Crucify my love...

His eyes widened in shock and horror at what was done before him, "Aashi!!"

If my love is blind...

He dropped to her side, picking her up and into his arms.

Crucify my love...

Her face, paler than her normal, but not quite enough to be that of Death's touch.

If it sets me free...

Eiko brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek; she was alive to say the least.

Never know, never trust...

She's unconscious, that is all. Those were the only words his mind could fathom in that one moment.

"That love should see a color"

He got to his feet with Aashi still in his arms and took to the skies. The wind whipped through Eiko's long lavendar hair, but the only thing he focused on was Aashi's face.

Crucify my love...

Of all the thoughts that burned violently in his mind, only one stood out amongst the rest.

If it should be the way.

Why?

Swing the heartache...

He landed on a rather large flat platform up in the Nexus mountains. Looking around he found the perfect place , a mound of stones that acted as a bed as he gently placed her body on it.

Feel it inside out...

Never before did Eiko feel such a wretched ache in his heart, considering that he knew very little about emotions before he met the fallen angel.

When the wind cries...

"Aashi-sama..."

He took one of her hands into his and kissed the back of it then clasping both his hands tightly around it.

I'll say good-bye...

"Kami-sama, I pray that when the sun rises, the truth of life or death shall be revealed upon the being who sleeps before me..."

Sleep. Deep down, he hope that was all it was.

Tried to learn, tried to find...

Eiko rested his forehead on the cold stone mound, still gripping Aashi's hand. Part of him wanted to hurt himself for allowing this to happen.

To reach out for eternity...

But most of all, he thought of the very last moment before the former Sentry destroyed the one thing that seperated her from mortals such as himself.

Where's the answer?

Her face that knew so well how to hide emotions, just like an actress that knows how to play her part. Yet her final words spoke of something more..

Is this forever?

First, there was: "Gomen nasai..."

Before she shattered Aurora into the ground, she said: "Aishiteru..."

Like a river flowing to the sea...

The question of why resurfaced his mind.

You'll be miles away...

"How could you...?"

Eiko shut his eyes, as if he were to hold back tears. Eiko shedding tears? How absurd of a prospect that is!

And I will know...

He said the similiar thing to himself about finding what the humans call "love" before he met Aashi on that day in the forest.

I know I can deal with the pain...

"If you love me..why did you do this? What did I do wrong?"

It's natural of Eiko to take blame upon himself whenever things went wrong, but this time he couldn't see what more he could've done without Aashi keeping distant from him in some way.

No reason to cry.

Eiko did all he could to express his love for her. He thought she was happy.

Crucify my love...

For the longest time he knew that something was on her mind. Despite their closeness however, he wouldn't force her to speak if she wished not to.

If my love is blind...

The dam in his mind caved in and a myriad of memories rushed his brain. The happiness he felt every time he saw her, the feeling of their embrace, the satisfaction of knowing they found security and trust within each other.

Crucify my love...

A rather weak grin spreak across Eiko's face, remembering that afterall, his first kiss was from Aashi's lips and all those that followed.

If it sets me free...

That dreaded question shook the man back into reality.

"...Why...?"

Never know, never trust...

Eiko tightened the grip of his hands around her hand, as if the mere pressure of it would bring her back.

"That love should see a color"

Because of the memories that were given to him by his creator, Eiko knew right well what heartache felt like.

Crucify my love

Feeling it for the first time on his own, however, was something completely unexpected for him.

If it should be the way...

And with all things new to him, the warrior dares not take them lightly.

Till the loneliness shadows the sky...

With all the magic that Eiko could conjure, he knew that nothing he could do could revive her. With what she did, the right to live or die was, in the end, her decision.

I'll be sailing down and I will know...

"Open your eyes Aashi...please...let me see them once more..."

He softly pleaded while the mountain breeze seemed to sigh in sympathy for him.

I know I can clear clouds away...

Even now, with all the emotions that love brought about through the time spent with Aashi, these strong feelings made him uncomfortable.

Oh is it a crime to love?

Would he truly have been happier had he and Aashi not met? Would the absence of love actually been a blessing for him?

Swing the heartache...

It was hard for him to remember, but he knew exactly how his life was before the fallen angel walked into his life.

Feel it inside out…

Filled with nothing but silent lonely nights and days that dragged on with no purpose.

When the wind cries...

Eiko could never repay Aashi for all the joy and fond memories that they had shared.

I will say good-bye...

The question of why, now replaced with something else.

Tried to learn, tried to find...

"What now...Aashi-san...what am I to do now?"

The moon rose, being part of the longest night of Eiko's existence, and its radiance shone down upon and lit Aashi's features a bit more. Eiko's heart sank even more at the sight.

To reach out for eternity...

"If the dawn brings no healing spell on this tortured heart, let those who watch us foolish mortals from their high thrones know that my love for you is eternal. Even if our lives may not be..."

Where's the answer?

He kissed her cheek as if that was the last kiss he would ever give to her, or to anyone for that matter. Eiko stood up, looked over her face and put the hand that he was holding the entire time on her stomach.

Is this forever?

From that kiss and every move he did afterward made the man feel that he was turning away from not just the person that taught him love, but also from love itself. He spun on his heel and walked to the end of the platform.

If my love is blind...

There he stood, the wind picked up and made his cape flap in the bitingly cold air. Eiko couldn't feel the icy breeze. He refused to feel it.

Crucify my love...

A shooting star, of all things Eiko had to see that night, it didn't have to be a shooting star, but he did. Even after it disappeared, he stared out into the darkness that he knew so well.

If it sets me free...

He couldn't predict the future, so whether Aashi's sleep was only temporary or not remained uncertain. It wasn't the aftermath that bothered him, it was the action itself.

Never know, never trust...

"How am I to find happiness now...if you are to leave me Aashi?"

Everything felt, said, and thought was a knife-stab into Eiko's heart. Even the dropping of the repectful term "sama" that he used to jest with Aashi about felt painful.

"That love should see a color..."

The product of technology shifted his eyes to the horizon, where the ocean that Aashi loved being near so much was way off in the distance. His creator made him strong and built to last for centuries upon centuries in a harsh world.

Crucify my love...

Yet his creator failed in one aspect of Eiko. The strength of the world beyond what is physical: the world of heart and soul. Eiko would have to find that strength on his own.

If it should be the way.

The man continued to watch the rest of the night play its sad lullaby, and just before dawn broke upon the Nexus, a solitary tear rolled down his left cheek, burning that side of his face before falling onto the cold floor.