A/N: This ficlet probably has a more hopeful tone than most would discern from this particular scene, but I think it works nonetheless. Feel free to debate this, of course – constructive criticism is always welcomed. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the sandbox, I just like to play in it.

Pure

Perhaps I was born to suffer. It is true that everything I dared to love was taken from me. My little sister is old, withered, and no longer my own. The boy that I cared for was wrested from me by my own misguided hand, and is now in the heart of another. Even my very soul was taken away.

I had thought myself to be alone in my fate, in my sentence of suffering. There was a time once, long ago, when I had been above such selfishness.

You made me remember that time when I was wise, when everything was clear. Looking upon you now, I see that I am not the only one who was meant to be a creature of tragedy. Perhaps, in a way, your fate is worse than my own. For if there was ever a man undeserving of sorrow, it must be you.

Suikotsu. Were you truly a pure soul?

Such tenderness in your hands, such kindness in your eyes. I wondered how someone so untainted could possibly exist. Your purity was astounding, unreal, and too good to be true.

Beautiful is dirty, as dirty is beautiful.

Even now, I do not see Suikotsu of the Shichinintai, the mercenary, the murderer. I see only you, Suikotsu-sama – the caretaker, the healer, the man who would give his life for others without hesitation.

Never in my life have I seen a contradiction such as the one you present. Yet I cannot hold it against you. How could I, when you have given so much to me? You made me remember a time before betrayal, before death, before loneliness – a time when I believed in the goodness of humanity.

In you, I see even hope for myself.

Good is bad, as bad is good.

I am happy for you, Suikotsu-sama. I can see it in your eyes, now – the rest you have longed for. And though I regret your departure from my life, I cannot mourn your death. This harsh world is no place for your gentle soul.

Living is death… as death is living.

Suikotsu… if I could cry for you, I would.