'Scuse my procrastinator self. I meant to put this up about a couple of days after I posted up chapter 17, but...I had a lot of stuff to do...and...I was...procrastinating.
Rrr! Couldn't think of anything else to write...so...here it is, the final chapter of Another Thief? A New Threat.
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Chapter 18: Epilogue
About a week later, Satoshi went back to school and, as usual, he was as quiet as quiet can be. This was his first day after the event that happened with Kazuko. None of the other students knew what was going on, and they didn't know what happened to Kazuko, either. The girls shrugged that aside and went back to their Satoshi fan club "duties." Satoshi didn't mind for the time being, in fact, he wasn't paying attention at all for that matter. After all, he already graduated from college so he didn't need to be in school at all. Satoshi couldn't stop replaying that one scene in his head as others were listening to the teacher's lecture:
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That night:
Kazuko fell to her knees with the sword through her neck. She took the handle and started pulling out the sword. The tip of the blade came out from her neck and a trail of blood followed. Her hands were supporting her as she was falling forwards and then she coughed up blood. The sword that Satoshi had in his hands disappeared and the sword that Kazuko had in her hand transformed back into its original form with the four talismans still attached.
"Kazuko!" Satoshi yelled.
Satoshi ran up to Kazuko as her arms couldn't support her weight anymore. Satoshi turned her over so he could see her face. Her eyes were closed but she was still slightly breathing. Blood was dripping down her mouth and through the hole in her neck.
"Kazuko…how could you do this to yourself?"
Kazuko squinted her eyes to see Satoshi. Dark walked up to them and then hers and Dark's eyes met.
"Satoshi…Dark…I'm sorry."
"This was your choice...don't be sorry," Dark replied.
"There could have been another way," Satoshi said.
"No…there was no other way," she said looking at Satoshi.
Tears started running down Kazuko's cheeks.
"Why…why did you go and do this?"
"Because…because…I wanted to protect you, Satoshi."
She stared raising her hand and Satoshi grabbed it, and put it against his cheek.
"…I…really do love you…"
"I love you too, Kazuko…"
"Don't let my death…be the time that you stop dating other girls," she said with a smirk.
Satoshi smiled, "You can still joke around at time like this?"
"I don't want to see you sad, for right now...I'm happy. I have no regrets now…only that I'll never get to see you again…you too, Dark," She said looking at him.
"Hey, leave me out of this, this is only between you and him."
She nodded her head and looked back at Satoshi.
"I'm happy…to have met you…Satoshi Hiwatari."
"And you too, Kazuko Barero."
She smiled once again and closed her eyes. Satoshi stared at her to see if she'll open her eyes again. He saw that she stopped breathing and Kazuko's hand that he was holding onto felt like dead weight.
Satoshi couldn't control his crying. He hugged Kazuko's lifeless body and started crying on it. Dark started to cry as well. As they went to look at her again, Kazuko's smirk remained.
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"You're still thinking about Kazuko, aren't you?" Daisuke asked him after school, "It's been a week, but I understand how you feel."
"...How could she have left us, after all that she's done for me...for you?"
"She did it for a good reason. And, as stubborn as she is, she did this to save you and me and so that Neda wouldn't be roaming around the city."
"I know about that it's just...you know...she's gone," Satoshi shook his head, "It's...no use talking about it now. The past is past, and I know that she wouldn't want to see us depressed like this. So what do you say, shall we visit Kazuko?"
Daisuke smirked confirming that he understood what Satoshi said; he nodded to show that he agrees with him.
"Sure"
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End of Chapter 18
Probably the shortest chapter ever...
I thank you all for reading this!
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Afterword 11/05/06: Hey there, it's been almost a year since I've ended this story. Now that I reflect back on my work, I think this story rates as an average one to my standards, but I still liked it. There are some parts in here that when I read them, I think "Ugh... I can't believe I wrote that." But I am an average experienced writer to know what to put and why to put it in there... some what. Oh yeah, and the reason I'm putting this afterword in here is because of the reviews I got for the last chapter. Boy, I didn't know that the last chapter would make people that sad, haha. But anyways, your reviews make my day, and I was happy reading the reviews for this story.