Her Pain (SleepyAsh/Kuro x Reader)

=Chapter Twenty=

A hand brushing aside your hair. Warm fingers tracing the outline of your cheek. A soft fabric pressing against your skin, the same color as the sky after a rainstorm.

You reach out to grab at the cloth, but when you open your eyes, you find yourself alone in a cold bed. Sunlight trickles through the curtains, falling across your face, bringing with it a gently warmth.

Sitting up, you rub your eyes, banishing the last remnants of sleep. Shifting your body, you move to sit at the edge of the bed. You inhale, testing how far you can expand your lungs before it starts to hurt. Surprisingly, the pain was much duller than it was the day before.

Looking down, you see three sets of footprints in the dust layering the floor. Your staggered ones and Kuro's paw prints. But also, large footprints leading toward the door.

They must be from when Kuro got up. You thought to yourself, grabbing your crutches and carefully standing up.

Following the footprints, you opened the bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. The walls were lined with windows that let in warm rays of sunlight, filling the hall with a soft glow.

After wandering around for a few minutes, you see a door open at the end of the hall and watch Tetsu stick his head out. He turned in your direction.

"Hey, (Y/n), we're all in here,"

"I'm coming," you call back.

You hurried towards the open doorway as quickly as you could on your crutches. Stepping inside, you saw Kuro lounging on the window sill, Tetsu standing by the far wall, and Hugh perched on his eve's shoulder. But then your eyes fell on an individual sitting in a plush arm chair, a knitted blanket draped over his shoulders.

"Well, are you going to say something, or just keep staring at me?" He asked sharply.

And then you smiled, for what felt like the first time in ages.

"Misono-!" You breathed.

You hobbled over to him as fast as your legs would allow, pulling him into a tight hug as soon as you reached him. Burying your face in his shoulder, you held onto him as if he was a flotation device keeping you from sinking. He hesitated briefly, but then he reached up and wrapped his arms around you, returning your hug.

"I'm sorry, Misono," You said, voice beginning to crack. "I'm so sorry."

Tears began to leak from your (e/c) eyes.

"For what?" He asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.

You balled your hands into fists, clutching the fabric of the blanket tightly. "I-I couldn't save you.  If I had just gotten here sooner, if I'd gotten to you sooner, then you wouldn't have had to- to-"

"Oi!" Misono yelled, pulling away from you. "Enough of the 'ifs'! You did help me! You pulled me out! So shut up with that kind of talk!"

You froze, startled by the smaller boy's outburst. Then you smiled.

"Sorry, I just- I was just... worried. That's all," You say.

"Don't be. As you can see, I am perfectly fine." He said sternly.

"However," Hugh spoke up. "The same can't be said for Lily."

"What do you mean?" You question, looking up at him.

"Lily, isn't... um..."

"Himself anymore," Kuro finished.

"How so?" You ask, a part of you dreading their answer.