𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨

Chapter 6 | You Won't Lose Me

The gentle moonlight shone through their opaque curtains, directly onto Tomioka's sleepy face.

Tomioka lay silently in his sleeping bag, looking so calm and at ease.

Shinobu had never seen Tomioka so peaceful, he always had either a bored or slightly enraged expression on his face.

To be honest, he looked so much nicer this way, Shinobu thought to herself. She wondered what it was that made Tomioka always seem so distant, so cut off from everyone around him.

"Tomioka-san?" She asked quietly, she wasn't sure if he was already asleep or not.

The tired water pillar did not give her a proper reply, more of just a tired 'hm?'

"Tomioka-san, may I ask, what happened to your sister?" She whispered, slightly hesitant.

He stayed silent for another solid two minutes, wondering if she really wanted a real reply.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Shinobu blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, pretend I didn't ask, please don't answer if you don't feel comfortable."

Tomioka sighed.

"It was a few years ago, on the day before my sister's wedding day," he said, "my sister, she protected me from a demon that tried to attack me, risking her own life."

He paused, not knowing how he would continue. Shinobu exhaled sympathetically, though she did not reply.

"She was no demon slayer, she had never even touched a sword, and she was willing to defend me against a demon. On the evening before her own wedding day," he added on.

"Tomioka... I'm sorry about your loss, I can tell your sister was a great person, I'm sure she's proud of you now" Shinobu replied.

"She was more than 'great', she was talented, brave and she always protected me, not to mention, she was absolutely beautiful, she always wore her one favourite red kimono, and a matching red bow in her beautiful long dark hair that she loved to tie back into a loose braid." he described, getting a little carried away.

"You know, you kind of remind me of her," Tomioka added, without thinking. 

Shinobu was very flattered by his words. It was obvious that he cared a lot about his sister, so being compared to her, she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," she whispered back, "but I'm sure your sister would be proud of you now, you don't have to worry."

"Kocho, it's not just my sister that's sacrificed themselves for me before," he said, sounding ashamed, "my closest friend, the person I considered family, he sacrificed himself for me multiple times during final selection, but only one of us made it out alive, and that one person was not him, it was me, the person who didn't slay a single demon."

Shinobu was touched by Tomioka's sudden change in attitude, he was very open with her tonight, answering every question in full detail, he even sounded as if he was about to break down.

"I can't lose anyone else," he continued.

"You won't lose me," Shinobu whispered, grabbing onto Tomioka's hand.

What was this Tomioka was feeling? He lay still, open-mouthed, Shinobu's freezing hand grasping onto his. He didn't protest though, her hand on his made him feel so whole, like he was finally supported again.

Author's note

So, I decided that I am going to split this chapter into two chapters, (so pretty much this chapter and the next chapter were supposed to be one chapter)

Sorry! I know this is a really short chapter but it was supposed to be mixed with chapter 7 too. I apologise if this is a little rushed or if it doesn't make any sense, but just to let you know, chapter 7 might also be a bit shorter because it was supposed to be the second bit of this chapter.

I just thought that since this was such an important moment I might single it out :D

(Also, I did not read over this, I just got home from school, finished my homework and I am beyond exhausted, sorry about that but if there are some grammar errors, feel free to correct me :D)