The Sound Hashira's Apprentice // tengenuzui x reader

Chapter 11

I hadn't seen Tengen for days.

The mission in the Alps had been a breeze. My premeditated 'hesitation' on killing demons proved to be no longer existent, as I easily completed my task to eliminate the monster.

Without much acknowledgement, I found that the anticipation of returning home took the forefront of my mind since myself and Tengen's farewell's at the station days ago.

The tension between us felt odd yet familiar all at once, like strangers almost. Maybe the hug had changed Tengen's view of me. Maybe I crossed a boundary. It didn't feel wrong to me at least. 

I mulled over that fact, deciphering the silence that followed between us once we returned to the train station to move along to my mission, and him to return home. 

The moment I returned home, excited to see Tengen again, I was disappointed to be informed by one of the housekeepers that he had been requested leave for a mission.

Any trace of being close to him was simply a journal that was left to be given to me, written out by Tengen himself with a schedule to follow on the days that he was away. There was no indication of how long this schedule was dated for, just simply a weeks work of exercises and training regimes to go over.

Humouring myself, I noted how nice his handwriting was, but this didn't gloss over the longing I had to see him again. 

I drummed my fingers and glared out the window into the quiet entertainment district. The humidity hung in the air, enveloping the few passersby on the concrete road. Letting out a sigh, I was interrupted by a housekeeper at the door.

"Hi Y/N-san," she greeted me. "You have a visitor."

I perked up wondering who was to be my guest.

The visitor was none other than Mitsuri, the Love Hashira. My closest female friend that I had not seen or exchanged much letters to for the past 7 months. 

Her greeting involved her jumping onto me with all her body weight and snuggling me into a tight hug.

"Y/N-chan! I missed you so much, you look so healthy and oh my are those muscles I feel on you!" She exclaimed, squeezing my shoulders with enthusiasm.

"Muscles?! Must be all the training from Sensei."

"Oooo you call Uzui Sensei?"

"Duh- he's my teacher! Well sometimes I call him that, not much anymore."

She giggled. "Hmm okay."

"Uhh, what do you mean 'hmm okay'?"

"Oh nothing...just thinking..."She batted her eyelashes at my raised brow.

I invited her to the backyard of the estate. She had brought a whole parchment of mochi for us to share of course. The sky was cloudy, yet pockets of sunlight still filtered it's way through, adding to the overbearing Summer heat.

I chatted to Misturi all about my training and how it was going, before she told me much about her missions and started babbling on about some 'cute' serpent boy and a Hashira that was only in the corps for two months before being promoted. 

"What two months! I've been training for years and I'm not even anywhere close to upgrading!"I scoffed.

"That's not the point! This Serpent boy has got this inviting aura about him, he's so magnetic! He has this mysterious eyes, they don't even match in colour! And he wears this bandage across his face...I wonder why.."

"Huh we're still talking about him?"I raised an eyebrow. "I see... the point is you got a crush!"

She squeaked her whole face turning pink. "No! He's just such a fascinating boy and I'm curious as to why he is hiding his face like that..."