jugoya:
It is music , it is a melody , it is the sound of his name in the mouth of the one he has missed oh so dearly. “ Asking about others when you’ve only just awaken ? ” Izana laughs good naturedly , and he forgets that his touch is transient as he pokes Kakucho on the forehead , “ You’re always like this. ”
“ — but if you must know , they’re doing fine. In fact , Rindou only just left a few moments ago. ” He hovers for a moment more , suddenly struck by the fact of how much time has passed. The words that once came easily now hang in the air with uncertainty. Kakucho had not sent him away when he saw him in this ghostly form. Could it be that he wasn’t , in fact , angry with him and his order of execution ? Izana does not know how to approach the topic , so instead he takes the safer route.
“ You know it’s been a while since I’ve had this view.” He gestures to the top of Kakucho’s head with a mischievous smile. In their childhood it was a familiar view , and at the time Izana hadn’t known he ought to indulge in having the greater height of the two. It seemed like he had only blinked and turned his head for a second , and before he knew it , when speaking to Kakucho he had to crane his neck upwards instead of down.
Gently he runs his ghostly fingers through the dark strands of hair upon his head. This is new too. In his memory , Kakucho’s hair is cropped short. If only he could actually feel this familiar gesture , skin against skin , the warmth , but such is life, and he is thankful enough to speak to Kakucho once more. “ When did you get so tall anyways ? It’s really quite unfair. ”
Kakucho relaxes back into the sheets upon reception of the news of his colleagues, clearly relieved as he exhales the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. When his eyes flutter open again, he’s staring at Izana. Silence lingers between them for a moment, though it’s short-lived. He doesn’t flinch away, remaining still as Izana’s touch ghosts over him, and his heart pangs in deep longing; for in that moment all he yearned for was his touch to materialize into solid flesh, to feel warmth against warmth. His hand closes into a fist by his side, and he still remembers and feels his lingering touch from their last moments together all those years ago. Izana’s playful comment stirs him out of his thoughts, blinking as he laughs quietly. A sharp pain shoots through him and his laugh is cut short, shifting slightly as he resists the urge to touch the bandages wrapped around his torso.
“.... A lot has changed while you’ve been gone.” Kakucho replies upon catching his breath, smile bittersweet as his gaze drifts off to the side - contemplative as he stares out the window. “... I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t know if I’m still the same Kakucho you knew but I do know for certain: I’ve missed you.”
Missing him was an understatement, missing was not the right word, Kakucho thinks, to describe the feeling of grief and longing that he had grappled with for so long. It’s not something he wishes for Izana to ever feel guilty about, if anything, Kakucho is sorry that he was the one who somehow got left behind.
“... Have you been around all this time?”
