(acceptance)
It's been a year.
One snowy day, not long ago, Sojiro and Chou accompanied me to Yuki's grave, offering silent support and paying tribute to a man who never should have died.
Shishio-sama is dead. Sojiro is wandering. He got away before he was propositioned for a government job. Chou is now an undercover detective.
I'm moving on as well; I'm working as a spy.
Chou says the French schoolgirl uniform is sexy, then smiles when my eyes light up. I know he thinks it's good to see me back to normal. First Yuki's brutal murder, then Shishio-sama's death…I thought I would never be happy again. It's been a long road to recovery, but it's easier to smile now.
Sojiro told me once that I shouldn't despair; there would be some one else. Through my tears, I'd argued that no one could ever take Yuki's place. There was no one else.
But, he'd smiled, there's the dream of some one else.
I'll be shipping off to France soon; back to that boarding school a million miles away from my friends. The winter holidays are nearly over and I'll be in Paris. "City of Lights," Chou tells me, "The romance capital of the world. Don't go running off with one of those Frenchies on me. I ain't gonna be happy if I have to hunt ya down."
I can't help but laugh. Ever since that day he slammed me against the wall, claimed me with a kiss, he decided that no choice made about my future could be made without him. Even though I swear up and down I will never love him, he doesn't mind.
To be perfectly honest, I don't mind either.
I kiss him on the cheek. "Arigato."
"Fer what?"
A smile. "For keeping the dream alive."