Adapt. // kny x insert m!reader

14 - VISIT.

Just as promised, two days later, Shinobu had Y/N do a few exercises for his ankle. And just as she had promised, it was nothing serious. They were just doing motion range exercises, stopping where it hurt a lot. His sprain was mild- a fact which the young boy was delighted by. It should've been way worse with how he was in the air the moment before he landed and with how messy his landing was. It meant that it would only 4 to 6 weeks to heal, which he already knew were going to be unbearably boring, especially with the rehabilitation training which he thought of as 'baby training'. From the way the Insect Pillar described it, it was going to be very bland and Y/N wasn't looking forward to it at all. He was also going to have to do the cups and tag game again, but this time against his Hashira friends, which was not only going to be embarrassing, but it was also going to establish the gap in skill between Y/N and the others. He was already aware that the gap was big, but he just wanted his mind to be calm for a bit, instead of worrying about catching up to everyone else. But if he was going to be appointed a pillar, then he would have to train even harder. Harder than ever, perhaps. Would he have to train until he'd faint again? Until he'd cough up and sweat blood? Probably. Was he ready to do that to himself again? Absolutely not. He dreaded every single second of even thinking about that kind of training. It was bound to bring back horrible memories, which he was not ready to relive. But was he really going to be okay with being the weakest Hashira? Sure, everyone else had valuable experience that made them superior to him nonetheless, but was he really going to settle down with that fact and be okay with it? No. He was ready to do anything and work as hard as it would take to be able be regarded worthy to have a spot among the Hashira.

He had been awake for the past 3? 4 hours? He couldn't tell. Maybe it had been 10 minutes, maybe it had been multiple hours- he couldn't tell, but he also couldn't fall asleep. He suddenly heard the door to his room creak softly, so he quickly pretended to be asleep. He was used to getting visits from his friends, but not late at night. He knew whoever came in the room wouldn't be able tell the difference, since his breathing was the same no matter what he did- unless his lungs were punctured or if he were in a tiring fight, but it wasn't for case right now. He opened one of his eyes to peak at whoever had entered his room- because whoever it was, their footsteps were soundless, so he wouldn't know where the person is, not who they are. However, the moment he opened his eye, he was met with a face awfully close to his own, yet he couldn't feel the other's breath. Were they holding it in? Both of his eyes shot open and he scooted away from the figure, which unfortunately caused the boy to fall off the bed with a thud. "Ow.." Y/N said meekly, rubbing his head that came in contact with the cold floor tiles. "Sorry. I just couldn't tell if you were asleep or not." The monotone voice of the Mist pillar filled the room. The ravenette flicked on the light switch and walked over to the fallen male, picking him up and placing him back on the bed. "What are you even doing here so late..?" The (h/c)ette asked, his voice tired like the rest of his body. "Oh, um. I check on you during the night to make sure you aren't having any nightmares that you can't wake up from." Muichiro replied bluntly, as if his late night visits were a normal thing. "You..- Okay. How long have you been doing this for?" The older boy asked, still trying to wrap his head around the idea that the mint-eyed boy actually cared about something other than himself. "Hm.. I don't remember. I think ever since that time you had a nightmare." The younger said nonchalantly, shrugging in the process. Then, silence filled the room.

The two stood there for a while, not really knowing what to say to eachother. It was pretty awkward. "So, why were you not asleep?" The pillar asked, watching as Y/N's body tensed at the question. "I'm just thinking.. About stuff.." He replied, fiddling with his own fingers on his torso. "What kind of stuff?" Muichiro asked curiously, yet again, tilting his head a bit- a habit he had when asking questions, which Y/N found pretty adorable. "It's just.. If I'm made into a pillar after my recovery, how am I going to catch up to the rest of you? I'm clearly weaker than any of you, currently. Nothing stands out about me either and I haven't done anything that someone else hasn't done before either. My presence isn't that strong either. Compared to you or any other Hashira, my skills are very average. I'm no match to any of you.." The (h/c)ette voiced his worries, his face painted with a bitter and sad expression. He's used to talking to the Mist pillar about things that concern him, purely because the younger boy forgets easily about things, so he assumed he'd forget everything else the older would tell him; which was false. For some reason, the airheaded and careless boy, that shows interest and affection to nobody, couldn't help but treat Y/N differently. He wasn't sure what about the other boy was so fascinating to him- he could list a lot of things if he sat down and did so, but he didn't know why it was Y/N that interested him the most out of all other people. It felt weird to break character only for that one boy he'd met about a year ago.