𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨

Chapter 3 | You Wouldn't Understand

"Tomioka-san?" A high yet controlled voice beamed behind Tomioka. 

Why was she here at this time? What did she need from him now, right at this moment when he needed time to himself?

"Kocho, please leave," He muttered out in almost an aggressive manner.

"Tomioka-san, you do realise that this garden is literally connected to my estate?"

They both remained silent after that, for a solid 10 minutes.

There was a full moon tonight, the stars shone brighter than ever and the night sky seemed flawless, it was that lovely, navy blue colour with splots of shining white sparkles and it made them both think something, almost like a switch that had been pressured, reminding them of their lost close ones.

On the night Tomioka's sister had sacrificed herself for him, the moon was beautiful too. The sky was pitch black and the stars were shining, he had planned on taking his sister to see the moon with him but never got the chance to.

"The moon is beautiful tonight isn't it?" Shinobu said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

The cold water hashira did not exchange a word though, he just sat there, thinking of his sister.

"Tomioka-san, you still there?" She said, waving her hands over his face. "Are you feeling alright? You seem to be stuck in your thoughts a lot more than usual."

He took his time to answer the question, for all he cared, if she really wanted to know, she would be willing to wait. And when the answer finally did come, it was blunt.

"You wouldn't understand," He blurted out, this time with slight anger in his voice, "Kocho, you're always in your stuck up little perfect world, trying to befriend everyone, never having to experience any pain, so why would you care?"

Shinobu was surprised by his reply. She had never seen him speak more than five words at a time, but then again, that wasn't what bothered her. She had never seen Tomioka look so enraged.

To be completely honest, she was slightly affected by Tomioka's statement, she too, had felt the loss of her beloved sister a couple of years back.

"That's not true," she replied back, dropping her smile. "Maybe I have felt something similar."

At this point she had started to tear up, just the thought of her sister could make her sad. 

"Maybe I have felt the pain, my sister, Kanae was taken from me not too long ago. That really took a toll on me. I don't live in a perfect world Tomioka-san, in fact, my world is far from perfect. It's alright to feel discouraged sometimes but please, don't assume others are anywhere near perfect." 

By the time she was done, she felt slightly offended by Tomioka's statement, although it was mixed with guilt from her straight up reply.

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to push my burdens on you," she spoke in a melancholy tone before getting up to walk away.

But truth be told, Tomioka did feel different about Shinobu now, he had finally seen a different side to her, one that wasn't smiling, it was almost like she was never actually smiling on the inside, only the outside.

In a quick moment, Shinobu felt a gentle grab on her wrist, it felt the same as this morning and it gave a similar effect. 

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper, I didn't mean it," Tomioka said softly, "I didn't know that you had gone through that."

Pushing back her tears, Shinobu smiled back at Tomioka.

Blushing, she said in a soft tone, and when mixed with her earlier crying, more of a whisper, "It's alright, you aren't wrong for it."

Tomioka was staring straight at the floor, he had a sorry look on his face, mixed with guilt and empathy. Shinobu caught a glimpse at his face and immediately decided to go sit back down next to him.

Giyu's hands were still around Shinobu's wrist, he didn't want to let go before she sat back down. He felt as though Shinobu wasn't the person he thought she was at first sight, she was a lot deeper.

"You know, I also lost my sister some time ago," he said.

"I'm so sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry, you have dealt with your lost much better than I have"

Shinobu let out a small yawn, before leaning her head onto Tomioka's masculine shoulders.

"Are you sure about that?" She said, in a sleepy tone.

Confused by her question and slightly flustered by her gestures, Tomioka didn't reply to her, instead, he turned away, hoping to hide his uncontrollable blushing.

"I really enjoyed that small talk, it was like finally letting go of some weight, thank you, Tomioka-san," Shinobu said, before adjusting her spot, moving slightly closer to Tomioka.

He stared down at Shinobu, in a way, she did remind him of his sister, but then again, he felt something else with Shinobu that he did not feel with his sister. His sister was smaller than the other girls her age yet she had always protected him. She also had a very similar face; small, plump lips, delicate, bright eyes, and beautiful long dark hair.

In the glistening moonlight, Shinobu did seem incredibly beautiful, her sweet face and her shining eyes were nowhere near average. Tomioka couldn't help but think so, did she always look this beautiful close-up?

"Ara Ara, Tomioka-san, what are you staring at?" She teased in a playful tone.

"That's not funny, Kocho," he hissed, this time with a bit of playfulness, before returning his view to the bright moon.

"You're right, the moon is beautiful tonight," he said, slightly hesitantly, a few minutes after his last statement.

But when he turned around to face Shinobu, she was already fast asleep on his broad shoulder. Tomioka couldn't help but grin at the sight of a peacefully sleeping Shinobu. 

Later, he himself also fell asleep, leaning his head onto Shinobu's.