After two more rounds, Renji and Rei finally rested. Their breathing slowed, the tension in their muscles easing as the quiet of the shrine wrapped around them. The room was dim, lit only by a single lantern on the far wall. Shadows stretched across the ceiling, and Rei's eyes followed them, though her thoughts were far more tangled than the gentle drift of the light.
She lay beside Renji, close enough to feel his warmth, yet she didn't move toward him or away. She simply stared upward, her expression calm but troubled in a way she could no longer hide from herself.
The past days had changed her in ways she once believed impossible. The shrine had raised her on strict principles, trained her to live with purity, clarity, and distance from worldly desires. A shrine maiden's path was rigid, and she had followed it without question for most of her life.
