noir's rebirth

By Illusion

(This three-part story takes place a few days after the series ending.)

Part 2

Noir…

A name of destiny designated from the word that means death

Two maidens who reign over death

The Black hands over the green fields

Please protect the peace

Mireille loaded her gun and checked it carefully before placing it on the bullet-holed pool table. Sitting across from her, Kirika did the same. Kirika regarded her companion closely. "Do we have a plan?" Mireille sighed and walked over to the cracked window. She could see the empty street below lit by the dim streetlights. Just a few hours before she had had a very intense conversation with a man who claimed to be her brother's best friend. And when she came home, she found her apartment trashed and Kirika wielding her gun once again. To say that she was tired would have been an understatement. But Mireille was pumped on anger, her fury towards the Soldats was fueling her desire to kill. Kirika understood the frustration her friend was experiencing, and chose her words carefully. Still looking out the window, Mireille answered.

"Don't you remember our style?" Mireille turned her intense blue-green eyes towards Kirika and smiled slightly.

Kirika returned the smile and nodded, recalling a similar discussion they had a few hours before they had met Chloe. Somehow it seemed so long ago, their first encounter with Chloe. Mireille looked over her upturned apartment.

"We'll need somewhere else to stay for the time being," she said. "At least until we complete this...job."

Mireille threw a look over at Kirika who's expression remained unreadable. "I'll book us a hotel room," Mireille continued as she pulled out a cell phone from her pink handbag. Kirika waited until Mireille had finished making the arrangements before asking, "What happened when you went out just now?"

Mireille sat down, and thought for a while before answering. "I bumped into that guy again. He knew my name, and he told me that he was my brother's best friend and that the Soldats had also murdered his parents. He begged me to help him."

"Is he part of the reason why you are so eager to kill off the Soldats?"

Mireille reacted with surprise. "What makes you think I decided to help him?"

Kirika looked down. "Mireille...I don't like the Soldats...but do you think that this is such a good idea?"

Mireille stood up, somewhat annoyed at Kirika's reluctance. "You don't trust him do you?" she asked sharply.

"Do you, Mireille?" Kirika replied. Kirika could see the flames of anger burning in Mireille's eyes as they stared at each other. Then Mireille turned and walked up to the bedroom. "We should go to the hotel now. Just take the essentials."

As Mireille lay in the hotel bed that night, she could hear Kirika's heavy breathing beside her. Mireille was exhausted, but she couldn't get to sleep. Her mind was awake with ideas of how to eliminate the Soldats from their lives. She suddenly found herself thinking about Jacques Beaumont. He had told her he loved her, and those weren't words she heard very often. The last person who had told her that before him was Kirika. Mireille sat up and looked down at the sleeping Kirika fondly. They shared a bond that was beyond words and comprehension. Before when Kirika had asked whether she trusted Jacques, Kirika had struck a chord, causing Mireille to react rather irrationally. The truth was, Mireille wanted to trust Jacques because he claimed to be someone from the past that was close to her family. But after she was betrayed by her Uncle Claude, she wasn't sure if she could trust anybody but her partner. Mireille sighed and got up off the bed. She walked quietly over to her laptop and turned it on. In the blue light of the computer screen, Mireille searched for files on Jacques Beaumont. She scrolled and shifted through the information.

Born 18th April 1982...

                    Parents were Petier and Jiirdana Beaumont...

                                                        raised their only son in Paris, France....

                                                                        Both parents were killed in a car accident in Paris....

Mireille stopped. "Wait a minute," she whispered to herself. "He told me that his parents has been murdered in his own house in Corsica..." Mireiile could feel the anger burning inside of her. "That liar. I knew it."

"Let's go, Mireille," a voice said from behind her in the darkness. Mireille spun around in her chair and saw Kirika looking at her solemnly. "Let's go," Kirika repeated. "You wanted to finish off the Soldats. What better time than now?"

Mireiile stared at her partner unbelievingly. "You want to do it tonight?" she asked in shock.

"I'll help you," Kirika replied, climbing out of bed and getting dressed.

"But we have no plan, how are we --"

"Our style," Kirika cut in, a small smile playing on her lips. Mireille sat in silence for a little while before she stood.

"That's right. Our style." She walked over to her gun and picked it up gently. The moonlight filtered into the room, and Mireille could see Kirika also picking up her gun. Mireille smiled. "Let's do it."

It was cold that night, and as the two solitary figures made their way to the Alexander Trading Corporation, their shadows fell on to the street. "We're in darkness again," Mireille said solemnly as they walked. "We tried to seek light, but we're walking down the path of eternal darkness again."

Kirika continued looking forward. "This is the last time, Mireille. Whatever happens, this will be the last time."

Mireille's heart felt heavy. The thought they may not survive scared her, but at the same time, she knew this was something they both had to do. They couldn't live free of the darkness otherwise.

"Kirika --"

"Don't say it, Mireille" Kirika cut in. Mireille turned to look at her friend. Kirika made eye contact. "Please."

Mireille turned her gaze forward again. "I was just going to say thank you. I don't think I ever said that to you."

Kirika jerked in surprise. "What...for?"

"For everything."

Kirika stayed silent for a moment. A tear rolled down her cheek. Then she replied. "OK."

Mireille smiled slightly and stopped. She gazed up at the tall, large building up in front of her. Squares of light shone from some windows. "We're here. There's no turning back anymore."

Kirika nodded, threw a glance over at Mireille and then entered with her, their guns poised. They would never come out the same again.

TO BE CONCLUDED....