Chapter 3: The Letter and the Aftermaths

by Child of Ragnarok

A/N: Wow! The third and final chapter. I had to do a slight bit of research for this chapter, but hey, if I can teach you a bit of Japanese history, then why not? Please read and review, as usual.

Forgot to add this before, but I made a minor change according to reviewer Earl Colby Pottinger.

Five years have passed since the incident. Naru, still shocked to the core by Motoko's suicide, picks up the letter for what seems like the billionth time and reads.

Forgive me.

I knew how much Keitaro meant for all of you, and I took him away from you. There is no way for me to return him to you, but I can only say this:

Cherish your memories of him. That is not as good as the real Keitaro, but there is no better thing.

All of you loved him. Your love was unspoken, some of you denied it, but it was there anyway. And I took it away from you. That is a crime for which I can never hope to make amends.

I now do what I know I must – for my honor, and my love.

Forgive me.

Aoyama Motoko

Tears flowing from her eyes (again), Naru remembers…

-Flashback-

The girls had recieved an urgent phone call from the hospital, from an incredibly shocked Doctor Hikari. When they had gotten there, the scene knocked all air out of her. Motoko lay there, looking so peaceful, almost asleep if it hadn't been for the gash in her throat.

Beside her, she could hear a thud and knew that it was Shinobu who had passed out, more than likely because of the amount of blood. Then Naru saw the letter. She picked it up and read it. Her face grew paler and paler with every word she read.

However, there was one thing neither of the girls could understand. Why didn't Motoko commit seppuku the traditional way by disembowelment, as her school stated must be done to make amends for terrible crimes? Why just slit her throat? As neither of them could figure it out, Su went to fetch Tsuruko, as she was ready-made to understand these things.

Tsuruko had been told about Motoko's suicide, but nothing could have prepared her for seeing her sister's cold, dead body. She managed to keep her tears hidden throughout the process of analyzing why Motoko had committed suicide the way she had, but you didn't have to be a Kendo master to feel her emotions in turmoil. Tsuruko wanted nothing more than to drop to her knees by Motoko's body and weep, but she knew she must be strong.

"I have finished my examination," concluded Tsuruko. "This is a form of ritual suicide called jigai, used by women, which is done by severing the jugular vein. Look closely."

Naru looked closely and saw that Motoko's cut, indeed, was not on the left side of her throat, on the common carotid artery, but on the right, the jugular vein.

"Being a woman, if Motoko was to commit seppuku, she would have needed permission from her superiors – that is, her mother – which she would never have gotten, and I also believe that she chose jigai because she was desperate to die and reunite with Keitaro-san, and thus wanted a quick death."

The funeral was held silently, the ceremony was both beautiful and terrifying. When Keitaro's coffin was lowered into the ground, Naru tried to force her tears back, but was unsuccessful, as was Tsuruko and Motoko's mother when Motoko's coffin was lowered. Beside her, she could see Haruka throw the paper fan high into the air, and the wind caught it and it drifted out of sight, before collapsing into Seta's arms. Keitaro's parents and Kanako were crying openly. After spending what seemed like many hours by their grave, the girls left in silence (not Kanako), but with tears flowing down their faces. What would life be without Keitaro and Motoko?

-End of flashback-

At first, Naru had been enraged with Motoko. First killing Keitaro, and then herself, inflicting more pain on the rest of them? But as time had passed, she had realized how unfair her feelings were. Motoko had been in even more pain than the others, and her heart's desire had been to reunite with her loved one. Naru would have done the same.

Five years had passed, and life was slowly, very slowly, returning to somewhat normal. It could never be fully normal, not without Keitaro and Motoko, but the girls knew neither Keitaro or Motoko would have wanted them to give up on living just because they had died.

Haruka had left Hinata-sou and Tokyo with Seta soon after the funeral, unable to bear the memories. She could still recall it – the look of horror on Keitaro's face, the blood dripping from the sword and his mouth and the fear and pain glowing in his eyes. Kitsune had taken up business with the tea house, and had turned it into quite a successful business, but she never returned to the cheerful, constantly tipsy Mitsune Konno everybody had known before. She had even given up drinking.

Naru spent each day crying herself to sleep, hugging Liddo-kun tight, as she had once done with Keitaro. She sighed. Keitaro. Never again would Keitaro peek up from the hole in the floor, never again would he enrage her with any of his perverted, wonderful antics. She had had a few wrestles with Su-chan, but they just weren't the same.

Kanako had taken over Keitaro's managing duties, but this was only temporary, until they could find a new manager. Kanako would never be able to work full-time as manager for Hinata-sou, there were too many demons.

Su had returned to Molmol. After Amalla gave up the throne, Su took it to rise as the Queen of Molmol. Of course, her friends were present at the ceremony, and the first command she issued as queen was two moments of silence to honor Keitaro and Motoko. Once again, everybody cried, even those who hadn't known either of the deceased, because of the overall low spirits of the crowd. Su was among those who cried the heaviest.

Mutsumi had started to grow watermelons for a living, and it was a successful business. People came from all over Japan for Mutsumi's melons, due to their flavor and size. (A/N: pun intended.) But her logotype was probably the most loved thing about her business. It showed a picture of a Liddo-kun sitting on top of a watermelon, and the watermelon had "K & M" carved into it (which she claimed meant "Kiwis & Melons", because she had kiwis too, but the girls knew that the letters meant "Keitaro & Motoko").

Naru sighed and got up, took her Liddo-kun, left Hinata-sou and disappeared into the blizzard.

When she reached the grave, Shinobu stood by it.

"Shinobu?"

The little girl turned around. "Hey, Naru-sempai."

"How long have you been here?" Naru asked.

"For a few hours," Shinobu answered. "I'm not too much affected by the cold, my mind has bigger things to deal with than cold."

Naru looked at Shinobu. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Shinobu didn't look up. "Yes, of course I miss Sempai. Like we all do. But life will go on."

Then Naru saw them. Scars on Shinobu's wrist. "You've been cutting yourself," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Shinobu responded. "I know I shouldn't have, but I needed some way to distract my mind from the mental pain, and the only way I could find was physical pain."

"Shinobu." Naru said, then put her arms around the younger girl. They stood like that for a long time. Then Naru asked: "Did you ever intend to take your life after all this?"

Shinobu was silent for a while, then answered. "Yes. I went so far once that I stood on the railway bridge, waiting for a train to come. But then I realized that Sempai… I mean, Keitaro-kun, wouldn't want that. So I left the bridge."

Naru nodded. "That's a good decision." She took Liddo-kun and placed him on the grave, next to a sword someone had placed there (most likely Tsuruko). Then the two girls turned and left the cemetery, to move on in life.

Joy walks hand in hand with sorrow. The girls' lives will go on, but not return to normal. Their pain will lessen, but not go away. Such is the way of nature: We all know that those we love will die someday, but we can never be prepared for it to happen.

The moral of this story: Life can be cruel, but it is our greatest gift. Don't waste it.
The end.
A/N: Well, there you have it. I've gotta tell you, I was pretty lucky to stumble across the jigai. I'm thinking of a Keisumi fic next, so I won't stop writing. There will be a sequel to this fic too, which will be about Keitaro and Motoko's adventures in the afterlife (thanks to The light of darkness for the idea), so stay tuned.

This is Child of Ragnarok, signing off.