Everchanging

Habits and Change

!!TW!! Stalking, CSA/SA, Pedophilia, Insecurities

Kanao watched as her feet skidded across the linoleum flooring of the nurse's office, making a loud squeaking sound as she kicked her legs aimlessly. She could hear her sister muttering to herself as she rooted through the cabinet. It was lunch period, meaning Kanao was spending her free time annoying her older sister. Tanjiro and the others had offered to eat together but Kanao declined, knowing Genya was supposed to return to school during lunch period.

Apparently, discharging the boy had taken longer than expected since there was a car pileup. A bunch of people had flocked to the hospital, but only a few of them needed serious medical attention. Other than that, the others only had minor scrapes and bruises. But nevertheless, the rush had delayed the boy's return to school by half a day. Which earned quite a few whines from the friend group when they found out.

Out of all the people, she suspected that Inosuke was the most impatient when it came to his best friend coming back. During the days that Genya had been out, the brutish boy had sighed and boo hoo-ed about being bored without his friend. It was sweet to see but Kanao was anxious about the return of their friend. Especially after Genya and Kanao's last interaction, she doubted the boy would want to see her.

So, she took to soliciting at her sister's office, who had dropped a bottle of medicine and huffed when she had to pick it up. Kanao chuckled, offering no help since Shinobu didn't ask.

"Why aren't you eating without Tanjiro and the others?" Shinobu finally broached the topic that had been stifling the room, the student nodding a bit as she thought of what to say.

"Just didn't feel like it." It was both a lie and a truth, a safe bet for Kanao though it looked like Shinobu was even more suspicious. Kanao didn't like to lie, but she also knew that sometimes the truth could make things more difficult. So white lies were helpful to her.

"Is it about Genya? He's supposed to be signing in soon." Shinobu was smart, eerily smart since she guessed the problem on the first try. Or it could have been that Kanao had become easy to read. The second theory made the girl's skin crawl, she would have to fix that. "I heard you two had a little argument when you went to visit him."

"Because I've been so scared! You just dropped right in front of me! I had to watch you have two fucking seizures! I thought something horrible happened. I've spent this whole time wondering if I should have said something. I still think I should've."

"You say that, and yet you still fucking snitched on me. I didn't ask you for help so why don't you mind your fucking business."

"Yeah, guess you could say that." Kanao shrugged, bangs swaying slightly from the movement. "Guess I should've just minded my business."

"Oh, Kanao. Don't say that." Shinobu smiled lightly, eyes pinching prettily at the action. The woman had turned to look at one of the photos on her desk. It was of her and Mitsuri, both girls clad in ironed uniforms. Very few pictures did Shinobu smile in, and this was one of them. In fact, her grin was so wide that it had pushed her cheeks up and her eyes shut. She could remember the cackle that accompanied it. "If people minded their business, friendships wouldn't exist. Humans wouldn't be humans. Being nosy is in our nature."

"He didn't ask for my help." Kanao sulked, picking at her cuticle like she often did when she was anxious. It was a habit that was hard to break. Shinobu outright scoffed at the statement, setting the picture down to lean on the mahogany surface so she could look at her sister.

"He couldn't ask for help; he was in the middle of a Grand Mal seizure." Kanao snuck an outrageous glare at the woman, but Shinobu continued. "And sometimes, people need help whether they like it or not. It's annoyingly frustrating but that's how life works. You can't go through everything alone, no matter how much you want to."