Viola, we have reached the climax of our journey. Enjoy the read.

Chapter 15 - To Our End

It was cold, colder than anything he had ever felt before. His body went numb as blood poured out from his wound and onto the floor. There was nothing but darkness that surrounded him, tugging at his life. There was nothing he could do but hang on to the inch of life he had left. Suddenly, a faint light was seen in the abyss of darkness. Natsuru frantically reached out for it as it got closer and closer. As the light got closer, he felt his body begin to warm up as if his life was being pumped back into him. The light was in front of him now, floating there with its plethora of changing colors.

"You're that thing from before…" said Natsuru.

"Yes, I am the one you helped free from that prison," said the light.

"I see. By the way, where am I?" said Natsuru. He was floating in a vast expanse, he looked around to see if he was still in the room, but found that he was somewhere not of this world.

"You are on the threshold of life and death. Luckily, I was able to keep you alive through your Bracelet of Oath, for now," answered the light.

"What of Natsume and Shizuku?!" he shouted.

"As of right now, your friend is incapacitated while your partner is engaged in combat with the one you call Kaede."

"Is she alright?!"

"She is doing fine for now. But she does not have much time left as her powers are dwindling."

"Shit! You have to revive me so I can help her!" pleaded Natsuru.

"Now is not the time, in order to save your planet and your partner, you must listen to me."

"So you're not going to help me?!"

"That is not what I said. But your cooperation is imperative to save those you hold dear."

Natsume shouted and screamed, releasing her bouts of rage at Kaede as she attacked her without regard of her energy. Kaede stumbled around, buckling under the pressure of Natsume's attack, not even Kaede could withstand unchecked rage. She continued to dodge Natsume's attacks as best as she could until she was finally cornered with her back against the window that overlooked the Beacon. With heavy breaths, Natsume conjured all of her energy to one last fireball as she extended both of her hands. To her surprise, she found herself on the floor as excruciating pain ran through her body. The pain overtook her as she screamed, barely being able to move from her anger.

"That's no good," said Kaede. She stood in front of Natsume, her clothes were tattered and she had many abrasions and burns on her skin. "You shouldn't over exert yourself you know," she said as she brushed Natsume's hair.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, slapping the hand out of her face.

"Now now," said Kaede as she held Natsume in the air by her uniform shirt. "I'm gonna have a lot of fun with you," she said as she licked her lips.

Natsume struggled to break free of Kaede's hold, but was unable to do much due to the pain that still ran through her body.

"Hey."

The sound of fleshed being pierced was all that was heard as Shizuku impaled Kaede with both of her daggers from behind. Kaede dropped Natsume to the floor as she looked at her own blood in disbelief. She slowly turned around to meet Shizuku who was had stains of blood on her uniform. Shizuku smiled and with both of her daggers, she stabbed Kaede once again straight through the chest.

"This is for my friend," said Shizuku.

Kaede's body fell to the floor, a pool of blood mixing in with her once beautiful orange hair.

"Hey, come on get up," said Shizuku as she helped Natsume off the floor. The two walked over to Natsuru, who was left lying on the ground. Shizuku set Natsume down next to her, her eyes were blank and void of emotion as she stared at his body. "Natsuru! Natsuru! You can't die here, wake up you bastard!" said Shizuku as she tied his wound.

Natsuru shouted as his body jerked up as if he had awoken from a terrible nightmare. His breath was heavy and his heart was beating at an abnormal rate, he was alive.

"Natsuru!" shouted Natsume as she buried herself in his arms. He winced a little from his wound but still hugged her tightly. Natsuru smiled at Shizuku, who smiled back with tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"Excuse me, but we must be moving, there are more enemies approaching," said the entity.

Footsteps were heard behind them as multiple Whites ran down the corridor that led to the room. At their current state, they were in no fighting condition, with Natsuru wounded and Natsume out of energy, their situation was dire.

"I guess there's no choice," said Shizuku as she stood up. She started walking calmly towards the corridor, blades at the ready.

"Shizuku! What are you doing?!" shouted Natsuru.

"Buying you guys time," she said with a smile.

"Don't do it! You won't make it out alive!" said Natsume.

Shizuku chuckled, "Thanks for your concern, but I think I'll be fine."

"We must hurry now! Lest the enemies kill you two as well!" said the entity.

Natsume helped Natsuru as they followed the entity to a doorway that led them to the inner coliseum. The two looked behind to see Shizuku waving with a smile and daggers in hand, their stomachs dropped as the door sealed shut behind them. The entity led them to a floating platform where it seemed to be able to control its movements. It took them down to the floor of the enormous room. They stood in awe of the magnificent blue light that was in the center of the room, its light was almost blinding when looking at it directly. The two slowly walked towards the light, trudging as Natsume assisted Natsuru.

"What now?" asked Natsume.

They stood together in silence for a moment before Natsuru spoke. "Natsume," he said. "I don't think I would've made it this far without you. Thanks to you, I've made some amazing memories. I felt like my entire life was meaningless and linear, until I met you," he said looking her in the eye.

"…Why are you saying this now?" she asked.

Natsuru chuckled, "Just know that I'll always love you, no matter what happens." He moved in to kiss her, pressing himself against her welcoming lips. He slowly pulled back to look at her, her face was confused as she looked at him with eyes of suspicion.

"What are you-"She was interrupted by Natsuru as he plunged his fist into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She fell into his arms and he brought her down slowly and carefully. He brought her head down onto the floor as along with her body.

"I'm sorry," said Natsuru.

"Natsuru…" she said weakly as she tried to move her body. Her remaining energy had left her, leaving her with no way to get up.

"There's a way to save you and all of the other Kampfers. Remember what Shousuke said before we left? That there was a way to severe the connection between the Beacon and everyone else without killing them? There is only one way to do it," explained Natsuru.

Natsuru looked from her to the Beacon, his expression was calm as well as his demeanor. Natsume looked at him, she was still confused as to what he had meant. But then she realized his intentions and shouted, "Wait, don't tell me that the only way is to…"

"You are correct," said the entity. "In order to completely neutralize the Beacon, we must introduce a catalyst to counter-act its structure. In other words, a Black Kampfer. After all, that was what you were originally created to do."

"No way…" said Natsume in despair. "Wait, if it's a Black Kampfer you need, I'll be the one!" she said.

Natsuru chuckled, "There's no way I'd let you do that he said." He knelt down beside her, brushing her hair as he held her hand.

Natsume scrambled to grab a hold of him, but her body was so weak that the best she could do was grab onto his clothes.

"No…no, please don't do this to me," she said. Tears welled up in her eyes and her voice began to quiver. "It's not fair! You can't leave me alone!" she said as she clutched his hand, tears running down her face.

Natsuru looked at her with a kind smile, "You have your own life to live now with so many opportunities ahead of you. Everyone deserves their own happiness."

"No! Nothing else will matter if you're gone! And what about your happiness?!" she said.

"This is my happiness," he said calmly. "Saving those I hold dear."

"…No…"

"Please look after my parents for me," he said as he slowly broke away from her grasp.

"I'm begging you, please don't!" she said as she stumbled to get up.

"There is no greater deed for me than to take your place. You gave me a reason for living, and I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything! I'm the one who is in debt to you!"

Her body was not cooperating, her feet stumbled underneath her as she tried to move. They gave way and she fell towards the ground, but was caught by Natsuru. He embraced her tightly as his own tears ran down his face. They looked at each other, both at a loss of words and overflowing with tears. He held her face with his hands, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

"There is no more time, we must go now," said the entity.

"I love you," he said. He left her embrace, standing up and walking away from her.

"No! Natsuru please!" Her cries hurt Natsuru more than anything he had ever felt. But this was something he had to do, not only for her sake, but for the sake of everyone else who depended on him. Natsume mustered everything she had, but managed only enough to stand up. It took so much effort just to remain standing, she could not move any further. All she could do was watch as the blue light enveloped Natsuru. His being slowly disintegrated as he continued to walk into the light. Natsume cried and shouted with all her might for him to come back, for him to stay by her side, for him to always be there for her.

The last thing she saw was his never-changing smile, the exact same one that had captivated her heart from the very beginning. The first person to have acknowledged her existence, the first person that she had befriended, the first and only person she had ever loved, was gone.

Natsume sat at the edge of Natsuru's bed with puffy eyes and nose as red as a strawberry. She wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and placed herself back to reality. No matter how many days had passed, it was still a shock to her, that he was gone for good. Something as simple as saying 'good morning' to him in the morning, or the daily walks to school became things so precious that she would give anything just to have those days return once more. She stood up and walked over to his desk, turning on the lamp and sitting down. There sat the two Entrails Animals, now nothing more than mere plush dolls. She looked down at her black bracelet, playing with it for a moment before slipping it off and setting it next to the dolls. As she set it down, she looked at the picture frame that stood at the corner of his desk. It was a picture of Natsuru and Natsume on their first date at the park. In the picture, the two are smiling with their cheeks pressed up against each other. She didn't recall ever taking any pictures that day, but that made no difference to her.

Melancholic feelings arose as she stared at the picture. To her surprise, she found a warm sense of happiness from the picture instead of sadness. She chuckled, touching Natsuru's smiling face on the picture. She brought it to her chest, closed her eyes and hugged the precious photograph. She looked at it once more before setting it back down on the table. Natsuru wanted to leave her an opportunity, an opportunity to live a life she was denied of. She realized that now, sacrificing himself so that she may achieve happiness. That was his goal of attaining his own happiness.

"I'll make you proud," she said. She looked down and placed a hand over her stomach. "I wonder how this little one will turn out to be," she said with a giggle. "Mom and Dad are really worried, but I guess now would be a good time to tell them the truth, right?" She took a deep breath as she opened the door of his room and walked into the hallway, turning off the lights and taking one good look around before shutting the door. She walked down the stairs and into the living room where Natsuru's parents were. His dad was on the sofa watching t.v. beside his mom. They greeted her and invited her to join them as they waited for Natsuru to return home. She smiled at them but stood standing, keeping her composure as she began to tell her tale.

Life is a journey full of cruel and unrelenting things that can get a little overwhelming at times. But even with the sadness and sorrows life brings, there is happiness and little moments that make everything worthwhile. There are many things that split us apart, but the most wonderful things are the ones that bring us together.

There you have it, this fan ficiton has run its course and must come to a close. Split is now completed, and it only took about a year!
I'd like to thank all the readers, your interest and comments are what compel me to keep writing.

For those wondering, I will definitely be making a sequel to this story. So look forward to that in the coming days, or weeks.
I'll probably ditch the action stuff and stick to slice of life, daily life, romance, and drama genres.

Questions about the last part? It's probably what you're thinking.
Questions about anything else? Feel free to send me a pm or ask in a review.

Anyways, thanks for all your support and I hope you guys will read my next story!
I'll update with a new chapter containing the link to the new story so those who are following won't need to keep checking the Kampfer page. (If there are people even interested ;_;)