Inbetween Two Worlds - Sanegiyuu

32 - Deterioration

Shinobu's pov:

Tomioka's at it again.

I sighed, closing the door behind me as I walked out of the cell. My heart felt heavy at the sight of him, I knew he wasn't doing well - both physically and mentally, but the extent of his mental damage is unknown.

I wish he would be able to open up to me, especially since all the while I had been dropping hints that I'm willing to listen to him if needed but he's stubborn. Well, to be fair, I was mean to him in the past, although it wasn't as bad as shinazugawa or obanai, I still ignored him terribly.

Why did I even care that much for him?

I don't know.

Maybe it's because after seeing how much he suffered, I felt bad for him. No one - human or not - should ever go through that much pain he went through, even I felt pity for him and I hated demons to my core. Just the thought of having centipedes in your ear irked me, and having your limbs severed along with your mouth sewed shut is horrible. He was probably overdosed on some numbing agent and I reckon he also over dosed on the pain killers - since we found a crate full of empty bottles in his house.

Just, how much did he suffer?

I know it's hypocritic and thick skinned of me to suddenly care for tomioka but, I really do regret my past actions. He isn't as bad as I thought, in fact- he seems guiltier for becoming a demon rather than being mad about the treatment. He didn't care when shinazugawa mistreated him, he simply accepted his fate and that was quite a horrible sight to see.

He isn't such a bad person afterall - except for the fact that he did injure to people but that was because we provoked him.

He's like an animal, a creature that is calm but aggressive when provoked, yet we blame him for hurting us when we injured him in the first place.

I really hoped that shinazugawa would be able to stop being such an asshole and actually start seeing tomioka in a postive light because - let's be for real - his constant whinings are staring to get annoying and I do ship tomioka and shinazugawa together. Its stupid, I know but I can't help it. There's something about them being together that just sits perfectly in my head and I'll be happy if I see them together.

I sighed and looked at the plate in my hands which was still full of food.

Tomioka hadn't eaten since he woke up - which was about 3 weeks ago. He hasn't touch the food and would only drink water when necessary. I would asked him to eat, but he would always give an excuse or say 'he would do it later' but by the time he said he was 'hungry', the food had already gone bad. I wanted to ask Aoi to make some snacks for tomioka but I didn't want to force him to eat, plus he's very adamant on starving and his stubborn personality makes it worse. He's gradually loosing his strength, which is somehow possible, and he can now barely hold a cup full of water.

How long has it been since he last eaten?

He's bones were protruding, his cheeks were sunken horribly, his skin was an ashy-white and his hair was very thin.

He was starving himself and I had no idea why he would do that. I hope that he would be able to open up and I thought shinazugawa might be able to help him but it was futile. Tomioka still remained the same and he was 'smiling' more than usual - which was very concerning since he normally doesn't smile. He had also been zoning out more often, almost like he wasn't here and he would cry randomly followed by a hallow laughter. He seemed broken - like a doll or an empty shell.

One good thing about this recovery journey so far is that his limbs are slowly starting to regenerate, its slow but progress is still progress. I could see the stubs slowly getting longer and his legs had grown to his ankle. That was good, I suppose.

I sighed again.

How am I supposed to help him?

...

3rd person pov:

The ravenette stared at the celling, mind constantly replaying the harsh rejection in the previous encounter he had with sanemi. The wind hashira hadn't visited him for the past 2 weeks, using the 'i have a mission' excuse or the 'im busy' lies to entertain the ravenette.

He felt dejected - afterall, his crush had basically rejected him and hated his clinginess. The hybrid was sad, but his heart was reluctant to yeild to the fact that shinazugawa sanemi doesn't like him. It still pestered him with his unrequited feelings, eating into his soul and providing him with a false sense of love which he still stupidly believed in. He craved for the warm comfort of love, he yearned for the sweet nothings being whispered into his year, he wished for a hand to soothe his pain and bring him some mental rest in times of need and he hoped that these forms of love would come from a specific man he adored.

If only...

Well, the word 'if' is a probability word. So there is a 50/50 possiblity that shinazugawa sanemi, the notoriously hot headed wind hashira, could fall in love with the ravenette.

Who wouldn't like the ravenette?

Surely not shinazugawa sanemi, right?

Its not like there's anything loveable about giyuu, well except for the small smile that appears in his lips whenever he sees kanzaburo, the small flicker of light in his eyes when he sees his favourite food - daikon and slamon, the discreet actions that are adorably akin to a 5 year old, the small hum he sings whenever he's alone, the ability to get flustered very easily and of course, the stubborn personality that would stick up for justice even in the face of adversities.

All these small features or the ravenette are adorable, but sadly gone unnoticed by those who ignore the ravenette. However, seeing how much time sanemi is spending with giyuu, even though it's forced, he might have picked up on the small details.

And who knows? Maybe he will come to like the ravenette.