"I guess it won't be a problem if you sleep in the same room, right?" Kyoko's cheerful voice reached Shizune and Kurono's ears at that moment.
Right now, everyone was at Shizune's house after having enjoyed the little evening, and by that time, it was quite obvious that bedtime was near, and that needed to be prepared since Kurono didn't know where he was going to do it.
"Are you sure?" The question that came out of Shizune seemed to be a bit unnecessary, but she felt that her mother was being a bit careless.
"Calm down, Shizune. I've already made sure your father doesn't interfere, you're both adults and I don't want to separate a couple of young lovers, ufufu." Kyoko spoke sincerely, although she couldn't stop a small laugh from coming out of her mouth as she noticed the slight nervousness in her daughter.
"But..." It seemed that Shizune wanted to say something else, but Kurono wouldn't let her hesitate any longer.
"I appreciate the hospitality, Kyoko-san. I'll make sure Shizune doesn't stay up all night." That same comment from Kurono made Kyoko laugh even more, although Shizune pouted a little as she felt that both her mother and Kurono were treating her like a little girl.
…
Before going to sleep, both Shizune and Kurono took a quick night bath, although they clearly did not enter at the same time and patiently waited for each other's turn, both had arrived at the room that Kyoko had prepared for them, and the figures of both wearing a kimono much like Ryo and Kyoko's filled the empty room.
On the floor were a couple of perfectly arranged futons, so they didn't need to think about things too much and everyone took their time to finish preparing before going to sleep.
After a while, the light that the bulb transmitted into the room completely disappeared leaving only a little of the light that the moon provided filtered slightly.
But unlike the quiet moment that anyone would expect, both Kurono and Shizune were propped up on their legs staring at each other waiting for something special.
"How was your day?" The first to speak was Shizune letting out that simple question.
"I can say that I quite enjoyed it, and what about you?" Kurono returned that question instinctively.
"It was also nice to come home and meet with mom and dad, and it seemed like it was the same case for Rena." Shizune linked her hands while playing with her fingers a bit. "Also I'm glad I was able to tell them about our relationship."
"Yes, it was a relief that there were no problems regarding it." Kurono breathed a small sigh of relief after saying that.
"Hehe, that makes me wonder, what would have happened if they were against it?" Shizune asked that question, but she didn't really expect an answer to it… Though Kurono had no intention of just ignoring her.
"If they had been against it... I would have just escaped and taken you with me." Kurono's serious voice matched his words perfectly, and that itself had made Shizune very surprised. "Well, maybe I overreacted with that a bit, clearly I wouldn't force you to do anything, it's too unfair to you and your family."
Kurono chuckled to himself after seeing Shizune's expression.
"Instead, I think that the most correct thing would be to know the reason behind that decision and try to make them accept me so that I can be by your side." Kurono closed his eyes after saying that since he was busy with his own thoughts besides that he was grateful that things turned out very well, but he had to open them abruptly after a few seconds upon experiencing a sudden sensation.
That was because Kurono felt like his lips had been trapped by Shizune's at the same time that he felt like her body was completely united with his. It was quite a nice little moment as Shizune broke away from Kurono after a few seconds before beginning to express her thoughts.
"Thank you." It was a simple word, but Kurono understood all the feelings behind it. "And believe it or not, your drastic plans also make me a little happy... Although you're right, I wouldn't want to hurt others like that at the cost of my own happiness…"
Shizune lowered her head a bit thinking about that situation, but she quickly shook her head since there was no need to think about that scenario.
It seemed that everything was already said after that, but then something else appeared in Shizune's mind and she thought that it was the right time to tell something really important and that she didn't want to keep hiding it from Kurono.
"Kurono...Will you listen to me for a moment?" Perhaps Shizune's question was unnecessary, but Kurono still nodded to know that he agreed with her. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about for a long time... And it's a bit about my past."
With just that, Kurono understood what Shizune was referring to, so he put all of her attention on her and would avoid interrupting her in any way.
"I told you that I was married in the past... But... My husband, Rena's father passed away many years ago..." Shizune was having a hard time talking about all that, she herself felt like many memories appeared in her mind that were leaving combined with many feelings that hit her strongly, but before all that took over her, she felt how Kurono's hand took hers, transmitting that little warmth that she had gotten used to over time. "I'm sorry, Kurono… I really don't want you to worry about me because of this."
"No, you don't need to make excuses, I can understand that everything you want to tell me is something difficult... But I want you to know that I'm here with you, so take the time you need." Kurono took Shizune's hand tighter to that she was aware of his words.
Shizune couldn't ignore it, and although that didn't mean that she had forgotten everything that was troubling her, a slight glimmer of determination could be seen in her eyes as she prepared once more to express everything that was on her mind and was hiding in her heart.