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Pieces
Epilogue: Light
by katanashi
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"I'm back, Neechan."

The soft voice of Mikagami Tokiya once again echoed throughout the stillness of the yard, as he knelt in front of Mifuyu's grave. It brought a wave of sadness over him; over a decade ago, he had been in this very same position, with a rift in his heart that ran so deep he thought it would never close and make his heart whole again.

He would have never guessed it would take a war and five extremely unique people to make the impossible come true. He had never realized it before, but he had been skating on extremely thin ice; he had been lucky to have Kagero there to recognize the signs, and the four monkeys to cheerfully drag him out of the pit.

His face broke into a wry smile at the thought of the four 'monkeys'. "A gorilla, sea monkey, chimp, and …" he reflected ruefully, laughing at what his seventeen-year old mind had conjured.

He reached into his pocket. "The war's over, Neechan," he told her. "We won. Barely." He settled down comfortably; he was in for a long story-telling session. "The Tenjougikou was finally destroyed. It took everything we had, but we won." He spoke of the long, terrible years in a bittersweet voice, telling Mifuyu of the terror when Yanagi was kidnapped and the illusions they later learned she had endured. A hint of humor colored his story of Kaoru screaming his lungs out over a simple kiss by Kamui, and in a grief filled tone he told her of Meguri's death. "He didn't deserve to die like that, Neechan," he said softly, reaching towards the grave as if to hold her hand. "We got it all wrong. Please…ask him to forgive me. I was so, so wrong." As he got towards the end, his voice grew pained as he remembered the suffering and the agony endured by all of them, both emotional and physical.

"It was terrible. Whenever someone was supposed dead…" His eyes clouded over. "I wished then, Neechan, that I'd never let myself feel again. I thought everyone was dead, everything that I had learned to care about…it was like the nightmare was starting all over again." Again, his fingers moved towards the grass. "I could never bear losing you, Neechan," he added softly.

You'll never lose me, Tokiya.

He smiled winsomely at the sweet voice in his head. "I know, Neechan. But I have to let you go."

You already have.

"Maybe I started to, Neechan. But I kept your spirit here, didn't I? You couldn't leave this plane of existence because of me."

The voice grew gently chiding. Tokiya, I stayed because I worried about you, and because you needed me. You never forced me to do anything. But you don't need me anymore, do you?

He winced at the words. "No, that's not true. I'll always need you, Neechan."

What happened to letting me go, Tokiya?

He stared at the ground. Even though he was over twenty, he had childlike reclusive habits that he still struggled with, a remnant of his youth. He doubted it would ever leave him. "Neechan…" he trailed off.

Letting me go doesn't mean losing me. I meant it when I said you'd never lose me. But now, I'm holding you back from living your life.

Tokiya sighed. "I know. You're right, as usual."

He felt her smile rest on his face as warmly as the sun's rays did and closed his eyes, revelling in what little contact he had with his only family. He felt Mifuyu wrap him in her hug, the special embrace that reassured him as a child, that made all the imaginary bakemonos disappear. But now, it was different; the embrace was warmer, more loving, and less protective.

Mifuyu was right. He no longer needed to shield himself from the world with her memory. It was time that he lived his own life, and created his own world. He would always love his sister and cherish her in his thoughts, but the purposes of his actions were no longer for her.

He could feel her spirit departing, becoming fainter as she slowly disappeared from his senses.

I love you, Tokiya-chan. Don't you ever forget that.

"I love you too, Neechan," he whispered, his voice choked from emotion.

With the slight whispering with the wind, Mifuyu was gone.

Mikagami Tokiya opened his eyes to see the grave of his sister, Mikagami Mifuyu, exactly as he had seen it before he'd closed his eyes. But now, reaching out delicately with his mind, he could sense a certain kind of freedom, a gaiety that had not been there before.

He smiled sadly. "Neechan, I'm glad you're free, too. It's wonderful, to be free." There was nothing like bursting from that dark cage that he had kept himself in for so many years. It was like moving out of darkness and into the light.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out Ensui. Handling the sword with an expert hand, he studied it briefly before pulling out a bottle of water and pouring it on Ensui, letting the liquid crystallize into the blade that had killed so many. Reaching behind him, he deftly severed off his ponytail with one swift cut. As he did so, he felt a hundred different things, a whole gamut of emotions. It was as if everything he'd felt in the past decade came rushing back as he knelt there, holding his silvery hair.

He opened his palm and let the breeze take his hair, strand by strand, and with it, the renewed weight of his childhood memories were alleviated, bit by bit. "Good bye, Neechan," he said in a low voice, turning and walking resolutely out of the graveyard, his now short hair trailing in the breeze.

The silvery strands settled over Mifuyu's grave, glittering dully in the morning light.

* * * * *

"Finally!" A pretty, violet-haired diva straightened and put her hands on her hips, glaring at Tokiya. "Mi-chan, what took so long?"

"Yeah, did you lose your way again?" the huge man with a mohawk cut snickered.

"Mikagami-niichan never loses his way!" a slight teenage boy declared firmly. "Unlike someone else here who happens to be a mongloid freak!"

"A what?" Domon rolled his eyes. "Did I hear something?" he asked Fuuko. "Or am I just--"

"Dumb?" Kaoru jumped in, grinning like a cat.

While the two continued to bicker and Fuuko tried to extricate herself out of the mess, Mikagami walked up to a tall, slender young man with spikey black hair and a gentle young woman with kind, welcome eyes.

The black-haired man peered curiously at Tokiya. "You okay?" he asked. Such a wealth of emotion was conveyed in two short, generic words. They implied concern, worry, curiousity, understanding…

Mikagami nodded. "Aa. It was hard," he added quietly. "But I feel better than I have in years."

Recca nodded in understanding. Being no stranger to the troubles of sentiment, he could empathize with his comrade accurately.

"I'm glad, Mikagami-kun," Yanagi said seriously, smiling bravely at him underneath her sweet smile.

He automatically smiled just watching her smile, but it quickly gained genuine warmth. "I am, too," he admitted honestly.

"We're all glad it's finally over," Recca said quietly. "Kami-sama, what a mess it was." He shuffled his feet a bit, mulling over his thoughts, before straightening with a familiar impish grin on his face. "By the way, Mikagami, we'd better get you to a barber as soon as we can. You look like a girl with that weird hair cut."

"Are you insulting my concept of beauty, Hanabishi?" Mikagami sniffed, immediately picking up his snobbish attitude, which was no more than an act now. It was a way to joke around with Recca.

"As if you had any to begin with," Recca retorted. The two men looked at each other, then laughed.

"I do need a good haircut," Mikagami conceded after he stopped laughing. "If you know of any good places, mention away."

"I know of a really nice little salon in downtown," Fuuko volunteered, overhearing their conversation. "I can take you this afternoon if you'd like, Mi-chan."

"That would be nice. Arigatou, Fuuko."

"No problem," she replied airily. "You can thank me by teaching me how to cook."

Mikagami laughed, blue eyes twinkling. "I'm afraid you'll need better help than mine."

"Perhaps you're right," she agreed, her own eyes dancing merrily.

"Hey, you two!" Recca waved at him. "Let's get going, shall we? Hime is going to be late for her appointment!"

"Oh, heaven forbid that Yanagi-chan be late," Fuuko playfully mocked, but ran for the car anyway.

Mikagami, as usual, ambled along more casually behind, but reached the car in good time. He visibly winced upon seeing Recca in the drivers' seat. Recca's driving was crazy to say the least.

"I'm letting Hime drive," Recca said before Mikagami had the chance to open his mouth.

Mikagami nodded in relief and climbed into the back, sitting next to Fuuko.

"Are you still going to see Raiha this afternoon?" he asked her in a low voice.

Fuuko nodded, sadness falling over her face. "He's a little depressed," she said unhappily. "Of course, I can't blame him. With the way things worked out, it's a wonder he's still alive, and that he…" she trailed off, unable to find the strength to voice her fears.

"That he didn't kill himself?" Mikagami finished for her.

Fuuko nodded reluctantly. "Yes. I was so afraid, with everything that happened, that he'd just throw himself off the cliff and be done with everything…"

"Raiha would never do that." Mikagami's voice was quiet, reflective. "When one lives with honor and humility like he has done, to throw life away would be the greatest act of cowardice possible."

"I don't understand." Fuuko looked perplexed.

Recca turned back. "I'll explain later, if you want."

Fuuko grimaced. "Oh, no. If Recca gets it, that means he's smarter than me."

"Now that's saying something," Kaoru said in satisfaction, but he couldn't help but cringe a bit at the dual death looks sent his way by the former flame and wind masters.

Mikagami laughed. "Recca understands because of parallel experience. You, however, have a totally different attitude than both of us to everything. It's no wonder you don't quite understand."

"I'd like to help him, though," Fuuko said softly.

"You are, just by being there. Presence means a lot for hurting people." Mikagami smiled in that mysterious way of his before turning to face out the window, effectively ending the discussion.

He stroked his fingers across the seamless surface, noting absently how alike it was to ice. Ice…it only brought back terrible memories of the war, of the final battle against Meguri, but it was all behind him. It was over.

For some reason, he looked up. The sun shone overhead, spreading its light all about both the world about him and the world within him. For a second, he thought he saw a near-transparent figure up in the sky, waving an arm in a farewell. He blinked, and the figure was gone.

A smile found its way to his face, as he closed his eyes and let the sun rays warm him. The ice was forever gone, melted and banished. Never would he be cold again.

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Okay...well, I thought I finished it...but Jealous Wabbit suggests a conclusion and I think, hm, that's pretty cool! So I hammer it out. As for the ending of Recca no Honou the manga...I have no idea how it's going to work out, so I left it generalized, except for parts I knew happened. Raiha's depression is a figment of my imagination, although i imagine it's entirely possible.

Yes, I like Raiha. No, I'm not hinting towards Fuuko/Raiha in this. They've always been good friends. ^^

I'll be taking an anime hiatus for now...concentrating on Lord of the Rings. Ja ne!
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