One-shot: Dragon tale

[phoenix_zeal]

Title: Dragon tale
Author: phoenix_zeal
Pairing: Akame
Rating: G
Genre: Fantasy
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this.
Beta: Me, Myself and I
Word count: 5246
Summary: There, amongst the aubergines, sat the unlikeliest creature he could have ever imagined: a dragon the size of a very large dog with black scales that shimmered in the sunlight.
Notes: This is written for kaze_no_hisui


Once upon a time there was a village located in a green valley where the sun shone as many days as there were rain. In a small white cottage on the outer edge of the village lived a young man. He was at the age where men were expected to settle down and get a wife and kids, but he lived all by himself and showed no interest in the eligible young women of the village.

People thought him a bit strange but he was a hard worker. His fruit tree garden and vegetable patch even brought people from outside the valley who wanted to buy the best fruits and vegetables anyone had ever tasted. His pears were especially famous for being just the right amount of sweet and juicy without being too mushy.

Therefore people mostly left him alone and didn't try to pressure him into marrying any of the women that tried their best to catch his interest by smiling and batting their eyelashes at him. Or by wearing the prettiest dresses they owned. Because, although he kept mostly to himself in his garden, he was perfectly pleasant and friendly when he did venture into the village. It didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes. This man was named Kazuya, and he was about to get a quite big surprise.

It was a beautiful morning and Kazuya had just finished his breakfast before heading out to start a long day of weeding his vegetable patch. He whistled to himself as he opened the gate to the fence that was designed to keep animals out, stepped inside and then stopped short. There, amongst the aubergines, sat the unlikeliest creature he could have ever imagined: a dragon the size of a very large dog with black scales that shimmered in the sunlight. The dragon tilted its head when it saw Kazuya, and it spat out some mush which looked to be the sad remains of an aubergine plant.

"Stop ruining my vegetables," Kazuya said sternly.

Dragons were very rare and he'd never seen one before in his entire life, but he wasn't about to let one ruin his garden. The dragon ducked its head and folded its wings closer to its body. Upon looking closer, Kazuya saw that the dragon's scales shimmered in a very dark shade of red when it moved.

"Do dragons even like vegetables?" Kazuya asked and the dragon shrugged, drawing random patterns in the dirt with a tip of a vicious looking claw.

Despite all the attributes that should make the dragon a frightening creature, its mannerisms made it look more like a scolded child. Kazuya felt his anger melt away and he sighed, gesturing at the dragon to come closer.

"Do try not to trample any plants, please," he said as the dragon stood up on all fours.

Kazuya got a glimpse of something that told him that the dragon was most definitely male. The dragon moved gracefully, weaving between the plants until he reached Kazuya who was still standing at the gate. Up close Kazuya could see the intelligence in the dragon's eyes which strengthened his suspicions that the dragon could understand him, even if it didn't seem to be able to speak.

"What is your name?" Kazuya asked.

The dragon let out a high pitched shriek that was kind of painful to Kazuya's ears and sounded sort of like 'jiiin!', so he decided that was what he was going to call him. He opened the gate and indicated that Jin should walk out through it first. Jin obeyed easily enough but Kazuya thought that it was only because he didn't really mind. If Kazuya were to ask Jin to do something he didn't want to do, Kazuya was under no illusions that a dragon - even if it was only the size of a big dog - would actually obey. Kazuya followed the dragon out through the gate and closed it. Jin turned around to look at him.

"Why are you in my garden in the first place?"

Jin emitted a sad sound and stretched out one of his wings halfway and then winced, folding it back to his side.

"You hurt your wing?" Kazuya guessed and Jin nodded. "So you can't fly back to where you came from?" Jin nodded again. "Is there anything I can do to help you fly again?" Jin shook his head. "Right, well, I guess I better find you some proper food for dragons then. I don't want you eating all of my vegetables."

Jin visibly perked up at the mention of food and Kazuya had to smile. There was not really any food in his kitchen that he imagined would be suitable for a dragon. He decided that a walk into the village and to the butcher's was in order. Telling Jin to wait outside of his house, Kazuya went inside to grab his wallet. Then he tried to convince Jin to stay in his garden while he went to buy meat, but Jin stubbornly followed him so he gave up. He could only hope that none of the villagers would panic at the sight of a dragon in their village.

As it turned out, the opposite of panic happened. Everyone who saw Jin was in awe and wanted to be close to him, touch his scales and feed him treats. Apparently having a dragon visit or live in a village meant good luck for the people that lived there, but Kazuya had never heard of such a thing. It was a good thing, though, because everyone would be happy to contribute food and other things Jin might need for his wellbeing. Kazuya wouldn't have to pay for anything which was something that he'd kind of worried about. Sure, his fruits and vegetables brought him a quite steady income, but he was by no means rich.

Jin seemed to enjoy the attention from the villagers, but once Kazuya had got the meat from the butcher, Jin seemed relieved as he followed him home. For a moment Kazuya had thought that Jin would choose to stay in the village with the others, but as much as he had liked the attention, it seemed that he needed peace and quiet too. That was something that Kazuya could understand.

Once they returned to the cottage, Kazuya put the meat in the fridge since Jin was full from the treats he'd got from the villagers. Then Kazuya set to work on making a space for Jin to sleep in the backyard. For now Jin would be able to fit in the cottage even though it was small, but Kazuya suspected that Jin would grow. He put up a windshield using the natural space between three trees in his backyard and a bunch of branches and twigs he would've otherwise burnt in his fireplace, or simply disposed of.

It took a couple of hours but Jin looked so happy about having his own shielded place to sleep that Kazuya didn't mind much. That was the beginning of what would become a long, if not slightly odd, friendship.

After a week or so they'd settled into some sort of routine. Jin couldn't follow Kazuya to the fruit garden or the vegetable patch because the spaces between the trees and plants were small and, even though Jin could be graceful when he wanted to be, there was a high chance that he'd trample something or whip the trees with his tail. So when Kazuya worked, Jin would either wander into the village on his own to get treats and play with the village children, or he'd stay in the backyard and gnaw on meat bones and take it easy. His wing didn't seem better but it didn't seem to cause him pain either, as long as he didn't try to move it too much.

In the evenings when Kazuya was done with work and he'd eaten his dinner, he'd sit in the backyard and talk about whatever he felt like talking about while he petted Jin. It was strange how much easier it felt to talk to someone who couldn't really reply. Jin looked like he was listening and paid attention to every word, even as he snuggled closer to Kazuya's side and enjoyed being petted.

Months passed by with this comfortable routine and Jin was a closer friend than Kazuya had ever imagined having. Perhaps people would think that was a bit weird if he ever told them seeing as Jin couldn't talk and the conversations were one-sided, but it was no weirder than people being friends with their pets. Except Jin was definitely not a pet and Kazuya would never see him as one.

It was starting to get worrying that even though Jin had quite noticeably grown since Kazuya first met him, his wing hadn't seemed to heal at all. Jin still didn't move it around much and he'd never shown any signs of even wanting to attempt to fly. There was a selfish part of Kazuya that was happy that Jin's wing was damaged, as it meant that Jin couldn't leave him. For the most part he was just worried, however, and wanted to help Jin get better.

There were nights that Kazuya couldn't sleep. One of these nights he wrapped himself in a blanket before going out to his backyard. Jin was curled up in his windshield but he lifted his head when Kazuya stepped outside.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Kazuya asked in a hushed voice and Jin shook his head.

Kazuya sat down on the lawn and looked up at the sky where the moon shone brightly and thousands of stars dotted the dark blue. It never ceased to amaze him no matter how many sleepless nights he spent stargazing. Jin crawled out of his sleeping place and lay down next to Kazuya, not quite touching him.

"Couldn't you sleep either?" Kazuya asked, looking at Jin who just looked back at him with dark, unfathomable eyes. "Sometimes I really wish you could speak. Not that I don't enjoy talking to you, because I do, but I really want to listen to what you have to say as well. I feel kind of selfish, always using you for support when you can't do the same."

Jin shook his head and nudged Kazuya with his nose, as if to say that it was okay. Kazuya smiled and petted Jin's head, looking up at the stars again. At least Jin seemed content to be there with him or he would have already left. Even with his damaged wing he still had the option to go stay with someone else in the village or leave the valley. It would take a longer time without the ability to fly but it was possible.

Eventually Kazuya got a bit cold despite the blanket and he was getting sleepier. He scratched behind one of the horns on Jin's head and smiled at him before he got to his feet.

"Good night, Jin," he said. "I hope you'll get some sleep."

More time passed by and Kazuya didn't make a mention of how he wished that Jin could talk, even though he often thought it during evenings when he told Jin about his day. He wanted to know where Jin came from, how old he was, what he did when Kazuya wasn't there and what he was thinking. In short, he wanted to know everything about Jin. Not just because he was curious, but because Jin was his friends and friends knew things about each other. Jin knew more about him than any other living soul.

One day when Kazuya returned from the village centre where he'd been selling some fruit and vegetables, he thought that he heard a voice in his backyard. Usually no one came to his cottage and they definitely didn't go to his backyard uninvited. Worrying that someone was bothering Jin, he ran around the cottage and looked around to see who was there, but he couldn't see anyone else than Jin who looked kind of shifty.

"Jin, I thought I heard a voice," Kazuya said. "Is anyone here?"

Jin shook his head and poked at the ground with one of his claws, not meeting Kazuya's gaze.

"Are you lying to me? Because it's all right if you invite someone to come here with you, but I'd rather not it happened while I'm away from home."

Jin made a noise that sounded kind of like he was clearing his throat. "I wanted it to be a surprise," he said in a kind of stilted, awkward way. "I have been practising, you see."

Kazuya's knees buckled and he found himself sitting on the ground. Jin was at his side in a blink, looking at him with an expression full of concern. It had been a bit difficult to discern Jin's different facial expressions at first as his face was so different from a human's, but now Kazuya didn't understand how he'd ever found it hard.

"I'm okay," Kazuya said reassuringly. "Just surprised, that's all."

"I am sorry, I did not think you would have such a reaction," Jin said, sounding ashamed. "I was going to slowly let you know so you would not get such a shock from my new ability."

"How were you going to slowly let me know?" Kazuya frowned.

"Well, make sounds that sounded progressively more like actual words, I suppose."

"And what is the reason why you haven't done so already?"

"I wanted to make absolute certain that I have an adequate grasp of actually speaking before I began easing you into this knowledge," Jin said. "I am afraid that I do not yet master the subtleties of the language and its more familiar use."

"Jin, you speak a lot more properly than any of us do," Kazuya said with a little laugh.

"Exactly, I sound ancient and boring. I do not like it at all."

Kazuya laughed again and wrapped his arms around Jin's neck. "I don't mind," he said, resting his cheek against Jin's. "I'm just happy I'll finally know what you're thinking. As I thought, you do have a very special mind."

"Is that a compliment?" Jin asked.

"Yes, Jin, that's a compliment."

After that event they became even closer friends. Jin told Kazuya that he came from the mountains. He'd injured his wing while being foolish enough to fly during one of the quite rare thunderstorms. A gust of wind had sent him right into the cliff side and if he hadn't been able to dig his claws into the rocks and slow his descent, he'd probably be dead. He was pretty young for being a dragon, only in his twenties. Probably somewhere around Kazuya's age, in fact.

Jin told Kazuya all of this and more, and they had conversations that lasted long into the nights. Kazuya was more tired when he had to wake up early mornings to take care of his garden, but it was definitely worth it. He'd not been one to sleep much in the first place.

Months passed by and they grew closer and closer. Kazuya thought it strange that Jin's wing wasn't healing, but he didn't want to ask in case Jin would reveal that his wing was miraculously healed and he wanted to leave.

It was a bit unfair to assume that Jin would leave as soon as his wing was healed, as it was the same thing as assuming that he didn't value their friendship as much as Kazuya did. However, Jin was a dragon and he undoubtedly missed flying high up in the sky and living together with other dragons. Even if he was young for a dragon, eventually he would probably want to find a female and have baby dragons with her. Kazuya didn't ask Jin about any of these things because he was too afraid. He'd never felt this way about anyone before.

As time went by, Kazuya became more and more worried. He was happy that Jin was his friend, he would always be happy about that, but at the same time he felt miserable. It was too good to last and sometimes it still didn't feel like enough. His own feelings terrified him and he felt sort of like a monster.

One day he returned from his fruit tree garden, deep in thought and with a troubled expression on his face. Without really thinking about it he ventured into his backyard and sat down on the grass, not even noticing the fact that Jin had already returned from the village centre.

"Kazuya, my man, what's up?" Jin asked - unfortunately in his venture to get rid of his stilted speech, he'd gone too far in the other direction. He moved closer to Kazuya and frowned when he saw his expression. "What's the matter? Do you feel sick or something?"

Kazuya stared blankly ahead but then shook his head and looked at Jin. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you're feeling sick," Jin said worriedly.

"No, nothing like that." Kazuya shook his head and tried to smile. "Sorry, I'm just having an off day, I suppose."

"Any particular reason why you're having a bad day?" Jin sat down in front of Kazuya and tilted his head, looking at him intently.

"No, it's just one of those days where I get trapped in bad thoughts and I can't seem to snap out of it."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really, I'll probably be really quiet today," Kazuya said apologetically.

Jin nodded and moved to sit next to Kazuya, leaning some of his weight against him. When they were both sitting down, they were roughly the same height. They sat there in silence for a long time and it almost made Kazuya feel worse because Jin understood him so well. Jin respected him and his needs and he didn't have to make a long explanation about why he was feeling a certain way. That kind of thing had always annoyed him about his parents, and it was one of the reasons why he'd decided never to be in a romantic relationship. Except now he was craving it more and more.

"Do you ever wish that I were human?" Jin asked and Kazuya started, looking at him with wide eyes. It was impossible that Jin was reading Kazuya's mind, but in moments like these it really felt like he did.

"I like you just the way you are," Kazuya said once he'd got over some of his surprise. Then, silently in his mind, he added: But I could love you if you were human.

"I see," Jin said and looked at Kazuya with a scrutinising gaze.

Kazuya wanted to squirm and avoid Jin's gaze but that would only make it seem like he was lying and feeling guilty about it, so he tried to look as calm as he possibly could. "I don't want you to change because of me," he said, and that was the truth. "Or for me. The only reason for you to ever change is if you yourself wish to do so." Not that it was possible for a dragon to become human anyway.

Jin smiled and showed his razor-sharp teeth. "You're a great friend, Kazuya," he said. "It's a shame that you've been alone for many years, but I'm happy to have you to myself."

"Be quiet," Kazuya mumbled with a faint blush on his cheeks and leaned against Jin. "You're a great friend too."

Another few months passed by and Kazuya felt a bit better. There was no use in wishing for more than he had. He'd lived on his own for years before Jin showed up, never believing that he'd ever get a friend who he'd enjoy spending so much of his time with. He'd already got more in his life than he ever could have asked for, so he should be content with what he had. After all, he'd been perfectly content before Jin showed up in his life. Why would he need more than his cottage, garden and the best friend anyone could ever have?

Something that did worry him was that more than a year had passed by since he'd found Jin amongst his aubergines, and Jin's wing still hadn't healed. At least Jin hadn't been moving it around more than at the beginning, and he'd made no attempts to fly. As much as Kazuya wanted Jin to stay with him forever, he also wanted him to be healthy and uninjured.

"Jin, why hasn't your wing healed yet?" Kazuya asked one evening while Jin was in the middle of eating a big steak.

Jin almost choked on his meal and looked up at Kazuya with wide eyes. "Uh, the healing process for dragons is very slow?" he said haltingly and it was obviously a lie.

Kazuya narrowed his eyes. "It has already healed, hasn't it? You've just been hiding it from me. Why?"

"Because at first I thought that you'd only let me stay here for as long as I was injured and then you'd make me leave," Jin said quietly, looking ashamed. "I didn't want to leave so I pretended that I still couldn't use my wing. Then we became friends and I thought that you might want me to stay always, but every time I was going to tell you it had healed I became worried. I didn't want to admit it to you only for you to make me leave."

"That's just stupid," Kazuya said, even though he'd kind of thought that Jin would want to leave as soon as he was healed, which made them both fools. "I'd never make you leave, Jin. You're my best friend. Maybe that doesn't seem to mean much since you're my only friend."

"No, I think that makes it mean so much more," Jin said with a smile and his teeth were a bit bloody because of the steak he was eating. It was strange how the sight wasn't scary at all; it was actually more adorable than anything else. "I guess it was stupid of me to worry but I couldn't help it. I don't want to lose you."

A warm feeling spread through Kazuya's chest and his heart almost skipped a beat. "You won't lose me."

One day a few weeks after Kazuya found out that Jin's wing was actually completely healed, he came home to find his backyard empty. He figured that Jin was either playing with the children in the village centre, or flying around somewhere nearby that he'd taken to doing now that he didn't have to hide the fact that he could fly.

It wasn't until it was very nearly completely dark that Kazuya was beginning to worry. What if something had happened to Jin? The weather was pretty calm but there was still some wind so he was worried that Jin could have become injured again. It was the first time that Jin wasn't at home before dusk and he'd never expressed any interest in spending the night with anyone else. There wasn't anything Kazuya could do; it was too dark to search for Jin now and he had no idea of where to start anyway.

Kazuya spent a sleepless night worrying, and Jin didn't come home. He didn't come home the next day either. Kazuya walked around the village and asked everyone if they'd seen Jin but they hadn't. He also searched the area outside of the village, not being able to wander too far away since he'd need supplies for that, and who would tend to his garden while he was gone? No one else seemed very worried. The villagers simply said that Jin was a dragon and dragons probably had the need to fly somewhere far away once in a while. They didn't know Jin like he did. Jin wouldn't leave for a longer period of time without telling Kazuya, would he?

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and Jin still didn't return. Kazuya wanted to go looking for him but he couldn't just leave his garden, and dragons could fly much longer distances than he could hope to walk on a day. It was better to stay at home and wait for Jin to come to him. He was sure that Jin would come back, he had to. Maybe something had happened that would slow him down, but sooner or later he was going to come back and Kazuya would welcome him home with open arms.

It was that thought that kept Kazuya going every day, even if he just wanted to stay in bed and not do a thing. The life that he had before been so content with, taking care of his trees and plants and having little to no interaction with people most days, now seemed dull and pointless. There was no joy in anything if he had to come back to a silent cottage and an empty backyard. He hadn't understood just how much he valued Jin's friendship until Jin was gone.

Kazuya sat at his small kitchen table, listlessly poking around in his food. He'd barely had any appetite since Jin disappeared and he'd become a lot thinner. Not dangerously so but it was enough to make the villagers whisper about him, and now and then someone would sneak in extra food whenever he bought meat or produce at the market.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door and he looked up from his plate, frowning. The villagers knew not to disturb him at his home, and those who ventured to the village to buy his fruit and vegetables didn't tend to knock on his door in the evening. He sighed and got up from his seat, slowly walking over to the door and opened it just enough to be able to peek out. Outside stood a handsome stranger with black hair that framed his face, and beautiful brown eyes that sparkled with mischief.

"Can I help you?" Kazuya asked warily.

"Don't you recognise me?" the stranger asked with a teasing smile.

There was something about his voice and his smile, which was both dangerous and playful at once, that was familiar but Kazuya couldn't place it. He was pretty sure that the stranger wasn't a villager or the relative of a villager, but where could he have met him before? Kazuya hadn't been to another village or town since he was very young, and he'd never been one to make friends. Could the stranger be an old customer? That didn't seem to be it either.

"I'm sorry, I don't think so," Kazuya said with a frown.

The stranger didn't seem bothered, though, and his smile just turned gentle. "I didn't really think that you would," he said, brushing a strand of hair away from his eye. "I looked very different when we last met."

Then just like that it clicked in Kazuya's mind. The reason why the stranger seemed so familiar was because he wasn't a stranger at all. Perhaps Kazuya had lost his mind and he just desperately wanted it to be true, but he was quite certain that the man was real and that he was really who Kazuya thought he was.

"Jin?" Kazuya said with tentative hope shining through in that short name. "Is it really you?"

"It's really me," Jin said and his smile widened again. "I hoped that you'd figure it out on your own but I wasn't so sure."

"You bastard!" the words escaped Kazuya before he'd even realised that he was angry and he punched Jin's shoulder. "Why did you just leave like that? Do you have any idea of how worried I was? I thought that something bad had happened to you."

Jin winced and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, ducking his head in a way that Kazuya remembered well from when Jin had been ashamed of himself before, when he was a dragon. "I didn't realise that it would take such a long time, and I didn't want to tell you in case it wouldn't work out. Why get your hopes up only to make you disappointed in the end?"

"What are you even talking about?" Kazuya asked, confused and angry and happy in a big muddle of emotions.

"Actually maybe you didn't even want me to become human and would've tried to stop me if I told you, but it's what I wanted so I was determined to find a way. It was something that I had to do no matter what because, Kazuya, being close to you just wasn't enough."

Kazuya couldn't help the pang of hurt that he felt at those words. "What? Why?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Jin said quickly and stepped inside of the cottage, grabbing Kazuya's hand. "When I was a child I heard stories about dragons that went to meet humans and then fell in love with one, choosing to become human for their sake. They were cautionary tales meant to scare us away from humans, because who would ever want to give up the sky for something like love? I didn't believe those stories, though, not until I met you. I just didn't know how to turn into a human so I had to find someone who knew and could tell me."

"You mean to say, the reason why you're human now is because... you're in love with me?" Kazuya asked slowly, his heart beating too fast and his mouth was too dry and his palms too clammy.

"I have no idea if you feel the same way, and if you don't we can be just friends like before. I just had to at least try, or I would spend my entire life wondering what could possibly have been if I'd been brave enough to confess my feelings for you."

"Jin, I... I feel the same as you." A faint blush appeared on Kazuya's cheeks and he suddenly felt shy because Jin was so gorgeous as a human, and he couldn't believe that Jin had chosen to leave his life as a dragon behind for him of all people. "Won't you miss being able to fly?"

"Well, honestly I found a warlock who was able to find a loophole in that giving up the sky thing," Jin said with a sheepish smile. "I can change back to a dragon at will and then become a human again whenever I want to. That doesn't mean that I love you any less, I just didn't want to give up that part of myself."

"I'd never ask you to," Kazuya said with a bright laugh. "I'm just happy you're here with me."

"I will be here with you forever if you want me to be."

"Of course I want you to."

Jin smiled warmly and his eyes were filled with such love and fondness that Kazuya didn't know why he hadn't seen it before, though it was the same expression he'd had as a dragon. Then Jin leaned in slowly, his gaze darting down to Kazuya's lips before he licked his own. Kazuya leaned in rest of the way and their lips met in a slightly awkward kiss, but it felt like all he'd ever wanted without even knowing.

They had their ups and downs like every other couple but even so they undoubtedly lived happily ever after.

---

A/N: I think it's probably been over a year since I wrote anything Akame so I'm not sure if anyone actually remembers me. XD;;; Anyway, I said that I'd never write anything Akame ever again but then kaze_no_hisui was kind enough to donate some money so my girlfriend would be able to get a new home, and she requested an Akame fic and so here I am. I want to thank kaze_no_hisui for her donation and her patience in waiting for me to write this fic. <3 I hope you like it and I'm sorry if some angst sneaked into the fic. I can't help it, I'm mainly an angst writer after all. XP

Wow, I'm really nervous about posting this. Sorry if there are any mistakes left. I did read it through and edited it some but I did it kind of quickly because I was anxious to post this since it's taken me too long to write it. I'll stop rambling now.