Right person wrong time (sanegiyu)

Thinking

The crow's shrill caw echoed through the quiet sky, its wings slicing through the air as it flew off toward the Master. I watched it go, trying to ignore the tension still coiling in my shoulders. We were heading back, finally, and the mission was over. But the irritation that simmered in my chest wasn't from the demon.

It was from him.

Tomioka cleaned his blade with practiced ease, calm and unaffected as always, like slaying a Lower Moon was just another chore for the day. His expression didn't change, not even as he stepped past me with that silent, maddening grace he always carried. It was infuriating how collected he stayed. Like none of this mattered. Like I didn't matter.

We began the journey back in silence. It stretched for miles, hours passing with nothing but the sound of our footsteps and the occasional rustle of wind in the trees. I hated this kind of quiet, the kind that made you think too much.

Every time I glanced at him, I was caught between wanting to punch him and... something else. Something I didn't want to name.

We stayed at another small inn on the way back, something tucked into the woods where the rooms smelled like fresh pine and the beds were barely wide enough to count as real beds.

I muttered curses under my breath as we checked in, refusing to look at him. He didn't say anything either. Just followed me inside like some silent ghost, taking the bed on the farthest end without complaint. That made it worse. If he'd just complained, I could've started a fight. Given myself a reason to let off steam.

Instead, I took the bed closest to the window and sat on it, back turned to him.

I heard him move, the soft sound of fabric shifting, the creak of the old mattress as he sat down. Then silence again.

Why did it feel like something was stuck in my throat?

Giyu's POV

I could feel Sanemi's frustration even without looking. He radiated it like heat, sharp, heavy, impossible to ignore.

But underneath it, I sensed something else.

The way his shoulders tensed when I was close. How he avoided my eyes, except when he thought I wasn't looking. How he kept pushing me away but never truly left.

I laid down again, facing the ceiling. The room was dim, lit only by the flicker of candlelight, the shadows soft around the walls. I closed my eyes, trying to block it all out, but sleep wouldn't come. It hadn't for nights.

Not when I kept thinking about him.

The way his eyes lit up in battle. How alive he looked when he was pissed off, which admittedly was often.

I sighed quietly and turned over onto my side, facing him now. His back was to me, muscles coiled under the thin fabric of his shirt. His breathing was deep, steady.

"Sanemi," I said quietly.

He didn't respond.

I tried again. "You did well today."

He scoffed under his breath. "Tch. I didn't even do anything. You took the demon down before I got there."

"You still showed up."

He turned just enough for me to see his profile in the dark. His jaw was clenched, but his voice had softened, barely. "Don't talk like you know me."

"I don't," I admitted. "But I want to."

he didn't respond, he just got up from the now messed up bed he was sitting on and went to the bathroom.

Sanemi's POV

I slammed the door behind me, heat still clinging to my skin from the shower. Steam curled around my shoulders, mixing with the tension in the room. I had a towel wrapped low around my hips and another clenched in my fist, roughly drying my hair. The silence in the inn room was thick enough to choke on.

Tomioka was lying on one of the twin beds, looking half-asleep and half like he'd rather be anywhere else. Typical.

I pretended not to notice the way his eyes flicked over me, lingering a second too long. I was used to being stared at for the scars, the attitude, the muscle but there was something different in the way he looked. It wasn't judgment. It wasn't admiration, either. It was something quiet and unreadable. It pissed me off.

"What the hell are you staring at?" I snapped, not even bothering to keep the edge out of my voice.

His gaze didn't flinch. "You're dripping on the floor."

I scoffed and turned my back, grabbing my change of clothes. I could still feel his eyes like they were burning into my skin. I hated that. Hated that I noticed.

The towel dropped. I changed quickly and stormed out into the hallway before my thoughts could get any louder.

Giyu's POV

I don't know what I was expecting when Sanemi came out of the shower but it wasn't that.

He was always loud, always angry. But there was a kind of rawness to him then, steam curling around his frame like smoke around a fire. The towel hung loose on his hips, scars catching the low light. I wasn't used to seeing that much of him his body or his vulnerability.

And maybe it was wrong, but I didn't look away.

He caught me. Of course he did.

I kept my voice steady. I always do. But inside, something twisted. My chest felt too tight, like the room was collapsing in on itself. I didn't understand what I was feeling, not fully. But it unsettled me.

When he left, the silence felt even heavier than when he'd entered.

Sanemi's POV

I stood outside the inn room for longer than I'd admit, shirt half-buttoned, hands trembling slightly at my sides. I wasn't cold, but I couldn't stop shivering.

Why the fuck did he look at me like that?

Why the fuck do I care?

what does he mean "but i want to"?

Timeskip – Two Weeks Later

The mission had ended, the demon was dead, and we'd both reported back to the Master. We hadn't spoken much since that night at the inn. Not really.

But something had changed. I could feel it every time our eyes met across the training grounds. In the way our conversations stuck in my throat. In the way I couldn't stop thinking about that night—the way he looked, the silence between us, the warmth in my chest I didn't want to name.

We were assigned to another mission together. A quiet one. Rural. No rush.

And I hated it.

Not because of the mission. Because I'd have to be near him again,
and the last thing i want is to be around him.

-
sorry i actually cant believe the last time i updated this i was in like 6th grade 😭 im currently a freshman, i kinda skimmed through and god my writing sucked so i hope I'm at least a bit better now and ik yall have been wanting an update so 😇😇 cant promise when the next one will be but please check out my original series called "Drunk love" bc thats the story i update the most 🙏
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