Chifuyu had to force each of his steps by now as he was getting closer and closer to the graveyard. He had seen it many times already and so far he couldn't say that many emotions stirred inside of him. However, things had changed since he had last been near it. Now he wished that he could just run away, but he knew he couldn't because if he were to do that he would break the promise he made with Baji.

His fingers tightened around the small box inside his hand as he gritted his teeth. The thought of what once had been and was now gone forever haunted him ever since the day of the fight between Valhalla and Toman. Baji had been his guiding light and he could still remember the first time they met so vividly that it could have been yesterday.

A small smile found its way on his lips at that thought. It had been so ridiculous because Baji had looked like a nerd even though he was failing poorly to keep the image up once Chifuyu got closer, seeing all the spilling mistakes he had done in his letter. He had no idea why he chose to lend this weird guy a hand, but he did anyway and soon enough an unbreakable friendship blossomed between them.

But that had all come to an end with Baji's death and Chifuyu was on his way to bid his farewells, no matter how painful the mere idea of doing as much was. His heart was shattered time after time again, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. His only choice was to accept the new reality, to embrace it and live with it in the future.

When he was close to the graveyard though, his ears picked something up that wasn't there before, stopping him in his tracks. The softest tunes of music he had ever heard danced around him and tugged at the strings of his very soul. The sounds were so full of sorrow and sadness that he could already feel the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Immediately, he was back on the day Baji died, how the man he had admired had breathed his last breath in his arms.

Chifuyu's legs moved on their own will as they carried him towards his aim. The stairs melted beneath his feet and his surroundings were a blur. He was drawn in like a moth to the flame as he followed the trail of accords and when he skirted around the corner, he came face to face with the source of the music.

In front of Baji's grave sat a girl his age with her legs crossed, not caring about the coldness of the floor. She was clad completely in black. Her shoulder-long hazelnut-coloured hair swayed in the soft breeze as her fingers coaxed forward one tune after another from the guitar in her hands.

Chifuyu had no idea if she had noticed him or if she was simply ignoring his presence altogether. Either way, the guitar obeyed the girl's every command as she played like the world around her didn't exist anymore, her expression lacking any emotions.

Instinctively, he knew that he had seen this empty face beforehand because it was his own he had looked at earlier this day. Whoever she was, she had to know Baji from somewhere and no matter how hard he tried to remember, Chifuyu couldn't think of Baji ever mentioning that he was friends with a girl.

A sudden drum of the guitar's strings pulled him back from his thoughts. It was the last note she played because she placed her instrument carefully on the floor before she pulled something from her pocket. It was an envelope and she laid it down in front of the grave before her lips parted.

Yet, Chifuyu couldn't understand what she was saying because she was too far away. Since she bowed her head and brought her hands together for a prayer, he figured that she was whispering her last words to Baji.

Out of respect, Chifuyu didn't move any closer because he thought it would be impolite to interrupt her even by accident. So he merely stood back and watched from afar, waiting as seconds ticked by that felt like hours. Eventually, she lifted her head again and stared sadly at the cold stone in front of her before she stood up.

She looked in his direction and it was the first time that sapphire and emerald eyes met. Both gazed at each other for long moments, not daring to separate the instant connection both of them felt. But it couldn't last forever, they knew that.

The girl grabbed her guitar and moved towards him, yet neither of them said anything. When she was right beside him, it was she who broke the silence.

"My condolences."

It was not much, yet it still took him by surprise as he turned around and watched how she walked farther and farther away, leaving behind a cloud of confusion inside his mind. Once more his legs carried him forward until he was in front of the grave. Staring at the name engraved into the stone, he wanted to cry again already, but before he could sink into the pool of sadness, something caught his eye.

It was the envelope the girl had left behind as her farewell gift to Baji and suddenly some things became much clearer for Chifuyu. He had never asked Baji for whom she was writing the letter when they had first met and honestly, he never wanted to know either. It was not something he was comfortable of prying into, yet the answer to this open question came to him all by itself.

"To my pen pal, may you rest in peace wherever you are." The envelope was signed with.

Chifuyu's jaw dropped open at that unexpected revelation as he obtained a puzzle piece he had not been searching for. The girl he had just met was without a doubt the Pen Pal Baji was writing letters with.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this short one-shot. Don't be afraid of making my day by sharing your thoughts about it with me. :D