’t get too close while he was in his panicked condition . “ i’m so sorry . ” he told her again , shaking his head at her apology as she really hadn’t done a thing wrong .

it was lucky that valentine had calmed down as much as he had already ; had aki come along and slipped only minutes earlier , while valentine was in the thick of his panic , the situation likely would have escalated and seen valentine spiralling because of his guilt . he did feel quite bad about it , but having taken the time to ground himself and find more calmness again , he was able to rationalise it and remind himself that it wasn’t the end of the world , even if he was to blame . he swallowed thickly , trying to keep himself under control , hands rubbing merry’s ears both to thank the dog for his protection and as something to do to further help himself not get lost in panic again .

“ no , you’re fine , you have nothing to apologise for . ” he shook his head again . “ are you alright ?” he knew the ice could sometimes be unforgiving , a brutally harsh surface to land on , particularly if you weren’t wrapped in appropriate winter layers that would help cushion the landing . “ thanks , yeah . his name is merry . ” valentine loved his dog very much , and he loved when other people did , too , even though merry didn’t get the chance to be too social as moment like these meant the dog was working , not able to socialise . “ sorry about that , ” valentine didn’t even realise how much he had apologised already . “ he’s just protecting me , he was trying to let you know to keep your distance from me . ” there was always a level of embarrassment to be felt when he explained why he had a service dog , but for the most part , valentine was quite open about it all , especially as it often helped when those around him understood his relationship with merry .

the reasoning behind valentine’s apology was not lost on her, but she shook her head insistently all the same, her hands coming up to wave off the very idea of needing to apologise as well. the ice-cold touching the bare parts of her skin below her was distracting, but she had priorities. the first being reassuring this stranger that all was okay, because all was pretty okay. cold, but bearable. “you really, really don’t have to apologise,” she insisted. “i wasn’t really paying attention and i’m chronically clumsy so - so, really i would have fallen eventually. i fell before, too.”

now that she had completed her first mission, she quickly moved onto the next, pushing her palms flat on either side of herself to push herself up. somehow it initially felt worse, the wind brushing against the wet slush on the back of her legs in a way that made it feel like frost was forming over her skin. it got cold in tokyo, it was not her first winter, but somehow this was worse. was it the overarching tension that wrapped around the city like thick restraints? it gave the winter season a darker edge. less tinsel and more terror. 

when asked, though, she simply said, “i’m okay!” her voice was bright and slipped nothing of her discomfort. mondo-san had always been strict in teaching her not to be burdensome of others, complain or ask for too much. that was one of the more successful lessons she had learnt. even if she were to whine about her condition, there was nothing to be done except create unnecessary guilt. “merry is a really, really cute name,” she complimented. “it suits him!” 

the puzzle pieces seemed to lodge together as the boy explained that merry was a service dog. she had heard of service animals before, but had only ever encountered seeing-eye dogs before. animals were so remarkable in their boundless ability to help humans. “are you okay?” she asked, her tone taking on some concern hearing that the dog was feeling protective. “it’s natural to be scared, the recent news about the mall...” she  trailed off. “are you far from home?”

this was a bad idea. a bad idea that seemed worse every second that had passed since leaving the house hours ago. yoshikawa aki was as far from faultless as a human being could get. mondo-san would need an hour to get through all of the things he felt she needed work on. recklessness, thoughtlessness, carelessness and absent-mindedness might synonymous to the average eye, but mondo-san employed them each to describe her inattention to various specific aspects of her life. for example, he would call her outfit choice for the day careless. that morning, it had not seemed such a big deal to be wearing a skirt in this sort of weather. she wore skirts when it snowed in japan the year prior and had no issues whatsoever. the youth struggled to find any tights that had not been ripped beyond repair and so opted for socks instead, that came up to the middle of her calves. it was not exactly the warmest of attires, but she was only going for a walk so it would be okay.

the coat was another, equally depressing story of frivolity. aki had one good, long coat her father had purchased specifically for their move here, but it was too long and made her already small and short frame seem even smaller. somehow, that justified wrapping up in a thick scarf and a light jacket. in her defense, she could not have predicted that the weather would turn so foul that mondo-san's travel plans were delayed, meaning that she had nothing to do in the house and was between being stressed about going outside with everything going on and being stressed about being indoors alone with everything going on.

initially, the walk had even seemed like a great idea. but, now that hours had passed and aki had still somehow not managed to find her way home, she was beginning to regret every life decision that brought her here. her gait had become wobbly and her skin was so pale she looked like a sheet of white paper. the cold had numbed her to the point that even her brain was not properly working, slowed down from its usual state of hyper thought. it was with this absent-mindedness that she made her way down the street past the darling apartment complex. this was a good neighbourhood and perhaps she was on her way off into the right direction. a bark startled her out of her thoughts, making her slip on the snow and fall on her butt for the third time that day. "ugh, not again," she groaned, annoyed by the squishy wetness of the snow. "sorry," she apologised for her outburst, too, her wide, golden-brown eyes settling over a person and their dog. "s'okay. sorry, too. nn. didn't mean to scare you." she drew her knees up to her chest first, hugging them slightly before pushing herself up and onto her feet clumsily. "your dog is so cute," she slurred. "so cute. really loud bark. but, so cute."

[ofsyzygies]

this was a bad idea. a bad idea that seemed worse every second that had passed since leaving the house hours ago. yoshikawa aki was as far from faultless as a human being could get. mondo-san would need an hour to get through all of the things he felt she needed work on. recklessness, thoughtlessness, carelessness and absent-mindedness might synonymous to the average eye, but mondo-san employed them each to describe her inattention to various specific aspects of her life. for example, he would call her outfit choice for the day careless. that morning, it had not seemed such a big deal to be wearing a skirt in this sort of weather. she wore skirts when it snowed in japan the year prior and had no issues whatsoever. the youth struggled to find any tights that had not been ripped beyond repair and so opted for socks instead, that came up to the middle of her calves. it was not exactly the warmest of attires, but she was only going for a walk so it would be okay.

the coat was another, equally depressing story of frivolity. aki had one good, long coat her father had purchased specifically for their move here, but it was too long and made her already small and short frame seem even smaller. somehow, that justified wrapping up in a thick scarf and a light jacket. in her defense, she could not have predicted that the weather would turn so foul that mondo-san's travel plans were delayed, meaning that she had nothing to do in the house and was between being stressed about going outside with everything going on and being stressed about being indoors alone with everything going on.

initially, the walk had even seemed like a great idea. but, now that hours had passed and aki had still somehow not managed to find her way home, she was beginning to regret every life decision that brought her here. her gait had become wobbly and her skin was so pale she looked like a sheet of white paper. the cold had numbed her to the point that even her brain was not properly working, slowed down from its usual state of hyper thought. it was with this absent-mindedness that she made her way down the street past the darling apartment complex. this was a good neighbourhood and perhaps she was on her way off into the right direction. a bark startled her out of her thoughts, making her slip on the snow and fall on her butt for the third time that day. "ugh, not again," she groaned, annoyed by the squishy wetness of the snow. "sorry," she apologised for her outburst, too, her wide, golden-brown eyes settling over a person and their dog. "s'okay. sorry, too. nn. didn't mean to scare you." she drew her knees up to her chest first, hugging them slightly before pushing herself up and onto her feet clumsily. "your dog is so cute," she slurred. "so cute. really loud bark. but, so cute."

✧ open starter ; @shrikestart ✧ location ; outside the darling apartment complex / cbd

it was always a hassle , having to take his service dog out to the bathroom when the ground outside was covered in snow , and when the winter air was bitter and cold beyond comprehension . it was something valentine did gladly , however , as he would do anything for the dog who had done so much for him . typically , as bothersome as it was to bundle up and head out into the cold , the trip would be swift , both valentine and merry back in the warmth before long , but that wasn't the experience had today .

instead of heading back inside the apartment building , valentine found himself frozen - not with cold , but with fear . staring out into the vast snowscapes of shrike heights , he couldn't stop thinking of those who had been snowed into the mall and slaughtered ; it made him feel even more vulnerable , like the killers had so much power over them all right now , and he was quickly overwhelmed by feelings of paranoia and dread . would he be attacked again ? or if not valentine himself , was he simply sitting and waiting for his loved ones to meet their end ?

before long , it became too much , and merry was barking at valentine's side , alerting to the fact that a panic attack was building inside of him , and that he was a potential danger to himself . with merry's prompting , valentine sat down on the wet ground , in the entrance way of the building . his breathing was rapid , uncontrollable , but merry pushed his weight against valentine's chest , and being grounded by the dog began to help - though only slowly . his breathing was calming ever so slightly , but his fright returned stronger than ever as a figure stepped across the footpath in front of him , into view . he flinched dramatically , and merry barked protectively - but it wasn't a killer . " sorry . " valentine swallowed thickly . " i didn't ... " he trailed off ; he had no real ending to his sentence , now embarrassed while still working through the panic .