Can't I See You One Last Time?

Chapter 39: Love has Faded Away

"What are you doing chained to the floor?"
His head shot up and he started looking for the voice he hadn't heard since he was living life in the mortal realm. However, it seemed that the voice was only inside his head. Usually, it would be weird, maybe even insane, that there was a different voice in his head, but it wasn't. With his current situation, he wasn't surprised.
"You must be my predecessor. It's a pleasure to meet you."

It was silent again and the voice didn't speak. He thought that his response was not what was wanted and closed his eyes.

When he closed his eyes, he found himself in a white plain. His chains were gone, and he was able to stand for the first time in centuries. This was the first time this had happened, and the plain wasn't created by himself. That had to mean that it was created by someone else. It meant that someone wanted something from him, and he was right. He looked out and saw a figure of a person.

The figure got closer with it's long ponytail swing as it walked. The closer they got, the easier he could distinguish the traits of the person. The person was male who looked on his 20s, had long red hair, had a scar like birthmark on his forehead, and bright red eyes.
"What are you doing chained to the floor?"
It was the same voice that he heard in his head. This was his predecessor. The person he was going to replace when everything was over. The successor smiled,
"I still have things to do here."

Successor and predecessor stood in front of each other. Each looking over the state of the other. The predecessor didn't reprimand the decisions his successor was making. If that was what he wanted to do, he was going to allow him to do so. The predecessor spoke,
"Resolve your attachments soon. Before everything your doing becomes for not."
The successor smiled again, but this time it was a sad one.
"I see...your expiration date has been set. This may be the final time I see you, and so, a proper goodbye is in order."
The successor bowed to the predecessor,
"You served our god well. Thank you, and I hope you rest well within eternity."

"I can't believe we got scolded by someone who doesn't even know what's going on."
Ashamed. That's what they felt. Ashamed that they had to be put in their right minds by someone who isn't even 20 years old. It was distasteful. It showed that they had to clean their act up, and fast.

"Tanjiro! Slow down!"
Inosuke and Zenitsu were chasing after their friend who had left the cafeteria after scolding everyone. No matter how many times they asked him to flow down, he didn't. They had never seem their friend like this in all the time they had watched over him. They had seen him mad enough to exert the most deadly of aura. They had seen his cry over the death of his family. They had seen him disgusted because of people's urge to get married. They had seen him smile from seeing everyone laughing together. They had seen almost his every emotion and facial expression, expect this one. This emotion...they couldn't figure out what it was. Was it annoyance?
Anger?
Stress?
Was he under stress too?
They really didn't know. Right now, they couldn't understand the friend they've been with for the past thousand years. It was frightening, but it was something they had to get used to.

Every since they had both started a turn together, they had merged the two mansions. Ever since the mansions were merged, their house had been called Serpent's Love. A simple combination of names with two hearts behind it. It was a beauty. It was the beauty of two people who loved each other for thousands of years. It was the worry if the other was really going to be alright. The worry that the other could disappear without warning.

"Mitsuri, how are you feeling."
Iguru walked behind his lover and slowly wrapped his arms around her abdomen. He waited for a response. He waited until she could gather words to say from her fading consciousness.
"...fine."
It seemed that Misturi had used the last of her normal sparkle half a year ago, in the meeting, to explain the coming ending for her. No, it wasn't an ending. It was just a short pause on her life. It was just time for her to rest...that's what Iguro thought about it. His lover just needed some rest from all the hardships hey have gone through. After she got her rest, she would be smiling like she always had. She would continue to brighten up his world.
"Ig...ur...o..."
Iguro answered like nothing was the matter. Like all this was just because she was tried. He convinced himself of it. He convinced himself that she would be fine after no time. A good eight hour sleep would make her spirits high again.

He was lying. Lying to himself. Iguro knew that Mitsuri was already found moving difficult. She was tried to stand and her leg gave out on her. When she tried to move, and she couldn't. It was like she had forgotten how to move. It was like she had paralyzed herself. Now, it was all she could do to form words and voice them out.
"So...rr...y..."
He rubbed she stomach gently, making small circles of comfort for himself and her.
"Why are you apologizing? Everything is going to be fine."
It was a struggle to snuggle closer to her everything even when she used all her strength. Such a strong willed, stead fast, Hashira had resulted in this state. The state of the dead. Breathing, but with little strength left in the body. He could already imagine her going into battle like this, 100% vulnerable. Dying over and over.

Iguro rested his head on top of Mitsuri's, not putting all the weight on her for the fear of injury. He whispered to himself over and over. He told himself that everything was going to be fine. His lover was going to be just fine. She was going to be just fine, and when everything was over, they would have a child together.
"It'll be fine. I'll be fine, you'll be fine."

Misturi's earring had started to fade days ago, but she could partially hear what he was saying. The fact that she was struggling to hear him from this distance was hard for her. She could hear the pain in his voice. She could vision his life after she was gone. His life that would be filled with nothing but dead flowers. She wanted to stay. She wanted to keep staying by his side. To say 'good morning' and 'good night.' To say 'I love you' when he's going through hard times. To be there for him, in his world that was beautiful to live in.
"Lo...lo...lov..."
She couldn't even say those three meaningful words during her last moments. It was to difficult to say a word that was only a single character.
"L..."
Without her knowledge, tears had started running down her cheeks from her dawning eyes. She wanted to say it, even if it was just broken pronunciation. She wanted to express her love for him one more time. Just one more time.
"Lo...love...y...you..."

Iguro felt his lover's body go limp in his arms. He wanted to act like everything was okay. He didn't want to accept that his most precious person had left him alone I'm this painful world.
"She's asleep. Just asleep."
Behind the mask was a smile. A fake smile. A forced smile. His mask was getting soaked boy the tears running out of his eyes. The tears he acted like weren't there.
"She'll wake up...it's fine..."
Iguro stayed, clutching his lover's lifeless body and cried out the lies he was telling himself.

These times were filled with negative emotions. Fright, disgust, sorrow, and so, so many more. The sun had disappeared from their lives. They could no longer feel the warmth of the bright sun kissing their skin every morning. There was no longer an entity that could light out the world without a problem. The only thing they could feel were the tears of the sky being shed because of the desperation expressed by the people it looked over.