The Silent Signs

Forgiveness

Giyuu silently cried into the pillow supplied for him by one of the kakushi who worked at Sanemi's estate. He was in extreme pain and refused to cry out. Sanemi was asleep at the end of the bed, having pulled a chair up to it so he could wait for Giyuu to wake up.

He could taste blood on his tongue and knew that it would soon seep onto the pillow. He wanted to hide it because he knew how Sanemi would react. Horrified by the blood. He had managed to hear what was happening after he had blacked out after all. 

How the man had rushed to get him help. How he had cried for him. He didn't think anyone would do that. His crying ceased as he saw the signs that Sanemi was waking up. He moved his head to his the bloodstain and acted as though he were still asleep. 

Sanemi grumbled as he awoke with a small yawn. He frowned when he saw that Tomioka was still sleeping. His eyes lingered on a little spot of blood that poked through Tomioka's hair. He had moved his head to cover it. He narrowed his eyes.

He shifted and looked closer at Tomioka's face. Tear tracks. He frowned but Tomioka seemed to have fallen back asleep either way. He sighed and picked up Tomioka's hand gently. "Why'd you hide this from us? I-I could've treated you better..." He whispered as his other hand tucked some hair behind Tomioka's ear. He blinked away tears as the man seemed to almost lean into his touch. "You better wake up soon. You have too. You can't go without saying goodbye to me. Saying goodbye to Muichiro."

Giyuu held back tears as he listened to the man leave. His eyes opened again and he held the strand of hair that Sanemi had moved. He put it back into it's original spot as a kakushi walked in, thankfully quiet about him being awake. She moved and gave him some medicine that he swallowed with a grimace. 

She patted his head and quickly began to absentmindedly do his hair for him. He curled into the soft touch and hummed happily when his hair was put into a simple braid. The door opened as his hair was finished and Sanemi walked in, carrying two trays of food. His eyes widened as he noticed Tomioka was awake just as the kakushi left. Sanemi set the trays down and all but ran to the other, hugging him gently, wary of hurting him. 

Giyuu froze, not expecting this reaction. Sanemi pulled back with a smile. "You're finally awake!" He cheered quietly. Giyuu sent him a puzzled look. 

"Finally? What do you mean finally?" He asked.

"You've been out for an entire week. I was getting ready to tell Kocho just to make sure you were okay." Giyuu's blood ran cold. 

That meant one month left. He had to tell them. He buried his face in his hands. Sanemi seemed to understand something was wrong. "Tomioka... How much time do you have left?" He asked slowly.

"........... One month now." Giyuu answered after a pause. Sanemi's heart dropped.

"You have to tell the others..." He mumbled. Giyuu sighed.

"I know. I just want my last couple weeks to be peaceful. I don't want them to suddenly act like they care after all they've done."