Of Sages and Oni

Chapter 5 - Paint

Y/N POV:
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Al Haitham carefully wiped all the red makeup off of my face with a washcloth. "There. Now your face is clean."

"Thanks." I sighed and lied down on my sleeping bag. "You know, this is my first time going camping. It's kinda weird."

"You'll get used to it." Al Haitham lied down on his own sleeping bag and got comfortable. He was only a couple of inches away since the tent wasn't that big. If Itto had ended up joining us, we'd all be pretty much on top of each other. I wouldn't have minded it all too much but Al Haitham definitely would've had a few things to say.

I could hear Itto settle down in front of the tent and get all curled up on the ground. "Goodnighttt."

"Goodnight, Itto!" I smiled and curled up in my sleeping bag. A few minutes passed by and I still felt extremely bad. I looked over to see Al Haitham was already asleep. He must've been tired. I sat up and unzipped the tent. Itto looked over and tilted his head.

"You can come in just stay on my side and be quiet."

Itto nodded and crawled into the tent, staying on the far side with my stuff. Looks like tonight I'll pretty much be sleeping right in between the two of them, since that was the only space left. I zipped the tent back up and lied down in my new spot.

Al Haitham stirred and used one of his arms to pull me close.

I flushed a bright shade of red. It would be incorrect to say I hadn't fantasized about this at least once, but that still didn't take away any of the embarrassment I felt at the moment. Itto rolled on his side and held me from behind.

"Mmmhh..." Itto relaxed and fell asleep, keeping the hold he had on me. I was quite literally sandwiched between both of them. I could feel Al Haitham's muscles just ever so slightly grazing over the fabric of my shirt. Itto's muscles behind me gave off a similar feeling.

This was going to be a long night.

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I groaned a woke up. I tried to move but the thing was I couldn't. My head was being held down by Itto's own, his chest now comfortably flushed against my back. His arms were still wrapped around me, but thanks to my attempted movement they only became tighter.

Al Haitham was another story. He'd changed his position so that now his face was buried under my chin and into the center of my neck. One of his legs was flung over my own and Itto's as a result.

The position I was in wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but I did need to make breakfast. I gently pushed Al Haitham away and moved his leg off. I carefully pried Itto's arms off of my torso. I then grabbed his head and slid out from where I was so Itto could rest his head on the pillow instead.

I quietly stepped out of the tent and tried to use my electro vision to set the wood on fire. It took a bit, but eventually it started up. I hummed and cracked a couple of eggs into the pan that was over the fire.

I jumped as I heard someone clear their throat behind me. "O-Oh- You're up Al."

"Mhm. I smelled fire. I'm surprised you're up though." He sat down beside me. "So, you want to explain why the Oni was in our tent and you now have red paint all over your clothes and your face again?"

"Well- I didn't want to leave him outside so I let him in."

"And then what?"

I stared at Al Haitham. "He may have moved to cuddle me in his sleep. He wasn't the only one though."

"Y-Y/N I'm so sorry. It was out of habit I-"

I shook my head. "Tsk Tsk. Shame on you." I saw Al Haitham genuinely start to panic in that moment. He seriously couldn't be freaking out that much over cuddling in our sleep. "Hey. Relax. It's alright. Like I said, you weren't the only one."

"Oh...right." The way he said the word right was as if the word was laced in poison. He forced it out of his lips with such hatred.

Itto poked his head out of the tent. "Mmorning.."

"Hey Itto. Sleep well?"

"That's the best sleep I've had in my entire life. You have some really comfortable pillows in there and- hey how did you get a hold of my makeup?" Itto looked at me with a confused expression.

"Look down at yourself." I let out a giggle.

"Huh? Ah! My markings!" Itto pulled a makeup brush and some paint out of his hair. "Ok...I can fix thisss!"

I watched as Itto used the little mirror he had to try and fix his appearance.

"Y/N. The eggs."

"Right! Thanks Al Haitham." I flipped the eggs and plated them for everyone.

"No problem." He walked off and ate his eggs by himself.

"Itto? You want an egg?"

"Mhm! Just me meee..." He put one final streak on himself and put the objects back in his hair. "There." He snatched up one of the plates and scarfed down his egg in one bite.

"I-"

"That was so good! Can you cook the rest of the time you're here?"

"I don't see why not. Especially if you like my cooking that much."

Itto grinned and clapped his hands. "Yay!" He watched as I ate my own plate of eggs.

"That was nice and refreshing." I picked up all of the dishes and stored them in a bin to clean later today. I turned my attention to Al Haitham. "What's on the agenda for today, sleeping beauty?" I smirked at the last part and Itto tried to repress his laughter.

"Besides keeping the two of you in check, observations."

Itto got excited. "So today's a hangout day!"

"Yes!"

"I guess you can call it that. Itto, just do what you normally would and Y/N." He looked in my direction. "You'll be by my side at all times. Is that clear?"

"Yes..."