A Split in The River of Time

Part 14: Some quality time

(A little bit of quality time with our favorites, Shinobu and Giyuu.  Brief views into their general interactions, and a look at a couple of Giyuu's emotions.)

Giyuu leaned upwards, light droplets of rain beating on his head.

How long was I asleep? His thoughts began to form as he looked around hazily. It looked like night still, and it was extremely cold. He began to shiver, although his body was the exact opposite. Most likely he was developing a fever from sleeping in the rain in soaking wet clothes, but he wouldn't give that any thought. He really wanted to go to sleep in his bed, though. He stood and turned to walk towards the big house behind him.

Where...? The man looked at the door confused, almost a fever dream taking over his senses as he walked. Giyuu thought he was at home? He walked down the dark hallway, hearing the rain begin to pick up once again as it patterned on the roof tiles and the windows. As quiet as he could, the man slid into his room and began to drop his haori and uniform, pulling a spare shirt and pair of boxers from his bag and changing into them in the darkness. As his heavy eyelids shut, he slid into bed and behind the figure already asleep. Without question, he put his arm around the person and pulled them to his chest, feeling their back heave as they breathed. Sleep once more overtook the man, and the pitter patter of the rain faded to nothingness.

Shinobu woke up to a familiar yet mildly alarming sensation on the back of her body, her string of thoughts quickly turning from shock to calm back to embarrassment, as the realization hit her.

She was only in her underwear!
Shit! I completely forgot he was sleeping in my room! But... Why is he in bed with me?

The warmth of his arm on her waist and his breath on the back of her neck made every hair on her body stand on end, and everywhere their bodies made contact she felt her skin heat up. Slowly, she reached an arm back behind her and patted him on the side of his head.

"Tomioka, can you wake up? And get out of my bed?" She said quietly. The large man stirred slightly, before falling back asleep. Shinobu merely sighed, and pulled her arm from the blanket, then her body, and finally completely slipped out of the bed to leave Tomioka sleeping. At least in some very specific settings and moments, being small and agile had its benefits over being larger. Quickly gathering her uniform and haori, she dashed out of her room and across the hallway to the large bathroom to take a bath. Maybe soaking in some hot water for a while would ease this stress she's been feeling? Plus, maybe it would calm down her nerves and brain after that. The sense of a pit in her stomach started forming shortly after that day with Tomioka. Like her chest ached whenever he wasn't around, but at the same time told her to run when she saw him.

I need to keep myself together. Why was he in my bed? I had been up basically until midnight, and he was still nowhere to be found when I went to sleep after working. As she thought a bit more, a small several knocks at the door returned her to the now hot bathroom as steam and water vapor hung in the air, mirrors and walls covered in a thin layer of water.
Too polite to be Aoi, too loud to be the girls'...
"Kanao? Do you need something?" She yelled out for the girl to hear. Kanao didn't respond for a moment, and Shinobu just stood up to grab a towel.

Don't know what I expected from that one, she's still a little hesitant to speak very loud.

She reached the door, opening it and looking at her little sister. The young girl stood with a slight but very noticeable blush across her face, dressed in something other than her uniform and cloak for once. A light pink Kimono that faded to a deep purple down the body and sleeves hung on her shoulders, her hair still pulled into the classic side ponytail. The sight actually made Shinobu gasp a little bit, completely unfamiliar with the concept of her sister looking more casual and relaxed than usual. The older woman was filled with joy as she nearly shouted and jumped up and down in place.