Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread, nor do I own any song lyrics used. They are all copyrighted to their respective owners.

Author's Note: I plan on this being a rather dark chapter, as there will be a torture scene, as well as intense violence and a disturbing scene.

Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)

Chapter Fourteen: Memories, Part Two

Location: Infirmary, Nirvana

His breathing started to become heavy, and the pain started to become more evident on his face. It wasn't really the physical pain that was causing him so much torment, but severe emotional trauma that tore at him. For once again, he had to relive the pain of losing someone that was close to him, someone who was far more than a friend…

Sakura…

Age: 19

As his vision slowly re-emerged from the darkness, Aidan was greeted by the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights. He squinted his eyes against bright lighting, and then slowly opened them as he adjusted to it. He tried to get a bearing on his location, and then noticed that he was lying in a bed, most likely in the infirmary. He forced himself into a sitting position, and he noticed that his left arm was in a sling, and a lingering pain reverberated throughout his left arm. From what he noticed, his left arm and chest had been bandaged.

In one quick, violent moment, it all came back to him. The explosion, the burning pain, Sakura's blood on his hands, her death. He brought his good hand up to his face, as varying emotions tore at him. Sakura… dead? He just didn't want to believe it, but this agonizing memory proved it.

"Oh, so you're finally awake," Damon said from the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

"Never mind me, what about Sakura?" Aidan asked in a vain hope that she might still be alive.

Damon's silence, as well as his looking down and away, gave him the answer he didn't want to know. After a long minute of silence, he finally spoke up. "She… was hit with shrapnel in the stomach, she bled to death."

"It's not… true, " he murmured, still struck with disbelief.

"I came here to give you this," he said as he walked over to Aidan. He handed Aidan what appeared to be a necklace, but it was actually her ID tags. As soon as he handed him the tags, Damon walked out of the room, leaving Aidan to himself. After looking at the tags for several long seconds, tears started to streak down his face.

"Sakura…" he murmured, clenching the tags tightly in his hand.

------------

Carry me away

I need your strength

To get me through this

Dare to believe

For one last time

And then I'll let the

Darkness cover me

Deny everything

Slowly walk away

To breathe again

On my own

(Darkness- Disturbed)

Standing at attention in full blue and black dress uniform, Aidan watched as they started to lower the caskets into the ground, his vision was blankly focused on one. Although it was the same as every other one being lowered into the ground. This would be the final resting place of his love, Sakura. It was all he could do just to keep a tight rein on his emotions.

This was a service for all who had died on that day, a week ago. The long silence was shattered with the crack of rifles firing in unison. The shots repeated several more times, and then stopped when the order was given. It felt as though a part of his soul had been ripped from him and cast into the abyss. He felt empty, for he really had nothing more to live for.

After the funeral, Aidan stood in front of her gravestone. He just stared at it blankly for a few moments, and he failed to notice somebody else's presence. When that somebody placed a hand on his right shoulder, he looked back and saw the muscular form of Steiner. He nodded, then turned back to look at the gravestone.

"Come on," Steiner said after a moment's silence. "We need to get back to the base."

"If you don't mind," Aidan replied, his voice subdued. "I'd like to be left alone with her for a while."

Steiner nodded, then left Aidan alone at the foot of Sakura's grave. Aidan stood there for a long moment, not saying anything. Sure that he was alone, he collapsed to his knees in front of her grave. He couldn't keep from crying, even though he knew it wasn't fitting a soldier like him.

"Sakura…" he said, clenching his fists. "Why… did you have to… arrrrghhhhh!"

He slammed his right fist into the dirt. "Why did you have to die?"

He got to his feet, and looked down at the name engraved on the stone. "Sakura, I promise you, I'll kill whoever was responsible for this, I will make them pay."

Age: 20

Living just isn't hard enough

Burn me alive inside

Living my life's not hard enough

Take everything away

(Prayer- Disturbed)

Why can't I get over it? She's been gone for over six months now. That thought was burned in his head the whole time he was in the shower. He didn't the heat from the water jets, so much as he felt the burn of his scar. The medics said it would have taken a long time for the scar to heal. He told them to leave it as is, because it was his punishment, his price, for failing Sakura. The scar ran from his left shoulder all the way down to just above the elbow.

He dried himself off, and started to put on his uniform. The Seventy-First had been put on reserve status, and Aidan didn't like it. He had also been promoted to sergeant, which he did not like either. Now he had additional duties to perform, ones he disliked. Of course, Sakura would have been happy about his promotion, and that brought the image of her face back into his mind.

"Dammit!" he cursed as he punched the locker. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!"

He punched the locker repeatedly, then drew back and hit the locker with enough force to leave a fist-sized dent in it. "It's not fair! Why did you have to die? It's not fucking fair!"

He knew it was futile to think about her like that, but he still believed he should have died in her place. If not that, he should've died as well, because he didn't like living without her. Composing himself, he straightened up and headed for the locker room's exit.

------------

As the liquid burned its way down his throat, Aidan stared blankly at the photograph in his hand. Sitting alone in his darkened quarters, he had resorted to drinking as a way to numb the pain. It wasn't working. He then glanced over to where Sakura's personal effects were, lying in a box, next to him on his bed. She had only a few of them, including the pendant he'd given her for her nineteenth birthday. The picture in his hand was also something that belonged to her.

It was group picture, with him in the center, and with her off to his side, an arm around him. Damon, Steiner, and Dirk were also in the picture. He still remembered their last night together, even though it had been several months ago. He still remembered the scent of the perfume she'd been wearing. He could remember the softness of her caress, the warmth of her body. Then he was taken back to that last violent scene, in which her life just faded away as it were nothing. Her life was taken away, as if it had no meaning, no significance at all. The scene of her death would be engraved in his mind for the rest of his damn life.

"Why… did she have to die like that?" he asked himself. He looked down at the amber liquid in the glass. With a grimace, he threw the half-empty glass against the wall, where it shattered, splattering all over the wall. He then brought his hand up to his face. "Dammit… she had the rest of her life ahead of her, yet in a matter of seconds it was ripped away."

Just then, there was a rap at his door, and then someone spoke up. "It's me, Damon," the person said. "I'm coming in."

Aidan looked up as his friend entered his quarters. Damon stared at Aidan sternly, as he saw the bottle of liquor on the counter, as well as the shattered glass on the floor. With a few quick strides, he was standing in front of Aidan.

"Are you still sulking?" Damon said. "When are you going to get over the fact that she is gone?"

"Her death… was meaningless," Aidan said dejectedly.

"Get a hold of yourself, dammit!" Damon yelled, grabbing Aidan by the collar of his uniform and dragging him to his feet. "Don't you ever think that!"

Aidan refused to make eye contact, looking away from Damon. Damon drew back his fist and slammed it into Aidan's jaw. Aidan made no attempt to block the blow, and he barely felt the blood running from the corner of his mouth. "You weren't the only one who cared about her."

That last comment knocked Aidan out of his sullen mood. "What?"

"That's right," Damon replied. "I also cared about her, even though I knew you two were close…"

"I didn't know…" Aidan said, dumbfounded.

"In order to make sure her death wasn't worthless, you need to keep on living," Damon said, releasing his grip on Aidan's collar. "You need to keep on living, if for nothing else, her sake."

"Thanks," Aidan said as Damon turned to leave. As Damon reached the door, he turned and gave Aidan the ghost of a smile, then exited. That surprised Aidan, because he swore that Damon hadn't really smiled ever since he'd met him.

That left Aidan alone, standing in front of his bed. After a long moment, he finally came to a decision. "Okay, you win. Now I know what I have to do."

------------

"Sir, I'm here to request a transfer," Aidan said, at attention.

"At ease, Sergeant," Colonel Vandenburg replied. As soon as Aidan did as instructed, Vandenburg continued. "A transfer?"

"Yes, sir," Aidan replied. "I formally request to be transferred to special operations."

"Special operations, eh?" the Colonel replied. "And why is that?"

"I believe my training and skills would be better implemented in the special forces," Aidan replied.

"You're adamant about this, aren't you?" the Colonel asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well," the Colonel said after a moment's silence. "As it was the unit you were in that received the most casualties from the bombing, I formally accept your request for transfer."

"Thank you, sir," Aidan replied as he saluted his commander.

Age: 21

With renewed determination, Aidan passed all of the tests that were required to enter the Solaris Special Forces. Marksmanship, Close Combat, and Survival were just a few of them. Little did he know, Damon and Steiner both followed suite, completing their own spec ops training less than a month after Aidan completed his.

It wasn't long before Aidan had made it up to First Lieutenant, and he was granted command of his own combat team. He did not know that both Steiner and Damon were assigned to his team, and he would be meeting them today. He walked into the room to be greeted by none other than Steiner.

"Guten tag, Lieutenant," Steiner greeted him.

"Yeah, good day," Aidan replied, trying to hide the surprise on his face upon seeing Steiner, but failing miserably. Then he noticed Damon in the room as well. There was about three other men in the room.

Before he could ask about what they were doing here, a woman with short, flame red hair approached him. "So, is this him?" she asked the other woman present as she checked him out. "He looks a little young, but at least he's good-looking."

"Come on, Ria, is that anyway to treat your new commander?" the other woman said jokingly.

After viewing the small group of soldiers that he would command, he knew he was going to have some trouble on his hands. This is going to be one hell of a day…

------------

As Aidan waited for the rest of his team arrive in the briefing room, he glanced at his commanding officer. This was a man he'd come to dislike for the short time he'd been under the man's command. The man just had something about him, something Aidan did not find right. He looked and acted like an officer, but Aidan felt there was something he was hiding. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the man was suspicious, to Aidan at least.

Aidan was the first one there, due to the fact that he was the team leader. Damon and Steiner came in a few minutes later, followed by Julia Marks and Ria DeMarco, the female members of his team. Next in was the quiet Keiji Akida, his team's scout. The last two in were Nick Hawkins and Michael Deveroux, his team's explosives expert and comm specialist, respectively. As soon as Hawkins took his seat, their commander began the briefing.

"Okay, as of two days ago fifteen civilians were taken hostage aboard and civilian owned spacecraft," he started, bringing a picture of the craft on the video monitor. "They were taken hostage by a band of pirates labeling themselves' 'The Devil's Horde.'"

"Pirates?" Ria asked.

The commander nodded. "They are demanding a ransom of seventy-million credits for the safe return of the hostages, as well as several crates of weapons and ammunition. Yesterday, they landed on the uninhabited continent of Misery, presumably to take the hostages to their ground base."

"Your team's primary objective is the rescue of the hostages," the commander continued, now showing the pictures of the fifteen hostages. What surprised Aidan was that at least two of them were children. Briefly, he thought back to Augusta.

"You will be dropped five kilometers northwest of their base which is believed to be where the hostages are being held. Your discretionary objective is the destruction or disruption of the pirates' facilities and their personnel. If nothing else, the safe recovery of the hostages takes top priority. Mission preparation begins at twenty-two hundred hours tonight. That is all. Dismissed!"

------------

What would think of me now, Sakura? That thought was in Aidan's mind the whole time he was preparing for the upcoming mission. He could never let her go completely, as he felt part of her still lived within him, within his memories. Chances are things would be very different if she were still alive. He would have never have joined special forces, and he may even have been out of the military, living a peaceful life with her.

Even though that was a nice thought, he knew it could never happen, due to the events of this messed up universe. He just finished strapping on his form-fitting flak vest and combat harness, and now started to lace up his boots. He briefly glanced over to where the rest of his team was prepping for the mission. His gaze rested on the lithe, attractive form of Ria Demarco, and he recalled how much her body shape was similar to Sakura's.

Apparently, Ria had an attraction towards him, although he had refused to return any of her advances. After Sakura's death, he wanted nothing to do with the aspect of affection for somebody else. Part of the reason is that he never wanted to go into a situation where'd he lose that person, and the other was that she would never be able to replace Sakura. Turning back to the task at hand, he finished strapping on his combat gear.

He walked over and took an SA23K Carbine off the weapon rack. It was similar to the SA23, but was lighter, had a shorter barrel, and had a folding stock. At the sacrifice of longer range and accuracy, it provided better firepower up-close. He took a fresh clip and slammed it home into the receiver, then pulled back the bolt to load the first round into the firing chamber. He then checked the laser sight underneath the barrel. Satisfied, he slung the carbine over his shoulder, and checked his handgun.

His handgun was of a different make and model from the standard Solaris Arms HG12 Automatic Pistol. His was a model specially made for covert operations, the Solaris Arms SP13 Special Operations Pistol. It was slightly larger than the standard HG12, as it was fitted with an internal silencer and integral laser sight. He checked the ten round clip, then pulled back the slide, loading the gun. He holstered it, then turned to face his team, who had just finished suiting up.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, his tone cold and formal. As soon as he got confirmation from each member of his team, he ordered them to begin to load onto the dropship.

------------

"Ten minutes to drop zone, Team Five, prepare for drop," the voice of the dropship's pilot echoed throughout the confines of the small craft. Aidan confirmed it, then turned back to his team.

"Alright, check your gear, we are dropping in less than ten minutes," he ordered. He then began checking his weapons and equipment, including his parachute pack and helmet. It was a somewhat sophisticated piece of equipment, as it had a heads up display, and a threat indicator that allowed warning time if hostile targets got in the way. Another added feature, purely for aesthetic reasons, was that the helmet's 'mask' vaguely resembled the face of a skull. He also had a small tactical computer strapped to his wrist. He checked the rest of his equipment, then had another of the team recheck it, while he did the same to their equipment. It was standard procedure, to make sure everything was working properly, and not one piece was overlooked, which could lead to a fatal accident if it malfunctioned.

He glanced down at his chronometer, oh twenty-three fifty-four. Right on time. The drop master then called out. "Alright! Team Five, line up!"

The soldiers of Team Five, also known as Death's Grenadiers, lined up in front of the aft bay door of the dropship. They would be jumping from this craft into the stormy skies over the continent Misery. The continent was aptly named, given the fact that the constant storms and inhospitable terrain allowed no one but most resilient people to live there. Due to that very reason, it made a perfect home for pirates and other scum, as well as possible locations for top secret military facilities, although the latter has never been confirmed.

Switching on his night vision, Aidan stepped up behind Damon and was the last to be jumping from the craft. It was then that the drop master slammed his fist on the stud that opened the aft bay door and yelled. "Go! Go! Go!"

As if on cue, Akida jumped out of the craft and into the dark, cloud-filled sky. DeMarco jumped out next, followed by Deveroux, Marks, Hawkins, and Steiner. Aidan stepped up to the edge just as Damon jumped out of the craft. Aidan steeled himself and leapt out into the darkness as well.

------------

Three hours later, the pirate base was at a lull. Hardly any activity was happening, at least outside or around the old, decaying buildings. There were at least three guards patrolling on the ground, and a couple on the roof of what appeared to be the main building. Without warning, one of the guards pitched over onto his face. Before the other guard could react effectively, an armor-piercing bullet tore through his skull, spattering blood out the side of his head and onto the flat surface of the roof. With cold precision, Julia Marks had just sniped two guards with the help of Keiji Akida, her spotter.

With stealth, six members of Team Five moved into the compound. Ria DeMarco proved how effective she could be when she dispatched two guards with a combat knife. The other one was gunned down before he could yell out to his comrades. With rapidity, the commandos moved into the complex. Inside, they split into two groups of three, and moved off into two different directions.

Aidan headed the group that consisted of himself, Hawkins, and Deveroux. They hid behind the corner of a wall. Peering over it, Aidan noticed two more guards patrolling the hallway. With a couple of quick hand signals, Hawkins tossed a flashbang grenade out into the hallway. The three of them leapt out from their cover and opened fire. The two guards dropped before they could raise their weapons. The small group of soldiers moved on, not even giving a second thought to the dead pirates.

Within a few minutes, they arrived at a huge, armored door. Seeing as how firearms would probably be of no use, Aidan motioned for Hawkins to place a breaching charge on the door. After setting it, they took cover behind the corner as the charge blasted the door off it's hinges. They charged into the smoke-filled room, using their helmet's enhanced vision to pick out kill the pirates through the thick smoke. Within a minute, the gunfire ceased, and smoke started to dissipate. Most of the pirates in the room were dead.

As soon as the smoke completely disappeared, Aidan removed his helmet and looked around. In the corner of the room, he noticed the hostages, but something was wrong. They were all in the shapeless forms that only the dead could seem to achieve, and there was a large amount of blood pooled underneath them as well. Fighting the urge to vomit, Aidan stepped over to them.

"My god…" Deveroux muttered as he noticed the horrible scene as well.

"Who in the hell did this?" Hawkins said upon seeing it as well, disgust clearly on his face. "Well, there goes the mission. Dammit!"

Aidan remained quiet, staring at the scene. From the looks of it, they had almost all been killed in different ways. Some appeared to have been shot, while others looked like they were stabbed to death. Others appeared to have been tortured before they were killed. The sight that sickened him the most was the bodies of the two children. Both the girl's and the boy's throats had been slit open. It was then he noticed movement, from one of hostages. It was a middle-aged woman that had several cuts over her body.

Acting on impulse, he rushed over there and knelt down next to her. He reached out and grabbed her bloodstained hand. "Don't try to move, we're going to get help." He said that even though, from the looks of her, she was not going to live even if she did get medical attention.

"Are my… children… all right…" she managed to whisper, coughing up blood. It was then that the life faded from her eyes and her arm fell limp.

This current caused Aidan to remember Sakura's death. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. He then heard a grunt, and looked up to see one of the pirates still alive, but badly wounded. He immediately found a vent for his pent up rage. He quickly got up, walked over to the pirate, picked him up by the collar of his shirt, and slammed him against the wall.

"Why? Why in the hell did you do this?" he asked, venom in his voice.

The pirate laughed defiantly, then smiled, showing yellow, blood covered teeth. "Why? Because I thought it would be fun. I especially enjoyed killing the women and children."

"You. Sick. BASTARD!" Aidan yelled in the man's face as he slammed him against the wall again, this time with more force. Taking one hand off the pirate, he reached behind his back and unsheathed his knife. "I'm going to do to you what you did to them."

"Go ahead," the pirate said. "I don't think you have the guts."

Damon, who had arrived unnoticed due to Aidan's preoccupation with the pirate, laid a hand on his shoulder. "He's not worth it. It won't bring them back."

With one anger filled thrust, Aidan stabbed the knife into wall only a couple of centimeters from the pirate's head. Aidan then pulled his knife out of the wall, turned his back to the pirate and started to walk away. The pirate laughed once again.

"HA! I knew you were gutless, you worthless soldier," the pirate spat triumphantly.

"What do you think you are laughing at, you son of a bitch," Aidan responded coldly while he pulled the slide back on his handgun. With that, he turned and aimed it at the pirate's head, the pirate looking up at the red dot on his head seconds before a ten millimeter bullet tore through his brain, splattering it all over the wall. Without another word, Aidan walked past the rest of his team, and out of the room as the corpse slumped to the floor.

------------

Aidan walked up to the door that lead to the office of his commanding officer. He had been summoned by his commander, but he did not know exactly what reason he was being called for. It had been less than a week after the failed rescue mission, and he did not think he was being called for another mission. He tapped the intercom stud.

"Lieutenant Aidan Mercer, reporting as ordered." he said into the intercom

"Enter," came the reply as the slid open, allowing him to enter.

Aidan saluted, and his commander replied with the same, albeit less formal. He stood at rigid attention until his commander said, 'at ease.'

"What did you want to see me about, sir?" he asked. "Is it about that mission?"

"Not exactly, although that was an unfortunate incident," his commander replied.

Unfortunate doesn't even begin to describe it, he thought bitterly.

"I called you here because there is another mission," the commander said, looking up from the data pad on his desk. "Although this mission is pretty much opposite of what the last one was."

"What are you implying, sir?" he asked.

"I was just getting to that," the commander replied, slightly irritated at Aidan's interruption. "What I'm about to tell you will not be spoken of outside this room. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," he replied stoically. "Crystal."

"Good," the commander said, then continued. "What I have planned is a black operation, I'm sure you know what a black op is."

"Yes, sir," he replied. More than likely I'm going to be doing something the government doesn't want to be connected to.

"I'm going to put it simply, this is an assassination mission," the commander said, handing him a data pad. "Your primary objective is the elimination of this man."

"What about the rest of my team?" he asked, looking up from the pad.

"You will be going solo for this op," his commander replied. "Oh, and I forgot to mention, you must eliminate anyone and everyone that may be with the target."

------------

Aidan was pissed, really pissed, and that was putting it lightly. Upon returning from the successful completion of his 'mission,' he stormed straight to the office of his commanding officer. They immediately started to argue over the 'no witnesses' part of the mission, especially where it concerned the target's wife and young daughter.

"They didn't have to die," Aidan said angrily. "They weren't even a threat!"

"Keep in mind, Lieutenant," his commander replied coldly, stressing his inferior rank. "You are out of line."

"Like I give a damn!" he yelled. "Don't the lives of innocent civilians mean anything!"

"In this line of work, life is worthless, even that of women and children," the commander replied, his tone implying that he would not tolerate any more insubordination. "Besides, they weren't worth shit."

"You, goddamn bastard!" Aidan yelled in his face, then out of nowhere, Aidan slammed his fist into the man's face, decking him straight to the floor. Aidan was somewhat satisfied upon hearing the crack of the man's nose breaking.

"I'll make you pay for that," his commander spat, struggling to his feet.

"Go ahead and try," Aidan replied coldly, stepping over him and walking out of the office, only to be met by a couple of armed guards. When he tried to shove past them, the guard on his left slammed the stock of his rifle into Aidan's abdomen, causing him to double over.

"Take him to the interrogation chamber," the commander ordered the two guards. They nodded and dragged Aidan away.

------------

Wait another minute, can't you see

What this pain has fucking done to me

I'm alive and still kicking

What you see I can't see

And maybe you'll think before you speak

(Awake-Godsmack)

Refusing to give in to the pain, Aidan stoically endured the pain his sadistic bastard of a commander was giving him. He would not give in to this poor excuse of a man, even if it meant he'd die. He'd rather die than bow down to this bastard. The only sounds he made were grunts of pain when the razor-lined lash connected with his body, drawing gashes and blood. He would not give that man the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain.

"Do you give in?" the bastard said mockingly. "If you do, this will go easier, but not by much."

"Go to hell, bastard," Aidan spat.

"Why you little…" his commander said as he struck him across the face with the handle of the whip. Aidan responded by spitting blood in the man's face.

"Well then, I see I'm going to have to try something else," his commander said, drawing a knife.

Then the man drew the blade across the left side of Aidan's face, drawing blood. He then made another diagonal cut intersecting the other one, leaving a crude X-shape on his left cheek.

"Let this be the mark that will be a constant reminder of your inferiority to me," the bastard said triumphantly. "This will also remind you that you are damned, that there is no hope for you, in this life or the next."

"That maybe so," Aidan replied grimly, as the blood from his face dripped to the floor. "But you're going to hell first, I promise you."

------------

It had been three days since his 'disciplinary punishment,' and he sat on the small bunk in the holding cell that he'd been locked in. He leaned against the wall, and lifted his head so he could look up at the ceiling. The images of death kept haunting him. His parents, Dirk, the children in Augusta, Sakura, the hostages, and finally the woman and her child. Most recently, he had been haunted by the frightened image of the young girl right before he pulled the trigger. She had been crying, he she stared up at him, as if in some silent plea that he wouldn't do it. The difference was that he was directly responsible for the death of them, unlike all the others.

Unfortunately, her blood, as well as her mother's, was on his hands. He buried his head in his hands, for there was almost no way for him to wash away that particular sin. The only thing he could do was vow that he would never again kill anyone who was innocent, even if it meant directly disobeying an order. He wouldn't mind if he just died here and now, but something was keeping him from doing that. And that was a hunger for revenge, against the person or persons' responsible for Sakura's death, and his commanding officer.

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"Aidan…" a familiar voice said softly. "Wake up."

"Sakura…" Aidan whispered upon hearing the voice, believing himself in a dream. He opened his eyes to look up into a clear blue sky. Then the face of someone that he'd believed died showed up in his vision.

There, with his head in her lap, looking up into her lovely face, was none other than Sakura. But she had long hair, like when he first met her. She also wore a long, white gown. He got up into a sitting position, then turned to face her. "This can't be…., you're-"

She had placed a finger on his lips, forestalling any more comments from him, then began to stroke his cheek. "You, of all people, should know who I am, love."

Upon hearing those words from her, Aidan felt a flood of emotions. Is this real? Where am I? Is this really her? A few of those questions were answered when Sakura leaned in and kissed him. He returned the kiss for several long seconds, then embraced her and held her close, not wanting to let her go. Tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Sakura…"

"Aidan, there's no need for that," she said, gesturing to his tears.

"But, I've missed you. It's been a long time," Aidan said in reply.

"I know, but it's time you went back to your reality," she said.

"There's nothing there for me anymore," he said, looking up into the sky, then back at her. "I want to stay here, with you."

"There's nothing I'd like more than that, but-" Sakura said, then looked down. "But I'm afraid that isn't possible."

"Why not?" he asked.

"It's because you still have your life to live, and," Sakura replied.

"And what?" he asked, curious about her reply.

"There is someone else," she finally replied. "Although she doesn't completely know it yet."

"Someone else? I don't understand," Aidan said, slightly confused.

"You will," Sakura said. "The thing is, she cares about you, but she will never admit it to anybody, including herself. That is why you must go back."

"But, I don't want to-" the rest of his reply was cut off by Sakura leaning in and giving him a kiss.

"Goodbye, Aidan," she said, then said these simple, but strong words. "I love you…"

Just as he realized those were the words she'd spoken seconds before she died, Aidan was forced back into reality.

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Darkness gave way to light as Aidan regained consciousness, only to close his eyes against the overhead lights of the infirmary. Was that all just a dream? Or was it real? Those questions remained in his head for a few seconds, until he opened his eyes and looked over, with some difficulty, to see Meia, of all people, sitting in one of the chairs, apparently asleep.

Wait a minute… did she mean…?

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Crap, this one took longer than I thought it would. I'll have the next one up quicker, you can count on that.