Guys, get excited. Here it is! The moment all Sakura/Ogami shippers have been waiting for, could I have possibly taken any longer to get here?
Well, yes. Let's not tempt me.
Chapter 29: For a Ghost's Love
In which the dead rest uneasily and hearts finally speak
Karin stood at attention on the other side of the king's desk, and wondered if this was how her life was going to end. She was unsure if the field marshal's absence - the king had merely glanced at him and assured him his brother would be alive when he returned before commanding him to assemble the army - was a blessing or one last regret to distract her in her final moments.
"I know exactly what you are, Shihoin Karin. Blood manipulation is a taboo power, and you dared enter my realm as such. You must have known the usual penalty for such arrogance."
She swallowed. Well. That settled that.
The king fixed her with a dark, dangerous look, and goosepimples rose on her flesh. She opened her mouth to say something - apologize, explain, she wasn't quite sure but she had to do something - but he interrupted her with an impatient hand gesture.
"I've known since you told me your father was dead. Since you told me Tokitou was your father. Close your mouth, girl. I don't require explanation, nor apology, nor plea."
Karin's set her chin, determined to face her fate bravely. Still, she wondered if along with all the rest of his esoteric knowledge, the king could feel her heart pounding in anxiety.
"In a happier time I would be handling this very differently, girl. But our world is falling to pieces, and I need all the able warriors I can get to face this threat. Do you understand?"
Karin nodded slowly, forcing herself to breath slowly and evenly and to not break apart in her fear. "The dragon. I can fight the dragon with...with my other power."
The king narrowed his eyes at her, staring at her for a long moment. Karin remembered what Kouji had told her upon arrival - to be a warrior first and foremost - and straightened her spine. "You could. But I have a different task for you."
That coupled with his blatant dislike was not promising. "Your highness?" Karin asked tentatively, hoping this was not an elaborate death sentence, half afraid that the king would change his mind in his madness.
The King of All Earth sat abruptly, leaving Karin standing awkwardly. His face was lined with exhaustion, and for the first time since Karin had met him she could see the sorrow in his gaze. Somehow it made her even more nervous than had his dire proclamations as to her fate. "Little as I like it, I need you to stay at the palace, girl. You are the only one who can protect Hikari - the only one she'll let near her, now. You visited her the other day. You know her condition. Had you expected her to be so far gone?"
Karin winced. "No, your highness. I had heard she was not well, but we hoped that when we managed to separate her from the box she might get better…"
The king shut his eyes. "Even you can't get it from her now. I'd thought she might be convinced to give it to Kouji, but if even he has failed...perhaps if you had not fallen in battle you could have stolen it back, but it is too late now. Too much has been set into motion. I can no longer delay the inevitable."
"The inevitable?"
He sighed, stretching his fingers out against the table. "Did your father ever tell you the origins of the box?"
Karin thought back. Her father had only mentioned it briefly, making her promise to deliver it to her older sister - his first masterpiece. Yet he had said something else once, hadn't he? They'd been sitting at the kitchen table...in a flash, she remembered. "He said that you were there. When it was made. That the both of you…"
She trailed off, the memory slipping away from her. She had been young, and learning her letters. He had looked at her from across the table and said… "He called it his labor of love. I had thought that he'd meant that in terms of his first daughter, the sister I'd never known...but then he mentioned you. He said…"
Oh, what had he said. It was so long ago, and it had been nearly forgotten in all the years following… She had to remember. Remember how sad he had looked, remember how much it made her fear that he missed his home more than he loved her and her mother... "It had been for you. The box? Or maybe it was his love, I don't know, he didn't specify. But he said...that it was all possible for you? Not for you. Because of you. And that it was why he'd taken it away as well."
She looked back up, unable to recall any further, if there was anything left to recall. "But if he'd needed to do that then;if he saw an inkling of this danger then, why would he make me promise to bring it back to Hikari? He made sure I knew that. I had to give it to her - put it into her hands, myself."
The king watched her with wide, glassy eyes, as if he were seeing into a past that she hadn't known. Not for the first time, she wondered at the relationship between her father and the king. Her father had spoken of him now and again, always in the same calm tones he used of everyone. Yet he had chosen exile in the face of their friendship. Judging by the king's expression now, there must be more to it than she had suspected. All at once, she knew it was connected to the box.
The damned box. Innocuous element of her childhood that it had been, she was willing to bet it was far more important than her father had ever let on… "It's all connected to the box, isn't it? I should never have brought it back. I should have left it home. It's why Hikari went mad, isn't it? And-"
"It is not the box itself. It is what it contains."
The king's quiet proclamation silenced her, although worry still vibrated inside her bones. Exhausted as he was there was a danger to King Matsuhiro's words that made her remember, not for the first time, that she was alone in his chambers, and that he was the master of hellflame. There was no Takehiro to save her this time. If he chose to go back on his word, her death would be beyond her ability to stave off. "Your highness?"
He stood abruptly, pacing the room before resting his hand gently on the windowpane. "This all happened before you were born, child. Before your father even dreamed of exile. I…" He turned to face her, and his expression made her blood run cold. "Swear to me, girl. Swear to me that you will tell this to no living person, in this life or the next."
"But what if-"
"Swear, girl."
Karin bit her lip to keep from blasting the rude king with a gust of wind. "Your highness, I will if you answer this: is this secret of yours more important than destroying the box? You wouldn't be telling me this if it wasn't necessary, and if if destroying the box could save Hikari, how could you entrust it only to me? The only one I would tell is Kouji. Beyond that, I can swear to tell no living soul."
"You play a dangerous game girl, when the blood running through your veins is mine by rights."
She tilted her chin up. She had grown used to her fear, and if she had to play such infantile games she'd almost rather face her demise. Her annoyance made her bold. Besides, no man owned her, king or not. "If you kill me, your highness, Hikari and Kouji will never forgive you. Who will love you then? Who will kill the dragon? What will you do without your wife and champion?"
The king took a step toward her, his hand wreathed in hellflame. Karin stood still, eyes narrowing. If this was her end, so be it. She had no come this far to be bullied by a king pushed beyond his bounds. He took another step, and her mouth moved without her planning.
"Do you send me to my father, then?"
He faltered then, the blue flame guttering out. The rage passed as quickly as it came, and Karin wondered at the power her father held over him, even in death.
"Only Kouji. And only if it is needed."
Karin nodded, the adrenaline coursing through her making her a bit unsteady.
The king turned his back on her, walking back to his desk. A long, tense moment passed. When he finally spoke his voice was clipped and cold, outlining the facts in the sparsest form possible. "The soul of my first wife - Shouko - is in the box. Before she died she made a deal with a demon king to ensure the safe delivery of her child. Yet what she bore was no human child, and she died in the bearing of it. The child was destroyed, yet her soul was trapped in the balance - she lingered here as a ghost for some years. She grew ever more violent, and finally Tokitou made a box in which to trap her.
"He chose exile for his own reasons, but his safe passage was secured by his taking the box out of the kingdom. We thought that it might slow the demon attacks - whatever deal she made brought the demons into our land, yet at the beginning they were manageable, nothing like they are now. So he took the box and left, and she must have slept within it, peaceful and quiet until he died. It was the box that the demons were attracted to, I am sure of it. I am not sure why he told you to bring it back. Perhaps he thought the danger over. Or perhaps her whispers had reached even him.
"Yet the true danger was bringing it to Hikari. Tokitou must not have known his elder daughter had just become the queen. Your bringing it to her sealed her fate. I believe that Shouko has been influencing Hikari since she received the box, and now controls her utterly. Whether she is fully possessed or merely Shouko's puppet makes no difference. It is the reason why Hikari has lost herself in this madness, and why she has stooped to murder."
Karin gaped. The king knew? "Murder? Wait, that was...that was Hikari? No. Your highness, she would never choose-"
The king nodded abruptly. "In a sense you are correct. It was not Hikari's choice, but Shouko's - all of this is just Shouko's punishment."
Karin shook her head. "But to punish Hikari? Or to punish you? Those were your friends she targeted, your confidants!"
He grimaced. "She had just discovered something that hurt both her and your sister. I had long feared what Hikari would do when she discovered the truth about my progeny...I had not expected Shouko's rage as well." At Karin's confused look he continued. "I have two sons, girl. Soutarou is not Kyo's. He is mine. I can only imagine that discovering Soutarou existed was the final tipping point. Shouko resumed nearly full control over Hikari, and the demon attacks increased. Yet when that didn't work to bring down the kingdom, she turned to poisoning several of my confidantes, and tried for Kyo as well. Yet she was foiled then, as well. And now-"
Karin's head was spinning, filled with impossible fancies and facts. The box was filled by the demon-infected spirit of his dead wife? Yet how else could she explain her sister's odd behavior? Bubbling out of this turmoil was the remembrance of the younger Fujiwara in chains. "But Fujiwara Souri - why was he arrested then?"
The king's lip curled. "He was in league with her. His greed and ambition pushed him into making a deal with her, and he worked just as hard to bring the kingdom down...albeit in different, politically-based channels. I arrested him and appointed him scapegoat because now he can finally be useful. Through my journeys into Hell, I have learned that there is a way to free Hikari - and he is the key."
"She can be saved? How…oh, by destroying the box, of course! But how can Fujiwara be useful?" She gasped as it came to her. "Because he's not a power user. Does that mean he can get us the box?"
The king nodded slowly. "Not only that, but he can also open the box. If the box is opened we can destroy it...but it will also mean his destruction. No mortal man can open the box and live...but his sacrifice would save not only your sister, but the kingdom."
"But...if what you say is true, then Fujiwara is innocent - at least in terms of the poisonings, and the demon war…"
"Innocence is a relative term, girl. He may not have made a deal with the demons like Shouko did, or murdered men like Hikari did, but his hands are not clean. He enabled Hikari, and other political dissidents before you came here. He is a man who deserves death. And in this way, he can serve the kingdom - and save your sister. Do you not love Hikari?"
Karin's breath caught in her throat, raw and swollen with unshed tears. "I do."
"And do you not love your father?"
"Of course I do!"
"And would you have them die in vain, alone and despoiled by demons?"
"No, of course not!"
The king looked at her then, and his eyes burned, reflecting the light of his flame. "Then will you protect your sister, keeping her from harm until Fujiwara meets his fate?"
Karin closed her eyes as the first tear spilled past her eyelashes. She thought of her sister, bright-eyed and smiling all those months ago, combing her hair after the baths, telling her secrets and hugging her tightly. She thought of the dead queen she had never known, twisting her thoughts, perverting her heart. She remembered the younger Fujiwara on his knees before the king, and his whisper of decay at the roots.
And just before she opened her eyes and gave her answer, she remembered Maka, the little girl who had stolen into her mind to learn what a demon was, having seen them from both her father...and her uncle. This, oddly enough, made up her mind.
"I cannot agree with killing innocents, your highness, but I know that it is not my choice to make. What I can agree with is this: Hikari will be protected, from both herself and others, until she is saved. This I swear to you."
The king watched her for a long, tense moment, and Karin was thankful for her swelling tears. With them, the king would think her weak. And more so, honest.
"Thank you, girl. You have made your father proud. Now go. Hikari will need you more than ever in the next coming days."
"Yes, your highness."
She bowed and then turned, struggling with the doorknob as she left. Her tears blurred her vision, leaving the empty hallway swimming before her eyes. She drew her sleeve across them, wiping them away as a child might. She had never felt this lost before, not even on the night her father died.
She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, struggling to master herself before she broke down completely. The sound of a sliding panel roused her, and when she opened her eyes she looked into a familiar, empathetic face.
For a long moment Takehiro said nothing, merely watched her as she swallowed thickly. Then he tilted his head towards the end of the hall and whispered, "We have to go, Red. We have to let Kouji know."
Karin nodded, wiping her eyes once more. The realization that Takehiro had been listening in on her private talk with the king was more of a comfort than a surprise. What was equal parts comfort and surprise was how he gripped her hand as soon as she lowered it, squeezing it tightly as he lead her down the hallway.
The action shook her, and she found her voice. "He lied, Takehiro."
"I know."
"About Fujiwara Souri."
"...I know."
"But not about the boy. Soutarou."
Takehiro sighed. "And your sister?"
Karin bit the inside of her cheek, focusing on the strength in Takehiro's fingers to keep from crying again. "His first wife wouldn't call me sister, or tell me that she loved me. And if my father knew that there was a woman's soul in the box he would never have given it to me to bring home. So yes, Takehiro. I think he lied about her, too."
"So he lied about her...and Fujiwara…"
"Neither of them had anything to do with the box. He lied about him to protect someone else…"
Fujiwara's warning hung between them, like a death knell. Decay is deadliest when it begins at the root...Falsely accusing me with not save the kingdom.
Takehiro swore, and then glanced around. His voice never wavered from the quiet, stoic tone they had both adopted. "So it was him, then?"
She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I think we're in some trouble."
"Red…" He trailed off, and guilt and worry played across his face. 'Some trouble' was an understatement. They had been in more than simply some trouble ever since they'd met - the rare kind and a taboo power user, and the man that hid their secrets. Now, their position was worse than ever - they were besieged by demons and dragons and lying kings, with no way to tell who was the greatest threat. Her sister's life hung in the balance, with no way of knowing how to save her. And Fujiwara Souri hung like a spectre between them, and there was very little way of knowing how innocent he truly was.
They didn't know what step to take, or what to do, or who to trust. Yet they had Kouji, and even to an extent Sakurako and Zed...and for the time being, each other. Takehiro must have realized some of this as well, for when he spoke there was the ghost of his usual insouciance. "That is putting it mildly. Frankly, this is too much excitement for me. You Shihoins are going to give me a heart attack."
Faced with all the turmoil, Karin smiled. This, she knew. This was practically home. "Shut up, Takehiro. But thank you. Again."
He squeezed her hand one more time. "Any time, Red."
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Karin and Takehiro found him the hour before dawn, and by the time they finished telling him the king's story, there was barely enough time to tell them of the Sakurako's accident and Zed's gift. Yet as soon as all the cards were on the table, the three of them stared at each other, and it was finally Takehiro who asked, "So. What do we do?"
With a sinking heart, Kouji knew what must be done.
"Well, my role is clear enough," Karin murmured, fiddling with the cuffless section of her ear. "I fulfill my promise to the king, and keep Hikari safe. And if I have the chance, I'm going to have a talk with Fujiwara. Maybe I can try and scare him into telling me how he's seen the demons."
Takehiro gave her a look at the thought of her attempting to torture anyone. "Red, he's not going to be frightened of you."
"Even if I manipulate his blood?"
Takehiro's face took on an odd expression, like he knew something she didn't. "Just...trust me. Fear isn't what he feels for you. And if he knew you could do something like that, it would probably just be...worse."
"It doesn't matter," Kouji interrupted, feeling the weight of his decision weigh heavily on his shoulders. "Because Karin's not going to stay at the palace."
"What?"
"Kouji, I promised. And who else will protect Hikari?"
Kouji shook his head. "No. You're not staying anywhere near the king, not when he's broken our trust and expects us to act on false information. Lying to us could mean our lives; nearly cost Sakurako hers. You're not staying here."
Her first three words were in her native tongue, and she started again for Takehiro's benefit. "Then are we leaving Hikari to die?"
Across from both of them, standing in the third point of their triangle, Takehiro gave both of them concerned looks. "Look, maybe we need to think quietly on this for a couple minutes…"
Kouji waved them both off. "No we are not, Karin. I will stay and protect her."
Karin blinked at him in shock, and Takehiro's expression was eerily similar.
"But the king-"
"But the dragon-"
He shook his head. "I am staying. Hikari's condition is no one's fault but her own. Not the king's, not his first wife's...and no matter what the king says, I'm the only one who can keep her from harm. I'm the better warrior, Karin. And more importantly, I'm ruthless enough to keep her from harming - whether intentionally or not - anyone else. Could you do that? You spoke of threatening Fujiwara...could you do the same to your sister?"
His cousin stared up at him with wide eyes, clearly arguing with herself. Her answer was given when she looked to the floor, chewing the inside of her lip.
"It is not a weakness, cousin. Your love for your sister-"
"Then I'm taking your place," she interrupted. "I will fight Asura for you."
Kouji blinked. "Are you mad? This is your chance to leave the kingdom. You won't get another opportunity like this, Karin." He glanced over at Takehiro. "The same goes for you. This is the best chance either of you will have to escape all this."
Takehiro and Karin glanced at each other, once again in perfect accord. Kouji should be used to it by now, but every time it still made him wonder how they did it. "Yeah, I don't think that's how it's going to happen, comrade." Takehiro found the levity to wink at him. "As soon as she leaves the palace she's just going to do what she wants, so you might as well leave her to it."
"And as for you?" Karin asked with a raised eyebrow, pushing when she saw Takehiro's attempt at evasion. "No, no. The same goes for you - you're going to do what you need to do. Just be honest with us about it. Are you going to come with me? Or are you going to escape?"
Kouji watched with interest. The three of them had been dancing around this subject for months, and yet this was the first time all three were discussing it openly. Takehiro looked from Karin to him, before staring into the middle distance. Both Shihoins could tell when he'd finally come to his decision, something in his posture seemed to relax.
"Well. Saying this makes me a bad, bad man, but...I'm going to go with Red. Help take down one more dragon, yeah? Besides, I've got to keep Hideyoshi from doing something stupid. You'd be surprised at what that man can do when left to his own devices- oof!"
He was interrupted by Karin throwing her arms around him and squeezing the life out of him. Thankfully for his ribcage the hug was brief. Then, she turned her sights onto Kouji. He suffered through her embrace manfully (there were drawbacks to her native strength and exuberance) and swallowed a grin when he saw Takehiro rub his sides.
He patted her head as she pulled away, ignoring Takehiro's fond, yet vaguely mocking smile. "Thank you, Takehiro. I'd hug you as well, but I think we both need to recover first."
"Hey."
Kouji smiled at his cousin before continuing. "So that is our plan. I remain, the two of you go, and as soon as the dragon is killed, I need the two of you to wait someplace safe. Have Karin leave a code in her native tongue, with the field marshal preferably. I will meet up with you as soon as Hikari is stable."
"And then what?" Karin asked without looking at Takehiro, as if she knew it would only be the two of them at the end. "We can't go back, Kouji. We'll have to go someplace new."
"Well, actually…" Takehiro interrupted, trying to look nonchalant and failing. "We all could go to Japan."
Kouji and Karin shared a look that was equal parts confusion and hope.
"Or more specifically, we could go to field marshal Fujiwara's holdings, in Japan. You know, the house he lives in when he's not in the kingdom? He bequeathed it to me. I've got the paperwork right here."
"He left you his house?" Karin was stunned, and Kouji was surprised to see Takehiro's guilty grin.
"He left you guys stuff too. Kouji, I left a sword for you in your chambers - he said something about the inscription being important? And uh, Maka wrote you a little story that he transcribed...I can give to you before we leave. He thought it might be a good thing to use when learning Japanese."
Inexplicably, Karin's eyes watered. Kouji frowned. Was she going to miss the child that much? On second thought he supposed it was natural. Some women were like that with children. Most, perhaps. And the girl had risked her life for Karin…
"Thank you," Karin whispered. "I- I mean, I hope you thanked him for us."
Once again, Takehiro's smile was oddly pained. "Of course I did. But the holdings. We can escape there, and plan out the next stage."
His meaning wasn't lost on either Shihoin. "Wait, does that mean you're coming with us?" Kouji half leaned across the table, and Karin looked no less excited.
He shrugged. "I told you it made me a bad, bad man. But there's just something about you Shihoins. I just can't let you go." He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically. "So take me away. I want to see the world."
Karin snorted while Kouji frowned. This was no time for jokes. Yet after thinking about it a moment, he too saw the need for humor in a time like this, and he decided to let it go. Rather than chastise him, he nodded firmly. "It's settled then. Wherever we go, we go together. But first-"
The world lurched sickeningly, the colors swirling together like the scene was a shaken snowglobe. Then-
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2018
The dream ended suddenly, jarringly. When Sakura came to herself she almost expected to find herself on the floor, or drained of color herself. Yet she opened her eyes to the exact same tableau she had closed them to, save for the dream maker whose strength had at least failed, currently sagging pale and gasping against Karin.
Next to her, her father kneeled to support Maka's weight, and when he rose he shared a concerned glance with Karin. Yet Maka kept them from remarking on her obvious weakness.
"Don't tend to me, I'm fine. The story was done for today anyway. The boy has returned."
As if on cue there was a thump coming from the hallway, and everyone turned to the doorway where Yuuki staggered in. He was covered in blood, clothes torn, and his arm hung from an odd angle that signalled a dislocated shoulder. There was also an unsteadiness in his eyes; casting uselessly about the room, still looking for threats. Just as Toki rose to steady him, he tottered unsteadily several steps in the opposite direction, seeking out Ogami. When he reached him, he licked his split lower lip and tried to grin.
"Party time, guys. Demons are up and in business. I think I handled the first wave. Gonna' sit this next one out." He wobbled and began to fall backwards. "Tag in, team."
He was unconscious by the time Ogami and Toki caught him, only inches away from hitting the floor. Ogami laid him gently down, while Toki's lips flattened. Ready or not, if the demons had materialized, then the war had begun once more.
After that, everything happened quickly.
Orders were given and weapons and supplies were packed. All present were warriors in some form or another, and most had solidified such plans within days of arrival. Sakura's mission was to escort Yuuki and Maka to Eden's hospital, one of the few institutions that had continued since Eden's fall. Yet they would be dropped off by what Toki had dubbed Team Puppeteer - her father, Kouji, and Rui - and so Sakura simply waited with Maka and Yuuki and tended to the worst of his wounds while everyone else in the mansion rushed around, preparing themselves.
Not surprisingly, Ogami was the first ready to leave. Slightly more so, Toki was the second. The two begrudging friends shared a look before Toki threw an arm around Ogami, grinning his slanted smile as he did so.
"Don't die, Angstgami," he informed his friend with mock seriousness.
"You look like your dad," Ogami informed him slightly more sincere gravity.
Perhaps Toki could read Ogami better than he knew, for he didn't take offense. He merely stepped away and leaned in to mutter his own goodbyes to both Yuuki and Maka. Yet what he said Sakura couldn't have told. Her attention was caught by Ogami, who looked at her with a serious expression before stalking off suddenly into the kitchen. Sakura swallowed. This was it; what they had all been training for. Unlike the others, Ogami and her mother were on a team of two, facing down the hordes of demons they had seen so much of in the past. In their case especially, so much could go wrong. Would he allow her to say goodbye? Maybe even allow her to tell him that she loved him?
Sakura scowled. Even if he didn't, she could at least wish him good luck! She got up and followed him, entire being focused on finding a way to say goodbye to him even when he would do everything in his power to turn her away. Yet he could die out there, and she would be the last to know - and while she could understand him not wanting to hear that she loved him, she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try.
She pushed through the double doors, pulling upon her normal bravado to brazen through the moment. "Ogami, I want to wish you good luck, and please take care of my-oomph!"
Before the doors had settled behind her, Ogami had spun, picked her up, and pressed her back against the wall. For a moment they simply stared at each other, too charged to do anything other than breathe and want, the world hanging heavily between them. Movement came slowly, fractured into crystallized moments - his eyes slanting down to her lips, her hands latching behind his neck, their noses sliding together, his exhale upon her lips.
Their hesitance melted away when their mouths slotted together, and he began kissing her fiercely. This was not how he had kissed her six years ago, when he'd admitted his love for her to bring her back from the brink. This was how he kissed her now, with the weight of all their years apart sitting heavy on his shoulders, and the depth of his emotions fueling him. Sakura could do nothing other than kiss him back to the best of her ability. Her only kisses had been with him, and she felt almost lost in his worshipful desire. His kiss felt alternatively holy and desperate, and for the first time, she felt as if she could understand the effects of his flame. In this kiss she would allow herself to burn, could allow the entire world to burn, as long as they could stand here together and die in his all-consuming love.
They did not break away when the kitchen door swung open, and hastily swung shut. Neither did they did not break away when her father began wailing, loudly and obnoxiously, about despoiled daughters. Nor did they when there was the sound of a meaty smack, and her mother's clear command to shut up, Takehiro. They only broke away when the first flush of their passion passed, and for a moment it felt like the world would not end if they stopped kissing.
Sakura's eyes fluttered open, aware for the first time of kiss-swollen lips and the desperate hunger in Ogami's eyes as he searched hers. In comparison she felt calm, steady, powerful beyond her experience.
"Sakura," he whispered, pressing his lips to her temple, her forehead, as if he could not bear to bring his mouth away for her. Sakura thrilled at the sound of her name on his tongue, hearing him saying it for the first time. "Sakura." He kissed her once more on the lips before pulling away. "Sakura. No matter what...I'm sorry, I…" His eyes fluttered closed, and he swallowed. "You should know. I lo-"
"Shhhh." Surprising even herself, Sakura brought her hand to his mouth. She smiled gently up at him, wondering at her surety even as she continued. "Don't tell me until you come back, Rei. Promise me. We can finish this when you return safely."
He nodded slowly, never taking his gaze off of hers. Then he pressed a kiss into her palm, and it was that which decided Sakura. No matter what happened, no matter the course of their future, he would be a part of her. There would be no other lover for her, no other love than what he would give her.
She needed nothing more. He was the only one she could love. There was no more doubt in her soul, and she would accept nothing less.
Her hand trailed down to his, and gripped his firmly. Then, one step at a time, they walked together towards their fate.
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THEY DID IT. KISSES FOR EVERYONE. *Throws kisses to audience* And it only took 29 chapters, wooo go me :P
Oh, Matsuhiro. You lying liar that lies…
Soutarou's parentage is explored more fully in Kyo's side story, Code:Shot 2. Along with pirates and Rin and sass, and it will be awesome and it's almost done hooraayyyy.
The end of the past scenes are creeping upon us. I'm gonna' be hella sad when they're done, dang.
And just for funsies, a part I cut out of the final draft (I thought it was getting a bit mushy, gah) -
"Oh, you know. Enjoy my low and healthy blood pressure. That, and pick on Hideyoshi, mostly."
Karin tried to grin, but it came out as a grimace. The mentioned of the field marshal's name made her honest. "I'll miss you, you know. When Kouji and I leave."
Takehiro's hand tightened on hers and his head swung away from her. "Oh, don't even start. You haven't gotten rid of me yet! We still have to take down that dragon...and none of us are going anywhere without saying goodbye. Hell, none of us are going anywhere until we even make a battle plan. And you know what that means. Time to find Kouji."
Karin shook her head. "Takehiro. Whether you head out with Kouji at dawn or choose to go...wherever you go, just know that you are the most insufferable person that I know, and an absolute jerk, and that no matter what happens you're still my best friend."
Takehiro pulled to a stop, a pained expression on his face. "Red, what did I tell you about goodbyes?"
"Nothing?"
"This is because we're not doing them, largely as they make me cry. Now let's go. Before I start crying, you terrible woman."
Of course Takehiro would cry. Of course he would.
