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It's the end, at long last.
For a long time she's been able to pretend that the war has nothing to do with her feelings. There is Soul Society, and there is the enemy, and she knows which side she is on. She promises her sword that she will not falter.
But this...
"Hello, Ran-chan," he murmurs into her hair, his sword cold against the side of her neck, hers swirling in a cloud around him waiting on her slightest thought.
This moment stands like a negative of all the moments before it, every colour reversed. Her resolve hasn't gone anywhere. It just shows a different picture now, all black smiling teeth and glowing brows, within a blink of her burning eyes. She lets herself sag into him, presses her mouth against his throat, feels the calm pulse of his jugular against her lips.
"I love you," she tells him.
Haineko shrieks, and the air turns to bloody mist.
On his side of the mountain, the sun has always risen eternal.
On hers, it sets, and all she sees is this inevitable fall.
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