影と風 | Kage to Kaze | Shinazugawa Sanemi

13 - Crush

Sanemi spent the next few days drifting in and out of consciousness. Sometimes he could hold a conversation, other times he'd fall asleep mid-sentence. But after a week, he was back on his feet and already raising hell.

The moment he saw the stray dog I brought home running across the dojo, I knew I was in trouble.

"I'm gone for a few weeks and you bring home a mutt?! What's wrong with you, you incompetent piece of shit?!" Sanemi was fuming, arms crossed, glaring at me while I practiced my moves.

Since he wasn't cleared to train due to his injuries, he'd been stuck barking orders at me. Well, today was no different—except he looked extra pissed.

At some point, he stormed over, grabbed the practice sword from my hand, and spun me around to face him. "Are you even listening, shithead?!" he yelled right in my face.

I was, but... something else had grabbed my attention. My eyes drifted to his shirtless torso—why was he shirtless again? Did he always look this... ripped? Sure, he was a Hashira, but those scars... they added a certain ruggedness I couldn't quite ignore. Wait, what am I doing?!

"Who's gonna feed the damn mutt?!" His voice grew distant as my brain went off on a tangent. I glanced back up at his face. Okay, so he's got a bit of a rough look, but he's not bad-looking. Actually, he's pretty handsome—what the hell am I thinking?!

"blah blah blah" was all I heard coming out of his mouth.

Before I could stop myself, I smacked my own cheeks, hard. Sanemi flinched, looking at me like I'd lost my mind.

"Are you done phasing out, dumbass?!" he growled. Then, mid-rant, he suddenly bent over, clutching his side—probably because he'd reopened his wound.

Panicking a little (but mostly embarrassed), I started walking away, pretending I hadn't noticed.

"Hey, asshat, help me wrap my bandages!" he yelled after me, wincing.

I turned around, stuck my tongue out at him, and said, "Serves you right for yelling at me!" Then, I bolted out of the dojo, hearing him explode behind me.

~*~

Since Sanemi was still in a state of fatigue, awake weeks earlier than expected, it was surprisingly easy to sneak up on him. Naturally, I took full advantage, surprising him whenever I could. I knew I wouldn't have this chance often, so I made the most of it - setting up pranks throughout the house and startling him. He wasn't too happy about it, though, and I even got a few swift butt kicks out of the house for my trouble.

But today, I witnessed something completely unexpected. The scary, white-haired man was sitting on the engawa, eating the ohagi I made for him, probably his favorite, since he always eats them when I make some. Sometimes, I don't even have any left for myself.

I nearly fell out of my hiding spot when I saw the softest smile on his face as he petted the dog. The dog clearly liked him, and the two of them were sharing the ohagi together. If I could take a picture of that moment, I would—it was like watching him transform, and it just healed something inside me.

Slowly, I crept away, not wanting to disturb his rare moment of peace.

That evening, we were comfortably settled in the kitchen. I had just rewrapped Sanemi's bandages, even though he claimed he didn't need any help. He didn't fight me on it, though.

"What do you want to name the dog?" I asked while eating rice in the kitchen.

"Dog," he replied bluntly.

"You can't just name a dog 'Dog,'" I countered.

"It's my house. I get to do what I want," he retorted, like a stubborn child. Sighing dramatically, I gave up. He continued eating, paying me no mind.