"Yoizumi."
"Hmm?"
"Get up."
Yoizumi closed his eyes and stood up, his tall, long-legged, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, and well-proportioned physique easily blocking the light above Shinobu's head.
Shinobu looked up and saw Yoizumi's ruffled hair, his golden strands softening and turning warm yellow under the dim light.
At this moment, Yoizumi, standing with his back to the light, was so gentle, not showing a hint of his usual coldness.
Shinobu took a step forward and immediately hugged Yoizumi, her arms encircling his waist, her face buried in his chest, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
Yoizumi, embraced, instinctively hugged Shinobu back, his hand caressing her spine, unable to help but smile faintly.
He really liked Shinobu's hugs.
Yoizumi believed that a hug could replace many answers.
And his hugs were only for lovers and family.
"Hmph…" Shinobu's breath was filled with Yoizumi's reassuring scent; days of longing now all surged forth. Although she had been too tired to even stand just moments before, after seeing Yoizumi, and being held in his arms…
Incredibly, both her body and mind felt light, and all her previous fatigue vanished without a trace.
"…"
This isn't right!
Shinobu suddenly realized, lightly punching the man in front of her chest, the force like a kitten's playful scratch.
"You used Blood Demon Art on me when I wasn't paying attention!"
"I've been discovered…" Yoizumi had noticed Shinobu's condition the moment he saw her, but knowing Shinobu disliked him using Blood Demon Art, he had planned to subtly use it when she was relaxed.
Still, Shinobu found out.
Shinobu lifted her head, her chin resting on Yoizumi's chest, staring up at him.
"Why are you still closing your eyes?"
"Because Shinobu didn't tell me to open them."
Shinobu's response to Yoizumi was another punch to his chest.
"Now you decide to listen to me!"
"What if I tell you to keep your eyes closed forever?"
Shinobu raised her hand and pinched the soft flesh on Yoizumi's cheek, her tone making it impossible for Yoizumi to tell if she was truly angry.
Hearing this, Yoizumi thought seriously for a few seconds, tightened his arms around Shinobu, and shook his head, causing the ruffled golden hair on top of his head to sway.
"No."
"I still want to see Shinobu."
"Mmm… Hmph…" Miss Shinobu, seemingly angry but actually overjoyed, buried her head back into Yoizumi's embrace, clenching the fabric of his shirt, and feigned composure as she softly uttered, "Smooth talker."
"Is my mouth oily?" Yoizumi, who didn't understand the hidden meaning, unconsciously touched his lips, confused.
It's not oily?
He really is an idiot, isn't he?
Shinobu, successfully amused by Yoizumi's words, trembled slightly with laughter.
Is it that funny?
Yoizumi blinked, puzzled.
After calming down, Shinobu, feigning anger, poked Yoizumi's face with her finger.
"It's all your fault!"
"You disturbed my sleep."
"Sorry."
"Why didn't you say anything when you arrived? And you were staring at the moon."
Yoizumi, whose head swayed with Shinobu's pokes, was neither angry nor annoyed, and began to explain.
"I was checking where the moon was, to determine the time."
"That way, I would be the first to wish Shinobu a happy birthday."
"Even so… I still won't forgive you for disturbing my sleep." Shinobu's heart softened at Yoizumi's words, but she remained unyielding.
Yoizumi raised his hand and gently held Shinobu's hand, shaking it coaxingly, "Then how can Shinobu forgive me?"
Shinobu slowly pulled away from Yoizumi's embrace, lowered her head, and interlaced her fingers with his, pulling him towards the bed, her voice soft.
"Your punishment is to stay with me today."
"Okay."
Yoizumi wanted to get a chair, to sit by the bed and accompany Shinobu to sleep as he had before, but she held his hand tightly.
"The bed here is big, Yoizumi doesn't need to sit beside it… come up and join me…" Shinobu's voice grew softer and softer, finally mumbling the last words.
Yoizumi nodded, that works too.
Her hairstyle, which Yoizumi had just tidied for her, was undone, her black-purple shoulder-length hair falling freely to her collarbones. Shinobu sat on the bed with her back to Yoizumi; it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous, her heart beating so fast she even wondered if Yoizumi could hear it.
One side of the bed dipped, and as Yoizumi's presence drew near, Shinobu held her breath, her fingertips trembling for a long moment before the person behind her made no more sound.
Shinobu turned her head in confusion, only to see Yoizumi already lying straight on one side of the bed, seemingly afraid of crowding her, leaving a large empty space, enough for Shinobu to roll around.
"…"
Seeing her look over, Yoizumi's gaze, which had been fixed on the ceiling, now fell upon Shinobu, his sapphire eyes filled with clear confusion.
Shinobu could understand it without even thinking.
Why aren't you lying down?
"Hmph…"
How could she forget, this man was a complete blockhead… Shinobu gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and forcefully pulled open Yoizumi's hand that was resting on his abdomen, then snuggled into his arm, as if resigned, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Shinobu?" Yoizumi exclaimed in surprise, but still honestly turned his body to allow Shinobu to lie more comfortably.
Shinobu closed her eyes and raised her hand to press against Yoizumi's mouth.
"Sleep."
"…"
Yoizumi stared steadily at Shinobu, so close to him, for a while, then gently placed his other hand on her waist and closed his eyes.
Only after feeling Yoizumi's gaze disappear did a shy Shinobu finally open her eyes, her entire face already flushed, even her fingertips burning fiercely, clutching Yoizumi's clothes, unwilling to let go.
Feeling Shinobu's somewhat erratic breathing on his neck, Yoizumi asked in a low voice.
"Shinobu, can't you sleep?"
Before Shinobu could answer, Yoizumi immediately added.
"I can't sleep either." Yoizumi rarely slept now unless he was injured; he didn't feel sleepy at all at the moment.
Shinobu snuggled her head closer to Yoizumi, "Speaking of which, I still don't know Yoizumi's birthday."
"I don't have a birthday. If I had to pick one, January 5th, the day Tanjirou found me, would be it." Yoizumi recalled the scene from back then. Although he couldn't remember why he was there, how could it not be considered a new beginning for him?
"January 5th… It's been over a month already." Shinobu said with regret.
"Then next time, Shinobu can celebrate it for me." Yoizumi rubbed his cheek against Shinobu's head, saying with a smile.
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that it was unclear who fell asleep first.
When Shinobu opened her eyes again, she was met with Yoizumi's smiling sapphire eyes.
"Good morning, Shinobu."
A momentary confusion flashed in Shinobu's eyes. She nestled her head into Yoizumi's neck, and after a while, a muffled voice reached Yoizumi's ears.
"Good morning."
… "Miss Kochou has a new hair ornament, it suits you very well." Tamayo said with a smile.
Shinobu gently touched the hair ornament at the back of her head, smiling faintly as she replied, "Yes."
—Short Theater—
Upon returning to the Butterfly Mansion, Yoizumi received a warm welcome from Nezuko.
Nezuko, who had intended to give her brother a big hug, suddenly braked after getting within half a meter of him.
Yoizumi, who had prepared for the embrace, was stunned.
"What's wrong, Nezuko?"
Nezuko said nothing, only silently moved further away from Yoizumi.
The scent of wisteria on her brother was a bit overwhelming for her.
Yoizumi: Õ_Õ?
Aside
The birthday was an impromptu idea written in this chapter. Later, I casually looked up a zodiac sign and found it was Capricorn, realizing the personality traits perfectly matched Yoizumi's character setting.
Shinobu is a Pisces, so I also casually looked that up, and discovered these two signs are very compatible.
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