Please Don't Leave Me

Schicksal. Far East Branch Headquarters, Soukai City.

A young-looking girl watched the large monitors with great attention. Information from all around the world emerged constantly. Seismic readings, weather reports, accidents, tumults, various headlines of many, many news outlets. It was all needed to make sure everything was going according to the plan. It was all necessary to make sure they were recovering their ground. This was a monumental task to carry alone, but she had to endure it. No matter how hard and tiring it was, or how drained she felt. No, she had to see the world they fought for being rebuilt. She had to see what it was that the future held.

The short white-haired girl yawned and stretched her arms up. She hasn't been sleeping properly for a while now, but there was a lot of work to be done as the overseer of Schicksal and Principal of St. Freya Academy. There was no time to rest now, so Theresa soldiered her way through. Any normal person would have collapsed by now, but not the short nun. No, Theresa was… far from normal. Her tired round blue eyes scanned the screens and read the data. Her feet dangled free from the desk she was sitting on. Then, a familiar face popped up.

"Overseer Theresa, incoming message from South America. It is Durandal."

"Please connect us, Amber," Theresa said, rubbing her face to look more presentable. Even if the room was poorly lit, she wondered how bad she looked right now. Maybe it was for this very reason that her Grandpa never placed some decent lamps around.

"Durandal reporting, Overseer." Came the voice of the powerful fighter. Her days fighting Honkai were pretty much a thing from the past now, but the blond lady was still actively being deployed on missions all around the world. In fact, some would say she was too active.

"I heard the incursion was a success without any casualties. Good job, Bianka."

"Hai! The situation is already taken care of. The criminal faction has been disabled and their supply line cut. Rita is currently compiling all the intel they had."

"That's good to hear. ~sigh~ Seriously! We're trying to make a fresh start here, we can't afford to fight among ourselves…" Said the short nun, shaking her head slowly.

"Indeed. It would be much easier if we didn't have to deal with internal fights left and right, Theresa-sama." Another face and voice joined the call. Her fair short hair fell over her face covering one of her rosy eyes. She didn't sport the usual maid headband, but her smile was unmistakable.

"Rita, good morning to you."

"Good morning, Theresa-sama." She answers with a polite bow.

"So, anything particularly dangerous about that faction, or are they an isolated case?"

"I'll have Alvitr check the data and cross-reference with Ningyo's database, but so far it seems to be another isolated case. A rather unstable region sees the rise of a leader figure with some military power. They establish some sort of siege and what follows is a shortage of food, water, energy, and other needs, for the majority of the population, who are forced to rely on said leader figure. The leader of that region was known for…" Rita halted her summary as she watched with awe as Theresa yawned. It was like a small child trying to stay awake past midnight.

In time, Theresa noticed the two faces at the large screens staring at her, one with a coy smile.

"What? Did something strange happen?" The short nun questioned.

"Not at all, but… Pardon my intrusion, Theresa-sama, but have you been sleeping well?" Rita asked.

"Eh? Sleeping? Sure, like a baby-"

"Overseer has been pulling all-nighters for three weeks now." A woman in a questionably modified nun outfit entered the room. Her neon yellow visor contrasted with her white hair tied into a long braid.

"A-Amber! Who said you could tell them that?!" Theresa looked at the assistant with a distressed and embarrassed face.

"Fufufu, I knew it." The soft laugh of the Maid got Theresa's attention again. "Well then, Durandal-sama and I will fill in the reports and send them back to Schicksal HQ first thing tomorrow. For now, make sure to rest well, Theresa-sama."

"Wait, Rita–"

"Have a good rest, Overseer Theresa."

"Just a second, Bianka-"

Just like that, Rita and Bianka disconnected. The former with a polite bow and the latter with a quick salute. That left the white-haired girl staring at the screens and scratching her head.

"~sigh~ So be it. Seriously, they do what they want..." She said to herself, shaking her head. "Well, there's no reason to be waiting here then."

"I advise that the Overseer take a moment to rest, as Miss Rossweisse suggested. Unlike former Overseer Otto, you're not-"

"I know, Amber." The short nun cut her words, jumping down the table and fixing the skirt of her dress. "I'm not my grampa, and I can't do things the way he did. Still, there is work to be done and people are counting on me to see it done, so there's nothing we can do about it."

And with that she walked past the assistant, being quickly followed by Amber out of the dark room.

"Even if you say that, I believe Overseer will not head to her bedroom yet."

"It's just some quick business I have to solve first. Ne, Amber, anything new from Mei?"

"She's currently carrying out the selection of the new Valkyrie Squads, but nothing out of extraordinary. The numbers are still very small, compared to the usual numbers of St. Freya."

"Well, it is to be expected. We don't have some ominous, bodiless entity trying to erase us from existence, so the pressure for Natural Stigmata awakening will be very lower. I couldn't hope for a better scenario, honestly."

"But doesn't it works against Schicksal as an organization? Our numbers of operatives have been drastically reduced. Maybe if we drafted more candidates from St. Freya-"

"No." Theresa's tone was calm as usual, but there was this stern feeling to it that Amber quickly captured. "The Valkyrie program is completely voluntary and it will be as long as I'm Overseer. We can cover those numbers with mechs anyway."

"But Overseer Theresa, Helheim labs are running thin on resources, even with most of weapons R&D division deactivated."

"We'll find more funds somewhere else. Who knows, we can even get a few contracts with one government or another."

"I'm not sure about the credibility of our organization with many countries around the world..."

Theresa slowed her pace to a complete halt and let out a long, tired breath.

"Aaah… this is why I can't really rest..." She whispered to herself. "This is in part why we will keep the Valkyrie program completely voluntary. Our main goal is to help those girls, not make them soldiers. Besides, that's good PR in my book. We have been getting more and more students coming to St. Freya. I might have to review the finances and prepare for a little expansion~" She said the last part with a lot of joy, different from her until then quiet and serious tone.

"I see… Well then, in that case, allow me to take care of the Headquarters while you finish your business." Amber made a polite bow and spun on her heels, returning to the control room.

"I won't take long~" She waved at the white-haired girl. She knew Amber always meant the past, but the old ways were still deeply rooted inside her. Honestly, she wasn't the one to blame. Like many other things that happened, her Grandpa had his hand on that too.

Regardless, Theresa had another place to be. You see, today was a special date for her, a very personal and meaningful one. So there was a set of things she had to do. She had been doing this for three years now, yet it felt like a flash. Time surely passed faster than she would like to.

The short nun walked down the corridors of the HQ, eventually passing to St. Freya Academy grounds. There, she stopped being the Overseer of Schicksal to take a different role, much more important, in her personal opinion. The students on the hallways greeted her with smiles, and few ones, new to the school, watched with confused looks as everyone greeted her.

"Good afternoon, Principal Theresa~" Yes, it was surprising to anyone that just arrived. You usually don't expect a twelve years old girl dressed in a cute nun outfit to be called the Principal of a school. Some still thought it was an inside joke and simply played along. Some bolder younglings would try to pat the short nun in the head or offer candies. Theresa gently scolded them about the former and discreetly accepted the latter.

What? There has to be some benefit coming from her appearance.

It really made her day to see all these girls walking up and down the hallways of the school, her school. This was her dream, her legacy, and she held much pride in her small chest about it. The vision she shared with her friends and partners, the ones she loved the most. It all converged on this building, on the idea on which it was based. Walking down the hallways, passing by the classrooms, and waving at teachers and students alike, was pretty therapeutic to her, and worked to relieve some of her worries and exhaustion. Theresa loved each one of her students, and the feeling was reciprocated uniformly by them. Except for when the Valkyries had to do their extra tests, but that was to be expected.

Once outside the main building of the campus, Theresa made her way to the ample garden next to it. It had some trees to provide some shade in the hot days, stone benches scattered here and there, shrubbery, and many, many flowers. She first walked to a greenhouse, picking a small pair of scissors, then looked around for a good rose bush. She picked a couple of roses, red as blood, taking care not to poke her fingers into the thorns. Then, a couple of tiny white flowers and green leaves filled up in the bouquet. Going back to the greenhouse, Theresa wrapped everything with a sheet of paper, being careful not to damage the flowers. With everything set, she was good to go for her annual appointment.

But on her way there, she crossed with yet another familiar face.

"Oh, good afternoon, Principal Theresa."

"Good afternoon for you too, Mei. How are things going? Did you find some candidates for Squad V yet?" she asked rather enthusiastically.

"Not yet, Principal. But I have been conducting the training with the new recruits and I'm seeing some good progress. I'm expecting to see some new B rank Valkyries by the end of the year." Said Mei.

Tall, slender, elegant, and with long dark purple hair that made a lot of women go jealous, Mei was now in charge of the Valkyrie program physical training. Combat tactics, strategies, adaptation to the environment, she had a lot of experience and knowledge to share and she promptly agreed on helping when Theresa asked her if she was up for the job.

"That's good to hear. By the way, have you seen Captain? I tried contacting him all day but he didn't answer the phone. Is Hyperion out on a distant mission or something?" Given how busy she was every day, Theresa often lost track of things like this.

"Well, uh..." Mei looked uneasy as she looked away from the short nun. "Today is that day, right. You know what happens when this date comes around..." She said with a solemn tone.

This was a response Theresa didn't want nor like to hear. There was a small frown on her face, not out of malice or anger, but concern.

"Not again… ~sigh~ So you didn't see him?"

"No, I haven't even heard of Captain the entire day, and it is getting kinda late," Mei answered, looking at the horizon. The sun was getting lower, and yellow and orange tones were painting the sky. "Do you think he is… you know, again?"

Theresa lowered her head and sighed. She has been doing that a lot lately.

"Don't worry Mei, I've got this. Well, time for me to go. Take care, okay?" She said, waving at the dark-haired maiden.

Theresa walked for a while until she was out of the campus. She crossed the field of lush green grass. All over the place, objects meant to preserve memories stood up from it. Memorials. Graves. There was an awfully high number here. The Central Headquarters had many, many memorials of fallen Valkyries, going back to the Middle Age where the organization began as a church, and here was no different. The numbers couldn't be compared but it didn't make the view any less jarring, even more considering how many of these tombstones had registered in them life spans of sixteen to eighteen years. It happened way too often, hence why Theresa started her school to begin with. To give those girls a resemblance of a normal life, to give them hopes for a better future.

Too many people sacrificed themselves for the future she was currently building, and Theresa herself has been fighting since the day she was born. One in particular, however, felt very different. And in the middle of those thoughts, her blue eyes spotted the person she was looking for. The sight made her both relieved and more concerned. Relieved because she found him. Concerned for… everything else. With the bouquet in her hands, she slowly walked to the young man sitting on the grass in front of a grave. Next to him, at least a dozen cans of beer, most of them empty. There was an empty flask of whiskey and a bottle of wine. There was enough alcohol here to set someone on fire with the smallest of sparks.

She didn't like that view a single bit, especially because it wasn't the first time. In fact, it has happened every year without fault, the same way she diligently made her ritual of picking flowers and making a bouquet. But honestly, she couldn't blame him for it. Everyone had their way of dealing with it. Mei did a special bento. Fuka did some fancy calligraphy work on a scroll, very beautiful works, by the way. Bronya brought a different doll to the tombstone, and even though they didn't really know her personally, Seele, Liliya, and Rozaliya also came to pay respects. Bianka and Rita were always traveling so it was hard to make it every year, but they also didn't miss visiting the place every year. And then there was Captain.

"So you are here. I was calling you all day, you know? You could have at least picked up the phone." She said in her childish voice, taking small steps towards him and the grave. Captain shuffled a bit, fishing his phone from the pocket of his pants.

"... Sorry." His voice came out so faint she barely listened.

"It's okay, I have been busy all day, anyway~"

Silence fell between them and the air felt heavy. The tension in it was enough to cut with a knife. She had to dance around the empty cans to stand next to him, one step behind Captain. From her position, she could see another bottle of wine in his hand, apparently half empty. That concerned frown returned to her face, a little more apparent.

"How… How long have you been here, Captain?"

"... don't know."

"Have you eaten something? We can drop by Mei's house for dinner, what do you think?"

"..."

"Umm, that's a lot of… I hope you're also drinking water, Captain. You don't want to get dehydrated." She said in her stern but still childish tone, puffed cheeks, and everything. It was literally like being scolded by someone in middle school.

"... whatever."

"Huh?" This time she legit didn't get what he mumbled under his breath.

"... I don't care..."

"Captain, at least turn around to speak to me. I can't hear a thing you say-"

"I said I don't care! Damnit!"

The sudden outburst came out loud and clear alright. Theresa even took a step back in surprise, her sky blue eyes wide open. As she recomposed herself, the frown grew up more on her face.

"Captain, you don't have to shout either, I'm right here, you know?"

Silence fell upon them again, until she started to hear some faint sobbing.

"... just… leave me alone, Theresa..."

"Captain… Please don't be like that, I know it is hard. It has been… hard for everyone, but we gotta-"

"Don't!" Another shout, but this time he seemed to cringe at his own reaction. Then Captain slowly turned around and Theresa could see his face.

Swollen eyes with a bloodshot red color, and trail upon trails of tears all over his face. His face was one of someone who was desperately trying to hide their feelings, but was failing miserably, and his eyes… They looked so distraught and in pain. This sight of the otherwise positive and energetic Captain of Hyperion was sad. It really made her heart sink inside her chest, to the point she felt like crying too, but now was not the time.

"Sorry… Please don't say that, Theresa..."

"Captain..."

"I don't want to hear it. I really don't..." He said, chugging more of the red liquid inside the bottle. Theresa immediately tried to reach for it and take the drink from his hands.

"Ah ah ah, I think that's enough drinking for you, Captain."

"Are you kidding?" He said moving the bottle away from Theresa. "She could take way more than this before passing out. I'm just getting started." And as he said that, Captain somehow got up from his position sitting on the floor, taking some wobbly steps away from Theresa and gulping the wine again.

"Stop that, Captain. It is dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention stupid and unhealthy." She said, running around him to try and take the bottle away from him.

"Who cares about being healthy anyway? Life is short, and you only live it once. Right, Theresa?" He was such a mess now. "Right, Theresa?!"

She didn't dare say a word because she knew what was going through his head, or at least she had a good idea. She kept jumping, hands reaching as high as he could. Why did she have to be so small? Of course, being at the level of an S-Rank Valkyrie, subduing this heavily inebriated young man would have no problem at all. She dared say an actual twelve years old could do the task, but that was not the point. Captain was emotionally hurt, and that was translating into physical damage too.

Ever since the war ended, he was not the same. Granted, all of them changed in some way, but Captain got hit with something different that she couldn't quite tell. Aside from the week surrounding this specific date, he was the same cheerful, helpful captain of Hyperion, running the errands and making sure everything was operational. More than that, he had been an emotional support for the girls when needed. There were times where Theresa herself felt like breaking apart and there he was, with that gentle smile, a warm hug, and a box of bitter melon juice to help her. Now that she thought of it, he looked awfully fine for the rest of the time, but she relegated it to Captain moving on like a mature person. She was quite surprised, if she had to be honest, and admired him for such fortitude. Well, she was teri-bly mistaken.

"Captain, stop this. You'll only hurt yourself if you keep doing this." She complained, still trying to reach for the bottle he held high up above his head. Then, her blue eyes met with his again. His face contorted as if he was trying to prevent it from showing emotions, but it only worked to highlight how shaken he was.

How did it come to this? Why didn't she notice it sooner?

"I can't… Theresa, I can't…" And before she could say a word, Captain literally broke into tears. Any resemblance of strength left his knees and he crumbled into desperate crying and sobbing. Hopefully, the short nun kneeled together with him, using her relatively small frame to support him. He didn't tower over people. In fact, Captain was pretty average, if not a little below the line. Nonetheless, she felt an immense weight in holding his body. Perhaps it was all that pent-up frustration and sorrow that he suppressed all this time. One day of binge drinking wouldn't work as an escape valve, it probably only made things worse.

Again, she only allowed that to happen because Theresa thought this was his way of dealing with it and keeping her memory. She would drag him to the bar on some occasions to keep her company while she drowned her sadness and frustrations in alcohol. Keep her company because Captain didn't drink, or at least back then. She always said beer tasted better when shared with a friend, and while Theresa still avoided alcohol like a true nun, she could see better what the redhead meant.

Her small hands patted his head and his back in an attempt to soothe him a little, bring any sort of comfort, but it was to no avail. This man whom she has grown to admire for his will and perseverance, this person who has been her support during some dark times, was simply crumbling into pieces, right in her arms. He probably felt pretty vulnerable too, because he was clinging to her as if his life depended on it. Perhaps it was.

"She's… she's gone, Theresa. ~hic~ Himeko… ~sob~"

"I-I… I know, Captain." "Hold still, Theresa. You can't break now."

"She's not coming back, Theresa… ~sob~ Himeko… is dead…"

There was just so much pain in his words that it transferred to her. It was like she was back when she sent Himeko on that mission. If she knew it would be the last time she would see her, then maybe…

No, she mustn't dwell in these thoughts. Theresa went through that before. She blamed herself, blamed her Grandpa for being an obsessive and manipulative idiot, she blamed the Herrscher for awakening and wreaking havoc, she blamed Rita for not trying to talk Otto out of it, and she even blamed Bianka for standing still while someone she supposedly admired sacrificed her life to save Kiana. And in the end, none of that helped. What difference would there be if she found the culprit? The root cause would always be the very existence of Honkai, and it took countless lives and hurt many, many people, for millennia. It didn't alleviate her pain, and it didn't bring Himeko back. No, it was this man.

This young man, trembling like a lost kitten drenched by the rain and afraid of the thunder. It was him who brought her out of this dark place. Seeing him soldiering on despite everything that happened, seeing his smile every day as he fulfilled his role as the captain of Hyperion. He stood by her all that time, and listened to her, and supported her, and helped in any way he could. Seriously, at some time he was basically relegated to running errands left and right, something no one with his patent would agree to do, yet there he was, always willing to accept the task. That's how Theresa realized there was still work to do. If Captain was serious like this, then she couldn't do any less, being a Valkyrie, the Principal, and now, Overseer of Schicksal.

Perhaps she relied too much on him being there to notice just how much he was hurting. The short nun pondered blaming herself again, but that was not what he needed now. What he needed was a friendly shoulder to cry, an outlet for all these emotions that were swelling inside that big heart for so long. What he needed was for her to stand by him, the same way he stood by her side.

"She's dead… Theresa, Himeko- ~hic~ is dead…"

"It's okay, shhhh" She soothed him. "It's okay, Captain. Let it all out."

Perhaps it was the patting on his back, the dangerous levels of alcohol in his bloodstream, the torrent of repressed emotions, or whatever other factor at play here, Captain did let it out. She shook her head as the young man quickly got up, an impressive feat when you consider his state, and dashed to a tree where a lot of nasty stuff was let out of his digestive system. Once his stomach was done teaching him a lesson on drinking safely, Theresa helped him back to the place he was sitting before, in front of Himeko's grave. And would you look at that, Captain actually brought a water bottle.

She let him rest against her as a child would do with their mother. The short nun and the young captain stood like that for a good while, watching the name so beautifully engraved in ivory stone. As part of the tradition for her former Valkyrie Squad, a greatsword stood proudly behind the tombstone, a symbol of her might and courage. Other things that served to remind them of her persona were there too, including the short jacket she used every day when teaching at the school. The sun was crossing over the horizon, painting the skies and the clouds with red, orange, and yellow tones. On the other side, the dark veil of the night encroached. At last, his tears seemed to have ended, for now.

"I knew… ~sob~ all this time, I knew it…" He said between weak sobs.

"I looked and looked for something… anything that could mean she was alive… a signature, a pattern, a fluctuation…"

Theresa did the same, and she heard from Mei that even Kevin searched in the Imaginary Space. Fuka said something similar. Despite that, the short nun kept on searching for six months more after the war was over. Perhaps, she thought, without the threat of Honkai she would find a lead. Maybe something would appear in the Imaginary Space. She asked Tesla and Einstein if there wasn't some sort of lull over there, meaning the readings would be more accurate, but both scientists explained to her it wasn't the case.

Still, during those six months, Theresa kept the scanners on. Ai-chan reported several times that the energy consumption was beyond the recommended levels and they didn't have that many resources now that the Honkai reactors were permanently shut down. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, and her faint hopes dwindled and fizzled out like a candle at the end of the wick. She felt horrible for giving up like that, but it was at that moment that she saw Captain still working.

"I… I reworked the arrays to run on low power… ~sob~ We didn't have a lot of energy to spare, so I tried to compensate…"

"I… didn't know you knew how to modify our deep search scanners, Captain." She was indecisive between what was more surprising: the fact that he did such a complex task on his own, or that he did so without her noticing it.

"I learned everything I could from… ~hic~ Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein. Welt-san pointed me to a couple of studies too so I… ~sob~ did what I could. Ai-chan helped a lot with the coding part."

The white-haired girl made a mental note to have a little chat with that virtual cabbage about keeping secrets about her most important ship.

"And… what did you find?"

His hands grasped her dress and held it tight.

"Nothing… there was nothing… I tried many combinations with the scanners… and I found absolutely nothing! … Not a single trace…"

"We looked time and time again. And even if she was there, how could she survive?"

"I don't know. ~sob~ Maybe she got quantified like Schrodinger… maybe she fell into another bubble universe like Seele… maybe she was simply there… waiting."

"~sigh~ Captain, we ruled out every possibility. Kiana had the Gem, so there was no way she…" She didn't want to voice the words.

"I know… I always knew, from the very beginning. But… ~hic~ I wanted to… ~sob~ I wanted so much to change it, that I held on to any sliver of hope I could find… there had to be something… But I knew the truth deep inside."

"You did your best, Captain."

"I didn't. I'm weak, Theresa. I couldn't fight Honkai beasts or help you all in any way. If only I was there… ~sob~ If I could just… take her place, then–"

"Stop it, Captain."

"But I–"

"Stop it, Captain! Drop that idea this instant!" She cut him with the stern tone of a kid. She then cupped his cheeks covered in dry tears, making him look at her face directly. She even used a tiny fraction of her strength to make sure he wouldn't look away.

"Captain, I want you to look at me right in the eyes and listen. It is not your fault."

"But–"

"Hey, I'm doing the talking. Captain… there was nothing you could do to prevent this. I…" She had to breathe in so she wouldn't make herself cry. "I thought about it, and do you want to know what I realized? I couldn't change that either. And the reason why is… she wouldn't have it any other way."

"Eh…?"

Theresa couldn't stop her eyes from watering, but a comforting smile adorned her lips.

"Think about it, Captain. You know her as well as I do. Do you really think Himeko would let someone else do that?"

Her words were more than enough to bring back the tears to his eyes.

The way I… go through with… red roses burn my eyes…

"No… she wouldn't… but I… Theresa, I… about Himeko, I…"

He rested his head on her chest again, and she embraced him once more.

Cold rain starts… pouring hard… I'm being called upon.

"I should have told her… I wanted to say it so many times… but I…"

If he knew it was the last time he would see her, then he would have told her everything. He wouldn't be such a coward and be open about his feelings. It was love at first sight, and yet, he never mustered the courage to say it. Why did he wait? Why did he let all the opportunities pass? He knew she was completely out of his league, but he should at least have been honest. This regret piled up on his feeling of weakness, on the notion that he was completely useless in a fight against Honkai beasts, mech titans, or even zombies. He felt powerless to change a single point in this story, and that was what pained him the most. Even if he was there, would he make a difference? Did he ever make a difference to anyone?

"I know, Captain. How you feel about her, I know it." She said with a warm smile, pushing away her tears.

"You… y-you knew?!"

"I know I look like a child, but I'm far from being naive as one," Theresa said with a hint of pride in her voice. "Plus, you're not the best at hiding your emotions. This is why… she also knew it."

The last part barely registered to him.

"She… she…"

Never let you go, it's why I did them all

For a chance at least, to live in your way

Love of you is my most cherished thing

So stay alive, bravely~

"Yes, she knew it. She even bragged about it the day you assumed Hyperion." The nun made a fake flaunt, brushing her hair the same way the redhead did. "Did you see the way that cutie looked at me?~ He was totally into me~"

She then gently rubbed her thumbs over his eyes, brushing away hot tears from the face of the poor young man.

"You must be thinking, why didn't she say something? Well, from what I could see… and what she mumbled when she was too drunk, she didn't want to hurt you."

"... Hurt me?"

"She didn't want to trick you into thinking that… it could last. Honestly, I never understood the reasoning. All those years whining about not finding a good man and when she found you… She dropped the dating thing, though."

Theresa ran her small hands through his soft hair.

"She loved you. That hot-headed bimbo really loved you. All those times she made an excuse so she could drag you to the bar… she didn't admit it, but they were dates. If only you could see her smiling around the corners…"

She cupped his chin, raising his head.

I wish I… could wake from… the dream each time I dream.

"She loved you, and she loved Kiana, and she loved every student of this school. That's why… that's why she fought so hard to the very end. She did it so everyone could have a better future."

She rubbed his tears one more time.

"I know it hurts, Captain, I know. It is frustrating not being able to change things, but we can't simply ignore what she did, what she stood for. Do you understand?"

There's a long night… coming soon… I'd shine as the last shine.

Yes, he knew it. This turmoil of his wasn't because he was angry or something. He simply didn't want to betray her. He thought that he couldn't simply "move on" like everyone said he had to do.

"I can't do it, Theresa. I can't go on without her. I didn't tell her… I don't want to simply forget…"

"And you will not. I've been watching you carry all these heavy feelings alone without even noticing. And even then you didn't stop working, because there are still things we have to do. This is not the future she fought for yet, so we have to keep moving forward."

"Move forward… and then what?"

"Captain, do you think there is a better way to honor her memory than making her wishes come true? Or at least working for it?"

Never let you go, it's why I did them all

He didn't have words to answer that. It was obvious, but saying it was ultimately accepting the fact that Himeko was dead.

"... You're right…"

She sighed.

"I am, right?"

"But… it still hurts, Theresa. I don't think I… can ever move on…"

For a chance at least, to live in your way

The short nun held him in a tight hug.

"I know, Captain. And I know this will sound very selfish of me, but… would you please do that? If not for her legacy, then... for little me?"

Her small frame shook a little with a few sobs.

"I can't do it alone, Captain. Not on my own. I can't… ~sob~ I can't lose anyone else. So please, please…"

Love of you is my most cherished thing

She hugged him as if he would evaporate at any moment. She also feared he would break into tiny pieces. Was she asking too much of him?

"Please, don't leave me. I need you more than you think, Captain."

So stay alive, bravely~

"I'm sorry, Theresa…" He said quietly, and for a moment she thought there was nothing else she could do. But then, he struggled to get on his feet, rubbing his face with the back of his hand. "I… I let you down for a while, didn't I?"

"No, Captain, you didn't. And you don't need to apologize, I was the one that didn't see how in pain you were. Here," She also got up, holding his hand so the young man could keep his balance. "From now on, we'll help each other, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded in agreement.

After that, Theresa and Captain disposed of all the bottles and cans around. They cleared the surrounding area of any weeds and made sure everything placed on the grave was neatly organized. The short nun removed the old, dry flowers and placed the new bouquet she did.

"Here, Himeko, red roses. They're your favorites, right?"

She lined the edge of the tombstone with a hand, then gave her best smile and got back up, standing next to Captain. There, they stood for a couple more minutes, as the last light beams of the sun painted the sky with a fiery red tone. She leaned her head against his body and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go, Captain?"

"Sure…" He said as they turned around, but the young man immediately stopped. "Ah, wait."

Theresa looked curious as Captain walked to the grave, with the wine bottle in hand. Then he kneeled down and carefully deposited the wine along with other things that were there.

"This is your favorite wine, isn't it… Himeko? I really don't know how to drink, but just being close to you meant a lot to me." He softly pressed his finger against his lips and then planted it on the ivory stone. She did that to tease him some times before, placing an indirect kiss, as she called it, on his cheek. "I'll do my best, okay?"

On the back, Theresa held her breath to not cry again.

Captain released a sigh that carried all the weight he had on his chest until now.

"I love you too, Himeko."

When he got up and turned around, Theresa felt her heart finally be at ease. There it was, that bright smile that he always had with him. Just like her, his eyes gleamed with the tiny droplets wanting to roll free down their cheeks, but compared to how she found him earlier? Life was back to them.

"Let's go, Captain. You'll probably wake up with the mother of all hangovers tomorrow and I need you to take Hyperion to Shenzhou on a mission, so be sure to rest well."

"Wait, just like that?"

"Just like that. Humpf!~ I don't expect anything less from my best captain."

"I see… In that case, we should hurry. I will not disappoint, Overseer!" He said, making a salute.

"Drop the Overseer thing, I don't want people to call me that. Amber is super insistent about it and that's enough."

"Hai hai~"

This was something they didn't do in a good while, years, to be more accurate. They laughed. They shared a light laugh as they walked back to St. Freya, hand in hand.

It looked like an older brother taking his sister for a walk in the park as they made their way through the grass field, passing through the blooming garden of the school. The night sky, now clear of any clouds, gleamed with thousands of shiny stars. The Moon, in its full phase, shone its silvery light upon them, and right next to it, one star shone more than the others. Or perhaps it was only his impression.

Regardless, it felt special. To the two of them, the short nun and the young captain, staring at this shiny night sky together. This was what they fought for, everything beautiful in the world. This was the future Himeko opened the doors to, and they would see whatever it was ahead of them, no matter what.

The End

(Song: Nightglow - Tanya Chua)