𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨

Chapter 16 | Ordinary

"Morning Tomioka!" Tanjiro yelled after him as he closed the gate to his house.

That's right. Tanjiro and his friends had recently returned from a mission up north, Tomioka had only been delivered the news of their return last night- and by night, he meant somewhere between midnight and sunrise- and he was relieved to hear that he only received a few scratches and one lightly bandaged hand, nothing serious to his health.

"Good morning," he replied, rotating his head just to catch a glimpse of Tanjiro's face out of courtesy.

Tanjiro smiled at him, waiting for another response that he wasn't certain he was going to get.

But after a few minutes, the response did come.

"Tanjiro-Kun," Tomioka added on, a little hesitant.

Tanjiro opened his eyes a little wider and mumbled out a quiet, 'hm', in response; he was slightly curious to see what the infamous water hashira wanted to say to him, especially because he hadn't properly had a conversation with Tomioka in a very long time.

"I'm glad you're back safe. Make sure you visit the butterfly estate if your wounds don't get better."

Tanjiro blinked with his mouth slightly wavering and his eye twitching. He was really surprised to see Tomioka attempting a conversation with him.

Snapping himself back to his senses, Tanjiro smiled at him again, "thank you Tomioka-san, I've been going there already and Shinobu-san has been trying really hard to help me out, I'll be sure to give her your greetings next time I visit!"

Shinobu, of course she was helping out, that's just what she does best. 

Tomioka couldn't help but smile at the thought of Shinobu helping out the three boys, he didn't understand what it was about the fact that made him smile but he didn't question it either.

"Right!" Tanjiro quickly commented, "I'll get going now, I think Zenitsu and Inosuke are waiting for me!"

In response, Tomioka nodded in a calm manner compared to Tanjiro's cheerful conduct. He didn't understand what it was that he was so energetic about, it was just an ordinary day.

"Oh, and if you have the time, could you give this to Shinobu-san for me?" Tanjiro continued, handing a small paper box full of flowers to him.

"What's this for?"

"I noticed that even though they have such a lovely garden, the butterfly mansion lacks some floral decor in the backyard, so when I encountered these on our mission, I thought it would be nice to bring some back!" 

It was really caring of Tanjiro to gift that, and Tomioka noticed.

"Alright then, thank you!" He yelled whilst waving back to Tomioka.

After Tanjiro had left, Tomioka walked back into the gates without saying another word.

***

The gentle rays of the sun peaked through the curtains as daybreak approached. It was a completely ordinary day, nothing new, nothing unexpected, yet. Shinobu got up as usual, got dressed as usual, and headed downstairs to greet the other girls as usual. A bright smile alit on her face as she smelt the rice balls Aoi had prepared, just the scent of the warm rice drew her in. 

"Good morning, Shinobu-sama!" Aoi pleasantly said, grabbing her tea towel and bowing to Shinobu.

Aoi seemed to be in a good mood. Maybe it was because Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke had recently arrived back from their mission without any major injuries, they were becoming good demon slayers. 

"Good morning" she smiled back, before walking off to the backyard.

"Good morning, Kanao," Shinobu giggled as she walked through the back door, and caught sight of Kanao peacefully watching the butterflies with Tanjiro.

"Morning Shinobu-nee-san."

"Good morning Shinobu!" Tanjiro also greeted her when he noticed her standing a couple of metres away from him.

The day had a nice start, everything seemed ordinary enough and that left Shinobu at peace. She made her way upstairs once again into her study room. It was so peaceful, a perfect time to revisit some books.

"Let's see," Shinobu mumbled to herself, opening one of the many books scattered along her workspace.

"Wisteria poison, extremely toxic to demons," she read on, "also harmful to the human body if ingested."

Of course.

She smiled a pitiful, sad smile as she stared at her pale hands. 

Then, she turned around and placed her book down carefully, before grabbing her cup of Wisteria poison and drinking it.

"Nee-san," she whispered, "Nee-san... I'm so sorry"