Yui spent her days in the Manor without asking anything. It wasn't that she had lost her curiosity. She just had lost the motivation to ask, thinking that the answers wouldn't come to surface anyway. She had no idea that all answers of her questions were to get in that place. That was, until she and Sarah started to talk about Mireille on one bright, sunny day.
"The blonde woman who was with you before, Mireille Bouquet." remarked Sarah.
Yui's heart ached upon hearing the name of the person she loved so much but she let Sarah carry on.
"She was pretty cool, you know. She was like, able to stand up in front of whole Soldats and release herself and her partner from Soldats."
Her partner?
I am her partner as well.
"What was Kirika doing anyway?" asked Yui nonchalantly. "Was she dead or what?"
Sarah looked in awe at Yui.
"Well she wasn't dead yet, but I was sure she was kinda dying."
"We are all dying in our battles. I don't see that as reason."
Sarah stared at her in amazement.
"…What?" Yui started to feel a bit uneasy.
"Um, no. Not my business, really. Anyway, I think it's cool of her."
"Yea it's cool." said Yui. As cool as being a liar and lousy friend.
Both of them kept silent for some time, but then Yui spoke up her mind.
"The Kirika… she is no longer alive, right? What killed her?"
"If I am not mistaken, it was a lung cancer."
Yui's eyes grew bigger. "No way."
"Um, that's true. I saw her coughing up blood back then."
"When?"
"Well during the battle in which Mireille yelled to Soldats to release her and Kirika?"
Oh…… I didn't know that…………
Yui regretted being heartless during their early conversation. She could hardly conceal her jealousy and her anger.
"You two don't have good relationship?" asked Sarah, grinning a bit.
"How can we? She is such a lousy person with lousy personality."
"Well, but… I don't know, I think there must still be some feeling hidden behind all the problems?"
Yui turned at Sarah, feeling all cranky and bad-mooded.
"I said, we didn't have feelings to each other anymore."
"If I had a sister, I would want to make up anytime." said Sarah, dropping herself on the carpet of green grass.
Yui frowned.
"Sister? Since when are Mireille and I sisters?"
Sarah peered at Yui.
"I mean Kirika, you dork."
Yui's eyes grew bigger until they couldn't grow any bigger.
Sisters?
She gaped at Sarah.
Sisters….?
Kirika and her?
She bursted out in laughter.
Sarah snarled at Yui.
"Well sorry if it sounds funny to you, but I mean it. If I have a sister like her for example, I would want to make up anytime." she said, stamping her feet and walking away.
Yui stopped laughing and watched Sarah's back as she went back inside the Manor.
"I heard that you asked to speak me…" said Marie gently that evening, while she was finishing a letter.
"Is anything the matter?"
Yui stood a few meters away from Marie, looking down at the floor, not sure if she should ask anything, or mention anything. Everything seemed so pointless by that time, since Mireille was already gone. They already parted their ways. There was no longer any need to be jealous of Kirika, no need to find out about her life and stuff, no need to know if there was indeed any relationship between her and….
"Sarah said that Kirika and I were sisters. Is that true?"
Marie accidentally made a scratch on the letter she wrote on. She stopped a while to process Yui's words in her brain before she folded the letter together and put it aside.
"Yes, it is true. You and Kirika are sisters. Step-sisters."
Yui frowned.
First sisters.
Now step-sisters. Yui's legs felt so wobbly by then.
"Please have a sit, I will explain it to you."
To Marie..
I am sure you still remember the pact I sealed by the time I entered Soldats. In exchange for my assasinating service, my stepsister would be kept safe within Soldats. Not long after I was sent outside, though, my stepsister also got sent outside to be adopted by a certain family. Eversince then I lost track of how she had been doing, and to be honest I didn't even care about her anymore. In a way I trusted that Soldats would still keep the pact going, in other way I know that Soldats cares for nothing but itself.
Now that I am dying, I am sure by the time my death comes the pact will be over as well, no matter if it is still going or not at this very moment. Therefore I am requesting that my stepsister be given back to me. If Soldats isn't willing to protect my stepsister, I will. At least until I die. Then probably she can live with Mireille. Mireille will protect her well.. and she can accompany Mireille so Mireille wouldn't be so lonely without me. This will be the last thing I demand from Soldats, before our tie is cut. Please reply to me as soon as possible…
Yours sincerely,
Kirika Yuumura.
Marie had reread the letter over and over again.
She never had any chance to reply to Kirika's letter, because by the time she was trying to get Yui back, the Sanders already ran away with Yui to an unknown place.
Meanwhile, Kirika deceased. And the letter stayed unreplied.
"Marie!"
Sarah forced herself inside the room.
"Yui left!"
Marie smiled. "I know. I can see her from here."
Sarah rushed to the window where Marie was standing at.
"Aren't you going to stop her?" she demanded from Marie.
"No, because this isn't the place where she belongs."
"But…!"
"Look at her, Sarah. That is a girl who is running to find her happiness. Don't you envy her sometimes? Not everyone is as lucky… that's why, we should let her go."
Good luck, Yui Sanders….
"Aw, I am going to miss her…" sobbed Sarah.
"Me too," whispered Marie, hugging Sarah's shoulder.
Mireille elbowed a black suited man hard. The man fell on the floor, unconscious. She pulled the trigger and finished her job.
She wiped the blood flowing from her arm with her handkerchief and walked home in silence.
It wasn't easy to return to normal life again. To her, life had been playing tag with her all the time. People came to her life, they became important to her, then they went away. Well…. she had the worst hit as Kirika passed away. Kirika took a big part of Mireille with her as she went away.
So Yui was something like a repetition. Her going away from Mireille wasn't that hurtful. It wasn't the first time. It wasn't the most hurtful event ever.
Mireille's mind went blank. But then… why was it that her heart ached everytime she thought about that girl? Why was it that she went mad everytime she checked her post and found no reply from that girl?
People come, people go….
That's how life is.
Mireille gritted her teeth. What…. just what is wrong with me?
She came by the graveyard where Kirika lied in peace. She caressed her tombstone lovingly.
Kirika… tell me, what's wrong with me?
What the hell is wrong with me?
But Kirika gave no answer. Mireille wept silently. She never felt so alone. She never felt like she's the only human being still alive on the universe.
That's it….
Yui's presence did mean something to Mireille. Yui's presence eased Mireille a lot from her pain. It wasn't that she replaced Kirika or something…. her being there was just important to Mireille. Yui was Yui. Yui was never Kirika, and should never be. Yui being herself was enough for Mireille. In fact, that was all Mireille needed.
She wiped her tears and stared at the empy air. She knew just exactly what to do. Whether Yui wanted it or not, she would go to the Manor now and claimed her back. Mireille wanted her to be with her, and she would give it another try.
So Mireille rushed back to her apartment, already planning her trip to the Manor on her way home.
Soon enough, she realized there was no need for it.
Yui was standing in front of her door, waiting.
Mireille panted. She tried to catch her breath.
She could hardly believe her eyes. Yui was there.
"Mireille, I…. I want to stay with you."
Yui's eyes are glittering with tears threatening to flow out. "I have always wanted to stay with you. I have been looking for reasons to stay with you, but…. I just got it yesterday."
She held the letter she got from Marie in her trembling hand.
"I don't care if you need me or not, I want to stay with you, and my sister did too. So will you take me back? If not for me, then for her sake…"
"Yui…." Mireille sighed.
"Please… I..!" said Yui, but she was cut by Mireille who already rushed forward to hug her.
"I don't care what the letter said. The truth is, I want you to be there. I don't need a reason to want you to be there. I have been missing you so much, you had no idea…."
Yui bursted to tears.
"But… but…. I thought I meant nothing to you, I thought that…. that I was only there to replace Kirika, that… that…"
"Sshh, silence." said Mireille.
Yui wept even more on Mireille's shoulder, and Mireille hugged Yui tightlier.
The golden sunlight dropped on them. They hugged each other until the sun set. For the first time after all the craps happening to them, they both believed that what they had that time would last eternally, no matter what the future held for them.
I want to be with you. I don't need a reason to be with you….
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
Inside Mireille's apartment, a leaf was blown away out of the window by the wind. It soared high to the sky, nearly as if someone was using magic on it.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
It passed a field full of flowers. The flowers were blooming so beautifully that season.
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
It passed over a group of little kids happily playing in the park.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
At last, the wind slowed down and dropped the leaf unto a graveyard, in front of a very special gravestone dedicated to a very special girl.
Kirika Yuumura
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
Author's note : Boy, I cried like no other while writing this last chapter... but yes, finally, My Lasts comes to an end. At the end I manage to end it the way I want it to. Took me one year for this one last chapter... gomen ne, I hope you like the way it ends.
And credit to Mary Frye for the lovely poem.