мѕ.gяα¢є αη∂ мя.муѕтєяу •𝔐𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔨𝔢•

几ㄩ乇 丂乇匚ㄖ几ᗪ 匚卄卂卩ㄒ乇尺

╭━ ⋅⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅⋅ ━╮

"Shinju... It's not even morning."

The sky was getting clearer, but the lack of sunlight was present. The stars faded away slowly, but the moon was blessing them with its presence. There wasn't a tint of the red hue that indicated that the sun was about to show in all its glory, but Shinju was awake.

She was wearing a white juban, provided by the inn they were staying in. Unlike Kusuriuri's, hers was tied nicely. Her dark locks were loose since her pearls were in their box.

She loved to sleep, and even though she liked to get up to admire the sunrise, she sometimes overslept and missed it. What wasn't common for her is to wake up before the usual time when the sun would show.

At first, she didn't notice that her companion had talked from his futon since she was too immersed in her thoughts and the sky. The blond man moved his blanket a bit, revealing his torso. Even with a proper pajama, he wouldn't tie his obi correctly.

"Shinju."

It was no use. She couldn't hear him.

"Shinju, I know you can hear me." Kusuriuri narrowed his eyes at her. Although he didn't need to sleep, rest was important to him.

"Kusuriuri." The pearled girl finally replied, moving her head to meet his eyes. She heard Kusuriuri shifting around in his futon before he even woke up. She had just made it look like she wasn't paying attention, but her curse or blessing was an indicator for the exorcist. He knew that she would always hear whether she liked it or not.

"Sleep." He bluntly said.

"I can't." She confessed. "I'm just too excited."

The medicine seller sighed. He knew the reason why she was excited since he had spoken with her during their work shift. He had explained why they were going to the shrine, and it got the dark-haired girl's enthusiasm up.

"You'll get tired along the way." He continued to scold her at a slow pace.

"Sunrise is about to begin, it's the time when I usually wake up. " Shinju explained. But she was wrong. It was still a long way until it was her time to wake up.

"Come on, dear, I wouldn't like it for you to feel unwell while you walk." Kusuriuri got up and gently placed his hands with pointy nails on the sides of her shoulders as he guided her back to her futon.

"Don't lie. You're just saying that so I don't complain." The pearled girl could see right through him.

"Well, that also works." He silently chuckled.

Although his words and actions were more tender than usual, his eyes were cold. There was something on his mind, and he was ready to act.

Before the dark-haired girl could even reply, her vision went black and her body fell limp right into Kusuriuri's arms.

"There we go... Now, sleep." Kusuriuri whispered, storing back some medicine.

He placed his companion on her bed, and after doing so, his blue eyes traveled to the window. It was still too dark, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. His long slender hands with pointy nails painted with a blueish color grabbed the backpack he would use for the journey. Once he had everything set up, Kusuriuri held Shinju's sleeping form. He was more comfortable with clinging her to his waist and grabbing her by her midsection, but she would look like a corpse that way, and he couldn't risk getting detained. They were still on the run, after all. As a result, he held her bridal style; placing her cheek on his shoulder so she couldn't complain for having neck pain. It would finally be a tranquil trip.