Chapter Text
Daydreams are quite painful and pathetic. She can see her, standing there, playing with Kanao and Aoi like it was something she did every day. It had been, of course. It just didn’t happen anymore. And with that, it disappears in a blink, bringing her back to reality. It’s empty now, and not just the clearing. Their hearts, their emotions, their smiles. She’s wearing her haori. Some days, she just wants to rip it apart. But life goes on, and it wouldn’t make anything less hurting even if she did destroy it. So she must stand up, and go on.
She can see her everywhere, really. The flowers, the rooms, the sun, the sky. She isn’t sure to be grateful or hateful that she left so many memories. She also hates that there’s no photograph of her to remember her by on days like these. She places her own hairpin on it, and some flowers that she used to love. She slips off her haori too.
She’s panting from shouting too much. She’s on the ground, clutching herself like it’ll crumble away. She can now feel the adrenaline and anger draining from her. She gets up, and puts the haori back on, putting on a perfect smile with it.
She never thought the day would come when she saw her sister in herself. She’s crushing wisteria leaves and experimenting with them when she catches her reflection. She pauses. She looks too much like her. Too much. She knows; her sister wouldn’t have been proud. But she wouldn’t listen to her sister this time. …She can’t.
Her haori’s thrown away again, though carefully. Frustration is clogging up her mind, and everything is just so irritating. That damn demon, her dying, everything! What would be the point of this if she never found the demon? What if only her health got worse while the demon thrived, taking more and more innocent lives? What was she even doing?
But as always, it goes down. She takes deep breaths, and puts on the haori again, cleaning the mess.
She’s angry. She’s dying. He called her weak, and she can’t deny him. Oh, but what he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know that just as he consumes her, he’ll be falling right onto her plan, because her death was part of her plan. She can feel Kanao entering the room. Her panicked steps and shocked breathing. Be careful. She warns, before darkness envelopes her.
It’s strange. She’s in the mansion again. She sighs innerly. She’s tired. She doesn’t want to look up and be hurt again. But…this time…she’s not wearing her haori…She looks up in surprise and her eyes widen. She’s there, smiling at her like she always used to. Shinobu shoots up, and takes a few shaky stumbles towards her before running towards her. She crushes her in a hug, tears that had been long missed flowing down her face. Her cries echo in the clearing, but she doesn’t mind because all she hears is her soft laughter and reassurance. She can feel her tap her and point somewhere. She hesitantly lifts her head and follows her hand to where Kanao and Aoi are sitting, clutching at Shinobu’s hairpin. Aoi’s crying, and Kanao has a hand on her shoulder, though she’s crying too. Kanae meets Shinobu’s gaze with a smile, and stretches her hand for her to take as an invitation to stay here and wait for them. Together. Shinobu takes it.