Butterflies? Or something telling me to run away? || GiyuShino

Chapter 8 | Dream

Embrace it with open arms,

Love is such a beautiful thing after all.

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"Shinobu, always remember - life blooms like a flower, rain falls a thousand times, people come and go; eventually your lament will become a passing thought. Promise me, you'll never stop finding a way back home."

"Nee-san?" Kanae's smiling face appeared before Kocho, she always loved her sister's smile. A smile formed purely out of kindness, full of warmth; it always managed to calm her under any situation, whatever hardship she was facing.

"Don't leave me alone again, Nee-san... I wish I could stay with you, what's the point in living without you next to me." Kocho's usual smile had broken down, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. She reached out to her sister, knowing that she will never feel her warmth ever again.

Kanae smiled warmly at her, "Don't reject it Shinobu, embrace it with open arms. Love is such a beautiful thing after all."

❀❀❀

Kocho gasped out loud while sitting up from her sleeping position, her face still wet from the tears from her dream. Looking around, she had a moment of confusion about where she was before remembering that she had looked after Tomioka last night after finding him injured.

Tomioka! She hurriedly got up, some sort of fabric fell onto the ground. Hm? Did she end up bring a blanket with her last night? Ignoring the lingering questions, she quickly opened Tomioka's bedroom door, and found him sleeping soundly in his bed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kocho started to walk slowly over to where he was to check on him. She wasn't sure why was she so nervous about whether Tomioka was in his bedroom or not. Taking his temperature, she continued with her thoughts.

It was weird that she dreamt of her sister last night, she hasn't dreamt of her since the night after she passed away. Actually, she hasn't been able to dream at all ever since. It was almost as if she couldn't dream again. Each night after closing her eyes, she would just fall into darkness until she woke up again.

"Love is such a beautiful thing...huh" Kocho muttered to herself, what did her sister even mean. How could she even have time for love, especially now that she was a Pillar. She was also pretty sure that she was incapable of falling in love regardless, there was no way she could bear the pain of losing someone she held dear to her heart again. If it happened again, that time round the rage would definitely swallow her whole.

She knew deep down that no matter how hard she tried, she will never be able to smile as genuinely as her sister once did. No matter how hard she imitated, she would never be like the flower her sister was. She often wondered if things would've been different had she died in place of her sister, this pain was just too much for her to bear.

But she didn't die in place of her sister, she's the one breathing right now, so she must live on - even if it was for her sister's sake.

Forcing her smile back onto her face, she then proceeded to check on Tomioka's wounds to make sure no complications developed overnight. She tried to stabilize her breathing, but she could feel the tears resurfacing. Unable to hold back her tears, they started flowing down her cheeks once again. She turned around and walked out the door, worrying that that the soft sobs that managed to escape her would wake up Tomioka.

As the door closed, Tomioka opened his eyes. He desperately wanted to go check on Kocho, for reasons unknown, but felt that he should give her some space. "Love is such a beautiful thing?" He whispered to himself. What was Kocho talking about?