1A/N: The finale is upon us. This is Chapter XIII of Pure as the Snow. It's been a long road to get this far, but I'm so glad I stuck with writing this. It's come together so nicely and all your reviews are so supportive that you've given me the encouragement to keep writing. I mean there are 118 reviews for this story. 118! That's my new high! I'm so happy! I owe you all tremendous thanks!

The biggest parts of my thanks go to Dejichan4444 and Suanne, who are an inspiration to everyone. Dejichan4444's stories always help me write my own and they're really well written. Suanne gives me really thoughtful reviews about how to improve my story and what-not. As I said this fic is dedicated to my best buddy Cia, and as we are still on Easter Break I am still working alone. But this chapter is dedicated to both Suanne and Dejichan4444, who I don't think I could've finished this fic without. Thank you guys so much: )

Well, without further ado, here we go. This is Pure as the Snow Chapter XIII: Finale!


Pure as the Snow

Chapter XIII: Finale

The darkness was unavoidable, pulled in by the greater force out there which no one could defeat. No one… but him. He was the only one who could be the entity of pure light and destroy the darkness which had engulfed the world. Bu(t) this entity of light… this pure being… the innocent soul…

… was slipping away into the darkness.

It was a sight which, as he read over the lines, caused the novelist to only stare blankly at the screen for a few moments, not moving, not speaking, not making a sound. A stray tear trickled down his cheek, followed by more and more. His heart felt like it was actually physically being torn in two. He couldn't fight back the tears. He couldn't fight back the overflowing sadness and emptiness that emitted from him. Eiri Yuki was crying. No… he wasn't just crying he was actually lying, slumped over his desk, his head in his arm which had been lying on the desk, crying into his arm, making the fabric go wet and soggy. What kind of monster had created this mess? Kitazawa was supposed to be righting his wrongs of the past, but instead he had taken away the one thing that had been good in his life. He couldn't stop the tears. He felt as though he was dying. The one great thing in his life he needed the most was no longer in his arms. His angel was vanishing.

Bleep!

The computer made an odd noise, and Yuki looked up, staring at the screen in disbelief as more words popped up on the screen.

It is time for the nightmare to end.

Those simple words made Yuki's face light up ever so slightly. Did that mean that Shuichi wasn't dead? Was that a sign of some kind? He felt his fingers drawn to the keyboard once more, however this time they rested there, not typing anything. He wondered what he had to do. But more words came up on the screen.

Do nothing. He will figure this out for himself.

Nodding to himself, Yuki agreed and sat back, waiting for the next bit to appear on the screen. Words flooded the screen, this time without him typing. He sat patiently and read them over.


The entity of light was floating in a black abyss… death as some may call it. But he felt no pain, no fear. He just floated there in the space, weightless, waiting for something to do.

Was he dead? He wasn't sure. It was impossible to tell since the light had gone out so many times in the dream world. He just had no idea where he was anymore. He lay in wait for something to happen. But nothing did. He decided that if nothing was going to happen, perhaps he had to do something. And so, he closed his eyes and thought. What possibly could heal the snow? What could heal both Yuki and Kitazawa? God, he had no idea. All he knew was that to heal the snow, it meant healing both of the 'Yuki's he knew.

He curled into a ball, floating aimlessly. Confused. Lost. He didn't even understand the dream. And what would it help if he understood anyway? He was a moron, Yuki had said so often enough. A moron. An inconvenience. Maybe healing Yuki meant . . . leaving him.

Sure, Yuki had been trying to reach him and was worried about him, but he if couldn't even help Yuki what use was he to him? He was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And yet, even though he knew that, he loved Yuki with all his soul. And he thought, if there was one thing he wanted to do before he completely disappeared, it was to tell his Yuki how much he loved him. How much he cared about him. Just that little thing, and Shuichi was sure he'd vanish from the world happily, without regrets or cares. It was his final act of love, just to tell Yuki how deeply he loved him.

"Yuki…" he whispered, voice hoarse from all the events in the dream world "I love you,"


His heart beat stopped. His breathing ceased. All went quiet in the grand city of Tokyo. The man known as Eiri Yuki fell forward, collapsing onto the desk in tears, unable to fight the pain any longer. He was gone… he… his only shining light in the darkness… was really and truly gone for good. He wouldn't come back. And all Shuichi had wanted to say in his final minutes was how much he loved him. The only words… his final words…

All Shuichi had been capable of was loving and caring. He hadn't done anything that deserved death. He hadn't caused any harm to anyone. And yet… even still he was gone. He had passed on, devoured by the darkness…

He pulled himself back up again. He needed to say those words too, just so Shuichi could hear them before he completely faded into the darkness. His heart trembling, he typed in:

"I love you too Shuichi,"


"I love you too Shuichi,"

The words echoed through the dream world. But Kitazawa was unable to hear them. He was mourning… mourning for the loss…

the pure and innocent soul…

He stared at the limp body he held in his hands. Their saviour, the only person who could save himself and Eiri was gone, vanished for eternity. He was sure nothing could bring him back now. This was all his fault. He'd only wanted to move on so he could be at peace at last, but all he had caused was pain and misery. The dream world around him crumbled. It was too late for anyone. They were all going to vanish now, and Tokyo would be devoured by the darkness, completely taken in and destroyed by the greater force out there. Kitazawa had felt the force shift too, just like Shuichi and Eiri. He had felt it, but arrogantly ignored it. He'd dragged Shuichi into this world for his own selfish reasons. So that he could move on.

And all he'd done was destroy everything. Time was up. The world was breaking apart.

The saviour in his arms flared, exuded a bright light, which dispelled all the darkness. Kitazawa dropped the body in surprise, and it fell onto the snow. Or at least it would have of, had it not hovered just inches above the ground. The saviour's amethyst eyes opened, bright and clear with the innocence of a child. He rose to his feet, still floating just above the snow.

"I know," he said, a gentle smile on his face."I know how to heal the snow,"

He raised his hand, palm down, and crossed the snow with it, closed his eyes, and whispered "I love you," in the quietest voice he could, putting meaning into every one of those three special words.

At once the red snow returned to white, a perfect white of purity. The darkness was banished into the depths of hell. The snow falling too returned to its former glory. Light lit up the skies and world turning the colours vivid and vibrant, full of life. By the time Shuichi opened his eyes once more, not even a hint of red remained.

Kitazawa opened his mouth to speak, and then remembered he could not.

Once again that all-encompassing, impossibly gentle smile appeared on the saviour's young face.

"Don't worry," Shuichi said softly. "You can speak once again now. It's over. The darkness has been defeated. You can move on now,"

Kitazawa stared at the saviour, almost in disbelief. Hadn't this boy been dead just moments ago? And there he was, floating on top of the snow, a kind smile on his face and he still had that innocent look in his eyes. Nothing in this world of darkness had touched him. He was unharmed.

"How? How did you work it out?" Kitazawa asked.

"All I wanted was to tell Yuki I loved him before I disappeared." A look of wonder filled the luminous violet eyes. "And just before I disappeared… I knew, somehow, he'd heard. I knew, somehow, he returned that love and that everything was going to be all right." A blink broke the violet spell. "And then… I woke up here again, and everything just… made sense. I've heard people say that I am the only one who can make Yuki happy, but I just… never believed that before. Maybe I'm also the only one who can heal his pain too, and free him," Shuichi replied. Then he raised a hand out to Kitazawa "This world will crumble soon. It will shatter and disappear, as if it never existed. So go. Move on. You are no longer held back for the pain you inflicted on Yuki. I will look out for him. You can rely on me,"

Kitazawa gave Shuichi a grateful nod, and his body was drowned in light as he vanished from the dream world and was taken to his final resting place to be at peace.


Shuichi awoke with a start. He jumped up and looked around, but was pulled back down by a pair of strong arms clasping round him. He turned round and saw the one face he had wanted to see all along.

"I'm home," he whispered. Yuki smiled and replied,

"Welcome home,"


A/N:Ah that took ages to come up with! But, there it is! The final chapter you were all waiting for! It's not as great as it could possibly be, but I put lots of effort into it and worked on it for a good solid two hours before I was satisfied with it. Sure, it isn't brilliant but it's difficult to end a story y'know? And another load of thanks to Suanne for her input in tweaking things in the finale. It all sounds so much better when I re-read it through now! Thanks a lot: D Well, that's it from me. I'll see you all next time for the epilogue. Please review!

- Hikari-kun -