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Introduction
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Au Revoir — Again, Someday is the fifty-seventh chapter of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
Summary[]
Back during that time at Gévaudan, after everything had settled. The World Formula Alteration Device broken, Château d’Apchier in pieces, flower petals fluttering through the sky. Dante woke up with a sore head and yelled at Johann to wake up as well. Johann slowly came to, only to get struck with a splitting headache to his confusion. Dante had no idea what happened either, he just recalled seeing Johann get knocked out and immediately after having the same done to himself. Johann looked down at his palm which was sticky with blood. His face grew thunderous and bloodthirsty as he clenched his fist, making Dante break out into a cold sweat. Together the two of them sat in their misery, Dante bemoaning that they lost their target after being directly ordered by Marquis Machina, and Johann realizing they’d have to just take Chloé d'Apchier herself.
Noé ran up to and called for the two Dhampirs. Concerned, he asked if they were alright, and Dante still sulking brushed off his worries. Johann, himself now composed, asked about Chloé and the Beast of Gévaudan. Noé answered: Chloé and Jean-Jacques were no longer in Gévaudan. Noé smiled. Vanitas next to Jean-Jacques who carried Chloé stood a distance away behind him. The flower petals continued to fall like a gentle snow. He didn’t know where they were headed either.
In the present. Jean-Jacques with Chloé in his arms stands before Vanitas and Noé, having been brought there by Dante. Vanitas angrily snaps at the Dhampir for doing so, and Dante in turn brushes off his irritation. He explains that Jean-Jacques refused to leave the country until he could see them again, and Dante intended to tell Vanitas over dinner before the entire mess happened with him and Noé fighting. Noé regards Jean-Jacques with surprise that they’ll be leaving France. Jean-Jacques confirms. According to Vanitas’s advice to them, he and Chloé have been residing in a hideout to lay low, and that the safest option for them would be to leave the country as soon as they could. Noé stares at Vanitas. Vanitas side-eyes him, and admits. Once they returned to Paris, Vanitas had asked Dante to make arrangements for those two, as he and his kind had more resources and expertise in specifically these types of situations. Dante preens at the praise. Vanitas stares at him blankly.
Noé approaches Jean-Jacques and Chloé, asking with concern about the latter. Chloé’s eyes remain closed, her head remains leaned against Jean-Jacques, and she remains unresponsive no matter what happens around her. Jean-Jacques says she’s been asleep in such a way ever since she first closed her eyes in Gévaudan. Noé is alarmed, but Vanitas reassures him. She’s in this state due to the natural toll taken on her after what happened in Gévaudan. Her Malnomen was so powerful and affected such a wide area of space, creating an entirely separate dimension around Chloé. She’ll awaken once she recovers fully, and the best thing for her now is to continue her rest.
Jean-Jacques tells them that most of all, he wants to thank them in person—and so he does. He thinks about himself and Chloé promising to each other to continue living as long as they had one another. Jean-Jacques tells Noé and Vanitas, “Thank you for saving me and Chloé.” Noé and Vanitas look at him together quietly.
Jean-Jacques then awkwardly apologizes to Noé. The Vampire is confused, then he specifies for forcing Noé to drink his blood. Archivistes—Vampires with pale hair, brown skin, and who can inherit the memories of another by drinking their blood. It’s what he’d been told by Chloé when they first found Noé. Jean-Jacques had the wish for someone to remember them, but in fulfilling that wish he only forced his burdens painfully onto Noé, so he apologizes for that. Noé finally remembers what Jean-Jacques is speaking of. Brightly and earnestly, Noé proclaims that he isn’t bothered at all by that. Jean-Jacques, Dante, and Vanitas all stare at him blankly. Even without words all of their expressions clearly communicate the same thought: he should be bothered by it.
Jean-Jacques, mildly distressed, wonders if all Archivistes are the same as Noé. He had thought back on what he’d done to the other Vampire, reflected on what kind of pain he must have had caused, and came away feeling guilty and terrible, only to be faced with a completely uncaring Noé. Noé’s curiosity is peaked and he says he’s never met another Archiviste before. Noé thinks about it. For perhaps the first time ever in his life, he wonders if there truly is anyone else who is like him. Dante starts pulling on his coat and informs Jean-Jacques of the time. And so, Jean-Jacques calls to Noé one last time.
Jean-Jacques holds his hand out. Noé stares in shock. Jean-Jacques says that once Chloé finally awakens, they’ll come once again to see them. So he asks him to wait for them—and next time, they will be the ones to save Vanitas and Noé in turn. Jean-Jacques smiles. Noé recalls back when they first met, himself holding out a hand for a handshake to Jean-Jacques who was shocked and confused. Noé’s eyes shine. He takes Jean-Jacques’s hand, sealing their promise.
Afterwards, Vanitas and Noé return back inside, the former irritated still and the latter deep in thought. He thinks back on Jean-Jacques’s words, that he’d been told about Noé’s kind by Chloé. This makes Noé wonder if Chloé knows of any Archivistes other than him. Noé thinks about it. His mind starts to get dark. He asks himself—does he want to know? Before he knows it, Noé takes off running past Vanitas and Amelia, who are both shocked, towards the front door to the hotel. He bursts out into the street and the bustling crowd of people that filling the city. He looks all around, to and fro, calling for Jean-Jacques, but he and Chloé are already gone. Noé sighs in disappointment. They are gone—Noé looks forward. But there’s someone else. A figure standing in the crowd as if waiting for him, looking directly at him.
Brown skin. Pale hair. Sharp eyes. Braids flowing down in both white and black. A coat bearing a mysterious insignia.
A person whose countenance exactly matches Noé’s.
The person smiles. Noé’s eyes are wide.
Vanitas follows Noé out and asks him what he’s doing. Noé is startled by Vanitas. He whips back around to the street and crowd of people, but there’s no one there. Noé stares in utter confusion. Vanitas beckons him back inside, but Noé is still absorbed in his curiosity and hesitates. Vanitas stares at him, unimpressed. He asks if he wants tarte tatin or not, and Noé instantly forgets about everything except said pastry and rushes to follow Vanitas back inside. Together they head back into Hôtel Chouchou.
Characters[]
- Dante
- Johann*
- Marquis Machina (Mentioned only)
- Noé Archiviste
- Vanitas
- Jean-Jacques Chastel
- Chloé d'Apchier
- Amelia Ruth
- Unnamed Archiviste (First Appearance)
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Trivia[]
- Au Revoir is literally translated as "goodbye" from French.
[]
| v - e - t | The Case Study of Vanitas Chapters |
|---|---|
| Parisian Excursion Arc | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 |
| Bal Masqué Arc | 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Hunters of the Dark Arc | 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 |
| The Beast of Gévaudan Arc | 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 34.5 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 38.5 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 |
| Amusement Park Arc | 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 54.5 • 55 • 55.5 • 56 |
| Miel Incident Arc | 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 61.5 • 62 • 62.5 • 63 |
| Intermissions | 15.5 • 46.5 • 51.5 • 60.5 |
| Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Omake | Romance is a✰LOVE MISSION |
| Other | Vanitashu no Karute • Author's Notes |