The Swimming Butterfly (Giyushino Fanfic)

Chapter 21

𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚘𝚔𝚊 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞

The meeting itself was boring, but the feeling of Kocho's skin on mine kept me jittery. Despite both of us going through hours of rigorous training to master our breathing styles, her hands were quite smooth and soft. 

As Oyakata's recap went on, I found myself unable to keep my eyes open. A yawn escaped from my mouth despite my best efforts to hold it in. Stretching my arms outward, a squeeze on my shoulder caused me to jump in place. I swerved my neck to look at the culprit, only to see her hunched over to hide her laughter. 

The meeting ended with Oyakata pairing us to go on missions to scout out areas where reports of demons had been filed. 

"... Uzui and Tokito, lastly Tomioka and Kocho." I breathed a sigh of relief after the pairings were announced, looking forward to our time together.

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 𝙺𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞

Once the pairings had been announced by Oyakata, I looked up Tomioka. He had a small grin on his face, a look I hadn't seen for a while. 

"If you're that glad to be with me, you could just tell me with words," I whispered into his ear as I stood on my tiptoes, grabbing onto his shoulder for support. A slight pink tint formed on his cheeks and ears which caused him to refuse to look at me. I tickled his hand, which he slapped away in response. 'He's such a child.' Wondering how far I could go with my antics, I began to blow on his ear and tickle his back. 

Completely lost in my playful antics, I was unaware of the stares we were receiving from all of the other Pillars. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I let go of Tomioka and looked back at Mitsuri. It was then when I noticed all eyes locked onto us, their stares drilling into my back. 

Everybody stood silently in place awkwardly until a forced cough from Mitsuri broke the silence, but Shinazugawa was the first to speak. 

"You got to be kidding me Kocho, when did you become such an idiot?" He took a step forward from his spot. "Flirting in public with that idiot? You are a shame to the Demon Slayer Corps. Are you a maiden in love?" Others behind him nodded in agreement. "When you became a pillar, you should have rid yourself of these kinds of feelings, or they will interfere with your work. 

I scoffed, hiding my disdain with a smile. "I don't think someone who treats his only other living family member like trash should be talking about love." I also took a step forward, looking up at his mug as I approached him. "And weren't you the one who got injured in your mission?" 

Without missing a beat, Shinazugawa fired back. "You want to know why I got injured? I fight like a man, not like a girl like you. I don't just stab demons, I decapitate them. Not that you would ever be able to." 

I swallowed my pride, deciding to hold my tongue to not start a fight. 

"No words, huh. You really are a coward. No wonder y o u   c o u l d n ' t  s a v e  y o u r  s i s t e r."

My mind went blank.

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𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚘𝚔𝚊 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞

As the volley of insults flew back and forth, I stood back and watched despite the anger pounding in my chest. I never talked at meetings, I rarely even attended them since I didn't need to. After all, I'm not a real pillar. How could someone who didn't kill a single demon during the final selection even be a demon slayer? I'm just a place holder, a sub for the real water pillar.  A real man like Sabito will fulfill the role. 

That's how I felt for the longest time until I met her. And that's why I had to stop her here.

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I grabbed Kocho's wrist and blocked Shinazugawa's blow with my right forearm. 

"Stop this at once. Pillars shouldn't be fighting amongst themselves." Hearing my words, everybody stopped at once. Staring at me, they looked at each other in shock. 

"You're not mute at meetings anymore? Nice to know." Shinazugawa laughed as he went in for another punch, aimed at my torso. Already occupied with holding Kocho's freakish strength back, my torso was wide open for his attack. I braced myself for impact by flexing my core and pectorals. 

When the anticipated blow never struck, I looked upwards to see the giant Himejima looming over us while holding a struggling Shinazugawa back. 

"Stop this senseless fighting, children, you must not bicker." Upon hearing these words, everybody immediately knelt before him, except for Kocho. Forcing her down as to not enrage Shinazugawa and the others even more, no Pillar was left standing. 

"Giyu, I'm glad to hear you speak today and I wish to hear you speak more in the future." Despite his condition, Oyakata traveled to the graves of the dead demon slayers every day. But even he wouldn't know about Sabito. I bit my tongue, hating myself for thinking such thoughts.

"And with this, the meeting is officially concluded."

Ah yes, I'm still not dead yet, but school is killing me. There's a test every single week and another essay to complete. 

I reread the kny manga and it's so good T_T 

There were so many good parts with Giyu in them, especially the ohagi part. Anyways, thank you all for reading and supporting me through this journey! 

This time I really plan on publishing within the next 2 weeks. I think.