When the stars align for us

Chapter 8

Tomioka simply stood in front of her in silence, as she was trying to come up with the best words to use so she could phrase what she wanted to say, properly. Eventually, she said:
'You know how Kocho lost her sister to an Upper Moon when she was a teenager?'
Tomioka nodded, a bit confused as to why this subject had suddenly come up.
'Well, she wants to kill it on her own, but she's really going the wrong way about it,'
'She can't kill an Upper Moon on her own. No one can, unless their strength is suitable to the demon's weakness,' he responded, 'How does she think she's going to manage that?'
Ayaka sighed.
'She's planning to fuel her body with poison and let the demon devour her. After that, she..........'
After hearing the first part of Ayaka's answer, Tomioka stopped listening to the rest of it. Stunned, he slowly composed himself, staring at her.
'-oka?'
'Tomioka?'
...
Refusing to listen any longer, Giyu rushed to catch up with Shinobu. Turning around one last time, he thanked Ayaka for telling him the truth.
As he continued down the streets, he spotted her in front of her Mansion and caught up to her right before she could enter.
'Kocho, wait!' he yelled, panting.
'Hmm? Oh! Hello Tomioka! Um...' Shinobu stared at the heavily breathing figure next to her,' I'll give you a minute,'
Damn it, I forgot to use Total Concentration Breathing.
Annoyed with himself, Giyu stood up to face Shinobu.
'We need to talk,' he stated clearly.
Surprised, Shinobu welcomed him in, leading him to the courtyard.
'Would you like some tea, Tomioka?', Shinobu asked him.
'I don't think we'll be needing tea for this discussion,' he said sourly. Sighing, he continued:
'I'll get straight to the point. I hear that you're planning to eradicate an Upper Moon, specifically the one that murdered your sister, on your own,'
'Who-'
'Don't ask me where I got the information,' he said dismissively, his voice getting gradually louder.
'Alright,' she sighed, 'Yes, it's true. Is there a problem?' This time, the smallest hint of anger could be detected in her voice.
'The problem is, that having him kill you is part of your plan!' he answered angrily.
Taken aback, Shinobu stared at him for a second. She had never seen him this angry before-or at least, he hadn't shown it.
'Well, yes, it is! I don't know how you found out, but that's what I'm going to do! We're Pillars, Tomioka! If someone's going to die to slay these monsters, it's us!'
'Our job - your job,' He grasped her upper arms, 'is to protect the innocent from these creatures. Yes, we do sacrifice our lives sometimes, but that's only when there's nothing we can do to save ourselves! You can't make dying a part of your plan!'
'Yes, I can!' she broke down, 'that monster killed my sister! I'm willing to do whatever is necessary, to make sure that thing rots in Hell,'
Silence ensued them.
'Your sister is gone,' he said softly after a short pause, 'and this isn't going to bring her back. But if you still want to end that Upper Moon, let's find another way!'
Staring at him, Shinobu slowly nodded her head.
Why does he care so much, anyway?
Without really thinking about her actions, Shinobu hugged him.
Surprised, though for some reason pleased (despite the fact that he didn't show it), Giyu hugged her back. They stood in that position for a few minutes, until Shinobu finally came to her senses, realizing what she had done. Embarrassed, she pulled her arms back to herself and took a step back.
'Sorry,' she whispered.
'It's fine,' he said casually, though the corner of his lips had suddenly quirked a bit upwards.