𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝑰 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 [𝕘𝕚𝕪𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕠] (KNY)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟥𝟨: 𝐼'𝓂 𝒪𝓀𝒶𝓎

Author POV:

Five days later, Shinobu groaned as she sat up in bed, yawning. Her room was brighter than usual. Warm sunlight poured in from the windows. The distinct smell of syrup and pancakes wafted in the air. 

Wait a minute... Shinobu immediately snatched the alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 12:05. 

Oh damn it. 12 was too late. Ever since the accident happened, she'd woken up at 3 every morning for the early-morning medication runs. At around 4 she'd sleep for another hour before Kanae woke her up at 5, just in time for the two of them to start the day by preparing more needles and medications. 

Why hadn't Kanae woken her up? And why hadn't her alarm clock gone off? Was something wrong with it? Shinobu stared suspiciously at the tiny white device that ensured her early suffering every morning. 

Sighing, she clambered out of bed and stood in front of her mirror. It had been weeks since she'd properly taken care of her appearance. It just didn't seem like a priority anymore. 

There were dark, dark purplish circles underneath her eyes, and her face looked bony and shallow. Her eyelids were slightly swollen,  her lips pale, and her eyelashes were flat. Many of them had fallen out. She'd lost weight, so her jawline jutted out, but not attractively. Her face looked tired, unhealthy and bony. 

Shinobu grabbed a random brush on the dressing table and tried to comb through the knots in her hair. Many mornings she'd woken up with a bird's nest for hair and without brushing, just pulled it into a tight slick back. There wasn't time for anything else. To maintain hygiene, she still showered everyday, but only at the darkest hours of midnight for six minutes max as Kanae covered her patients. 

Eventually the dishevelled girl gave up and threw her brush on the floor with a huff. Her hair had gotten longer, with split ends and too many knots to count. If her life had still been normal, she'd have gone to Kanae for a haircut much sooner. She wouldn't have let her life get to this state. 

But nothing was normal. Not when the Butterfly Mansion was cramped right down to the basement, with suffering patients everywhere, difficult people, relatives visiting every other day, over three hundred needles to hand-prepare everyday, with little to no help due to the secrecy of the entire situation. 

Shinobu sighed and left her hair alone as she walked over to her closet. Due to the demand at the Butterfly Mansion, her Corps missions and Hashira duties had been called off. Shinobu still felt incredibly guilty. There were people out there who needed her help, but she couldn't afford to leave the Mansion and Kanae alone. 

Therefore, Shinobu hardly wore her haori anymore. She just wore a simple white nurse-styled dress and coat (for the colder mornings). Kanae had told her to wear it, since many of the mentally-ill patients seemed to think they weren't qualified doctors because of their attire. It was stupidity, but human stupidity, and Shinobu couldn't afford to cause more disputes because of it. 

She pulled on the short black socks and short-sleeved nurse dress. It cinched at the waist with a long trail of buttons down the front and a high collar. It was cute and admittedly practical, with many pockets and a red cross to make it extra clear to the patients who the nurse was (some seemed to still be confused). It was 12, and it was warm, so Shinobu decided against the thick matching white coat. 

Afterwards, she swiped on some lip balm and pulled her hair into a messy bun, using hairspray to try to coax it to stay for more than half an hour. Then, she stepped into white slippers, and ran out the door. 

Surely Kanae would be angry at her. Shinobu had left her sister on her own for more than six hours. She felt horribly guilty as she sped down the hallway. 

"Oh! Shinobu, you're awake!" Aoi beamed as she stepped into the kitchen. "I saved some pancakes for you. They're maple, your favourite."

"Thank you so much, Aoi, but have you seen Kanae? I woke up so late, I don't know what happened to my alarm clock, it's horrible, she must be so tired; excuse me, I need to go-" Shinobu made to run out the door to search for Kanae again, but Aoi quickly stopped her. 

"Kanae's fine. She purposely let you sleep longer today. She said she'd noticed you've been tired and overworked lately, so she said she'd cover it for today. But if you still want to find her, I think she would be in Room 18." 

"Thank you, Aoi." Shinobu blinked, then was immediately gone out the door. Aoi smiled after her. 

Shinobu POV: 

I ran straight into Room 18. The door was wide open, and I was relieved to find Kanae standing there smiling. 

She looked tired, more so than usual, and I immediately felt horrible. "Kanae! Why didn't you wake me?"

"You've been so tired lately. I thought you should get some extra rest." Kanae smiled. "Anyway, I've been managing. You take the whole day off. You need it."

"No. If you're going to be okay, then I can too-"

"Shinobu." Kanae gently put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm older and more experienced than you." She said it kindly, with no hint of malice. "This kind of work can make your mindset more strained. I don't want you to make stupid mistakes because you're too tired. Get your rest, please?"

"...Alright." Mumbling, I subsided. Still, I couldn't shake off that nagging feeling as I shut the door behind me. 

Surely Sis was wrong? I could handle it. 

Or at least, I felt I had to. 

A/N: sorry there hasnt been an update in so long, there are so many exams even this early in the term..