At some point, Kanae lost any sense of time. Yet, one thing was painfully apparent: the longer she sat beside the unconscious white-haired boy, the more restless she became. She might have known Sanemi for less than a few days, but he intrigued her. As surprising as it might have sounded, his scarred body seemingly unintentionally lured her in, captivating her attention. Even though most of these were undoubtedly caused by demons, some did not quite match the profile, making her wonder. Of course, Kocho had her suspicions about what or rather who could have stood behind these old wounds, but with how limited her knowledge of Sanemi was, there was no telling where the truth could lie. Keeping that in mind, she tried her best not to daze off, but this was inevitably a battle she had no hopes of winning. It would have been easier if the said boy, no ... a young man, was awake.
After another minute or so, Kanae realised that sitting here was pointless, not to mention she was wasting precious time she could have – in theory – used wiser. As the dark-haired woman slowly rose from the hardly comfortable chair she had occupied for quite some time, Shinazugawa stirred, groaning in pain. Instinctively, Kocho leaned in, trying her best to verify what caused this rather abrupt change. Not that she was not glade with the white-haired man finally regaining his consciousness, yet the way this awakening manifested screamed loudly in her head with various, sometimes indescribable ideas. Considering what he had revealed the last time they 'spoke', it was highly possible that Sanemi could have relieved these unimaginably dramatic and graphic memories.
"Talk to me, Sanemi," the raven-haired demon huntress urged, keeping her voice gentle, quiet and warm. "What's happening?"
Expectedly, he did not provide any coherent response apart from yet another loud groan and extensive wriggling that left the bedding on the floor. Shinazugawa's eyes remained close-shut, matching the pain-twisted grimace that only further disfigured his scars-covered face, making it ironically demonic. Driven by her innate devotion to her patients and desire to take away pain and suffering when possible, she needed to act. With that in mind, she grabbed the man's wrists, immediately realising that stabilising him would prove more problematic than she had anticipated. This, however, was a rather reckless action, born of necessity, not a clear-headed thought. Before Kocho could even think about the next step she should take, the situation got even more complicated as Sanemi – absentmindedly – flipped her over, pinning her to the bed with his heavy and muscular body.
"Talk to me, Sanemi!" she repeated when the initial shock faded away, this time louder.
For the next few painful seconds, there was no clear response coming from the fellow demon slayer. Even though she tried her best to remain calm, this situation affected her more than she was willing to voice out. Perhaps in vastly different circumstances, she could have found some positives in her current occupation, but it was wishful thinking. As much as she would want to pretend Sanemi's weight was not an issue, she could not. His heavy body was slowly pushing her onto the mattress, making breathing difficult. With nothing better to do, she continued to speak, trying to reach him. That, however, did not seem as effective as she would have wished, resulting in a stalemate that lasted a while. It could have lasted even longer had Sanemi not started abruptly and energetically shaking his head as if furiously denying something. Pushing him off of her was unrealistic, leaving the girl with no other option but to watch the strange passage of events manifesting right before her lilac eyes. Yet, contrary to her expectations, the white-haired boy's eyelids slowly parted, concluding this absurd. Kanae wanted to say something, but she found herself unable to, as his eyes fully captivated her. These big, pale-purple irises, usually filled with confidence and irritation, were currently resided by a potent mix of hatred and fear – a mixture she hardly expected out of him.
"Kocho?" the white-haired man gulped loudly, practically jumping backwards. "I ... I ... I am sorry," he stuttered, casting down his sight. "I did ... I did not want to attack you," he continued, his eyes glued to the floor.
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Bury the Light
FanficSanemi's life was full of pain and death. Throughout it, he wondered many times what would have happened if the events had played out differently. What if Kanae never died? What if he treated his brother differently? Let's embark on a journey to fin...
