A/N: HELLO!

I have defiantly missed you, so here I am working when I should, as always, be sleeping. Sorry for any typos, but really this is way more fun! I love each and every one of you who review, favorite, follow. I check my email and it gives me something to look forward to beside school and tests, school and tests, school and tests… I can't reply to those who have reviewed right now because it's one in the morning where I am. Again. Oops! BUT!

I will…in the next chapter…the epilogue…I know, some of you may say to keep it going but I can't. The Tale of Two is coming to an end to make room for my next story that WILL be a LOT more longer and a LOT more character development and a LOT more AU and oh I have to keep it a secret!

My friend is super excited for you all to read it when I start writing it. I explained the plot and she pretty much said she couldn't wait.

Love you guys! Oh oh, lots of warnings of OOC to those who don't like it. I do, it's fun, so. *shrugs*

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THIS AMAZING SHOW OR ITS CHARACTERS. *Sobs*

Chapter 21: Smiles

Four months later…

She hardly felt the rain as it slid down her pale cheeks and dropped down onto her thick coat. It had been overcast today, and the chill that accompanied it made her teeth rattle. Well it had until she forgot the time it was.

Her eyes burned. They stung and were swollen to puffs of bloodshot. Tear tracks had been washed away by the soft rain. She wished that she could feel as numb to everything on the inside as she was on the outside, but that would be a lie. She could feel everything and it kept sweeping over her. She had spent too long reminiscing down memory lane and the tears, happy and wistful, had fallen.

Her fingers could still remember the feeling of the smooth marble headstone that they had picked for him. It was beautiful. He would have loved it. His name was inscribed neatly and beneath it was the day he was born-

Or rather the day he had joined Homra.

It had been in his will. His will…a grin slipped onto her lips as she remembered everyone's surprise when they had been told Tatara had a will. He had asked to be burnt to ashes by his friends in Homra instead of usual cremations.

The look on Mikoto's face was almost exasperation at his old friend, but the deep frown leeched the humor from his character. They had all humbly accepted his request and placed him in a casket. Then slowly, all at once, called upon their flames and laid their hands upon the case.

She bit her lip and buried her face further into her pulled up knees at the memory. She would never wish it away, for it had been his request to turn to ash, but she could mourn the moment her purple encased red flames ghosted along the case. Her hand had disappeared in the midst of the others.

Her eyes had watched the others once it became too much when it began to crumble against her skin. She had looked then at her sister. Liz was frowning as her hand laid upon the casket, the other tangled in Yata's free, firm grip. When her gaze shifted to see Anna's heart break plain for the world to see, she'd had to look down back at her own hand.

Pale, scarred flesh starred back at her now. Long fingers, strong grip, telling the story of the life that was hers. They were hers to tell-the stories. Her hands simply mapped the course to whomever she spun her tale to.

Around her the wind picked up slightly only to then drop back to a safer breeze. The rain had begun to pick up too, she noticed. She was beginning to feel the water dampen her skin-signaling that her clothes were beginning to give in.

This is the world they had all fought for.

She died saving Mikoto. She destroyed the Purple King, her grandfather-her flesh and blood that would have killed her. Her little brother lost his life too young. Her mother had been consumed by the very thing that could have consumed her, too. Her father was an innocent in a mess that only took him to his grave.

Her teeth gritted and her nails pierced the soft flesh of her palms. She had saved Tatara…only to watch the life seep out of his body and stain her already messy hands.

She didn't regret saving Mikoto and Tatara. Not for one second had she thought of doing anything different than what she did.

But dear gods did she wish that so many didn't have to hurt for her failures.

But there was one scar…one scar that struck her every time and made the ones on her hand pale in comparison. Her hand disappeared beneath her shirt and she ran her finger over the jagged scar across her stomach, tracing the ridges and feeling the skin that had begun to heal slowly. Her gaze darkened as the scar made her remember everything in a rush.

The scars on her hands told of her journey, but the pink one across her stomach spat of her failures on that day. The scar that had made her think the worst that day…

Was destroying her Grandfather worth it-or should she have given herself up? That day she had woken up in the hospital…the look she had seen on Mikoto's face…

(Flashback)

"Don't be like this.'' His gaze was stone but behind that she could see the exhaustion, see the bags beneath his eyes. "Don't say things like that.''

"Why not, damn it! Our friend is dead! He's dead because I couldn't save him and I took him from all of you!" Saying it out loud only made it a thousand times worse. She choked on a bout of saliva and stumbled away as he went to take a step forward. "I-I took away your friend from you! I should have just died!"

"Damn it all!" A quick snap pierced the air and she sucked in sharply as flames encased him, dancing over his body like waves rolling against the willing shore. He stared heatedly at her from his stoic stance. "If you had died,'' he gritted. "If you died again, what would I have gotten? A cold corpse to bring back just like I had with Tatara. You can cry all you want but what will that give them? Nothing!"

Tears fell from glassy eyes as she stretched her arms out in front of her protectively from his embrace as he came closer. She'd fall apart if he touched her and it was taking everything in her to not.

"I can't lose anyone else, Alaura-'' his voice cracked on her name and that sent her over the edge and crashing into his arms, feeling the flames disappear though they couldn't hurt her. The look on his face now broke her, sent her pressing her cheek into the warmth of his chest and pressing him close to her.

The tears flowed down her cheeks as she felt his large hands press her into his muscled frame.

"I'm sorry, Mikoto.''

(End flashback)

She had been sorry. So, so sorry for the anguish he had let her witness. Sorry for the sting her words had left. Since then he had tried to distance himself from her and she couldn't stop feeling as if he was slipping further and further away. The more she tried to reach out for him the more he blocked her out.

She had come here to think clearly. Their wounds were healing but yet whenever she saw Mikoto she felt as if she did nothing but remind him of what was lost. She was stuck between wanting to crush him in her arms and smile at him-just to let him know it was going to be okay.

Being by his side is where things made sense. Knowing that he was hurting and feeling as if she couldn't help weighed heavy on her.

Mikoto had been right that day. His words had pulled her from the murky waters of her own grief crashed mind.

Crying for them did nothing. That's why it was becoming easier and easier to smile when she thought of her loved ones. She could look back and laugh at what had been said or seen. She was appreciating the life that they had fought for her to have. There would always be a piece of her that felt guilt over the loss of their lives but she had to find some way to live for them.

She just wanted to be by Mikoto.

"You're going to get sick.''

Surprised brown orbs looked up to meet cerulean that softened when they took in the state she was in. Gently, she lowered herself to a sitting position and rested her chin into her palm. Inky black hair spilled through the corners of her hoodie, the ends having been curled. Her butt made a squishing sound against the water.

"It was easy to find you this time.'' A deeper voice than the first met her ears and she saw the face of Kuroh beside her, an umbrella in his hand as he took care sitting. He cringed when the water made the squishing sound and she had to resist the urge to grin.

The drops of the frigid rain left her skin and the sound of it hitting the umbrella filled the soft silence between the three siblings.

Before they had found each other they all had a story that haunted them. Alaura losing her parents and struggling to keep her and her brother together. Jacob who had been so young yet watched the world around him through another set of eyes. Liz thinking that abuse was love and feeling like no one could save her, for she wasn't worth it. Kuroh afraid to let anyone love him because he thought of himself as a curse that brought nothing but pain to people.

Master Ichigen had saved all four of them. By saving Alaura and Jacob, he had made it possible for her and Jacob to save Liz. By saving Kuroh he had let the boy feel loved and included in a family by the others.

Without him…their bond wouldn't have been formed and she and Jacob would probably be in unmarked graves.

Liz would be a hollow shell that believed love wasn't a thing that could be real.

Kuroh would go on living in fear and loneliness, coming to resent himself in a short time.

"I miss him.'' She whispered, staring at the weathered headstone that rested a few inches from the tips of her toes.

A mentor, a friend, a father. May he rest as a King amongst the dead and the living.

Ichigen Miwa.

"He would sit here with us in the rain, just sit and not talk, wouldn't he?" Liz smiled fondly at the image of Master Ichigen in her head. He was all relaxed smiles.

''Then all of us would get sick.'' Kuroh grumbled playfully. He could recall his master having to be watched over by all of them when he would come down with a cold.

"Then all of you would have to take medicine.'' Alaura sighed and laughed silently. "Which you would all hate.''

"If you want us to enjoy medicine make it taste better. That stuff is truly the devils work.'' Liz shivered as she remembered how the thick sludge felt going down her throat oh gods she was going to be sick.

The three of them laughed before once more falling into a peaceful silence and letting the sound of the rain fall over them. They sat for a time, saying their own thanks and dealing with their own guilt. They were young and yet they weren't. This had been their fate.

"Alaura?" Liz's soft voice broke the silence and Alaura nodded in response.

"Yeah?"

"Your mother…she asked who I thought would win, back at the castle. When I said you…she said she thought so too. Do you know what that could mean?"

Liz was speaking but it was if she wasn't. Alaura could hear her obviously but she sounded muffled almost. Her lips thinned as she thought of the crazed eyes that had once been warm and loving. There was a time her mother had been her hero.

The breeze shifted and played with the ends of her hair as she looked up to the stormy clouds.

Mother…her brown orbs closed to the world and a smile of relief painted her lips. So you did die as how you had once been…I'm thankful. I love you, momma.

"Huh? Hey, what's up?"

Without warning Liz jumped up to her feet and began to stride away to where she had heard a sound. Alaura was lost in a world she couldn't reach. A world before her, where her mother and father tucked her and her brother into bed at night. That wasn't her world to touch. That was a place Alaura deserved to keep to herself. Knowing her friend knew what those words meant better than she could ever, Liz felt like she had gotten her rest.

Said girl watched Liz go up to Yata with a wide smile on her face. Liz had been responsible in mending the pieces that were Misaki Yata. With a lot of time and effort Liz had even gotten Fushimi to stop being such a jerk to Yata.

"Could it rain any harder?"

"Maybe if your voice annoys the rain gods enough. Oh look, more rain. It worked.''

She giggled and shook her head while the yelling began to fade. Well, there was effort being made.

"Sister, will you be alright?" She looked over to see Kuroh frowning down at her all while holding the umbrella over the both of them. He stuck her then of when he was smaller than herself, timid and afraid to breathe. With a comforting smile she nodded and waved him off.

"Go, Kuroh, I'll be there soon.'' She said.

"We'll be leaving soon.'' He warned her though he knew he didn't have to. "The others must have finished visiting Totsuka if Misaki and Saruhiko came here. The others don't know of this spot but they will soon.''

She knew that. Their master's true burial had been a secret to protect him from grave robbers. It was hidden in a thicket that any normal person would be hurt trying to get into.

"I'll be by there soon, just about done here.'' With that she shooed him away and stood to watch him disappear in the deep greens. He tried to offer her his umbrella but with one glare he fled.

"You can come out now," She called out, feeling the rain slide down her now unprotected cheeks. "I know you're here.''

A beat of silence passed before fiery red hair met her eyes as well as molten gold. They didn't move toward one another. This was the longest he had been near her in months. Her hands itched to hold him in her arms. She just needed the go.

He smirked and her heart fell to her toes. "A secret grave? Scandalous.''

"Grave robbers,'' she explained, turning to press her palm against the headstone and say a parting prayer. Coming back up she stepped closer to him. "He was famous to be rich but none of us ever saw anything so we had to protect him from rumors.''

He nodded but said nothing in reply. Her skin was beginning to grow cold. Wrapping her arms around herself she scowled and narrowed in on him with a fierce glare.

He raised a brow.

"I'm cold.'' She shivered. She wanted to talk but he looked to be in no mood. "I'm going inside, are you coming?"

"Do you still feel the same?"

She was taken aback by the question and his tone. Just a second he had been smirking but now he was vulnerable like he had been that night at the hospital.

"What about?" She dared.

"About me. About wishing it was you who had died.'' He fixed his burning amber on her and a heat spread across her.

She couldn't believe it. Out of all the things…balling her hands into fists she darted forward and gripped the front of his jacket, feeling the leather beneath her grip. Without pausing to think she pulled him down and felt the press of his lips against her own.

Her lips molded against his as if they had been made to fit against one another. The cold in her body was banished, instead replaced by the burning heat he gave off. She squeezed her eyes tight and poured more of herself into the kiss. Her guilt, her fears, her sadness. She gave him her happiness, her joy, her love. She tried as hard as she could to show him all the things she had been feeling all this time.

I love you, you idiot!

Mikoto's hands reached up to bury his hands into her dark curls, pulling her closer to him. Months he had avoided her. Avoided hearing her talk or laugh or smile. He had been an idiot. She had talked then of dying, of giving her own life, and it had scared him.

He had already been through that pain once when her blood saturated him. He didn't think he could do that again. Just the thought made the rage bubble inside of him.

She was his. She was his and she had been in so much pain when she had woken up that he didn't know what to do. He had withdrew from her to save the both of them but she had kept trying. She pushed and pushed.

It was irritating at first. He wanted to throttle her and tell her this was for the best. But the longer he stayed away from her the longer he felt it was the wrong choice.

Now with her firmly in his arms and feeling the cold disappear from her skin he couldn't ever see himself letting her go again. Alaura was his.

Pulling apart she gasped heavily, giggling at the surge of emotions in her chest. Her hands slipped away from his collar to wrap around his neck and play with the red strands at the base.

"Stay by me.'' He murmured into the thicket of her curls, his puff of her breath fanning across the back of her neck.

A silly smile spread across her lips. That guilt would weigh on her for the rest of her life. Her friends and families smiles would be burned into her memory. But with the days ahead of her and her family by her side-she was sure she could make their deaths not be in vain.

"Mikoto,'' she laughed and it fell across with the rain as she tightened her hold. "Where else would I be?"

A/N: AAAAARGH THE EPILOGUE IS NEXT ARRRRRRRGH I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS SINCE I STARTED EEEEEEE!

Okay, I think I'm done.

Review-eat amazing food-and have a great night/day! Oh and if you didn't like this please don't flame, just politely exit and find something you do like. Bye! Talk to you all soon!

-ScarlettWriter

PREVIEW FOR Epilogue: Serenity

"Momma! Momma!"

Her face lit up as the small boy came running up to her with his arms open, ready for her to catch him. The two fell into a fit of laughter as she pulled back and admired his eyes that looked so much like hers and the hair that fell across that looked just like his fathers.

Crystal blue stared up at her as chestnut locks fell straight against his chubby cheeks.