Back and forth, back and forth, he paced outside the gates of St Lucia's Academy, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes darting to his watch. He felt uncomfortable like this, loitering around a school of all places, where he should be out on the street doing what he knew best.

But here he was. Children was dashing around him, ice cream vendors were peddling their delicious goods, the sun was lighting up the smiles of the young, and he had never felt so far removed from reality than he ever had.

But he had to do this. No matter how awkward he felt, he owed her this much. The mere thought of her managed to calm him down somewhat, and he picked a spot near a tree so that he could sit still for once, and he sat there waiting for her, feeling the breeze tickling his shirt.

Bernkastel appeared as Will reached the sea. He already knew that Bernkastel, some way or another, would just pop out at the worst possible moment, but he didn't care. Since her death, he had felt numbed of emotion. He simply wanted to get this over with.

'What's that?' Bernkastel said, pointing to the jar in his hand.

'Fuck off,' Will said.

Bernkastel raised an eyebrow, ever so slightly. 'Watch it, Wright. You're starting to sound like that piece Rudolf.'

'Maybe I am, then,' he growled, navigating through the waters, keeping the jar clutched to his chest, trying to find the best possible spot. Bernkastel floated next to him, keeping his pace.

'By the way, that was quite a spectacular showdown. Everyone was just stomping their feet and cheering when you landed the final blow, it was just that - how would one describe it - epic. Truly, an epic, Willard H. Wright. In fact, you put me in such a good mood that I'll forgive you for all the abuse you've thrown at me earlier.'

'Fuck off.'

She chuckled. 'So, did you figure it out?'

'What.'

'Genji's motive. I told you to figure out the whydunnit, didn't I? So, what's your answer?'

Will gripped the jar even tighter. 'He just hated this world.'

'So do I, but I don't go around killing everyone,' she frowned. 'Actually, I do.'

'He's nothing like you,' Will snapped. 'He...just wanted to help. He thought he knew everyone wanted to move on from this world to the next. Maybe he was insane, maybe he was desperate, maybe he was just tired. He followed her advice and brought everyone to the Golden Land. He created the most beautiful mass suicide in history.'

'Ah...I still don't get it.'

Will didn't know whether she was fooling around or not, and, frankly, he didn't care. 'Work it out.'

'It was a good game, don't you think?' Bernkastel half-sang, twirling around in the water. 'Full of suspense, genius, and guts. I bet you've never had something this exciting, eh, Will? Makes you just want to pack your bags and leave that boring SSVD, you know...?'

'I'm leaving.'

This derailed her. 'What?'

'I handed in my resignation.'

Her mouth slowly curved upwards into a smirk. 'Did I really have that much of an impact on you?'

Amidst her venom-laced voice, he found it - the perfect spot in this abyss of darkness. It had jumped it of him from nowhere, exactly as he had pictured, and he had niggling but not altogether unpleasant suspicion that the sea had prepared it especially for him. He stopped, and held the jar in front of him. Bernkastel watched in interest.

Will opened the lid and let the ashes inside tumble out. They melted into the sea and were gone in seconds.

'Whose ashes were that?' Bernkastel said, although she already knew the answer.

Will answered, not for Bernkastel, but for his former opponent. 'It's her's.'

Together they watched the ashes drift into the endless lakes of Oblivion.

The bell rang, jolting him out of his reverie. He had been been daydreaming. But he didn't mind the sudden interruption. As he watched the girls stream out of the school, his eyes searching for the one among them that mattered, he felt that he preferred reality to dreams, after all. For what dream could possibly replicate her smile, when they finally locked gazes amidst the roaring crowd?

She bounced over to him, her blue hair flying about her like a halo. 'Ronoue!'

'Hey,' he smiled. She crashed into him and wrapped him in a hug.

'You came - why?'

'I had a day off today, so, uh, I just came to see you,' he attempted a causal shrug. 'The school was on the way.'

'Thanks anyway,' she said. 'Hey, want some ice cream!'

'Sure.'

As he paid for two dripping cones of vanilla cone, he felt something he hadn't felt when he was out at work - he felt at peace. He felt the familial wafer shape against his hand, the same shape he had enjoyed so often as a child, and he felt warm. Coming here was a good idea after all. He handed one ofr her and she started licking rapidly.

'Wanna piggyback?' she said.

'Are you crazy?' he couldn't help laughing. 'That's tons of people here.'

'Come on, it's not often that I get to see you! Just piggyback, just this once, I won't ask again.'

'Alright, alright,' he bent down and she hopped on top of him, still holding the ice cream. He stood tall and walked, allowing everyone in the world to see what an amazing big brother she had.

This...was wonderful. For a moment, he was able to forget. Everything, the drugs, the knives, the shipments - everything that had plagued this country since the day his family had settled here, all of it magically retreated back into the shadows. Today, the day was her's. His and her's.

'Hey,' he whispered to her.

'Wharuul - ?' she murmured in mid-lick.

'I don't know what I'd do without you, okay?'