Hello, world! I'm sorry for the long wait! Warghhhhh...we're almost to the end of this LOVELY story that I ENJOY writing!

Man, I'm going to miss you guys. Truthfully, I'm spoiling it...there will be no sequel of this story...unless requested...
But I don't know...It's going to be a tad bit hard to write a sequel.

Anywayyyyyy, read this chapter and enjoy your lives!

Thank you!

CHP 51: I am Me

Tear knocked on the door before opening it. Scarlet, who was in bed, flashed a smile to her. Two boys came in with her.

"Scar-san!" one of the boys greeted her.

"How are you feeling, Scarlet?" Tear asked her, sitting by her bed.

Scarlet looked away from them. She didn't know what to say. It had been a couple of days since Killua and Alluka left. Scarlet went to a mute mode after that. Tear couldn't guess whether she was thinking about Killua, or about her past, or anything at all. The girl just sat in her bed, sometimes lied down and said nothing at all. She only took a bite or two of her food, but she never finished it.

"If you have something to talk about, you can always talk to me," Tear soothed her.

"I don't…want to talk about it…" Scarlet muttered.

Minera made an appearance. She announced that three Hunters came to visit and requested to see Scarlet.

"The kids are about your age, Scarlet. Do you want to see them?" Minera asked the girl.

Feeling a bit interested, she looked up the middle-aged woman and asked, "How do the kids look like?"

Minera pondered for a few seconds before explaining, "The girl is blonde, and very sweet-looking. The boy has black hair with green highlights. He is wearing all green attire. Are they people you know off?"

Scarlet got out of bed and rushed out to the living room where the guests would be. There, she saw the boy, along with the blonde girl Minera mentioned. Her tears started to fall down again. She started to cry in an instant. The boy turned to look at her. He was quite stunned to see her in such a state.

"Go and comfort her…" the blonde said.

The boy walked up to Scarlet. He wrapped his arms around her, hoping that her cries would subside.

"G-Gon…" she muttered.

"You know me?" Gon asked her.

"Killua talked about you once in a while. He always mentions that you're his best of best friend…" Scarlet said, wiping her tears, "I'm sorry for bursting out like that."

"N-No problem…" Gon replied.

Scarlet smiled at the blonde behind him. The girl grinned before making her way to Gon's side.

"My name's Cornelia. I'm Gon's…well…his and his father's brake of sort. I stop them from being too reckless," the girl explained.

"I see… Nice to meet you. I'm Ma- I mean, Scarlet. I'm Scarlet," the scarlet haired replied with a smile.

Cornelia nodded to her. Ging came in and he looked a lot like what Gon would be in that age. They have a lot in common, as said by Cornelia. Scarlet laughed at all of the stories the blonde told her about how Gon and Ging got into trouble almost all the time they were traveling.

"Are you staying here for the night?" Tear asked when it was almost time for dinner.

"We'd love to. Right, Gon?" Cornelia asked the boy.

"Y-Yeah… We'd love to, please," Gon replied, a bit surprised.

"Great! Cornelia, you can sleep with me in my room. Gon and his father can have Killua's room. He won't be coming here anymore…" Scarlet said.

"Okay, that'll be great! We can chat more!" Cornelia said, smiling happily.

They had dinner and for the first time in forever, Scarlet finished her meal. Tear and Minera were relieved. The kids were happy too, seeing how Scarlet had started laughing again. Gon was still observing the girl. He came for one reason only: to verify whether this girl is Mana or not. Killua had texted him before leaving, saying that she could be Mana after all. Still, Killua wanted Gon to confirm it before telling Kurogane and Anne about her.

Scarlet stood up from her chair once she was finished. "I'm gonna go stargazing for a while."

"Oh, can I join?" Cornelia asked.

"Sure, it'll be fun!" Scarlet beamed.

Cornelia followed Scarlet through the back door. They sat on the grass. The night breeze tickled their cheeks. Cornelia looked up at the sky. There were so many stars that night. She could make out some constellations out of them.

"What a beautiful night…" she muttered.

"Yeah, I guess," Scarlet replied.

"Tell me more about yourself, Scarlet," the blonde requested.

Scarlet looked down at her feet. She sighed. "There's nothing much to tell. I was found by them at the shore. I lost my memories…can't even remember my own name."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that," Cornelia replied, looking down too, "You look a lot like what Mana would be."

Scarlet turned to her. "Why?" she asked.

Cornelia smiled, clenching her hands together. "Well, Gon told me that Mana has scarlet hair, eyes like yours…and a figure like yours too. The significant difference is your attitude. You're more confident about yourself. Considering you've lost your memory, I thought you'd be a little less motivated," she explained.

"I have to be strong…and move on…" Scarlet sighed. "Even if it means, forgetting who I used to be."

"Why did you say that?" Cornelia asked, interested.

"I've been having vague dreams about my past…but I'm not really sure," Scarlet explained.

She told Cornelia some of her dreams, but avoided telling who the two boys in her dream were. She did mention her stepbrother and stepmother though. Cornelia nodded to everything she said. When she was done, it was time to go to sleep. Scarlet excused herself to get ready for bed. Gon came out after that.

"She's Mana," Cornelia said before he could ask.

"Are you sure?" Gon asked.

"Yes. She told me about how she used to be this one boy's girlfriend but dumped him because she felt like she was cheating," the blonde explained.

"I see... I'll text Kurogane and his mother tomorrow," the black haired boy replied.

Cornelia nodded. Gon smiled to his girlfriend, or more like his fiancé. She had promised her hand in marriage for him. His father and her parents had agreed. They went to bed after that.


"Mom, Gon-san found Nee-chan," Kurogane said, reading the text that Gon had sent.

"Really?" Anne asked her son.

Nodding and smiling, he replied, "Yes! I must go and get her! Will you come?"

Anne gazed into her son's eyes. They showed how pure his heart is and how much he loves his sister. She nodded to his question. The boy was delighted that his mother was coming along. He rushed upstairs to change his clothes. Anne called the airport to book their flights. She chose the earliest flight that they could catch.

In twelve hours, they were in the town where Mana was supposed to be. They asked around for the orphanage. It was early in the morning but they didn't want to go straight to a hotel. They wanted to make sure that Scarlet is Mana. Gon went to meet up with them at the plaza.

"Sorry…I thought you wouldn't arrive so soon…" Gon apologized.

"It's okay. I'm glad you answered my call," Kurogane replied.

"Yeah. Let's get going. I've already told the caretaker that they'll be having more guests today," the young teen said.

Anne and her son nodded. They followed Gon to the orphanage where Scarlet was staying. When they got there, Scarlet was hanging some sheets on the clothe line. She didn't look happy at all.

"Scarlet…" Gon called.

"Ah, Gon! Welcome back!" she said, turning to look at him.

She froze when she saw the woman and the boy. Anne rested her hands on her son's shoulders, smiling. Kurogane held the hands on his shoulders and smiled too.

"Hello…" Anne muttered.

Scarlet threw herself into the woman in front of her. Suddenly, her tears started to fall and she let it be. She cried and cried. Cornelia stood beside Gon, looking at the girl. They both smiled at her. Kurogane shed a tear or two, too. He hugged his sister from behind.

"I'm sorry…" the scarlet haired muttered.

"It's okay… It's okay, Mana…" Anne whispered, rubbing her daughter's head.

Minera and Tear came out. They saw what was happening. Although their heart was heavy to let go of Scarlet, they smiled too. Tear greeted their two new guests.

"How did you know it was me?" Scarlet asked.

"I just knew…you're my daughter," Anne replied, kissing the girl's forehead.

They were all in the living room. Most of the kids were circling them and some were eavesdropping from the corridor. Scarlet knew they didn't want her to leave. Anne and Kurogane never meant to take her back. They just wanted to make sure that she was safe, that was all.

"Mother…I…" Scarlet nit her lower lip.

"Nee-chan, we're not here to ask you to come back. I, for once, just want to make sure you're safe and happy," Kurogane interrupted.

Anne nodded and said, "Yes. Kuro's right. Do you wish to stay?"

Scarlet nodded, replying, "Yes. I want to stay. At least for the time being. These people are a part of my life now. I may be Mana, but I still want to be Scarlet for these kids. You can come and visit, right?"

"We won't just visit, we'll be one of the donors too!" her brother exclaimed.

"Yes, we should do that. I mean, they've taken good care of you after all," Anne agreed.

Minera and Tear thanked the two. They decided to stay for a few days. The caretaker welcomed them with open arms.

That night, after dinner, Scarlet went stargazing as usual. Cornelia volunteered to do the dishes. Kurogane decided to join his sister. It was yet another cold night.

"You love stargazing?" the boy asked.

"Yeah…it calms me," his sister replied.

Kurogane showed her message bottle to her. She stared for mere seconds before smiling. She took it, thanking him. He sat next to her. He glanced up at her once in a while.

She noticed, so she asked, "Something wrong?"

"Oh, no! I was just thinking when you're going to read the note inside… It's tempting me…" Kuro replied.

She smiled again. "Sorry, but I don't know… I guess when I'm ready. I just have a lot to do before finding out what's written on this note…" she muttered.

"I see…" Kurogane nodded, looking up, "It is very calming…"

"Yeah…" the sister whispered.

Mana clenched her hands together tightly. The ring on her finger sparkled a few times.


Killua received two texts: one from Gon and one from Kurogane. He smiled at what they sent. Alluka, who was walking beside him wondered what happened. He showed the texts to her. She gave a smile too.

"Are you going to go see her again?" Alluka asked.

"Nope. Not just yet…" Killua replied.

"You are so stubborn," his sister said.

Killua rubbed her head, ruining her hair. The girl groaned angrily. She fixed her hair as her brother kept on walking. Then, she rushed to catch up with him.

"Are you sure about this?" the girl asked.

"If they dare hurt you, I swear I'll cut ties with them, for good," the brother replied.

Alluka held onto her brother's right arm. Killua smiled. He was glad that his sister was with him. If not, he would have gone insane.

'Mana…wait for me. I'll come back for you…
I promise…'