“W-what?” Tayui questioned as she fumbled with her reply. She didn’t understand, nor could she understand. What could her daughter mean when she said she had done it? The cruel act that had taken her sweet daughter could not have been self-inflicted, could it?
Tayui’s vision began to waver as her daughter’s response became less believable. For a split second, it was no longer her daughter she was speaking to, and instead, someone else entirely. Someone larger and darker, to whom those azure eyes belonged. Tayui squinted, trying to figure out why it was so disconcerting. She was seeing herself in her daughter – that had to be why she saw blue eyes. But why did she look like this?
Overwhelmed, Tayui closed her eyes and took a moment to steady herself. When she opened her eyes again, it was Noir standing before her with skies in her eyes. But it could not be Noir, not if Noir was dead. She had been coming to Tayui in her dreams and thoughts, but she wasn’t real, was she? She couldn’t be. This was not her ghost: Tayui had seen enough in her time to recognize one. Although they changed according to the ghost’s needs and perceptions of themselves, this was not a ghost. This was Haku Soul.
“Why?” was the only word she uttered. Quickly, she added: “why would you do that to yourself?” She did not know if Haku could tell that the fantasy was no longer real, or if he even cared. She could still see Noir flickering before her, like a slowly fading flame. But when Tayui looked away and examined the fire from the corners of her eyes, she could tell that it was not her precious daughter standing before her. Noir was not a monster, and she could never harm anyone, especially not herself.