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( — EIGHT ; LOVE HASHIRA PROBLEMS )
(Important note at the bottom! Please read after!)
MILA HID HER KATANA UNDERNEATH HER LONG HAORI, concealing the weapon and her backpack of weapons and materials. She knew that the Corps was an organization that wasn't recognized by the government, and that she and Muichiro could get into trouble by revealing their katanas. They had to he discreet.
Meanwhile, Muichiro had slid his katana inside of his baggy pants, since he had no haori to cover himself with. Mila had forgotten to pack an extra, and now the katana would hit his leg every step he took. It was starting to get very, very annoying for the Hashira.
"They're looking at you weirdly," Muichiro heard Mila murmur, a disturbed expression on her face. It quickly changed to a frown when she spotted two females whispering and pointing at Muichiro, and they were laughing too.
"Is it because of my hair?" Muichiro quipped, looking straight ahead and continued walking. He could honestly care less about the gossip. In fact, he gave attention to gossip as much as he gave attention to a lone rock. "Don't mind them, let's just get going."
But Mila couldn't just ignore them. This was Muichiro—uh, her friend—she was talking about. Who wouldn't be concerned if they were literally being bullied in the streets?
Muichiro's face remained in monotone, and Mila decided to follow his instruction. She had promised herself she wouldn't pry into Muichiro's life anymore, and it would be better for them to forget the past.
"We should stay in a hotel room today. How much do you wanna bet people are going to think we're going to do something, uh, indecent?" Mila said, searching for the right word.
Muichiro chuckled, shaking his head. "That's the first thing they'll think of. Anyway, I could care less, we're only sleeping in there."
Inside, however, the Mist Hashira was panicking. He didn't want people to assume anything bad about Mila, especially since she was already married. Gossip would spread like wildfire, and it would discriminate her if they saw her wedding ring.
"Let's just make camp. We'll be awake the rest of the night anyway. Didn't Nezuko-chan used to be the only demon to stay alive under the sun without any side effects?" Mila suggested, reminiscing the first time she saw Nezuko helping Aoi with the laundry one sunny morning. It shocked her to the core and had to listen to both Tanjiro's and Kanao's explanations on what happened.
"Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. It was when we were at the swordsman village," Muichiro answered.
The duo stayed quiet for a while and finally settled to sitting down in a park with bowls of Mila's favorite oshiruko. She managed to convince Muichiro to try the red bean soup too, and his reaction was priceless. His teal eyes sparkled and he proceeded to shove more of the food to his mouth, causing him to choke.
He's just like Kanroji nee-san.
After giving the boy water and sitting underneath a tree to cool off in the hot afternoon sun, Mila began thinking of strategies if they ever encountered demons during their patrol.
If it's just a normal demon I'm sure at least one of us can handle it. . .but if it's a new Lower Moon maybe we can combine my First Form and—
Mila snapped out of her thinking spree to the sensation of Muichiro's finger tapping her cheek. She had to admit, her emotions were a mix between embarrassment and discomfort. She pried his finger away and tried her best to maintain a calm composure.
"Tokitou-san, please don't do that again," Mila said seriously, making the Hashira flinch and retrieve his hand back.
They stayed silent until Muichiro spoke up.
"You can't just pretend like nothing happened between us, Mila."
"I can and I will. I'm sorry, Tokitou-san."
Tears were threatening to spill down his eyes. He had already suffered so much—he lost his parents, his twin brother, nearly died two times, and thought he lost his best friend. In all of these traumatic moments, Mila was there for him. Losing her was like repeating all the trauma over and over again.
"Everyday you hurt me, don't you know that?" Muichiro murmured, audible enough for Mila to hear but not loud enough to draw a crowd. "Even if I don't see you, you manage to worm your way to my head. And it hurts, Mila."
"I am aware of that, and that's why I'm giving you a sincere apology. But we aren't thirteen and fourteen anymore, Tokitou-san—we're adults, and we have to face reality. I have a family, and I love them. I'm not leaving them for a childhood crush of mine."
Something inside Muichiro snapped. Childhood crush? Was that all he really was to her? After all the memories, the kisses, and the comforting moments he had with her?
"I see." He stood up, brushed off his pants, and gripped his katana tighter. "I accept your apology, and I am sorry in return. I'm going to get more oshiruko. We'll meet up here once the sun sets, Hanazuwa-san."
Mila visibly startled, but she nodded. "Yes. Okay."
Muichiro disappeared among the crowds, out of Mila's sight.
MILA WANTED TO SOB. To cry and cry and cry until her tears were no longer a thing that existed in her system. She wanted to believe that everything she just said to the Mist Hashira belonged to someone else.
But it wasn't.
Mila stood by what she said—she had a family, and they were precious to her. Even more precious than her own life. But tagging Muichiro as her one-time fling? That was many steps too far.
In truth, he wasn't just a one-time fling. He made her heart skip a beat, made her blush, and made her feel comfortable.
Still, his journeys always seemed to be endless, and in time, Mila found a person that did the same to her. Hanazuwa Akito made her heart skip, her face heat up, and her mind relax. He was there for her when her parents died. In general, he was there.
What okaa-san said really was true then. You don't stop loving someone. What actually happens is that you found another person who you love more.
It was very ironic, how the Love Hashira was facing problems in love.
A/N:
I am so so so so so so sorry for not updating in a while oh geez...I'm a student who's struggling with school work in the middle of a pandemic and Philippines is a mess right now because I just heard of news of an attack by the NPA (National People's Army). Feel free to search that up.
I'm really trying the best I can to update. Not only am I swamped with work at age 13, I've also been receiving messages here in Wattpad, some cursing at me to write and update faster. It's been putting me down. If you want me to update, please just say so in a nice manner, and don't go cussing me out. Keep in mind that not only am I writing this book, I'm also rewriting a book of mine, so of course it's going to take a long time.
I have this story planned, and the outcome is up and ready. All I need to do is write the chapters to get there, and to publish them. So please, bear with me. I'm stressed enough as it is.
