Bakemonogatari – 'A Thousand Miles, A Thousand Days'

Araragi Koyomi was standing in the land of the dead, observing what was it like. The sky was dark red, and the sun was only a bit brighter. In front of him, a large number of lifeless souls were wandering around, not knowing anything, anywhere, anyone. The land itself was dead; he could see cracks on the ground, as well as evaporating stones losing itself bit by bit. A storm of red passed by, but nobody was scared. It was as if the raging sandstorm was nothing but an occasional events.

"Those who enters this wasteland shall only hold to its most precious memory."

The place itself was nothing like hell or heaven; it was simply a land for the dead. Maybe it was the dimension linking the three worlds together, but that was not something he was interested in. In fact, nothing had interested him, and he started walking aimlessly just as other souls did. Little did he know about his appearance; he was back to his 17-year-old body. It was in that form that he had his most precious moments.

"Koyomi-oniichan?"

At the sound of his name, he jerked. He stared at the crowd of souls, from which he heard his name being called, but does not remember of anyone nor notice anyone who knows him. He glanced at the souls passing by, one by one, not noticing that there was a little girl standing still, waiting for him to look at her way. He was still in the middle of confusion, until once again his name was called and that time, he saw the girl who called him.

Tears burst out of her eyes, upon seeing her most precious person. She threw her body towards his, hugging him tightly in the joy of reunion. She had never even dreamed of seeing him again, not even after her death. For her, he had seen him enough that she could recall, everyday, the admirable figure of Araragi Koyomi, and sleep well after remembering such blissful memories. That was more than enough. However, she could but admit that she was truly, truly happy that she could see him again one last time, before the soul of hers began to move from this land, either to heaven or hell.

He was then dumbfounded by the surprising actions of the cute girl in front of him. He then realized that he was in fact, the most important person in this girl's memories. However, the effort he put to try and remember this person never gave him any results. It was really awkward to know that he was an important person to someone he could not even remember. As kind as the man Araragi Koyomi was, he still acted friendly towards that girl. That was the least he could do. In the middle of that confusion, he heard a whisper. A song.

Dear God, thank you

Even if it's just destiny pulling a prank on me

I'm glad to the fact that

We both had met

The girl had known long before, that she and the guy in front of him could never coexist. However, her love for him had already took root in her heart, one that could not simply be pulled out of her. She could still admire him, she could still remember him, she could still care for him, she could still love him; from distance. If it was not for the aberration she had, he would not even consider talking to her. She had matured enough to know the existence of one-sided love, the pure feeling of wanting the other party to be happy. That was all.

Both the guy and the girl then noticed a strange shine of bright, green light coming out of the middle school girl figure. Slowly, little by little, the soul of the girl turned into an array of shining green, partly transparent little wisps. The girl knew her time in the land of the dead was up, and she could be happy of the fate waiting for her far ahead; whether she would be in Hell, Heaven, or back to Earth, where she could be reincarnated as other person. She could only wish that her love would remain in her, forever and ever.

"Koyomi-oniichan, aishiteru..."

With all that she had left in that incomplete form, she whispered. For her entire life, that word was what she wanted to give him, and she hated herself for being able to convey her feelings only in the very last moment. But her soul was in peace, her soul had been able to find serenity between the nothingness of death. She was free.

"So how was it?"

He was back from the land of the dead, Mayoi's face questioning him. It was then that his memories returned to him. After his request of death from this grim reaper, she offered him a chance of seeing the land of the dead, with hope that he would change his mind. She knew little about what happened to him during that time, but he truly remembers.

The girl named Sengoku Nadeko.

It was really sad to think that she wondered in that wasteland, alone and clueless, and what set her free was the death of another. Moreover, it was the death of Araragi Koyomi, a vampire who could possibly live hundreds or thousands of years. Just imagining that fragile girl running aimlessly for a hundred years crushed his feelings. No, there must be something better than death.

"Bring me back to my body."

He had such a great determination shown in his eyes, though nothing in his mind could solve anything then. The grim reaper only nod, a wide smile appeared in her face. When they arrived at his body, their position had not changed much; Kuzuki's fist only appeared closer than before. The grim reaper explained to him that no power could stop the time, and she could only slow it, though almost to a standstill.

"See you, Ararararagi-kun.."

"Don't gor around mispronouncing it again. You're a high schooler now."

"Sorry, I bit my tongue."

"No, it was deliberately.."

"I bit my tongue!"

Araragi smiled, though their jokes were not as funny as they were. Many of his past had been revealed in his memories, and only then he remembered that he had a friend. A friend that was with him anywhere, anytime. A friend who could turn a pseudo-human into a normal human, though unwilling to do so to Araragi. The legendary vampire, sealed in a child's body.

Kisshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade; Oshino Shinobu.

Maybe that was unexpected? But that's how I think about her. Maybe I'll write one chapter for one girl, but I'll definitely end it with KoyoHita, since they're destined to be together. Thanks for reading..