And so, for the first time in years long past, Houjun looked into Kouran's eyes, the eyes of his beloved.
And what he saw amazed him.
The magnitude of what lay beyond those shimmering pools was above all mortal comprehension. A myriad of expansive emotions overshadowed by a dominant shine of all-encompassing love, and he knew only a small portion of it radiated back from him. He reached out to caress her shapely, beautiful face only to dejectedly rediscover that he could not touch her; she could only touch him. She caught his hand with her own two before it fell, and held it to her, eyes closed. She could feel his warmth; he could feel her cold. And thus, they were reunited, yet separated from each other by an unfathomable distance.
After a few contemplative moments of silence and observation, Houjun opened his mouth to speak. And not being one to find discouragement in a failed first attempt, he managed to speak her name.
"K... Kouran..."
His mouth caressed the name as he spoke it, his ears caressed the sound. It was foreign, yet familiar... it had been ages since he had last spoken it aloud, and it held all of the beauty of the person to which it referred.
Kouran.
"Kouran."
She looked at him, still clutching his hand in hers, and smiled a sad smile.
"Houjun."
He looked at her. Even though she was not of the living world, he could tell she was reserving herself about something. Even in death, she was still herself.
"Kouran..."
"Hai, Houjun-kun?"
Even the inflections in her voice hadn't changed, although there was a constant underlying sadness in her tone.
"...What is it? There's something on your mind..."
She blinked. She didn't think it had shown... didn't think he had noticed. But he had. She glanced at the ground sheepishly for a brief moment, then returned her gaze to him.
"It's nothing... I... was just wondering how you... how you got your scar."
Houjun blinked. The scar...? He touched his torn eye briefly with his left hand. Then he remembered. She had never seen the scar, had never known about the struggle with Hikou, had never known or seen anything after that fated day, the day that more than half of the town perished in a disastrous flood, including...
He shook his head slightly and steadied himself, pushing those memories away while he fought the urge to sink into a depressive state of regret, self-pity, self-hatred... not again. Now was the time to confront his demons, his memories properly, as the man he had striven to become. He looked at her, seeing an unsure expression on her face.
"...Houjun?"
"Gomen nasai, Kouran-chan, I... it's just that..."
"It was because of me, wasn't it? I dishonored you, and drove the three of us apart... I ruined it all didn't I?" Tears began to form in her faded, beautiful eyes. "It's all my fault..." She raised a hand and gingerly touched the vicious scar that had sealed his left eye and rendered it useless ever since what had seemed to be an eternity ago, and as she did so, began to weep shadowy tears. "I beg you... forgive me, although I do not deserve it... I am to blame for it all..."
"Iie, Kouran-chan... the blame is not entirely yours to take. Hikou and I are as much at fault as you ever were, and more so, I believe."
"You've always been the kind, forgiving soul... oh, Houjun, you never deserved the grief that you were given... Hikou once told me-"
"Iie, Kouran. Hikou... Hikou's not here, so please, do not speak his words for him."
She paused to look at him for a moment. "You still haven't forgiven him, have you? And you can't forgive yourself until you can bring yourself to forgive him."
He sighed wearily then, and closed his eye. "Kouran, I... I've tried to forgive him, and for the most part I have, but..."
"...But he still betrayed you."