After being slammed into another wall, I decided to stay down and watched as the dust slowly fell on me. I could hear him moving closer and closer to me. Pretty soon, he was looming over me. I stared at his expressionless face and broke out into a grin. "Won't you kill me ?", I asked him. He didn't reply. I took a deep breath and sighed. "At least, that's what I'd like to say.." I slowly sat up and stared at the large amount of damage that had been done in the hall. Shortly after, I pushed myself up and stood beside him. I didn't look at his face, but I looked in the direction of where I was supposed to go. My body ached. "If you want to kill me", I began to say, "Do it when this is all over." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small dagger. I reached for his hand and gave it to him. "If you'd like, you can stab me. But more than that... do you know why I'm rushing Shuichi ?" "I heard that it was for Wakahisa", he replied coldly. I slowly nodded my head and looked at him to see that his bangs were covering his eyes. I reached over and pushed them aside, seeing that he was glaring at me. It was a relief.

"The longer a soul remains in that Glass Box, the quicker the person dies. Wakahisa has been gone for a long time but I assume that they probably put her in the box around the time I left. So within a week, I've wasted time. Do you understand ?"

He didn't respond. I stood in front of him and raised my arms. "Hit me", I said, staring at the dagger in his hand. "I'll come back for you." Shuichi took a step towards me and I closed my eyes. There was a sudden, sharp stinging sensation on my back. I opened my eyes to see that he had embraced me into a hug. I could smell his scent of roses. I used that as a way to distract myself as he pulled the dagger out of my back. For a few seconds, I winched. Shuichi dropped the dagger on the ground and stared at me. To my surprise, there was a hurt expression on his face, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. I took a deep breath and hugged him.

Even if it was just for a short time, I wanted to let these small moments last. Not one of us said a word, but it was enough. When I finally pulled myself away from him. I grinned at him and slowly began to walk away. "You know..", I mumbled softly, not turning to look at him. I could feel my tears beginning to fall down my face. But I had to keep going. "I really loved you."

I didn't know if he heard me. "It's been fun", I whispered. 

Sorry Shuichi. But it looks like I've lied to you again.

I wiped away my tears and pressed forward. There was no reason to cry. It's done.

Goodbye.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[...thunk.. ksssh !]

On the other side of the door, stood Luurè and my mothers duplicate. Behind them, I could see the Glass Box that contained Wakahisa. Luurè clapped his hands with an astonished expression on his face. "What an interesting way to make an appearance", he was saying. "Kicking down a door without hesitating.. You came much quicker than I had expected." "Hand her over", I replied, discarding what he had just said. Luurè waved his finger at me and glanced at the duplicate. She smirked at me and stepped forward. "Not so fast Shiori, darling", she said to me. "You'll have to get through me first." I chuckled and took a step towards her. "No need to tell me", I replied while observing the space that I had. "I'd be more than happy to."

Luurè chuckled. "I hope you've improved since the last time we've met Guardian", I heard him say as soon as her duplicate began to attack me. "Because even if you were to pass through, you would have to deal with me next." I didn't reply. By this time, I was too busy searching for an opening. The entire time, Kana was leading me.

Be cautious of those knifes that she's carrying, Kana said. It's very faint, but there's something coating them. I assume it's poison. I wouldn't be surprised, I thought.

The both of us continued to skip around the room, destroying almost everything that was nearby. At least, she did. I took the chance to break the knives she threw at me whenever I had the chance. Eventually, there was a point in our fight where she stopped moving and stood in one place. I kept my distance and watched her carefully. For some reason, she pulled out an old, crumbling box that was sealed away with an old talisman. I recognized what it was and stared at it with a bit of bewilderment. It was an Idunn Box, an item that had the special ability to send someone back in time. I noticed her smiling at me, which immediately drew me away from my thoughts. I grimaced at the thought of her using it against me.

As if that would make a difference, Kana laughed. I grinned.

"And what exactly do you home to accomplish by using that ?", I asked, pointing towards the box. "You'll see my dear child", she replied, and ran towards me. I moved to the side and noticed her pulling something out of the box. I jumped back as she slashed at my arm. I sighed in dismay at the sight of the new wound. I didn't think much of it until there was the sudden throbbing sensation coming from my other wounds. It was painful, as if it were burning. I glanced at my side to see that my wound had opened up again. The one on my back as well, felt much worse that from before. My shoulder was starting to numb. I changed my position and waited for her, purposely lowering my guard. If it's to change me back for a better advantage, I thought as I slowly closed my eyes. Then I definitely won't let you do as you please.

For a short moment, there was no movement in the room. And then, there it was. An opening for the both of us. I opened my eyes and hit straight out in front of me. At the same time, she hit me in the chest, near the heart. I stared at the ground and noticed the pool of blood beginning to form beneath the both of us. I smiled to myself. In the end, I managed to hit her hard enough on the chest to damage her heart from the outside. Yet even so, I allowed myself to get stabbed. Which was worse ? I couldn't tell. From the small gaps of my hair, I could see her smirking, weary from all the fighting. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"As if this is the end", she coughed. I laughed at her stubbornness as the taste of metallic began to appear in my mouth. "Of course not", I mumbled and broke out into a relieved smile. 

[..shkkk...]

As the barrier between the both of us began to crumble away, I thought about what would happen next. I'm sure, even Kana was thinking about it. The thought alone was frightening to me but at the same time, exciting. Just as my mothers duplicate was about to pull the knife out of my chest, I grabbed her arm and grinned. She stared at me wide eyed, completely unaware of what would happen to her next. I pulled her close to me and closed my eyes. 

"This is end", I whispered softly, and a large white circle appeared underneath the both of us.

"Goodbye."