The Gunpowder Blade

Windows To The Soul

***
Hey, Familia of the Closet! Here we are, the home stretch. To the extent of my knowledge, this chapter will be a little longer than usual. Just because I want to go to extreme measures and indecipherable depths for the ending of the book. Anyway, thank you all for putting up with this. Love you!<3

-Seijirou

***

(Kazuto)

"Asada Shino...

Will you marry me?" I asked unconfidently. But I still looked her in her eyes. No matter how hard it was. She blushed, but not as hard as I thought she would. Nearly the same color as the ring. I didn't move. I stayed kneeling, stayed holding the box, stayed staring into her eyes. She began to cry, not quite bawling, but crying nonetheless. Her tears looked like tiny crystals. No, they looked like... Yui's heart. They had some kind of fragrance that made the similarities incredibly distinct. They slid down her cheeks, down her chin, and onto the floor. A small splash took place with each tear that hit the ground.

"K-Kazuto..." She muttered, still crying. I was still trying to deduce whether they were happy tears... or sad tears.

"You don't have to. I just wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Grow old with you. Start a family with you." I said, not moving an inch. "And I want all of that to be official. I want it to be carved in stone for the rest of eternity. I love you, Asada Shino." I felt a single tear leave my eye.

"K-Kazuto... I-I..." She covered her mouth and nodded firmly. "Yes." I smiled and stood up, taking out the ring. She slowly brought her hand towards me, preparing for the life-altering event that is about to take place. Her mind was running at 200 km/h. But then, I slid the ring onto her finger. Miraculously, it fit perfectly. "I love you too." I put one hand on her waist and the other behind her neck. I pulled her closer and left a lingering kiss on her soft, pale lips. She backed away and placed her head on my chest. It felt as if the moment lasted forever. Then, a knock at the door caused us to jump and separate.

"Can we come in yet? You better not be fucking!" Suguha shouted from the other side of the door. I chuckled and walked over to the door, opening it, revealing Minetaka and Midori standing behind a very judgemental Suguha. I thought to myself for a second then decided on my comeback. I knelt to eye level with Suguha.

"So this is what it's like being short," I smirked. Her face went from cocky to angry.

"Oh, you son of a bitch!" She started swinging at me. I jumped backward, avoiding her leveled punches.

"Calm down, Suguha," Midori chuckled. She stopped swinging and scowled at me. I sat on the bed with Asada while the others entered the room, placing themselves in a line in front of Asada and me. Minetaka looked at me and nodded with acknowledgment. I looked at Midori who had a tear rolling down her cheek. Minetaka pulled her into a hug. Suguha looked around in confusion.

"What? What's so sad?" She asked, scanning the room. Suddenly, her eyes landed on Asada. She looked at her hand, or, the ring, rather. She began to lose herself in thought.

"Oh my god, congratulations!" Midori shouted, running at me for a hug. I allowed her to hug me, then watched as she practically tackled Asada. I looked at Suguha, who was still lost in thought. Minetaka and Midori were busy talking to Asada. I walked over to Suguha and lightly kicked her shin. She looked up at me with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I-Is that..." She paused to wipe her tears. "Is that what I think it is?"

"The ring you helped me pick out for Asuna?" I said exactly what she was thinking. "You know that Asuna is with Enki now. And I love Asada. Besides, Asuna was more of a blue person anyways." Suguha sniffled and wiped away more tears.