Author note:
Just felt like writing this after I finished reading the last volume (7th) of Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria. I hope people who have read the novel enjoy it as much as I did writing and coming up with its story. I tried to be as much as faithful to the writing style of Eiji Mikage and to the personalities of the character as I could. If you have any feedback on that or something else, feel free to leave a comment! I'm a beginner at writing fanfictions anyway, though not sure if I'm going to keep writing. I thought about writting more, but I guess I'm really slothful. At least I think I concluded it quite well, even for a really short story with less than 2k words.
PS: I actually wrote this like 1 year ago I think? But I only reminded myself of posting it here today (12/08/2016).
-Right after the end of volume 7-
Chapter 1
Maria Hoshino
"Let's go, Maria."
He said while looking towards the altar and squeezed my hand tight. I squeezed his hand back and walked with him to the altar.
While he was rising up my veil, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Actually, I was crying from the moment I got here, it's just that I only noticed it now.
I'm so happy.
To think the answer to my wish was there so close all this time and I just didn't notice it.
Is it really okay for me to be this happy? I can't help but think I'm being the most selfish person in the world.
But actually, I was already being selfish before.
All I cared about was my goal, my wish. I said it was for the sake of other's happiness but in the end it was just about myself. I wanted to feel needed, I wanted to find a purpose to my life by being needed by other people, I didn't really care about other people's happiness.
I can only admit this to myself properly thanks to Kazuki.
But I couldn't notice him, who needed me the most all along, even without my stupid selfish goal.
He desperately needs me.
I desperately need him.
But all that stuff in my past as Otonashi Aya doesn't matter anymore because I'm not an Otonashi anymore. I can't help but smile every time I think about that. Hoshino Maria.
Hoshino Maria.
His lips approached mine as we closed our eyes. Our lips met on a rather quick, but tender kiss. People started to clap.
"Let's go, Kazuki!"
I said it to him with a grin on my face, while wiping my tears. Then I grabbed his hand and just ram outside of the chapel, aiming for my motorcycle.
I don't care about anything else, I just want to be together with him for all eternity.
Everyone but our closest friends seems surprised and dumbfounded.
"Go, Kazu!" yelled Daiya and Kokone.
"I hate you, Hoshii!"
Kazuki gave them a big smile while keeping on running with me. We get on my motorcycle and I drive to our favorite place.
As we get there, he suddenly picks me up and carries me in his arms to the room 403 and throws me on the bed.
"I have all the rights to attack you now!" he says while leaning over me, all red, and without breath from the running.
"As if you had the balls for that!" I say while I throw him down with a swift move and change places with him.
"Fufufu…"
Kazuki Hoshino
"Fufufu…"
Maria laughed with a creepy - and pervy! - look on her face. Oh God, what's going to happen to me now?
Actually, I think I don't mind. I don't mind it one bit whatever she's going to do. Call me whatever you want, I don't care.
She starts to undress me, beginning with my suit. She notices I'm smiling.
"What's up with that pervy smile?"
"Says the one straddling on top of me unbuttoning my suit!"
Maria giggles.
It's something that began to happen a lot more frequently after she started being herself for real.
I love it when Maria giggles.
When my chest becomes exposed, Maria slowly brings her face close to my chest. I can't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"M-Maria, what are you doing?!"
But she ignores me and gives me a kiss on my chest. She backs away then.
"Your turn now"
I get a little confused for a moment, but then I get what she means.
She wants me to undress her.
Okay, I can't back away now.
I reach for the zipper of her dress on her back with my hands. As I begin to unzip her with my shaking hands I notice Maria has an amused look on her face. She must be having the best time of her life.
But so do I.
Maria is a little bit red, but I'm a lot redder than her even though I'm the one undressing her.
I finished removing her dress. Maria is now just on her undies.
"Go on"
She encourages me to remove her pure white bra. My face is so hot I can't feel it.
I unhook her bra and it fell on the bed.
After that, I can't help but stare at her breasts for a moment. Maria's breasts have grown a bit in these past few years. She's not even close to Kokone, but I think she has a nice generous pair of B cups.
I notice I have stared for too long. I wonder what my face was like while I was hypnotized and get a little embarrassed.
I look at Maria's face. After all this time living together, sleeping in the same room and looking at her every day I still can't keep myself from getting flustered by looking at her face.
She has now a bit more serious look on her face. She's all red, but she doesn't appear to be embarrassed.
Maria embraces me.
Maria feels so soft and fragile in my arms. I want to hold her tight, but I'm afraid of breaking her. She's very thin and now with her exposed skin it's even more apparent.
"Kazuki"
Maria whispers my name tenderly in my right ear. I suddenly remembered the time I was conscious-less and she kept on calling my name with all the faces and voices she could make.
I reply to her call in the only possible way.
"Maria"
I caress her head and continue to caress her long brown hair. My head is buried on Maria's neck. Her sweet perfume mixes with the peppermint aroma in the room, a good and relaxing combination.
I wish I could stay like this forever.
But I also want to make her mine now. I mean, she's already mine, I just want to confirm that in my soul.
Maria is mine and no one else's.
We back away from our embrace. Her face is the face of pure and [i]perfect[/i] bliss. I bet I have the same look on my face.
I kiss her tenderly and push her down on the bed.
And make her mine.
Chapter 2
Maria Hoshino
After that, I drifted off to sleep on Kazuki's arms. I wasn't really conscious, but I could feel his gentle caresses on my head and hair and that made me even more sleepy.
I started having this weird dream.
The same dream I never seem to be able to remember when I'm awake.
Something I can't quite describe with the words I know starts talking with me.
Something similar, yet totally different and bigger compared to O, starts talking with me, with words I don't know either.
Right. That's the being that gave me my box, the Flawed Bliss.
It's been a while since I last had this dream. Or maybe it hasn't been that long, I'm not sure myself. It feels both like yesterday and more than a decade ago.
He always asks me the same question, I don't know why this question or why asking me this question.
Before I can even think about answering, I start waking up and then I quickly start forgetting everything about the dream.
Kazuki is waking me up.
After that, I can no longer remember the dream.
Did I even have a dream?
He says something, but I can only understand part of it, still dizzy. "Something, something strawberry tart something eat"
The strawberry tart part and my empty stomach suddenly made me wake up completely. Kazuki starts to laugh for some reason.
"I knew this would work on you"
Kazuki knows me too well.
"Come. As I said, I bought your favorite dessert. You must be hungry after... all that."
I really love Kazuki's expressions. His face changed from normal and happy to blushing and embarrassed when he said that.
I laughed a bit while getting up.
"W-why are you laughing?"
"Nothing special"
Sorry, Kazuki, but I just love teasing you.
"Let's eat, I'm starving"
Before I get going to eat the strawberry tart, I notice Kazuki is staring at me with a bright red face.
Oh. I noticed something.
I'm now the same way I was when I came into this world: totally naked.
I haven't dressed up myself yet. Somehow I totally forgot about it.
What's happening to me?
Well, after all this time together and even more after what we did, I don't feel embarrassed anymore about being naked in front of Kazuki, so I just nonchalantly pick up the closest piece of cloth I see and use it.
It's Kazuki's wedding jacket, it was lying on the floor for some reason. It fits perfectly well since our clothes size is still the same for almost everything.
I button it up, walk to Kazuki, kneel before him and reach out my hand to his.
"I have come to meet thee, m'lady Kazuko. I am the one pledged to protect only thee, e'en it means the betrayal of all others and their eternal enmity"
"Maria, please stop. You don't want me to kick you like you did to me, right?"
"Now you know how ridiculous you looked at that time"
"Hey, isn't that a bit too-"
"But it saved me"
I stand up and hug Kazuki.
"Thanks, Kazuki."
"M-Maria?"
Knowing Kazuki like I do, he probably is redder than a tomato.
What I'm going to say next is not going to make things easier, though.
"I love you"
Kazuki hugs me back and says what I expected.
"I love you too, Maria"
"I know"
I say while smiling at him.
I break our embrace.
"Well, then, shall we eat?"
-END-
"At least for now."