Seraphim and Minerva

Minerva fell on her butt when the last pull got Seraphim to safety. She panted softly, still shaking from the shock and stress. If you looked at Seraphim and Minerva you would have thought the tiny redhead was the one who just avoided a plummet to her death. She looked at Seraphim ahd when she saw her laughing her eyes widened. She didn't think she could ever understand why she would laugh at that and in fact her instincts were already sucking her into an emotional frenzy.

She stood up as best she could and cralled over to Seraphim and buried her face in the girl's chest and held onto her as tightly as she could, her eyes balling as she sobeed into Seraphim. As the whimpers escaped her, she tried her hardest to cltch onto Seraphim as tightly as possible, as though if she let go she would loose her again.

For a few moments, Seraphim didn't move. Her laughter slowly died down as she tried to catch her breath, but her smile never left her lips, like the whole experiance more amusing than frightning. Maybe she was a little crazy, and Serphim was definettly an adrenaline junky, but this whole incident really took the cake of how insane and close to death she really was.

When Minerva suddenly fell into her tohugh, burying her face into Seraphim's chest and crying like she had just lost her favorite puppy, Seraphim started to calm down a little, ever so gently placing her hand on Minerva's back, still lying there as she stared up at the sky still, trying to find the right words. She felt a bit more composed now, the smile fading, her eye dimming just a little like she was deeply in thought, and finally, Seraphim just patted Minerva lightly, embracing her into a gentle hug.

"..Thank you, Mine-chan. ..I knew you could do it." Her words were like a whisper in the wind, meant only for Minerva to hear as Seraphim kept the girl close, trying to let her know everything was okay now, and she really was thankful that she had Minerva there for her.

Despite Seraphim's kind words, Minerva seemed to wail and cry even louder. She hugged Seraphim as tightly as she could and cried like Seraphim really had died. Finally she pulled away and looked at her with wide teary red eyes. She tried to blink the tears away and make an attempt at a smile. She failed badly at it though and looked down. "S-s-s-sera-San..." She muttered out the words. "I thought you were really gonna die!" Her eyes instantly became sad again as she looked over Seraphim.

"I ..." She lowered her head in shame. "I know... I mean... I can't believe that you really thought I could do it." She said heaving a deep sigh. "I'm just glad you're safe." She hugged Seraphim tightly. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you." She said squeezing her tightly once more.

As she felt Minerva continue to hug her and cry, Seraphim didn't even budge, just keeping the girl close for a few final moments, her laughter dying down as she let out a sigh of releif. "You know.. I did to." Seraphim said like it was no big deal at all when Minerva mentioned she thought Seraphim was going to die. That feeling of being on the edge and nearly losing her life; she absolutely loved the rush. It was the strongest adrenaline rush she had in a long time, and it felt amazing. Of course... she wouldn't really mention that to Minerva, she didn't want the girl to think she was crazy, that was for sure. Still.. that feeling was something she wouldn't forget.

"Mine-chan...?" Seraphim suddenly said, still laying on her back, finally looking strait at Minerva, coming up with a genuine smile towards her student, no... her friend. "You're amazing... you're much stronger than you think, especially as a person." She once again took Minerva in close as the girl hugged her, chuckling softly, knowing everything was okay, like nothing else mattered right now. Knowing Minerva cared this much about her, and that she was able to pull off a miricle, Seraphim couldn't have been more proud.

Minerva pulled herself up and ran her arm across her face to wipe her tears away. Her eyes widened when Seraphim suddenly said her name in a questioning tone. Minerva's eyes widened when Seraphim said those words to her. Her heart started to pound and her lips widened in awe. Never in her whole life did she think anyone would say that about her.

Minerva returned Seraphim's hug appreciatively hugging her tightly. Seraphim was just so easy to hug. Despite being someone hard on the outside, she was really quite beautiful and all her curves made her extra comfy to squeeze against. In Seraphim's arms, Minerva thought she would be safe from anything.

"A-a-arigatou Sera-san!" She said backing away to look into Seraphim's eye. "I would never have been able to forgive myself if I had let you fall... truthfully..." She turned her head in shame. "Mine-chan would probably have followed Sera-san if she had let go."

Her fragile little bird, her beautiful tiny angel, her delicate little flower, Minerva was a really important person to Seraphim in her life, and at this moment, she could not have been more happy to have her at her side right now. The white haired fighter may have already had a girl in her life, but if she didn't, Seraphim really would have considered giving her heart to her. Hell, at this point, she already owed the girl her life now, what else could she give?

"Don't think that... Don't ever say that." Seraphim's smile faded when Minerva admitted she would have jumped after her if she fell, and her words sounded almost dissapointed, saddened by the thought of Minerva dying. She couldn't stand the thought of losing anyone else in her life, even after she died. Especially since... Seraphim didn't have much time left on this world anyway.

"No matter what happens, you need to live on, even if I'm gone, okay?" Her words were very serious, her embrace around Minerva loosening a little before her arms fell to her side, and she slowly sat up, letting out a long sigh, like the whole moment was gone now.

Minerva's smile faded when Seraphim's did. She wondered if what she had said was too much but she was only expressing how she felt. She had developed a deep connection with Seraphim and didn't want to loose her t all. "I..." She paused and lowered her head, her bear ears drooping in mutual shame. "Mine-chan is sorry..." She barely whispered the words.

She watched Seraphim stand up and her own heart sank. Of course she would live if Seraphim died. Only the moment and the circumstances had caused her to think about it. But something inside of her stirred and she suddenly stood up too. Her tiny brow furrowed on her face and she took her finger and poked Sera in the stomach. The force was not intended as a jab, but it was certainly firmer than a gentle touch. "N-n-no!" She yelled out.

"I-I won't do that!" She said. "Sera-san!" She seemed to have the kind of anger that she did before when she saw Seraphim with the cigarette. "Sera-san... You can't just go... go being reckless and th-then expect everyone to be just fine with it if all that bad behavior finally catches up with you!" She was shaking, knowing very well that what she was saying could make Seraphim upset, even angry. "It... it won't just be alright if you do something that gets you killed! Sera-san... is the bravest person I have ever met... and.. and I would never want her to stop b-being brave... but.. but to j-just go doing anything y-you please... and just say 'go on living even if I die'... That is selfish Sera-san!" The tears once again streamed from her face. "I.. I would be so... so sad if something ever happened to Sera-San... m-my heart broke ... just thinking about what just happened... but... if you say that I should just go on... like it was no big deal if something happened to you... it makes me feel like Sera-San doesn't care that dying would break Mine-chan's heart..."

At first, Seraphim just let Minerva say her apology, not letting it phase her too much, since she would forgive Minerva no matter what she did, the girl meaning too much to her and never even consider in ever being angry with her. They were too close now to break that bond, and Seraphim felt like now, there would be someone else to remember her by when that inevitable day her life ended had come.

...Maybe, that was why she was starting to make friends all of the sudden? She wanted to make an impression on the world, be remembered, and have people think highly of her even when she was gone. Seraphim knew the truth, her time left on this world was... shorter than most people. Yet, it was accepting this that didn't make her so afraid of death. She would admit, for a moment, she did feel panic at the thought of dying over the rooftop, but only because she had so much left to do, and didn't want to die that way. Yet still, it was her overall acceptance of death that made her a stronger person, and why she had pure bravado in every risk she took without looking back.

Her thoughts were interupted though as she felt a sudden jab in her belly, and Minerva said some words that struck Seraphim rather hard, fall silent as she looked down, almost ashamed of herself in how she looked. Was it really that selfish to want to be remembered? To make a difference in this world? ...She couldn't tell Minerva the truth, she couldn't tell anyone really, but seeing Minerva worry, it still made her feel guilty.

"..Mine-chan... we all have to die at some point. I.. can't help it when it's my time."

Minerva's eyes quivered aas she waited for Seraphim's response. She was already feeling pretty terrible for her outburst but she knew that she couldn't just let things go as they were. To Minerva, it seemed like Seraphim was not simply living rrecklessly but putting herself in life or death situations on purpose. But that wasn't really it. Minerva had never really had anyone to hold onto. She never had anyone to care for or to care for her. Her parents had pretty much been away since she was old enough to be left alone and before that she was always left in the care of a maid anyway and with how her personality was, friends never came except to use her. Seraphim really was the first person who truly accepted her and Minerva wouldn't just let Seraphim throw her life away.

She pulled her hand in and looked down. Her tone was soft now, her voice quivering. "Sera-San...' She said softly. "I..." She heaved a deep sigh, still avoiding eye contact. "I know that at any moment something could happen to you or to me... to anyone... That's really sad but I think Mine-chan could get over it... even if it would be really sad for her." She looked up at Seraphim and nodded. "B-but..." She wanted to just explain it again but it wouldn't work. "I..." Her voice grew quiet again and she reached out and grabbed Seraphim's shirt and held onto it tightly. Her head lowered and she began to cry again. "Sera-San should never stop being Sera-San, because who she is is what Mine-chan loves!" She pressed her head forward just to touch Seraphim's chest against her head, stopping as soon as she felt contact. "Maybe Mine-chan is selfish! She's never had anyone to care for her so maybe she doesn't ever want Sera-San to die! B-but" Her voice grew quiet again as she tried to sniffle away some tears. "Even if Mine-chan was just selfish...." She looked up at Seraphim with teary eyes that pleaded Seraphim to answer her question. "Even if she was selfish why does it feel like Sera-San really is trying to get herself killed?" Minerva couldn't explain it and she wasn't talking about the roof top. She knew it was an accident, but then even being up here in the first place was Seraphim's idea. All the exercize they had done so far could have been done in a different way under less dangerous circimstances, completely eliminating the chance for the accident to happen. From just her intuition, somewhere inside of her felt that way about Seraphim and she didn't want to feel that way. She would take any answer but she needed Seraphim to answer her and put her mind at ease, even if she lied.

She knew the truth of it all, and as Minerva continued to speak, she knew the girl was right in every part of her words. Seraphim wouldn't deny it, she had embraced death, it didn't phase her at all at this point in her life. Generally, the thought of death was just like taking another step on a journey, it was as unimportant and easy to forget as the next step, and you just moved on. That was why, no matter how many people she lost, Seraphim never left the death of another person truly slow her down. Even her own death, if something happened, it didn't bother Seraphim, when it was her time, so be it, but she would live on kicking and screaming, refusing to let her life be taken away until that time was truly right.

Yet, as Minerva looked at her with those teary eyes, demanding an answer, Seraphim felt a bit of her resolve slip away. It hurt her so much to see Minerva cry, and normally, she would have embraced the girl, gave her a little pleasure and love, and told her everything would be fine. But this time, Seraphim had a distant look in her face, looking away from Minerva, and gazing off in the distance, like she was gazing at the heavens itself, a pained smiling crossing her lips as she did. She knew Minerva would be shocked to hear what she had to say, but Seraphim's slow and sad, yet accepting words left her lips, knowing the truth of it all and just why she felt this way "...It's because I'm already dead. I lost that will to really live a long time ago."