Excerpt

Naoko's eyelids slowly lifted. Tadashi's peaceful sleeping profile filled her sight. A gentle warmth unfurled in her chest the longer she observed his face. A tiny smile appeared on her face and softened her expression. 

Not wanting to disturb his sleep, she wriggled and wormed her way out of his grasp as gently as she could. It was effortful and took time but she eventually made it out without waking him up.

Her eyes scanned the room. It did not look the littlest bit brighter. The only indication that time has passed was the light filtering in through the gaps of the door not covered by the hanging piece of skin. 

Just as she swung her legs off the bed, the sound of Tadashi stirring in his sleep drew her attention to him. Naoko snapped her head back to check on him. Tadashi's eyes flew open and he pushed himself up at the same time. "Naoko?" He immediately called out with his voice still hoarse from having just woken up. "Where're you going?" Worry and fear was evident in his voice. 

A wry smile formed on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just about to exercise while waiting for you to wake up. Looks like there's no need to do so anymore."

Tadashi shook his head and said while rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "It's okay. I'm the one who was being jumpy." He looked at her indulgently while he asked her, "So what do you want to do now? Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Still not yet used to the fluttery and nervous feeling she got whenever he looked at her like that, she broke eye contact and dropped her gaze to the ground. "I'd like to confirm if my guess was right. Do you know where I can find that man who sensed the difference in our auras?"

Tadashi got off the bed, walked over to the door, and lifted the flap by a little. More light filtered into the room and lit up the area near the door. "At this time of the day, you should be able to find anyone you need at the communal hall."

"Let's get going then." Naoko said while standing up.

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