what the

The shopping district was crowded, and her voice was not that loud, but still he stopped and turned around at her call. His mouth, initially a thin line on his face, formed into a smile when he laid his eyes on her.

(Not that she could see his blue eyes, but she knew by instinct when he’s looking at her. Really, she wished she could see them more often.)

“Rangiku,” he greeted her once she reached him. It’s not obvious, but she picked up the lilt in his voice, an indication of pleasure. “Are you ditching work again?”

“How rude of you,” Rangiku retorted with her hands on her hips, though his accusation was actually on point. “Isshin-taichou asked us to buy some stuffs.”

Gin looked around her. “… Mm-hm. And yet you’re alone right now.”

“We’re finished already!” she exclaimed, feeling her face burn a little, while her childhood friend laughed quietly. Really! Why was it always like this with Gin? Usually she’s the teaser, but with Gin it’s the other way around. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”

“What, I’m not allowed to shop?” he asked, taking place on her right side.

Rolling her eyes at his teasing, which earned her another laugh from him, Rangiku said, “Just unusual is all.” She started to take a step.

“We just don’t cross paths,” Gin replied, matching her strides. “We’re both busy, aren’t we?”

She eyed his subordinate badge on his upper right arm. “I suppose so,” she said, and Gin chuckled, likely because she didn’t object to his verbal jab on her being ‘busy’. Rangiku chose to ignore it.

“What are you looking for?” Rangiku asked, in attempt to change the topic.

“Persimmon.”

Now it’s her turn to laugh, to which he raised one eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just,” she wheezed her last laugh, “I thought you’ve changed, but turns out not really.”Rangiku smiled in relief.

Yeah, Gin was still Gin. Even though he’s a vice-captain now, he’s still the same person she had grown up with.

“True, I don’t think I’ve changed,” he said. “You, on the other hand, have changed quite a lot.”

Rangiku looked at him incredulously. She knew she changed a lot—from a girl to a woman, a curvaceous one at that, so it was not a very surprising comment. The fact that it came from Gin was what surprised her, because he never showed any interest for her in that way. The way he treated her had never changed since their first meeting.

Smirking teasingly, she asked, “Oh? You talking about my figure?”

His expression morphed into confusion. “No? I mean your personality. You used to be more downcast, now you’re not. But your figure? It hasn’t changed much.”

“Huh??” She was sent agape by his words. Was he actually blind without her knowing? Her chest had grown exponentially and her curves were more prominent compared to when they had lived together, and he said her figure hadn’t changed much?

That was… kind of insulting, to be honest.

Couldn’t help it, Rangiku cupped her bosom and pushed her breasts up, well aware of the bystanders’ shocked gaze on her—that mattered little at the moment—and faced him, “You see these two and you say I don’t change much??”

Gin laughed at her antics, taking her right hand down extremely carefully, his hand barely brushing the underside of her chest. “You eat everything and you have a big appetite. It’s not a surprise, really.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“Now, whenever I said that?” he asked, tone was laced with amusement.

Pursing her mouth, she crossed her arms across her chest. “You don’t say it, but I know you’re thinking it.”

“You always think badly about me, Rangiku.”

“Gin, my thoughts for you are the nicest thoughts people have on you.”

“I don’t care about other people, though.”

That caught her off-guard. She stopped at her tracks immediately and stared at him. So did he, but a smile was plastered on his face, and it was not a mocking smile or a teasing smile, but a sincere one, and it made her heart skip a beat.

“Rangiku, I only care about you,” he repeated, still with a smile.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to return his smile, because her chest hurt in the most unpleasant way, even though she had experienced the pain multiple times, back when they had lived in same abode, when he had left her alone repeatedly without any explanation whatsoever.

Rangiku opened her mouth to speak.

But you left me.

So many times.

If you truly only cared about me, you wouldn’t do that.

…

“Wow, Gin has turned into a giant flirt,” was what she opted to say, controlling her expression so masterfully so it showed a deadpan look she probably deserved an award for it. Not that she could see her own face, but she could see his face in turn, which was telling enough. “I took back what I said. You’ve changed, Gin.”

The silver-haired man breathed out, which sounded like a snort-slash-laugh. “I also took back what I said. You haven’t changed that much.”

“You’re so inconsistent,” Rangiku sighed. Gin didn’t say anything in turn, just smiling quietly, putting an end to their conversation.

She pretended the pain in her chest had petered out into nothing.

.

.

.

“You practically emptied out the stock, Gin,”Rangiku said, eyeing the huge bag filled with persimmons in his arm. It must be heavy, but Gin seemed to carry them like they’re feathers. Maybe he’s not as scrawny as he looked. “I know you’re going to dry them out, but still.”

“Isn’t that good? Now they don’t have to worry about their goods turning bad.” He adjusted the weight to hold the bag more comfortably. “I’m going to share them with you once they’re all properly dried out, so relax.”

“That’s not… Ah, whatever.” She shrugged her shoulders and started to scan the stalls around them, looking for interesting things to buy. Most of them sold generic stuff—vegetable, fruits, everyday stuff—

“Oh—“

An accessories stall caught Rangiku’s eyes, and naturally she swerved toward the stall, eyeing the array of jewellery displayed there. Skipping the gold section—silver always suited her skin tone better, much to her delight—she looked through rings (felt too committed), bracelets (might get in a way in a battle), earrings (she didn’t like the feeling of having something hanging on her ears), and finally necklaces.

In particular, a silver chain passing through a silver ring, with another chain hanging on the ring, creating a Y-shaped. That’s nice. It would elongate her neck, but above all she’s especially fond of the silver ring.

One silver circle, she smiled to herself. It alluded to his name.

“This one?” Gin’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She didn’t expect him to look through the merchandise with her, and she also didn’t expect him to point the very same necklace she was eyeing. She might have been looking at it too long.

“Yeah.” she said, tracing the silver ring with her fingertips.

“… They have the gold one, too. You don’t want the gold one?”

“No, gold doesn’t really look good on me.”

“Really? I think it suits you just fine.”

Rangiku rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Gin. You don’t understand fashion.”

He chuckled, raising his free hand in surrender.

The shopkeeper was nice enough to let her try the necklace first, so she undid the clasp and wore it, making sure it sat below her pink scarf. The ring rested just below her collarbone, and the end of the hanging chain tickled her cleavage. “How is it, Gin? Does it look good on me?”

Curiously, Gin didn’t say a word, he just stood there staring at her necklace. Which was weird. If he was looking at her chest, she could understand—despite his earlier comment about her unchanging figure. But she just knew his gaze was fixed on the ring.

His mouth formed a smile—a wistful one. “… Yes,” he whispered, touching the ring lightly with his fingers. “It does look good on you.”

Why did he look so regretful, so helpless?

“Gin—“

“I’d love to buy it for you, but too bad I ran out of money.” He cocked his head toward the shopping bag in his arm. The regret in his face went away in that instant. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have bought the whole stock.”

Her chest stung again at him changing the topic, at him once again not letting her in.

“… I’m perfectly capable of buying it myself, thank you very much.”

She turned away from him to pay the shopkeeper, and to avoid looking at him.

The silver ring below her collarbone was a chilling cold against her skin, but it didn’t alleviate the pain at all.

.

.

.

“What are you doing after this?” he asked when they’re about to go their separate ways—their barracks wete not exactly close to each other.

“Drinking,” she answered curtly, hands crossed over her chest and head turned away, still upset at him. She actually had planned to simply rest, but after this whole annoyance, she had to go drinking. Not the best coping mechanism, she knew, but being by herself would just made her miserable.

“Rangiku, don’t party too hard.”

Oh, she could feel veins popping on her forehead. Who did he think he was, patronising her like this? “Shut up, Gin. I do what I want. Just go.”

But the man didn’t move from his spot, still standing before her, looking at her. She knew that even without looking. Stubbornly, she kept her head turned away, refused to catch even a glimpse of him.

A weight fell on her head—a hand, his hand. She hated how comforting it felt.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stroking her head once, and immediately retreated his hand. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

When she finally turned her head to see him, all she could see was his back profile, retreating and distant.

“Saying sorry and then leave…” she murmured under her breath, “you really haven’t changed.” Closing her eyes, Rangiku sighed. “Stupid Gin.”

———

“I only care about you.”

Replaying that scene repeatedly in his head, Gin sighed at his own inability to retain self-control. He’s not supposed to say that. He’s not supposed to show any emotion to anyone, including to Rangiku.

Her expression when he said that was burned to his mind. The split second expression she soon masked with a deadpanned retort—the expression of hurt, of pain, from being left in the dark—

It pierced his heart, tortured every fibre of his being.

Nevertheless, he had to, for letting her know would hurt her so much more.

That part of her soul was gone, stolen from her years ago. She wouldn’t feel the hurt from the loss if she didn’t know she owned it in the first place.

That he had done things that she would consider monstrous to reach his current standing. Even though it was for her, knowing her, she would tell him to stop and never do it. And he knew he would be weak to her pleas and her tears. Then it would be all for nothing.

He exhaled a breath. It’s okay. It was indeed a slip of tongue, but no one heard him. Rangiku herself treated it as a lie. It wouldn’t jeopardise his relationship with Aizen.

Gin thought of the silver ring that hung around her neck. How he wanted to be the one who gifted it to her, with a proposal, even, and heard her say yes. By Gods above she would definitely say yes. It’s not his confidence speaking, it’s Rangiku speaking wordlessly to him, with her gestures, her expression, everything—she had told him she loved him over and over again.

But reciprocating her feelings would tie her to him. And Rangiku… she would clung to that bond tightly and would not be able to—or more accurately, refuse to move on when he’s gone. He’s not stupid, he knew the chance of him returning alive to her with her soul was near zero. Even if he returned alive, he would definitely be branded a traitor and sentenced to imprisonment, leaving her behind.

So he couldn’t reciprocate. He wouldn’t.

That was his determination, but he couldn’t deny the tightness in his chest when he saw her wearing that necklace.

The colour of his hair, the scenery of wintry forest they had witnessed for years when they were little, his name—resting so near to her heart.

Gin couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. The elation he felt from being loved by her was dizzying, and it’s enough to give him the conviction.

He would see this play through, retrieve what Rangiku had lost, and return it to her.

For her.

It’s like talking to a child, though he supposed it made sense because he was a child. Now without the Briefs constantly screaming in his head (that’s what he said), Evil Eye became reasonable to talk to. And thanks to his chi training, he was able to control how much of the youkai’s consciousness he wanted to channel out. At times when he was himself, Jiji would relax his chi and allow Evil Eye to experience what he experienced through his senses. When Evil Eye took over his body (sometimes it’s just inevitable), he’s able to keep his own consciousness awake too (as long as he didn’t pass out first). Now, whatever he saw, he touched, he tasted, he shared it with Evil Eye.

Being a child in origin and at heart, the youkai was naturally curious at anything and everything, and his reactions were pretty entertaining to watch. Boarding a train made him squee in wonder. Tasting yummy food got him all jumpy, demanding for more—Jiji had to calm him down by saying there were more yummy things to taste and they could eat it next time. Watching a soccer match excited him like no other, despite not understanding the rules.

At this point, Jiji has gotten used to having the youkai asking questions, but there were still times his questions caught him off-guard.

‘Hey,’ the youkai called one day during class in his mind. ‘Why does she always wander around during break time?’

Jiji lifted one eyebrow at his question. ‘She? Who’s she?’

‘The pink girl.’

Pink… ‘You mean Aira?’

‘Yes, the girl who looks like she has money.’

He couldn’t help a snort, earning him a weird look from his classmates. Thank goodness the teacher didn’t hear him! He glanced to his left; Momo looked unfazed, too. She probably knew it’s because he’s having an internal conversation with the youkai. ‘She does look like a rich lady.’

‘Yeah? But she kicked me when I said that. I thought it’s a good thing to have money.’

‘Well, you said that after you ordered her to buy you some juice. Of course she got mad at you.’ Jiji twirled his pencil, half-heartedly looking at the math formula written on the blackboard. ‘And it’s not a good compliment. Girls like to be complimented on their looks. Anyways, about Aira…’

Evil Eye waited patiently, as unthinkable as it was, for him to give an answer. Jiji put his chin on his hand, lower lip jutting out as he tried to remember what Momo had said to him before. It’s something he had asked her before, because Momo often searched all over the school for Aira during break time. ‘Momo said it’s her fault.’

‘What happened?’

‘I don’t know exactly. I don’t think Momo is lying, but I feel it’s not totally her fault. Like both sides did something wrong.’ He tapped his cheek with his forefinger. ‘I never see Aira in a good mood, so I never get a chance to ask her… Oh, actually, she’s in a good mood when she’s with Little Chiki.‘ Jiji couldn’t help but smile remembering how happy Aira always looked when she’s playing with the baby alien. It’s an interesting contrast compared to her usual mannerism. ‘She seems to really love kids.’

‘Why not ask her then?’

‘No way I interrupt her when she’s with him! That would be rude,’ he huffed internally. ‘And Aira doesn’t exactly… like me. I think? So it’s hard to ask.’ Tapping his pencil on his opened notes silently, Jiji said, ‘I didn’t know you care so much for Aira.’

‘She looks lonely,’ Evil Eye said. ‘I hate it.’

The youkai’s words struck a chord inside of Jiji. The Aira he knew was haughty and bossy, and she’s so invincible in his head. He thought her being alone was her choice —he never even considered that maybe it’s not, that maybe she was feeling lonely. Then again, she always had a high level of discipline in everything, including in presenting herself. How could he never thought of it before? Ironic how a youkai could be more susceptible to her emotions than him, a fellow human being.

He felt ashamed at himself now. Aira may not like him, but she’s still his friend. If he could, he wanted to help her. But then he needed to ask her, and that’s…

‘If you want to ask, just ask,’ Evil Eye said. His tone laced in confusion, silently asking, ‘Why are you hesitating?’

Jiji sighed at the youkai in his mind. ‘As I said, Aira doesn’t really like me.’ He slouched on his desk, chin digging deeper into his hand. ‘And besides…’ Glancing to his left, he caught a glimpse of his childhood friend, who was being equally unfocused —not because she had a supernatural talking in her head, but most likely because she’s thinking of their glasses-wearing friend next door. He forced himself to look away. ‘… I don’t like being rejected. Aira would 100 percent refuse to tell me.’

‘You’re weird,’ was Evil Eye’s immediate response. It hurt him much more than he expected. ‘I want to know. Switch places with me during break time.’

Chuckling, Jiji shrugged his shoulders in surrender. ‘Sure, I’ll buy some cold juice later,’ he said. What’s the harm? He doubted Aira would tell Evil Eye, but if by any chance she told him, then he would know, too. He’d think what he could do to help her after that. ‘Hopefully she’d tell you. Then maybe she’d look less sour all the time. She looks better smiling.’

‘Okay, I’ll tell her that.’

‘Wait, no, don’t!’

. . .

“Enjoji.”

Aira didn’t usually call him out when in school. In fact, she rarely called out on anyone from the gang. Usually it’s the other way around, like how Evil Eye had done the other day, when he (kind of forcefully) reconciled Aira’s friendship with her friends.

“Yeah?” Jiji stepped away from the vending machine, opening the hot coffee he had just bought. “What’s up?”

She looked at him with her mouth slightly jutted out and her eyebrows furrowed, like she had a grudge at him. It’s an adorable look on her, though.

Seconds passed without any words from her, just a staring contest between them, putting Jiji at a loss. By reflex, he stuck out his mouth and rolled his eyes toward his nose —his usual silly face —to break the silence.

Her veins popped out on her forehead, and she proceeded to kick the back of his leg.

“Ow! What gives, Aira?!”

“I’m trying to be serious!” she exclaimed, hands balled into fists.

“It’s getting awkward, okay? Why did you look at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”

Aira looked like she wanted to lash out more, but she took a deep breath instead, trying to calm herself down. “I want… to say thank you.”

“Huh?”

She exhaled a breath and straightened up her posture, looking him in the eyes. “Thank you,” she repeated, “for helping me make up with my friends.”

Jiji stared at her in surprise. He didn’t expect a thank you from her, but then he remembered this was how Aira had always been —looking forward never backward, speaking blatant truths when needed even though they could hurt, and owning up to her mistakes and learning from them. His perception of her was right —Shiratori Aira was a strong, admirable person.

But he’s not the one who deserved the gratitude.

Jiji had witnessed everything —how Evil Eye had persistently followed her, asked her friends about what had happened in the past, and made sure they reconciled with each other. The youkai took steps to help her, whereas his desire to help her was mere lip service, even though she was his friend. He never felt more shameful than ever in his life.

“You should say it to Evil Eye,” he said with a smile.

He’s the one who noticed your loneliness first.

I didn’t notice anything. Didn’t do anything. Didn’t even attempt anything to make you feel less lonely.

… I’m just a coward who claimed to be your friend.

Aira rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to talk to him. Just pass my message to him. Not that he’ll get it, anyway.” She cleared her throat and started to turn around. “Well, that’s all. I have to go now. See you.”

“Oh —“ Jiji unconsciously made a noise, catching her attention and prompting her to stop. Damn. He did have more things to say to her, but he didn’t intend to stop her from leaving. He’s still thinking whether he really needed to say it or not.

Unfortunately for him. the pink-haired girl in front him didn’t really have patience in her. Crossing her arms in front of him, Aira cocked her hips to the side. “Out with it, Enjoji. What is it?”

“Uh…” He scratched his head. “I suppose I want to say sorry.”

“Huh??” She made her no-nonsense face. “Whatever are you apologizing for?”

“For… letting you be alone? Not noticing you being lonely?”

She frowned at his words. “Moron. You never leave me alone, if anything. You, Momo, Takakura-kun…” Sighing, she casted her gaze downwards. “It’s my choice to be alone. And what do you mean by ‘not noticing’? I wasn’t feeling lonely in the first place. You don’t need to apologize.”

“O-oh, okay,” he said dumbly. Liar, he thought, but it’s useless to argue about that. She would keep on denying, and he would keep feeling otherwise.

Aira had already turned around to leave him when he remembered he has another thing he wanted to say. He quickly shouted, “Hey, Aira!”

Then he realized it’s his second time stopping her from leaving, so he understood the annoyance plastered on her face when she once again faced him, but her expression still made him flinch. Yikes, this girl really didn’t like him, did she?

“Can I…” he said, unsure, “… be your friend?”

The tension on her face noticeably lessened upon hearing his question, like she was caught off-guard by it. Well, it was kind of a weird question —but it’s important, at least to him, so he remembered to be a better friend to her.

But what if she said no?

That’s when he realized he was asking a question, not making a statement. What if after everything they had been through, she just considered him an acquaintance? Or a comrade —a fellow defender of the Earth, maybe, but not a friend? Oh, man. He knew she didn’t like him, but he personally likes Aira as a person It was his honest desire to be her friend. Ah, he should have said ‘I want to be your friend’ instead —!

Her soft snort took his mind out of its tangled thoughts. “Weirdo,” she said, her mouth lifted up and her eyes softened. “We’re friends already, dumbass.”

Jiji blinked. His mind turned clear instantly at her answer. A good chunk of weight was removed from his heart, and it was being replaced by a conviction to care for her better, for his friends better.

Oh, it felt so much lighter now.

"I found some books in Braille by chance the other day. You've been reading them a lot, haven't you, Kanao?" he says, talking a bit faster than he usually does.

Click.

"Also there's a sale on yarns since it's summer, so I thought I bought some for you. I remember you knitted a lot last winter..."

… Oh.

Oh.

"Anyway! I need to look for the little girls, so see you!" he laughs awakwardly before bolting out of the garden, leaving her with Aoi and Nezuko, who continue to attend to the damp sheets without missing a beat.

It took her a while to find her voice. "He," Kanao said in the middle of her stupor, making her companions turn their heads and focus their attention on her, "he likes me?"

In contrast to her divine revelation, Aoi raised one eyebrow real high and gives her the most quizzical look ever. "You just realised it now?"

It certainly doesn't mean to be a jab, but it still makes Kanao wince internally. She shifts her gaze to Nezuko’s face, and feels her heart sink deeper into her stomach. Nezuko looks shocked, yes, but it's more like because of her words rather than Aoi's question. Then she cups her face, pity plastered visibly on her face as she whispered, “Oh, my poor brother.”

Kanao stood there, staring dumbfoundedly at the books inside the bag, stuffed neatly together side by side with several bundles of knitting yarns in various colours. Tanjirou always brings something when he visits the Mansion, so some gifts are honestly not that surprising. She has been taking up knitting as a hobby for some years since it doesn’t stress her eyes so much, so yarns are not something so far-fetched to give her. But books written in Braille—even though she doesn’t actively search for it when she goes to the market, she knows for sure it’s not something so common. The ones she has now were all granted by Oyakata-sama and they can be counted with one hand. And he said he found them by chance?

“He spent a long time looking for those, just so you know,” Nezuko chimes in amidst her thoughts. “I remember, because we’re shopping together back then.”

The image of Tanjirou visiting every bookstore, scouring the shelfs and asking the shopkeeper where he could find these specific books flashes in her mind.

That's... alarmingly over the top. It spells 'courting' in huge, colourful letters.

She feels like she's just being slapped by rainbows.

"Si-since when?" Kanao squeaks, face growing hotter by the second, which is definitely not caused by the sun. It’s not something she finds unpleasant, though.

Aoi and Nezuko look at each other. "We… don’t remember because it’s been so long,” Nezuko answers with a laugh. “Kanao-chan, you truly never realised it? Or at least sensed something?"

Kanao pressed her lips together, thinking. Well... There were some instances she caught him staring at her. Those times when he helped her stepping off a platform, he didn't let go of her hand immediately even when she had alighted safely. The flowers he gave her were always the prettiest shade of pink, and he once said with red cheeks when he first gave them to her, a long time ago, that their colour reminded him of her eyes.

… Okay. Maybe the problem is with her, after all. Quite a wonder why he doesn’t just give up on her dense self—he’s honestly too good for her, he’s so sweet and kind and charming and she‘s sure he can get anyone he wants—but then again, he’s always been persistent and hard-headed, literally and connotatively.

"I'm done with laundry, Kanao," Aoi says, pulling her back to reality. "Aren't you going to chase after Tanjirou-san? At the very least, thank him."

"Oh... Oh, yes." Kanao nods before running toward the direction where Tanjirou ran off, soon disappearing from their sight.

"At the very least," Nezuko repeats with a giggle. "You need to increase the standard, Aoi-chan."

Lifting up the empty basket, Aoi shrugs with a smile. "It’s fine. Kanao never does the bare minimum."

That night, Nezuko screams ‘cheek’ so loud it startles Zenitsu and Inosuke who are sleeping at the different room awake in confusion from their sleep.

Fortunately that stopped him dead on his tracks. His hold instantly relaxed, as if urging her to free herself for him. But she didn't pull away, letting his fingers settled back with a much gentler pressure. When he turned around to face her, she gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

"... Sorry," he mumbled quietly, and only then she retracted her hand.

"You also made me walk so fast. I have shorter legs than you, you know?" she said, rubbing her wrist with her other hand. The Water Pillar bit his lower lip in guilt, and she couldn't help but laugh. "It's fine. It doesn't bruise."

Reaching for her hand, he cradled it with care in his hand, his touch completely different from the one from several moments ago. She didn't hate the possessiveness masked in his tight grip earlier, but the tenderness he displayed now spread warmth on her chest. "I shouldn't have done that," he said quietly, thumb carressing the reddened skin absentmindedly.

Shinobu tilts her head in confusion. Did hurting her bother him that much? She had suffered worse injuries and broken bones. Sore wrist from being held too tight and strained legs from matching his strides hardly bother her. "I was joking about the leg comment, for your records."

"I don't mean that." He sighed, thumb still drawing circles on her wrist. "I shouldn't have left you alone like that earlier."

... Ah, she got it now. Indeed, he had left her earlier by herself. They were on a mission to hunt a demon that had skillfully integrated themselves among a human settlement, and it just happened the village was having an annual festival. They decided to investigate under the guise of joining the festivities, but he just had to forget his wallet at the inn where they're staying, so he left her in front of the festival site, which led her to be hit on by several guys looking for some fun. She already turned them down, but one guy had been very persistent and even gone as far as grabbing her hand. Luckily Tomioka arrived in the nick of time and warded them off with a glare, which honestly was quite entertaining to watch. Then he dragged her away from the festival, not too far they could be attacked unnoticed, but not too near they didn't have some privacy.

"Well, your fault for being an airhead," she chuckled, to which his lips pursed in disapproval.

"It's because we changed clothes that I forgot."

"But I didn't, so that's completely on you."

The soft sound of crickets filled the space as they just stood there, not letting go nor getting away, until she broke the silence. "Does it bother that much?"

"What does?"

"When guys hit on me."

Upon her question he brought her wrist without words and skimmed his lips against the skin, making her shiver. "It does," he answered, his breath burning her skin. "But not as much as when they touch you."

His sapphire eyes seemed to gleam in the moonlight as he uttered those words, and she could feel blood rushing to her face as she met his eyes. "I—mm," a noise escaped her lips as his lips carressed the skin hiding her veins, "I don't expect you to be this possessive, Tomioka-san."

In response, he bit the side of her hand, making her flinch, before gasping, "That's enough. We're... on a mission."

"Right," he said, pressing one last kiss on the spot where he bit her, and released her hand. "I'm not letting you out of my sight this time."

Shinobu snorted at his words, hooking her hand on the crook of his arm before he could move away. "No need to be vigilant. You won't." She beckoned her head to the festival. "Don't forget the objective. We need to sniff out the demon."

He gave her a nod and walked back to the festival, eyes hiding the fierce wave to fulfill his duty.

"Good afternoon!" Mitsuri chirped at the front door. She could hear the steps of someone approaching the door, and the one who opened it was the adorable little girl with braided hair. "Naho-chan, good afternoon!"

"Kanroji-sama! Good afternoon!" she replied with a smile, making Mitsuri beam from ear to ear. "Are you here to see Shinobu-sama?"

"Ah, no, no! I baked a lot of cookies, so I thought of sharing some with everyone here!" She tilted her head to beckon the bags filled with cookies in her hands. "Who's here today?"

Naho stepped aside to let her in. "It's just me, Naho, Sumi, Aoi-san, Shinobu-sama, and Tomioka-sama today. Tanjirou-san and the others are out on a mission."

"Tomioka-san? That's rare for him to be here!"

"He had a shoulder injury, so he comes for a check up," Naho explained. "Kanroji-sama, let me take some of your luggage."

Quickly she shook her head. "Oh, it's totally fine, Naho-chan! Just direct me to the kitchen, thank you!"

She did come before lunch, so seeing the other girls there cooking were not surprising. They all greeted her with a smile and cheer; it made her all fuzzy and warm inside. The delight on their faces when they munched on her sweets made her even happier. It seems Sumi liked it sweeter and Aoi less—she made sure to remember for the next time she baked something again.

"Do you want to meet Shinobu-sama, Kanroji-sama?" Aoi asked, putting the cookies inside a big clear glass jar.

"Ah, no need! She's attending to Tomioka-san, isn't she? I can't wait until she's done. I promised to have lunch together with Iguro-san." The sakura-haired girl waved her hand as she exited the kitchen with a smile. "I'll see myself out. See you around, Aoi-chan, Kiyo-chan, Naho-chan, Sumi-chan!"

Mitsuri was half lost in thoughts as she traced the corridor to the front door when she suddenly heard,

"Can I kiss you?"

That completely stopped her on her tracks.

Baffled was an understatement. Mitsuri looked left and right, mouth agape as she looked for the one who said it—she might be unfocused, but she was sure it was the Water Pillar!

Then she realised he was behind the room she just passed—Shinobu's personal study, she recognised. That made her jaw grow slacker.

Are... are Tomioka-san and Shinobu-chan together?

There's no way she could go with this huge question mark painted on her mind, so Mitsuri decided to walk several steps back as soundless as she could, biting the inside of her cheek to keep quiet. In the back of her mind there's a voice that told her that this was a bad idea, that she was intruding their privacy, but she had always been the spontaneous and short-thinking one. The excitement was practially rattling in her head, drowning the warning voice.

Lucky for her the door was slightly ajar. Carefully as not to lean on the door, Mitsuri peeked inside.

"You don't have to ask when we're alone."

Mitsuri managed to cover her mouth in time and restrain herself from gasping, because what she saw made her jaw grow slack.

From her position, Mitsuri could only see the left corner of the room, where Shinobu's cabinet was placed. And they, the Insect Pillar and the Water Pillar, were standing in front of it, with the petite woman on her toes and the half-naked man leaning down. She couldn't see whether they were really kissing or not, but their faces were certainly too close to just be talking.

Blood rushed to Mitsuri's face as she stood there and watched Tomioka take a step forward to trap Shinobu against the wall, and Shinobu circling her arms around his neck. Oh my God, Mitsuri thought with agape mouth behind her hand, this is huge. This is so very huge.

Their sighs snapped her back to reality, and she realised she was doing something really inappropriate. Without wasting a single second, she turned away and ran toward the front door, not caring it banged against the wall.

***

The loud sound made both of them jump in surprise. Shinobu reflexively pushed the man in front of her, making him wince in pain.

"Oh, sorry!" she quickly apologised, but her eyes were trained on the door. In horror she noted the door was not closed by few milimeters.

Oh, no.

When she arrived at the door Aoi came rushing from the kitchen's direction. She looked surprised when she saw Shinobu emerged from her room. "It wasn't you, Shinobu-sama?"

"Uh." Shinobu furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the door," Aoi explained. "Must be Kanroji-sama, then..."

"Kanroji-san?" Shinobu repeated, eyes grew wide. "She was here?"

"Yes. She dropped off some cookies, and she left some time ago—"

The rest of Aoi's words faded into the background as everything fell into its place in Shinobu's mind. She didn't know how much the Love Pillar had seen but judging from how she left in such a hurry, she must have at least seen her and Tomioka together in her room. And considering it's Kanroji—

He just gives her a crooked smile, the one she finds charming. Oh, she wants to punch him and kiss him senseless afterwards. "Okay then, I'll change the question. When exactly did you think you want to marry me?"

Giyuu closes his eyes again, humming while he's thinking. "I don't exactly remember the date, obviously, but I think it was Saturday morning." He folds his hands on top of his stomach. "I woke up to you making noise in the kitchen."

Her eyes grow wide at his words. "But I don't think I'm that noisy when I'm in the kitchen!" Especially in the morning, she always takes extra care to do everything quietly so she won't unnecessarily wake anyone up.

"Oh, it's not the noisy kind. It's actually kind of comforting. I used to wake up to the same noise. I lived with Tsutako for a long time, and I often woke up to her cooking something."

Shinobu nods her head. "So... You wanna marry me because I remind me of your sister?"

"No. The real reason is because you're singing Chibi Maruko-chan's song that morning,” he chuckles before singing, “Tanoshii koto nara ippai, yume miru koto nara meippai—"

"Stop!" She covers his mouth in the middle of his singing. "I remember that morning! You said you didn't hear anything!"

Giyuu circles her wrist to lift her hand and continues, "Well, you know now I was lying. I actually listened and watched you sing the whole thing." Laughing, he presses his finger on the space between her eyebrows, smoothing the lines. "You skipped left and right as you sang. It's quite entertaining. I lied so you would do that again. But I never catch you doing that again."

Shinobu slaps his hand away. "That was embarrassing."

He shrugs with a smile on his face. "Probably because it's different from the usual you. You're always so calm and collected and act very mature. While on that morning you're like a little kid singing along to their favourite cartoon's song. I guess I just fell into that gap."

She wants to stay mad for a little longer, because it's really embarrasing for her, to be caught singing and dancing by him. Although she's not exactly a bad dancer, it was a childish kind of dance. But instead it brings her a sense of relief to hear there's an actual reason for his proposal. She was a little worried it's all because—

"So I didn't propose to you because we didn't make it in our previous lives," he says, cutting off her thoughts. "You don't need to worry about that."

Her mouth falls agape at his words. "How did you figure out I asked because of that?"

Clearly he chooses his words carefully before answering. "I just had a feeling, somehow. Besides, I only remembered about demons and stuff after we're married."

Well, that's the same case with her, but he never told her before, so how could she know? "I don't know it only returned to you after that." She jabs his chest defensively, making him wince. Sighing, she twirls the hair around the center of his head. "Actually, I had a dream this morning about my past life again, so I was curious. Sorry if it sounded like I was doubting you."

"It's alright." He reaches for her hair and plays with the strands. The look he has on his face makes her stop. "But can I ask you the same question? Why did accept my proposal?"

Her eyebrows furrow at his question. "Was 'no' an option?"

"I know you, Shinobu. If you hadn't wanted it, you would have flatly refuse. And I didn't propose in a grand setting or something. You could've totally brushed it off or ignored it altogether."

That's true. His proposal was kind of out of the blue, actually. He just blurted out, "Should we get married?" when they were on a date, and she replied with a nonchalant, "Why not? Let's do it."

Then it clicks in her head. Ah, he probably has the same thought as her—that she probably accepted him largely because of their past lives' relationship.

"I also know you don't think it's necessary to get married and you don't care about other people's opinions, so there must be a reason why you accepted." A smile creeps on his mouth. "Well, that's good for me."

Shinobu pinches his cheek. "Oh, don't look so smug, you bastard." She pulls it until he groans in pain. "I suppose I should tell you, since you told me yours." Her mouth forms a thin line. "But it's very silly. You have to promise me you won't laugh or make fun of me."

Looking at her incredulously, he says, "When did I ever do that? You're always the one who makes fun of me." She gives him a stern look, and he concedes. "Alright, I promise. Just tell me already."

"... It was when we're talking about amusement parks."

Giyuu quirks his eyebrow. Okay. Amusement park. When was that? He vaguely remembers the conversation, but all he remembers is she loves haunted house and thrill rides, and how much she enjoyed the place when they had a date there. Maybe he should take her there next week.

Shinobu covers her face and sighs. This is really weird. Is it so embarrassing that she has to cover her face? He sits up and tries to pry her hands off of her face, but she won't budge. Before he can protest, she continues with a small voice, "You said it with a pause. You said, 'I love... Disneyland.'"

Giyuu stops pulling at her hands, the trench between his eyebrows becomes deeper. He's completely lost now. He really cannot see where this is going.

"And I was hoping at that time," she exhales, voice nearly sounds like a squeak, "you said you love me."

A minute probably passes in silence, before Giyuu shatters it with a snort, which soon fully turns into a full-fledged laugh.

Shinobu finally moves her hands away from her face, with the purpose of covering his mouth, but his laugh still doesn't stop. "Stop laughing! You promised!"

He tries, he tries so hard to stop, but he can only damp it to snorts and chuckles at best. "Sorry, but it's—" he wheezes, and she slaps his shoulder repeatedly.

"I knew you're going to laugh! I shouldn't have trusted you!" she exclaims, pulling at his cheeks again, hoping the pain will stop him from laughing. But instead of stopping, he continues to laugh as he grabs her hands and pulls her forward, making her fall onto him; the sofa makes a soft 'floof' sound as they fall.

"I love—haha, I love you, Shinobu," he says between laughters. "Definitely more than Tokyo Disneyland."

His face is flushed because laughing too hard, and she wants to kick herself for thinking it's cute. "It's not comparable."

"I prefer exploring you to exploring Disneyland," he says. "So I'd say it is."

Gasping, she hits his chest. "Giyuu-san! When did you learn to say things like that!"

He doesn't answer, instead riding on the leftover of his endorphin rush. Shinobu huffs and lays her head on his chest, feeling it vibrate under her head as he laughs. "I can't believe I actually thought like that." She remembers how shocked she was when she realises that thought crossed her mind, that she loves this man more than she thought, to the point she wants to be loved by him for the rest of her life. "I can't believe I love you. You must've placed a curse on me one century ago. How else is it possible for me to like you for two lifetimes."

"I can't believe it, too, you know." He slips his fingers among her tresses and combs through them. "But I'm glad."

Closing her eyes, she snugs closer, enjoying the warmth she couldn't freely embrace one century ago, and thanks the stars silently for the second chance to live this lifetime with him.

The front door slides open and his heart jumps a bit. It feels like it drops into his stomach when he sees a girl with twintails and blue butterfly pins on her head greeting them.

"Urokodaki-sama, Tomioka-sama," the girl—Aoi, he knows—says with a polite bow. "Are you here to visit Tanjirou-san?"

"Yes, how is he?" Urokodaki asks as he enters the mansion, with Giyuu closely following behind him.

"He and Nezuko-san are well. However, the last time I checked his room they're not there. I think they are wandering around somewhere. Do you want to wait in the guest room while I'm looking for them?"

"I want to look around first," Giyuu replies swiftly before his teacher can react. Urokodaki turns his head to look at him. Despite the mask covering his face, Giyuu can more or less picture his confused look. "Sensei, you can wait in the guest room."

Aoi nods knowingly. "Then, Urokodaki-sama, if you would please come with me..."

Without delay, Giyuu separates himself from them by taking a turn in the hallway, tracing familiar path toward one room he so frequently visited in the past. He stops in front of one particular door, knowing too well what room that is, and opens it.

A gust of wind greets him, slapping his face and making him squint his eyes. A feeling of dread immediately gnaws at his heart when he finds the room without any occupant. In fact, it looks even more sparse than he last time visited three months ago. He notices the papers on the desk are gone, and the room is also tidier than he remembers. The girls must have cleaned the room in the span of that three months.

“… I’m going insane,” Giyuu mumbles as he covers his face with his hand. Why did he even think he could find her here? Kochou Shinobu is dead, turned into ashes and dust when she won the fight, and he won't find her no matter how hard he searches. Not in this room. Not in this mansion. Not anywhere in this world.

With a shuddered sigh he lets his hand fall, weakly holding onto the doorknob for a while before he turns around, pulling the door toward him to close it.

It's unbelievable how quick the boy calmed down in her presence. Maybe it's the way she crouched down and wiped his tears gently with a smile on her face; he doesn't know. But with her questioning him, they finally gathered the information they needed. Apparently the little kid is lost from wandering too far away from his home past a huge forest. His description of his own abode was unclear, which is a bit troublesome, although it's expected from a little boy whose age probably no more than six years old. So they decided to leave the searching to their crows while they wait at the nearby teahouse. With all the walking and crying, understandably the exhaustion caught up, and the boy quickly fell asleep after he had his share of snacks.

Thirty minutes have passed, but there's still no news from their crows. It's not really a problem, as they are not on duty, anyway. What's more of a problem is people seeing them together with Kochou and this boy. In just half an hour he already heard three people assuming they're one nuclear family, with him and Kochou as the parents. His companion was quick to correct them, but isn't it tiring to do so continuously?

Which leads him to his question.

Kochou takes one of two mochi from the plate he order earlier and pops it into her mouth. "No, not really. Why do you think so?"

He shrugs. "Well, you keep correcting people, so I just thought."

She takes her time to reply, properly munching the mochi before answering, "It just came out automatically." Once again she turns her head toward him, this time her mouth formed into a smirk. "Do you want people to think we are together?"

He tries so hard not to roll his eyes, but in the end he still does. Kochou curiously chuckles, somehow seems happy that he did so.

“It's just a hassle to repeat the same thing over and over again,” he clarifies.

"What a complaint to be made by someone who didn't raise an objection at all." She shifts her attention to the kid, hand stroking his head slowly. It’s almost inaudible, but he can hear the boy sigh in his sleep. "People are so quick to assume. He doesn't look like us at all."

After several moments of staring, Giyuu blurts, "I can see why they mistake you as his mother."

"Oh?” Kochou sets her eyes on him, her gaze inquisitive, silently urging him to explain.

He points at his own mouth. "You have this different smile when you're with kids."

"Different how?"

Giyuu taps his foot thoughtfully against the ground. "More... sincere? It's not like your usual f—ahem," he clears his throat, "—smile. I can tell you like kids."

The snort she lets out reminds him of a younger version of her, when she’s still snarky and wore a frown more often than a smile. Seems like she catches on that he almost points out her tendency to put on a mask, but she doesn't say anything in regard to that, so he continues, "And he's sleeping on your lap, so it's understandable how they immediately assume."

She hums for a while before replying, "Actually, it's probably because of you."

This time it’s his turn to look at her with a questioning look.” What's because of me?" he asks, reaching for his glass that has gone significantly colder.

"I could definitely pass as his older sister. But since you're here, they think we are father, mother, and son instead of sister and brother."

... Oh. He presses his lips together, contemplating the direction of her words. The way she said it makes he think she has a grudge on him because he makes her look older. "... I'm sorry?"

But she laughs lightly at his apology. It seems his guess is a miss. "Why are you apologising? I don't mind. It doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"What do you mean?" he asks before sipping his tea.

"You as a husband."

He chokes on his drink.

"Oh my.” Kochou covers her mouth, unapologetically giggling amidst his coughs. How come he didn't catch her grin before she said that? In fact, she's still grinning like crazy right now. It doesn't matter how used he is to her teasing; that one was absolutely impossible to foresee.

"You," he spits between wheezes, "you'd make a horrible wife."

She only laughs harder.

***

"Thank you, Onii-san, Onee-san!"

He only dips his head a bit while Kochou waves her hand with a huge smile on her face. He notes the slight crimson on her cheeks; a further testament to her love for children. The crows finally returned several minutes after her teasing, saving his ass from further humiliation. It's quite a walk through the forest to arrive at the boy's house, but they arrived safe and sound thanks to their crows' earlier scouting. His parents thanked them profusely and even offered them meal as a sign of gratitude, but Kochou deftly excused them out.

As they walk back, he mutters, "You're really good with kids."

"Well," she says with a shrug, "I have five little sisters."

"You'd make a good mother."

Glancing at her, he drinks the dumbfounded look at her face with gusto. Now he understands a bit why she makes teasing people her unofficial calling in life. He wishes she stops using him as the main subject for her calling, though.

"But still a horrible wife."

Her laughter reminds him of a summer windchime. With an upward curve of her mouth she asks, "That's not enough to change your mind?"

If anything, he thinks, that's another reason to take you as one.

Probably more intrigued than wanting to tease, she decides to approach them, though she makes a detour first to a vending machine.

***

"Holy sh—Tanjirou!"

Giyuu swears he only takes his eyes off them for one second. The last he thing he remembered his nephew was playing with his sister on the sandbox, but during that magical one-second transition he somehow teleported to the slide, climbing to its top, shaking like a baby deer and screaming in fear for the height.

"Why are you up there if you're afraid?!" he asks as he retrieves the boy. Thankfully his nephew instantly calms down in his arms.

"Wanna do slide slide!" came his innocent reply, pointing at the big, orange slide that seems to mock Giyuu's ignorance. "Wanna do it with Gii-tan."

Giyuu eyes the slide, contemplating. "I'm too big to slide there."

"Mama said it's dan-jee-rus to slide alone."

That's true. He never gives it much thought, but Tanjirou indeed looks too small to slide safely there. That's just like Makomo, attentive to things like that.

"Okay, but I can't slide as smoothly as Mama," he says as he climbs the slide, hoping it doesn't break under his weight. Tanjirou just giggles happily—maybe he didn't hear what he said, but whatever.

It takes time and some legworks to just slide, but they makes it to the end of the slide. Tanjirou is quick to escape his hold and run to play other things, but just when he sighs in relief, he catches unnatural movement from the corner of his eyes, which turns out to be his niece standing on a spring rider.

"Nezuko, that's dangerous!" He scrambles to remove her from the ride. "Don't ride it like that!"

His niece looks up at him with clueless eyes and cocks her head to the side. "Gii-tan mad?"

"Wha—no! It's just dangerous, so please don't ride it like that, okay?" he asks, which sounds kind of like a beg in his ears. He doesn't want him to get hurt, plus Makomo will have his head if something happens to her kids!

Now they are back to the initial sandbox like the slide and rider incident didn't just happen, but the depletion of his energy is a testament that it really did. All he can do now is sitting uselessly on the park bench. How does Makomo deal with their energy every day, and tend to Sabito still? He starts to think mothers are a different species altogether from humans.

"So this is what they mean by mothers are strong..." he mumbles under his breath.

"From the quote 'women are weak, but mothers are strong', isn't it?"

Giyuu jerks at the sudden response to his own thought, looking past his shoulders. A cold and wet surface meets his cheek, and he flinches from the difference in temperature. Turns out to be a water bottle, and the one who holds it is his junior in the kendo club. "Yoo-hoo, Tomioka-san."

"That surprises me," he says. "What are you doing here, Kochou?"

"What, I cannot be here?" she asks, wiggling the bottle in front of him face. "Take it."

"I mean, why are you in Shizuoka?" Why does everyone keep misunderstanding me today? he thinks, but accepts the bottle nonetheless. "Thanks."

"Visiting my family. How weird for us to meet here, huh? As if I haven't had enough of your face back in Tokyo."

He chugs the water like a madman. Wow, he's parched. "Then you can just ignore me and walk away," he grumbles as he wipes his mouth.

"Geez, why don't you learn to take a joke?" she laughs, slapping his shoulder lightly. "I can't believe you're the same man who slid down with a child earlier."

So she saw that, he thinks. Funny enough, she doesn't tease him for that, even though making fun of him is like her full-time job. "It's dangerous. I have no choice."

Shinobu hums thoughtfully. "Didn't know you're good with kids."

Giyuu scratches his head. "Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing. My sister is the real champ for having them."

"Oh, they're your niblings?" she asks, waving her hands at the kids when they're looking her way with a smile. They quickly look away, but still steal some glances at her afterwards.

"Giyuu, Tanjirou, Nezuko~" An airy voice catches their collective attention to the entrance of the park. A woman with teal eyes and black hair is standing there, waving her hand with a smile. "Let's go home."

Before Shinobu can ask who that is, the kids are already up and running toward her, shouting "Mama!" in joy, answering her question.

Giyuu, however, stands up in different kind of urgency. "You're going to fall if you're run—!"

Too late. Nezuko's small legs get tangled with each other somehow, and she falls flat on her face.

"—ning like that," he finishes his warning in weak voice, which is drowned by Nezuko's loud crying. Palming his face, he walks slowly and lifts Nezuko, examining her face. "Ahh, it's okay, it's okay, it's not bleeding," he says, rocking her in his arms and pats her back.

"It still hurts, for sure," his sister laughs, beckoning him to let her hold Nezuko. "We'll stick a cute bandaid at home, okay? Pain, pain, fly away~"

"You're done cooking?" Giyuu asks, lifting up Tanjirou, who is silently staring at crying Nezuko.

"Of course, or else I wouldn't pick you guys up." Makomo cocks her head. "You want to invite your girlfriend for lunch together?"

"My girl—?" He looks back at the direction where Makomo's looking, and realises his junior is still there, leaning on the park bench, waving her hand to them as a greeting. “She's not my girlfriend," he deadpans.

"Oh? I think you have a chance, though.” Makomo winks with a laugh, waving back at Shinobu. “Say goodbye to her. I'm going home first!"

He contemplates to just follow her, but it seems rude to leave her just like that, especially when she takes her time to greet him earlier. Sighing, he turns back and approaches her. "I need to go home now."

"I thought you're just gonna leave," she smiles, and it catches him a bit off of guard. "Is your niece okay?"

Giyuu clears his throat before answering, "Yeah, she's not bleeding and she didn't fall on hard ground. She should be fine.”

“That’s good, then.” She sighs in relief. “You’ll make a wonderful father, Tomioka-san.”

Cocking one eyebrow, he asks, “Is that a compliment? If it is, it’s a weird one.”

“It is!” Her cheeks redden from giggling. “At least, I like—”

"Gii-tan, there's a butterfly," Tanjirou suddenly chimes in, pointing at Shinobu's head, startling both of them. Giyuu looks at her while Shinobu unconsciously holds her head, and they realise he's pointing at her hairpin.

Shinobu chuckles as she takes hold on Tanjirou's hand and shakes it. "Hi, I'm Kochou Shinobu. You are Tanjirou-kun, correct?"

Giyuu almost asks how come she knows his name, but then remembers Makomo called on them earlier. By process of elimination, she can figure it out.

"I have to go soon, too, but first—“ She shows her palm in front of them, at which Giyuu and Tanjirou stare. Suddenly, a candy appears on her hand with a wave, surprising both of them

"Whoa—!" Tanjirou shouts in excitement, while Giyuu just looks at her hand incredulously.

"A gift for a good boy!" Laughing, Shinobu places the candy on the little boy's hand and lightly pinches his cheek, then looks at Giyuu with a smirk. "You're going to drill a hole on me like that, Tomioka-san."

"How did you do that...?" he asks in disbelief, blinking his eyes a few times.

"Not telling!" She bolts away from them, waving her hand. "See you around, Tanjirou-kun, Tomioka-san!"

He doesn't have a chance to say goodbye as he's too busy trying to figure out how she manages to summon a candy out of thin air, but a light slap on his cheek from Tanjirou finally snaps him out of his trance.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Let's go home." Giyuu looks at the unopened candy in his nephew's hand. "You want me to help you open it?"

Tanjirou shakes his head. "It's for Nezuko!"

Giyuu can't help but smile at his innocent beam, but his thoughts soon drift back to Shinobu and her tricks.

Giyuu opened the door quietly, not even bother to ask for permission as he knew what she was doing. As always, he couldn't stop his nose from crinkling when he stepped inside. No matter how used he was to the wisteria's smell, this room always went above and beyond.

His eyes were fixed on the girl in the middle of the room, hair pinned up with her trademark butterfly hairpiece as he closed the door. Wisteria petals surrounded her, scattering across the floor akin to a carpet of flowers. It would be a picturesque view, if there were no crimson splotches of blood amidst the sea of purple.

"How rude of you, to enter without knocking," she said without turning around. She ought to know who he was, given he was the owner of the house. "And no 'I'm back', as well. You really need to work on your social skills, Tomioka-san," she chuckled, right hand holding a syringe with purple liquid inside. Turning around a little, she injects it into her own bloodstream without a care of his eyes on her, hoping in a twisted way she would morph into a lifeless lump of flesh and blood before his eyes.

They waited—one minute, two minutes, three minutes, but there was only his heartbeat filling both of their ears. It's already too long for the poison to take effect, so she could safely assume it was dissolved nicely inside her system. Sighing in disappointment, she dug her sharp nails into her arms, and dragged them across her flesh in one quick motion.

The amount of blood that spilled from her arm was not as much as she expected, so she readied her claws once again, but a firm hold on her wrist stopped her movement. The girl looked up, meeting his disapproving eyes with a lifeless gaze, in contrast with the bright colour of amber her eyes now possessed. Something inside him cracked upon looking at them, no longer the captivating violet he had remembered. But the person before him was no doubt Kochou Shinobu, so he had to stop her from hurting herself unnecessarily.

Even if she was a demon.

"Don't do it like that," he said, releasing her hand and reached for the scalpel on her table.

"It doesn't really matter. It's not nichirin blade, nor is it my neck." She shrugged, but accepted the scalpel from him nonetheless. "It won't kill me."

It's not about that, he wanted to say, but decided to shut his mouth, and settled with, "It's inefficient."

"And you think this is efficient?" Shinobu asked with unhumorous mirth, shoving her arm at his face. One clean line ran across the claw marks she made earlier, though they had already healed. The scalpel wound, however, kept pouring blood.

Giyuu grabbed her arm and put a beaker glass below where her wound was. "It's not closing up, at least. You need blood sample, so you need to use your scalpel. It's made from nichirin, after all. It'll stop yourself from healing."

"Nichirin blade to stop my healing, huh," she hummed, watching him waiting patiently for her blood to fill a good portion of the glass. "I have a better idea," she quipped when he placed the now-filled glass on her table. "Why don't you use that," a charming smile on her lips as she traced an invisible line on the air between the sword on his hip and her heart, "and stab me here? And take it out, so my blood—"

The clean slap across her cheek cut her words in the middle, stunning her.

"I'll leave you with your poison," he said with no remorse, immediately standing up and walked to exit the room afterwards, as silently as he had come in.

"Tomioka-san." The lilt in her voice stopped him right before he shut the door, though he didn't bother to turn around. "Consider my request some time, will you?"

But it urges her to move faster, because judging from the smell, the bleeding should be severe. She nearly breaks the door when she slides it open, but neither her nor her guest flinch from the sound.

"Come in, Tsutako-san." Shinobu ushers her in quickly. "Put him on the bed."

Her guest, Tomioka Tsutako, isn't bothered by how swift her commands come out. Probably because she's too focused on the boy with a gaping wound on his shoulder in her arms. One look at the wound and Shinobu knows he was bitten by a demon. She already had her suspicion from the very moment she smelled the blood; it has a subtle smell of rotten flesh and of that man. Seeing the distinctive teeth mark just confirms it.

When they pass in front of her, Shinobu can feel her teeth grow heavier. Brushing her tongue against them, she curses inwardly as she cuts her own tongue against her fangs, now too long and too sharp for humans to have. Shit. If only she had had one drop of blood earlier. While rare blood is indeed harder to resist, consuming some blood beforehand should give her at least a better control against the demonic urge.

You cannot lose, she thinks as she busies herself with medical supplies and treatment preparation. You must not lose.

Amidst her own struggle her ears catch the pained cries of her patient—Tomioka Giyuu, Tsutako's younger brother, and the hushed voice of his sister, fractured but calming.

"It's okay. It's okay, Giyuu—you will be fine. You will be fine."

You will be fine.

As impossible as it is, she feels Kanae's hand on her shoulder, holding her firmly. She hears her voice too, repeating the words over and over again in that level voice she loves so much. You won't lose, Shinobu. You will be fine.

Breathing through her nose, Shinobu grabs the white cloth around her face and ties it behind her head, effectively hiding the lower part of her face that has morphed into something inhuman. She closes her eyes before entering the treatment room, wishing silently from the bottom of her heart.

Protect me, Nee-san.

.

.

.

Distressed noise halts her writing.

Shinobu looks at the clock on the wall. Three in the morning. She puts away her pen and closes her book, walking to the occupied bed to check on her patient, who’s been moaning in his sleep.

Stroking his head lightly, Shinobu whispers, "It's just a dream, Giyuu-kun." Her other hand holds his left hand, which is balled into a trembling fist. He must have a nightmare after such a frightening experience. She had successfully attended to his wound, bandaging it nicely and cleanly (and restraining her from consuming his blood, thank the heavens), but that doesn't mean he's completely healed. He is quite fortunate though, to be attacked here, where she has been residing as a doctor for around two years. No ordinary doctor has a chance to save him from a demon's poison.

Eventually he quiets down, but in exchange he awakens from his slumber, breathing a bit laboured and eyes looking tired. Giyuu blinks several times, and winces when he unconsciously moves his shoulder.

"Stay still," Shinobu says, hand still stroking his head. She feels his hand under hers tenses, but when his eyes land on her, he visibly relaxes. "Don't move too much."

"Shinobu... sensei," he breathes, voice close to a sob. "Where... is Nee-chan?"

She beckons on the bed beside him. "Tsutako-san is asleep over there. She wants to stay with you, so she's staying the night here." Brushing away his bangs from his forehead, Shinobu smiles, hoping it will lighten up the situation somehow. "You should go back to sleep. It's still night time, after all."

His eyes dart around and his throat bob nervously at the word 'sleep'.

"Are you afraid?" Shinobu asks.

The boy nods mutely after some time.

"Don’t worry, Giyuu-kun. I will be here all night long, so you'll be alright." She squeezes his hand for assurance of her existence. "I'll be holding your hand, so you'll know I'm here when you close your eyes."

His fingers curl in response to her words, holding her small hand with his even smaller hand. It seems he trusts her on that part, but still his eyes won't close for longer than a blink. Instead he persistently keeps his tired eyes on her, as if she will disappear into a smoke if he falls asleep.

Lonely and afraid—he reminds her of a much easier time, long, long ago.

.

.

.

"Shinobu, you need to sleep, or else you won't get better."

"But you're not there when I close my eyes, Nee-chan."

"You may not see me, but that doesn't mean I'm not here. Here, try closing your eyes. You can feel me holding your hand, right?"

"... Mm-hmm."

"... Oh, maybe this will help you sleep. Little bird, little butterfly—"

.

.

.

"—sing to me, my beloved..." Words she had forgotten slip out of mouth woven into a melody; a lullaby she used to listen when she surrendered herself to sleep amidst the deep voice of her father, the soft hush of her mother, and the loving whisper of her sister. "Carry me to sleep, my darling. And be here in my slumber, always..."

On and on she sings, at some point forgotten about the lax hand in her hold, for she weaves it to immerse herself in a fragile illusion of family and humanity.

When the dream world is finally shattered by the silence, her patient is already deep in sleep, breathing evenly and peacefully.

"That can't be helped, Sensei!" One student speaks up, raising his hand. "The last question was hard as f—" He quickly covers his mouth and clears his throat, catching himself right before uttering what he intended to say. Everyone snorts lightly, including the teacher. "Very hard. No one could do that!"

"There's one," he responds swiftly with a small smile. Gasps can be heard throughout the class. Quickly names pass between their lips, guessing who's the genius in their year, but the noise dissipates when the teacher taps the desk once more.

"But there's only one person in the year who answered it correctly, so I annulled the question."

His announcement is met with cheery shouts and applause from the students, and he claps his hands to silence them. "There are still people who failed the test, though. Remedial test will be held next week. I'm going to return your paper now, then we'll discuss the problems first before moving on to the next chapter."

The class falls into their usual chatter as he distributes the papers, and he arrives at one name.

"Kochou."

Shinobu walks to his desk upon being called, her teeth worrying her lower lip. Her shoulders are squared, but not in confidence, but from nervousness. She felt like she did well in the test, but who knows if she's just being conceited?

Tomioka-sensei chuckles as he hands her paper back. "Don't look so nervous. You did a good job."

Tension visibly leaves her body along with a sigh of relief from her lips. "It's all thanks to you, Sensei."

"More to your diligence. No one visits the lab as often as you. And so," he placed a small box in front of her, "here's a bonus for you."

She tilts her head in confusion. "For?"

"For getting the last question right."

His words got her eyes widened, and she flipped her paper. 'Good job' is written on the bottom part of the paper in red. It looks sloopy, but somehow she's charmed by the way he writes it.

"But I annulled that question, so I got you some daifuku from Gunrindo instead." He looks at the next paper to be given. "Hope you like it. Akasaka!"

The mention of another student's name snaps her out of her trance, and she mutters a quick thank you before grabbing the confectionary and returns to her desk, where she's welcomed by Mitsuri.

"Shinobu-chan, how's your tes—wait." Her best friend points at the box in her hand. "Why do you have a Gunrindo daifuku?"

"Oh." Shinobu blinks. "Sensei gave it to me, because I got the last question right." Before Mitsuri can scream, she places her finger in front of her own lips. "Don't make a fuss on it."

Mitsuri nods in excitement, her hair bouncing along. "But that's amazing! No one got that, you know?! Wow, you're such a genius!"

Her praise is a bit excessive, but Shinobu can't deny how proud she felt at herself. "I worked very hard on it." She gave a toothy smile. "Though Tomioka-sensei is a good teacher, as well."

"Oh, you're right on that! Honestly, I could pass this test because of him." Mitsuri waved her paper, 70 is scribbled on the top. A very good score for their standard. "Also he's very nice! To annul that question because none of us could do it—well, except you, of course! And he gave you your favourite sweets because you scored that question."

Shinobu twirls the daifuku box in her hand. "An amazing coincidence, huh? That I love Gunrindo daifuku."

A loud knock against the board steals their attention back to the front. Shinobu places the daifuku box at the corner of her table, silently wishing for the clock to turn faster so she can gobble it down as soon as possible.

. . .

"Hey, Giyuu-san," Shinobu calls, fingers picking up her third Gunrindo daifuku her boyfriend just bought that afternoon. "Remember years ago, when you gave me Gunrindo daifuku because I did well on my test?"

"Because you answered the difficult question correctly? Yes, I remember," he answered, lifting his cup to his mouth.

Biting and munching the sweets quietly, she asks, "Why did you give me one? I'm pretty sure I haven't mentioned in the notebook that I love Gunrindo daifuku at that time."

He pursed his lips, thinking. "Honestly? I didn't know why. I considered giving you extra points, actually. But somehow I ended up buying it." Shrugging his shoulders, he sipped his coffee. "I just know you'd like it."

Shinobu stares blankly at the man with mouth agape, but quickly shut it close. There can only be one explanation for that. "... Soulmate things?"

"I've refused you," she said coldly, even her practiced smile was not there anymore, but he wouldn't give up.

"It doesn't hurt to try hanging out with us, I'm sure we can entertain you—"

A grip on her shoulder, trying to turn her toward him.

Oh, fuck this. She's sworned to not use her techniques and needles out in public, but this boy needed to be taught some manner—

But just as she's about to stab his arm to render it numb and useless, the pressure on her shoulder lightened.

"She's not interested," said a calm voice, though there's a stern quality underlying it. It came from a man with black hair and blue eyes, his hand holding the wrist of the boy who'd just narrowly escaped his execution. Though looked calm, his hold was strong, evident from the way the boy winced in pain and the veins popping on the man's hand.

"Fuck off, old ma—ow, ow, ow!"

Oh, her ears danced in delight at the sound.

"Your choice," the man said, tightening the grip. It would surely bruised, and she silently cheered inside: break it, break it, break it!

Sadly, the boy wisely scampered off before her wish came true. Shinobu returned her needles back to their rightful place, and bowed toward her saviour. "Thank you for your help."

The man shrugs in response, moving one of the bags in his left hand to his right. He bought a lot from the nearby store, she noted. Curiously, he kept standing there even after arranging his bags, and she quirked an eyebrow.

"Shinobu—!"

A call to her name robbed her attention immediately. Shinobu knew that voice anywhere—it was the voice of her liege, after all. Upon the sight of her running, Shinobu resisted the urge to bow down; she's here as a friend of Kanroji Mitsuri, not the personal bodyguard-slash-ninja of the daughter of Chief of Police. It's kinda hard not to bolt to her side when she stumbled, though, but luckily her liege managed to catch herself before she's on the ground.

"Sorry, did I make you wait long?! The train got delayed for some reason—oh!" Mitsuri looked at the man beside her, and Shinobu wondered why he's still here. "Sorry, am I interrupting your conversation?" she asked sheepishly, her eyes darted between the two of them.

"Your friend is here, so I'll take my leave," the man said before Shinobu could speak a word, then left without another letter from his mouth.

It took two seconds until it clicked on her that he intended to accompany her until Mitsuri came. Well, probably. But there's not a moment for her to revel in her realisation as Mitsuri already hooked her arm and asked in excitement, "Did he hit on you?!"

In contrast to her liege's energy, Shinobu only shook her head slowly. "No... It's actually the opposite."

And it hit her she hadn't repaid his kindness for her despite being a stranger to him.

Shinobu pursed her lips in discomfort. Not that it's her ninja code or anything, but she had a principal to always return a favour. But her saviour had already disappeared into the crowd, and there's nothing she could use to track his identity.

Well, she shrugs mentally, as she turned to Mitsuri to inquire her outing plans for the day, if fate allows, I'll repay him somehow.

***

Turned out fate did its job splendidly, for once, in less than two hours.

Mitsuri always had a huge appetite, so her asking for some kind of dessert and dragging her to a nearby bubble tea shop was not surprising. It was a cozy little space, and the cashier has the brightest smile on his face when he greeted them. It was when Mitsuri inquired about the menu that he exited the kitchen. He looked like he's about to call the boy behind the register when his eyes landed on her, and she instinctively bowed her head. Catching her movement from the corner of her eye, Mitsuri turned, and practically jumped at the sight of him.

"Ah, you're that man who saved Shinobu! Thank you so much for saving my friend!" she said, leaving her conversation with the cashier immediately. Shinobu had told her about the incident earlier, but the way she expressed her gratitude to her saviour made her wish she didn't. Her liege was always brimming with energy, so it sounded like he had saved her from falling to her death or something huge.

Though the man just shrugs and simply said, "Don't sweat it." Then he turned to the cashier, "Tanjirou, I'm testing new recipe, can you try it?"

"Ah, sure, Tenchou! After this order!" the cashier—Tanjirou, as the man said—replied promptly.

Unexpectedly, he turned again to them and asked, "Can you taste-test for me as well?"

***

"Ahh, that was the best!" Mitsuri exited the shop with a skip in her steps. Amazing how she could move so much when she just gobbled down two plates of dessert mere seconds ago.

"I'm surprised you love it so much, Ojou. You're a sweet tooth, so I thought you won't like the boba that much," Shinobu responded, walking beside her. They were served a stack of pancakes with coconut palm sugar boba topped with fresh cream and a steamed cake with boba inside. For someone who didn't fancy sweet things that much, the boba had her captivated with its subtle but lingering sweetness. The portion was really big though, especially for her who'd just had her lunch with Mitsuri. Luckily they shared the desserts with the staffs there, so it hit her just right.

"I'm surprised myself that the boba was my favourite part of it! Maybe because it's less hard than usual boba I have? It has perfect chewiness, actually! We should visit them again when they include it in their menu!" Mitsuri giggled, hand mindlessly wandered inside her bag. But soon she stopped in the middle of her tracks, digging through her things in distress.

Shinobu raised her eyebrow as she watched her go through her purse, and guessed, "You left your phone behind, didn't you?"

The drop of Mitsuri's shoulders told her enough.

"I'll go retrieve it," she laughed, already turned around to walk in the direction of the bubble tea shop. "Wait for me at the clothing store!"

She was halfway back to the shop when she noticed a familiar face walked toward her—the manager of the shop. He, too, noticed her at the same time, and jogged lightly until he's in front of her.

"Your friend left this." He handed her a phone encased in a pink latex casing with bunny ears, a heart charm dangling at the corner of the case. That's Mitsuri's phone, alright.

Shinobu smiled as she accepted it. "Is there anything I can do for you in return?"

The man lifted his eyebrow in confusion. Surely he didn’t expect to be given such an offer for simply returning a phone. “It's not that big of a deal."

"Indeed, but you helped me with earlier when I was being hit on, and you gave us free dessert. It's only appropriate to repay your kindness, and I won't take no for an answer."

He squinted his eyes at the clear stubborness in her voice, and she held his gaze to make her point. He looked like he's thinking, so Shinobu waited patiently.

"Then," he said as he took out his phone, "I want you and your friend to taste-test for me again some other times. Can I have your number?"

This time it's Shinobu who raised her eyebrow. It sounded like he's just giving an excuse, but she was a pretty good judge of person. He didn't look like he was lying or had any ulterior motives. "But that's more free food for us."

"That's a favour for me, actually. I only have two staffs who like boba, so you and your friend can give me more input."

She pondered for a while, then nodded. "Okay." Quickly she tapped on his phone to enter her number, and pressed call. Her phone buzzed in response, and she turned the call off. "May I know your name?"

"Tomioka Giyuu," he replied, taking his phone back and read her name on the screen. "Kochou Shinobu?"

She hummed in affirmation, registering his contact in her phone. "I'll take my leave, then. Thank you for your help, Tomioka-sa...n." He looked at her weirdly, and she gave her a lopsided smile. Good thing she managed to correct herself. Calling someone you just met with '-sama' was surely a highway to awkwardness. "Until we meet again."

The door closes with a soft click. "I don't mean it like that. It's just you've been here a lot lately." He takes off his shoes and places them neatly beside her sandals. She finally turns her head to look at him. "Aren't you busy? You may just start college, but I'm sure you have a lot of things to do, like assignments."

Said like a true teacher he is, she mused as she closed her book, but not before placing a bookmark between the pages. Shinobu lays her temple on top of her book, watching him walk toward the washroom. "I did my homework before you came home. Don't worry about it, Tomioka-sensei," she chuckles, slipping his title as a joke.

"Won't your sister worry?" he asks. The sound of the running water almost drowns his question.

"Already told her I was visiting you. She just told me to buy some eggs before I come home."

He hums in response, moving from the washroom to his bedroom, closing the door softly. Her ears pick up rustling sounds from beyond the door; he should be changing his clothes.

Shinobu closes her eyes and sighs. College is tiring, but what saddens her the most is she cannot see him as much as when she's still his student. Granted, she couldn't do anything to him as a lover back then, but she's plenty happy seeing him interacting with other students, or just casually conversing for a while. That's why she keeps coming here without his invitation, because it's better to have one or two hours with him rather than none at all. But he repeats the same question every time she's here, and even though it has a good intention behind it, she cannot help but purse her lips in annoyance.

"Feels like I'm the only one who's missing you," she mumbles quietly against her book.

A stroke on her head prompts her to open her eyes. He's in front of her, looking at her with his mesmerising sapphire eyes, face apologetic as he keeps on caressing her hair tenderly.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't mean it like that."

Once again she closes her eyes. She hates how comfortable she’s feeling right now just being touched by him. “You just repeated the same thing you said earlier," Shinobu snorted, but with a small smile on her face.

"I miss you too, if that makes you feel better."

"So you only miss me because you think it will make me feel better?"

Giyuu sighs, and she knows he wishes to put his foot in his mouth. "I mean it. I saw you every day just two months ago. Of course I'd miss you."

"Are you happy when I'm here?"

"Of course I'm happy," he answered within a heartbeat. "I'm just worried you're here so often. I don't want you to abandon your study. And I don't want you to skip hanging out with your friends or to see your family less because of me."

Shinobu laughs at his concerns. Somehow he sounds like an old man. "Don't worry, I'm not doing any of that. Though I suppose I eat at your place more lately than with my family."

"That's what I'm talking about.” He pats her head. "Treasure your time with your family. I will take you from them in the future, after all."

Her eyes fly open at his words and she sits upright in shock, but he's already stood up and turned away from her, opening the drawer to get his car key. "Tidy up. I'm sending you home."

Seeing how nonchalant he is, Shinobu lets out a sigh to appease the incoming headache. "Why are you so casual about that," she wonders aloud, though she cannot deny the warmth spreading in her chest. He just hums in response, taking out his sandals from the shoe cabinet.

"But Giyuu-san," she says, sitting down to fasten her sandal straps, "I still want to come here time to time. So stop asking me why."

"Duly noted," he confirms, offering his hand to help her stand up. She takes it, and he doesn't let go even after she's on her feet. "If you're free next weekend, we can go out somewhere."

Shinobu lets out a long humming sound before answering, "Too bad. I want to bake with Nee-san and Kanao next weekend." She sticks her tongue out at him. "I'm taking your advice to spend more time with my family."

"... You do that," he says, but she notes the deflate in his shoulders and the slight disappointment on his face, and she giggles.