Day & Night

Ch. 5 - The Aftermath

Kyojuro's POV

I was in a dark space, and I kept hearing crying. Finally, turning in circles, I found the source coming from a familiar body hunched over, holding her body covered in blood. Tsukie...

"Tsukie..." I whispered out before I launched myself forward, running towards her. "Tsukie!" I yelled this time.

When I got closer to her, she screamed, which was so loud that I had jolted out of my sleep sitting upright in the recliner trying to catch my breath. I looked out the window, seeing the sunrise, and over to the bed that held her sleeping body. I grabbed my phone, texting her family in a group chat to ensure they knew she was safely out of surgery. I saw that the time was 7:32. The flowers I got for her was on her bedside table with the bear that went along with it.

Groaning, I rubbed my face before getting up and walking to her bed. She looked so peaceful, but the bandages that covered her body told another story. She was alive; that's what mattered the most. I reached out, cupping her cheek rubbing my thumb across her soft skin. The door opened, and the Chief of Police and Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa walked in with his own flower bouquet looking at her and then at me.

"Hey Rengoku," he said, setting the flower bouquet down on the storage cabinet where I'm sure more flowers were going to occupy the space here soon. "How bad is it?"

"A lot of broken bones, concussion, and ripped muscles," I said, taking my hand away from her cheek.

"Heard there was a Kizuki," he said, trying his best to make small talk, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.

"Yeah, number eight, and ten other demons," I said, still trying to wake up.

We stood there in silence, looking at Tsukie when the door burst open, seeing a lot of balloons with Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira in tow. Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira trailing behind her with more flowers. Mitsuri was the best translator in Japan, and Obanai was a business mogul.

"I-I thought I got to Master in time for him to stop her," she said, tearing up letting go of the balloons.

"For the last time, Mitsuri, there was more to it than that," Obanai said, rubbing his head.

"How was the drive here, you two?" Sanemi said, smiling at the couple.

"Cramped," Obanai said, setting the flowers down with Sanemi's. "I kept telling her that balloons were unnecessary, but, and I quote, this is Tsukie we're talking about she would love balloons."

"She will! When she wakes up," Mitsuri pouted and looked at me with sad eyes. "How are you doing?"

The other two men turned to look at me as well, now realizing that they had never seen me with my hair down or dressed in something outside of a suit or business attire.

"Stressed would be an understatement," I said, letting out a yawn. "I think I fell asleep a little after two this morning, and she still wasn't back from surgery."

"Looks like you're living here now; I assume the relationship is better?" Obanai asked, pointing at my bags behind me.

"Not quite. I told our families I would stay here; I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up," I said, scratching my head. I have no idea where we stand with each other.

We made small talk some more before they left, and I got ready for the day. Around early afternoon Tengen the Sound Hashira and CFO for one of Obanai's most successful businesses and his three wives arrived with more flowers. His wives took care of Tsukie by bathing her and fixing her hair up. We turned away, giving them privacy.

"How are you handling all of this?" Tengen asked as we looked out the window to the city.

"Honestly? Not well. I feel a lot of guilt about everything. Tengen, I felt so helpless. Hearing her suffering over the earpiece, and then to watch it was torture," I said, covering my mouth, still hearing the screams and feeling her limp body.

He patted me on the back as his way of showing support. "Instead of pointing out everything you did wrong because after what you put Mitsuri and me through, I should, but I can tell you are suffering in your own way. So, now begs the question, what are you going to do to fix it?" He asked the same question I kept asking myself.

"I don't know," I sighed.

"What do you know?" He asked, glancing my way.

"I can't lose her again," I answer automatically.

After his wives were done, they left. I attended a meeting through a zoom call with my father, and I couldn't focus on what was even being discussed. Later in the day, the Water Hashira and the Prime Minister's son Giyu, and the Mist Hashira being the youngest and still being a student, Muichiro arrived with more flowers adding to the growing collection. They were silent and didn't even talk before they left to go home or whatever they did.

Around dinner, the Stone Hashira and Japan's best Lawyer Gyomei, his wife, and my brother arrived with, who guessed it, more flowers. However, Gyomei's wife did bring baked goods for me. Unfortunately, they didn't stay long due to another engagement. Still, Gyomei said a prayer over Tsukie and left, leaving my brother and me together.

Senjuro brought over some dinner for us to eat together since our parents were still working.

"Brother, how are you?" He asked in between bites.

"Like shit. I'm sure father was just thrilled by my participation in the meeting today," I said, rubbing my face groaning.

"She didn't deserve what you did to her," Senjuro said, and I looked at him, shocked. Out of everything that transpired over the past few months, my brother was quiet through it all, not making a comment about any of it. I know I disappointed him most of all because of how much he looked up to me.

"Senjuro..." I whispered out.

He swallowed his bite looking at me. "You hurt her a lot. The first time she couldn't make it out of the house and cried in a hallway. I know about the arranged marriage, mother told me. I don't understand why you would lash out at Tsukie like that. She's your best friend... I just don't understand, brother, where all of this came from."

I got up from my seat and went over to hug my brother tight, and he returned the hug. "I'm sorry, Senjuro. I know I haven't been the great example of an older brother for you these past few months but believe me when I say that I will make this right for everyone," I said, leaning back to look at him. He had a smile on his face.

"I know you will," he said as we finished our meal together.

That night before I showered, I moved the recliner near to her bed to be closer. I talked to her about the whole day and everyone that visited her. A tear fell, knowing that she wasn't going to respond. As I lay there near her, I ordered another flower arrangement different from the first and told myself that this was where I would start to make things better. Instead of the little notes that came with the flower arrangements, I grabbed my notebook and wrote her letters for each day she didn't wake up. This was how the days followed, I would wake up from a restless sleep, have coffee, sneak out for a smoke to lessen the stress, interact the best I could with our friends and family, do my job the best I could from a laptop, had dinner with either my mother or Senjuro, talk to Tsukie about the day or read her news articles, and tried to sleep without hearing her screams. This went on for about a week and a half.

Later one night, when I just couldn't sleep without hearing her scream, the monitor indicated an increase in her heart rate. Nothing major to the point that the nurses were needed, but enough to get my attention. I got up from the recliner and sat beside her. Her face was scrunched with worry, and her fingers twitched. This was the first time she showed any kind of movement in the past week and a half. I held her hand and rubbed her cheek with the other.

"Hey baby, it's ok, I'm right here," I whispered, seeing her face scrunch up more and whined as tears started to fall. "Hey, shh, Tsukie, I'm right here. I'm right here," I said, leaning forward, touching her forehead with mine, closing my eyes.

"I'm not leaving you, not again, not ever," I said, meaning the words I told, wishing she were awake to hear them.

"Kyo..." I snapped my eyes open, meeting her unique blue-white eyes that were filling will tears.