Author's note : Back with a new chapter. I'm satisfied with this one. I enjoyed writing it. Chapter 6 will be coming soon.

Enjoy your reading~

"Into each life some rain must fall
But too much, too much is falling in mine.
Into each heart some tears must fall,
But some day the sun will shine."

- Ella Fitzgerald

Miho enjoyed watching the falling evening. These shades of blue, matching the gold of the sun that was disappearing over the horizon, had always caressed her eyes like silk. The smells became more humid, making her feel the fragrance of the evening, and insects were beginning to be heard. The Oarai commander was almost surprised that there were still insects left after the nuclear apocalypse. The sounds of nature had never gone away despite being nuked.

Kinuyo was a little further. She had taken twenty minutes to start the fire: slamming two rocks against each other to make one spark or two wasn't what she was the best at. She was cooking rice she had brought from the vault. She was careful with the food, giving a few glances here and there to Miho and Tamada, who remained lying although she woke up. Cooking wasn't her speciality, but she managed to do something quite decent.

Miho got closer to Tamada and sat beside her. The latter turned her gaze. Her complexion was almost greyish because of the condition affecting her body; she already had pale skin in her normal state. Her reddish eyes were looking questioningly.

"Tell me", she said in a voice broken by her tiredness, "how did you get here?"

"Well", Miho explained, "I left the vault too. Vault 49. I ran away to find my family and one of my friends in Kumamoto."

"Wow. It's really far from here... you'll cross the country. You really lucky to still have someone living in your family."

"My sister got into her vault in time, and Alice too."

"Besides, wasn't your sister the Commander of Kuromorimine? You look very alike. I remember seeing you during the fight against the University... Nishi-san also mentioned you a lot when we fled from our vault."

"She is", Miho replied. "Maho is my older sister. Our mother is the leader of Nishizumi style, unfortunately for me. Luckily, my sister was able to get me out of this delicate situation."

"For my part, my parents never prevented or forced me to do tankery", the braided said. "I just loved it and I felt that I was made for this. I don't ask for anything big, I just want to be able to live my life. It must have been hard on your side."

"My family founded Nishizumi style, so it was really not joining it which caused me trouble, but doing something different from what I was meant to", the Oarai commander murmured. "For a friend of mine, whose family was traditionally practicing Ikebana, her mother didn't accept this, but she gave up when she saw that her daughter wouldn't let go."

"Parents are sometimes strange... I know what I mean."

Tamada stopped suddenly and seemed to cough. Miho saw that her gums were bleeding. She had put some blood on the remains of tatami next to the futon.

"Are you okay?" the captain worried.

"Don't worry, I'm used to having my gums bleeding. Sometimes I choke a little when I'm talking because of it", the other replied. "And I always have that damn metallic taste in my mouth..."

"It's ready!" a voice sounded further.

Kinuyo was going to serve the meal. Miho got up and walked forward. She hesitated to take Tamada by the arm to pull her, but thought she would come when she would be hungry, or when the brunette would bring her some food later. She had no appetite, but maybe it would come back at some point. Miho didn't want her to die from starvation.

The snow-white rice was terribly appetizing. Miho's stomach just begged for it. She had only one desire: to eat this precious meal. She was so happy to have a small group of people who could help her in difficult times.

"Have a good meal", Kinuyo said.

"You too", Miho replied.

The taste and texture of the rice made her feel great. They were her best companions during the meals. She felt on her tongue the gentle stroke of the white cereal that made her feel complete since her earliest childhood. Maho also had this taste for rice and they loved to share a bowl together with some sweet sauce on top. Alice loved it too.

After this well-deserved meal, Miho laid down on the tatami. The girls had some light coming from a small fire outside and a flashlight inside: adding a kotatsu in the room would have been perfect. It was dark, beautiful and blue, and some stars lit up the sky. She sat on the edge, thinking. Her friends maybe would never see these beautiful constellations again. Even after a triple apocalypse, it hadn't lost its beauty at all. Was Maho seeing these stars? And Alice? Was she out of Vault 54? Could she see the magnificence of what surrounded the Earth? Miho felt their presence in her heart, desperate to see their faces and hear their voices.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Kinuyo said while getting closer. "That's why I loved the nights under the stars, and when I camp, I make sure to sleep outside."

"Same for me... With my sister, we often fell asleep on the tank while diving into this infinity."

"I wonder if we can still do it... When Tamada will get better, we'll leave and we will lay down on the ground before closing our eyes on the sky..."

"Yes, it will be truly magical... With friends, it's even better", whispered Miho.

"We'll be your traveling companions", Kinuyo whispered, her eyes full of stars. "We both have no more family, but you'll eventually become ours."

They heard a noise. Miho preferred to see what it was to avoid getting worried. She was surprised. Tamada had got up. The thing that shocked the captain was the girl's body... Her face wasn't too emaciated, but she was dreadfully thin. Even under her clothes, one could see that her wrists and legs were way too thin to be healthy. It was clear that she hardly ate anything. She smiled at Miho, then sat by Kinuyo. What frightened Miho the most was that the sick girl's breath sounded strange, as if the simple act of breathing destroyed her ribs.

"You really should eat", the long-haired said in an anxious tone. "You would get your strength back."

"I can't eat, you saw it", Tamada sighed. "It's too much for me... can't keep it... I'm already surprised to have had the energy to get up."

"It's a good thing", Miho said. "You might be actually recovering."

"Perhaps. It's possible", the ill girl replied. "But I'm still very tired."

"Lay down if you're not feeling good", Kinuyo murmured.

"Don't worry, Nishi-san. I can hold on, I'm a true fighter!"

"Being a fighter doesn't mean that you should take too many risks", she continued. "I know that the tradition is to charge regardless of what could stop you, but your life is at stake..."

"Listen, if I feel bad, I'll go back to sleep", Tamada said. "I'll spend some time with you, I need to."

"You can stay, you know", Miho smiled. You're not a bother to us. I'm happy to have met you..."

"You were a good meet too. And it's been a long time since Nishi-san was talking about you... I knew she liked you for a reason."

"To be honest, I feel that it will be a pleasure to travel with her", Kinuyo laughed.

Tamada was about to reply when the three saw something extraordinary after this end of the world.

Bright, light, three fireflies flew not far away from the girls. They soon landed on some grass. Miho, amazed, looked at them, forgetting all that was around. It was so beautiful, so alive, it was the proof that life could be revived. One of them gently died out as a star that had reached the end of its life. The other two continued their flight by turning around each other, then disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"Wow", Kinuyo whispered. "The last time I saw fireflies, it was on my first year of middle school."

"When I was little, I loved to try to catch them",Miho said. "Maho captured some for me sometimes. We could play for hours with them."

"I liked watching them too", Tamada added. "I prefer to run after them, but I love their light."

"You'd give anything to let your energy go out", Kinuyo chuckled.

She yawned just after, making her eyes watery.

"I'm leaving you", the Chihatan commander said. "I'm going to bed. Good night, and have a good time getting to know each other, you two."

"Night!" Tamada replied.

"Sleep well", Miho wished, a little scared because of her fellow's weakened voice.

Kinuyo walked away and laid down. She had given the only futon to her friend. She slept with her head on the bag with the supplies inside. Miho wondered how she could get to sleep in these conditions. She was lying on her side and directly on the floor. It was likely a torture for her bones.

The sick girl put a hand on her shoulder. The captain turned around.

"Nishizumi-san... I would have loved that in addition to Nishi-san and I, you would have known Hosomi..."

"Was she a good person?"

"Yeah, a very good friend. She had humor and was an honest person. She looked like a little a sort of mix between Nishi-san and I sometimes."

The captain chuckled. She wanted to share her journey with her. But fate had thought of something else, unfortunately... She remember what she saw earlier in the day. The blood, the remains, the dogtag. Hosomi no longer existed, what just remained was this metallic plate. The rest was gone forever.

"Actually, even though I still have Nishi-san, I don't think she will be enough... It's a good thing you're here too", the sick girl continued.

"She told me the same thing earlier", Miho laughed. "Finally, we're a trio again."

"Yes, although it won't be as before, we will always be together, us three. Nishi-san, Hosomi and I, before going here, we had so many good laughs... Even though I was very ill for two days at the beginning, I enjoyed myself a lot with them. I was happy."

"I was alone, but it was that or putting my friends in danger. I chose to leave by myself and only by myself to avoid risking their lives."

"You made the right decision, I think", said Tamada. "Don't make the same mistake as I did, it could greatly damage your health... I know what I mean, Nishizumi-san."

She sighed. Miho directly understood. She looked behind herself. Kinuyo slept well, a rather heavy sleep, because they could easily wake someone with their talking. The captain got up and walked slightly further outside. The cool night air caressed her cheeks. She was going to look for the fireflies when she heard the sound of something falling. She turned: Tamada had collapsed on the tatami and was laying on her left side.

Miho rushed to her fellow. She was breathing with even more difficulty. Her half-closed eyes had a painful expression, worse than before, when the captain had noticed that something was very disturbing with her condition. When she was taking a breath, or rather gasping for breath, it was making it sound almost like hiccups. She looked at Miho. Her reddish pupils looked helpless.

"Nishizumi-san..." she panted. "It... hurts..."

"I'll wake Nishi-san", Miho trembled.

She didn't even need to go to her friend : Kinuyo, probably sensing what was happening, got up with a start and ran to her sick friend, panicked.

"Tamada!" she cried, her eyes widened.

The dying girl glanced at her, rose her head a bit and tried to turn slightly, but couldn't. Kinuyo knelt beside her and took her hand. She put it against her own heart. Miho watched what was happening, feeling a lump in her throat.

"It's okay..." Tamada murmured.

"Stay with us, please..." Kinuyo said desperately. "We'll find a way to cure you..."

"I fought well, you know", the sick whispered. "I never gave up..."

"Tamada-san..." Miho said.

The braided turned to the Oarai captain and gave her a weak smile. Despite her short breath, she managed to articulate.

"Nishizumi-san... or rather... Miho, we only communicated in a small amount of time but... you're my friend."

"Thank you... thank you, Tamada..."

Kinuyo was shaking. She was pressing the dying's hand firmer on her chest. She turned her gaze, her eyes shining.

"Please, Tamada..."

"It's okay, I promise, Kinuyo... I promise..."

She struggled to pronounce her last words. It was the first time she called her by her first name. Miho, after exchanging one last look with the braided girl, went further. It was too much for her.

She sat back against a wall and tried to calm the sobs that began to shake her. She heard what was happening a little further; although she tried to ignore it all, she couldn't...

A few minutes later, she heard something which made her burst into tears.

"Tamada-san! Tamada-san! Please... stay with me..."

Kinuyo's voice was lowering.

"...Tamada...s..."

Miho joined her, her eyes swollen by emotions. The Chihatan commander, now her only traveling companion, was lying next to the braided.
Tamada had stopped gasping; her eyes had closed. Her heart had stopped beating forever. It was over. Kinuyo had untied her braid, letting her hair down, and held in her hand the white ribbon that held it. She was so beautiful in her eternal sleep...
Silent, the long-haired girl couldn't hold back the tears that flooded her face now; Miho took her in her arms. They were no more three, but only two now...