Author's Notes: They've been aged up because I don't know how to write children. Akyuu is dying here.
Hieda no Akyuu, Child of Miare, was on her deathbed. It shouldn't be surprising to her really, what with the history her previous incarnations had. But no matter how many times Akyuu had died, it didn't get any less painful or frightening.
Anyone would tell you that dying at the age of 26 would be dying far too young, and yet that would be the average lifespan for all Children of Miare. In fact, she was lucky that her lifespan didn't get any shorter from the reincarnation process. The Yama had always told her that there was a price to be paid with constant reincarnation, and apparently she wasn't only talking about being haunted by her memories of her deaths.
Reincarnating was such a pain as well, do about a century of work for the Yama so that she would permit the reincarnation, hope that not too much time passed in the mortal world, then when she returns she has to immediately get started on archiving as many things into the chronicle as possible, usually with a backlog of well over a century of history.
However, Keine, who had visited her just last week, had promised her that she would try to compile as much of Gensokyo's history as possible, unbiased, while Akyuu was in the process of reincarnating. Which would be a massive help. Reimu and Marisa too, had promised to keep solving incidents to keep the human village safe while she was away. And it wasn't only humans that visited her either, even Mystia Lorelei and Kyouko Kasodani, the pair that formed Choujuu Gigaku, had come to personally thank her for her support as a fan of their music, and bridging the gap between some of the more apprehensive humans and the rebellious youkai band. They had also promised to try to improve human and youkai relations moving forward with their music, and had hoped that Akyuu could see the resulting peace and coexistence in her next incarnation.
It looked like she had a lot to look forward to the next time she reincarnates, but that didn't mean she was all that enthusiastic about dying. There are many reasons she would be sad about her death right now, aside from the obvious one being that she doesn't want to die. The main reason she was so reluctant to leave the mortal plane was right next to her, currently bawling her eyes out.
To the left of her bed, an orange haired girl, barely out of her teen years, was sobbing with all she had. Her hair was messy and unkempt, a testament to the four straight days that she had spent at Akyuu's bedside, never once heading home, only excusing herself to head to the bathroom every so often. She had spent those last four days in constant conversation with her bedridden friend, talking about every little thing she could think of. From the demon books she spent so much of her youth studying, to the state of the human village during Akyuu's absence, and even to the most random, asinine topics like the different species of birds that so happened to land on the windowsill to Akyuu's room.
And now that girl who was so enthusiastically chatting the night away to the point of desperation, was sobbing uncontrollably while clutching the covers on Akyuu's bed. It was only natural to cry this much when witnessing your oldest friend and love of your life wither away before your eyes right? At least that's what Akyuu thought, so no matter how many hours pass with Kosuzu messily crying into her duvet, she would just let her cry it out. She had died too many times now and witnessed too many of her loved ones both die and watch her die. At this point she was almost used to the sadness surrounding her death, but she didn't want to feel any less about her own passing. If she started feeling that her death wasn't anything to be sad about, then she'll slowly feel like all those tears that Kosuzu were shedding were unnecessary, and she didn't want to undermine Kosuzu's feelings.
Kosuzu, for her part, was an amazing friend and partner. Akyuu was so glad to have met her and have a chance to make real, human connections instead of half-heartedly talking with the other villagers that so obviously either feared or respected the Child of Miare too much for Akyuu to have actual, genuine relationships with them, platonic or otherwise. And yet Kosuzu was always casual with her. Straightforward and blunt when others tried to be subtle, friendly and warm when others were distant and calculating, and pushy and rude when others seemed overly-sweet and pampering. Kosuzu gave Akyuu a chance to feel like she could experience life in the now instead of living for the Chronicle, constantly archiving the past for use in the future.
And it was at this present moment that Akyuu felt the most alive. Maybe this was what others meant when they said that you felt more alive when you're about to die. Because this was the first time in Akyuu's many short lives, that the one she loved, not platonically or familial, but romantically, had stood beside her even nearing her death. And sure this was the first time in general that she had gotten into a romantic relationship, but that really just highlights how important this time is to her. The first time she actually had someone besides family cry for her. The first time she witnessed the love of her life cry herself to sleep next to her. And the first time she has ever held someone so tightly close to her.
It was then that Kosuzu looked up at her with bloodshot eyes and still fresh streaks of tears on her face. "Akyuu, y-you'll remember me w-when you re-reincarnate again right?" She asked with a hoarse, cracking voice.
Akyuu just looked on with a gentle smile, tears already dried up hours ago. "Of course I will, if I don't remember you then who will I?"
"You say that b-but most of your memories are about t-the Chronicles right? You barely remember a-any of your o-old f-friends, don't you?"
"That's different because those friendships ended years after I died, and it's not like I forget them, I just forgot some of the things we did and other things related to them. I might forget about your Suzunaan in the future, Kosuzu, but I'll never forget about you, I promise."
Kosuzu brightened up a bit at that. "Then don't forget our conversations either okay? I'd like to pick them back up if we get a chance to meet again, even if it takes a miracle for us to."
"Well, I can't exactly promise that I would be able to continue our conversation on the one Japanese Crane, scientific name Grus japonensis, that flew by my window on August 3rd, season 142, despite being over 400 kilometers from their natural flight range." Akyuu joked.
Kosuzu gave a slight pout despite her lips trembling. "Well we could also talk about demon books, or the human village, or any of the other things I was talking to you about."
Ah so that's what that was about. Akyuu allowed herself a small giggle, she really couldn't handle how adorable Kosuzu was at times. "Well I guess if I can't remember any of those conversations I'll just settle for flirting with you then."
Kosuzu blushed at that, before immediately frowning. "This isn't the time to be teasing me Akyuu."
Akyuu smiled anyway. "I know, but if you'll allow me just one more cheesy line then please listen to it." Akyuu looked Kosuzu straight in the eyes and with the coolest smile she could muster she said "Honey, I love you to the depths of hell and back, and I'll remember you even after I die."
Author's Notes: I had a little crisis here thinking "Isn't everyone in Gensokyo immortal and not young at all!?" So I could only think of the humans in this prompt. Eventually, I decided to take some artistic liberty in my interpretation of young and old love, with old love meaning staying together until the end of your lifetime, and with Akyuu's hereditary 'curse' of having a short lifespan ala King Tut, I decided to age up the 2 children of the village and was left with this chapter. Also I'm not good at writing cry/stuttering so please forgive me.