He stood there, awkwardly swaying on two feet as he ponders whether to approach her or not. She was secluded in one of the Security Corps jail cells where she was sitting, alone and facing the wall. Rei, a young fifteen year old male, felt his nerves rise up.

He never meant for her to be put here. He just wanted her to not destroy the world as they knew it. She didn't deserve to be in a cell for how alone she felt, how abandoned she felt.

Who cares if she joined Volo. Rei didn't like this, not one bit. He just wanted peace. And now she sat with her back turned to everyone who entered, daring not to turn around and acknowledge anyone who betrayed her.

"Are you going or not?" demanded one of the security corps members as he glares at him. He was wasting valuable time.

Another one spoke up: "If you're not going to talk to her, you should probably leave Rei. She hasn't been talking to anyone, not even the Professor."

Rei grit his teeth rubbed his back. He knew that already. However, he has to speak with her; he had to get her out of this mess somehow; and he had to convince Kamado to let her live.

He sucked in a breath. I don't know if I can do this. But she needs me; I need her.

He approached the cell, knocking gently on it like it was her door. "Hey Akari," he greeted.

Silence greeted him as he kept his weary gaze on her. "How are you?"

He forced his eyes to stay open. He had struggled to sleep prior to today, fearing for his friend's life.

He fought back tears, shaking his head while the Security Corps watched. Thankfully they didn't say anything and just kept guard, though Rei could feel their harsh gazes on his back.

"Sorry. I think I should go. I've taken quite a bit of your time already. They...won't let me stay much longer. Bye Akari," he informed, turning tail to leave.

He felt disappointed for a couple seconds. He really hoped she would talk to him. She refused to talk to anyone since arrest. She didn't even resist the arrest; she just...she gave up.

He took a step forward.

"Are...you...?" He turned to look at her, hearing her soft wispy voice crack as she spoke. She sounded broken. Is he...is he what?

"Are you mad at me?"

Rei's eyes widened. Mad? Why would he be mad? Sure he was sad she felt like she had to resort to this to prove her point, but he was never mad at her.

He sighs, "No Akari. I could never be mad at you." I love you. He awkwardly cleared his throat despite her not hearing his thoughts. But she might as well hear them since Laventon made it loud and clear with how he voiced my concern for her for everyone in the village to hear.

"I came to visit you," he told her, forcing a smile. Because I don't know what will happen and I don't know if I can stop it.

That seemed to cheer her up because a small soft smile was on her pretty face. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

She didn't seem to hold a grudge against him. That was good. He could only pray she didn't hate him for having to stop her and Volo from destroying the world.

Her smile faded. "If only the others could see it that way." Her voice was dull, ready to flatten down at any moment.

Rei frowns. That's right. Everyone else is mad about her betrayal or worse. Laventon cried his eyes out over her choice, and Rei didn't blame him; he felt like she chose Volo over him. Like the closeness he tried to establish didn't matter.

Then he realized that was a stupid thought to have and got rid of it.

The others reacted much worse. The villagers wanted to burn Akari as soon as they heard the news, the Diamond Clan wanted to drown her for some odd reason, and the Pearl Clan wanted to drop her from the highest peak in Hisui; yeah that one was Sabi's idea. Who knew what some of the more despicable would want if Sabi was willing to drop someone from a high altitude.

All Rei knew was that recently Melli had stormed out of the jail cell with an annoyed expression on his face, speaking about how he helped Akari before she literally betrayed him for some Arceus freak. He didn't know how the clan leaders felt, however he saw a slight frown on Adaman's face when they faced her.

"They're mad at me," she informed him.

He sighs. "I know." He takes another few steps before turning back much to the disappointment of the Security Corps—they clearly wanted him out. "But I'm not. I'll come visit you again, okay? I promise."

He could see her nod. He didn't really know what that meant, but he would take that as a yes. He would probably be one of the only people visiting her now. Now everyone hated her guts without trying to understand her.

He turned around once more and approached the door. "...Bye."

He closed his eyes, "Goodbye." He then made his way to The Wallflower to have an evening dinner with Laventon; however it didn't feel the same without Akari there—it felt...lonely without her.

I hate this.

————

Author's Note: Hello and welcome to one of my many obsessions. Hah. Yeah I'm obsessed with legends Arceus. And I haven't seen many fanfictions involving my favorite ship, this one here, AkarixRei.

So here is probably like a third or fourth. Idk. I've only seen one and I really like this ship, so I started writing a few of my own...like four. Lol.

This is for valentines day btw....

Btw I am someone from the Pokemon fandom who's never gotten into the whole DawnxLucas thing. At least not as hard as other ships. So this is...basically something else for me since it's basically their ancestors.

Anyways thanks for reading!