Against All The Odds - Rei X Akari

𝟑 - 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐌𝐞, 𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢!

The two sat there, Akari at Rei's side, for the next few minutes.

Rei slowly caught his footing after what had happened, and steadied himself up and stood back to his feet, admittedly with some assistance from the girl beside him. His breath hitched as she handed him the Pokeball containing the Shinx that he had technically caught. It didn't feel much like a victory, however, as he beheld it within his hands. It wasn't his catch, after all.

Akari looked up at the pale boy, obviously concerned for him, as his skin grew its youthful, peachy hue back to it and his cheeks rosied once more. His eyes blinked once more, regaling their serene blueness. Akari smiled happily at his reforms as he took one, shaky, deep breath.

"My... god..." Rei panted, as Akari nervously aimed to reach her arm around him, but stopped herself mere moments before, "Wow. OK, I need a minute..."

"You've earned one. You were so brave, I'm so proud of you!" Akari smiled, as Rei looked away coyly.

"I'm so sorry. I hope I'm not holding you back--"

"Absolutely not! Don't even say that! I wouldn't want to be here if you weren't here with me." Akari interrupted, her compliments being as genuine as she could make them. She had only known the boy for a few hours now, so there weren't all that many feelings to be sparked into life. She knew quite little about him, but she doubted that she could learn more, given how little he seemed to know about himself.

"I'm not holding you back? I'm... not a burden?" Rei asked surprisedly, covering up his mouth with his scarf, trying to mask a blush.

"No! Why would you ever think that about yourself? I think you're amazing." Akari beamed, as Rei smiled more genuinely than Akari had ever seen. There was a fluorescent happiness across his face, not some imitating joy to try and cover-up a hidden sadness, but a bonafide sense of self-worth, as his eyes lit up, almost sparkling, and his mouth etched across his face like a crescent moon. A single tear found its way out of his eye, and traveled down his skin. Akari took the time to wipe away the tear with her fingertip, continuing to smile at him.

There was an air of newfound confidence between the two now. Rei's spirits had been lifted significantly from the kind words of the girl, and he felt himself appreciating himself more. Sure, he knew the dopamine would vanish within minutes, but he might as well have made the most of it while it was there. His complexion returned to normal as he very nervously reached out a hand to Akari, not quite sure where it would go. 

Whether Rei aimed for a handshake or a one-armed hug was unclear. Akari took his hand in hers, causing him to flinch, but not let go. Once the realisation of their hands being intertwined set in, Rei quickly retracted his hand, stuffing it into his pocket. Akari looked wistfully toward him, but Rei looked away shyly, not wanting to reinstate the contact with her.

Akari frowned a little towards him before speaking.

"That was nice." Was all she could formulate, as she didn't really know what to say to him. Rei nodded along, but only slightly enough so that she couldn't see it.

"I don't know... how I felt about that." Rei spoke. Inwardly, he knew that there was an air of enjoyment about it, but his hand was so reluctant to make contact with hers again, to the point where he knew that there was something subconscious forcing him away from her.

"Understandable. I still need to catch a Shinx. Come with me, and I'll make sure you're out of the way and protected." Akari offered slowly, trying to regain her confidence. Something about this boy made her feel... off. It wasn't a weakness or an awkwardness, but something in her head caused her to be so thoroughly connected to him, despite only knowing him for the past few hours. Rei's skin went slightly paler, as the thought of being attacked by one more vicious Shinx plagued his mind, but he decided to agree to the ordeal.