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Shinobu is cold. Absolutely chilled to the bone. Both her haori and her uniform are completely soaked through and she can feel water running down her back, her feet squelching as she walks. She'd run but the ground is slippery underfoot and she's already taken two tumbles, so she plods on, shivering, with water dripping from her hair onto her face, and hoping that she comes across somewhere to stay the night soon. Catching sight of something familiar, she pauses, is that? She's near where Tomioka lives! Her elation rapidly turns to dread, to be calling on Tomioka of all people...how bad things must be. Still she makes her way forward, hoping that Tomioka is home and that she won't be standing out in the rain waiting for him for hours. If Kanroji knew about any of this…
"Kochou?" Shinobu turns and finds Tomioka walking up the path behind her. "What are you doing here?"
"I was out on a mission and got caught out is all, is it alright if I-" Tomioka has already walked past her and is holding the door open for her, there isn't time to question it, Shinobu hurries inside.
She just stands in his hallway for a minute, dripping water all over the floor, Tomioka disappears into another room and re-emerges with a towel, handing it to Shinobu as her teeth begin to chatter.
"T-Thank y-you." She shivers violently, a few damp locks of her hair, having come loose, clinging to her neck.
"I'll get you some dry clothes. The spare room is on the left."
Shinobu slowly peels off her wet clothes, and when she peers outside the room she finds that Tomioka has left a yukata out for her, as well another towel. Both of them are warm to the touch.
"Leave your wet stuff out." Tomioka calls, Shinobu can see a room with its door adjar, light spilling out, spotting a crackling fire she smiles, wringing her hair out with a towel and pulling on the yukata. It's big on her, but it definitely wouldn't fit Tomioka, it's also a pale yellow colour with little flowers at the hem. Shinobu looks around, taking in the room, the empty vase sat in the corner, a few worn books on a shelf; between them, the yukata, and the futon she can see poking out of the cupboard, she could be convinced that Tomioka has a frequent female visitor. Jealousy rears its ugly head and she scolds herself, Tomioka is allowed to have female visitors.
Doesn't mean she has to be happy about it though.
Shaking her head to clear it, and spraying water all over the place in the process, Shinobu steps out into the hallway and heads for the room with the fire.
Her clothes are drying next to Tomioka's haori and two steaming bowls of soup sit on the table.
"I thought you might be hungry," Tomioka mumbles, not looking her in the eye. Right on cue, Shinobu's stomach rumbles.
"Thank you." Sitting down tentatively, Shinobu pulls the yukata a little tighter around herself and Tomioka's eyes seem drawn to it. "I'm sorry if it's rude to ask but-who does this belong to?" Tomioka is silent for a long moment, frowning ever so slightly.
"An old student of my master's. She came by a few times before she went to final selection." There's a tone of finality to Tomioka's voice, Shinobu swallows and Tomioka's eyes suddenly widen slightly as if he's just realised it might be rude to lend someone a dead girl's yukata. Still, Shinobu finds herself unbothered, she supposed she's used to that kind of thing. She wears a dead woman's haori after all. She hurriedly turns to her soup, desperate to break the sudden tension in the air.
Once they've finished eating Tomioka goes to wash up and Shinobu stands, peering out the window. Tomioka's garden is surprisingly well maintained, neat flower beds and small fountain, even being pelted by rain they're quite pretty to look at. The floor creaks as Tomioka returns.
"There's a better view from the next room." Shinobu looks over at him, Tomioka fidgets slightly. "Obviously it's not the best weather for it."
He's so awkward. And adorable. No wonder she fell for him.
"Alright then. Maybe I'll come back when the weather's a little nicer." Shinobu doesn't look back to see how Tomioka reacts, but if she had, she would have seen him smile.
She finds a tall, wide window in the next room which has clearly been made up for sitting and watching the garden, yet another vase sits in the corner and Shinobu admires it for a moment before walking over to the window. She really would like to come back another day. But for now, there are things far prettier than the garden to look at. The room is a little cooler than the others and after a while Shinobu makes her way out.
Speaking of pretty things. Shinobu almost gasps at the sight before her. Tomioka, head resting on his arms, is fast asleep. He must have been doing a good job of hiding his exhaustion but Shinobu can see it weighing him down now, slumped as he is in what must be an uncomfortable position; a piece of hair has fallen in his face and she fights the urge to brush it away. As cruel as it would feel, she should wake him, the sun is beginning to set and she needs to find out if she’s welcome to stay the night. It’s still pouring with rain outside and her clothes are still damp so she really hopes Tomioka doesn’t kick her out.
“Mmgh...Kochou?” Tomioka looks utterly dishevelled and completely out of it. Shinobu stifles a giggle. “Sorry...do you need anything?”
“It’s almost nighttime, I don’t know if you want me to-”
“Is it still raining?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Then you can stay if you want, I don’t have any more clothes that will fit you but-” He rubs his eyes and yawns.
So cute.
"Thank you."
"Mmm." Tomioka waves his hand vaguely and slumps over again.
He's still there a few hours later and Shinobu pushes a pillow under his head and drapes a blanket over him before taking herself to bed.
Shinobu's whole body aches, her throat so sore she can barely speak and her nose is so stuffy she has to breathe through her mouth.
She really hates being sick.
Hearing footsteps in the hallway she lets out a weak groan to get Tomioka's attention, thank goodness there's someone here to help her, though she really wishes it was anyone other than Tomioka.
"What is it?" Tomioka takes one look at her and his eyes widen with understanding. "I'll get you some tea."
She's clearly caught Tomioka before he's properly woken up, his eyes still cloudy with sleep and his movements sluggish. Shinobu fights the urge to touch his face, smooth away that worried frown…
Hold on a minute...the normally expressionless Tomioka is frowning deeply and visibly concerned...all over her being sick?
"It's really not that bad."
It really is that bad.
"No wonder you got sick when you were out in that storm."
"Ah well I was already a little bit under the weather so I-" That was the wrong thing to say.
"You shouldn't work when you're not feeling well, if you end up getting hurt because you're not at your best then that's only bad for the demon hunters."
Did Tomioka just tell her off? Shinobu is beginning to wonder if this is some kind of elaborate fever dream.
Once she’s eaten as much as she can and instructed Tomioka on how to make a simple medicinal brew (between her raspy voice and Tomioka’s half awake state it took some time), Shinobu finds herself drifting off again. She fades in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of what’s going on around her, sometimes Tomioka is there, sometimes cups of tea, and food are in his place, and sometimes she’s alone. But one thing remains constant.
She is very, very sweaty.
When she’s only half-conscious it’s fairly easy to cope and she’s so tired that nothing short of a horde of demons would stop her from sleeping; but once she starts to wake up properly it becomes impossible to ignore.
“Tomioka?” She pulls herself upright and manages to stand on wobbly legs. She finds Tomioka reading a letter in dim candlelight, looking far too pretty for his own good. “Can I-Is it alright if I have a bath?” If it was Rengoku or Uzui she might feel a little weird about it but there’s something about Tomioka’s cool, detached demeanour that makes her relaxed. Or maybe she’s just thinking about Tomioka, baths and-
Chaste thoughts only, Shinobu.
“You’re feeling better then?”
“A bit.”
“That’s good.” He stands and beckons her to follow him, their shoulders brushing as he goes through the door. Shinobu allows herself a smile when he turns his back and follows closely.
Feeling considerably better, Shinobu pads through the house, finally feeling properly warm again, even if she is still a little sore. Glancing into the spare room she finds that Tomioka has changed the bedsheets, and thank goodness for that. Spying a door that’s never been open before, Shinobu finds herself peering inside, curiosity and maybe some lowered inhibitions driving her forward. She’s a little disappointed not to find anything weird or embarrassing, just Tomioka’s bedroom, infatuated or not she’s always looking for ways to tease Tomioka-
Wait, this is Tomioka’s bedroom. Shinobu immediately yanks her head back, blushing as all the dirty thoughts she’d been pushing down come flooding back.
“Kochou, is that you?”
“Y-Yes.” Shinobu steps back in the doorway and Tomioka looks at her placidly. Trust Tomioka to have no sense of decorum. She frowns. There’s something different about him... “I’ve never seen your hair down before.”
“Why would you have?”
Stupid, beautiful, idiot. She wants to kiss his dumb face. Tomioka looks up suddenly and Shinobu realises she's taken a stride forward and is standing directly in front of him. Shit, her inhibitions really are shot to hell.
"Can I?" Her hand is hovering near his head, the impulse to touch his hair overriding every sensible instinct. But, to her amazement, Tomioka tilts his head in assent. Shinobu at least has the excuse of being a little sick and delirious, Tomioka has no such excuse. But she isn’t one to turn down an opportunity like this, he seems to lean into her touch and Shinobu doesn't even bother to hide her smile.
She doesn't realise what she's done until she finds herself reaching for her hairpin on autopilot. Without Tomioka stopping her once she's managed to pull his hair up into her hairstyle.
Fuck it.
She puts her hairpin in and sits back to admire her handiwork. Tomioka blinks at her and blushes faintly before reaching for a hair tie and pulling her hair back into a low ponytail. The effect isn't quite as dramatic but Shinobu feels warmed all the way down to her toes. They just look at each other for a long moment before, because sickness ruins everything, Shinobu sneezes. Tomioka's face immediately hardens.
"You should get some sleep."
The moment is gone, Shinobu sighs internally.
Shinobu wakes to the smell of cooking food, finding that she can finally breathe easy and her headache is almost completely gone. She had a nice dream too, though she can’t quite put her finger on what happened.
“Morning!” she calls out, and gets a grunt in response. Undeterred, and just a little bit giddy, Shinobu wanders into the kitchen and stands behind Tomioka, watching him cook. "You're better at cooking than I expected." Tomioka just hands her a bowl, and before Shinobu can find something to tease him about the sound of a crow landing surprises them both. The crow drops a letter onto the table and caws loudly.
“It’s from an acquaintance of mine, she’s gathered some herbs that I needed. I ought to go and collect them.” Tomioka eyes her over the top of his cup.
“Is it a long trip?”
“Not at all, actually her house is closer to here than the butterfly estate.” Shinobu considers her next words carefully, playing with a strand of her hair. “You could come with me, if you felt like it.”
Her offers hangs heavy in the air and the steam rising from the pot of tea seems to move slower and slower, individual particles catching the light as they pass through a sunbeam.
“I would like that.”
Shinobu finds herself unwilling to tease Tomioka as they walk down the street, content to preserve the comfortable silence; Tomioka walks a half step behind her and someone else might think he was just staring off into space but Shinobu can see his eyes darting from shop front to shop front, his body tense and ready to attack at any moment. It’s something she knows all too well, the need to constantly be on guard, never able to relax.
“Left here, Tomioka.” He nods slightly in acknowledgement and Shinobu hangs back so they’re walking in step. Tomioka briefly stops glancing around warily and fixes his gaze on her, Shinobu smiles in return and he seems to relax.
They end up walking to the centre of the village once the herbs are collected, wandering through a half empty market. Shinobu buys them both mochi, ignoring Tomioka when he tries to pay for his, and they sit side by side on a wall to eat them. Their crows pick at each others feathers, either cleaning each other or fighting, Shinobu can’t tell. She steals a sideways glance at Tomioka, who appears to be deep in thought, and smiles to herself. Tomioka looks over at her.
Oops. Maybe he wasn’t so deep in thought.
“What?”
“Nothing. Aren’t I allowed to smile?”
“When you smile at me, trouble usually follows.” Shinobu shoves him playfully.
“Oh, you cut me to the bone, Tomioka.” Silence falls again and Shinobu swings her legs back and forth, moving them faster when Tomioka shoots her an annoyed look, and is rewarded with the faintest glimmer of mirth in his eyes. She’s about to poke his cheek when something bright catches her eye. A yukata, purple and covered in a pink and white floral pattern, it looks as soft as anything and it’s exactly her size. She’s in need of a new yukata and all. Tomioka notices that her attention has drifted and follows her gaze.
“That colour would look good on you,” he comments, unprompted. Shinobu smiles slyly.
“Oh? Do you think so? I didn’t know you had opinions on that sort of thing, Tomioka.” His ears turn pink. “Do you think I should buy it?”
“You can-You can do what you want.” Shinobu’s smile turns into a full blown grin and she hops off the wall.
“Don’t worry, Tomioka, you can be honest with me!” she calls as she walks away, hiding a secretive, softer smile behind her palm.
It was inevitable that one of them would be called away on a mission, so Shinobu isn’t surprised when she is. She’s still not pleased about it. Tomioka is outside training and he looks up when she comes to stand at the window, understanding immediately.
“Do you have far to go?”
“A day’s walk, nothing I haven’t done before.” Tomioka nods, not really looking at her. Shinobu suppresses her disappointment and moves to start packing up her things, then pauses when she comes to the yukata. She'd rather not carry it into battle.
"Leave it."
“Huh?”
“Leave it here. You can come back and pick it up after your mission.”
Neither of them points out that he could just send it over to the butterfly estate.
So she comes back, exhausted and a little beaten up and somehow, instead of her taking her things and returning home, she ends up staying the night, eating breakfast and even training for a while before she leaves for the butterfly estate. She brings the pale yellow yukata with her...
She finds Tomioka staring at it in the morning, his brow furrowed. She doesn't speak, wary of breaking the silence. Then finally…
"She wasn't so good at breath of water." His voice is rough with sleep. "Urokodaki and I agreed she might do better with breath of flower. He was going to send her to Kanae after final selection."
"You must have had that for a long time then."
"I suppose I have." There's another extended silence and when Tomioka does speak, his voice cracks slightly. "What should I do?" He's never asked so plainly for advice, and never sounded so vulnerable.
"Well...I don't think...it's no good for you to just keep it." He doesn't reply, which is normal for him, but still not reassuring. "That book is hers as well, yes?"
"Yes."
"Keep that. I can-I can take the yukata if you're ok with that?" Why is she suddenly stuttering now? Feeling useless when Tomioka's clearly in need?
"That's...yes, that's ok with me."
"You're sure?" Tomioka smiles, even as something resembling tears clouds his eyes.
"Yes. I trust you."
Oh shit. She might be in love.
Shinobu comes back again. And again. And again, until eventually she starts leaving some of her things at the water pillar estate. Basic medical supplies for when one of them gets hurt. A comb and some soap. Her new yukata.
The pile of her things grows and grows until one day she arrives to find that Tomioka has moved a new set of shelves into the spare room and filled the vase with fresh flowers. She finds that she isn't disturbed by that at all, nor by the fact Tomioka isn't home and she's alone in his house; Shinobu makes herself tea and curls up under a blanket.
Tomioka doesn’t even blink at the sight of her when he returns, but he’s walking stiffly and Shinobu can see a tear in his uniform.
“Fine,” he mutters before she can even speak.
“You know that isn’t true, get over here and let me look at that wound.” To his credit, Tomioka doesn’t argue, flopping down next to her and extending his leg carefully. “It’s not so bad, just keep it clean.”
“I told you-” Shinobu glares and Tomioka shuts his mouth. She still lets him crawl under the blanket though.
“Are we going to talk about this?” Shinobu mumbles, nose buried in the crook of Tomioka’s neck.
“Talk about what?”
“Are you really that dense or are you just avoiding the conversation?”
“...avoiding.” Shinobu snorts.
“We’re talking about it.” Tomioka groans. Shinobu pulls herself up and away, enjoying the view of Tomioka relaxed and peaceful, with his hair spread out like a halo around his head. His blue eyes are ever so cloudy with sleep and he blinks slowly, like a cat. “This is my third night in a row here, and this isn’t the first time.” Tomioka grunts and shifts closer to her, tangling his fingers with hers. “People have started coming here to look for me.” Blue eyes widen and Tomioka blushes slightly.
“Oh.”
“You didn’t know that?” He shakes his head.
“I didn’t think anyone had noticed.”
“Dumbass.” Tomioka frowns and Shinobu giggles, stroking hair out of his face.
“Alright. I’ll talk.” Shinobu kisses his forehead.
“Thank you,” she chimes, Tomioka’s cheeks turn a blazing red. “So...am I allowed to call you my boyfriend or not?” He’s silent for a worryingly long time, Shinobu hadn’t been expecting a rejection but she braces herself for one now. Tomioka sighs, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand.
“I’d-I’d be really happy if you did that.”
”That wasn't so hard was it?" He tugs on her arm.
“Will you come back already?”
Shinobu smiles fondly and curls up next to him again, Tomioka wraps an arm around her waist and she sighs contentedly, warmed to the bone.