To Better the Last Let-Go
by SMYGO4EVA
She was hurting, the woman whose life extended beyond a human's. The one called Yaobikuni, she understood the darkness planted in her heart. She could not heal the wounds brought upon her from the need of companionship, from what his hands had wrought; no matter how much she wanted to.
She could not, and that was why she was open-chested, the black void burrowed inside her and growing.
Hana understood that all too well – hurting for the sake of being human, keeping up appearances. She saw that on the woman, apart from the bandages upon her soft skin. Her wide eyes wavered, and Hana knelt down to the floor, gently, carefully, not to frighten her. No unexpected movements were to be had, no such thing to be clawed upon and crawl inside.
"You are living through another forever, but you're suffering." Hana uttered, voice hushed, soft like a lover's concern. She leaned over the woman's curled-up body on the apartment floor, hair brushing down onto the woman's face. She turned her head to the side, trying to solve the woman like a puzzle, and put a hand against her cheek.
The woman nodded, her gaze shrinking. "I know, but I cannot leave."
Hana cupped the woman's face in her hands, steady, and let their foreheads touch. "I understand," she responded, looking the woman in the eye, "I know how fate can tether one to such a cruel circumstance." She then brushed her lips upon the woman's, a soft gasp escaping those red lips, delicately, and sifted her hand through her hair, silk beneath her touch.
The Yaobikuni's body felt lighter, almost floating. He never touched her like that, never kissed her as softly as Hana was just now. His voice kept her up at night and his hands were coarse, rough, unrelenting, and unforgiving.
Hana was tender, gentle; she held a wise glimmer in her eyes, for someone as small and child-like as she. The woman couldn't understand it, but she sensed that she was just like her.
The woman was curious, puzzled as a child, with Hana's presence, but she was still unsure. "Who are you?"
Hana put a hand on the woman's chest, and felt where the pain had ebbed slightly. "I am Hana." She said, a smile upon her features, as if to better the last-go to the woman.
The woman blinked and closed her eyes, putting a hand over Hana's. "Thank you, Hana."
Their gazes met again.
Hana regarded her, nodding, her hands entwined with the woman's, drawing her close and kissed her, tenderly.
(A/N: Yaobikuni was the character from xxxHolic manga chapter 200, the human who became immortal by eating mermaid flesh, in case there was any confusion.)