The Shadow of the Insect

~Chapter Thirteen~

In the distance the sun rose slowly and shone in Shinobu's room. It was difficult for her to get out of her bed. She is simply overtired the day yesterday was exhausting for her. "I hope Aoi didn't tell anyone what she saw." At the thought, she felt her face heat up.

The rest of the young girls who lived in the Butterfly Estate were already busy. Her food was ready and the tea she liked to drink. "Good morning" she greeted them with a smile. None of the young girls answered her, they just whispered something to each other. Naho then came up to her and greeted her. "Good morning Shinobu. You had a wonderful night?" she said cheekily. Shinobu just looked at her in disbelief. Kiyo right after said. "How was he?" without any shame they asked her out about the night with Neltha. Aoi looked guilty on the floor and crumpled up her apron.

A vein formed on her forehead, but also a touch of embarrassment on her face. She tried to phrase it as nicely as possible without raising her voice. "Nothing happened between us. So please forget what Aoi told you. By the way, you are still much too young to know what that is." she said with a smile on her face.

Obviously shocked by what Shinobu said, they had to pass on a message. "We should tell from Neltha that he has already left, he thanked you again for your hospitality." Aoi then dared to speak again. "I gave him something to eat on his way." Shinobu nodded her thanks.

"I'm going to visit the Love Hashira, I have one more thing to clarify with her. That's why I'll be home late." She said and left her Estate.

One could speak of luck that the Love Hashira lives only a few hours away from her, which is why it was not so strenuous to get to her.

Shinobu stood at the door of Mitsuri's Estate. She hesitated to knock at the door. "Do I really want to ask her what their relationship is? It is none of my business what the two of them do, but he mentioned her name as if they have known each other for a long time and are good friends." She wanted to go home. "Shinobu? Is that you? What are you doing here?" said a squeaky voice.

She didn't expect to be out here, she couldn't talk herself out of it anymore. She took a deep breath and started talking. "I would like to discuss something with you. Would you maybe have time for me?" she asked calmly. Mitsuri was really looking forward to the unexpected visit. "Of course, I have time for you. We can have a girl's night! Yaaay!" The Sakura-Mochi haired Demon Slayer pulled her into her Estate and got everything ready. There was something to eat to drink and, for some reason, lots of stuffed animals.

You could say that the two are best friends. One reason is that they are the only women among the Hashira. She is bumbling, gullible and a little too loud, but she is very strong and always helpful wherever possible. You can always rely on her.

"Here, you can have some Sakura-Mochi. They taste very good." She laughed with her mouth full. Shinobu did what she was told and allowed herself one. They ate in peace until Mitsuri started speaking again.

They talked about topics that men have no idea about. Until Mitsuri got more serious. "What did you want to talk to me about." It sounded like it was serious. Shinobu was surprised that Mitsuri could hear the little seriousness from her voice from the short conversation at the gate.

She had to choose the right words in her headfirst so that it doesn't sound wrong. She thought about it for a long time, then it just burst out of her because she couldn't formulate it properly.

"What is your relationship or how do you feel about each other?" Mitsuri squealed with embarrassment. Her face went bright red, and she threw her little hands to her cheeks. "I-I d-don't know if I can tell you, Neltha told me to keep it to myself." Shinobu didn't think her best friend could keep such a secret to herself. "You could at least have entrusted it to me..." she said with clenched fists. Mitsuri noticed that she was not doing well. "I'm really sorry Shinobu... I'll tell you what happened between us." She took a deep breath and started talking.

"It was a year and a half ago. In that time, he was gone, as you know. I had a mission in the mountains which I then finished. Luckily for me, I was in a blizzard." Shinobu listened carefully. Shinobu was able to remember this mission, she was there when the mission was assigned to her. "In order not to freeze to death I had to look for a shelter. In the distance I saw a light and was able to discover a small hut and made my way there. I opened the door and saw a dark figure sitting inside I thought it was a demon and drew my sword out.

It would be almost as if Mitsuri was telling a horror story. The killer Neltha the Shadow Hashira and the innocent young woman in the dark forest. How cliché.

Mitsuri started talking again, "I recognized him on closer look. We sat together by the fire. I asked him what he was doing, I didn't think he answered all of my questions. He gave me a lot of information about him. Because of the mission I was tired and often fell asleep. It was freezing cold at night. The fire wasn't enough to warm us up. I thought I would freeze to death. Neltha, however, had the idea that we should warm up each other. In other words, I slept in his arms. He saved my life by doing this. Although he is not the one who talks a lot, he still did it, so that I wouldn't fall asleep and freeze to death."

Shinobu was visibly relieved that nothing happened between them. He saved her life as well as hers. He is known to save lives. Out of curiosity she asked, "That's it? What do you think of him? You also meet more often what I've heard from Neltha."

Mitsuri had to laugh. "We have something in common. We love eating more than anything. That's why we meet and go out to eat together. It's almost like... a date? If I had the opportunity to marry him, I would do it right away. He would be a good fath -..." she couldn't finish her sentence because Shinobu interrupted her with a "No!" The pink, green haired just looked at her confused. Shinobu reacted out of reflex and gave her an excuse. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, please keep talking." Shinobu bit her lip. "What was that supposed to mean? Just stupid of me."

"As I said before Neltha would be a good father... but in his heart there is no room for romantic feelings for me. There is only one..." she looked sadly at her hands and was about to cry. "I only wish for him that he will soon find the right girl." and smiled weakly at Shinobu. She took her best friend in her arms and calmed her down. "Thank you Mitsuri for telling me something so personal."

They said goodbye and Shinobu went home. She stopped and looked at the stars in the sky and realized... "I know what's wrong with me... So, I love this man... that's why my heart is racing when I see him... Can I even allow myself to fall in love as a Hashira?... I really don't know... I wonder what he's doing right now?" she continued her way to the Butterfly Estate with a real smile on her face.

Meanwhile

The woman at the house saw the figure coming closer to her house. "You came to see me after all... Neltha." She went down the stairs and stepped closer. She put her hands on Neltha's cheeks and ran her thumb over his cheek. Neltha took her hand in his and kissed it. "I'm back..." he whispered. Their faces came closer, they felt the person's breath on their lips. They looked deep into each other's eyes and kissed passionately.

"Mhhm~ Neltha~. Let's go to my room." she breathed heavily in his ear. The woman pulled away from him and took him by the hand. Neltha said something before they went into the house. "I haven't seen you in a long time... Tamayo."

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Authors Note:
Moin Moin!~
That's done now. Now the typing continues!
Bye Bye ~ till next chapter!