koi no yokan | inosuke hashibira

𝟒.𝟕

April 8, 2021

Good morning/afternoon!

I just wanted to say sorry for being so late on updates. My life has been nothing but crazy lately. I can't guarantee that updates will go back to normal, but updates will continue to slowly come out.

BUT WHAT- YOU DARLINGS! I WAS HIT WITH 10K READS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I DON'T HAVE THE CORRECT WORDS??? I DON'T KNOW WHAT I CAN DO???

Well, now I don't know what to do for my 10K Reads Special!

Just- thank you, thank you.

Have a good rest of your week and stay safe!

----

Maybe a few days. Give it a few days. A few days they said. Give it a few days they said.

At least, that's what Mitsuri said. As much as I love the blossomed lady, her exercises and routines for this said "test" were more intense then I had anticipated.

Having to stretch my limps so far back to the point where my toes would hit my head, probably not a good idea after I had come back after a mission that resulted in a twisted ankle. Nethertheless, Shinobu also said to give my ankle a few days to heal.

It had been a full on month and half, barely crossing two months, since I was embarked on this trip. Mitsuri had come to bring me along to her adventures in the Swordsman Village.

The Swordsman Village.

A place where secrets are hidden behind the safety of clouded hills, only accessible through the thrill of secret groups and carries. Nothing more than the workings of the purest of Nichirin would be happening behind the village doors.

As someone new would think about it, it would seem serious and out of the ordinary. But once you get there, it's so much more... laid back.

The people of the village are more then welcoming to Demon Slayers, especially Hashira. Mitsuri and I were guided to the best rooms to stay in, accompanied by the best service. Even though she was there to test me on my abilities, we really only had three actual testing sessions. The other days were filled with Mitsuri running along the village main paths and grooming on the fancy accessories.

I had no problem with that.

Of course, that lingering feeling of emptiness was still there. Often I would think to myself why I was feeling so down when I was at the top of the Demon Slayer hierarchy, Hashira. Hadn't I trained my whole life for this? Yet I was feeling so... gray?

Mitsuri would be there to distract me.

I would write letters to the Butterfly Estate, often getting a letter back with Shinobu speaking of Inosuke as he complained to not seeing me there with him. My heart warmed everytime I thought of him. I often thought if he were eating his vegetables or combing his hair properly.

Our last interaction was short and sweet, me assisting him up from his bed after a month or so of sleeping and resting. He had a tight grip on my hands as he hesitantly took shaky steps forward.

"If you let me go, I swear-"

"I told you, I'm not letting you go!" Giggling with a dash of blush across my face, I could feel his beating pulse against my hand as his trembling body continued to move forward. With nothing less then a few more steps across the room, he would be done with this simple walking exercise.

"How many more steps?" He groaned, ducking his head down as his blue and black locks fell over his forehead. "I want to sit down."

"Come on! You have to keep going! You know you have to go on a mission in two weeks. If you can't go, they might as well wake Tanjiro and-"