╰┈➤ 𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓫𝓵𝓮 || 迷惑 ✧.*

Chapter 8: Swim Until You Love Me

𝓣𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓸𝓴𝓪 𝓖𝓲𝔂𝓾 

I shouldn't have said it like that. I hurt her---

YOU DUMBASS GIYU- FIRST YOUR SISTER GAVE HERSELF TO SAVE YOU, THEN YOUR HELL OF A FRIEND, SABITO... AND RIYOKO- NOW ARE YOU GONNA LOSE SHINOBU TOO? WHATE WERE YOU THINKING- IDIOT!

I mentally smacked myself as I pretended to sleep, but the sun still rose up. I could hear the muffled cries of her, as I felt as guilty as I could ever be in my whole life. Like I just... can't say I love her, can't pretend to hate her, just stuck in the middle of nowhere, sinking and abandoning the ship of life. 

I just touched her once, and I feel Guilty as sin... what if I'm not the one?

The sunlight directly aimed at my sleepy eyelids, as I forced myself to take off my haori and use it as a screen. A few minutes passed, and I still didn't sleep. But I couldn't hear Shinobu- and my head was aching against this damned rock. 

A moment soon or later, a pair of shaky hands slowly touched my temples, and I recognized the touch- Kocho Shinobu, the death of me. 

"I know-", she said. "You're awake, and your head hurts-"

Oh, gods! how come she could read me like her favorite book?!

I took off my haori from my face, and sat up looking at the ground, because she and I are not still over what happened a few minutes ago. "I- yeah"

"But you need rest-", she didn't meet my eyes. 

I nodded, and then realized she was not looking at me. "Mhm-"

"You can rest your head in my lap-", she said in a low voice, I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE SHE STILL CARED ABOUT ME AFTER WHAT I SAID TO HER- 

"uh?", I looked up at her, my heart and every single part of me panicking and  aching to touch her once again- WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?

"I said what I said-", she said and pulled my haori out of my hand. "There's a house a few meters away, we can ask if we could stay there for a while?"

I didn't say anything, I left it all to her choice this time. I let her lead me to the small house. It had a pretty garden surrounding it. I also wondered who was the one who could be so brave to live all alone in these mountains where the demons lurk around, even upper ranks.

"Hello, is anyone here?", she called out politely and knocked on the door slowly, realizing that it was the crack of dawn and the people or person inside it might be sleeping. 

I heard a few walking steps coming from inside the house, as someone opened the door for us. "Who're you--"

I couldn't believe my eyes, but I was looking at Aozora Riyoko, all grown up-  Wait. I thought she was dead, all this time, my life was a lie?!... Her gaze on me made me tense. And Shinobu looked at me like I was a prisoner, who had been caught.

"Giyu-?", she said. 

"Yes, the same", I said. "But how-?"

"You two knew each other! That's great!", Shinobu smiled like nothing happened and clasped her hands together. It's not great Shinobu- I sense something bad is gonna happen right now-

"Mommy!", a kid's voice came from inside. He was probably her son, he looked just like Riyoko, except for his eyes, which were-

Hazel.

"Took you long enough to find us, eh?", she said, as her eyes welled with tears. "We were patient, and we got the reward, didn't we, Yuta?"

"Excuse me", Shinobu interrupted. "But what do you mean, We ?"