Chapter Text
It only takes a moment for their eyes to meet, as if drawn towards one another's gaze as magnets pull their opposite pole. And in that moment, one thought crosses Kagaya's mind:
/How beautiful you are, even now./
But the spell breaks once their gazes part, and he's pulled along his normal path. He can't dawdle, as much as his chest hurts at the very thought of letting her remain alone. Hopefully, he can find her again.
It's that hope that leads him back to his normal routines, but the warmth that had filled him at the sight of her fades away in time, leaving only a vague sense that something is missing. It feels like a dream, having met such a person's eyes.
A fleeting, fragile memory appears to him one night. It's not the sight of her face, nor the sound of her voice that returns to him in his dreams. It is her gentle touch, the feeling of her warm hands on his, the soft pressure of her forehead resting against his.
And yet, he doesn't remember her name.
-----
The next time their eyes meet, it's in a grove of wisteria trees.
The sunlight filters through the hanging branches with soft purple shadows casting over her white hair, and in an instant, Kagaya remembers.
She is his most trusted confidant, the woman he once gave his heart to, almost a hundred years ago. The one who stayed with him until the very end, who dealt with so much because of the cruel machinations of destiny. The mother of his children, who did so much when he could no longer move by his own power.
He can't tell when exactly she closes the distance between them, cupping his face as she smiles softly.
She knows. She might even have known from long before he'd first met her gaze, but in the moment, that doesn't matter to him. All that matters is the feeling of her hands on his skin, that same gentle warmth he remembers from his dreams now becoming reality.
"... You came back to me." she murmurs softly, tears budding in her eyes as she speaks.
"... Yes... I'm sorry for making you wait, Amane."