stolen time

Ch76 wisteria rr

Pml

We agreed to go on one condition, and that was to first test if she would truly be fine being near wisteria before going inside. after we dropped nezuko off at the butterfly estate we made our way towards the wisteria mountain, a place I never thought I would be near again.

Once we arrived we were instantly greeted by a barrage of purple dangling wisteria, despite its beauty it played an important role of keeping the demons lurking in the distance trapped.

"So how is it! Ayame"

I asked as she slowly approached the nearest tree towards us staring up at its glory.

"It should be fine, though I don't like the smell it's much different than what I remember"

She said scrunching up her face, I walked up to stand beside her.

"Do you want to head back?"

I asked with my arms folded within my sleeves, ayame didn't answer for a few seconds with the same blank look on her face, looking forwards she entered the vast forest without hesitation as I watched from behind with her hair swaying from side to side almost like a tail.

"We're already here we might as well look around, I'm still alive so what's the worst that can happen"

I joined her catching up from behind watching a smile form as it peeked out from her hair.

"You said you didn't like the smell, what does it smell like to you?"

"Like a deadly poison mixed with a strange toxicity"

I chuckled as we walked in silence admiring the view around us. After a while of walking I started to notice Ayame's pace decrease as time went on until eventually stopping all together with a ring of her bell, I stopped and turned around with a confused expression to see her head tilted down and a hand covering her eye.

"Ayame are you alright? Should we go back?"

I hurriedly walked over gently removing her hand from her face to see her complexion, she had a strange dazed look and her face was red almost as if she was drunk.

"Ayame?"

I called, she tilted her head to the side with a giggle it was like her neck didn't have any strength since they way she tilted it was as if she dragged it over.

"Ayame let's head back, you don't seem ok"

"Ah... it's kyojuro hehe~ I'm fine I can keep going"

Her words were slowed and unbalanced, I looked at her with a raised brow and with a smile she walked past me. I watched her in worry since she seemed out of it, her haori began to slid down her shoulder as she tip toed with her hands held behind her back. Worried that she may trip I picked up my pace to a skip, while she turned around on the ball of her foot coming to face me with narrowed eyes.

"I'm really~ fine kyojuro see? I can even do this"

Ayame looked behind her towards the tall wisteria trees jumping up from branch to branch onto the top giggling.

"Ayame! Be careful you'll fall"

I shouted jogging over to her with downturned brows anxious, she lifted her head up into the sky and began to lean backwards falling down soon after as I had feared.

I extended my arms out preparing to catch her but just like before she black flipped and landed on her feet, but this time she stumbled upon landing falling back into my arms from behind.

She tilted her head up pressing her head on my chest reaching her arms up and wrapping them around my neck as my face was pulled down centimetres from hers, startled from her actions I could feel a blush forming on my face.

Pm

"A-ayame?"

She looked at me dead in the eyes with a soft and slightly saddened look.

"You're so warm kyojuro... if I had died during the summer... would I have been warm like you?"

My eyes widened at her statement, ayame nuzzled her face against mine before her body went limp, I was quickly dragged down to a kneel as her weight pulled me down, catching our bodies down to a stable position I shook her.

"Ayame? Ayame!"

She didn't respond but I could hear her breathing, I let out a sigh as my lips turned up into a smile "what am I going to do with you" I brushed her bangs out of her face before placing a hand under her knees pulling her up into a bridal hold.

"Kyojuro..."

"Yes what is it ayame?"

I answered humouring her drunk words while I slowly turned back to head home, she wrapped her arms around my neck sleepily and whispered.

"If I... survive in the end...and I'm human again...i want to spend the rest of my life... growing old with you"

My footsteps came to a stop as my eyes widened, I looked down to her hoping for a further explanation, only for her to be sleeping peacefully within my arms again. It felt as if a brush of warm wind blew past me as that fuzzy feeling returned, her words filled me with a strange happiness. when one conversation I had with young kamado popped inside my head.

"Umm rengoku san?"

"What is it young kamado!"

"A-are you and ayame san...in a relationship?"

"Nope! What makes you think that?"

"Well it's just you two seem really close and whenever you two are together I pick up a scent that tells me you both care a lot about each other, and ayame san usually has a overbearing smell of anger but whenever she's with you it lights up alot and sometimes I can even sense happiness so I had assumed you were in love with her and you two were in a relationship"

All the memories I had with her since we met flashed before my eyes, A realization struck me. I realized what that fuzzy feeling that filled me whenever I was with her was. "maybe he wasn't so wrong after all" I thought. smiling I gently planted a kiss on top of her head.

"I would like that"

I answered

"I love you ayame"