Yaya: Last part of this story…

Samuko: Now that I think about it, we planed about writing the whole story in a one-go but it was too hard writing more than 5000 words per chapter.

Yaya: At least it will end right here and now.

Samuko: We own no one!

[-x-x-x-]

People were gathered at the marketplace at the busy port town of Uranohoshi. Soldiers from the Navy as well and civilians were waiting to see the execution of few members of the former µ's pirates. They all wanted to see the fall of the once most feared pirate in person.

Several figures walked in direction of said place, getting out of the local prison. Few guards armed with spears and axes were pushing three chained girls toward their execution place. Rin, Umi and Erena were in very bad shape. The ginger was having a hard time walking and occasionally fell on the ground before being dragged up again and pushed around. The former second in command on the other hand was doing her best to walk when standing straight, staying prideful as her usual self. A bandage was wrapped on her head and covering her now missing eye. She still remained calm despite the fact they were going to die soon. The last girl of the trio was still struggling to get free but in vain as one of the guards knocked her before dragging her again by the hair until they arrived at the middle of the marketplace.

"Kill the pirates!"

"Death to the thieves!"

"Execute these who resist the government!"

Yells could be heard coming from the crowd of people. Few of them even started throwing tomatoes, eggs, rock and even bottle. That angered the girl with dark red hair but she was once again held down before she could have attempted anything. Rin on the other hand had dull looks in her eyes. She was through hell the past hours between the tortures method they had to endure. Out of the trio, the younger one was the one who got the most affected by the turn of event.

The three Admirals who now got the honor and title of being the ones to bring the µ's down were standing near the fountains. Maki and Eri were folding their arms while the last of member was folding cards. The sun was high in the sky and three crosses were standing beside the three Admirals. The former pirates were soon brought to them and attached to the crosses. With their wrist, ankle, waist and neck tied, the trio couldn't resist anymore.

"So… this is the end…" Erena gritted her teeth. She however didn't want to look weak at these times. She remembered the day when they discovered their parents dead, killed by pirates. A powerful anger built itself inside of her and she used that anger to become her source of strength. When she started the Militia alongside Tsubasa and Anju, the red-head has fought dozens of pirates but no matter how much she defeated, her anger never faded away. "In the end, I never managed to find peace…"

The ginger-haired girl's dull yellow eyes were looking down. Her mind was blank at that point. Umi noticed that and attempted to call for her. "Rin…" The younger girl slightly turned her head to look at her childhood friend. The bluenette forced a smile. "It will be all right! It will not hurt for long. Soon enough, we will meet our Mothers and start everything anew."

The younger girl just weakly nodded. Umi looked down at her own words. She didn't even convince herself, but she had to at least look proud so that she will not have any regret when meeting their Mothers. She however couldn't help but to worry about her sister and her other friends.

"Umi…" The bluenette turned to Erena who was looking at her. "Do you really think that Honoka is dead? She is going to make another miracle and will save the others, right?" There was no response as the one-eyed girl just watched blankly at her. "There is no way our Captain would be dead right? We've been through so much hell until now. There is no way our adventure will end this miserably."

"Shut up, pirate!" One of the women wearing the Navy's outfit used her whip to attack Erena. Said girl screamed it pain from the impact and glared dagger at the woman, only earning another whip. Just as the Navy officer was about to swing her weapon one more time, someone grabbed her wrist and she turned to see that Eri has stopped her. "Admiral?"

The blonde let go of her wrist. "It is time!"

The other soldiers saluted and all walked to the front to contain the crowd just in case. Nozomi and Maki walked to where the blonde was. "So, there we are…" The shortest of the trio had a sad look on her face. "I have the feeling the one who lost are us…"

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked down. "There are times for everything." Her sister said. "Right now, we still have to do this, but someday, we shall avenge everyone who died during this madness."

Maki however just remained silent. She turned on her heel and started walking away. "I've got enough! I'll leave the rest to you." To be honest, she didn't feel like watching her childhood friends die there, but she was a soldier and the best she could do was to at least turn her eyes away. "Honoka…" She placed a hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat slower and her vision started to blur, signaling that she was about to cry soon. The red-head started to run when no one was paying attention to her and only stopped in a dark, empty alleyway. She backed the wall and fell in a crawling position, not able to contain her tears anymore. "I'm an idiot! I'm really an idiot!"

Back at the marketplace, the blonde Admiral was readying her sword. She was the one assigned to take care of the execution. She felt a heavy feeling but suppressed them. "Reasons go before feelings." She slowly walked closer to the three crosses and had a better look on the mortified look on Erena and Rin's face. Umi was still trying to keep stoic. "For the crime that will be listed next, you were deemed guilty and will be sentenced to death; high-rank thievery, spying on ultra-secret governmental domain, sabotage of Imperial weapons, kidnapping of prisoners and rebellion against the league of queen. I, Admiral Eri shall be your executer in that case. Do you have any last word?"

There was no response. Eri nodded and walked even closer. She swung her sword behind and just as she was about to hit, an explosion occurred on a building nearby. The Admiral paused dead in her track as she saw the building containing military supply and weapon burning.

Another explosion happened and then another one coming from the prison and the Navy officers readied their weapon. The crowd on the other hand was starting to go in panic. The soldiers assigned to rearrange them had difficulty doing so. Maki ran toward the two other Admirals as soon as she hear the explosion, her eyes still slightly wet but neither Eri nor Nozomi wanted to ask.

As the crowd of people cleared, two figures could be seen walking in the direction of the execution's place. The Navy soldiers, Nozomi and even the red-head were shocked from the two newcomers who walked in their direction fearlessly. Eri however gritted her teeth. "That idiot! I gave her a chance to live and she threw it away like this."

"They must be kidding us…" One of the soldiers freaked out.

Coming in their direction was a pair of ginger-haired girls, the one being in her 19s and the second one barely 17 according to her appearance. The taller of the two stopped several feet from the Admirals, allowing the three prisoners to have a look at her. Umi's and Rin's eyes widened. "I-it can't be…"

"Honoka!" The orange-haired bind girl called out.

Honoka had a couple of bandage on her body and was holding her favorite katana with one hand. Standing beside her was no one else but the leader of the Aqours resistance for Chika. "Worry not! We will save the three of you!"

"We?" Nozomi questioned.

The resistance leader grinned. "Aqours and µ's of course!"

Several more explosions occurred and not long after, the marketplace was surrounded by pirates and rebels. Niko and Anju, alongside Kanan, Yoshiko and You walked beside the two leaders. "I have to admit I didn't expect you to show up that soon, sis." The raven-haired girl placed a hand on her sibling's shoulder. "You don't know how much you made us worry."

"Well, sorry about that." Honoka chuckled and stuck her tongue out in a childish manner. "It's just that things happened you see."

"B-but how…?" Maki's eyes were still widening from the surprising events. "We saw you sink with the Otonokizaka."

The ginger turned to the Admirals, a smile on her face. "Eri… I owe you one… But I have to save my friends. µ's is not µ's when we are not together. We already lost too many people during the confrontation."

[-x-x-x-]

"What? You are going to help us? But why?" Honoka asked after she heard the blonde Admiral's proposition.

"I am Maki's friend and I know that you are someone special to her. I might not be able to do much, but I will fake your death and allow you to escape." Eri replied.

There was a brief moment of silence until the ginger spoke again. "And what about Umi, Rin and Erena?"

"You have to forget about them. The eyewitness saw them being captured so there is nothing in my power to spare them, let alone let them escape."

Honoka gritted her teeth. "I will save them!"

The blonde pushed Honoka against the door and kicked it open, letting them inside the cabin, out of the Navy's view. "Do not do anything reckless! We were sent on a mission to defeat Aqours and were assigned with the Navy's elite. Your chance of winning is near zero percent. On top of that, you don't even know where your other friends are."

"And then what?" The ginger pushed Eri back. "What if things are hard? What if the world is against me? Shall I give up just because probabilities are not favorable?" The captain stood straight. "I once made a promise! I promised Maki that we will leave this life of piracy behind once we bring this rotten government down."

The Admiral still had a stoic look on her face. "And what now? Do you still plan on granting that wish of yours?"

"Yes!" Honoka replied without a second of hesitation.

"Why are you so loyal toward Maki? I was wondering?"

The ginger just smiled. "There are things that only she and I know."

Eri sighed. She threw the bag she was holding at the shorter girl. Honoka opened it to see the Navy's uniform alongside a wig, headband and massive nerdy glasses. "Wear these and jump from the rear window right before your ship sink. I will try to distract everyone long enough so you could infiltrate our ship. I do trust you are not planning to do anything reckless though."

And with that, the blonde left the room, closing the door behind her. Second later, several explosions happened on the Otonokizaka. Honoka concluded it was Eri making sure that the crew is thinking she has killed the pirate leader. The ginger has decided to trust the Admiral and wore the uniform, wig and glasses. She then walked deeper into the sinking ship. After taking her shoes off, the ginger ran barefoot on the knee-length salty water filling the halls of the undership. Minutes later, she found a window and kicked it before jumping out of it, only hoping that the Navy ship wasn't too far yet.

Just as promised, no one was on lookout and the ginger took the opportunity to swim in the direction of the first ship. She somehow managed to jump inside one of the windows and found herself in a hallway. After taking her breath for a second, she decided to walk around and find a way to dry her clothes and find a shoe on her way.

"You over there!" Honoka froze at the unfamiliar voice. She turned around to see a woman wearing the Navy outfit walking in her direction. She eyed the pirate for an instant before talking again. "Your clothes are all soaked down… Did you fall on the water during the fight? Also, you must have lost your shoes in the water." The woman started to walk again. "Follow me; I will get you new outfits."

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

Honoka was fortunate enough her identity was never found out. She however didn't want to risk it all and avoided the three admirals as possible. As the day arrived and the ships stopped at the port town of Uranohoshi though, the ginger took the opportunity to get away and find the Aqours members as to let them know about the situation. Honoka herself knew their leader Chika personally since she's saved the younger's life once during a join mission they had. That was back when liberating island 23 but the other ginger has started respecting her since that day. She hoped they will give her a hand.

[-x-x-x-]

"But I have to admit it was a shock seeing you all already gathered at Aqours' headquarters." Honoka commented.

Niko just scoffed. "We went as soon as we could to the main continent when we heard about the execution. Fortunately, they still remembered us and led us to their base without that much of questions. The surprise was all ours when we saw you walking into the HQ wearing a Navy uniform."

The ginger felt a hand placed on her shoulder and turned to see Hanayo smiling at her. "Let us do our best, Honoka!" She has joined the party as well. Right after Niko and Kotori has departed from the remote island, the other brunette Tsubasa has begged her to allow her to go save Erena and stop Anju from doing anything reckless. The chubby girl too was worried about her sister and Umi and so they gathered the remaining girls and sailed toward the mainland. They only arrived at the Aqours headquarters right after Honoka has arrived. "We have to save them! And we have to save Maki as well."

"Save me?" The red-head overheard their conversation.

"Yes!" Honoka looked straight at the Admiral. "I am here to take you with us as well, Maki. I don't care if you are soldier or anything like that. I do not care if we will have to bring you by force, but we will make you join our rebellion."

"Are you idiot or what?" Eri yelled at her. "Now is not the proper time yet! We still have to get a political support before we can make any move. The rebellion will just end catastrophically at this rate."

Thinking that she had enough, Chika finally decided to speak again. "Admiral Eri, I suppose… I've heard a lot about your sister and you. You are nice people." She took one step forward. "But what you don't know is that this SS-ranked mission is a total fake. The objective of this mission is to get the three of you out of the equation."

"What are you talking about?" Maki asked back. "Please explain yourself."

The rebel's second in command was the one to reply. "What we mean is that our spies have reported they found additional information. After sending you on this mission, the head Admiral Ayase has called the secret police organization to keep an eye after you and assassinate Eri, Maki and Nozomi once they are done defeating Aqours."

Nozomi's eyes widened. "Mothers would…?"

Eri looked down. That was something she knew her Mother was capable of. If these were orders coming from the superiors, there are near hundred percent of chance she would assassinate her own daughters. "I get it!" She eyed at a shadowy figure behind her and swung her sword so slash a woman who was about to stab her. "Staying in the Navy will only bring more grief to us." The blonde took her coat away. "I'm quitting it!"

Nozomi smiled at her sister's words and took her coat as well. "I'm quitting as well!"

Maki took a moment to think. If she joined the rebels now, she will feel the heavy guilt caused by the massive number of lives she has taken during that mission. "Maki…" The red-head lifted her head to see a bright smile on Honoka's face. It was the kind of smile that the ginger used to comfort her whenever she didn't have enough confidence or was in doubt. Honoka offered a hand as she walked in the red-head's direction. "Come with us… Come with me…"

The remaining soldiers tightened the grip of their weapons as the pirate got closer. Maki looked down, her bangs hiding her eyes. She started to laugh when her body started to shake as well. "You're a weird one!" She then threw her coat away and ran at the ginger, taking her in a hug. She rested her head on the older girl's shoulder as her tears slowly fell on her cheeks. "But I still love you!"

Honoka soon relaxed and started to pat her head while drawing circles on Maki's back. "Yeah! I know!" She slightly adjusted their position so their forehead was touching. "I love you too!"

After seeing the scene, the remaining soldiers dropped their weapons. Eri eyed at the shadow to see several figures—presumably the secret police—walking away but didn't do anything to stop them. Hanayo, Anju and Kotori quickly ran to where the three bind girls were and made quickly work of untying them with the help of few other rebels. The girl with long orange hair took Rin in a hug as soon as the girl was freed. "I was so worried about you! I thought I was going to loose you as well. Thank Goddesses you are alive!"

"Anju…" The petite girl sobbed into the girl's chest. "Rin was scared… I don't want to get away from Kayo, Honoka, Niko, Umi, Kotori, Erena, Tsubasa and Anju. I want everyone to be able to see the end together."

Umi smiled at these words. Her sister was inspecting her eye meantime. "It doesn't look that terrible but we need to apply few medicines first."

Niko walked in their direction and stopped in front of the bluenette. Umi stood up and they looked at each others. "About the other day…" The short girl started awkwardly while avoiding direct eye contact. "I really meant these words…"

The bluenette just smiled. "I know."

Hanayo helped her sister and Anju get up. Rin's left leg was severely wound and she had difficulty standing so the taller ginger lifted her in bridal style. Tsubasa helped Erena by placing the later's arm on her shoulder. "Can you still walk?"

"Yes!" There was a brief moment of silence until the red-head spoke again. "Thank you for coming into our rescue."

"Do not let it bother you. It was nothing."

[-x-x-x-]

"So, this is our plan?" Eri asked as she had a look at the map.

The members of Aqours, µ's and few former Navy members were now inside the building used as the former's headquarters.

"Yes!" Chika replied. "First off, we have to make quick work to liberate Uranohoshi. Once we will have the control of this town, the remaining threat would be the queen herself."

"I will assure the fund and support with the weapons." Mari commented.

"And after we liberate this country, we will get the support of several other rebel groups such as Saint Snow, Nagarekawa Girls, NO NAME and Negitoro who are all still struggling on their own out there." Riko concluded.

"So, in other words, this battle we are about to face will decide the future of the whole continent?" Maki pointed out as she placed her elbows on the table.

"That's right!" Niko nodded. "They will put every force they have to guard the royal palace. We might face lot of fight and difficulties but we shall not loose now. If we loose now, our efforts will be in vain."

A crimson-haired girl ran into the room alongside a girl with purple hair attached in pigtails and another one with equally purple hair but attached in a sidetail. "Ruby brought the leader of Saint Snow as promised."

The taller of the two smiled. "It will be a pleasure for us to give the political support you asked for. Our spies are already working to find proofs to convince the younger leaders that they are being used by their advisors. We will also take care of the paperwork so you don't have to worry about anything."

Eri had a sad smile on her face. "And I was stupid enough to think that they didn't have enough support… But well, I am glad we joined force with them. Now, we have to win…for the sake of the future generation."

[-x-x-x-]

"Maki…"

The red-head turned to see her lover walking in her direction and smiled. "Hi, Honoka!"

The two of them were inside the building where their operation briefing was held. Right at that time when everyone was busy running around and enjoying the night before the fight, the two girls decided to walk at the veranda. Honoka placed her elbows on the rails as she took a glance at the stars. "It's nostalgic, isn't it?" The red-head turned to her. "I remember when we used to sleep under the starry night when we were still childrens."

Maki smiled at the memory. "Yeah! I remember that you would sneak at the kitchen and bring lot of bread and tomato for us to have a picnic and then we will be too tired the evening to walk our way back. In the end, we always ended up camping…just the two of us." The red-head turned to the starry sky as well.

The ginger's hand moved until holding Maki's hand and she leaned against the taller girl while closing her eyes. "I am glad we are together!" She rested her head on her lover's shoulder. "Maki… Please promise me that you won't do anything reckless tomorrow. Together, we will see the end of this and will be living the life the two of us always dreamt about."

"That's supposed to be my line!" They giggled soon after Maki said that.

At the other side of the base, Anju was pealing an apple for her newlymade lover. Rin was lying on a bed and was happily smiling to the older girl who was humming a tune when pealing the apple. "Rin really like that song you are singing? What is its title?"

"Its title?" The taller girl tilted her head. "I never though about giving them a title before so I'll let you decide."

Rin placed a hand on her chin and thought an instant before deciding. "How about 'Oh, love and peace'?"

"Oh, love and peace?" Anju smiled. "I like that." She was now done with pealing the apple and started feeding the younger girl. Said girl happily ate them and made delighted face every time she took a bite.

After the apple was fully ate, the two remained silent for a while until the shorter of the two was the one to talk first. "I'm sorry for not being able to fight alongside you."

"Do not worry about it! Just focus about healing as fast as possible." Anju just replied. "In exchange, I promise to live through this battle so the two of us could be together for the rest of our life."

The younger girl looked down. "But even though… Rin won't ever be able to walk ever again…" What she said wasn't a lie. During her time as a prisoner, she has already had a severe wound on her left leg and it was only made worse by the Navy crew manhandling them. When the doctor examined her, she concluded that the muscles from her legs were severely damaged, few of her bones having broken meaning she might always need to be chaired or bedridden. She was fortunate enough they didn't have to amputee her. Rin at least was thankful she still had her two legs even though they were useless now.

"I won't worry about that!" Anju grabbed her hands. "I told you I love you for who you are, right? Then, my opinion will never change. I've loved, I love and I will always love you! You heard?"

"Anju…" Rin finally smiled at these words. "Right! I will go my best as well so you will be warmly welcomed when victory is ours."

Nozomi had a sad smile on her face as she was standing by the door. She felt guilty for not caring more about the cat-girl but it was like her sister said; "Regretting will not help us to the least. We have to do our best as to earn their forgiveness."

"Nozomi?" Said purplenette turned to see Umi and Niko walking in her direction. The two of them were holding hands but quickly separated as they walked beside Nozomi. "What are you doing here all alone?"

"Nothing! Just looking for some spiritual power." She then started walking away. "Good night, the two of you!"

Niko and her girlfriend watched her as she walked away, then at each others. The bluenette had now an eyepatch on her right eye. She however didn't let the fact of being one-eyed stop her from being who she was. "How about we have some rest in that case? We have a long day tomorrow."

[-x-x-x-]

Another explosion made the earth shake. The rebels were invading the royal palace at the capital of Uranohoshi. The battle was like nothing they ever saw before. With the rebels composed of µ's and Aqours against the royal and imperial units, it was the bloodiest war their land has ever seen.

The girls were instructed that they had no other choice but to kill during the operation. "An enemy who is still breathing can still be a threat. I know that you all have your principle, but please understand that this is for the sake of the whole future." Eri has said in her speech before everyone left the base. "Please make an exception just for this one time. We promise that this will be the last Genocide ever taking place in our beloved land."

Agreeing with the fact, yet still with heavy hearts, the girls have attacked the palace without putting any restriction. Blood was split, flew was cut, bones were burnt and lives were stolen.

They decided to separate in several groups inside with Nozomi, Eri, Kanan and Mari going to the first hallway. They didn't have the opportunity to explore long though as two figures started walking in their direction. "I am really disappointed by you, my daughters." Ayase sighed.

"Mothers!" Nozomi closed her eyes. "We do apologize but our hears has decided. We have to do what is beneficing the country. It sure breaks my heart to fight the two of you but we can't back down anymore. We have to end this madness once for all."

Toujou took a deep breath. "I see… We will not hold back in that case. "She then smiled. "We might not have been the example of perfect parents, but we still want you to know that we are proud of the two of you. Eri…Nozomi…you've grown into such dependable ladies."

The blonde ex-Admiral wiped a tear from her face before grabbing her sword. "Mothers… I will give it my all!"

Nozomi too grabbed her knives just like Mari while Kanan swung a hand axe. Their opponent equipped a long barrel gun and dual short guns respectively. They didn't wait long before charging at each others, giving their all into the battle that was about to decide the future of the whole world.

The second group composed of Niko, Umi, Kotori and Yoshiko went to the east and was up against the secret police elite. They all grabbed their weapons and engaged into a fierce battle. The elites were very fast and specialized in light weapons such as claws, knives and short guns. It was difficult for either the bluenette or her girlfriend to hit them with their bullets.

The ash-haired girl and the former Navy officer too were slightly finding it hard to follow up with the enemies' speed. "They are too fast!" Yoshiko cursed as she grabbed the minigun attached at her back, aimed it at a random direction and emptied several magazines on the enemies, hitting half of them.

Fortunately for them, Tsubasa, Erena and Riko came as reinforcement, armed respectively with a saber, an axe and a pair of short gun.

Honoka and Maki have formed the last group to lead frontal assault. They were to face against the one pulling the string behind all these madness. They ran the empty and half-ravaged hallways then walked stairs leading up. "Maki… I want you to know that no matter what will happen, I was glad I fell in love with you."

"What are you saying out of sudden, you idiot? We went through hell together. Now is not the time to be goofing around."

The ginger smiled at these words. "You're right; I suppose! We have no other choice but to win." Not long after, the couple arrived in front of a large door. The one behind the corruption of their continent was waiting for them behind that door. "Once this will be over, together, the two of us alone will…"

The two pushed the door open to then find themselves in a heavenly garden. The neon green grasses, the beautiful blooming flowers and transparent water made it look as if that place was cut from the rest of the world. As Honoka and Maki walked deeper into the room, the door was closed behind them. Both girls grabbed their weapons before processing further.

"Welcome!" A familiar voice could be heard and the two young girls walked further into the garden until arriving into a terrace-like spot. A round table was placed at the middle of it and four chairs were around it. Two figures clad in sleeveless white summer dress and white cloth hats hiding their face were sitting on two of the chairs, facing each others. The women who looked to be in their 30s were calmly drinking tea while the younger girls walked in their direction, weapon in hand. "Why don't you have a tea with us?" One of the two women proposed, their face still out of their vision.

"So, you're behind this madness? You're the ones who caused corruption into our continent?" The red-head pointed her spear at the first figure.

"Calm down, dear. Why don't we calmly talk this out like educated people?" The second woman proposed once again.

Just as Maki was about to counter another word, Honoka interrupted her by placing a hand on her love's shoulder. Sighing, the red-head placed her spear against the rail and took seat from across Honoka's. The taller of the two women served them teacup and the ginger thanked her. When Honoka just drank it without any doubt, her lover couldn't help but to feel suspicious. "It's not poisoned." The taller woman said as she saw Maki.

The first woman placed her cup back on the tea set and turned to Honoka who was done drinking hers too. "So, what do you think?"

"It was delicious!"

"You can have as much as you want."

Maki felt something wrong was going on. The fact that these people were nice to them was one thing but what she really found the weirdest was about their voice. She had the feeling she knew them and had a little idea about who they might be…but yet her logic would fail her since the candidate was…

"So, mind to tell us what you really want?" The red-head took a sip of the tea before placing it back on the table. "You didn't just want us to drink tea so you can corrupt our minds, right?"

"You are as perspective as always dear young Maki." The shorter of the two women smiled, her eyes and hair still hidden by the shadow of the hat. "But maybe you never expected this." She reached for her hat. Honoka and Maki gulped. They were about to see the face of the people who were causing this much pain for their folk. As the hat was off, allowing the woman's waist-length ginger hair to fall on her back though, the two teenagers' voice was caught in their throat. "Surprised?"

"H-how…?" Honoka's eyes got wide. What she saw in front of her was an adult version of herself. She then turned to the other woman who took her hat and revealed what she feared. "B-but what are you people?"

The woman with waist-length crimson red hair and amethyst eyes smiled. "Isn't it obvious? I am Maki, daughter of Nishikino and the woman over here is my beloved wife Honoka, daughter of Kousaka and Yazawa."

Maki's cup fell from her fingers and right into the floor. She then felt anger building inside of her and gritted her teeth. "How in bloody hell do you except us to believe such imposters as you? Beside, if you were really us, why would you have attempted endlessly to kill us?"

The adult Honoka giggled as a response. "You are still naïve, Maki dear! You see, things are not always as easy as they seem. Sometimes, you are running after something you thought was lost when it was right behind you. Sometimes, you are too busy watching the sky that you forget to watch what is under your feet."

"Quit being so philosophical! Tell us what you want already!"

Adult Maki let go of a sigh before turning to her wife. "Was I really that annoying back then?"

The response came into a smile. "Well, Maki is Maki and I love Maki no matter how you act as long as you love me back."

The younger ginger was feeling her brain was in overheat by this point as she clutched her head, trying to find a response to all her question. She ultimately ended up voicing her thoughts. "If you are really us, then how come are you here right now and how come are you the evil ones? Sure, we are not angels ourselves but yet…"

The adult red-head chuckled at that question. "Honoka… Have you already heard about the seven seas' treasure? That is an item that can grant its owner the ability to control time and space. After sailing for years, the two of us found such item and used it to turn back to this era as to change the history."

"But why?"

The one to continue was the shorted woman. "You see… Well… I will start by the conclusion; this world is hopeless. It is rotten to the core, just like the soul of the people who live on it. Every one of them only cares about their own self and how to ascend into a higher condition of life. Some people just are stronger when the others are weak. You see, we've been already through the same things as you did, but instead of adult version of us as final boss got the people we trusted the most."

"Our Mothers!" The adult Maki continued. "Can you believe that the woman in who you believed and loved the most has faked their death, leaving you alone behind and then meet them again in the middle of a battle that will decide the fate of the world? Useless to say that we learned their soul was corrupted. It pained us more than anything to be the one taking their lives away."

"Can you at least understand how betrayed we felt? Our Mothers, our friends, everyone…they all turned us down the day after. We had to flee away since our heads were the most wanted bounty in the world."

Honoka looked down, her bangs covering her eyes. "I can't understand…" The three others turned to her. "I can't understand how you feel since I regret nothing! From the day I decided to fall in love with Maki, when I built µ's alongside our friends, when we had to fight each other…until now when we are talking to our future self. I vowed to never regret anything anymore. And that's why, no matter what will happen once this battle is over, I will take Maki away and we will live together, the two of us, and only us. We will never do such low thing as to regret or wish to get our revenge or even let greed getting the better of us."

Maki smiled at these words. She reached her hands forward and intertwined their fingers. "As long as I will have Honoka, I won't need anything else…I won't fear anything…I won't ever cry again."

There was a brief moment of silence until the two women looked at each other, baby blue eyes meeting with violet ones. "Maki…"

"Yeah! I know."

The adult Honoka let go of a sigh before patting both girl's shoulder. "You are different than us. We might be the same person, but we are different. Who knows? Maybe you will be able to overcome what we never dared to do." She then stood up and so did her wife the two women both grabbed a weapon and Honoka and Maki readied their arm as a reflex. "That's why, we will not hold back in this battle."

"If you win, we will let you decide of your own fates! If you loose though…"

"We won't loose!" Maki interrupted the older red-head. "We won't loose! I am sure of it!"

The adult Maki smiled at these words. "Let us begin the end!"

[-x-x-x-]

"Eri… Nozomi…" Ayase who was covered in blood and breathing heavily used the last of her strength to say her farewell. The two sisters were kneeling beside her, tears already forming in their eyes. Toujou's cold body was already lying at the other side of the hallways. Mari and Kanan on the other hand have already left few minutes prior since Chika has asked for assistance. "The two of you have grown so fast…" She reached her hands for both girls. The siblings grabbed their Mother's hand and held them close. "I was a foolish Mother! Because of my stubbornness, I have dragged my wife and daughters into such mess. I've never had the chance to meet my own Mother since she died few hours after I was born so I didn't know how one was supposed to take care of her daughter. I realize now that I made the worst mistake possible." She coughed several times and blooded escaped from her mouth. "I know that it is too late but…would you please forgive your foolish Mother?"

"Mother…" Nozomi hugged the woman. "Please do not leave us! We can still start things anew. There are still chances for us to live together as a family. Please don't die!"

"Nozomi…" Ayase patted the purplenette's head. "I'm sorry… I am sure that someday, you will become someone so reliable that everyone will look at you for advice. I am sure that they will all love you and unlike me, you will end your days surrounded by people who you love and love you back, without anything you regret."

"Mother…" Eri tightened her grip on the woman's hand, tears running on her cheeks.

"Eri… You are an adult now! I am sure that you will do better than me in everything you do. I am sure that you will lead our country into a better era free of corruption." The woman moved her hand to wipe her tears away. "You can cry for now my daughters! Feel free to cry with the foolish woman who gave birth to you." Ayase started to sob as well when tears formed in her eyes. "After all, starting tomorrow, I won't be there anymore and the two of you will be adults. I am believing in you, my daughters. Your Mother loves you!"

"Mother…"

[-x-x-x-]

Background music: piece of youth (by ChouCho)

"Is everyone here?" Tsubasa checked.

"Only Honoka and Maki are left."

"These two, hun?" The brunette turned to the castle that was now in ruin. The battle has ended with them as winners. "I bet they are being lovey-dovey somewhere."

Niko just chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about them if I was you."

Umi nodded as well. "I am sure that they are already aboard a ship that will be leading them somewhere behind the horizon, just the two of them."

"You really think so?" Rin, who was on a wheeled chair smiled. "Rin can't help but to worry about them nya. Honoka always causes trouble and Maki is rarely honest about her feelings."

Anju chuckled. "What are you talking about, darling? These two will be fine!"

Hanayo smiled as she started walking toward the nearest restaurant. "I don't know about you girls, but I feel like eating 15 bowls of rice."

Tsubasa ran after the other brunette. "I am hungry as well so might join you."

"Hey, wait for me!" Erena followed them.

Nozomi chuckled. "I have the feeling something spiritual is about to happen? Care to join us, Eri chi?"

"Yes! Let us have a bowl or two."

Kotori giggled as well. "I guess I will take cheesecake in that case."

"Eeee…" Chika ran after everyone. "We need Mikan to celebrate this victory."

"Chika! Wait for us!" You ran after their leader.

Riko too was not far behind. "You two are hopeless!"

Kanan massaged her temple. "And you are the one to talk…"

"Maa.. maa.." Mari started running after the younger girls. "We have to take it easy sometimes!" She however saw a flower in the middle of the ruin and paused one second to look at it "Oh, shinny!"

Dia patted her back. "Aren't you happy now that we have the chance to start everything anew, Miss Mari?" The response came into a smile.

"Sis, let us race until the restaurant!" Ruby jumped near her sister. "Hanamaru should join us too!"

"That sound fun zura!"

At the other side of the battlefield, the two leaders of Saint Snow were smiling at the scenery. "Ria… It looks like the toughest part of our job star here."

"Yes, I know, Seira!" The younger sister turned to the blue sky and couldn't help but to smile. "Let's go have a bite as well, sis!"

Already several kilometers away from the port aboard a small simple ship were a couple who was enjoying their "honeymoon" travel like how the ginger insisted that much. They have organized the ship so it had everything they needed since it was going to be their new house.

"Say ah!" Honoka said as she spoon-feeds her wife with her favorite dish: tomato. "Maki, I want to spend my life with you!"

"I know, Honoka!" Maki replied with a smile as she returned the service by feeding her wife with tomato back. "Nothing will ever separate us!"

As the ship was floating on the endless sea, their new adventure has just begun as a couple. They will have to face lot of hardship, but the two were prepared. After all, they had to defeat their own fate. Nothing will ever stop them from loving each others.

And as a proof of their undying love, they named their new home-ship…

SS HonoMaki

The end

Yaya: It's finally over!

Samuko: That was fast! But again we enjoyed writing this so only that matters.

Yaya: I remember that we first planed this to be in a one-go (put the whole story in one chapter) but then decided to divide it into several parts.

Samuko: Also, this is the fastest-completed story we did during our life!

Yaya: Yeah! 4 chapters, 20000 words in one week~

Samuko: I-it's not like I liked writing this or anything… I just thought that it would be good to change air (way of writing) every now and then.

Yaya: Stop being a Tsundere already! *ahem* so, I guess that's all for now. We hope you will still stick with us on our other stories (and the others we are planning to post in the future).

Samuko: Or whatever. It's not as if I really care if we got favorite or follow.

Yaya: That's all! We hope to see you again next time.

Samuko: Good night or day to the people who happened to be reading this stupid A/N by the way. Really, I am just too bad with these. I guess I should just leave Yaya do it next time.

Yaya: But I think that Samuko-chan did a great job though… Hun? Samuko-chan? Where did you go? *runs after Samuko* Wait for me, Samuko-chan! I want to eat ramen.