Shinobu, after her bath, pushed open the bathroom door. Instead of taking the towel Yoizumi offered, she sat down on the desk in his room. No, it had become her desk during his unconsciousness.
Her damp, dark purple hair fell freely, with water droplets constantly rolling down the strands. Her cheeks were flushed red from the hot water. Shinobu slightly turned her head to look at Yoizumi, her purple eyes fixed on him, and her soft voice spoke.
"Yoizumi, help me dry my hair."
Yoizumi watched Shinobu intently, his voice noncommittal, agreeing without any hesitation. His slender fingers lifted Shinobu's hair, carefully and meticulously drying it with a soft towel. Yoizumi's eyes showed seriousness as he looked at Shinobu's hair in his hands. He thought... Shinobu's hair had grown so much... Shinobu, through the mirror on the desk, watched Yoizumi in the mirror with a smile, her eyes full of tenderness. It had been so long... Since Yoizumi fell unconscious, no one had dried her hair.
Before, it was her parents... then her older sister... and finally... Yoizumi... Shinobu closed her eyes, hiding the fleeting sadness in them, but Yoizumi behind her still noticed. His clear voice revealed obvious concern.
"Shinobu? Did I hurt you?"
She gently shook her head, softly saying no, but Shinobu still felt Yoizumi's movements become even gentler.
"Shinobu's hair has grown longer," Yoizumi said softly as he combed her hair.
"Then, Yoizumi, do you prefer it as it was before, or as it is now?" Shinobu, with her eyes closed, asked casually.
"I like both... Hmm... Of course, whatever Shinobu likes is best." Yoizumi placed the butterfly hair ornament into her night curl, nodding with satisfaction. He glanced at the desk, not finding the hairpin he had given Shinobu before. Just as he was about to give up, Shinobu handed it to him the next second.
"Help me put it on, Yoizumi."
This wooden hairpin was exactly the same as when he had given it to her. Yoizumi knew at a glance that Shinobu had protected it very, very well.
A smile unconsciously appeared in his eyes. He carefully inserted the wooden hairpin, staring at the rose at the end of the hairpin. Yoizumi's movements paused, but quickly returned to normal.
Shinobu smiled. She had been waiting... waiting for her lover to once again style her hair, to put a hairpin in her hair... Fortunately...
She had waited for him.
Her hair had grown longer, so perhaps the butterfly hair ornament wouldn't quite work; she definitely needed to wear a hairpin... Shinobu thought to herself... "Shinobu, how are Tanjirou and Nezuko?" Yoizumi sat with Shinobu in the corridor, watching the scene of yellowing leaves falling one by one. Yoizumi sighed softly.
"They're doing very well, but Yoizumi might be quite surprised when he sees them in person," Shinobu said, leaning her head on Yoizumi's arm, while her left hand played with his right-hand fingers.
Listening to Shinobu recount what had happened during his unconsciousness, Yoizumi lowered his eyelashes, occasionally responding to Shinobu's teasing with his fingers.
So he had been unconscious for so long... He had missed so much... Shinobu's birthday... his younger siblings' growth... Ah... and Iguro and Kanroji's wedding... Yoizumi thought regretfully, raising his hand to catch a falling leaf. Staring at its dry veins, Yoizumi was silent for a moment. He turned to look at Shinobu.
Seeing Yoizumi look over, Shinobu smiled, raising her eyebrows as if asking what was wrong.
Yoizumi didn't speak. Instead, he slowly moved his head closer to Shinobu, steadily closing the distance between them. A gentle kiss landed on Shinobu's forehead.
"Eh?" Caught off guard by the kiss, Shinobu's face uncontrollably blushed. Her beautiful purple eyes looked at the serious Yoizumi in front of her.
He slowly took Shinobu's hand, intertwining their fingers, and Yoizumi's sapphire eyes gazed intently at Shinobu.
Shinobu heard Yoizumi say... "I want to be with Shinobu."
"No matter if it's good things or bad things, I want to face them with Shinobu."
"Being with Shinobu... makes me so happy."
"I want to grow old with Shinobu..."
"I want this happiness to continue until my death."
Yoizumi didn't understand what subtlety meant. He only knew that... for the rest of his days, he only wanted to spend them with the person he loved... So... "Shinobu... I love you so much..."
Tears welled up in Yoizumi's beautiful sapphire eyes. For the first time, he realized.
That when expressing love, one might want to shed tears... His heart felt sore and swollen, yet it was also beating intensely.
Yoizumi found it difficult to articulate his feelings at that moment... "..."
Shinobu stared blankly at Yoizumi. She saw his golden hair blown by the wind, she saw herself reflected in his eyes, she saw him saying he loved her... For a moment, Shinobu didn't know how to respond.
Surrounded by such ardent and vibrant emotions, how could she remain calm?
Her body moved faster than her mind. Shinobu lunged directly at Yoizumi, pinning him down on the wooden floor. Shinobu's tears fell uncontrollably.
"Fool..."
"Aren't these things self-evident?"
"You have no right to refuse..."
"All your time from now on can only be mine..."
One blue and one purple eye met across the space. Shinobu was the first to lower her head, kissing Yoizumi's lips, slowly moving from the corner of his mouth to his lips.
Yoizumi closed his eyes. For some reason, the words of Shinobu's older sister suddenly echoed in his mind at that moment... [Shinobu can be quite willful sometimes...]
To this, Yoizumi's answer remained... Is that so?
He didn't seem to know... Ah... that's right, older sister... Yoizumi stopped kissing. Taking advantage of Shinobu's gasp, he said word by word.
"Shinobu's older sister asked me to tell Shinobu."
Hearing the word 'older sister,' Shinobu's eyes widened. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe.
Yoizumi raised his hand and stroked Shinobu's head, mimicking Kanae's tone at the time.
"I'm happy for you."
Older sister... happy for her...
Yoizumi met her older sister... Was it her older sister who helped her, who brought Yoizumi back to her side?
Older sister... She closed her eyes, and her older sister's gentle smile appeared in her mind, the sound of her older sister calling her name, as if it were right beside her ear.
Shinobu... Opening her eyes again, Shinobu looked at Yoizumi. After a moment, she suddenly laughed, speaking slowly.
"You don't sound like her at all..."
(Still a brain-racking chapter... ( )´ д ` ( ) )
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