Long time no see, folks. This is a re-write of an old Cal/Reiji story I worked on years ago. A great many people wanted to see them get a happy ending after the anime finished. Well, this is your answer. Check it out and share your thoughts. Readership is always appreciated!

Time to Repent (Redux)

How much weight could the soul possibly bare?

After the evils he partook in and all the sins he carried with him, did Reiji even have a soul anymore?

Inferno's Phantom had mourned the night of Cal's passing, blissfully unaware of the truth before him. With tear drenched eyes, he prayed for her. Yet it felt as though she'd been lost forever. Reiji had little choice to escape in the chaos, and was unable to look back.

As time moved forward and the days dragged on, he had become numb again. He wasn't a person any longer, just a shadow of his former self.

Nothing changed when he fled to Japan, either. The emptiness pulling at his heart still remained. As every lonely night faded away, he only blamed himself more and more. The young lady whom he'd promised the world was seemingly forever out of his reach.

Two long years had played out in painful stillness - almost like the Phantom was sleeping for the longest time.

That was until a lone gunshot shattered everything he believed real in an instant.

Stood before him, was a ghost of the past. It took but a moment for everything to come rushing back.

Cal was alive.

Two years of longing, waiting and hoping, all came to an end in one faithful moment. However, Reiji Azuma could not bring himself to smile.

Where there should have been happiness, there was nought but sorrow.

Cal's adoration had become deepest hatred. There was fire her eyes - nothing but anger and vicious resentment. Those green orbs of light which were once so bright overflowed with suffering. It was from that point on that Reiji made a silent vow. He'd try and save Cal before it was too late.

The great Phantom of Inferno would atone for his sins... or die trying.

It took two days to coax Cal out of hiding. Under no circumstances would Reiji let this opportunity pass him by. This was his last chance – he had to save her from the icy grip of Inferno - or this time, she'd truly be gone forever.

In and out he breathed, chambering a round in his semi-automatic. Heartbeat pounding, he breathed in and out to calm himself.

"Here goes nothing..."

Night had long since fallen across Japan, the time in which his kind were able to move unseen and unheard.

Within the church he waited, standing at the altar with his back turned to the door.

This would be the final proving ground. Not for the second Phantom known as Zwei, but for the man behind it all.

An explosion beyond the holy building's walls set his heart to racing, faint beams of orange light flaring against the plain glass windows. For him, they may as well have been the flames of Hell itself. "She's here."

The doors swung open not long after, boot-clad footsteps thumping over the red velvet capet.

Reiji's grip upon the handgun tightened. Judgement was finally at hand. There was no sense in looking back.

He felt those eyes of green, sharpened like daggers, stabbing into his back.

"I'm the only one here Cal. There isn't anyone else."

Reji swung back to face Drei, weapon in hand but his darkened eyes soft. Deep down there was a longing, beneath the fear and pain.

"So, did you come here to settle this?" Inferno's third Phantom questioned bitterly.

Cal's question was razor-sharp and hateful, like a dagger to the gut.

Reiji took something of a bold step forward. His expression softened to match his gaze. "I came here to put things right, Cal. It's time for me to do something I shoud've too long ago. I've used so many people, and killed countless others, all so I could stay alive."

The young lady laughed coldly. Everything about her was so very dark and unforgiving - an agonizing change from her younger self. "My God, Reiji. You don't think I know that already?" Cal scoffed, a bitter scowl twisting her lips, "You abandoned me... and after I told you how much I cared!"

"Yes, and you have every reason to hate me for it. I'd willingly accept any punishment you throw at me..." An honest reply, one Reiji couldn't mask despite his exceptional skills at doing so. "I broke my promises, and I'm not seeking sympathy for it."

An evil smirk crept across Cal's face. Fury burned in her eyes, and she drew her Ppistol. "I have a way we can finish this," the girl whispered, shakily producing a familiar silver timepiece from her jacket pocket.

The sight of this beautifully crafted pocket watch froze Reiji to the core a short rasp slipping free. There was still hope, a glimer. if only for a second, he was sure he saw Cal's deep sapphire eyes quiver. "So you still have that, huh?"

Cal's eyes narrowed, and the hand in which she clutched the gun trembled. " Of course... Nice to see you remember it."

He'd never forget it, his final gift to her.

With a slight press of her thumb, a short click' resounded. The tiny sound bounced off the wide stone walls. The front of the watch opened to display an elegant clock face. The watch resting in her palm, Cal returned the gun to the holster at her hip. "This watch has helped me so much. It's always shown me the perfect moment to land the finishing blow. Now, listen. When the song ends... draw your gun... and we'll see which Phantom is left standing."

A standoff, just like the old gangster movies they'd watch together in the L.A apartment. Reiji's stomach twisted with pure anguish.

"We don't have to do this..."

Drei scoffed, a scornful tear leaking from her eye. "Save it. You're too late."

The watch's melody began. Its tune had always been soothing, almost as if it was capable of healing the world's pain. It seemed to go on forever.

Reiji mind wandered to the past, to all the time they'd spent together. Most important among those turbulent memories were the fragile moments of peace.

The days they'd lounge on the couch and watch movies.

Evenings when he came home exhausted but Cal cooked for him.

And the time they'd kissed on the moonlit bedroom windowsil.
_

Fate had drawn them both together on the night that Judy died. Their lives had entwined from that point onward.

Reiji was a ghost with no way back to the world he once knew, and Cal had always been alone. A girl with no one and nothing to call her own.

These two lost souls were destined for one-another.

Together, they had a chance at finding warmth and happiness.

Reiji snapped back to reality, tears leaking from his eyes of heartfelt brown. "Cal... stop..."

His former love gasped at the sight of his shattered comppsure. Her hand shuddering, she took an unsteady step nearer. "You're crying... You?"

"Yeah," Reiji nodded shakily. "Because it shouldn't have come to this," he stated, a flare of desperation to his voice, " It's all been a horrible misunderstanding. After all this time... I didn't have a clue you were still alive... I thought you died the night the apartment went up in flames."

The young lady shuddered, taking yet another step closer. And another. The pistol left the holster, now gripped in her other trembling hand. "Then why didn't- Why didn't you at least come looking for me?! Why didin't you help me?"

Withdrawing his gun, Keiji held an outstretched palm to his chest. "I didn't get the chance. Inferno chased me out of the city. I was on the run."

"You're lying!" Inferno's third Phantom protested, her voice cracking.

"But I'm not, Cal. If I'd known you were still alive I would've done something. Even if it'd killed me."

Cal froze like a statue, her finger poised to pull the trigger. A single tear falling from her eye, she choked out a sob. t's not fair... Two years without you, and now you come back like this? I felt abandoned - betrayed. And all this time you were looking for me..."

"I was." Finally breaking through her, Reij closed on the quiet and shaken blond. "Cal... It isn't too late for us. That's why I came back. From the moment I knew you were alive again, I had a promise to keep. I couldn't let Inferno ruin you like they did me. You mean too much to me."

Cal breathed hard. A second tearful sob flooding out, she put her weapon away. "You'd better mean it, you bastard."

"I do, and if I ever let you down again then you can shoot me." Reiji took the final step, closing their two year divide for what he hoped would be forever. Cal threw her arms around his shoulders, the pair embracing in the darkness of night. Silence descended, serene and precious.

Seconds swelled to minutes, isolation's coldness kept at bay by the two lover's warmth.

Smiling through her tears, Cal rested her head on Reiji's shoulder. "That night, two years ago... You said I was the key to you being happy again..."

Keiji's heart thumped in fond recollection. "I did, I remember."

Cal planted a tiny kiss against the nape of his neck, her fingerstips pressing into his shoulders. "You still mean it, don't you?" Her question was small, hopeful.

Zwei the assassin crumbled away, leaving Reiji free of his chains. "Of course I do. From that moment we first embraced, the thought of my life without you was nothing but emptiness. You saved me, Cal You showed me there was still a way back..."

Cal chuckled lovingly, a far cry from her bitterness mere moments ago. "Then I guess you're stuck with me again, huh?"

"I don't want it any other way." Reiji admitted, cuddling closer the girl he'd so dearly missed even tighter. At peace, he ran a loving hand through her silky smooth hair, "When I thought I'd lost you, my heart stopped beating... The thought of you being inside that burning apartmet tore me apart, Cal."

"But you're back now," Cal whispered. Inching back, she joined their eyes and brought a soft hand to his cheek. "And you won't leave again, will you?"

"No, never." Reiji would die before he'd let that happen.

"Then I forgive you..." Leaning nearer, she pressed her mouth to his. The heartfelt exchange made Reiji's usually stoic heart race with elation.

The pair parted after a time, and Reiji was reborn. He wouldn't run any longer.

Renewed purpose invigorated him. He had a reason to fight, against all odds.

"Whatever happens now, we'll always have each other, Cal Devens... I'll end anybody that tries to take you from me again..."

His beloved drew back and grinned, wiping her eyes.

"Together forever, Reiji."

Nothing would stop the two fallen Phantoms, be it Shiga's men or Inferno.

Cal swung back and cast a nervous glance in direction the church door. "I bet Shiga's men are waiting for us outside by now..."

Reiji nodded grimly. Drawing up his Pistol, he honed his focus razor sharp. "It doesn't matter... We'll face them together."

As the pair reached the door, Cal grabbed Reiji's free hand and linked it with her own. With warm intent she caressed his skin. "You ready?"

Reiji nodded, gripping the door's worn iron handle. "Yeah, you?"

Cal smirked, sadism glinting in her eyes. Her game face, as a Phantom of Inferno. "You're damned right I'm ready."

With a mighty shove of his right arm, Keiji threw the church doors wide.

A pair of parked cars formed a makeshift blockade out front of the building. Half a dozen men sporting sharp suits and sunglasses took cover behind them.

To the average mobster these men would've been a threat.

But Zwei and Drei were far average by any stretch of the imagination.

Assassin's instinct taking hold, Reiji took aim and fired the first round.

A perfect headshot sent one of Shiga's goons falling onto his back, and the M911's barel smoked.

Inferno's rogue Phantom's weren't dying tonight.

End

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed the story, and I have plenty more of you're looking for something to read. Did you like this story? Would you like to see more in future? As always, free to leave some feedback and share your thoughts. Keep on supporting Phantom and I'll see you again soon!