The story takes place after the Mugen Train Arc.
The butterfly estate has a lot on its hands. With most of the demon slayers injured, the hashiras have had to step in to stop the world from turning into a massive bloodbath. However, what can the fe...
I woke up when the rays of the sun fell directly on my eyes and made it impossible for me to slumber any further. I sat up with a jolt remembering last day's incidents. I was in a forest...and then someone was carrying me. I remember the angular face. Why would Tomioka San put in the effort to carry me? It was humiliating although I knew I couldn't possibly reach the mansion if I had walked on my own.
I tried to look around the room and check if Tomioka San was in here. I turned my head to the left and a sudden pang almost made me want to yell out. My left arm tingled as if someone was biting down on it. I realized that I had a damaged nerve on my neck. However, I saw someone dozing on the chair beside me. The person was...drooling? This was great! I had a new observation to annoy him with! I smirked looking at his sleeping figure. Then I realized that he must have been sitting here all night. I hated it when someone looked at me while I slept, and my face flushed.
I tried to get off the bed without having to move my shoulder and neck muscles much. However, his feet were stretched out on the floor and I had to walk carefully so as to not wake him up. Suddenly, he called out the name again... I still didn't know who it was and he kept saying it over and over. "Tsutako! Stay! Don't leave me again!" I tried to look back at him and the sudden pain made me double over and I tripped on his feet. This caused him to wake up really abruptly. "Kochou...What are you doing?" "Did you know? You drool when you sleep." I smirked. He looked really surprised and wiped his face with the haori vigorously. I had to suppress a real giggle at that. "Sorry," he mumbled. "What for?" I asked. "Yesterday...when you were unconscious...I- never mind." I sighed. He was annoying. After all, who could expect Tomioka San to be anything other than annoying?
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I walked out of the room and almost bumped into Mitsuri. She squealed and hugged me so hard that I felt all the wind rush out of my lungs. Not to mention, my neck and left arm sent up painful pangs. It almost caused my eyes to tear up. Mitsuri noticed that and stopped the hug abruptly. "I'm SO SORRY!!!! ARE YOU OK? SHINOBU!!!! I WAS SO WORRIED FOR YOU!" I grabbed a water bottle from the table outside the infirmary and tried to drink. My throat was parched. "ALSO! I DIDN'T KNOW YOU AND TOMIOKA SAN WERE DATING! IT'S SO ADORABLE!!!" I spat out the water and Mitsuri got drenched. I started to apologize profusely but she just smirked and said "It's fine! Your reaction is natural. Ah! Young love." "NO! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" I yelled. "He stayed beside you all night. When I came to visit you, the two of you were asleep facing each other and your hands were inches apart you know..." Mitsuri said. I couldn't think straight anymore. I was really mad at Tomioka San. I wanted to...I didn't even know what I wanted to do to him. "Also...when you came in...Aoi said that your uniform...well that doesn't matter," Mitsuri sighed "But you should sort out your feelings! I KNOW THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE GREAT!" I rolled my eyes and walked out into the garden.
As I stared at the little pond in the corner of the garden, I had to face the bitter truth. We couldn't go on this way forever. A time would come soon enough when we would have to face all the upper moons and Muzan. There might even come a time when we would have to face all of them together. I was not as strong as the others. Although I was fast, it wouldn't be useful if I wasn't strong enough to cut off their head. I was the weak link among the hashiras. I walked through the corridors to my room. The light coming in made my eyes hurt. I pulled the curtains shut and sat at my table with my head in my hands. The images ran through my head yet again.
I remembered looking for my sister that day. When I finally did find her, she told me that she wanted me to leave the Demon Slayer Corps and live a normal life. She described the demon that killed her to me. I had memorized the description to the least detail. When I found him, I would kill him to avenge Kanae. However, she had been trying to tell me something else before she died, "Shinobu, you will probably..." I still didn't know what she had been trying to tell me and it haunted me all the time. I felt tears run down my face. I wiped them off hastily. I had been acting pitiable since the last few days. I knew now that my poison wasn't lethal enough to harm an upper moon. I would have to work harder on it.
As for...the other plan. I stared at the drawer where I kept the bottle of pills Lady Tamayo had given me. I reached towards it and my hands shook violently. I felt my eyes fill up again. I would just have to consume enough so that it would act as a backup in case I was killed. Lady Tamayo had warned me that I was not to take more than one pill on the same day. However, if I had any chance at consuming enough poison before the encounter with the demons, I would have to take more than one each day. It was the only way...! I poured them onto my palms and stared at them through my blurry vision.
GIYUU'S POV
As I entered her room, I realized yet again that I had forgotten to knock. I saw a bottle of wisteria pills on her table and then I saw her hands shake violently. She was about to consume more than she could endure. I had to stop her. I walked to her chair and gripped her wrist just as she was about to raise it to her lips. She couldn't hide her tear streaked face and yet again I saw her calm demeanor break and her resolve waver. She was a strong person, but everyone needed a shoulder to cry on sometimes. The management of the whole Butterfly mansion rested on her shoulders. She was only eighteen after all. I wondered why I felt all the things I did. She hated me, even I could see that. But I wanted her to be okay. And for once, she didn't try to put on a fake smile and just cried her heart out.
A/N
This chapter is not meant to glorify self harm. It was necessary to break the walls Giyuu built up around himself and prove to him that he indeed cared for some people.
Everyone is loved. If you ever feel upset or sad, self harm is never the option. Talk it out with a close friend or an adult you can rely on. Each and every one on this planet was born for a reason. Keep the fire burning! And keep reading! :)
