The two of them, each holding a toothbrush, scrubbed away in their mouths in sync.
Kiana was using the one she accidentally used this morning, while Shu was using the new spare he had originally intended for her.
The mirror reflected two people with mouths full of foam.
The faucet ran with a whoosh.
In unison, the two tilted their heads back to gargle, spat out the water, and washed their faces.
Three minutes later.
The scene returned to how it was before.
Shu had anticipated this.
He raised a hand to block her path.
"Wait."
Kiana hit the brakes but didn't drop her stance, blinking at him with an unfriendly expression.
"What's wrong?"
Shu looked at her, his expression serious: "You can sleep on the bed, but—"
He paused.
"I'm going to get another blanket."
Kiana was taken aback.
"Huh?"
"Two people can't share one blanket." Shu's tone was resolute; this was his bottom line.
Just like a biologist refusing a little pink skirt, or the closed-eyes male protagonist refusing a pun, this was the bottom line.
Fortunately, this bottom line wasn't "unreasonable."
Kiana blinked, and her face flushed slightly.
"Oh... right..."
She awkwardly lowered her hands and nodded.
"Then... then go get it."
Shu turned to leave.
Kiana suddenly remembered something: "By the way, shouldn't you have taken your blanket out last night?"
Shu's footsteps faltered.
His back stiffened slightly.
Last night, he had given his own blanket to Kiana.
And then he himself... uh... hadn't slept a wink.
He had sat in the living room, leaning against the wall, zoning out for the entire night.
But how could he say that?
Even now, he couldn't quite remember why he had suddenly lost his mind and decided to pull an all-nighter... hmm... maybe because he had been too worked up.
He felt like he had forgotten something, but he really didn't want to try and remember.
He was silent for a second.
Then, without looking back, he said: "You carry the blanket from last night in first."
Kiana let out an "Oh," and turned to run toward the living room.
Shu stood in place, listening to her footsteps fade away.
Then—
He moved.
With the fastest speed of his life, he sprinted to the wardrobe, yanked open the doors, and sucked in a breath of cold air at the chaotic mess of random items crammed inside.
There was no time to hesitate. He grabbed the spare blanket from the very bottom, hugged it to his chest, and kicked the wardrobe doors shut—
BANG.
The instant the doors slammed shut, the bedroom door was pushed open.
Kiana, carrying the large blanket, rushed in. Then, with a flying leap, she threw herself, blanket and all, directly onto Shu's bed.
Standing in front of the wardrobe, holding his blanket, Shu silently watched Kiana bounce twice on his bed, his expression impassive.
Kiana rolled over and looked at Shu.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Shu."
"...Yeah?"
"What were you just doing?"
Shu's expression remained completely unmoving.
"Getting a blanket."
Stare—
Shu unapologetically averted his gaze.
Oh~
The corners of Kiana's mouth slowly curved up.
But she didn't say anything.
"Alright, alright, time to sleep!" Kiana rolled over again, tumbling to one side, and patted the empty space next to her.
Shu let out a sigh of relief.
He carried the blanket to the other side of the bed and silently made his side.
At the same time, Kiana burrowed under her own covers.
Shu turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness.
He lay down on the bed.
The room was briefly quiet for three seconds.
"Shu."
"...What?"
"Good night."
"...Good night."
After exchanging goodnights, silence returned to the room.
The darkness settled gently like a thin veil over everything.
Lying under his blanket, Shu stared wordlessly at the ceiling.
Darkness... Shu realized he didn't seem to hate the dark as much anymore... why were people so strange?
Before yesterday, he had loved letting his imagination run wild in the dark. Yet last night, he had suddenly resisted it like a claustrophobe.
But now?
He felt the darkness wasn't so unbearable anymore.
Perhaps because the dark was too quiet, and the room too empty, Kiana's presence felt stronger than ever. It was so strong that even without turning his head or actively listening, Shu could feel Kiana right beside him.
Separated by only a layer of blanket.
I should just sleep...
...
Ten minutes ago, Shu had definitely felt sleepy. But now that he was lying down, he surprisingly found he couldn't fall asleep immediately.
He decided it was his sleeping posture.
So, he rolled over to face Kiana's direction.
Even in the dark, Kiana's silhouette was clearly visible.
Shu stared at that lump of a silhouette for two seconds, then decided this posture wasn't right either.
So he rolled over again, turning his back to Kiana.
After turning his back, he suddenly felt even worse.
There was someone behind him, and he had no idea what she was doing—
What if she suddenly got up in the middle of the night?
What if she pounced on him again like earlier?
What if—
He rolled back over.
Flat on his back.
This posture was still the safest.
Staring at the ceiling, Shu finally gave up on adjusting his posture.
He began to think about today.
Today—
No, it was already yesterday.
The events of yesterday flashed through his mind like a movie playing at fast forward.
Letting Kiana play Honkai Impact 3rd, having her join the waifu war over whether she or Mei was the 'top', making her pull the gacha and mald for points...
And then at dinner, that...
"From today onwards, I'm taking charge of your food, clothing, and daily life!"
Take care of him?
Was she serious?
Shu took a deep breath.
She had to be joking.
Leaving aside the fact that a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl taking care of a twenty-seven-year-old adult sounded inherently unrealistic, did Kiana actually have the ability to take good care of someone else?
Shu slowly exhaled the air in his lungs.
But... her expression back then hadn't looked like she was joking.
That earnest look, that determined tone—
Also... what if Kiana was actually the kind of person who "looks like she's joking, but is actually completely serious"?
...Hiss... no...
Was Kiana really that deep?
He thought about the things she had done today, and then realized he was probably dwelling on a very pointless question.
Forget it.
Whether she was serious or not, anyway—
Anyway...
His eyelids began to droop.
A body that hadn't slept for 48 hours was finally starting to protest.
Shu yawned.
The final one.
He took a deep breath, preparing to use this as a ritual before falling asleep—
Inhale—
Halfway through the breath.
Thump.
A sudden, heavy weight accurately crashed into his abdomen.
Shu's eyes shot wide open.
The breath in his chest was forcefully knocked out of him—
"Oof—!"