Ink Stained

90: teacher, friend, protector, and...?*

先生、友達、守護人、そして...

She woke groggily the next morning to the incessant alarm of her phone drumming out the first ten seconds of Durarara!!'s opening song, courtesy of Shiori's conniving ways. She stuck her hand out of the cosy cocoon of her blanket and scrabbled for the phone, found it, and switched it off with an annoyed, sleepy groan.

Today was Sunday, not Monday. She'd forgotten to switch off the alarm for the weekend when she didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to help Yukiji and Mizutani with the kids while she got ready for school. Already, despite how tired she was, she could feel precious sleep slipping away from her. There was no way she'd be going back to sleep now.

She flopped back on the bed, lying on her stomach, spread-eagled, and stayed that way for minutes longer, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to coax sleep back. Her dreams had been blessedly empty. No haunting memories stalked her sleep, not since Kuniumi had disappeared. She wanted to revel in that reprieve for as long as it lasted.

It took a few more minutes before the haze in her mind lifted just enough for her to remember what happened last night.

She almost gave herself whiplash when she ripped the heavy blanket off and sat up straight as a beanpole, staring at the forest through the window with huge eyes. The heaviness of sleep in her limbs vanished as she tried to sort through the befuddling confusion of her thoughts.

No.

No, there was no way that happened. It was a dream. She was dreaming.

Her hand went to her lips, fingers trembling as she traced over her bottom lip. She could still remember the sensation of Shin's lips moving over hers so clearly, so vividly, it was like she was reliving the moment. She could remember her lips redder than usual when she went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her flushed face. She could remember with absolute precision the feel of his arm around her waist, moulding the curves of her body to his, as if she was made for him. She could remember his ton – she could remember everything about that moment so clearly, it was like a movie playing in the highest definition possible in her head.

Could it really be a dream if she could recall every moment so perfectly?

She swallowed, eyebrows crinkling as she tried to understand how it had all happened.They'd been talking about Shin's transitioning to Kamigami. He asked her if she was afraid of him after admitting that once he became a true Kamigami, his domain would be that of death. She said she wasn't, because really, how could she? All he was, all he could be, was everything she wanted.

Even as melodramatic as that sounds, she thought with a wince. It's the truth.

And then Shin kissed her. He kissed her hurtling her brain and body into sensory overdrive, and asked her if she could still accept him after what he'd done to her.

He said that he wasn't looking for her to answer immediately, and that she should sleep on it and take a few days to herself before telling him anything. He didn't want her to force herself into anything she didn't want, because whatever it was between them, he wasn't looking for it be some short-term fling. He'd waited for this long; he could wait a little while longer for her answer.

She was too dumbstruck to argue, and only meekly followed as he led her back to her room and bid her goodnight at her door. She was so overwhelmed by what happened and exhausted by the day's events that she'd simply curled up in bed and dropped straight off to sleep in a matter of seconds.