Hey everyone! Well, this is it! Again, I would like to thank everyone who stuck with me until the end despite of the long delays :) I know that I kind of disappoint you guys whenever I don't update for a long time then post a not-so-good chapter but please know that I tried my best, hehe. I just hope that you enjoy reading this last chapter and the whole story itself, as much as I enjoyed writing it.


KAITO POV

I suddenly felt a wringing inside of my chest. "Luka! Wake up!" I barely shouted with my shivering voice, shaking her lightly.

I was relieved when she suddenly flushed her eyes opened. "Huh?" she breathed out, giving me a questioning look. For a minute, I couldn't say anything. Luka, on the other hand, just locked gazes with me, probably waiting for a reply.

I opened my mouth to tell her that she scared me and that I felt my heart shatter again but something stopped me. Still watching her tired eyes gently, I gave her the warmest smile I could ever wear at the moment. "Just hold on, alright?" I cooed. "We're almost there."

Her eyes sparkled and widened a little bit then she smiled back at me and huddled her head on my chest again.

I pedaled faster, feeling my legs and lungs begin to burn. I felt exhausted but I was far from caring. I was sweating excessively but not because of the tiredness that I felt—I was sweating because I was afraid, and I was afraid because I knew that it was almost time for me to live on without her.

I won't cry.

It was exceedingly strenuous holding my tears back while hearing her cough badly. I could feel her, burying herself in me, trying to warm herself up.

I felt my heartbeat quicken as soon as I saw the sight of the beach. I panted heavily and pedaled swiftly, as if chasing for something. In a strange way, my body was becoming numb. Everything in me felt dull and cold then the next thing I knew was my pedaling came to a halt.

I won't cry.

Hurriedly, I carried Luka on my back, bringing her close to the water.

"Well," I squeaked. "We're here."

She stayed quiet for a few minutes, kneading her fingers through my sweater. "I want to walk." she then simply stated.

Granting her wish, I carefully put her down and quickly turned around to hug her and give support. In my surprise, she was just staring blankly at the sea. Most of the times, she would tell me how astonishing the beach was whenever we visited the place but she wasn't showing any form of emotions. Waiting for her to speak, I tried to make a conversation.

"Hey, you know what?" I started with a soft smile, making her motion her head towards me.

"What?" she questioned.

Chuckling a bit, I looked down and brushed my thumb to her cheek. "If beauty and kindness were time, you'd be eternity." I was failing miserably to make her laugh but even I couldn't bring myself to be happy.

It took her a while to respond again then I suddenly felt her hand, searching for something in her pocket. Watching her gently, she then stuck her tongue out and smiled weakly, showing me a red string.

"It's pretty corny but look!" Then she tied one end to her left ring finger and the other end to mine. Giggling, she looked up to me, giving me a goofy smile. "It's the red string of fate."

Sighing, I held both of her hands and closed my eyes. "Sshhhh," I breathed out, being silent for a few seconds. "I, Shion Kaito, take you, Megurine Luka, to be my best friend, my lover, the mother of my children and my wife."

Her eyes enlarged, quickly being pooled with tears.

"I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I will love you more each day than I did the day before. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity, for as long as I live." I finished, grinning at her.

Her face was already wet with tears. She kept opening her mouth and closing it, probably thinking of what to say. After the long pause, she inhaled deeply and returned my grin. "I, Megurine Luka, take you, Shion Kaito, to be my beloved husband, to have and to hold you, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

I was about to lean my head towards her then she opened her mouth to speak again.

"No matter what happens, no matter how much time passes, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, until death do us part."

My smile disappeared then I shook my head. "That's not how I remember it." I said. "It's we will always be together, right?"

Beaming, she looked down and nodded then I lifted her chin up with a finger and gave her a light peck. "We're married!" I exclaimed.

She wore such a bright beam and for a moment, I felt so lighthearted seeing her happy.

Trembling, she pulled me to a hug which I happily returned. "Thank you." she whispered. "Thank you so much."

"For?" I asked.

"For everything." she answered. "My life would've been nothing without you." Then she coughed, clinging on to me. "Thank you so much. I can di..."

"Hey!" I cut her off. "You...you still remember that amazing summer we spent together, right?" I continued, "You said that you miss everything about it. We were always free, we were always happy, there weren't any trouble, no bitter memories, no problems. That summer was just pure bliss. That's what you said, right?" She then slanted her head up to me. "You know, we're close to living that summer again but that time, with Lily, with Rin, with Len and with our soccer team."

I knew that she was all drained. She had no remaining energy. All she could do was smile weakly at me. Hurriedly, I carried her on my back again and started strolling around the place that she loved so much, showing it to her one last time.

I won't cry.

I could still her breath puffing at the back of my neck. I knew that she wanted to say something but she couldn't anymore.

I swallowed and inhaled deeply, trying not to cry. "We will live here—me, you and our children." I almost sounded like I was panting my words out. "We will let them play all they want. They will splash in the water, build sandcastles. Like what we used to do, right? And...and we will buy each of them their own bicycles too so they can race each other."

She started to breathe slower and I only chuckled to somehow kill the pain that was grinding my chest. "You know, I will name our firstborn Luke." I smiled weakly. "And I will name our baby girl Chii."

My voice was starting to waver and my vision was starting to get hazy but I couldn't let her see me cry.

"Luke will protect all of his siblings. He will be their hero. He will never let anything bad happen to his younger siblings, especially to Chii." I continued, looking up to the sky. "I already look forward to it. It's great, right? Every night before going to sleep, they will come to us. They will say ''mommy, daddy, we love you so much." And like you, maybe Chii will always be afraid of the boogie man. She will go to her brothers' room and sleep beside them."

I giggled as nostalgia took over me, making me reminisce each and everyday that I was with her. Those breathtaking memories that we made together were all still vivid. My whole world revolved around her and I just couldn't believe that she was going to leave.

"We will bring our children on top of the hill everyday, catching them some butterflies and we will watch the stars with them every night. I will tell them stories about us before they go to sleep. I will tell them how amazing you are. I will tell them how much this place means to us." I paused, thinking of what else to say.

A lot of things were going inside my head but I couldn't bring to voice them out because of the throbbing of my heart. It felt like I was drowning into a cruelly cold chasm and I couldn't breathe. I wanted to escape but melancholy was pulling me deeper and deeper.

"Sometimes, I'll take them to the farm place we stayed at for a vacation." I squeaked. "Just imagine how happy we will be."

I felt a single tear drip at the back of my neck.

"Len, he will be able to see again in the future. He and Rin will visit us often, giving you and our children strawberry shortcakes. They will also find love and have children of their own. Lily and Meiko too! Can you imagine it?" I asked. "Everyone will be so happy."

"K-Kai," she peeped.

"I will never ever break my promises again, Luka." I told her as a gentle breeze gusted towards us.

"Kaito..." she breathed out.

"I will spend my lifetime being your greatest ally. I will spend my lifetime taking care of you until the day I die."

"Kaito, I love you." she managed to whisper silently.

"I love you too, Luka." I answered. I couldn't help my faltering voice any longer. "I love you more so just hold on, okay? You'll get better really soon. Everything's alright now. I promise that we will always be free, we will always be happy, there won't be any trouble, there won't be any bitter memories, there won't be any problems. All of us will live happily every after. There wouldn't be anything but bliss..."

She finally stopped breathing.

"...just like that summer."


Thank you very much for the reviews and for staying with me until the end :) I'll miss you guys.

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