𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒; 𝑻.𝑮𝑰𝒀𝑼𝑼

f i f t y - t h r e e

"ah... i'll just have to ask him what he wants." you and giyuu finally made it back to the butterfly estate after spending hours avoiding the heavy rain. it was only four in the afternoon, but the sky was already dark as the sun hid behind the clouds. it was starting to rain again.

"my stomach hurts," you mumbled, pressing a hand against your abdomen in an attempt to ease the pain.

"you should've ate before we left just now," giyuu shook his head. "maybe there's something for you in the kitchen."

"yeah, okay. i'll meet you there then, i'm gonna go find ayumu first!" without another word, you quickly made your way to your little brother's room. but for some reason, your heart felt heavier the closer you got.

"hm?" you locked eyes with one of the three girls standing outside of ayumu's room. "oh, it's you three! hi!"

"uh oh!" sumi's nervous expression somehow got worse as you approached them. all three of them looked uneasy.

"is something wrong?" you tilted your head, "are you here to see ayumu too?"

the three girls nodded in unison.

"oh, well. aren't you going in then?" you gently placed your hand on the door before sliding it open. "ah, he's asleep. maybe you can play with him later?"

the three girls looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"we can't."

"nope!"

"i don't think..."

you raised a brow at their strange behaviour. even though you didn't know them very well, this was the first time you've seen them act this way. it was a little unnerving.

"uhm, did something happen?"

your question was met with silence.

you glanced into the room where ayumu is in before turning back to the girls in front of you.

are they not going to tell me? is it that bad? is ayumu okay?

you let out a defeated sigh, "it's fine." you give them a small smile, not wanting to worry them anymore. you silently stepped into the dark room, sliding the door close behind you.

"it's just a fever..." a small voice said from behind the door.

"that's right. ayumu gets sick all the time. shinobu-sama said it's normal."

"mmm... but... did it ever get this bad..?"

"shouldn't we tell her? she's his sister after all..."

"but shinobu-sama said she would talk to [y/n]-san herself."

"then let's go tell shinobu-sama that [y/n]-san is here..!"

you stood behind the door, listening to the sound of their footsteps fade further and further away, until all you can hear was the sound of heavy raindrops splattering against the window.

ayumu has a fever?

that piece of information wasn't something to worry about. you knew that frequent fevers were one of the many symptoms of leukaemia.

but what did they mean that it was really bad this time?

you found yourself unable to move, despite how badly you wanted to run over and check on your brother. ask if he was okay, even though you knew what the answer was going to be. ayumu would probably say he's fine, but that would only be a lie. one you were very familiar with.

"oh, [y/n], i'm fine." you no longer remember what your mother sounded like, but the words she said lived in the back of your mind. it was annoying, like a fly refusing to leave your room even after you opened your doors and windows for it. "you worry too much." she would always say as she pushed you away while claiming how she did not need your help.