Have you ever left someone after fighting? I'm sure you have. A good friend and you got into a fight, usually a pointless one, and one of you turned and left, an aura of anger clearly shown on all your features. Then later, emotions of guilt and perhaps sorrow take over as you realize how stupid the fight was. Soon afterwards all is well once again; every negative thought shifted to the back of your mind. That has happened to me as well. Only... I never got the chance to apologize or offer a gentle farewell.

I had seen her once as a child, but fear controlled me, keeping me hidden within the seemingly safe haven of tree trunks in the albino forest. So innocent she was, there with her mother. Of course, they did not notice me in my haven. My haven of darkness, sorrow, unwant. I wanted nothing more than to run to them in my precise stride, arms held out like an eagle's wings to embrace them, beg them to let me stay with them, but even as a child I knew my place in the world. An outcast that only caused trouble. My inner emotions conflicted my position, but that didn't matter. I couldn't change my bloodline.

Many years passed before I saw her again, with new friends so close they would be family. Perhaps she even viewed me as her family, but my words cannot speak truthfully of her views of me. However, this I can say in honesty and certainty, she did not care if I was in the status of outcast. She must have known my true wants buried beneath my act. The way her orbs bore into my own with the single look she reserved and offered no one but myself. Someone would always cause the moment to end somehow, whether purposely or not I have always been uncertain.

It appeared that the pair of us would end up together for quite a while, knitted firmly into our group of friends. No... our group of family. Though many of us would deny considering the others as family, we had been through far too much and come close to death with one another so often that we all knew the truth. Only two of us would have admitted to the fact that they would give their lives for any of the rest, yet we all knew that we could depend on the others with our lives. Each of us had someone in the group we were closest to, except for her. She didn't favour any of us over any of the others. At least, she seemed not to.

Though one day, it was she and I standing alone out in the forest on our good friend's land. We had been walking for quite some time then had stopped to sit beneath a tree for a rest, me sitting in my uniquely peculiar way, far less precise than my run. She had sat so tenderly and carefully that I almost felt ashamed. After a while she had produced a bag of small snacks from her pocket and we began to nibble on those, seeing as mealtime was drawing near. Cookie, chip, and bread crumbs soon littered our clothing and the surrounding area. The mood was light and almost joyful. However I made a thoughtless comment that turned the gentle girl beside me to a girl full of hate. She soon turned to go back to our friend's house. I however decided to go home and leave her to simmer down.

However, I never got the chance to apologize. She was gone the very next day. And now, here I am watching her go off in the hearse. I had been asked to speak at her burial, so now I write what is in my heart as I go to her burial from her funeral. My emotions were far too overwhelming until I saw her face today. So peaceful. Her wine-coloured eyes watching the world peacefully. She looked far from dead as her form lay at rest for probably the first time in her life. Her life long search for her brother will soon be over for she can ask the Prince of the Underworld where he was, is, and will be. But now, knowing that she is watching us give her funeral, I will say

A loving friend and sister.

A lover of all living things.

Death came too early for you.

Death came by sacrifice of your life.

A gravestone stood erect in the center of a small cemetery where only one other stone stood. The other read something about a mentor who died an honourable death. However, I was standing in front of the first. A slab of rock that stood only a half a foot high with those words engraved as well as her name and dates of birth and death. There was an angel atop the grave, looking up towards the heavens, hands clasped tightly in front of her chest. Her wings folded slightly around her as a shelter almost. It was painted to look like her. Sea-foam hair and red wine eyes.

I felt a tear slide down my face and reached out my hand, catching the black gem it turned into. Then I set it on the grave almost as an offering of some sort. Why had I not sought after her and apologized? Why had I not told her?

"Gomennasai. Aishiteru... Onna-chan."