Road to Hashira

-01-

Right after her short conversation with Kumeno Masachika and Shinazugawa Sanemi, Kochou Shinobu continued down the corridor towards the treatment room to find her older sister, Kochou Kanae organizing her medical tools.

"Shinazugawa-san came back with horrifying injuries once again. Why is that man so reckless after all... making everyone around him worry so much." Kanae gazes slightly down with a face of perplexion and sorrow.

Shinobu looks up at her and clears her throat, "Is there anything else I can help you with, Nee-san?"

Kanae gazes back at Shinobu with her usual endearing smile, "Thank you Shinobu, but that will be all for toda-..."

"Pardon my intrusion..." Startled by the sudden, distant voice of a young man, the two sisters immediately look back at the person with the mismatched haori. The room fell silent for a while as the young man idly stared at his toes with the most bewildering blank expression. "May I-..."

"Ah, Tomioka-san, I'm very surprised to see you. Is there anything I may help you with?" Kanae, who was the same age as Tomioka, flashes a gentle and reassuring smile.

Tomioka barely makes eye contact with her which made Shinobu feel irritated for such rude arrogance. "May I use a bed? I'm hurting from my left rib."

Kanae wasted no time at all, she made Tomioka immediately sit down on a chair as she tended to his injuries. Upon freeing him of his haori and bloodied uniform, they discover that some of Tomioka's ribs were indeed broken. "Oh my... Shinobu, get some more bandages immediately!"

Shinobu shakes back on alert and does after her sister's orders. She could still hear their low, almost whispering conversations as she bolted to the supplies room.

"A straight punch on my left flank, the demons are getting stronger." Giyuu plainly explains as Kanae cleans his wounds.

Shinobu was rushing to get more bandages when she struck up a few thoughts on this Tomioka person. (Colder than the winter gale and ever so still as a gentle pond. What is with that Tomioka being so plain and expressionless with whomever he talks to? What a weird person!) Shortly after, Shinobu brings over the bandages and Kanae immediately secures Tomioka's torso to ensure the safety of his broken bones.

*3 days later*

Tomioka's recovery was surprisingly fast for a normal human being. Just today he was already able to walk around with his bandages and his left arm in cast. Tomioka did not like lying on a bed for too long as it made his back hurt. So he decided to venture around the Butterfly Mansion and found a breezy spot around the courtyard where he sat down and watched green leaves fluttering with the wind.

As he watched idly, he was soon spooked by the ever so hard-working Shinobu, "Tomioka-san! Why are you out of your bed already! Nee-san told me that you should be resting there for about a week before you can get up and walk around! You're so hopeless!" Shinobu shrugs but Tomioka barely uttered a word nor moved an inch. "Hey, Tomioka-san, are you even listening?"

Finally, he looks up at her. "Lying for too long makes my back ache. Also, I like the breeze here."

Shinobu quickly figured out that there's no getting this guy back to his bed, so she thought of a much better idea instead. "Alright, since you're already pretty much up and good, how about we commence your rehabilitation training?"

Tomioka furrows his brows but with little to no new expression. "Rehabilitation... training?"

.

.

.

.

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"Ow, ow, ow, ooowww! Are you trying to break my bones even more?!" Tomioka, almost tearing up, cries in a shrill voice.

"This is but the lightest and most merciful stretching exercise to ensure that your muscles and joints don't deteriorate during your recovery, Tomioka-san! Please pardon me!" Rather, Shinobu somehow felt satisfied stretching out this very idle and hopelessly clumsy person. "Alright, shall we get to the reflex training next?"

Tomioka lay flat on the floor as if not wanting to get up anymore. Still, they proceed.

"Since Tomioka-san can't use his left arm, I shall gladly put myself under the same handicap and will only use one arm myself." After explaining the rules, Shinobu immediately becomes competitive and excited to beat Tomioka here as well. 

With one swoop, she grabs a cup of medicinal water before Tomioka could block it and splashes all over him. "This water is actually very good for your recovery, Tomioka-san, although please bear with the awful smell." She smirks.

Tomioka still showed a blank expression but somehow Shinobu felt he wasn't happy at all. He continues to try and beat Shinobu, but the petite lady swordsman seems to have faster limbs than the masculine Tomioka. After a couple more splashes, Tomioka retires to take a warm bath.

"Would you need help with that, Tomioka-san? You can't seem to move your torso and left arm very well at the moment right?" Shinobu trails after him. "I'll just help you wipe down on your bed instead." This time, she shows a genuine smile of utmost assurance.

Sitting on his bed, Tomioka's back facing her, Shinobu gently rubs down his back with a warmly soaked cloth. Giyu remained still and nonchalant as Shinobu observed his body full of scars and new wounds, she could tell that his ribs still hurt from behind.

"I can do the front on my own..." Tomioka insists.

Shinobu was surprised that he spoke on his own. "Ah yes, please do." She leaves him with the pale of warm water and the soaked cloth. "I'll take my leave for now, please call me when you're done so I can replace your bandages." Shinobu stands up and Tomioka nods in assent.

Leaving the treatment room, she meets her sister, Kanae. "Is all well with Tomioka-san?"

"Yes, his recovery is surprisingly fast despite his injuries. I had him soaked and wiped in medicinal water to improve his recovery." Shinobu answers straight away.

"You truly are such a dependable person, Shinobu. Ara ara, I wonder what Tomioka-san would do without you. He can be quite the airhead klutz sometimes." Kanae lets out a modest chuckle.

Instinctively, Shinobu glances back at the entrance to the treatment room. "He sure is." Unknowingly, the corners of her lips slightly curve up and Kanae notices them immediately.

"Ara ara, is that the smile I love so much that I see, hm?" Kanae teases.

"Absolutely not!" Her face immediately reverts to its normal deadly glare.