𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 | 𝐆𝐢𝐲𝐮𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨

Chapter 20 | Giyu

A few hours passed with Shinobu talking to the master.

When she finally exited the mansion, it was dusk. Had she really been talking to the master for that long? She didn't want to question it though, she was far too tired and her head ached, all she wanted to do was go home and lay in her bed. Her head was tilted slightly towards the concrete ground as she walked towards the Butterfly mansion with her eyes blurry and barely open.

"Hey," a deep and melodic voice yelled out after her, followed by a tight pinch on her haori, blocking her from moving another step.

She turned around in an instant, just to crash into the Water Hashira's toned body.

"T-Tomioka-san?" She stuttered, her face going red from their bodies touching each other's, "you scared me, what are you still doing here?"

"I was waiting for you, you know, you can't just run in there like that and not expect me to be confused," he explained, tightening his grip on her two small shoulders, locking her in place.

His touch still affected her and she stood there in silence. Her heart was beating dangerously fast, his cold yet meaningful glare on her only made the situation worse.

"Your answer?" He continued, keeping his calm demeanour, "what was that long, long talk about?"

The talk. The talk Shinobu had wanted to avoid forever, the talk she wished would've never come. Just thinking about it made her head spin. She had spent the previous hours discussing with the master about her current status with the poison in her body, she had no intention to survive, but she knew she still couldn't participate in the fight against Muzan Kibutsuji since her eyes were set on slaughtering another demon.

She pushed her body away from Tomioka's.

"Stop," she whispered, her eyes now staring blankly onto nothing, "didn't I tell you to leave me alone earlier, or was I not clear enough."

Her tone was firm, yet so shaky, she continued her path back to the butterfly mansion without saying another word or looking up to see his face.

Tomioka looked at her sternly but in a confused way. He followed her silently as she walked away from the Hashira Garden and Shinobu could tell he wasn't going to stop following her. As much as she wanted to cry into his chest and tell him everything, she knew he was going to try to interfere in some way, so she prayed he wouldn't say anything. As for herself, she couldn't find the strength to tell him to stop following her again, deep down, she was afraid this time he would really leave, for good. It was so confusing, did she want him to leave, or not?

As they approached the gates of her garden, Shinobu turned around again with a tired look on her face, although she couldn't bring herself to look at his face.

"What?" She finally spoke, breaking the painful silence.

He sighed and chuckled a broken laugh, before walking towards the gate himself. He pushed open the wooden gate and grabbed Shinobu's hand.

Her warm hand on his almost created a spark, she was too drained to refuse and if she were to be completely honest to herself, she didn't want to hurt him anymore, the frustration was drowning her.

He gently pulled her into the garden and onto the patio.

"I knew it," he grinned, noticing how easily she followed him without hesitation.

She turned her head around again to look at him.

"You don't actually want me to leave."

Her stare returned to the bamboo flooring and she let out a tiny, disappointed smile.