stolen time

ch26 sunny day nr

the birds chirped loudly into the morning bringing a refreshing song with warm rays of light shining through the room hitting kyojuro's eyelids giving him a wakeup call.

his vision bathed in a light orange tone rousing him from his deep slumber, before cracking open to the sight of his ceiling. sitting up he reached his arms up grunting as he stretched his stiff limbs from a good night of sleep, the lasting drowsiness blended in with his light headiness of his slightly lasting fever.

smiling he looked outside towards the garden through the open shoji.

"what a nice day"

the sound of shoji sliding open sounded behind him as he looked back towards its direction, standing there was ayame holding a plate of medicine and tea. alerted by the sudden stare she looked up to see kyojuro sitting up and staring at her with an owly gaze.

"ara? you're awake"

sliding the shoji shut behind her she walked sideways across the room, kyojuro tilted his head from her odd behavior when his gaze traced down to her feet that was centimeters from the suns rays.

"ah sorry i didnt realize!"

kyojuro cried in a panic he hurriedly tossed his sheets to the side of the futon to get up, jumping up he quickly jogged over towards the engawa with each hand on one slide of shoji he pulled them to a close before quickly turning his attention back behind him.

"shall we move to another room?"

he asked, with his signature smile plastered upon his face with one hand still pressed on the shoji.

"but you should rest more, don't worry about me i won't burn from this bit of light I'll move if i need to"

Ayame replied in a soft voice stepping towards the dim light that barely peeked through to prove her words, though she didn't burn the exposed parts of her skin felt as if it was wrapped in hot metal writhing in a sizzling sensation.

"see?"

she smiled hiding her choked back pain. she knew fully well that it would've been better for her to move, but at the same time she wanted to be under the light giving her a illusion that she was human once again, something she wouldnt get back at the tightly sealed temple.

making her way towards kyojuro who stood there with a mild expression of worry, she raised the plate of his medicine towards him.

"here, senjuro left it for you before he went to town"

"i see thank you ayame!"

grabbing the cup of medicine he chugged it down making a cringed face from the bitterness.

"oh right, since yesterday night i kept on feeling this weird glaring feeling on me would you know what it is?"

his smile faltered and a serious expression stood on his face.

"it may be my father, he was a former hashira he might've picked up your presence"

"hmm? im surprised he hasn't beheaded me yet"

a smile perked back up on his face.

"dont worry he is retired now and he doesn't have a katana"

"that's reassuring"

she said with a small grin as she took the cup out of kyojuro's hand placing it back upon the wooden plate.

"now go lay down"

"hai"

he obliged walking behind ayame back to the middle of the room where his futon layed, sitting down with ayame right beside him.

"will you be heading back now?"

"i cant, not with the sun up, but i will if it becomes cloudy or when the sun sets"

kyojuro let out a relieved sigh knowing that he would be able to spend some more time with ayame before she would disappear from his sight once more.

he closed his eyes leaning backwards he plopped onto the futon with his arms spread out besides him, his eyes shot open moments later when he remembered a question that had been sitting in his thoughts.

"oh right ayame! what happened that day you suddenly showed up all injured"

her gaze turned down towards him with a blank yet disgusted look, tapping her closed fan on her chin she looked back in front.

"long story short i killed one of muzan's underlings that was rampaging in a town, and he tried to persuade me again to join him so i blasted him"

a silence brushed over them and the color on kyojuro's face drained out of him like water with small droplets of sweat forming along his hairline.

"i dont know if you are fearless or bold"

a smirk tugged on her lips letting out a devilish giggle along with it.

" i did tell you im the only one amongst us that despises him and the only one who would pull these stunts"

"wouldn't that get you killed?"

he said in a worried tone towards the woman who was practically playing with death, treating her life as if it was a disposable chess piece on a board.

"perhaps one day if muzan no longer sees any value in me"

his owl eyes widened up even further into shock, planting his forearms down he semi raised himself up to meet eyes with her.

"Ayame did you just say his name?"

she looked at him confused tilting her head.

"yes?"

"wouldn't that trigger his curse?"

"ah you mean that, my situation is different because i was able to break his curse so no need to worry"

he sighed in relief.

"then can you tell me about kibutsuji muzan?"

her eyes narrowed tilting her head onto het shoulder.

"i would but at this time i cannot"

"why is that?"

"because even though im given temporary freedom he recently planted a watchdog among us, though he shouldn't be able to find my location even being here with you right now is risky"

"thats too bad then, is that why its such a struggle to meet you?"

he asked enthusiastically to hide his disappointment in finding news about muzan.

"you can say that, now go to sleep"

"alright..."

she hummed him her mothers song.

"it's that song again, where is it from?"

"its the song my mother always sang, it always calms me down in any occasion"

he hummed in response, his eyes drift shut as a drowsy sensation slowly returned growing ever more deeply he fell into a slumber.

"goodnight kyojuro"

he heard before his body went limp consciousness drifting away as he breathed softly in a harmonic beat.