Shirayuki and Tobiume took weeks to recover. Their time was spent with their handlers in moments of quiet, intimate meditation, in sleep, in small touches during peaceful moments of wakefulness.

Hanatarou had his friends to help him regain his strength, to hold him with calloused fingers as he found the strength to walk again. To correct his posture as he relearned how to wield the blade that had rejected him so violently. His birthday this year was peaceful, a quiet day off spent with Ganju (well, quiet by Ganju's standards. There were still quite a few explosions), far from the white walls and high cliffs.

Life returned to a semblance of normality, though Hanatarou found himself closer to his co-captain than before. It had been her devoted care that had kept him alive through his coma, and he owed her that and more for the support she had given him. She had helped him practice healing once again, rebuilding tissue and repairing snapped bones so he could resume his place as squad leader.

Still, he felt incomplete without Hisagomaru's trust. He found it hard to sleep, anxious he would once again find himself in the fog, but when he did manage to rest, it was dreamless. Though he was remembering his skill with the blade, he knew he would eventually have to reforge that connection, rebuild his inner sanctum to reflect them both, and pry away the bitterness around Hisagomaru's heart, if such a thing were possible.

Someway, somehow, he would manage it. He'd always gotten by.

The end of a long day found him settling into bed, his scabbard hung on a peg on the wall, not beneath the futon like something to be ashamed of. He shuts his eyes, curled up beneath the blanket in a comfortable cocoon of well-earned exhaustion.

He's just drifting off as he feels small, needle-fine claws against his neck and wet teeth against his ear, and a coppery smell of fresh blood beneath the perfume of flowers. The sound of banners flapping in the breeze and pinwheels spinning. The mouth behind the voice is grinning, exposing all its pointed teeth.

"Are you ready to try again, Hana?"