The Unceasing Path

Ch 27 - 英雄本色

A Better Tomorrow - Makoto's resolve! Love and Justice Will Find a Way!

"Ta-dah!"

Ami jumped, smacking her knee into the top of her desk by accident. She'd been so focused on going over patient files that she hadn't even noticed Makoto coming up behind her.

Makoto hovered over her desk, eyes bright and bouncing on her feet. She was positively brimming with excitement. Ami looked up and couldn't help smiling in turn. Makoto's enthusiasm, whatever the cause, was infectious. She closed her laptop so that she could give Makoto her undivided attention.

"Mako? What's going on?"

Makoto waved the small notebook in her hand.

"I finished it! The story! Well, your story. I know it's your story, and it's very good and I love it...but hear me out. I really wanted you to have a happy ending."

Ami looked back and forth between the notebook, and the anxious, yet eager look on Makoto's face.

"Did you write a another chapter?"

"No. Yes. Well, sort of. I tried to. It's kind of like an alternate ending I guess? I wrote the first part, then I got stuck, so I thought: who do I know, besides you, that's a good at storytelling? I went to Usagi's place first, but then she was at the temple, which really worked out, because Rei's better than Usagi and I with stuff like grammar. Did you know that Rei's really good with words too? I mean, I know you knew that, but wow. I've never seen her process before...she's pretty intense. Anyways. I'm not sure who called Minako, but if the three of us were doing this, then no way we could leave Minako out right? Luckily, Minako was free at the time, so she came right on over and pitched some really cool ideas. We even got Setsuna to help with some of the legal terms!" Makoto grinned, smiling fit to burst. "Anyways, what I was trying to say is that it wasn't just me. We all got together to do this for you."

"You...everyone... did all of this...for me?" Ami blinked, confused. "Mako, I'm touched, and I can't wait to read it, but why?"

Makoto shrugged. "I told you. I wanted a happy ending. You deserve it."

"I thought there was a happy ending? I mean, as much as possible, given the circumstances. The bad guys were all defeated, and it was pretty implied that everyone else goes on to live happily ever after? Maybe I should go back and rewrite the epilogue so that it's clearer."

"No, no no!" Makoto emphasized each no with a shake of her head. "Your ending was...fine...no it was great. Well written. Lots to think about. It's just ..." A blush spread across Makoto's cheeks, "You are my happy ending! It's not the same without you, but then you went and killed yourself off! Yeah, sure, there's this barely introduced surgeon at the end. She seems nice and I'm sure she's is technically still you, but not you-you, you know? Argh...this is so hard to explain. What I'm trying to say is that for the story to have a happy ending, an actual happy ending, Makoto needs to be with Ami. The real Ami. Yeah, that makes sense." Makoto nodded to herself. "You're the one I'm in love with. No one else!"

"Oh." A slow smile spread across Ami's face. "I see."

"So, here, I want to watch you read." Makoto took Ami by the hand and led her to the couch. She chivalrously gestured for her to take a seat first before cracking a shy little smile. Her hand reached up to scratch the back of her head sheepishly. "Um...I'm not that good with words, so you know..."

Ami sat down, settling into the corner nook before pulling Mako down to lie on her lap. "Maybe you can read it to me instead?" she suggested, playing the the curls of Makoto's hair that were now in easy reach. "I think I'd really like that."

"Yeah! Alright. I can do that." Makoto flipped her notebook open. Ami couldn't help but notice all the little notes and editing marks in the margins. Offhand, she could see several different sets of handwriting and pens in use. Usagi's rounded characters and little doodles dominated the margins. Minako's scrawling chickenscratch was all over the place, while Rei's tight compact print squeezed in tightly between the lines. There was even a short block written in an impossibly neat cursive that Ami didn't recognize, but assumed was Setsuna's handwriting. The prevailing print, the body of the work, however, was written in Makoto's graceful flowing script.

Ami's heart swelled, seeing the amount of effort her friends spontaneously put into this gift. She couldn't wait to hear what they came up with.

Makoto cleared her throat. " You ready?" Ami nodded eagerly. "ok, so here we go..."

[Epilogue: Waiting Room. Jail. 3 Years Later...]

"Mizuno!" The clerk called from behind the counter.

Ami walked up, holding a garbage bag of her personal possessions. There wasn't a lot of stuff, except her few prized books.

The clerk stamped a piece of paper and then handed it to Ami. "It's all good. You are free to leave now." Another stack of paper was shoved in front of her. "Here's contact info for your parole officer. Follow the rules and we don't ever have to see you again. Here's the bus schedule, the bus stop is just down the hill, unless someone is picking you up?"

Ami shook her head.

"Ah, well, bit of a wait for the bus then. It doesn't come here often."

Ami gathered up the papers and shoved them into her bag. "Well, thanks for everything, Mr. Wong. You know what, on second thought.." Ami bent down to retrieve the books from her bag. "I don't need these books anymore and I would like to donate them to the prison library. Maybe someone else could make use of them..."

Mr Wong reached over and grabbed one of the books. He thumbed through it. "Not sure if we have another genius inmate, but yeah maybe someone else could make use of them."

"They're romance novels."

"Oh..." The clerk took a second look at the titles of the books. He scratched his head in embarrassment. "Everybody needs love, right?"

Ami nodded in agreement. No one knows she's a hopeless romantic. She had kept her icy exterior throughout the years behind bars and she's never let any one close. There were numerous offers of prison wives, but Ami's heart belong to another lady.

Makoto! Ami's heart quickens as she thought of her. It's been three years, perhaps she had already moved on...

The giant front gate clicked and then it opened. Ami walked through it, feeling more and more nervous as she walked.

She knew she was not suppose to look back once she walked through the door, but she did. She was a sentimental fool, after all. Prison life wasn't as hard as she had thought, and she even made a few friends. For a brief moment, she thought she might miss this place.

It was a warm and sunny day out. Ami turned her face up so she could feel the sun more. Honestly, she never thought she would ever be on this side of the wall for the rest of her natural life. Setsuna really was the best defense lawyer in the world, of all time, to have managed a sentence that lenient. Only Setsuna would have thought to use entrapment as a defense against criminal liability while simultenously making a case for diminished capacity. Ami had been in the hospital for the full duration of her trail, and thus, missed most of the details, though she did remember the closing speech Setsuna made on her behalf. It was a moving screed on the virtues of empathy and forgiveness.

She knew she had a lot to thank Setsuna for, and Usagi too. They stood up for her, even though they didn't have to. When Ami had asked they why, after everything that she had done, had they had come back for her, both Setsuna and Usagi had simply smiled and said "because we're family."

Lost in her thoughts, Ami continued her track down the hill towards the bus stop. With each step, her heart grew heavy. She's all alone now. The nice thing about prison was that there were other people, even enemies, that she could talk to.

Vroom, vroom.

A loud motorcycle roar came from behind.

Ami stopped in her track, her heart pounding. Could it be? She was too afraid to turn around and be disappointed.

The engine shut down and then the person dismount from the bike. Ami still didn't turn to look.

"Ami..." A familiar voice called out. Ami gasped and her tears welled. A pair of strong arms wrapped around Ami's tiny waist. "Ami..." Her name was murmured this time.

"Ma...Mako.." Ami turned and looked up. Her lips parted as Mako bent down for a kiss. Like two thirsty hearts in a dessert, it ignited into an uncontrollable inferno. They kissed like they've never kissed before. They grabbed onto each other, afraid the other would disappear like a mirage.

Ami was the first to push away. "You are here. You are kissing me. I..." Ami sighed and backed away from Mako. "I am a criminal."

'So?' Mako tried to pull Ami back into her embrace, but Ami backed away even more.

"I don't deserve you. I don't deserve happiness after what I've done!" Ami squeezed her eyes shut tightly, wishing she didn't feel that way.

Mako crossed the distance between them and pulled Ami into her embrace. "Shhh, everything will be okay. I love you. I love you. I love you..." Mako kept repeating those same three words as Ami sobbed.

Finally, the small girl stopped crying. Ami wiped her tears and offered an apologetic smile to Mako.

"Shall we go home?" Mako tiled Ami's face up.

"Home?"

"Yeah." Mako tossed a helmet at Ami. "Our home."

Ami swallowed hard and a rosy blush crept up on her face. Dare she hope? Could a villain get a happy ending? That's not how romance novels usually end.

"Are you sure?" Ami asked in a small voice.

Mako strapped the helmet onto Ami's head. She cupped Ami's cheeks and rested her forehead against Ami's helmet. "I am never letting you go, ever again..." Mako swept her up easily and seated her on the bike. She leaned in closer to the blue-hair girl. "Do you love me?"

"Ye...yes." Slightly taken aback, Ami stammered.

"I need you to say it." Mako's intense green eyes stared back. "I need to hear it."

"I love you, Kino Makoto." Ami's cheeks were as red as Mako's rose earings.

"Huh? I can't hear you.." Mako cupped one of her ears.

Finally, a warm smile broke through, and then Ami laughed. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and then she yelled, "I love you!" She shouted at the top of her lungs for all the world to hear. "I LOVE YOU KINO MAKOTO!."

"And I love you, Mizuno Ami." Makoto answered with a smile shone brighter than the sun.

Mako mounted the bike and turned the key. The bike rumbled to life. Ami wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

Ami turned to look at the cold prison one last time, and then she turned to face the road ahead of her. For some reason, she could feel her darkness fading into the background and her heart was blossoming with hope. Perhaps this was what happiness felt like.

"Ready?" Mako asked one last time.

"Yes."

The bike roared beneath them and together, just like that, they sped off into the sunset.

They lived happily ever after.

[End]

A.N.

What can I say? I think Mako's right: This story needed a happy ending.

Thanks to my wife, tiffanywillow for providing the voice of Mako in this chapter. Couldn't do this without you. Mwah.

And now the story ends. For real. Thanks for reading everyone! Peace and love until we meet again.

Cheers,

-Drift.

P.S. brycelozer: ! It was so hard not to spoiler you that there was another chapter coming! I would hate for you to end the story with Ami's ending. Hahah. I imagine you were as disappointed as the real!Senshi were with that last chapter (sorrynotsorry). I hope you are still reading this :) Cheers , - Drift.