Reflection

A Quiet Morning

Giyuu woke to the smell of wisteria, his head foggy as he drifted awake after a nightmare that flickered on and off through the night.

Tsu-nee...

Giyuu blinked the remnants of the dream out of his eyes, the image of the closet and the bloodied room fading as he opened his eyes fully. Taking in the morning light as his mind slowly began to wake up, stirring him into a coherent thought.

I guess I slept through the night-

"Hm..."

Giyuu froze as he heard a murmur, his eyes going wide as he realized his arms were currently occupied. Looking down with a thundering heartbeat as he saw Shinobu tucked into his chest, her arms stretched around him. The occasional murmur under her breath and flutter under her eyelids told him that she was still asleep.

"Stop moving..."

And apparently wasn't planning on waking up anytime soon.

What's going on-

Giyuu stiffened as Shinobu snuggled closer to him, his face flushed red as he tried to force himself to relax. Going through every breathing exercise he knew to try and slow down his heartbeat because he was afraid it would wake her up.

Lake. Lake. Lake. Lake. There's a lake...

Giyuu tried to retreat to the emotional safe house he had carefully crafted and perfected over the years, failing spectacularly as he felt Shinobu shift closer.

There's no lake...

Giyuu felt his internal panic swell as he failed to calm his heartbeat, his face burning as Shinobu murmured into his chest. His panic-stricken mind stalled as he spotted something that dulled his confusion in favor of intrigue.

Her haori...

Giyuu blinked slowly, taking in the butterfly haori that had been set on the chair. His eyes trailed it until they got to the butterfly hairpin that had been set on the desk right beside it.

She never takes those off...

Giyuu hadn't seen her without one or the other since she joined the corps. She always made sure to wear at least one of them at all times, a sentiment he could understand as he tried to keep his haori on him whenever possible.

This must be her room then...

Giyuu honestly should have connected the dots a little sooner, it made sense now that he looked around. The papers on the desk were probably from her job as head of the estate, and now that he had a closer look the vials were more likely poison than medicine.

She must have been testing out new poisons...

Giyuu was pulled out of his thoughts as Shinobu shuffled in her sleep, looking down as he took in her sleeping figure. His eyes trailed her loose hair that wasn't in its usual pin, falling towards her face as he blinked in surprise.

She isn't smiling...

It wasn't like the previous times, rare glimpses he had seen of her without her picturesque smile. She was relaxed, her lips slightly apart as she slept without any attempt to control her facial expressions. Her loose hair splayed across her face as her eyelashes peaked out from underneath, an expression of peace on her face that didn't seem to stay when she was awake.

She looks happy...

Giyuu felt himself relax a little bit, his arms that were currently wrapped around Shinobu trailing towards her loose hair. Giyuu absentmindedly twirled it in his fingers as he listened to Shinobu's even breathing. Giyuu was almost hypnotized by the sound, his eyes unable to look away from Shinobu's serene expression.