Not-So High School Sweethearts

10: Not Enough Time

Minutes passed as they kept on checking on Shinobu, doing the things and processes they would as if it was anyone else. Aoi brought a damp towel and placed it on Shinobu's forehead and at least tried to help her breathing.

Then, the sirens finally came.

"K-kanae..." Shinobu muttered out with a weak smile playing on her face. "M-my si-ster..." The sirens came closer to the estate and the three brought her out the door. Silently they all hoped that this was all just a dream, a nightmare. But as each minute passed, they knew it was all too true.

A stretcher was brought out as they watched, helplessly, her being taken into the ambulance and away to the hospital. They drove off, leaving them alone in the distance.

"T-that's two of them already..." Aoi said. "Kanao, don't you dare you leave!?!" She grabbed Kanao's shoulders and shook her hard. "Don't even think about it!" But all she did was nod.

Sirens, like they all heard in their imaginations, in their dreams and nightmares that night. It all became...real.

***

School wasn't the same for no one since then. Not for Nezuko, not for Tanjiro, not Aoi, not Kanao, not Zenitsu, not even Isosuke or any one of them. It was even harder to focus because of some things going on.

"N-nezuko?" Zenitsu called out to Nezuko who was down the hall. She wasn't with anyone right now so he thought it was a good moment to talk to her. "Nezuko? Please-"

"Hm?" She turned around but instead of any expression he expected to see was quickly drowned out by the view of seeing bruises on her arms and face.

"N-" He stood there, shocked, his hand reaching out. "I-I'm sorry. This is all my fault." He fell down onto his knees and started crying, like usual. "Please forgive me, Nezuko! P-please! Tell me what I did wrong in your eyes! Just-" But instead of finishing she bent down and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Let's go," she told him to which he stood up and followed her down the hallway. "Hurry. Tanjiro will get even more upset at-" but he wasn't listening anymore. All he could think about was that they were already hurting her and he was all to blame.

They wound up going to the nurse's room to get her bandaged up and put [cheap] medicine on her bruises. "What are you going to tell him?" he asked Nezuko while the nurse, who wasn't even paying attention to them two, cleaned her up.

"I'm sometimes clumsy so I'll just tell him that I fell down the stairs and wound up hitting the bar pole at the end. Hopefully he'll believe it."

"Yeah..." he said while he just sat there next to her. "Hey, can I ask you something?" She nodded to him before he took a deep breath. "Do you hate me?"

Her eyes went wide in shock as she heard what he had asked her. For a moment she stayed silent, debating whether or not she should tell him the truth and that's what she decided to do. "No, why would I hate you?"

"Because..." he started but never got further than that.

"Because of that girl?" She tilted her head to the side as she asked curiously. "Even if it was your fault I wouldn't hate you for it. That's the way my brother and I are. We don't really like to hold grudges...except on occasions."

"Yeah I could see that happening," I joked lightly. We started walking down the hallway together to her next class. I wanted to ask her another question but I didn't want to seem to bother her at the same time.

"Hm?" she said quietly.

"C-can I ask you another question? I-I'm sorry if it s-seems like I'm asking so many-" But she just gave a gentle laugh to herself.