Whispers of Water and Wind

Chapter 9 Moments of Happiness and Regret

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a silvery glow over the quiet landscape. All around the small forest, wrapped in the stillness of the night. Sanemi was sitting near a tree and had lit a fire.  Giyuu, wrapped in the cold light of the moon, approached silently, her presence almost ghostly. She stopped when she saw Sanemi by the fire. 

Sanemi broke the silence first. "Patrolling?"

Her voice quiet as ever, responded with a simple, "Yes."

Sanemi fidgeted for a moment, grabbing a water flask and offering it to her. "Want some water?"

Giyuu looked at him, her voice as soft as the breeze. "Thank you." She accepted the flask, her fingers brushing his momentarily. That brief touch felt electric, making the air even heavier between them.

Sanemi was sitting near the fire, his eyes reflecting the flickering flames. He had been unusually quiet, his usual brash demeanor softened by the serene atmosphere. Giyuu was across from him, seated with a graceful composure that contrasted sharply with Sanemi's restless energy.

Giyu had taken off her haori and was sipping from a wooden cup, the water inside shimmering as she drank slowly. The delicate act seemed to capture Sanemi's attention far more than he intended. Every movement Giyu made, every subtle shift of his lips as she drank, seemed to draw Sanemi's gaze more insistently.

A flicker of something deep and unfamiliar stirred within Sanemi. The usual control he maintained began to waver as he felt an overwhelming urge to close the distance between them. 

As Giyu set the cup down, her eyes met Sanemi's. There was a moment of shared silence, a pause that stretched between them and filled with an almost tangible tension. Giyu's gaze was calm, yet there was a softness there that Sanemi had rarely seen.

Without thinking, without planning, he stood, his movements unsteady, driven by an impulse he didn't fully understand, his heart pounding in his chest. The air seemed charged with a sudden, electric intensity. He took a few unsteady steps toward Giyu, his breath coming in shallow bursts.

Giyu looked up, a faint, questioning expression on his face. Before she could react, Sanemi reached him, cupping Giyu's face gently in his hands. The tender touch was a stark contrast to his usual rough demeanor. Giyu's eyes widened slightly, a mix of surprise and something else—something Giyuu couldn't understands.

In that heartbeat of a moment, Sanemi's resolve faltered. The walls he had built around his emotions crumbled as he leaned in, his lips brushing against Giyu's in a kiss. The kiss was hesitant at first, filled with uncertainty and yearning. The touch was brief but laden with all the unspoken feelings that had simmered beneath the surface.

Giyu responded slowly, her hands moving to rest on Sanemi's shoulders. The kiss deepened, a gentle exploration that spoke of longing and unvoiced affection. When they finally broke apart, their breaths mingled in the space between them, both Hashira's faces flushed with a mix of surprise and newfound intimacy.

Surprise and embarrassment mixed together as she found herself unable to look him in the eye. She stared at the ground, her eyes fixed on Sanemi's feet, trying to process the moment they just shared. The weight of it felt unbearable—she couldn't put her feelings into words

On the other side, Sanemi's mind was spinning out of control. His breath quickened, panic rising in his chest. "Did I really just kiss her? Without her permission? What must be she thinking?" His thoughts raced. "She's not even looking at me. She must be furious, disgusted..." He could feel the heat rising in his face. "She's going to kill me... I'm sorry—I'm sorry, Tomioka..."

Giyuu lifted her head. Her eyes, those deep, ocean-blue eyes, met his. The silence between them stretched into an eternity.

Sanemi couldn't bear it. The guilt, the embarrassment, the overwhelming emotions... It was too much. He bolted, his body acting on instinct as he fled the scene, running from her, from the moment, from himself. His heart pounded in his chest, his face flushed red with shame. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, not daring to look back

By the time he reached his estate, he was breathless, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. He slammed the door to his bedroom shut and slid down against it, covering his face with his hands. "What the hell did I just do?" His thoughts screamed at him. He felt foolish, cowardly, and above all—ashamed.

Sanemi's hands covering his face, his thoughts swirling in turmoil. "What was I thinking? What a fool I am!" His chest tightened with regret. "I kissed her against her will. What if she hates me now? If I meet her, she'll probably kill me." He groaned, pressing his palms harder against his face. "What's wrong with me?"

"But wait..." His thoughts shifted suddenly. "She kissed me back. Giyuu... she kissed me back." He replayed the moment in his head, vividly recalling how her hands had found their way to his shoulders. "She didn't pull away. She responded."

A mix of hope and confusion filled him as he lifted his head. "Does that mean... Giyuu has feelings for me too?" Sanemi's heart pounded in his chest. But the moment of clarity was quickly overshadowed by the memory of him running away. "What did I just do? I ran after that—after what we shared."

Frustration and guilt warred within him."Should I go back to her?" He muttered to himself. Deciding he had to face her, he stood up, heading toward the door. But as he opened it, the rain poured down, as if mocking his resolve.

"Will Giyuu even still be there?" he wondered, staring out at the rain. "No, she must've left. She must be furious with me. Who wouldn't be, after how I acted?" He sighed deeply, shaking his head. "I'll talk to her tomorrow when the rain stops. Maybe her anger will have cooled by then. Yeah, that'll be better. I'll apologize and finally tell her how I feel."

Sanemi lay on his futon, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. "What if she accepted me?" he murmured to himself. "We could be together, walking hand in hand, side by side." The thought warmed him. "And if we got married... she'd look so beautiful in a shiromuku" (Japanese traditional bridal dress). He could almost picture her now, radiant and graceful, walking toward him with those eyes that always seemed to see right through him.

His heart fluttered at the thought. "If we get married... we might even have kids," he whispered, a smile playing on his lips before he quickly covered his face with his hands, embarrassed by his own thoughts. "Oh my goodness."

He shook his head, trying to clear the haze of daydreams. "What am I thinking?" he muttered, "I just want this stupid rain to stop, so that I can see her again." His thoughts raced back to that kiss they shared. "She kissed me back... why didn't I realize that sooner?" He groaned, feeling a mix of excitement and frustration. "I'm such an idiot. Tomorrow first I'll apologize and finally tell her how I feel."

Having made up his mind, his eyes wandering to the ceiling, though his thoughts were far from still. Before he knew it, his eyes began to close. But then—a sound. The soft creak of his window being opened.

Startled, he turned his head, only to see Giyuu standing by the window, her rain-soaked form framed by the storm outside.

"Giyuu?" Sanemi gasped, sitting up quickly, his heart pounding with a mix of shock, hope, and fear. "What... what are you doing here?"

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