Disclaimer: All characters belong to Hoshino Katsura.


The war was over. After years of never-ending fighting, victory was claimed, but with a price. "Did you really think I'd die without taking you with me?" he had asked gleefully, sounding much too confident for a Noah barely holding onto his last breath.

He hadn't responded with the usual cool confidence. He chuckled instead, a grim smile gracing his lips. "No. I was ready for this." He had responded simply.

There were many deaths on our side, none of which had bothered me more than his. We were able to have a proper funeral for him and many people showed up. I didn't go. I had to train, after all. He would have understood.

As I rested on the ground of the forest, all I could think about was how he had smiled at me. "I don't hate you." He had whispered.

"I know," was all I could say in response. Nothing else came to mind.

I left Headquarters without Mugen and without my Exorcist coat. Now that the war was over, there was nothing left to fight. "When this is all over, we should go to the winter festival they hold in town, Kanda." He had said.

That idiot. What a liar.

I strolled through the thick crowd as snow fell softly onto my dark hair. Silently, I observed all the booths, wondering why he had wanted to come here in the first place. Everything was pointless.

When I returned back to the tower, the halls were eerily silent. You wouldn't have thought that the war was over. There had been no celebrations. If he had still been alive, I knew he would not have been pleased. But war had affected us all, whether it was over or not. The cumulated losses from over the years have overwhelmed us.

The chapel was empty, the funeral over. His casket rested at the front below the crucifix and the sobbing figure of Lenalee was draped over the wood. In the pews were his fellow exorcists sitting solemnly.

I couldn't go inside, couldn't go see his pale, still face, but I understood: it was so simple.

I allowed the tears to fall.