Shiori, you smiled at me through your cruelty, and I was undone.

We were once innocent, you and I. I loved you as a sister, and then like a lover, though you knew it not. I wished to protect you, to be worthy of your admiration, to be your strength when yours faltered.

My kindness was never meant to belittle you. I knew you often thought little of yourself, and my days were filled with sorrow for your quiet suffering. I wish you could have seen the worth you had in my eyes, the beauty you represented to me. Dark eyed and mauve, the shadow to my light... I loved you, Shiori. I truly loved you, and wished you to stand with me as an equal.

But I could not stop the advance of that dark, twisted knot of self-hatred that ate at you. No, my presence only served to feed it. You grew to hate me the more that I loved you, and in that way we became stagnant, confined by our guilt and resentment. We circled one another endlessly, two blind stars seeking fullfillment and affirmation from one another, a poor replacement for what we lacked within.

Shiori, you weep for what you have become, but I have opened my eyes.

I cannot continue to feed this beast that festers inside you. I will not be the standard by which you eternally compare yourself. In time, you will understand why I have handed the Headmaster my resignation. You see, it is time for my graduation. The Academy, and this world, hold no more power for me, nor do the painful memories that bound us here. It is time to move on.

The past is but a crutch for those who fear the future. Emerge into the light, my dark flower, and embrace your Revolution without me.

Farewell...