Allen led Lenalee and Lavi through the now dark halls of the Order. His feet knew exactly where they were going, have made the trip almost thousands of times. Past this row, not that one, no it wasn’t this column. Ahh, here…his feet stopped and the white-haired boy still could not believe, no refused to believe, what his blue eyes saw. Beside him, Lenalee was crying silently and Lavi’s jade eye betrayed him, a single tear running down his cheek.

Finally, a year after joining the Order and a year of fighting, the Earl had been defeated. Today was the celebration for the victory and the mourning of the dead. The three, no matter how much they tried, could not get into the spirit of celebration. It felt to them like a piece was missing, someone needed to help fill the void they felt from the party. Lavi hadn’t been up to his usual antics. He wasn’t being the overly (and sometimes annoying) cheerful person. It was downright impossible in his mind. Lenalee, despite her older brother’s joyous cries for his ‘dear sister’s’ return, only barely managed small smiles throughout the day. She never realized how much he had impacted her life. And Allen Walker, the hero of the war, the Exorcist who had taken care of the Earl himself, was depressed. He couldn’t understand. This was the man who had bullied him since his arrival, but facts were facts. And the fact was, he was a comrade, and even if it went unspoken, a friend. Silent tears were streaming down his cheeks.

It was all for the man who lay before them in an open coffin. He had forced the three to let him fight Tyki. He forced his body to the limit, knowing the consequences. He knew that sometime, amidst all the fighting and death, the last petal had fallen. He knew the war would be his last mission. He knew and said nothing. He knew, he fought, and he took his last breath.

Yu Kanda was dead.