a/n: Based on chapter 42 of the manga.
hourglass
Her palm is against his, and she's never felt the sundering so violently.
"Daikoku . . ."
Daikoku's gripping her hand tightly, pressing it to his face, now damp with labored sweating and something else so strange and familiar and mortal.
She remembers padding her thumb across his cheeks ages ago when they had decided to let go of their child, and she has promised to herself that it would be the only time she'd see him shed something so human.
She's a goddess, and she has found him, made him her shinki, her partner and companion, and she'll make sure that his tears will only define a fraction of their eternity, that the pain of losing is palliative against time. She'll stay by his side, and there'll be nothing but cascades of laughter, lazy afternoons, mindless chatters and perhaps, affectionate leanings.
She won't deny the comfort she feels whenever she pretends to nod off on his broad, well-sculpted chest, or whenever his stubbled chin grazes across her forehead, lulling her to sleep. She flirts with other men just to tease out a reaction from him, and she likes it when he becomes so reactive, so protective of her. She hopes to forget about being a disastrous goddess sometimes, to simply act like a skipping, naive kid instead because then she won't have to worry about him worrying about her.
But she's hearing his litany of sorrow again, and it pains her to think he's suddenly a stranger to her.
"Stop crying, will you?" she lectures feebly.
"You idiot!" he grits out, his voice subdued.
She manages to smile because even when she's done something he deems foolish, he still dishes out his anger in a halfhearted manner, admittedly resigned to her follies.
But it's not foolish for her to choose his life over hers. When Rabo deployed his attack, there wasn't even a split-second hesitation of releasing Daikoku because he's never just a vessel. She's her precious protector and savior.
And from that duty, she's releasing him.
"Milady . . ." he croaks.
She lets out a strained chuckle.
"I thought I'd be alone forever, you know. Then I found you and it was love at first sight – "
"I know. You told me so . . ."
She squeezes back his hand with what diminished strength she has and widens her smile, dragging air into her lungs.
"It still is even at this last sight."
"Stop saying such nonsense!"
"I hurt you when we lost Daigo – "
"None of it was your fault, Kofuku. Please don't – "
"I cause nothing but disaster, don't I? But at that moment, I promised I'd bring you happiness – "
"I am happy with you!"
She can feel her body pulling away from gravity, crashing into suspension. She extends her arm, wanting to carry the weight of his skin, remember its breaks and lines before she lapses into stillness. He immediately covers her hand with his, stroking it frantically as if trying to pulse life into her veins.
"Not as much as you'd be if you had a child."
At this, she feels him stiffen, and she peers at him with her failing eyes.
"When I reincarnate, I want you to raise me as if I were your own child."
Her own tears are now stinging her vision, so she closes her eyes, allowing some drops to fall off her lids. There's silence before she hears his steeled voice again.
"No. When you reincarnate, it'll be love at first sight again, you hear that, Kofuku?"
She hears him laugh in faltering beats as she feels the back of her hand being pressed against his lips.
"When you open your eyes again . . ."
She feels herself floating.
"You won't call me Papa. You'll . . ."
The pain in her abdomen now unfelt –
". . . ask me to marry you right away. You'll . . ."
Daikoku's touch dissolving.
...
She opens her eyes and sees him, a strange man with red eyes and unruly hair, for the first time.
...
Fin.
(I might write a Kazuma/Veena ficlet next as another writing exercise after a three-month hiatus. To my Naruto readers, please bear with me just a little longer, I'm still sorting out my life and I regret that I can't review stories nor give updates yet.)