Yuuko holds the dress reverently for a moment after Mokona closes the transmission, feeling the weight of it in her hands.
It's been a long time since someone made something for her.
She can tell that the price given in return by the girl for those cakes is far too much, the fabric soft and warm to touch, so much time and effort and thought invested into it.
The dimension witch wishes that she could give something more in return but knows that she is bound by the deal and that she will pay the price for accepting a price too unbalanced.
"Yuuko-san?" Larg asks, head tilted to the side, concerned.
Yuuko sighs a little, closes her eyes.
"It's okay, Larg-san. Go and see if Watanuki-kun would make some of those fried scallops again, would you? And find something appropriate to go with it?" She asks one of the few tangible memories she has of her oldest friend.
The mokona agrees, saluting her with their paw and bouncing away eagerly to bother her employee.
Now, to her, even friendship must be a commodity, traded for with time.
The woman walks, back to her rooms though she had been about to leave. The door slides open for her and closes softly behind her as she opens the small closet and walks to an empty space. She caresses the fabric, as dark as her hair, one last time, letting its weight slip through her fingers.
She thinks that in another circumstance she would be able to accept this without the pain she feels now, spidering out from her heart and making her wince.
Still. She appreciates this dress that she will never wear, made by two who have never truly met her because it was made for her.
Even if the price is too high it's more than worth the pain it gives to her for the memory of a friendship she will never be able to return.
Yuuko shuts the door, casting the token into darkness.
She hopes that this time the cycle can end.
Yuuko wishes to be able to be reborn.
She pulls a smirk back over her face, hiding the ache, and heads once more for the doors.