Her face, it haunts. Her weak breath, it kills. Seeing her on the verge of death makes me want to die with her. No, she wouldn't want that. She gasped, and then coughed out blood. Her hand squeezed mine for support. Moments from now, she'll be gone.
The rain poured down on all of us. Those cold droplets blending with the tears that fall from my face, made it appear as if I was not crying at all.
Her eyes were slowly losing their light. I knew that her grasp on reality was dimming just as fast as the light was leaving her eyes.
With all that has happened, so much was lost. So many good men and women died. And now, she will be joining them soon and will be separated from us – from me.
I'm not saying I want her to suffer by clinging to dear life, nor am I saying that I want her to leave to end her pain. All I want is for her to stay. Just stay – with me.
She lifted her head to look at me. My eyes widened at her battered face. Her left eye was swollen, her lips bled and blood trickled down from her head to her cheek. She smiled at me. The corners of my lips twitched, but I could not smile. What was there to smile about? We both know she'll die, so how can I be happy?
"Hey, come on, we'll see each other soon," she said. "This isn't the end, you know that."
My throat closed. What was I supposed to tell her?
"Ah," I said in return.
"Do you remember," she started, "when we first met?"
"How could I forget?" I replied.
"How long has it been? Years? Decades?"
"Months, you idiot," I couldn't help but say. My hand covered my mouth immediately after saying it.
"Oh," she stopped to think for a while. "It seems so long ago."
I was surprised she didn't retort back for being called an idiot – reality was definitely slipping away.
"Hey, by the way," she punched my chin. That hurt for someone about to kick the bucket. "Never in your lifetime or following lifetimes will you ever call me an idiot and live. Got that?"
"Yeah, yeah," I said in feigned annoyance.
"Do you think we'll meet in my next lifetime?" She asked. Her eyes were fixated on the clouds behind me.
"That didn't stop us from meeting in this lifetime," I answered.
"You know, I think we were connected way before we met," she contemplated loudly.
"That's what I told you before," I reminded her.
"It's like each lifetime would not be complete if we don't meet," she went on, ignoring what I just said. "Even just meeting you on a random occasion, not necessarily how met in this lifetime, would be enough. Just a casual 'Hello' to a stranger on the street would suffice."
"You're right."
Her grip loosened, her hand was slowly slipping but I held on tight. Her breathing became heavier and deeper. It's almost time.
The rain trickled down her face washing away the blood that stained her skin. This will be the last I'll see her in this lifetime.
She gasped again; her breathing became wheezy and rough.
"See you soon," she said softly.
"Yeah," I replied just as softly.
She gestured for me to come closer. Her lips were in my ears and mine in hers.
"Sayonara," she gasped, "Shinigami."
"It's not Shinigami," I whispered, "it's Kurosaki Ichigo."