AN: Hey guys! This idea just popped in my head one day and I decided to write it. Hope you like it! :)
"Old soldiers never die...they just fade away."
~Douglas MacArthur
The darkness' touch was cool and gentle, Mio thought. It was a very familiar touch, being trapped within its embrace for measureless time. Not that she minded.
She wriggled a little, and tightened her grasp on Mayu's hands. Mayu. Her sister. How quickly everything, even life, became meaningless when she was at stake! This was the choice they had made, and, even as spirits, frozen in time, they were content.
Mio allowed her mind to drift, thinking of the village outside. Occasionally – though only briefly, and always sticking together – they would venture out. Most of the spirits simply ignored them. Even Sae paid them little heed, though she seemed more murderously angry than ever. But for the most part, the ghosts simply went about their routines.
Sometimes, they would visit Itsuki in his prison. It was easy, now, and sometimes he noticed – or appeared to notice – them. Other times, they would go to the clearing they so loved as children – yes, they could go there now; it had been consumed by the endless night in the second Repentance – and stare at the stars and the moon, not talking, simply sharing the beauty of it all.
Vaguely, Mio wondered about the outside world. She wondered what their friends thought had happened to them. The "haunted forest" had been a minor source of gossip at her school, and she'd sometimes thought about what happened to the people who got lost in there. Now, she knew. She thought about their uncle, Kei. Sometimes, she'd had a vision of him searching desperately through an old mansion. She felt bad for him, and wished she could help him. But, that would mean abandoning Mayu, and she would never think of doing that, just as she knew Mayu would never abandon her.
Regardless. Wherever one went, the other would follow. They were each others' life, each others' love, each others' light in the ever-blooming darkness.
They had sworn to stay together for all eternity. And now, in death, that promise was finally fulfilled.
"I love you, Sarah! For all eternity, I love you!"
~James K. Polk (last words)