Disclaimer: I live in a vandown by the river. Okay, I know it's a bad joke. : P

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Two figures stood side by side yet they are alone in this world. Once brothers turned strangers seeing the other for the first time for who the other was. In sheer silence they watch her waiting for a sign, any indication of the answer to their questions.

With every step she takes, her long auburn tresses sway through the breeze swaying side to side. Her petite fairy shadow playfully hops, jumps, skips chasing after its owner. Her skin porcelain and flawless left untouched for fear of the slightest gentle caress shattering this perfect apparition of a girl. She twirls around for a moment to look at the two men glaring with fiery eyes. Those eyes, so deep a man could lose his every being within them in the abyss of her soul. Those windows to her soul betray her, for they reveal her every emotion at that moment. Her lips rose red, a virgin to the harsh touch of a man filled with desire part for a moment. The men hold their breath for a moment anticipating the sound of her melodious voice to ring through the air breaking the deathly silence. At the last moment her fickleness takes over releasing the slightest smile choosing silence. She kneels down to the earth bowing slightly to the great sakura tree guarding over her with its long boughs. She silently lays her head to the ground to listen for the words only to be heard by her and her alone. Her mouth moves slowly losing all sound in the whispers of the wind.

One man stirs feeling the cold chill run down his spine at that gaze. His face softens at the sheer recognition she permits him to own for that moment. His deep blue eyes once cold and lifeless come alive for her. His heart melted by her smile. He runs his hand through his long, messy locks. He lives for her and only for her hiding in the dark solitude in his soul when she leaves him. Without her he is lost. He is nothing. His eyes raise towards the peak of the hill with the lone sakura tree watching the blossoms be blown away by the breeze. For now, he may only tell her his innermost thoughts in the imaginations of his mind.

Beloved can you hear my words?
I shall love thee silently, patiently and in stillness.
I shall love thee today, tomorrow and all the days of yesterday.
My love is yours and yours alone.
My love knows no place, no time, nor space.
Silently, unwavering it waits in darkness to be found.
My love belongs in the shadows.
For I know no other way, but this, to hold onto my love for thee.
Did you know of the mesmerizing spell you cast over me?
The gift of life your lips breathed into mine with your gentle kiss,
resurrecting the frightened, lost child within.
You brought me into the light showing me how to live.
Giving only to me, asking for nothing in return.
Within moments you disappeared like a cruel illusion.
How am I to live when you have gone?
So many words left unsaid, waiting for your reply.
Answer me this, I beg of you, beloved.
Allow me to leave my restless soul behind.
For I shall endure a thousand deaths to hear those words spurt forth from thy lips.
Beloved, did you know my love?

The other man felt his body shift a little. He turned towards his companion sensing the solitary prayer saved for her. He glanced up at the angel returning to her mother earth sharing the secrets only for the blessed. He stood tall and towering in comparison to the man beside him. Shivering he cursed the cold, harsh wind dancing around his body tainting him of the loneliness that dwelled within the depths of his soul. His entire body remained stiff, unbending and unwilling to show any sign of weakness denying the fact he, himself had been conquered. The wild, unruly curls on the top of his head revealed the spirit of his once stubborn youthfulness. He bitterly smiled to himself remembering how that woman had extinguished the flames that burned within him letting them die down to a mere flicker. He closed his eyes and too recited the silent confessions to her in his mind.

Beloved can you hear my words?
I shall love thee forcefully, tempestuously, and in impatience.
I shall love thee all the days of my life continuing to the hereafter.
My love was created only for thee,
forged in the burning fires of my heart.
Screaming, exposed to the world it cries out to be heard.
My love belongs in the light.
For it knows no other way to exist for thee.
Did you know how your fierce power overwhelmed me?
Your lips forcefully pressed against mine,
calming the squall tormenting my very existence.
You tamed the spoiled, lonely child fighting against the world.
Unconditionally you gave everything, refusing my gifts of thanks.
But you vanished into thin air, abandoning me
like a mirage granting salvation in the harsh, sweltering desert.
How am I to live when you have gone?
Actions left undone, never given the chance for reciprocation.
Show me a sign, my beloved.
Allow me to feel any part of you comforting my lonely body
as an answer to my questions.
For I shall endure an eternity of pain to feel you once more.
Beloved, did you know my love?

The girl laid a gentle kiss on the tips of her fingertips and lightly touched the ground. She pushed herself up from the ground to stand upright. The long folds of the pure white dress she wore flapped against her naked legs. She bowed slightly to the old, listening sakura tree and walked towards the two watching figures.

She worries about you, two. Okaa-san told me to watch over you, she cheerily said in her high childlike voice.

She watches us all from above always, Hanazawa Rui answered in a loving voice trying to hide the pain in his loss.

And it's our job to watch over you, little one. Doumyouji looked down into that face so much like her mother's feeling his heart shatter all over again.

The little girl walked over to the two towering men not even feeling the difference in their size. She looked up at Hanazawa Rui and Doumyouji with those eyes revealing her every feeling. Placing her small delicate hands in theirs she stood up on her tiptoes finally giving them all they had been searching for.

I love you, she loudly proclaimed without a hint of hesitation.

The two men gripped the hands on the little girl guarding her in between them. They walked hand in hand down the hill watching the sun slowly treasuring each moment with the little one the woman they both loved had left behind. This angel was the last gift her mother bestowed onto the world before departing to the hereafter.

The lonely sakura tree guarded her final resting place as the keeper of their prayers. The breeze blew once more sending a single blossom to fall dancing in the wind to finally land upon the white, smooth marble stone placed in her memory. The blossom partially blocked her name, but the remaining visible words finely etched in the stone captured the true meaning of her life.

Tsukushi, an angel returns to the heavens. Wife. Mother. Beloved.

~Fin

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A/N: Here's a bittersweet little one shot in honor of Valentine's Day. You can all thank my beta cuppajava for reminding me that I never posted this here. Gah! I am now reminded why I hate writing poetry so much with this one shot.