Hi there! Been a while since I posted this fic. Here's a continuation! But you need to know, I used some information from Koakuma no Riddle Epilogue for this chapter. The doujin isn't translated officially yet but I managed to have a rough translation. I'll leave the link in the AO3 version of this fic, so be sure to read it before reading this chapter.

ps: this chapter happens after the SuzuKou chapter in my fic First times, but you don't need to have read it to understand, it'll be pretty clear what happened.

Never Kouko thought that such pleasure could exist in that world. Lying naked next to Suzu, who was equally naked, the black haired girl was thinking about what they did together. They spent such a great time together, but Kouko couldn't help but think about what her old organization would have thought of this. Such activity was forbidden where she came from, and it was even worse when it was between two people of the same gender. It was hard for her to let go of her old group mentality, it would take time. But being with Suzu helped her to move forward.

The golden eyed girl suddenly turned back in the futon, facing her.

"Kouko-chan? Still awake? Do you have trouble sleeping?" Suzu asked.

"Yeah...I can't help but think about my old organization, and what we did..."

"Because it was sinful?"

"Kind of, but I don't really care anymore. I enjoyed it, I like being with you, and I won't let them get in the way of this."

Suzu smiled softly as she got closer from Kouko.

"I also enjoyed it, it was wonderful. I really love you, Kouko-chan."

It made the younger girl blushed. Suzu's feelings for her made her feel weird. She wasn't even sure of her own feelings for the older girl. Was she in love with her? What were they? A couple? Well, they do kiss, live together, and they just have sex together. Thinking about that made Kouko blush even more.

"I...I really appreciate you, Suzu," Kouko finally replied.

Suzu got her face closer and suddenly stole her a kiss. Kouko reacted by thrusting her tongue inside her mouth, which made Suzu moaned as she broke the kiss.

"Your kisses...they are the best I can remember from the last decade," Suzu commented.

"...what?"

Suzu suddenly looked embarrassed. Kouko felt kind of upset, but she wasn't sure why.

"How many people have you kissed, Suzu?"

"Well...not that many. Let's just say that I'm really old so of course I have... a lot of experiences."

"Great, so I was intimate with a perverted old lady," Kouko replied as she turned back.

"W-Wait, Kouko-chan! I...it's true that I'm old, but I have the brain of a teenager, I swear. And I'm not perverted…"

Kouko understood why she was upset. She was jealous. To her, Suzu was the first person she had been intimate with, but it wasn't the case for Suzu. This thought bothered her. It bothered her to know others before her experienced the same thing she had with Suzu.

"How many people...have you been intimate with?" Kouko asked.

"I...I don't know. I didn't count. Many men and women. I was...so lonely. Everyone kept leaving me, so...I wanted some affection. There was a time I liked to flirt a lot, I didn't want to be alone, I wanted to at least do something enjoyable with my forced long life. But before meeting you, it had been years since I had done nothing like that. I lost interest in this, but when I met you...it changed. For the first time since a long time, I wanted to share my life with someone else. And it was with you."

Kouko suddenly felt bad. And selfish. Of course Suzu would have done that kind of thing with other people before. She went through a lot, things Kouko couldn't imagine. But the jealousy she felt made her realized how much she cared about Suzu. And she was happy that she wanted to spend her life with her.

"Suzu...why do you love me? I'm not...that great. I'm a failure, I can't do anything right. I made so many mistakes…"

"That's not true. You were an incredible class rep. Haven't you say it yourself, that you were the leader of everything? It's when you said that that I took an interest in you. I love you for how diligent and serious you are, but you also have a soft side that makes me want to comfort you. And you're really cute."

Kouko blushed again. It felt weird for her to be loved like that. No one except Irena showed her love before. She was mainly disliked at her old group, other kids were bullying her and the adults viewed her as a disappointment. So Suzu's love for her kind of made her felt good about herself. She turned back to face Suzu again.

"Except Irena-senpai, I never received any affection before. Not only my organization viewed me as a failure, but they were also training us to be assassins. We were not viewed as human, we were merely tools to serve their goal. So it feels weird for me to be loved by you. It's something new for me. It may take me time to get used to it."

"Take your time, we're not in a hurry. I'll do my best to make you comfortable with me."

"Thank you, Suzu."

The golden eyed girl smiled as she hugged her fondly. Kouko could feel her hand running through her hair, stroking them. She closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep in Suzu's arms. But then, the latter suddenly spoke.

"The other day, you said something interesting, and I am not sure to have understood what it meant."

"Um?"

"You said you will live longer than me. What does it mean?" Suzu asked.

"Isn't obvious? Can't you guess?"

"...you're going to kill me before you die?"

"What? No! Why did you think that?"

"Well, it kind of sounds like that."

"That's not it...what I meant is that...I'll live longer than you because I'll find a cure to the Highlander Syndrome!" Kouko declared.

Suzu remained silent for a moment. Kouko began to feel embarrassed. She thought she had understood her the first time she told her that, but it seemed it wasn't the case.

"You...what?" Suzu replied, confused.

"You heard me...don't make me say it twice."

"You're serious?"

"Obviously! I'm not one to make jokes and you know it. When I say something, I mean it. I don't know how I'll do that, but I swear I'll. It may take time, but one day I'll succeed. I won't fail!"

Suzu let out a giggle, much to Kouko's surprise.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's just that...you're so adorable right now. So serious. This is why I come to fall in love with you. I appreciate the thought, Kouko-chan."

"It's not just a thought, I'll do it for real. Because...I don't want to leave you alone. I don't want you to be lonely anymore. And since you want to stay with me, I thought...it would be nice if we could grow old together. Though I don't know how old I'll live, considering my old group wants to kill me."

Suzu suddenly started to gently pat Kouko's head.

"Thank you, Kouko-chan. I'm sure you'll succeed. After all, you're the leader of everything, you can't fail. I know you always keep your promise. And don't worry about your group, I'm here. I'll protect you."

Somehow, Kouko felt comforted to know Suzu had her back. She didn't know how she would find a cure, but she was determined to find one. She'll work hard to find a way. She'll survive and live by Suzu's side, this was her resolution. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes again, this time falling asleep in Suzu's arms.

Kouko was running in the forest. She stopped near a tree and hid. She was exhausted and panting heavily. A sudden shot hitting the tree forced her to run away again.

Her old organization had found her. Luckily Suzu wasn't at home when the assassin arrived. Kouko was kind of relieved. She wouldn't want her friend to be hurt because of her.

She continued to run, trying to put as much distance she could between her and her pursuer. She suddenly felt a sharp pain on her leg. A bullet must have brushed it. She stumbled on a root and fell on a tree, nearly knocking her out. On the ground, she tried to get up, but all she managed to do was to lean on the tree.

"You can't escape your fate, Kaminaga," a feminine voice suddenly said.

In front of Kouko, aiming at her with a gun, there was a girl around her age.

"You thought you could just leave like that? How foolish. No one can escape, death is the only way out. And I'll be the one to free you," the assassin said.

Kouko knew her. She was part of her old group. They never really talked but she was one of the few members who was not mean to her. And she knew she wasn't a really good assassin, just like her.

"You should understand me. You got reprimanded a lot too! I'm not fit to be an assassin, and neither do you!" Kouko replied.

"Shut up! Our feelings don't matter, our sole purpose is to serve the organization. Even if we aren't good at it, we have to do it. You left because you were a coward, but I'm not like you. I'll succeed, I won't give up. And I'll kill you!"

"Leave her alone!"

The assassin turned back. Suzu was behind her, holding a gun. Kouko never saw Suzu like that. She legitimately looked threatening.

"Who are you? Are you her friend. Then I'll kill you too," the assassin said.

"Not if I kill you first!" Suzu shouted as she shot.

The assassin managed to dodge the bullet and rushed towards Suzu. The latter tried to shoot again, but the assassin was faster. She kicked her hand, disarming her, before aiming at her.

"No! Don't kill her! Please don't!" Kouko begged.

Somehow, what she said seemed to disturbed the assassin.

"You, go with her. And don't try anything stupid," the assassin ordered.

Suzu obeyed and went next Kouko as the assassin continued to aim at them.

"Is she someone important to you?" the assassin asked.

"Y-Yes, she is," Kouko replied with hesitation.

"Usually our group would want her dead for helping you, but if you surrender I'll spare her life."

"Fine, do as you like with me, but don't hurt her."

"I object!" Suzu suddenly said. "I don't want Kouko-chan to die."

As she said that, the older girl went in front of Kouko, protective.

"Suzu, no! I don't want you to die!" Kouko protested.

"Me neither," Suzu argued.

"You two...quit fooling around or I'll kill you both!" the assassin exclaimed.

Suzu refused to move. The assassin's hands were slightly shaking. She looked like she was hesitating to pull the trigger.

"I heard what you said to Kouko-chan," Suzu suddenly began to say. "You were not honest. You don't view her as a coward, don't you? You're actually jealous, you would have wanted to have the courage to escape like she did, because you too, you don't want to be an assassin. You are mad at her because she did something you're not enough brave to do!"

"You're wrong! I don't! I'm simply following the orders, which is the kill the traitor. I don't want to run away like her, you know nothing about me!"

"Then why do you hesitate to kill me? You could just kill us both without trying to spare me. You don't want to kill an innocent, you don't want to kill. You actually want to leave this life behind, escape, but you're too scared to do it. Kouko-chan isn't the coward, you are!"

This declaration felt like a knife in the heart for the assassin. She began to recoil, shaking even more.

"I...even if I want to escape, I can't! They will just chase me down and kill me…"

"But Kouko-chan tried regardless. She's brave. Even you, you know it. And you can't accept it. You can't accept someone doing what you are too afraid of. Is that it?"

"I...yes. I mad at Kaminaga...for leaving. Because I can't do it!"

The assassin lowered her gun, looking defeated.

"Just...go. I don't even want to kill any of you anymore. But you have to leave the country. I'll tell the group you're dead, so you have to disappear. Otherwise...they will kill me," the assassin said.

Kouko remained surprised for a moment. So she gave up on killing her. It was thanks to Suzu. Kouko weakly got up.

"I'll leave the country as soon as possible, I promise," she said.

"Good. Don't make me regret to have spare your life."

Kouko grabbed Suzu's hand and began to walk away, before the assassin suddenly stopped her.

"Kaminaga...you are actually a symbol of hope for those who are still there, those who don't want to be assassins. The fact you managed to escape...give us hope. So please, keep living. Live for us, and if you can, one day...save us."

"I can't promise that, but I'll do my best to. Thanks," Kouko replied, before she left the area with Suzu.

The plane flew off. Kouko looked through the porthole. She was leaving Japan and she wasn't sure if she would come back one day. But it was for the best. This way, she'll be able to escape from her old group and live in peace.

"Any regret?" Suzu asked.

"No, I'm fine. I just hope everything will be fine in the United States."

"It's pretty far away from Japan so we should be fine. Is your English good?"

"I manage. What about you?"

"I had plenty of time to learn English during my long life, so I'll be fine."

Kouko was kind of nervous. From now one she'll be living in another country. She looked at Suzu, remembering something she wanted to tell her.

"I haven't the occasion to thank you. It's thanks to you if we survived when that girl from my group wanted to kill us," Kouko said.

"I wasn't sure it would work, but I had the feeling I could get her to stop. She kinds of reminded me of you. But you're way cuter."

"This..this isn't the time to flirt," Kouko replied, blushing.

"Anyway, it's a good thing I saved so much money during my life, it's going to be useful for our new life. I'll even be able to send you to school so you finish your studies."

"Speaking about that...I know how I'll cure your illness. I'll study hard and become a scientist. This way, I'll have the resources to work on a cure," Kouko declared.

"So hardworking as always. I always liked that part of you."

"I said it wasn't the time to flirt! Uh, that makes me wonder...why you never try to talk to scientists before? I'm sure one of them would have been interested in working on a cure. After all, this illness is kind of the secret to immortality, any scientist could be intrigued to study it."

"About that...I was afraid. I didn't want for too many people to know about my illness, in case...some people wanted to use it to their advantage. I was afraid that could start some kind of war for immortality. Or even get kidnapped by a mad scientist or something. But if it's you who study me, then I'm fine. I would trust you with my life."

"Why are you always so cheesy...but I understand. If some people learn about an illness that prevents from dying, it could potentially start a conflict."

Kouko felt a hand in hers. She turned back, to see that Suzu had put her hand on hers and was now looking at her fondly.

"Thank you, Kouko-chan. I really appreciate what you want to do for me."

"No need to thanks me, I'm only doing this to repay you, because you helped me," Kouko replied, embarrassed.

Suzu smiled softly and Kouko couldn't help but smiled. She was glad to be alive with Suzu, and she was willing to do anything so they can spend their life and grow together. She wanted to make Suzu's wish a reality, she was determined to, so she wouldn't be alone anymore. Suzu helped her with her wish to escape, it was only fair she helped her with hers.

Kouko and Suzu held hands as the plane continued its way to its destination, soon their new home.

I had the headcanon that Kouko would find a cure to the Highlander Syndrome so she can grow old with Suzu, so it would be less tragic and happier. Then when I read KnR epilogue and Kouko said she'll live longer than Suzu, it made me feel like it confirmed my headcanon, so I was glad.

This story is not over yet, so tell me if you're still interested!