#...ish

That being she encountered, the one with the butterfly for a head, it promised her the ability to say goodbye to her loved ones and to always find closure in farewells. That she'd be able to grant them peace before they exhaled for the final time if only she was willing to carry the same coffin it did for decades.

She accepted it.

Of course she accepted it.

What else was she supposed to do? Watch you continue taking boluses to prevent your body from rotting further only for those very boluses to rot your mind instead?

Daiyu missed the way you'd laugh whenever she'd fret over nothing. Daiyu missed the way your eyes would light up whenever she'd sneak into your quarters and bring snacks with her. Daiyu missed the way you'd lean and melt into her touch even if you had a fight earlier.

Daiyu missed your smiles.

She missed your smiles so much.

She never wanted you to die nor would she have accepted the chance to and your suffering herself before. The last thing she wanted was for you to leave like her other loved ones had, but what other choice did she have after that day— the very day you stopped smiling?

That day, when the boluses stopped working yet continued to rot your mind all the same?

She denied it for so long, she didn't want to acknowledge it— not you, anyone but you. But after that day, your body was nothing more than a breathing corpse. Daiyu prayed, to whichever god still existed in this accursed city, that the boluses killed your mind long before your body began to fully fall apart.

The thought that you might still be in there — imprisoned inside your own body and forced to feel your body rot hour after hour — broke her heart into pieces. All because of her denial, all because she couldn't bring herself to hurt even a single strand of your hair. Well, what was left of your hair anyway.

She accepted that being's offer in hopes that it would give her courage to do what she couldn't alone. And it did. In exchange for the heavy weight on her back, Daiyu finally found the courage to do what she needed to do.

But even that wasn't enough.

By the time Daiyu returned to your side, it was too late.

You had died. Slowly. Painfully. Excruciatingly.

On the bed where the two shared so many memories, touch, kisses...

You died waiting for her.

You died before Daiyu could give the smallest amount of relief.

You died.

You died. You died. You died.

Daiyu will never hear you laugh again. Daiyu will never see your eyes light up again. Daiyu will never feel your touch again. Daiyu will never see you smile, never.

She didn't understand.

She thought she made peace with the fact that you'd never smile again long ago. And yet…

And yet…

Daiyu found herself lying inside the coffin given to her; her arms wrapped tighty around your waist. when she closed her eyes, she could feel the tiniest bit of warmth radiating from you.

Perhaps this way, she would get the chance to see you smile again.

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