The Only End [A Kyojuro Rengoku X Reader fanfic]

Chapter 6: Still Normal

(Y/n)'s POV

'Yes! Finally!' I've accomplished all my errands for this day and thankfully it was time to rest. Mari and Ichiro were sleeping peacefully in their room while Nene, Aki, and I had to clean up their leftovers.

Placing the last porcelain cup on the container, I wiped the sweat off my brow. Nene cracked her knuckles in an attempt to massage her hands.

"Great job everyone. Tomorrow is another day so don't forget to wake up early. Especially you Nene!" Aki narrowed her gaze at the woman.

"Alright boss," Nene rolled her eyes. The three of us went to our rooms, mine being the farthest. Closing the door of my room, I inhaled deeply and stared at the single plain futon. It was my first time sleeping without my sister or my other siblings.

"I miss them already," I approached my bed and lifted the blanket up. Slipping myself on the cold futon, I sank my head on the soft pillow and drifted off to sleep. 24 hours passed and a new day has aroused. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms to the air in hopes of getting my energy back. With that finished, I began to open the windows of the house.

"Good morning (l/n)-chan," Aki greeted.

"Good morning Aki - san," I smiled, "Where's Nene-san?"

"She's cooking up breakfast."

"I'll go help her," I walked to the kitchen and immediately saw Nene slicing some fishes like a pro. I was awestruck by her knife skills and her speed that I just stood by the door and observed her as she does her work.

Nene momentarily paused her movements and looked over her shoulder, "Oh hi (y/n)-san! Didn't know you were there."

I snapped out of my daze, "H-hello Nene-san."

"Is there anything that I can help you with?" she placed down the knife she was holding and proceeded to fill the bowl with the sliced fish.

"I came here to help you," I said.

"Is that so? Well you can help me in slicing the fish. Today I'll be cooking sushi for the children since they like it," Nene prepared another set of chopping board and a knife. I took it and started slicing.

"I wonder how Rika-san and Haru-san are doing..." I turned to Nene and watched as she finished another fish. Her eyes looked a little crestfallen.

"They're probably at the medic by now," I ensured.

"Probably. To be honest, I never really expected Rika-san to get sick," Nene glanced at me then returned her gaze to the bottom.

"Why is that?"

"I always viewed Rika-san to be a strong and independent woman. Ever since she took me in as housekeeper I felt really thankful. I had a really abusive family who were mostly gold diggers. They had intended to set an arranged marriage with me and a noble man but I objected. My family never loved me for who I am, they just saw me as a jewelry that can be worn and then thrown the day after."

I frowned at her, "What happened to your family now Nene-san?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe they're still broke and craving for money... but I hope they already changed their ways."

"Yeah... I do hope so," I replied.

"But! Enough of that, we gotta finish this before the children wake up," she quickly shifted from sad to happy again. I still think that Nene was sad deep down, but who am I to judge?

We managed to feed the children and our own stomach. Mari and Ichiro played outside as I watched them by the door. Kicking on a pile of leaves, I lifted my head up to look at the sky. Out of boredom, I stared at the birds soaring above. The flock of birds formed a V shape as they flew by; I always questioned myself why they do that.

"(Y/n)-san you have a visitor," Mari's voice rang in my ears. I directed my gaze at her then to the person beside her.

"Good morning Rengoku-san," I smiled at him. Mari and Ichiro went back to playing, leaving me face to face with the hashira.

"A pleasant good morning to you too," he said, "Is it okay if I sit beside you?"

"Sure!" I scooted a little to give some space for him, "So anything exciting happened today?"

"Not much," he had his eyes set on the trees. I did the same and we both marvelled at the wonderful sight. As time passed, it got a bit awkward so I decided to speak to him.

"Uhm, Rengoku-san?"

"Hm?"

"Did my sister visit you or anything?"

He shook his head, "I was the one who visited her yesterday. She was doing great and so were the others."

His answer relieved my worries, "Thank goodness, I thought she would cause chaos in the house."

"Not at all. She was, in fact, very behaved. But she still likes to cling on my leg whenever she sees me," he looked at Mari and Ichiro, who weren't done at playing tag. I had no idea on how long they could play that but I wanna know their secret.

"Heh... I guess she likes you," I sheepishly smiled.

Kyojuro's POV

"Heh... I guess she likes you."

"I like that kid. But I like you more though," I replied. Out of the blue, (y/n)'s body stiffened and her face went red like an apple.

"W-w-whaaaa..." she was shaking and this brought great concern for me.

"Are you alright? Do you need to go to a medic?"

"Y-YES, I MEAN NO! THIS IS JUST NORMAL HAHAHA..." now she's laughing when there's nothing even funny going on. My face scrunched in confusion and worry.

'Was it because of what I said?' I wanted to make (y/n) calm again so I followed the thought that came across my mind. Leaning close to her, I pulled her figure close to my chest and planted my hand on top of her (h/c) hair.

"Please do calm down (l/n)-chan," I said.

(Y/n)'s POV

I can barely make up a word after what he said. My brain cells all stopped working and decided to float away, leaving me overwhelmed. But Kyojuro did an excellent job in making me feel abashed when he pulled me close to a hug.

"Please do calm down (l/n)-chan,"

'HOW IS THIS GOING TO MAKE ME CALM?!' I blushed an even deeper shade of red at how close we were. A part of me wanted this, to be comforted but another part of me says that this is wrong. My body wouldn't budge when I commanded it to move. I was left immobilised in his arms as I calmed myself down.