A/N: In previous chapters:
-Genya, Sanemi, and Shinobu come across an illicit trafficking ring which harvests and sells demonic organs. The leader of that organization is a man named Zou.
-When the demon slayers take the traffickers into custody, Sanemi's acquaintance from the police tells them that influential individuals (identities not revealed) are interested in the hindrance of the case.
-Genya is stationed as part of a vigil around the trafficker's headquarters. A trafficker called Subaru who had escaped arrest approaches him. He wants the demon slayer to help him smuggle in demons inside. He blackmails Genya by threatening to reveal his secret of eating demons.
The electric lines, damped by the humidity, hovered between the tightly packed houses. Silhouettes cut through the swaying laundry. The muted sizzling traveled up the drainage pipes and into the upper levels.
One arm wrapped around the wire chain of the swing, Genya stared wearily at the alley across from him. His feet pushed against the rubber mulch, giving him a half-hearted swing. The playground was deserted.
The sun was setting between the buildings, and Genya could feel its warmth rolling unhurriedly down his back. The shadows stretched and expanded on the ground until they merged. In a moment, darkness engulfed the area.
As if a switch had been flipped, the air was suddenly full of the chiming of the night bugs. One by one, light-sensitive lamps flickered down the alley. The shadows fissured and shrank back to their original sizes.
Sniffing into his stuffed nose, Genya leaned his temple against the chain. He had to go home at some point. Even with no demons, there was no way he could out sit the night here. He closed his eyes, feeling the warm metal against his skin. The more he stayed out, the more his brother would become suspicious. And the more he became suspicious, the more likely he'd have to recount to him what happened at the stockpile the other day…
Genya opened his eyes and, shifting on the swing set, tugged both chains with his hands. The ground became very interesting to look at.
He should come clean to Sanemi and tell him about Subaru.
There was also that bit about eating demons.
Opioids, too.
Genya squeezed his eyes shut. The chain trembled as he gripped onto it as hard as he could. His mind raced, jumping from one scenario to another.
He would be demoted. The news would spread everywhere.
Genya felt his cheeks burn. He could already picture Tanjiro's sympathetic, but awkward face, not knowing what to say. And Inosuke would try to say something supportive in his untactful way. Genya squirmed in the seat, his imagination constructing their voices with impeccable accuracy.
The lights flashed on in an apartment a few balconies above. Genya gazed at it without blinking, and his stomach curled into a knot.
What if he asked Sanemi to remove him from guard duty?
His gut grabbed the idea immediately like a lifeline, but he forced himself to slow down. Still watching the window, Genya subconsciously chewed on his lips. If he's removed, what happens?
A kid, too young to tell the gender, poked its head out from the window. Giving a content sigh, the child plopped its arms on the windowsill and began looking around. Its eyes fell on Genya.
The demon slayer stood up abruptly. The swing dangled harshly, its shadow contorting on the ground. Picking up the trombone case that was propped at the curb of the playground, Genya swung the strap over his head and turned around the corner. He avoided looking upwards.
The dry gravel crunched under his feet. With each step, the idea settled down further and further, creating connections and explanations inside his mind.
Deeper. More convincing.
The sound grew shorter and shorter, until all that echoed between the buildings was the thunk of boots against the ground.
No stockpile, no Subaru.
The trombone case thumped against his back. He wasn't breathing now, he was panting. Elation, intoxicating and light-weighted, shot through his veins.
Genya skipped over a bicycle rack, hoisting himself up by one arm and flying swiftly over the vehicles. Immense satisfaction raced through him, and he never felt so glad that he was a demon slayer.
Most demon slayers lived in the Middle Level, and Sanemi was no exception. When he first moved in, Genya expected his brother's lodgings to serve a purely temporary purpose, so he was ready for anything, from an extended hotel stay to a cheap room next to the train tracks. He was very baffled to find out that Sanemi's home was located in a respectable apartment complex with a very decent for their city population density.
Luscious green clawing plants and vines swung down from the stacked balconies, creating a cool zone in the patio. Still catching his breath from the run, Genya tapped the apartment number into the keypad at the gate. There was a short beep, and the young demon slayer pushed the gate forward. Goosebumps ran across his neck, and Genya shivered from the temperature drop. Closing the gate with his foot, he turned around.
The patio stretched down a single platform, and small alleys separating each apartment block weaved in between exotic plants and squat statuettes. There was a sound of gurgling water, but the demon slayer suspected it was a phonogram. Sanemi lived neither at the front nor the back, but somewhere in the middle, so Genya used to wander into the wrong blocks when he was still getting used to the new home. Now, his feet carried him with muscle memory to the right turn; he didn't even need to count his steps.
Genya jogged briskly up the stairs hidden in the shrubbery. They lived on the third floor, so there was no need for an elevator. They had two more neighbors; the one at the end of the short hallway had a collection of plants in front of the door, while the other one had an umbrella rack. Sanemi completed the picture with a welcome mat.
As his fingers mechanically pressed out the password on the touchpad, Genya kneeled down and began undoing the laces on his sneaker with his other hand. In the dimness of the hallway, he didn't feel as confident as before.
The green flicker of the alarm system was like an unspoken signal. Genya straightened out and cleared his voice, mustering remnants of the adrenaline.
"Back 'n black," Genya exclaimed as he walked in. Blue light glasses on the tip of his nose, Sanemi placed the bowl of miso soup on the floor and shifted the left headset behind his ear. He forced a smile.
"Oh yeah?"
The wind hashira was sitting on the floor in front of the large monitor screen. His watch, projecting a hologram with data logs, was splayed on his knee. On the opposite side was a notebook. Both pages were completely written over.
"You got dinner yet?"
Although the hashira's voice was friendly, tension radiated across the entire living space.
"I'm not that hungry." His voice nearly cracked at the end. Tugging off his sneakers, Genya dropped them next to his brother's boots. His fingers trembled slightly.
"I snacked during the day, so…"
Sanemi looked back towards the screen and tucked the slipping glasses back up. Genya felt as if a rock fell off his chest.
"Sounds filling."
Genya hummed something incomprehensible and placed the trombone case on the kitchen counter. He picked up the glass from the drying rack next to the sink and turned on the faucet. As the glass filled up with water, he eyed the monitor. It resembled footage of some kind.
"Is that work?" He asked carefully.
Sanemi moved the headphones, indicating that he can now hear.
"Is this related to work?" Genya repeated, a little bit louder. Sanemi moved the headphone back.
"Yeah. Recordings of the interrogations."
The water spilled onto his fingers, and the demon slayer turned off the faucet. Genya downed the drink in one go. His gum ignited from the cold water.
Clenching his jaw to hold back the tingling, the demon slayer rinsed the glass and placed it back into the rack. Turning around, he walked down the hallway, gesturing to his brother that he's heading to the bathroom. Jotting something down in the notebook, Sanemi gave an imperceptible nod.
The moment the bathroom door slammed shut, Genya squeezed the edges of the sink and leaned over.
What were the steps in Himejima's panic control? Let in through your nose, exhale through your mouth….
Hair strands with bleached ends poked from underneath the stopper. Eyes wide slightly, Genya breathed in and out, and his arms flexed from the strain. He glimpsed up and stared at himself in the mirror. That's fucking right. Through your nose, out your mouth, and get yourself together. Worst case scenario, there's the original option.
Genya pulled the T-shirt over his head and, tossing it onto the washing machine behind him, yanked the faucet handle. Leaning down, he splashed water onto his face and neck. Beads of water dripped down his back and onto the waistband of his pants.
Half blinded and blinking, the demon slayer groped for the towel and scrubbed his face viciously. After he was done, though, he felt much better. Straightening out, Genya glanced in the mirror. His face was red.
The demon slayer peeled off his pants and shoved them next to the T-shirt. He contemplated for a second but then decided to remain in boxers. It was hot, and it's not like he was ashamed of Sanemi.
Hanging the towel over his neck, Genya walked out into the living room. Sanemi didn't pay him any attention; chin propped in his palm, the hashira was fast forwarding the footage. The demon slayer, leaving damp footprints on the floor, pattered to the kitchen. He opened the fridge. Frosty air tumbled out, and, not bothering to look over the rest of the contents, Genya went straight for the yogurt.
Sanemi must have heard him, because when he heard the fridge door slam shut, the hashira, without turning around, patted the sofa behind him. Genya obediently went where he was invited and sat down, bringing his legs up and crossing them. Sanemi reduced the volume on the monitor and shifted one of the headphones back.
"How was your day?"
Genya ripped off the cover and, with the piece of foil in hand, realized he forgot a spoon. Suppressing the tick of irritation, the demon slayer reached down and placed the wrap gingerly on the floor next to the bowl.
"Not bad. Don't mind if I borrow…" he mumbled, plucking out the soup spoon from the bowl. He half expected Sanemi to throw some mean insult, but his brother was too absorbed in whatever was going on in the recording. Licking the spoon stirred a previously unnoticed hunger in his stomach, and he quickened to plunge the spoon into the yogurt.
Strawberry with miso broth was a strange combination, of course.
"Went to patrol in the morning." Genya said with a full mouth, chewing on the pudding-like mass. "Took a break, another patrol, and then finished off with guard duty at the warehouse." He mentioned the last half on purpose and stilled, watching how his brother would respond. Sanemi's shoulders stiffened, but his writing remained even.
"Sounds like a typical day."
"It was." Not tearing his eyes from the back of brother's head, Genya stirred the spoon mechanically in the yogurt. "I have a request about that… actually."
Sanemi paused the recording, and even though it was a completely harmless gesture, his heart tightened in worry.
"What is it?"
"I… is it possible to be relieved from that duty?"
Sanemi was silent for a moment. Then, he transferred the notebook from his lap down to the floor.
"Can I have my spoon back?"
"O-oh, yeah," Genya stuttered, quickly licking it clean. He reached forward with the spoon, and at that moment Sanemi turned around. His eyes pinned Genya down to the sofa.
"Thank you." The young demon slayer didn't feel how the spoon was taken out of his hand. Curled on the couch, he stared at his brother's face, trying to understand what was going on in his head.
Completely impassive, Sanemi picked up his bowl and slurped some of the broth. He winced slightly. "Strawberry?"
Genya nodded belatedly. His heart beat wildly in his chest. The wind hashira took several more sips. His eyes traveled over to the demon slayer.
"What brought this up all of a sudden?"
"It's just… " Genya looked away. He squeezed the yogurt cup nervously. "The other demon slayers know that something's up."
"Are they asking you things?"
"Sometimes, yeah," Genya jabbered without thinking, afraid that his hesitation would reveal that he's lying. His body pressed guiltily into the sofa. His brain quickly mustered up the two instances when his colleagues actually talked to him.
"Are you afraid you're going to tell them by accident?"
"Sort of…" Genya averted his eyes. "I just don't understand. I messed up, so why am I not removed from the case?"
Out of the corner of his vision, he watched his brother. The more he stuttered, the darker Sanemi's expression became. When he finished, the hashira looked down into his bowl and stirred the seaweed.
"That I can't say," he replied finally. Sanemi sent a piece of tofu into his mouth and chewed, concentrated. Swallowing, he glanced at Genya.
"I didn't think it'd be bad. It's not dangerous, and there's not much work…"
"I know, I know," Genya interrupted quickly. "I…" he stared into his yogurt. There was some left on the bottom.
"I prefer field work."
Sanemi regarded him thoughtfully, then turned around and switched off the remote. He pulled the headphones from his ears to his neck.
"I'll think about it."
Genya felt his breath freeze inside his chest. Sanemi, undisturbed, tossed the yogurt wrapper into the nearly empty bowl and, picking it up, stood up. Without looking at the demon slayer, the hashira reached out. Before Genya could react, he felt his brother give him a rough ruffle on the head.
"Don't expect a yes, though."
Genya nodded, head bobbing unevenly. The heaviness disappeared from his head, and he dared to look up. He watched how Sanemi walked to the kitchen.
"Could you turn on the TV? Baseball should be airing right now," Sanemi called. His back was towards the couch.
Slowly, Genya reached down for the remote on the floor and switched the monitor back on.
Sounds of the cheering crowd and the blast of the sports commentator's voice blended in with the water splurging out of the faucet.
The night wind carried specks of the heat that was to come the moment the sun broke the horizon. There wasn't a single star in the sky; just the moon, round and bright, shining above the skyscrapers.
Helmet tucked under his arm, Sanemi perched on a railing and observed the moon's reflection ripple in the dark glass. His toes were curled slightly against the metal bar to keep balance. His motorcycle had been reclined against the railing beside him.
The city was never really sleeping. Sanemi knew that the lower Upper and Middle Levels were bursting with clubs and entertainment right now. If he looked down, he could see a steadily growing glimmer - but up here, nearly at the top of the skyscrapers, everything was quiet.
The wind ruffled his hair, and Sanemi closed his eyes. He enjoyed the warmth, instead of that numbing, biting chill that came with winters. Sanemi opened his eyes and gazed at the sky. In all of his twenty-seven years of living, he had never seen stars properly. He was born in the Lower Level, and the only upgrade he got was when he was picked up by the Corps. Sanemi knew that some, like Giyuu, received their training in the outskirts. Others, like Iguro, spent their childhood outside the city. His lips curled into a smirk, but no sound came out.
Mesmerized, Sanemi searched the sky, trying to find just the smallest dot. He didn't mind getting the "typical" slayer training package: practice drills in the tight alleys, the sewage training field, combat fighting in empty parking lots. The city became a part of him. When he was younger, a visceral part of him wanted to revolt. He had come to terms, of course, and by twenty-seven years old, Sanemi didn't really feel like existing anywhere else apart from the growing organism of the city. He'd had enough. Genya, though - that kid still had a couple of years before burnout. He could experience something else.
The wind hashira lowered his head, and his eyes fell down the skyscrapers. A cargo cruiser, headlights flashing into the darkness, drifted below. Here come the beggars, the Sanemi thought absently. Just like he predicted, a spherical robot darted from the depths of the platforms and buzzed around the cruiser. The latter, undisturbed, traveled like a whale surrounded by small fish.
Genya's request surprised him. Even though the demon slayer tried to hide it, Sanemi knew how much his brother wanted to prove himself. He wasn't blind. The whole reason he left Genya on the case was because he assumed the kid would be glad to redeem himself. It would also make everything fair and square, and Genya hated being treated differently just because he was the hashira's brother. The wind strengthened, and the hashira tightened his grip on the railing.
There was an additional perk of Genya's guard duty — his patrols were decreased. Although the kid claimed that he liked field work, could that be why he suddenly had a change of heart? Sanemi inhaled, and the night air flooded him with endless melancholy. Genya's problem was that he tried too hard to be a good demon slayer and didn't understand that it's not what impressed his older brother.
The watch vibrated on his wrist. Sanemi exhaled and, tightening his body with all his might, tore away his hand from the railing. Carefully readjusting his other arm so that the helmet won't fall out, the hashira tapped the screen.
Are you awake? It was Shinobu. Sanemi stared at the message for several moments. Slowly, his internal mechanism that was in charge of holding him together and which he had suspended for the time being rearranged itself back into place. Sanemi took in a deep breath through his nose. He was ready.
His body swayed as he typed out a response, but he pressed his ankles automatically to the railing. In the back of his mind, Sanemi noticed that even his grip became more controlled.
Yeah. What's up?
I wanted to talk with you before the interrogation planned for today. Do you have a patrol right now?
No. Lowering his hand momentarily, the wind hashira turned around in one movement. Sliding off the railing, he resumed typing.
Are you at the hospital?
No. Sanemi lifted his eyebrows, surprised. Walking over to the motorbike and switching on the engine, he watched the text bubble on his screen. It disappeared, only to be replaced by a shared location invitation. Sanemi smirked softly, accepting the notification. Sometimes, he wondered if Giyuu's laconic texting style rubbed off on Shinobu.
Sanemi swung his leg over the bike. It took him several rummages to figure out where he placed his speaker. Looping the earbud over his ear, the wind hashira heard the familiar beep of the watch connecting to the device.
"ETA — 4.03," a colorless voice spoke into his ear. Propping the helmet on his forehead, Sanemi sent one final message.
Be there in fifteen.
Switching off his watch, the wind hashira brought the helmet all the way down and, grasping the handles, tore off into the night.
The first dozen platforms were empty, and he could ride however he wanted. The bike was an animal underneath him, and the wind hashira swerved and skidded on top of the railings. The sweet breeze transformed into a scrape, and although it couldn't reach his face, it ripped at his arms. A gap between the platforms appeared, and Sanemi pressed harder on the handles. The motorcycle flew, and his breath caught in his throat. For a moment, child-like delight filled him from head to toe. His eyes glimpsed down, and he saw the entire city unravel below him.
The tires bounced roughly at the contact with the metal platform, and Sanemi veered to regain control of the vehicle. A second later, he continued at the previous speed.
It didn't last long, though. The moment he was out of the bureaucratic portion of the Upper Level, people - returning clubbers, taxis — appeared in his way. By the time he reached the Middle Level, his speed was reduced to a crawl. Whatever resemblance of sleep the night held was gone; music blasted from the neon bars, and the air stank of alcohol. Huddles of partygoers swayed haphazardly from side to side, making it hard to move forward. A couple of times Sanemi lost his patience and ran through several holograms, earning a bucket of curses. Several intoxicated punks tried to hitch a ride from him, but the hashira simply increased the sound of the exhaust and that got rid of them.
When he exited at Wisteria District, Sanemi breathed out in relief. He looked around. There were a couple of brave citizens who decided to take a nap right under the trees. A bulky figure of a street cleaning robot poked out between the trees. As expected, this area of the city was predominantly empty.
"In ten meters, the destination will be to your right." Sanemi glanced where he was directed to, and there she was.
Legs outstretched on top of a suitcase and head reclined back, Shinobu was sitting on a bench underneath one of the wisteria trees. Her butterfly clip was resting neatly inside her palms. Her eyes were closed.
She must have been deep in sleep because she didn't wake up at the sound of the engine. Sanemi switched off his motorbike and took off the helmet. Placing it on his lap, he studied his colleague for a moment.
"Hey."
In a flash, her body moved with cat-like fluidity, waking up the muscles and preparing it for a pounce. Before Sanemi realized it, he was staring into a pair of deep purple eyes.
"Hello, Shinazugawa-san," Shinobu smiled. Despite the tiredness in her voice, her eyes twinkled, indicating the success of her power nap. Sanemi smirked politely back. Given that the hospital had engulfed Shinobu in the last couple of years, he didn't expect to see Shinobu in a black, bloodied button-up and equally black pants. Her left forearm was bandaged.
"You okay?"
"Oh, this?" Shinobu pinched her nose funnily and waved with her other hand. "It's nothing, just a deep cut."
"You watch it." Sanemi said in a half warning, half joking tone. He stood up from the bike and, walking around, collapsed on the bench next to her with a sigh. He turned his head to regard the young woman.
"What will we do if our doctor's sick?"
Shinobu looked back at him in a thoughtful expression. If Sanemi didn't know better, he'd call it sad. "Find a new one."
Sanemi stared at her wordlessly for several seconds. Then, he turned around and knocked pointedly on the bench. Shinobu laughed, and the sudden tension between them evaporated into nothing.
"Why were you up?" Shinobu asked, calming down. "Did you have a shift?"
Sanemi shrugged and slouched on the bench. He gazed at the luscious kaleidoscope of wisteria above them. The tree was definitely artificial because real ones stopped blooming several months ago.
"Couldn't sleep. Genya put me into a stupor."
The wind hashira could sense the doctor's curious glance on him.
"How so?"
Sanemi blew on a stray petal that fell down onto his lip. The adrenaline from the ride, already damped by the Middle Level, was eroded completely by the heaviness that accompanied thinking about his little brother.
"He wants to be removed from the case."
Whatever emotions Shinobu experienced regarding those news, she hid excellently.
"Isn't he just on the warehouse watch?"
"Precisely." Sanemi sighed. "He claims he's afraid of spilling the beans, but I think that's bull crap."
Shinobu didn't answer, studying the hair clip in her hands. Not that Sanemi was particularly interested in her input.
"Well?" He abruptly changed the subject, looking squarely at her. "What about you?"
Shinobu lifted her gaze away from the clip and breathed in deeply. Then, she nimbly lifted her arms and clasped her hair in a bun. Sanemi instantly had a bad foreboding. He braced himself, but Shinobu was still quiet. The female doctor lowered her legs from the suitcase and folded her hands in her lap. She chewed on her lips, as if thinking about something.
"You know Yague-san, right?" Shinobu asked suddenly.
"Yague?" Sanemi repeated, caught off guard. In the corner of his vision, he noticed how her eyes traveled inquisitively to his face. He shrugged and threw his arms around the back of the bench.
"Once or twice. I've never worked with him." All of his legal issues had been related to property damage or some crap like that. Usually it was enough to pay the plaintiffs off. Sanemi crossed his right leg over his left and turned his head towards his colleague.
"Is he giving you a hard time?"
Her lips curled strangely. Something in between a wince and a smile. "Never got a chance." The bitterness disappeared, and Shinobu smiled fully. She was gazing into space as if her mind was elsewhere.
"He refused to take our case."
The wind strengthened, and the wisteria flowers shuffled above their heads. Sanemi stared at Shinobu. He felt as if he'd misheard.
"Pardon?"
Her hands jolted slightly. The female hashira returned her gaze unhurriedly to him, and the serenity reflected in them made Sanemi's hair stand up.
"Yague-san apologized profusely and said that we need to search for a different lawyer," Shinobu repeated with the same eerie stillness. By this time, though, he had time to recover, and cold, overfilling fury ignited within him.
"On what grounds?"
His voice echoed down the platform. Stray strands of hair wafting around her face, Shinobu didn't even move. Her eyes squinted slightly.
"Conflict of interest."
"Conflict of interest?" Not far away from them, the janitor robot rolled up to a man sleeping under a tree and kicked him in the ankle.
"With whom?"
The robot looked over its shoulder. Sanemi scowled and flipped him off.
"He didn't say," Shinobu answered, eyeing the janitor. "Apparently, that was confidential information."
"Oh, I don't doubt it."
He expected that would trigger her, but Shinobu only smirked softly, watching how the janitor gave the man several more testing pokes.
"I offered him the largest sum the Corps could afford." Her fingers fiddled with the bandage that was coming loose on the other hand. "I even added some from my salary, but he refused."
The bandage began unraveling. Shinobu sighed, abandoning her activity, and wrapped her arms around her chest.
"His only commentary was that the less people are aware of it, the better. The case itself isn't a problem either. Zou violates public safety, and that's enough to guarantee success. However," she lifted up her hand and bent her index and middle fingers in a listless air quote.
"There are already enough people disliking Ubayashiki-sama. Don't give them more reasons to."
She tucked her hand back in. Sanemi looked away from her and reclined his head back. From the purple shrubbery, he could see the skyscrapers tapering upwards, and the faintest sliver of sunlight brushed their tops.
He never expected a hit from this direction. Getting out confessions, sure, that was a typical hassle. But a blow from one of their own… Sanemi rotated his head to regard Shinobu.
"Did you tell Master about it?"
The insect hashira nodded.
"And?"
"We're pursuing the case no matter what." Shinobu inhaled and, closing her eyes, placed her head back as well. Her hair clip pierced Sanemi's forearm, and her hand
flew up instantly.
"Sorr—"
Sanemi swatted her hand away and, opposite to her attempt, cushioned her head with his arm. "Don't worry 'bout it."
Shinobu settled reluctantly against his arm and sighed. Her shoulders loosened slightly, and Sanemi understood that his colleague, despite her projected quietude, was relieved to get the news off her chest.
"Kanzaburo already found several candidates," Shinobu said quietly. A stream of light fell on her face. "I'll be checking those out in the afternoon."
Sanemi was silent for a couple of moments. He watched how the trees emerge slowly from the darkness, sunlight dropping from the sky. The brighter it became, the nastier he felt. All of a sudden, he regretted that he didn't sleep properly, and the added amount of work that had to be done made him feel helpless.
The scent of smoke reached his nostrils. Lifting his eyes, Sanemi watched how the janitor robot took a long drag from the cigarette. He was holding the sleeping man by the ankle. Sanemi had never smoked, but suddenly, he really wanted to.
"It's going to be okay," he said, voice almost inaudible, and gently brushed Shinobu's shoulder with the side of his thumb. The tips of her lips lifted slightly, but the insect hashira didn't answer. Sanemi looked away and watched the morning take over the platform. A couple more minutes, and this place will be full with demon slayers returning from the Lower Level.
As the first survivors appeared among the trees, the hashira didn't notice how he had completely forgotten about Genya.
A/N: Hello, hello folks! I'm so happy to be back! You can congratulate me - I have finished my academic semester. Not as well as I had hoped for, but enough not to be disappointed :)) I'm very, very sorry for disappearing, but as I've written previously, when my studies become difficult, I have to prioritize them (as they've been consistently difficult for two-three months, unfortunately).
Right off the bat, you may have noticed that I've included an author's note before the chapter. I don't usually like doing that, but I'm trying something new. Since there's a lot of information to keep track of, and the updates weren't regular, I've decided to put previous stuff that's relevant to the chapter in the beginning. Just as a memory check (and a personal filing system for me ;))
As promised, the chapters are becoming less action focused (as much as they can be in an action-themed story) and more introspective. I'm actually really glad that I'm writing them right now, after almost a year of not writing because I've grown a lot as a person. Coming back to this, I understand the emotions that the characters are going through so much better, and, more importantly, relate to them.
… That being said, I grew up in a household of sisters, so I have no idea how brother dynamics work XDD So if the artistic liberty went too far, please forgive me.
(Also, blue-light glasses diminish the damage from a computer screen, they're not necessarily for users with bad vision. My beta reader didn't know that, so I'm just throwing it out there… I'm pretty sure Sanemi has 20/20 eyesight. Another thing, sunrise in Japan occurs around 4:30 during the summer, which is why the timings in this chapter are as they are).
Lastly, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for all the love you have been giving to this story. Although I couldn't answer comments right on time, seeing this fic receive feedback even when it wasn't updating was so incredibly heart-warming. I hope that you will continue enjoying this story. See you next update!