A/N: This is one of the chapters I've been waiting to write since I first started this story. (And for months I have been struggling to get this particular chapter right. You have no idea.) It's been a long time coming, and I sincerely hope that what I end up presenting will not only be meaningful, but something to remember. Let's hit it!
Note: This chapter is heavily inspired by a musical piece called Cocoon by Hiroyuki Sawano. I highly recommend listening to it while reading this. Each instrument of the song (in terms of this story) represents something different.
The soft piano that plays continuously represents the Mina of old, the part of her that is slowly dying.
The saxophone sections represent Joey, his general heartache, and frustration over how helpless he is to do anything to help Mina.
The sometimes overpowering orchestra represents the new Mina. She is consumed by despair, rage, and the determination to claim not only vengeance but a sort of redemption for killing her mother.
You can start the song in whatever section of the chapter you wish. I had to listen to it on repeat while writing to get the entire feel of the chapter, but I wouldn't ask you all to do the same.
I'm also going to try a different writing style for this one because I really want to capture every aspect of what Mina and Joey are feeling as each section builds to the climactic conclusion of this particular chapter.
Warnings: Heavy point of view switching below and there is a small time skip included. I should also note that some of the early exposition in this chapter isn't explained fully, primarily because it just isn't important for Mina's story anymore. If you'd like to know more about some of the things affecting Rei and the others, including some new powers A.A. has, then you will have to read over some things in Here We Go Again, the sister story to this piece. That is all. Enjoy!
Chapter 38
Requiem for Friendship and Love
Through the rest of December 20th, 2017, Rei Hino and the other Sailor Senshi started to compile every piece of information they had regarding E.E. However, this process was interrupted by several key events. These events forced the inner senshi to leave the premises of their temporary base within the home of a woman named Tokine Mazura. The only member of the inner senshi to stay behind was Lita Kino.
Within twenty minutes of the departure of most of the inner senshi, A.A. awoke from his beat down induced slumber and attempted to leave after reading through key journal entries penned by his sister, Ophelia Hyuga.
When Lita attempted to stop him, he put on a violent display, using new powers gifted to him by Ophelia sometime before her death. The brunette beauty tried in vain to subdue the distressed cannibal, but was unsuccessful. A.A. bolted from the house not long after waking, taking one of Ophelia's journals with him.
Transforming into Sailor Jupiter, Lita followed after the cannibal and battled him to the best of her ability. Unfortunately, A.A. gained the upper hand through the course of the battle, injuring her severely in the process.
In the aftermath of the fight, the inner and outer scouts attempted to locate him. Their search yielded no results despite having placed a tracking device on him earlier that day. At some point he had discovered it, leaving a letter behind for the pesky scouts to find.
Having ditched the tracker, A.A. made a slow journey to Juban Cemetery. Once there, he dug two shallow graves for his siblings and wept as the sun set over the horizon.
One day he vowed to give them a proper burial, but for the time being, the holes in the ground would remain empty.
With their lead to finding E.E. gone, the Sailor Scouts had to approach the situation from another angle. A.A.'s letter didn't provide any information they could work with, aside from the fact that he had written it in his blood for some reason. Ami Mizuno claimed she could run an analysis on it and pinpoint the cannibal's location from that.
Even so, there was some dissention among the scouts. Chibiusa Tsukino, a.k.a. Rini, was adamant about searching for Mina and eventually separated from the group in order to track the blonde down on her own, but had no success in doing so.
The scouts did learn one useful thing from A.A.'s letter. On the night of the Christmas Ball, E.E. was critically wounded by his sister. The immortal demon would not make another attack on them until she was healed, which gave them a window of time to work with. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would be enough to narrow down a possible location. In the meantime, the Sailor Scouts continued to search for A.A. in the hopes of finding out where E.E. was located sooner.
None of them had any idea of what Minako Aino was preparing for at that time, and none of them were aware of the deal she had made with a devil. Though there were many signs to warn them, from Michiru's painting from a week prior, to the phone call the senshi of love made to Serena...none of them would have ever imagined the events that would occur the following night...the night of December 21st, 2017.
My name is Minako Aino, but most simply call me Mina.
I am known by a select few as Sailor Venus, the soldier of love and beauty and the bringer of justice to those who disregard or try to destroy those who love.
Once, I was part of a team of planetary soldiers-the Sailor Scouts. Together, we, the reborn guardians of Earth, protected and maintained peace throughout the world, but my role in that group of chosen soldiers has come to an end thanks to a series of tragic events none of us saw coming.
Now I am a shadow of my former self, a woman abandoning all morality to complete a simple, selfish task to kill.
It's an ugly mission, unbefitting of the person I used to be.
This battle suit Sailor Mercury made, combined with your powers and the magic locked inside the Millennium Ring will give you just enough strength to be on even terms with E.E. Our spirits will be bonded while you wear this, so at any point in time, should you need any tactical expertise or just a general warning of an attack coming your way, I shall assist you...well, unless I want to see you bleed a little, then I won't say anything at all.
Hmm, how very kind of you, Bakura.
The date is December 21st, 2017.
Ryou Bakura lays unconcious on the couch in the living room, snoring peacefully with his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. In a few minutes, once I'm done getting dressed, I'll use the magic mirror I stole from Rei's mansion in the settlement to send him back to Domino City. The Millennium Ring will disappear from around my neck and go back to the boy once my partnership with the spirit of the ring is over, making us enemies once again...not that it really matters.
I don't care what goal the demonic spirit is trying to achieve at this point. My only concern is what I plan to achieve on this night.
E.E.'s underground base is located underneath the ruined city of Narita. While it would be easier to use that mirror of yours to simply initiate a surprise attack against her, the woman has subordinates ready to protect her outside her throne room, as you and I both saw. Those few subordinates would be too big of a distraction. To win, all of your focus must be on E.E. herself. For this reason, you'll need to enter the base from one of the four entryways I've marked on this map of the area. This is the one I recommend.
The time is 7 o'clock p.m.
Time is a funny thing, isn't it? Only a few months have passed since the day I departed from Japan to live in Domino City with my mother after my father, Toshido Aino, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Shortly after our arrival, my mother started acting strange...no...
She became abusive.
And eventually, she tried to kill me.
In my desperation, I agreed to work under Maximillion Pegasus as an Eliminator Duelist. My mission was simple. Knock Yugi Muto out of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament.
Working with Bakura now reminds me of that time, reminds me of what a fool I had been.
Am I making the same mistake now?
Probably.
Bakura, you have a grudge against me, don't you? Why turn to me for help? Why not turn to the other Sailor Scouts. E.E. seems to have a hang up about Rei more than anyone, so I'm sure if you had resorted to trickery you could have convinced her to work with you. Tell me, why choose someone you hate to help you?
Do you really want to know?
Yes, I do. Call it morbid curiosity, but I just don't understand your logic behind this.
Oh, you will in time. For now, just consider my requesting your assistance as a favor to you. After all, you hate E.E. more than anyone, right?
Slipping into a black tank top and the black/orange pants of my battle suit, I force out a sigh, my mind temporarily taking me back to a distant moment in time, one I can't seem to forget even as I fight to put the past behind me.
A piece of my soul is gone. A body can't live without its soul for a long period of time, so I don't think a body can live without all of its soul either. Sure, I can probably last longer. The way I'm feeling now, I could probably last a long time...
"I don't have to last much longer," I breathed, cutting the memory short before I could think of Joey and the things he told me that day in the cold rain.
After taking another moment to slowly inhale, I reached for the black and orange jacket of the suit lying on my old bed. The familiar pattern of the comforter makes me smile a little, but the expression quickly disappears when my gaze locks on the refection in the mirror.
Even now, there's still something wrong with my eyes.
Before I couldn't really figure out what it was, but it's starting to become clear.
Hate isn't a strong enough word to describe my feelings toward that demon, Bakura.
Releasing another sigh, I tug at the zipper of the jacket after shoving my arms through the sleeves.
Then what word would you choose?
Sitting down on the bed, I slip on a pair of socks over my feet.
Contempt would be a good one, but it means the same thing, so it's not a strong enough word either. I don't think there is a word to convey the rage I feel.
Really? You don't seem all that enraged to me.
Another tug at a zipper, and I have one knee-high boot fastened around my right foot. Repeating the action, I jam my left foot into the boot's twin, making sure the fit isn't too loose or too tight.
I'm saving that...
With a grunt, I slide a black, fingerless glove over my right arm.
...for when we're standing...
The second glove glides over my left arm soon after as I spread my fingers out to assess the mobility of the fabric.
...face to face...
My eyes drift to the weapons laying haphazardly along the bedspread behind me once I'm through dressing. I know how to use some of them, but there are others I'm only half sure I know how to use, which makes me wonder for a short moment if all this will even be enough. Despite what Bakura told me...my strength could fail me. I could fall short again and lose my life in the process.
In order for E.E. to be killed, she has to be wounded so terribly that her Codes can't repair her body fast enough to remain alive. Either that, or your Geass has to be strong enough to take away every single immortal code she has in her possession. She has many, so I doubt you'll be able to do that. Your Geass is too weak. However, given how much you hate the woman...I imagine cutting her down to pieces won't be a problem for you. If there's no trace left, she can't return to the realm of the living, regardless of her vast number of immortal codes.
Seriously? That's all there is to it?
That's all.
I'm not sure if I believe anything he said at this point, but I have nothing else to go on and this is the best shot I'm ever going to get.
As the old saying goes, it's now or never.
However, before I set off to embark on this final journey...there's one last goodbye I have to extend.
My name is Joseph Wheeler, but friends call me Joey.
About a week ago, one of my closest friends, Mina Aino, invited me to come to Japan with her for Christmas. I accepted without a thought for what was to come, or of the pain I would end up causing.
On some level, I really shouldn't be surprised by it. Mina told me things could get dangerous.
Maybe I should have said no. Maybe I should have decided on the housesitting option she started to offer.
Honestly though, despite everything that's happened, I know this is where I need to be. As maddening as it is to just sit here in this room at rich boy's estate, shuffling through my deck of Duel Monsters cards like a nimrod, being here in Japan is still better than being in Domino, just sitting idly by, watching everyone else enjoy what's always a miserable holiday season for me.
No, scratch that. Being here right now is most definitely worse than Domino, but a couple days ago it was better because of the joy Mina was feeling. When she was happy, I was happy. I liked spending time with her. I liked getting to know the carefree, bubbly side of her personality. In those too short days, Mina made the usually unbearable Christmas stuff...fun.
Actually...she turned it into something exciting, something I can always look fondly on and think, "Wow...now this is something worth rememberin'."
For a few days I forgot about my dad and his abuse. I forgot about the pain of not being able to see Serenity and my mother, even at the time of year celebrating peace on Earth and family.
Mina was the one who helped me when no one else could. I mean, she saved me from the wrath of my dad by bringing me here with her.
She's done so much for me and has sacrificed so much for my sake. Even before what happened with her mother, Mina gave up what she wanted and needed in order to help me.
Mina, you gave me that duel. If you had attacked I would have lost and then you'd be closer to getting your life back. Tell me, why would you sacrifice that?
Because…I know my father wouldn't have wanted me to hurt someone else. Not even to save his life. He would want me to do what's right. Joey…you deserve that money and that title more than anyone else. Unlike me, you have the power to save someone you love. You can save your sister. It isn't too late for you.
It isn't too late for you either, Mina. I know that if you're in there supporting me I can give Yugi a run for his money. Please. I promise that I won't let you down, Mina. Please, just come back in there with me.
I couldn't keep my promise then, not without help from Yugi.
I couldn't keep the promise I made to Mina's father either. I promised to protect her, and yet...
"Gaaaaaaaaaaah!" Roaring out my stress isn't gonna help, but it felt good to just scream and claw at my hair for a minute.
Flopping back on the bed once I'm through yelling, I stare at the ceiling with the Duel Monsters cards laying scattered and abandoned on the pillow next to my head.
There has to be something I'm missing here!
Without thinking, I ram my fist into the headboard behind me. The impact hurts, but that little bit of discomfort only pushes me to attack it again and again until the skin of my knuckles starts to break and ooze a bit of blood. Only then does the stinging sensation actually register in my head as pain.
"Mina...I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I let ya down. This time...I really let ya down..."
If you touch a hair on my mother's head Rei, I swear I'll rip out your heart with my bare hands.
Really? Are you prepared to stain your hands with blood as I have?
With a pen in hand and a piece of paper sitting on the cold counter in front of me, it suddenly dawns on me how prepared I truly am to walk a path lined with corpses.
The men and women stationed in Narita are subordinates who act according to E.E.'s commands rather than the commands of the leader of the Geass Order. These particular ten were trained under the tutelage of A.A.
I see. So, they'll be highly dangerous combatants?
Exactly. Each one of them has a particular talent. Be extra careful of this woman here, Veronica Wong. She may be the smallest of the group, but she's also the deadliest. In addition to being able to move quickly and silently, her swordsmanship and basic combat skills are far above average. She'll be trouble for you, more so than all the others. If you aren't careful, you could end up facing E.E. in a severely injured state, which will lead to a quick death at her hands. You can't afford to be merciful.
My hands are already sullied a great deal at this point. There's no reason to hold back or show mercy to those in my way now. Whatever it takes...E.E. will fall.
That's what I like to hear.
Bakura's body still lay unconscious on the couch in the room behind me. The Millennium Ring rests on the coffee table near him, beckoning me to place it around my neck.
But I can't do that just yet.
Pressing the ink pen against the lined white page, I begin to write.
For a few minutes I run my battered hand underneath a stream of scalding hot water, wincing as it burned the wounds I'd created. Yet another stupid decision I've made in the last few days.
While gently patting my injury with a damp paper towel, I start to think about those decisions, and the truth I kept to myself about what had happened to the paperwork Mina brought to Japan for her mother to sign. When it became clear that part wouldn't pan out, she decided to go to her long lost cousin, Milly Ashford, and ask for help clear up the situation with Mr. Aino's surgery by signing the paperwork herself.
However, before Mina was even able to bring up the subject to her cousin, E.E. and her mom stormed into this house, and one of them stole the paperwork from Mina's room, breaking her bedroom window in the process.
Only the last page of the paperwork was left behind, signed by Mina's mother.
On that same night, I came face to face with the crazed immortal.
In the aftermath of E.E.'s random kiss and abrupt departure, I constantly tried to think of a way to tell Mina the truth. She needed to know exactly what happened, but...
I guess I wanted to spare her from having to deal with any more stress. Even a complete moron would have seen she was ten seconds away from losing it thanks to all the little pieces of her former life shattering along the pavement of messed up circumstances. From the second I realized the paperwork was gone, I knew Mina couldn't get out of this unscathed. It just wasn't going to be possible for her to avoid heartache.
My hope in keeping the truth from her was to put off the suffering she would eventually go through. At the same time though, I knew trying to shield her wasn't the best thing for her. She should have been told about it right away, but...I couldn't bring myself to do it. No matter how many times I started to, something inside stopped me every time.
And in the end, it was her Geass power that told her the truth, not me.
Mina...I was going to tell ya. I wanted to tell ya, but you were just so happy and I didn't know what to say...
Joey, I understand that. I understand why you didn't say anything. I get it. However, that still doesn't make up for the fact that you lied to me when this whole time you've been the only person I could trust.
I'm sorry.
I know...it wouldn't be fair of me to be angry with you. You just tried to protect me. You've always done that...it's just that this time there was no way for you to do that.
Squatting over the plush navy rug on the floor, I opened the cabinet doors beneath the sink, trying in vain to find a first aid kit. Even when it was clear there was nothing I could use to bandage my hand, I kept staring at some of the other items. Things like towels, boxes of Q-tips, my once lost duffel bag that the airport finally sent over yesterday afternoon, a hairdryer, and a bunch of other miscellaneous things I barely took any note of.
I thought I made it clear that there are just some things you can't protect me from! But you know what!? In the end it's my fault for dragging you into this. I wanted to repay you...I wanted to make this Christmas special for you because I understood what you were going through with your father. Instead of doing that I've made things worse...you've been miserable trying to figure out when to tell me something I would never be ready to hear.
Eventually I let out a sigh, deeming my search for a first aid kit in the bathroom a lost cause. However, I'm reluctant to go downstairs where Kallen and Urabe are. A little while earlier I heard the sound of Hotaru's voice calling up the stairs for me, but I didn't answer. She didn't call for me again, nor did she come up the stairs looking for me. Kallen probably told her I wanted to be on my own for a while, at least until there was word on where Mina was. Since Hotaru didn't demand my attention, it's pretty clear she still hasn't been found.
For a few seconds I wondered in panic if the cannibal had killed her, but the thought left my head almost as quickly as it came. Mina was definitely alive. I'm ninety-eight percent certain of that.
Still, that two percent is a doozy to my nerves.
"Come on Wheeler, shake it off," I muttered, forcing myself to leave the bathroom and travel back to the bedroom area of my suite. Maybe there's a first aid kit in the nightstand.
This is in no way your fault. Mina, E.E. is a wicked person and she's to blame for all the bad things that are happening. We can get that paperwork back and we can save your mom. There's still hope. You can't give up.
My uninjured hand quickly reached for the handle attached to the nightstand drawer after crossing the length of the room.
But Joey...I just don't know how much longer I can keep fighting like this. I don't want to keep fighting like this. I just want it to end.
And immediately upon opening it...
I don't want to keep fighting like this.
... I find stark white pages covered in black ink.
I just want it to end.
And on the bottom of the first page I see a signature...a signature matching the one on the last page of the document we were all certain E.E. had taken.
I just want it to end.
At 7:30 p.m., Minako Aino finished writing.
With nimble fingers she folded the small letter into a neat square before making her way back to the living room with her message in hand. After depositing it on the glass coffee table between Bakura's Millennium Ring and his Duel Monsters deck, she picked up the magic mirror from the other end of the table.
The weaker side of her spirit wished she would have known about the mirror's power earlier. Perhaps then she could have prevented the deep personal tragedies tainting her once pure spirit.
The stronger...no perhaps this isn't a stronger side, rather, the darker side of her heart put away thoughts of the past, making the decision to press on. There could be no more doubt. This was the time to act, the time to bring about the wrath of all the people who died because of E.E.'s malicious and barbaric schemes. For that end, Mina would transform into a greater monster if necessary.
In her mind, it no longer mattered what became of her.
Turning to the unconscious body of Ryou Bakura, the ribbon wearing blonde stared at him for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should allow the boy to live as she continued to watch the steady rise and fall of his chest. After all, the spirit of the Millennium Ring had worked alongside E.E. for a long while and would return to his host after their business was over to wreak havoc on the lives of her friends in Domino.
For the second time, she decided against it. What the spirit did using Bakura's body wasn't a concern of hers anymore. Neither was Yugi Muto or the spirit living within his puzzle or his friends. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba weren't a concern either, although Mina was grateful that she had already given her boss a proper goodbye. She hoped he would keep his promise to her.
There was only one person left to distance herself from.
Holding out the mirror, she spoke a quick command. "Send this boy back to his apartment in Domino City."
The mirror responded to her words with a bright, golden glow. Within seconds the golden strands of light surrounded the boy's body and he disappeared from sight before the blonde's eyes.
Once the mirror's aura faded, Mina twisted the object towards herself, watching the glass carefully as it showed her the image of the boy she'd just transported home. He was still unconscious, now lying on a twin mattress within a small apartment.
"That's my end of the bargain," she thought, setting the mirror down against the coffee table in order to properly strap on the weapons that went with her battle suit, testing out the mechanisms of the attire for about the fifth time since putting it on. She started by experimenting with the mechanisms on the gloves again. As per usual, two blades protruded out from a slit in the thick, almost metal-like fabric. She practiced a few standard movements with them before retracting them. Following that, she once again pressed the button on her left sleeve, sitting just above the spot where the elbow-length glove ended. With a small click, she felt a mechanism quickly release on her back. Without moving her gaze from the wall in front of her, Mina gripped the hilt of the black, sword-like shotgun. It was the width of a broadsword at the top and a Japanese style hilt at the bottom, which hid a moderate sized sword in a container beneath the barrel of the gun compartment.
Though a thinner and lighter weapon than most shotguns, the senshi of love was well aware of the issues she might come across while handling it.
A small yawn escaped her in those moments.
While Bakura had been eating wings and sleeping, Mina was up training, even going outside on occasion to practice with another long range weapon designed specifically for her skill set, a black metal chain with one weighted, tennis-ball sized, black metal orb at the end. Of all the weapons in her possession, she had practiced with this one the most. However, at this moment she couldn't afford to waste time unwrapping it from her waist only to spend two minutes rewrapping it for the sake of another few seconds of training.
A horrible snowstorm would descend over the Tokyo Settlement and the surrounding smaller settlements in the next hour. For an island territory like Area 11, once known as Japan, such a vicious storm would be a challenge for its residents.
For E.E., who was currently tucked underground in her base in Narita, the storm would trap her and any adversary who arrived to do battle with her inside.
Minako Aino was aware she might not survive the night. She knew there was a possibility of failure, but didn't dwell on either of these thoughts because of the promises she had made to her father.
The ribbon wearing blonde was unable to keep her vow to save Yumi Aino, a.k.a. Cecelia May Ashford; however, she could still fulfill the other oaths she made to him.
"I'll come home, Dad. I'll come home and save you as soon as I get this paperwork back."
Though failure was a possibility, it wasn't an option. Mina couldn't...no, wouldn't fail this time.
This time she would claim victory.
If her heart and soul are lost in the fight, so be it.
For a few seconds, the organ beating in her chest pounds a bit more forcefully, her breathing slightly shallow as she reaches for the Millennium Ring. Having thrown on Bakura's stained brown coat again, she tosses the item and his dueling deck into one of its inside pockets before placing the letter she'd written in the other.
Fully prepared for the task ahead, Mina gathers her courage and holds out the magic mirror in front of her while giving it another quick command.
Meanwhile, inside the Kaiba Estate, Joey Wheeler angrily flung open the doors to his suite, his mind absolutely frantic and his heart beating too fast for him to breathe properly. Trying in vain to calm himself, he ran down the hall to Mina's suite heedless of the questions he knew Artemis and Luna would ask the second he entered. In fact, when he finally reached the door to Mina's room, he didn't bother to knock nor did he bother to listen to the surprised cries of the two cats as he yanked open the drawer to the nightstand where the last page of the way too important document lied. With the page in hand, Joey stormed back down the hall, although Artemis and Luna were quick to follow behind him.
"Joey! What's gotten into you!" Artemis was screaming. "Answer me!"
The blonde duelist couldn't say a word. He was seething, so much so that he had no idea who or what to direct the rage at. For that reason he kept silent and continued his frenetic pace down the hall, clutching the lone piece of paper tightly in his right hand the whole way.
Once in his room, he brought the thick stack of papers out of his nightstand and placed it on top of the last page on the bedspread. Then he took a minute to flip through the pages to make sure they were all there and in order, heedless of the surprised yelps echoing out behind him.
"My word!" Luna gasped, hopping onto the bed next to Joey's injured hand. "Where did you find this, and what happened to your hand!?"
Artemis was on the other side of the blonde, also staring at the pages. "Is that really the paperwork Mina needed signed?"
Joey didn't respond. He was too busy counting the numbers at the top right corner of each page while also glancing at the bottom of each page to make sure there was a signature.
When Artemis didn't receive an answer, he followed the boy's gaze to the bottom of the pages. With each page that passed by his vision, he noted the same signature over and over.
Yumi Aino.
Luna, seeing the importance of what Joey had discovered, leapt from the bed and to the hardwood flooring. "I'm going to alert the girls about this. We need to start searching for Mina again now."
Upon hearing those words, the blonde finally spoke. "You mean they stopped!" Ceasing in his counting and page flipping, the teen left the pages on the bed for Artemis to look through, angrily striding past Luna as he did. "What is wrong with all of you!?"
Luna followed behind him. "Joseph, please. You don't understand. The situation has changed and..."
"In what way?" Joey demanded, his blood boiling by this point. "And why didn't anybody bother ta tell me about it, huh? Am I the only one concerned about Mina's well-being around here!?"
Luna started to talk again, to explain why the search had ceased, but before she could get to the meat of the issue, the boy abruptly stopped, causing her to bang her head against the back of his leg.
With a huff of irritation, the black cat glared up at him. "Joseph, why did you..." She stopped talking when she noticed the widening of his chocolate-brown irises.
Unsure of what to make of it, she followed his gaze.
And there, standing far below them at the base of the elaborate winding stairwell, was Minako Aino.
At first I thought I had to be dreamin' or that maybe what I was seeing was some kind of whacked out mirage brought on by worrying too much, but after a solid ten seconds of staring-ten seconds that felt like ten years-it became clear to me that Mina was really standing on the bottom floor of the house, wearing a stained brown coat over an odd orange and black formfitting outfit, along with the usual red ribbon in her hair.
Her presence was a huge shock to me, so much so that I couldn't bring myself to do anything but stare at her, fighting within myself to do or say something, anything...
"Move! Go to her you idiot! If you aren't going to start walking then at least start talking man!"
Luna, who was also staring at Mina, quickly shifted her gaze to me. "Joseph..."
My feet were slow to obey the commands my brain gave them. Without looking away from Mina, I started to race down the stairs, noticing for the first time since the initial shock wore off that she was looking at me with an expression of horror.
By the time I'm halfway down the steps she's retreating, her body twisting until her face disappears from view.
"Wait! Mina!"
She doesn't stop. Instead she holds something out in front of her, shouting, "Take me to Narita! Now!"
Just as I reached the last step, a blindingly bright, golden light encircled her, forcing me to shield my eyes. "Mina!"
"I'm sorry."
After a few more seconds, the bizarre lightshow dissipated, allowing me to finally lower my arm away from my face. Glancing around, I looked back and forth for any trace of Mina, even going as far as to open the front door in order to shout her name into the frigid wind.
"She's gone," I thought, letting out a heavy sigh. "How the heck did she disappear so fast? Where did she even go?
"Joey!"
My body involuntarily shuddered at the voice screaming from a distance to my right. It was Kallen.
Luna was next to me in the next instant. "I'll explain what happened to her. You just stay here, alright, Joseph."
I nodded, not willing to speak. "Something's wrong. I've never seen her so...so...disturbed, not even after she killed her mom."
Forgetting that my right hand was still in need of a bandage, I slammed it into the doorframe, nearly screaming out a curse at the pain that shot up my arm. "Urgh! What did that sick cannibal do to her? Mina..."
There never seems to be an answer to any of my questions. One of my best friends was within my reach, brokenhearted and scared, and once again I couldn't do anything. Now she's gone again! She just...disappeared in a vapor of weird magic...
With my hand and my heart aching, I took a step backward, absently hearing a crunch of paper underneath my foot the second I did. Unsure of what to make of the sound, I directed my attention to the floor.
Laying there beneath my sock-covered heel was a folded piece of paper.
"Did Mina..." I bent down and unfolded the paper without completing the thought, instantly recognizing the familiar bubbly script of Mina's handwriting. Seeing my name at the top of the page, I started to read.
Dearest Joseph,
That's probably a bit too formal, isn't it? I mean, we're best friends. I should just call you Joey like normal...as if I know what that even is anymore.
I'd go back and fix it, but I'm writing in pen, so I can't really go back and change what I wrote before now can I?
I guess that's the thing about mistakes. Once you make them, there's no turning back, no fixing it.
Recently, I've made a whole lot of mistakes, committed a great deal of sins. Tonight, I'm going to commit another number of sins, not only for the sake of retrieving the paperwork E.E. stole but to enact my revenge.
I'm sure if you could, you'd tell me that things don't have to be this way. You'd tell me that things could end happily ever after somehow. Thing is, I don't believe in fairytales or miracles anymore.
However, that's not to say I don't believe in anything. Truth is, I believe now more than ever that I'm going down the path that is best for all of you. For the Sailor Scouts, for our friends in Domino, for my father, and for you, Joey.
I believe in a better future for all of you, one where you don't have to worry about demons like E.E., and I believe in a future where you get all the love and happiness you deserve. That's the whole reason why I brought you to Japan in the first place, to repay you for everything you've done for me.
I never thought things would come to an end like this, with me pouring my heart out in a letter rather than talking with you face to face. I guess that's just who I am now, a coward who can't even say goodbye properly. You could say that the Mina you grew to care for came down with a terminal illness the second she pulled the trigger and killed Cecelia Ashford. Soon, there won't be any trace of the person she used to be.
As much as it pains me to say this, it is for this very reason that I can never see you again.
Even so, I can't run off on my mission to create a path of corpses without giving you a type of goodbye.
Please don't blame yourself for what happened to me. It isn't your fault. I made the choice to kill my mother in order to save your life, and while I may regret killing her, I don't regret saving you. I'll never regret that, nor will I ever regret bringing you to Japan with me. The days we spent together here are some of the happiest memories I have. I cherish those memories, and regardless of whatever comes next, I'll always treasure our bond of friendship. Whatever else we could have been...I guess we'll never know.
For everything you've ever done for me, thank you. I wish I had more time to explain everything you did, how you helped me to keep going when I thought I couldn't, how you inspired me to be stronger, to have courage in the face of the greatest trials of my life, but again, I don't believe in fairytales anymore, which means I don't believe in having any wishes granted.
So, to summarize, I'll just say this. You're the best friend anyone could ask for, Joey. Take care of yourself, and please, forget any concerns you have regarding me and the path I've chosen. That isn't for you to worry about any longer. Be free of that burden and live your life to the fullest. Good luck.
Sincerely,
Minako Aino
A few seconds after screaming for the magic mirror to take me to Narita, I found myself standing on a dirt road lightly dusted in white. A distance ahead, the broad path narrowed slightly, leading in the direction towards the grounds of a memorial site. I briefly recalled an incident Serena mentioned in one of her letters to me. There had been a terrible mudslide here, created during the course of the fight between Zero, a.k.a. Lelouch, and one of his many adversaries. She told me Chad had ended up dying here, that Rei blamed herself for it.
Fighting back waves of emotions I didn't know what to make of, I started walking toward the stone monument.
I knew Joey was at the Kaiba Estate again, but I didn't think he'd show up the exact moment I arrived to drop off the letter. The plan was to slip in, place the letter on the wooden pedestal by the stairs, and take off without leaving any evidence of my presence aside from that stupid letter.
But things didn't end up that way. He saw me...
No. He didn't just see me. He looked through me. He stared into the depths of my pitiful soul, probably without even realizing it.
If there was always one thing I hated about Joey, it was that he could always see the truth. That's one of the main reasons I can't bear to face him anymore.
The magic mirror saved me from having to stay, from heeding his almost desperate call for me to wait.
In a way, though he'll never know it, that plea was the equivalent to my weaker self asking for another day to consider the implications of what I planned on doing. Joey's voice and his smoldering brown eyes expressing relief and terror all at once begged me to take a minute to pause and really think of what enacting this revenge really meant, of what I would be doing to my own soul.
But I had already made my decision while slashing away at my mother's scarred and mangled body.
For me, there is no other answer. To save my father and to attain justice for everything that's happened...I have to further stain my hands with blood until E.E. is no more.
Joey couldn't have talked me out of it. Leaving the way I did was for the best. He'll understand. If he's reading my letter now, perhaps he'll finally do as I ask and forget about me.
I won't be able to save him a second time.
Above, the clouds roll over the sky, covering the ethereal light of the full moon as my feet steadily carry me to the monument ahead. Reaching into the inside pocket of the thick brown jacket Bakura loaned to me, I take out the Millennium Ring and without another moment's hesitation, hang the item around my neck.
A/N: And that ends this long awaited chapter. You have no idea how long I've been slaving away at this particular chapter, trying to work out all the little kinks. I wanted this to really showcase the depth of what Mina and Joey are feeling and I hope I was able to execute it well (cause it took me months to work through it). And even if it's not executed well after all my work, I'll come back to it and work on it some more if I need to. I just didn't want to keep you guys waiting anymore. Thanks for reading and for putting up with my extremely slow update schedule. You guys rock! Have a nice day!