𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨

Chapter 5 | Warmer Over Here

It was a cold morning, maybe it even snowed a bit last night, and the sound of the chirping birds made Shinobu smile. She had just finished getting ready for her big mission with Tomioka and was heading out towards the main area to meet him.

"Good morning!" She exclaimed, knowing full well his answer would be nowhere near as energetic as hers was, that was if she even got an answer.

"We have to head in the south direction, let's go Kocho," he bluntly said, not bothering to reply to Shinobu's greeting.

Tomioka had not planned for the mission to be that long, he had only planned for it to last a day at max, but that was not the case.

By the time they had reached the three-quarters mark, the sun was already setting. Tomioka could already see the birds flying back and the sky turning an orange colour.

"Hey, Tomioka-san, do you want to rest for now? If we want to have enough energy for the battle, we should rest."

Tomioka sure liked to think about his answers. They stood there for about 2 minutes straight, waiting for Tomioka's reply, which was just a single nod.

"Great, I know a Wisteria house nearby, I believe I have been in this area before, luckily for us!" She cheered back, not seeming affected by her partner's dry reply. It was almost like an everyday routine for her now, to figure out Tomioka's short replies or gestures.

Tomioka followed the small Insect Hasira silently, her skipping almost made him dizzy.

***

Upon their arrival at the Wisteria house, Shinobu greeted the workers joyously, making up for Tomioka's silent approach.

"Thank you very much!" She smiled before the two ladies left Tomioka and Shinobu alone. 

The room was familiar, the sturdy bamboo framing, wooden floor and walls, the freshly picked flowers and the two neatly laid out sleeping bags. Shinobu always appreciated the kindness the Wisteria house owners showed, they treated every member of the demon slayer core so well, never lecturing or mistreating anyone.

By the time the two Hashira had settled in, the sky was pitch black, their lighting was slightly flickery but it wasn't much of a trouble for the two, especially since the whole room was already so nicely decorated and it protected them from the cold weather outside.

"Alright then Tomioka-san!" Shinobu blurted out, "I think I'll go change into something a bit more comfortable, and warm."

As she left the room, Tomioka gave himself a quick tour of the space. It was a shame they only had one spare room in the house, but he didn't mind, especially since it had started to snow heavily outside. After all, what was there to mind? He was sure he felt absolutely nothing towards Shinobu, except maybe friendship, but even then, she was definitely not the type of friend he would mess around with.

To Tomioka, or at least what he had told himself, Shinobu was nothing more than a friend who he had talked to coincidentally a lot lately. He had just kept running into her at weird times. 

"I'm back now, would you like to go change into something more comfortable too Tomioka-san?" Shinobu questioned the water pillar.

"No."

Tomioka didn't see the point in changing, he actually went to sleep in his uniform quite often. 

Shinobu had a long white robe on, one that complimented her beautiful body. She once again wore her hair down and it never ceased to amaze Tomioka. 

Shinobu looked down at the small stack of cards in her uniform's pocket, she must've forgotten to take it out yesterday when she was cleaning up the butterfly mansion.

"I know!" She blurted out.

"What?"

"Tomioka-san, let's play a game to pass some time, I have a fun one!"

Tomioka sat there, confused and hesitant, but he didn't decline her offer.

"Rules are simple, each card has one question written on it, you pick up one card and ask the other person that question about yourself, if your opponent answers the question correctly, you'll get one point, first to 5 points win the round!"

"Kocho, do you actually want to play this?"

"Of course, Tomioka-san, never miss an opportunity to learn more about a friend!" She replied, in an enthusiastic manner, "alright, I'll begin. Tomioka-san, what is my favourite colour?"

"Kocho, this is childish, there are better ways to get to know a person."

Shinobu tried to protest, but her attempt was in vain. Finally giving in, she got up to put away her haori. 

Shinobu was slightly annoyed by Tomioka's stubborn behaviour but she didn't let it get to her too much, after all, this was the water pillar himself, he was definitely not the type to be social in any kind of way.

'He's just being awkw-' She thought to herself, but she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because once again, she had gotten caught up in her thoughts and tripped over.

Shoot this is not the time

"Kocho, this is the second time you've fallen over this week, are you sure you're fine," Tomioka stated, catching his tiny friend in his masculine arms. 

"Believe me, it's been more than just two times," she replied back, still in his arms.

Up close, Tomioka actually looked decent, no, way better than just decent. His masculine back and his broad shoulders really made his shape attractive, along with his dark strands of hair. His long hair was soft and he had such a sweet smell, was he always this attractive looking? 

"Kocho, do you have a cold or something, your body is freezing," Tomioka asked, sounding slightly concerned.

"No, I'm fine, it's just really cold." 

Suddenly the flickering lights went off, the room was pitch black and all they could see was the small amount of light coming from the curtains.

Shinobu was still laying in Tomioka's arms, she didn't feel like getting up, she felt unusually comfortable in his warm arms.

"How are you still so warm?" She questioned Tomioka whilst listening to the snow falling outside.

Tomioka looked at her face, it was barely visible in the dark room but the outline was there. She looked so peaceful.

"Kocho, you realise you're still in my arms?"

"I know, sorry, it's just warmer over here," she replied softly.

As she got up to get into her sleeping bag, she could feel Tomioka's glare on her.

"Tomioka, I can feel you looking at me," she teased, this time a little more passively.

"Go to bed Kocho, you obviously hit your head or something," he replied, with a half-smirk back a Shinobu.

Author's note

Hii!

So, yUh it's me again, I just wanted to let you know that I will be trying to write at least one chapter every day but I do have school and homework and that sort of sad stuff so I might not be able to publish something every day- and it takes me literally forever to write one chapter because once again, I cannot write, I am failing English and I lack a concerning amount of creativity.

Buuuut, on weekends (like yesterday or today), I will be trying to publish at least 2 or more for you all to make up for times I don't publish something!

If you are reading this, thank you for sticking around, I hope you've enjoyed this subpar piece of whatever you wanna call it and your support means everything to meee <33

byee