A Moment to Live, and a Moment to Love
Year 211 of the Third Galactic Empire
The little Prince stared in amazement at the statues that filled the room. They depicted people he had only heard about in stories. As far as he could remember, they were called "The First Knights" and were the people whose deaths helped bring about the Third Galactic Empire. As he was admiring the statues, he heard the door open behind him, and a familiar female voice spoke up.
"Little Prince do you have any questions about the things which you are looking at?" Shoko walked slowly into the room.
"I do!" The Prince shouted with glee. "These people died in the establishment of our empire, correct?"
Shoko nodded silently in agreement while looking wistful.
"I've heard the stories of how many of them accepted the blessing, or the curse as I believe it was called back then, but how did our empire form? How did you accept the blessing?"
Shoko smiled pensively as she looked up at the statue of Tokishima Haruto, before quietly wiping some of the dust off of it. "Well as I'm sure you know it all began in Year 0 of the Third Galactic Empire, or Year 71 of the True Calendar, right after the death of Haruto." Shoko swallowed hard, "That is where my story truly began…"
Year 71 of the True Calendar
Shoko stood in stunned silence, her brain had long sense lost the ability to process the words she was hearing.
"Tokishima Haruto is dead" the voice echoed once again, as Shoko felt herself returning to reality.
She refused to admit it, how could Haruto, her longtime friend be dead? Just recently she had seen him survive a bullet that would have otherwise have been fatal, and shrug it off like it was nothing. How could someone who the other members of New Jior thought of as an immortal monster die? She lacked the ability to put these thoughts into words as her eyes began to be awash in tears, which obscured the tall man in front of her.
L-Elf, perceptive as always could feel the questions that Shoko wanted to ask boring into his mind. "He used up all of his runes." The expression on Shoko's face was a mixture of confusion and heartrending sadness. L-Elf had long considered his sole weakness to be women due to the fact that he couldn't understand their thought processes, but after losing Liselotte, he could see the emotions he felt reflected in the eyes of the girl in front of him.
"Runes are particles that make up information, just like how cells make up a human body. The Valvrave units run on Rune energy. However, since humans are filled with thoughts, dreams, and memories, they make the perfect battery to fuel the Valvrave units. Sure, Tokishima Haruto could survive bodily harm, but if everything that made him, him disappeared, he would cease to function." L-Elf could feel his normally cold exterior cracking as he explained the fate of his friend. He thought that by distancing himself from the events that had recently conspired, he could somehow forget, forget everything. If only I could provide Runes for the Valvrave units, then I could escape from these painful memories.
L-Elf's explanation still confused Shoko, she wasn't exactly sure what he was saying, but she was able to understand the meaning behind the message, Haruto died without any of his memories, he had sacrificed his very being to defeat the invading Dorssians. The very thought of her friend, the person she was in love with, giving up his sense of self, and the memories that were precious to both of them felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, which sent her mind reeling.
L-Elf could tell the effects that his words had on Shoko, but he still had something he felt like he should give her. L-Elf turned to the bag he had brought with him, and opened it. Inside the bag was a rounded red object which he quickly procured. It was Haruto's helmet, the very helmet that had seen him through so much combat, and loss of life. He turned to Shoko, I believe that if Tokishima Haruto was still alive, he would want you to have this, he held out the helmet to Shoko whose tears began to flow twice as hard as her breathing was broken into a series of pants.
She grasped onto the helmet and fell to her knees, which caused L-Elf to try and catch her and bring her to the ground in a safer fashion. She held onto the helmet and brought it to her face, just enough to obscure L-Elf's view of her face. L-Elf knew that she would need time to recover and deal with the events on her own, so he turned and began to walk away from the young Prime Minister of New Jior.
"Wait, L-Elf" Shoko said in between her sobs. "Thank you for being with Haruto in his last moments, thank you for preventing him from being alone."
All L-Elf could do was nod as he turned around the corner. Once he was out of view of Shoko and the other students who were in the hall, he let his frustrations flow as he punched the wall in front of him. "Why Haruto, why did you have to play the hero? Didn't you know the effect it would have on those who cared about you?" Tears begin to well up at the edge of his vision as he walked down the long corridor leading to his room.
Akira had seen the whole scene from the corner of her vision, and it hurt her deep inside to know that her friend, her only friend, Shoko was hurting. She had started many times to go towards her friend and comfort her, but she couldn't figure out the words to say. But she couldn't just stand by and watch her friend cry. She would do the same for me, she thought to herself, and without thinking anymore, she went over to where Shoko was sitting in a ball on the floor, staring deep into Haruto's helmet.
Shoko meant a lot to Akira, she was the first person from outside her box to show her kindness and compassion, and made her wonder if the world outside wasn't as bad as she had thought before. Akira wasn't particularly good at expressing her feelings, or using words in general, and she rarely if ever made physical contact with anyone. But, she decided to make an exception for her heart broken friend. Akira crouched down on the floor and wrapped her arms around Shoko in an attempt to show her support, and comfort her. The moment when she began to hug her caused Shoko to momentarily stop crying out of surprise. It was so unlike Akira to show any sign of compassion or comfort for anyone. She closed her eyes and let the tears continue to flow as her tears ran down her face and began to soak the blue hoodie that her friend was wearing.
After being like that for several minutes, Shoko finally looked into Akira's face which was marked with an expression of sadness of her own and said, "I'm okay now" Akira was startled by Shoko's words, and she quickly muttered "A-a-are you sure?" in her usual shaky voice. Shoko face flashed a small sad smile, before she responded "Yes". Akira helped Shoko to her feet. "I'd really like to go to my room now" Shoko requested, and Akira nodded her head in understanding. As they walked down the hallway together with Akira lending her support to Shoko whose legs felt like jelly from all the emotions she was feeling.
After several minutes of heading down the hallway in silence the two girls finally reached the door to Shoko's room. Shoko turned to Akira and forced herself to put on a smile that she used to wear so often before, back when she was a carefree high school student. "Thank you Akira and I really mean it." Akira blushed in embarrassment before Shoko gave her a quick hug, and entered the dark room, with Haruto's helmet still deeply lodged under her arm. Akira's head dropped in sadness, the fake smile quickly fading from her face. Inside the room she heard Shoko beginning to sob again. "She wants time to herself, I'm sure." Akira thought quickly and shuffled off down the hallway.
Inside the room Shoko finally collapsed again, clutching Haruto's helmet in her arms. She pulled herself together long enough to crawl to bed. She lay down until her sobs gave way to the peaceful arms of sleep.
Several days passed and Shoko hadn't left her room. Many people in New Jior were beginning to notice the lack of their prime minister. Akira longed to go to Shoko's room and comfort her, but against her better judgment she avoided her room. That was until the third day of Shoko's self-imposed isolation. Nanami-sensei approached Akira carrying a tray of food. "I want you to deliver this to Shoko, I think she would be more likely to accept it if it came from you." She looked at Akira with a look of sincere sadness, while handing her the tray.
Akira jumped at the chance to visit Shoko. However, when she reached the door she felt a newfound sense of trepidation wash over her. What if Shoko didn't want to see her? She pushed forward fully realizing that her friend needed nourishment. It wasn't all that long ago that Akira had also been a shut in, cutting herself off from the outside world in an attempt to protect herself. Shoko was the angel who pulled her out of her self-imposed isolation. She gave her a reason to fight; now it was her turn to return the favor. She knocked on the door, and carefully raised her voice. "Shoko, I umm have some food for you…" she trailed off quietly. She could hear the sound of feet rushing towards the door from inside the room.
Shoko threw open the door with an audible crash, which caused Akira to jump and nearly spill the food down her shirt. Shoko turned to face Akira, but instead of a look of sadness on her face she looked vaguely happy.
"Thank you Akira!" She quickly grabbed the tray and sat down on the floor and began to eat. Akira was shocked by the sudden turnaround in her disposition. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm over it." Shoko quickly exclaimed. Akira turned her head to hide the doubt that was forming on her face.
"It's just that I realized that Haruto isn't dead!" Shoko began to laugh hysterically. Akira tried to break away from her half crazed friend. In the confusion of the moment, Akira slipped and fell. Shoko realized that her friend fell, and quickly helped her to her feet.
"A new age is going to begin, Akira. I want you to get everyone in the hangar. The future is now, I'm going to see Haruto again!"
Akira was taken aback by her friend's words, she tried to muffle the surprise that splashed across her face; she had seen the body, she knew first hand that he didn't have a pulse. Tokishima Haruto was dead, and as far as she knew, there was no way to bring the dead back to life. So Akira assumed that could only mean one thing, Shoko was planning on killing herself.
Akira leaped back, and stammered out, "T-t-that's impossible Shoko, the dead can't return to life. Once you're gone, there's no coming back."
"That's where you're wrong Akira! I mean most of the time, I can agree with your assessment, but I feel like Haruto is still alive, and that's why I want you to gather everyone together." Shoko was practically shouting excitedly, not even noticing the expression of confusion on her friend's face.
"Shoko, you need to calm down, think about it logically. It isn't possible, I've…I've seen the body!" Akira yelled out in a strong voice, and for a brief moment she noted a flash of sadness appear in Shoko's eyes, but it was gone momentarily, replaced with something that Akira hadn't seen from Shoko, anger.
"You think I don't know these things?! I'm hurt that you're not being supportive of me. Everyone will go down to that hanger, even if I have to exercise my power as Prime Minister to force them to go!" Shoko rose up and stormed out of her room leaving Akira alone to ponder her thoughts.
I'm sure I know what's going on Akira thought; Shoko's experiencing the stages of grief. Isn't one of them denial? But also, Shoko's probably being crushed by the guilt of calling us Kamitsuki, monsters. She blames herself for their deaths. It's no wonder she wants Haruto to still be alive. They were in love. The very thought caused Akira to blush. She's trying to desperately hold onto a chance of seeing him again.
Shoko stalked down the hallway, and made a sharp turn when she reached the end of the corridor, never breaking her stride. She marched up to the principal's box where the loudspeaker was located, and threw open the door, which caused Otamaya, who was making the daily announcements to jump to his feet.
"Shok- I mean, Prime Minister Shoko, what brings you here?" Otamaya yammered out while rubbing the back of his head.
Shoko leveled her head, "I need to use the loudspeaker, but only for a minute." Before waiting for Otamaya's response, Shoko grabbed the loudspeaker, and began to talk.
"Attention residents of New Jior, it is Prime Minister Shoko speaking." Shoko paused for a moment as she heard shouts of alarm and concern echo throughout the building. "I understand that you were worried about me, and I'm sorry for causing concern for all of you. However, as long as it isn't an inconvenience, I would like everyone to meet me in the hangar in an hour. I have something important to announce." Shoko clicked the loudspeaker off, and turned to a very flustered Otamaya. "Thanks for letting me borrow this." She gestured towards the loudspeaker.
Otamaya responded with a muttered, "Uh sure."
"I expect to see you there as well Otamaya." Shoko gently smiled. "It's the beginning of a whole new world."
Before Otamaya had a chance to respond, Shoko had already left the office, leaving him dumbfounded.
Shoko marched down to the hangar, and for the first time really looked at the red machine in front of her. The gorgeous color scheme reflected in the dimly lit room, it was truly stunning to behold.
Shoko tentatively reached out and lightly touched the surface of Valvrave Unit I which had recently been brought back. The machine was cool to the touch and Shoko realized that for all of its beauty, it was created to bring ruin, it was an angel of destruction, and not just any angel of destruction, and it was the angel who had taken her Haruto away from her. However much to her surprise she couldn't bring herself to hate the machine.
"It's only a tool." Shoko quietly muttered out loud. "Haruto was the one who sacrificed himself to save everyone. The Valvrave just helped him do it." Her voice cracked ever so slightly. She slowly backed away from the Valvrave, and curled in a ball, and began to wait for everyone to assemble. She had made her choice; now all she had to do was announce it.
After sitting on the ground for about 20 minutes, Shoko began to hear the sounds of the citizens of New Jior coming toward the hangar. She frantically stood up and straightened out her skirt. The first person to walk through the door was none other than L-Elf. He floated in majestically, but from the look of his unkempt hair and uniform, he also wasn't coping well with the death of Haruto. He came up to Shoko and for the first time she was able to notice the bags under his eyes, and the ink stains on his hands.
She immediately knew what he had been up to, just like when Liselotte died, he was running simulations, trying frantically to find a way to grasp onto his friend, Tokishima Haruto. He turned his eyes on to Shoko and with a sigh began to speak.
"What do you plan to do, Shoko?"
His stare completely enveloped Shoko and she found the words getting stuck in her throat. She swallowed hard and began to speak.
"I'm going to bring New Jior into a new age, I'm going to become a Kamitsuki…" She let herself trail off; trying to make sure she remembered the word correctly.
L-Elf immediately stiffened and he rushed to her side, and quickly threw his arms upon her shoulders. "Are you crazy?! That's the reason Haruto isn't here anymore! You can't make that decision, Haruto wouldn't have wanted it!" His breath was coming in pants now. "The people of New Jior need you to be their leader, and I don't want to see any more people lose their lives."
Shoko looked L-Elf up and down before quietly adding, "The people of New Jior do need me, and if I do this, I will be able to be with them forever. Sure, Haruto would probably be upset at me for even pondering such a thing, but I have a duty to his memory, and the people he died trying to protect. Even though we betrayed him, I betrayed him. I will save this country." Tears were forming in her eyes as they slowly began to run down her cheeks.
L-Elf looked away, "women are truly puzzling", he quietly thought. He loosened his grip on Shoko's shoulders knowing full well that there was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise. He moved to the other side of the Valvrave, as the citizens, formerly students, began to enter the hangar. There was a very audible buzz that filled the air as well as a sense of nervous excitement at what the announcement was going to be.
After giving them a while to quiet down, Shoko looked over the crowd and began to speak.
"Citizens of New Jior, my friends, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here today, well I am going to explain something to you all so that you can fully understand the situation that has recently occurred." She paused for a minute to catch her breath. "As many of you are aware, Haruto and the other pilots of the Valvraves are so called "monsters."" She spat the word like it was a curse. "I'm going to inform you that, that simply isn't true. They are…and in many cases were Kamitsuki, or "divine spirits."
This phrase set off a commotion in the crowd and for a moment Shoko wasn't able to hear her own thoughts, until a loud male voice shouted out, "Silence!" The room immediately grew quiet as Shoko nodded in appreciation towards L-Elf.
"Haruto, Saki, Inuzuka, Yamada…Thunder, and Akira chose to abandon their humanity in order to protect us, and many of them lost their lives in their attempts." She hung her head quietly, as her last words echoed throughout the cavernous room, which was filled with an odd silence. She began to speak again, "They weren't monsters in the slightest, they were heroes. Sure they became immortal, or at least very hard to kill, but they did it out of love for us." Out of the corner of her eye Shoko noticed Akira quickly blush, but she didn't stop her speech, she was on a roll. "The Valvrave System runs on runes, or information particles, as I have had it explained to me. In other words, they became living batteries for the Valvraves sacrificing their memories, the very thing that made them who they were, to save our lives. How did we treat them? Like criminals, and because of our bad decisions 3 of those heroes are dead.
Just because the Dorssian forces were defeated, and the country is currently in the midst of Civil War, doesn't mean that we will be protected forever, we need soldiers. The reason I called you all here, is because I am going to become one of those soldiers. I am going to become a Kamitsuki."
The crowd quickly burst into a flurry of questions, exclamations, and more than a little profanity. In the back of the room Akira crouched to the floor with her head in her hands trying to come to grips with the news that her friend had just announced. This is what Shoko meant? This was how she was going to see Haruto again? Akira wanted to scream but no words would come as she collapsed to the floor completely.
The sound of gun shots echoed throughout the room, as the room became oddly calm, as everyone turned to look at the sound of the noise. L-Elf was standing beside the Valvrave with his gun still pointed high and the smoke leaving the barrel.
"Your leader has made her decision. You must comply with it." He shouted in his clear, and calm voice as the questions and shouts quietly died out. Shoko once again nodded her head in thanks in L-Elf's direction before facing the crowd once again.
"I am going to do this not just out of my love for Haruto, and for my friends who were killed in the war, but for all those people who are citizens of New Jior, even the citizens who are not yet born, and this shall be both my punishment and my recompense. "
Without saying another word, she turned her back on the crowd and slowly began to scale the red machine in front of her. She hopped into the cockpit and closed the hatch behind her. Once the sound of the people down below had died down, she finally had a chance to think. She slowly reached out her hand toward the screen which depicted a bird with the Valvrave logo.
"It's just you and me again Haruto." She said as she began to cry. "I can't let people see me like this, I am their leader and they trust that I am making the right decision. I will go down the path that you forged Haruto, we may not have been able to walk the path together, but this is surely the next best thing, even if my road leads to the same destination as yours, I will never forget you, because you will always be engraved on my heart." She wiped the tears from her eyes, as she heard a very small voice rising to her ears.
She looked at the screen and saw Pino once again floating happily around the display. "You came back! I'm so glad you were able to return! I've been so hungry ever since Haruto left, do you think you can provide me some runes?"
Her question was simple, but it made Shoko's heart stop as she gritted her teeth.
"Yeah I'm ready." Shoko said with a smile to mask the conflicted emotions that were floating around in her head.
Pino giggled and danced around the screen as if she didn't have a care in the world. The screen quickly changed to the old question Shoko had seen before. "Do you choose to resign as a human being?"
But much to her surprise, that wasn't what the message displayed, its message had changed to, "Do you believe in human beings?" Shoko couldn't help but laugh; it was something that was so typical of Haruto, always being the optimistic idealist.
"Even if he is gone, he has forever changed the Valvrave unit; a part of him resides within it for eternity. It's time for us to become one Haruto. We may have never had the chance while you were physically here, but this time I will stay by your side forever. I will always love you Haruto."
Without saying another word she quickly reached out and hit the button showing that she did, believe in human beings. She felt a slight prick in her neck, and then suddenly she was being overwhelmed with energy and emotion. She threw her head back in a scream.
Suddenly she was standing alone in a dark room. She looked around in a panic stricken state. "This wasn't part of the deal!" She thought quickly. There was no way out. "Am I supposed to stay here forever? I have a legacy to build, and people to remember. I can't stay here!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Suddenly she noticed a bright light appear behind her and she quickly turned to face it. She squinted in an attempt to block out the pain and discomfort the light was bringing as well as to see what could be causing it. Much to her surprise she saw a figure coming towards her. She quickly made her hands into fists, and assumed a boxing stance.
As the figure began to come into focus she began to notice it was human shaped, and had bright green eyes. It was then that she realized who it was.
"Haruto!" Shoko shouted with joy in her voice, as she ran to her old friend.
"I thought you were dead? How did you get here? What's going on? Where are we?" Shoko began to unleash a barrage of questions, one after the other barely taking a breath in between.
Haruto smiled sheepishly and raised his finger to her mouth abruptly cutting her off.
"I did die Shoko. I exist solely within the Valvrave mainframe now, and even then, this will probably be the only time we will be able to talk like this. You are becoming a Kamitsuki as we speak. Your body is changing, your mind and soul can't take it, and so they sent you here until the transformation process is complete." Haruto said all of this with a smile on his face, but it wasn't a smile that brought her comfort, it was a sad smile as if he knew this would be the last time they would be able to interact together.
"I guess I was right." Shoko quickly added. "You are still alive, even if it's only like this." She looked him up and down before resuming her speech. "I promised myself that I would do anything in my power to make you proud, and to see you again one more time. We left so many things unsaid."
"It's true, we didn't get much resolution." Haruto said while nodding. "It's time to change that." He took a deep breath as a blush began to form on his face. "The actions you took were from your perspective the right thing to do, and I don't hold any anger towards you, or any of the people in New Jior. They were confused and scared, and I don't blame them for what they did. You've already gotten my forgiveness; you never even had to ask for it. Being in love means you have to be willing to forgive each other, and Shoko, I love you. I've always loved you." He stopped and finally fixed his eyes on Shoko who had turned a bright shade of red.
She looked down at her feet, and then raised her eyes to match Haruto's. "I've always loved you as well. Ever since that day in the cave, you were always there for me, I would have been a fool not to fall for you Haruto. Even when I had my doubts about you and the other Kamitsuki, you were the only person in my heart. I'm sad that I have to wait until you're gone for me to finally admit these things to you, but I am impossibly glad that I was able to have the opportunity, even if it was just for this short moment." She was crying now, but they weren't exactly tears of sadness, they were tears of bittersweet sorrow.
Haruto took her face in his hands before adding. "While I was using up all of my runes, you were the only one in my mind, and you always were." He slowly lowered his head to bring his lips closer to Shoko's, as he gingerly kissed her.
Shoko's tears stopped as she closed her eyes and felt the warmth of Haruto's body filling her soul; this was something she had been wanting for a long time.
Haruto was the one who broke the kiss first, as he withdrew his face and looked deep into Shoko's eyes. "I've wanted to do that for years." He giggled innocently. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to finally get the chance. But, it's time for you to go now, the transformation is done, you are now a Kamitsuki." The gulf between the two began to widen rapidly, and Shoko barely had a chance to collect her thoughts.
"As for our love, I guess we can go halfsies on it." Haruto grinned. I'll never forget you Shoko, or this moment." He said as he turned his back on Shoko and walked away.
"HAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTOOOOO" Shoko shouted loudly as the one she love left her for the last time. With a start she woke up in the cockpit of the Valvrave Unit. She looked at her hands; she still looked and felt human. She threw her head into her open palms and began to sob, before quickly stopping herself.
"I have to go out there and greet the people of New Jior; they have to see that I am still the same person." She tenderly removed herself from the cockpit as all of the citizens watched in awe as she emerged not unlike a newly born goddess.
"I am Sashinami Shoko, and I am your Prime Minister, and I am now a divine spirit. As I mentioned before, people who pilot the Valvrave's become their power source by using up their memories. It's dangerous for only one person to bear this burden." She stopped and looked around at the anxious crowd in front of her. "Is there anyone else who would like to become a Kamitsuki and stand up for our country, and those who died to protect it? Will anyone go halfsies?" Shoko smiled inwardly as she thought of Haruto.
The crowd was completely silent, as suspicious looks were tossed back and forth amongst all who were gathered below. It seemed as if no one dared to raise their hand. Until eventually from the front of the crowd a hand shot up.
Renbokoji Satomi had raised his hand. "I don't want my sister to be alone in the fight against enemies to our country, if we have to live forever, then I would like to live by her side."
In the back of the room Akira quickly turned her head away from her brothers piercing gaze. "Stupid, Onii-chan, now I'll be stuck with him forever." She said in exasperation while trying to hide her inward smile.
Another hand shot up, this time a female's. Takahi's arrogant voice softened as she stated "If Satomi is going to do it, I guess it would be the right thing for me to do as well."
This influx of volunteers shook the crowd, who had broken out in hushed whispers. Eventually another hand was raised, and then another.
Shoko couldn't hide her surprise, and her excitement as more and more people pledged themselves to the glory of New Jior.
Shoko smiled widely as the words formed in her head. "It's happening Haruto, we are going to create a new world for humans, and Kamitsuki, a world where everyone can live happily without being judged for the decisions that they have made or the lifestyle they have chosen. What a wonderful world such will be…"