⭑⋆★ 𝓚𝓪𝓸𝓻𝓲

YOU SAID FOREVER! TELL ME, WHY CAN'T YOU STAY?

Those that burn brightest, burn fastest.

[ writing.fox ] I feel like Sora should be nominated for Dad of the month instead ngl.

𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚒 𝙰𝚜𝚊𝚔𝚊
ᴍᴜsᴇ ɪs 17, 𝙽𝙾 𝙻𝙴𝚆𝙳
ʜᴇᴀᴠɪʟʏ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴ
ʙᴜɪʟᴛ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴀᴏʀɪ
ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ!

❝. . . 𝙸 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.❞

. . .

She'd be sad, if she were still here.

Instead her reaction would be welcoming her into whatever afterlife exists with a warm, friendly and familiar hug.

. . .

i loved & i loved & i lost you.

and it was enchanting to meet you.

"Hey.....Are you okay?..."

Sayori would ask as she felt Kaori's hand slipping from her grasp....There's a moment where she's just staring at the expression on her face...

"..."

Her hand had gone limp.....her chest had stopped moving with her breath...No....Her breathing had stopped entirely.-

have been her? That's what Sayori was thinking.

"....Kaori...I love you..."

Her voice was shaking as she finally allowed herself to cry.

++

......

......

There was no more movement. Everything felt so quiet, all around. A painful silence took over the library, as that hand fully slipped and dropped.

......

......

......

Kaori.. was gone.

..... it would. But as her grip continued to weaken, and eventually her hand fully slipped, the gentle rise and fall of Kaori's chest came to a halt.

Her eyes closed gently, and a smile on her face. A final expression of happiness, for being able to be with the girl she loved so much...

......

++

"......."

She could still hear those words. But she felt too tired to answer her. To ask. To speak at all. Like a weight that was quietly crushing her chest, slowly draining the bits of energy in her.

........

Her hand began to feel weaker, still holding on, yet slowly slipping.

"I love you too.."

She replied, in a similar whisper, closing her eyes now, still holding her hand. No more words..

But that firm grip wasn't letting go just yet. She was still fighting to stay alive, even if she knew she likely wouldn't make it back to the hospital.

There were many things they wanted to do, both of them.. but life wouldn't be as kind as to give them more time. And Kaori knew it, but she still couldn't bear to tell that to the girl she loved so much.

A hand moved to hold Sayori's, with a gentle and warm grip, trying to comfort her.

++, but she didn't want to. No, she wanted to spend her last moments with Sayori, instead of surrounded by doctors doing everything possible to keep her alive for just a few more days..

Maybe it was, but Kaori herself had that same wish, deep down.

Smiling softly as she nuzzled against Sayori every few minutes, to try staying awake, and to give her some reassurance.. because she could tell that the pressure on her chest was getting more intense. She should return to the hospital++

Kaori remained there her head resting on Sayori's shoulder, her eyes looking at the amazing art of the manga, as she heard Sayori voicing the characters. She did such a good job.. though perhaps she was a bit biased.

".. I can try, but I don't want to force my voice too much, especially if we're gonna be here a while to get through all the volumes."

She smiled, sighing softly and turning her head a bit to give Sayori a gentle kiss on the cheek.

[ writing.fox ] I mean I feel like the Joker is definitely overrated, and all those are pretty good.. honestly I can accept this statement.

"I had lots of fun too. And that's good~! We'll practically have the whole place to ourselves!"

She laughed a bit, before looking for a nice place where she could sit with Sayori to read together, leaning on her shoulder to rest.

"Oh, I guess we didn't finish it, now that I think about it.. it's still ongoing, isn't it?"

... it sure is, and it looks like it will be for a while. More than Kaori can wait for.

"Though I certainly don't mind reading some more..!"

you deserve the love you keep trying to give everyone else.

i love you for all that you are, all that you have been, all that you're yet to be.

"Phew!~ Nice job, Sayori!"

She said, grabbing one of Sayori's hands, gently holding it and squeezing it softly. She wanted to feel the warmth of those hands one more time.

"What do you want to read, by the way..?"

"I love you too."

She took some small deep breaths, pulling the blanket over her head and face, to hide her expression from both Sayori and the rest of the hospital.

She didn't want to seem weak, in one of these moments, so she hid the weakness away, showing Sayori only her strength.

".. ready."

".. that's fair. I've already asked so much of you, sorry. I guess in a way, we've both earned to be able to rest, haven't we..?"

Some tears began rolling down her face. This was certainly a painful conversation, but she was glad she got to have it.

++grief to some extent."

She held the other's hand tightly. Squeezing it gently.

".. yeah, I hope she'll be alright. Hopefully you and her little sister will be there for a bit once I'm gone.. I know you probably also don't have much time remaining, being realistic.. as much as I hate to admit it. But please, I pray that you'll be able to stay with her and help her though the++

The warmth that Celia's hand had was soothing. Being able to be with one of the people she loved..

.. which brings her to her next question..

".. do you.. think Sayori is ready to accept it..? I'm.. not sure how I can tell her. I want to take her out on one last date."