Beautiful Together
The fire burned and crackled with the same sounds as the Ruining robots surrounding them in the world, illuminating the cave in which they were staying the night. Ringo was asleep with Ohji in their little truck while Lyuze and Casshern sat by the warmth of the blaze. Lyuze leaned into Casshern's side as he held her close with his muscular arm clutching hers. They both stared, silently, into the fire, contemplating the recent circumstances.
After the two had fought with each other and Lyuze had confessed her feelings for Casshern, they set off to see Luna. Once there, they discovered the dark secret of her healing and everyone agreed that they would reject her sort of healing, even knowing that they would one day succumb to The Ruin. Well, everyone except for Casshern.
The silence was killing Casshern inside. He was usually accustomed to silence, having been alone for so long, but he was worried about Lyuze. He had indeed noticed that her Ruin was advancing, and quite rapidly. He had also confessed to himself that he loved Lyuze, but it was hard knowing that he would outlive her and he didn't know what he would do without her. There had to be something they could do that didn't require a healing from Luna.
He turned his gaze towards her. Her face dazzled with the reds and yellows from the fire reflecting in her thoughtful eyes. He wanted to remember this moment forever, when he believed that she was more beautiful that even him in his indestructible body.
"Lyuze," he whispered.
She glanced up, pulled from her thoughts.
"Yes, Casshern?" she whispered back, looking deep into his eyes.
"If there's anything you feel you need to talk about, you can tell me. You know that, right?" He didn't think this would actually elicit a response. She was, after all, someone who would rather not bother people with her problems. But it was worth a shot.
She sighed heavily, turning her gaze back towards the fire. She realized that it was only a matter of time before Casshern noticed that she had something on her mind.
"All I can think about now is how much time I might have before I succumb to The Ruin. I don't want to leave Ringo behind. I don't want to leave you behind."
He knew this. He knew she was afraid of dying just like the rest of them. That wasn't a surprise. But, to know that she was even more afraid of leaving him alone did come as a bit of a shock. She really did care about him.
"To be honest, I don't want you to go either. I've spent all this time searching for Luna so I could find a way to heal you. Now that we've rejected that, I don't know what to do. But I swore to myself that I'd find a way to keep you alive and I'm not going to give up just yet."
She looked back to him. His unwavering determination to help her was so…not like him. Or, at least, not like that Casshern that she wanted to kill before. Then again, that was the old Casshern. This shouldn't be so strange now. Still, it filled her with a hope that she didn't know she still possessed.
She leaned in closer to him, like a child trying to escape from the cold. "Thank you, Casshern."
They sat like that for the majority of the night. Lyuze finally drifted off to sleep, but sleep never found Casshern. He spent the whole night trying to think of a way to save Lyuze. Finally, a thought struck him.
"Lyuze, Lyuze, wake up!" he whispered as he nudged her into consciousness.
She looked up at him, drowsily, but slightly alarmed. For what reason would he wake her up from such a peaceful sleep?
"What is it, Casshern?"
"I just thought of something! If Luna's blood can grant eternal life because she has eternal life, then maybe my blood can do the same!"
Overwhelming joy surged through the both of them. Even the possibility of this excited them to no end! Then, suddenly, Casshern turned away from her, almost shy. She was confused. What should he be shy about?
"Casshern, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Would you… Would you like to test this theory now?" He looked back at her, anxious. She understood what he meant now. They both knew that some of the people Luna healed experienced great pains when they regenerated the parts of them that had been ravaged by The Ruin. He wanted to know if she was willing to endure this.
"…Yes, Casshern. But, first, let's move a little further away from the truck. We wouldn't want to wake Ringo or Ohji."
She tried to lift herself, but found that she couldn't. Her legs were stiff from her Ruin. She was getting weaker and weaker. But, without saying anything, Casshern lifted her up, bridal style, and carried her further into the cave to the shore of an underground lake.
He set her down gently before sitting down next to her. In the moment of silence that followed, they both hoped that Casshern's theory could be right.
"Lyuze, draw your blade," Casshern almost commanded. She was shocked for a moment. Did he really expect her to wound him voluntarily?
"D-do I really have to…" she started.
"No," he interrupted. "You don't have to do anything. Just trust me."
They locked eyes for a moment before she looked to her arm and drew out her blade. He looked at it for a moment. Then, he ran his palm across the sharp edge, wincing in pain; a pain that was worth it all.
"Casshern!" Lyuze called out in concern.
"Hurry, before I heal myself," he warned.
She watched his hand as the blood trickled to the ground. She leaned forward and lapped up the blood seeping from his wound, careful to not waste a single drop. She could hear him gasp as her tongue slid across the gash in his hand.
Suddenly, she looked up into his eyes, longingly, only to be met by an equally wanting gaze. Casshern lifted his hand and cradled her face in it, wiping a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth. They both leaned forward and their lips met. The love they felt for each other, their gratefulness towards each other for kindnesses they did not ask for, was all shown within this single, passionate kiss.
They pulled apart to stare deeply into each other's eyes.
"Thank you," Lyuze whispered before she began to wince in pain. She clutched her sides to hold in the scream that was fighting to escape. It felt like every inch of her skin was burning like fire. Suddenly, she felt Casshern's muscular frame embrace her tightly.
"Lyuze, you can do this. I'm here," he encouraged. She was shaking uncontrollably as her body repaired itself. Finally, after her Ruin had been fully reversed, they sat there, embracing. Casshern listened as Lyuze's heavy breathing slowly calmed itself. She pulled away from the embrace to check to see if it had actually worked. Her wrists were rust-free and the chunk of her neck that had broken off had grown back. She was healed.
She looked up at Casshern's gentle smile and returned it with her immense excitement.
"I can't believe it. It actually worked! I have to go tell Ringo and Ohji!" she exclaimed as she jumped up to go back to the campsite.
"Wait!" he called as he grabbed her arm. She looked back, surprised.
"You can tell them in the morning." He sent her that gentle smile again and she knew immediately what he meant.
She sat back down next to him and looked deeply into his eyes. She leaned in and gave him one last goodnight kiss before they went to lie down on the shore of the underground lake. Casshern wrapped his arms around Lyuze's waist, listening to the waves rolling gently back and forth until sleep found them both.
"Casshern! Lyuze! Caaaassheeeeern!" Ringo called into the cave. When she and Ohji woke that morning, they weren't around the fire, so she decided to look for them with Ohji following closely behind with a lantern.
Lyuze woke slowly at the sound of Ringo's calls. She was obviously worried about her and Casshern.
Casshern felt Lyuze stir under his protective arm and smiled into her ear, whispering, "Pretend you're asleep."
Lyuze smiled and closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She knew where this was going.
Ringo reached the top of a little hill before catching sight of Casshern and Lyuze on the shore. Light shone through a small hole in the cave wall, illuminating their sleeping forms with a dazzling light. Ohji soon strolled up next to her and noticed them, too. Ringo gave the situation a puzzled look before Ohji spoke.
"C'mon, Ringo. Let's give them a little more time to sleep while we fix breakfast."
"OK, Ohji! Besides, I wouldn't want to wake them up."
Ohji looked down at the little girl he knew was so wise beyond her years.
"They look so beautiful together."
Ohji smiled and turned to walk back to the campsite with Ringo playfully running after him.
Lyuze began to giggle when she knew that the other two were out of earshot.
"What's so funny?" Casshern inquired.
"She's right, you know," Lyuze answered cryptically.
"About what?"
"We are beautiful together."
Casshern smiled and tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to him.
And they laid there, enjoying the morning sun on their faces.