A/N - SO... I had planned to update my planned pokemon epic Into Origin tonight, but I wanted to edit the first and second chapter together and then post 3 and 4 tomorrow night. So I thought I'd use my new Scrivener program on my new laptop. Which wiped my USB as soon as it booted up. It really pissed me off because I'd spent most of a month moping around refusing to write after I found out Terry Pratchett had died and a Shirobako marathon yesterday just gave me back my motivation. I was in the zone! My advice, make sure you back up whatever you've written before transferring it onto another computer. Because as I found out at 4'o'clock this evening (AEST=GMT+10) it doesn't always go nice and smooth like you want. The worst part was it wiped out my creative writing classwork as well... anyway, here ya go, a quick YRYR fic I wrote up after prowling through my Aka-China folder to get my spirits up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Akari, Chinatsu or any of their merry friends.

Memories

The sakura petals danced and skimmed about the road, the wind blowing them every way but in the direction she had to walk, how depressing. I don't get to walk through a cherry blossom shower to school this year. She'd always liked the swath of pink petals leading her way into a new year of learning and fun. Fun, huh. Looking at them here, at this crossroad was like standing in front of her own life, now being played out by bit characters and extras. She watched a gaggle of tiny little preteens run down her familiar old path, obviously excited to finally enter Middle School. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, so long Nanamori.

"China-chan?" The voice was sweet, unbelievably innocent and to her ears, utterly unique. She turned to see a slightly gawky redhead watching her, hands wrung together in front of her new green skirt, a soft concerned expression clogging up her violet eyes. She smirked at the girl. The last half a year had not been very kind to her as far as puberty went; she'd gotten taller but hadn't filled out any leaving her looking like she'd been tugged slowly from both ends, then the accident with her hair dangoes had left her with a kind of mohawk on top and fuzzy sides. In the mornings she looked a little like some bizarre red cockatoo.

"What's wrong, Aka-chan?" She teased, looking down before she made eye-contact. That girl's eyes were dangerous for her right now. Too full of unpleasant memories. She cringed, Guilty ones especially.

"Mou!" the redhead moaned. "Don't call me Aka-chan, it makes me sound like a baby." She huffed and puffed her cheeks out, trying to pout like the cute little girl she was a year ago. On the awkward teenager in front of her it looked more silly than adorable and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry Akari," she walked over to her best friend and rubbed her cheek. Akari pushed into her palm with a huff, but she could tell it was a satisfied huff. Geez, this girl. Give her a pat and everything is suddenly fine. "You're just too much fun to mess with. I can't help myself someti-" Uh-oh, she'd looked into those sparkling purple orbs without thinking. The taste of her lips on that boiling summer day, taken against her will, the tears she had neglected to dry, too busy chasing the object of her fruitless crush to even think of the violated girl lying on the clammy wooden floor She flinched away from the confused redhead and clutched her hand to her breast.

"Chinatsu?" Her voice was utterly laced with worry and pain. Damn it. I went and looked and then I hurt her. Damn it! While she silently berated herself, her friend, always awash with empathy laced her arms around her shorter frame. "Are you okay? You've been out of sorts all morning. Is it the new place?"

Chinatsu took a mighty breath to calm herself down. I can do this, I should be used to the guilt by now. I've done enough terrible things to her that worrying her a little is a piece of cake, especially compared to... She didn't finish the thought, not very eager to revisit the Chinatsu/Akari Worst Of edition this early in the morning. "No," her voice was steady. I'm terrible, I'm way too good at brushing this stuff away. "I'm glad we found that apartment, especially with how close it is to the school." She looked back down the nostalgic avenue of sakura trees. "I guess I just feel a bit out of sorts going this way. It feels like we're making a wrong turn." She tossed her mane of hair, the same colour as the thousands of petals littering the road. "Aa-ah. I hate this awkward feeling."

Her friend giggled into her neck. Gah, Akari, you'll give me goosebumps all over if you do that. She didn't make any verbal protest though, her guilt imploring her to just let the redhead do whatever she wanted until it went away and she returned to being that sadistic, snarky monster they both knew so well. "I know what you mean. I tried to avoid looking that way in case I remembered all the terrible stuff that happened to me." The pinkette stiffened in her grip, thankfully Akari was too absorbed in her melancholic flashback. "Every year another terrible introduction. Then being ignored by my best friends for the better part of two years. All the times I fell down those darn stairs. A new embarrassing situation popping up every month. That time I floated down the river in that freaking barrel, I thought bears were gonna eat me." She stopped a moment and pecked Chinatsu on the cheek. "Thanks for coming to get me back then by the way. Then the explosion in the morning. Actually lets just go with every explosion. I don't know how Nishigaki-sensei managed to rope me into being her exploding dummy after Rise-senpai left..." Akari went on and on, listing almost every embarrassing or painful incident that happened over their three years of Middle School and the only thing that stood out to her was none of them aligned with Chinatsu's own personal guilty charges list. "Oh! And the pudding thing." Okay, that one was my fault. While her taller friend blushed a scarlet that made her hair seem pale, she began to wonder how she was forgiven for all the sadistic little jibes, all the experimenting, the pushing, the 'practice'. Was this girl in front of her some kind of Bodhisattva? Actually, I'd already figured that one out, how else could she put up with me. Sparkling violet eyes caught her own turquoise pair and a beaming grin from Akari erased all doubt that this was some ordinary high-school freshman. She reached out and ruffled the girl's soft crimson hair. She's like a puppy.

"And you're like a kitty-cat." The grin was cheeky now.

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?" She asked, continuing to pet her friend. It was really soothing, she'd have to do it more often.

"Not always," her best friend answered honestly. Always honest, just another virtue this girl throws in my face. The petting became a bit rougher as Chinatsu kneaded her frustration away in the fluffy red crest. Her embrace became a bit tighter in response, it was like she seemed to accept whatever punishment the pinkette decided to throw her way and respond with unconditional love and affection. "But its easy to tell when you're touching me." This time it was her turn to blush, although it wasn't a ridiculous traffic-light red; just a light pink across her slightly pudgy cheeks and her delicate nose. They stood there for a good ten minutes, just wrapped in each other. Remembering. Akari reveled in the soft pats, glad they weren't on the same magnitude as Chinatsu's old massages. Chinatsu reminiscing due to the warmth she felt now, it was just like the day when Yui had broken her childish romantic fantasy and she'd laid in Akari's arms weeping for nearly a whole day. The summer festival last year, the redhead being accosted by two high school boys and the pinkette thrashing the pair of them so badly she'd torn her new yukata. A promise not to let anyone else do anything terrible to her. A smile after she'd changed and handed over her own clothes, telling her she looked cuter in a yukata anyway. The fit she'd thrown in the girls bathroom months after, kicking doors apart, smashing a basin, blood dripping down a cracked mirror. The prickling sensation as her dear friend cried all over her injured hands pleading her not to hurt herself anymore. That damn pudding incident and the subsequent new hairstyle she'd been forced to adopt, petting her softly and crooning that it suited her better than the dangoes ever did. Then her sister... and finding the new place to be away before something went truly wrong. Here they were now hugging each other in the middle of the street at... wait, what time is it? She checked her watch.

"Aaaaah! AKARI!"

"GAH!" The poor girl looked like an air raid siren had suddenly gone off in her face. Though if she ever said something like that I'd make her sorry, hehehe... Damn it! Now isn't the time for fantasies.

"We're going to be late!"

"Eh?"

Chinatsu threw her friend's arms away and began to run in the direction of their new high school. "C'mon! You don't want to be late for your next embarrassing introduction do you?"

"Chinatsu! Mou!" Akari chased her after an uncoordinated start. "It's not going to be embarrassing this time!"

"Firing my way into everyone's hearts, Nice to meet you! I'm Akaza Akari," the pinkette called out.

"That was the first one!" The redhead yelled after her dearest friend.

"I know," she looked back with a sadistic grin. "And that was the least embarrassing one."

"MOU! CHINATSU!"