GiyuShino [Oneshot]

Weren't Mean To Be...

Notes: I recommend listening to the melody above while reading this short story. Credits to BigRicePiano.

To turn on loop, hold on to the video for 2 seconds (mobile) or right-click, then choose "Loop" (PC).

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Slowly and softly, the clear droplets pour themselves down from the overcast sky, composing an alluring melody as they reach the surface of the wooden sill. Seated beside a hinoki* table, the pair of ocean eyes observe the gentle rain in silence, taking in the scent of freshly-bathed plants, along with the views of those soon-to-bloom flowers.

"Right, it's the first rain of spring..." the man reminds himself, "She would be 19 by now..."

It has been over a year since the end of the everlasting war between humans and demons, lives were lost and tears were shed, victory always comes with a price, he knew it well as a Hashira. The dark-haired swordman knew well enough to distance himself away from others, knew well enough to keep his emotions in check and avoid any attachments, he knew well enough... to expect his comrades' deaths. But his stomach couldn't help but twist, his heart seemed to stop as the news was announced that day, "...Dead! Kocho Shinobu is dead! She died after a confrontation with Upper Moon 2!" Why has her death make him feel so... sad..? Giyuu felt dejected, and for a moment, he wanted to cry, he wished for a sudden rain to pour down, hiding the tears that were ready to rush out, but the circumstances forbade those who wished to show their emotions and weaknesses. "Don't ease up!" he yelled out to Tanjiro, he knew the young boy cared deeply for her and wouldn't be able to take it in easily... but those clear droplets aren't allowed to fall on a battlefield, where life and death collided...

He didn't cry, not at that moment, Giyuu knows she wouldn't want him to either. Knowing that annoying mosquito, she'd be irritated if the male shows any signs of pitying her. Letting a faint chuckle escapes his pale lips, the man slowly gets on his feet and proceeds toward the shoji*. Nearing the exit of his home, Giyuu grabs the ivory-colored wagasa* and starts his walk toward that same place.

"Giyuu-san..!" The girl greets him with a soft smile. The current head of the Butterfly Estate has gotten used to this custom for over a year now. Every week, at least once, the former Water Hashira would come to visit her sister, Shinobu's grave. Kanao has always seen something different about their interactions, on those occasions where she had followed them into missions. The guy always kept his stoic expression on, while her sister would try to provoke him in some way, whether poking or making funny remarks. It seemed ordinary... but the way their eyes looked at one another in that unwavering way, was genuine. Even if their true emotions were hidden, the two still shared about their inferior complex indirectly in countless ways, because they trusted and understood one another.

"Good morning, Kanao," he stifles a small smile in return, "Are there no patients today?"

"Well, there are currently no one right now, but it is indeed still early morning," Kanao laughs lightly, "I just hope for it to stay like this all day, at least it means people aren't getting ill or injured,"

"I see... I'll be heading back there now," Giyuu replies, though, he had already expected the girl to know beforehand, it was still manners.
Seeing the wagasa and knowing that he wouldn't drown himself in the rain, the maiden sends a gentle smile, indicating that she has heard him.

Resting his legs on the damp surface under the low wooden stool, Giyuu looks over to the former Insect Hashira's resting place, her tombstone lays neatly beside Kanae's. He knows that her body could never be recovered, as she has sacrificed her life when facing that Upper Moon. The guy slowly traces over the characters carved on it, and smiles bittersweetly to himself.