A manga about a girl and a boy who must hold hands, or die

Question

I remember reading it around the late 00's/early 10's. As in the title, the story centers around a boy and a girl who must hold hands, or else they will die. I believe the setting was fairly typical fantasy - swords and sorcery, etc. - drawn in a shounen style, with some pretty crazy character designs. If I recall correctly, the girl was magical or divine in some way (which also explains the nature of their need to hold hands), who perhaps appeared out of nowhere. The pair were then given a task by someone in their home village to travel somewhere in order to remedy their hand-holding curse.

I'm almost positive it never received an anime adaption. At the time I read it, there were only a handful of chapters available, so it could very well could have been cancelled early in its run as well.

Answer 1

Possibly Double Arts (2008). I read that a couple of years ago, it's pretty good, although pretty short - I think it was indeed dropped after three volumes or so.

The title "Double Arts" comes from the fact that as the main characters have to hold hands all the time, they eventually develop a unique form of joint combat, the "double arts".

From MyAnimeList:

A boy and a girl are forced to join hands for all eternity!? In a land ravaged by an epidemic known as "Troy," the only people with healing arts capable of stopping the seizures caused by the disease are the Sisters. Although they have a high resistance to the disease, they are searching for a person who is truly immune, if they exist, so that they can find a cure. The main character is Sister Elraine, one of the Sisters who becomes infected with Troy. But, when she touches Kiri, a seemingly ordinary boy, her seizures stop. Could he be the one!?

Answer 2

Could this be Hand Shakers? It was originally a light novel/manga, then an anime.

Those who receive the Revelation of Babel must overcome many battles and trials. By grasping the hand of their special partner, these "Hand Shakers" transport themselves to the realm of Ziggurat, an alternate dimension where time no longer exists. Each pair of Hand Shakers must battle it out for the right to meet with God, who will reward them by granting them a single wish.

Tazuna Takatsuki, a high school student with a penchant for fixing things, is one of these Hand Shakers. After receiving a request for repairs from Professor Makihara of a nearby university, Tazuna stumbles upon Koyori Akutagawa, a bedridden girl that reminds him of his deceased sister Musubu. Remembering her dying wish to never let go of her hand, Tazuna grasps Koyori's hand and awakens his power as a Hand Shaker. However, Koyori's life is directly tied to her status as a Hand Shaker, meaning if Tazuna was to ever let go of her hand she would die. With meeting God being their only hope for saving her, the duo must find a way to make their unique powers mesh together, overcome the opposing Hand Shakers, and make their wish come true.