The reason to live

The war was over. Chaos was defeated. The kids were reunited with their parents. So why was He not dead? Standing on what used to be the vessel of Chaos, with veils of mist swirling around him, Kuroki Kaze couldn't help but wonder; why was he still alive?

There was nothing more to avenge, no more war to fight. Kaze had no more reason to live. He should have just died like the others. Not to mention that now the left side of his glasses was broken as well, and he had lost one of his earrings during the battle.

Kaze was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the mist around him grow thicker; almost impossible to see trough.

Soft footsteps from behind alerted him about the approaching man. Kaze knew immediately who it was.

When he turned around, his red secondary gun was pointing at the white clad man long before the blue eyes fully settled on his opponent. The two men were close enough to touch, had they only reached out to do so.

"Shiroi Kumo," Kaze said narrowing his eyes. So… was this the reason why he wasn't dead? An unfulfilled job..?

"If you wish to kill me, Kuroki Kaze, then do it," Kumo said quietly. "I will not dodge." And by the way he looked; Shiroi Kumo probably spoke the truth. The mask was slid back, revealing a slightly parted mouth from which small gasps escaped, and tired, no… exhausted green eyes. Kumo looked like he was in pain.

'He's too spent to dodge,' Kaze realized. 'Probably because of his fight with Chaos…' He could have easily shot the white swordsman, yet he hesitated.

When the killing bullet never came, Makenshi carefully reached out and gently with his right hand, moved the gun away from his chest, all the time keeping the touch soft, so that Kaze could easily have moved the gun back to its earlier position. But he didn't.

The black wind wasn't sure why he allowed Kumo to do this. Perhaps he was just curious about what the injured man was going to do.

Carefully, Kumo reached out his left hand towards Kaze's face. He paused as the deep blue eyes narrowed further, just to make sure he was no threat. Then, with a gentle yet firm movement, he pulled down the cape, exposing Kaze's face completely.

The next happened so quickly that Kaze had trouble realizing what had taken place. Kumo closed the gap between them and kissed Kaze on the lips before moving past the man and into the mist. It was a soft kiss, barely a second long, and filled with farewell.

For a moment, Kaze stood completely shocked. And when he turned to confront Makenshi, the white swordsman had already disappeared in the mist, probably for forever…

…Or perhaps, Shiroi Kumo had just given Kaze a new reason to live…?

The End…?

This was a one shot. There won't be any more chapters. Thank you for reading, and remember; there's always a reason to live.