Water Butterfly

🔘Chapter 3

Giyuu's POV

The week went by quickly and before I knew it, it was time for me to leave. "Tiyuu Tomioka! Tiyuu Tomioka! Tiyuu Tomioka!" I heard my old crow's raspy voice. I quickly walked out of the mansion so I can get orders from my crow. He landed on my forearm and spoke. "You and the Demon Slayer Y/n L/n are to go to the village called Takeyama, people go into a house with mirrors in it and never come out! It is suspected that a demon is there" Kanzaburo informed me. "I understand" I said to my old crow. I walked to the infirmary and opened the door. I instantly regretted my action because Y/n had her shirt off and Shinobu was examining her wound. "I'm sorry" I spoke, my face heating up with embarrassment. Shinobu opened her mouth to lecture me but Y/n spoke first. "Did you need something?" She asked politely. "It can wait" I replied. "Well you're already here" Y/n said. "We're supposed to head out together to a village called Takeyama, people have been going to a house with mirrors and they don't come out" I summarized what Kanzaburo said to me. "I'm fully healed right?" Y/n asked Shinobu. Kocho hesitated to speak but gave in, "yes, just be careful out there". "I will" Y/n smiled at her. Shinobu and I left the room and Y/n changed her clothes. I had to prepare myself for whatever Shinobu was gonna say to me.

Y/n's POV

Giyuu and Shinobu left me alone so I could get dressed. I quickly put on my uniform and my haori. It was cornflower blue with navy lines that made x's without the center. I braided my hair and pinned the two braids to the back of my head. I put Kanae's hairpin in the pocket on my shirt and picked up my weapon. I opened the door and Shinobu was waiting outside. "I'm heading out" I said to her. She didn't speak. Instead, she pulled me into a hug. "Please be safe out there. I don't want to see you injured again" Shinobu spoke in a saddened tone. "I'll be fine out there, I promise" I reassured Shinobu before walking out of the mansion. Giyuu was waiting for me outside. "I'm sorry, did I take too long?" I asked him. "No you're fine" He replied. "Let's go" I said to him. Giyuu just followed me. It was hard to talk to him because of how antisocial he was so I started thinking about Shinobu and the other butterflies while we made our way to the village. I regret leaving after Kanae died, Shinobu needed someone to be there for her after she lost her older sister but I was selfish. I was immature and I left so I could grieve over my friend's death, not taking into to consideration that there was someone who needed me. It was only three years but Shinobu changed a lot. She wasn't her feisty self anymore instead, she was the imitation of her older sister. I think that's her way of coping. "Why do you look so sad?" Giyuu asked bluntly. "Oh- um I was just deep in thought" I explained to him. "Are you worried about the mission?" Giyuu asked. "Not really, it's something else" I stated. "Okay" He said. "Anyways it's a very beautiful day isn't it?" I tried to change the subject. "I guess it's nice to be out here when it isn't too hot or too cold" Giyuu said. I pulled out one of my arrows and started messing with it. I twirled it between my fingers and ran my pointer finger along the fletching. Giyuu took the arrow from my hand and examined it. "This is made from the same metal as a nichirin blade right?" Giyuu asked. "Yeah, if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to kill demons" I informed him. "You said you were too weak to swing a sword right?" Giyuu asked. "Yeah, they're too heavy for me to carry and I can barely move it when fighting" I explained.

Giyuu's POV

I looked at Y/n's figure. She was average height for a woman around her age but slightly more muscular around her arms and thighs. On top of that, she was fast and flexible, there was no way that she was too weak to wield a sword. "Why are you staring at me like that?" Y/n asked. "Oh sorry I didn't mean to" I quickly apologized for staring at her. I didn't want Y/n thinking I was some type of creep. After a few more hours of walking, we got to the village. It was pretty normal, there were some kids running around and playing while the adults worked. The only thing that was strange was a house outside the village. It was close to the forest and just gave off an uncomfortable vibe. "Our demon is there isn't it?" Y/n asked. "Most likely, we need to get more information before we go in" I explained to my partner. We then saw a middle-aged woman walking around as if she was looking for someone. She had a saddened expression on her face. "I think we found a source of information" Y/n said before approaching the woman. "Excuse me miss, are you okay?" Y/n asked kindly. The woman held Y/n's hands in hers, "my sons haven't come home in days" you could hear the pain the woman's voice. "I think we can help, why don't we sit down and talk" Y/n suggested. We found a restaurant that sold miso soup, sushi, and onigiri. We sat at a table and Y/n placed the order of food. "So where were your sons last seen?" Y/n asked. "They went to that house near the forest. Apparently it's very interesting because there are rooms with just mirrors" The woman explained. "I see, how long has the house been there?" Y/n kept inquiring. "I haven't really noticed it until the kids started talking about it a month ago" The woman explained. "What's your name miss?" Y/n asked. "Aina" the woman replied. "Aina, we will find your sons but, I cannot promise that they'll be alive. I hope you understand" Y/n explained. "I understand" Aina said. After our meal, Aina went home. It amazed me how Y/n kept that woman calm and reassured her in a stressful moment like that. Y/n took a sip the sake that was on the table and let out a deep sigh. "There is a high chance that her sons are dead. I can't come back to her without her sons" Y/n spoke. "We'll find them alive" I said to her.