𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 | 𝘛𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘰

x.

"i love you no matter what you are."

muichiro opened his eyes to the sounds of the hashira talking in hushed tones around him. he didn't think they noticed that he was awake, as they were all whispering about a funeral for him or what they would do if he never woke up again.

the first one that noticed that he was awake was mitsuri, who saw that his eyes were open and burst into tears, throwing her arms around him and nonstop saying, "you're alive, you're alive!"

everyone else followed mitsuri's lead in embracing him- albeit gently, he still had a wound- and then they parted like the red sea, making room for oyakata, who approached the bed muichiro was lying on with a smile.

"my precious one," he said, smiling at muichiro and sitting down next to him. "how do you feel?"

"well rested and ready to return to battle, oyakata-sama!" muichiro said.

he tried to sit up and then groaned in pain, falling back down onto the soft mattress.

"perhaps not ready yet," oyakata replied jokingly, "but soon!"

muichiro looked around at the faces of the hashira and saw that one was missing.

"where's hotaru?" he asked.

please don't tell me she died! i can't live without her! he thought, his heart heavy with dread.

"she chose to return to her mansion," oyakata told him. "she is safe... although she is still a demon. shinobu is trying to find a way to transform her back into a human, but she hasn't had any luck yet."

the insect hashira smiled and waved at muichiro from where she was standing.

"shinobu?" muichiro called out to her.

"yes, muichiro?" shinobu replied, walking over to him and standing by his bed.

"how long until i can get out of this bed and start moving?"

shinobu pursed her lips and leaned her head against her hand, thinking.

"if you rest and don't exert yourself, i'd say you can be moving again in a week- though i can't guarantee it'll be comfortable to do so," she said after a while of thinking.

"i could summon hotaru here!" oyakata offered.

muichiro smiled and thanked oyakata for the offer, but said that he would rather visit her in her mansion. he wanted to talk to her alone, in a place where she felt comfortable.

oyakata acknowledged that decision with a small bow, then instructed the hashira to leave the room so that muichiro could rest. everyone left but shinobu, who waited until everyone left to approach muichiro.

"tokito, i hope you know that hotaru could possibly never be a human again," she said, cutting straight to the point.

"i appreciate your bluntness," muichiro said harshly. "i hope you know that i will love hotaru no matter what she is."

shinobu sighed and turned away from muichiro, resting her chin on her hand and trying to find the proper words to use so as not to offend muichiro, but also words that could effectively get the point she wanted to make across to him.

after a long moment of silence, she spoke.

"i'm afraid it's not as simple as you think it is," she said bluntly. "demons aren't like humans. they can't go out in the sunlight without being covered up, they have violent impulses, and they eat humans!! it's not going to be that easy to love one."

muichiro was filled with rage at this. he fought his urge to curse and snap at shinobu, and instead responded with, "do you know who you're talking about? do you really think hotaru would hurt me in any way, hurt us? i highly doubt that. and if that means that my intelligence is clouded by love, and that i've lost my ability to think objectively, so be it!"

shinobu shook her head and muttered, "lovers are so stubborn," before leaving the room and giving muichiro time to rest.

a week later

muichiro was anxiously hopping up and down on the balls of his feet as he reached out with a shaking hand to knock on the gate of hotaru's mansion.

the large wooden mansion gate had the kanji 月, or moon, in the center of it on a raised circle that was made of lighter wood. the kanji on it was carved out and then filled in with the same lighter colored wood that the gate was made out of.

the knocker was made of fine, polished bronze, polished so nicely that muichiro could see his face in it. he lifted it up and was shocked to find that it was heavy and hard to lift- or was that just his anxiety talking? he didn't know.

the knock was loud, and rang in his ears. a few minutes after he knocked, the gates were opened, and hotaru, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a sheer white veil to hide her face from the sun, approached muichiro with a smile.

"i thought you were dead!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

"and i you! i'm so relieved to see you again!" muichiro cried out, burying his head in her chest.

"you're shaking..." she murmured, holding him closer to her body.

the two of them went into the mansion and headed down corridor after corridor until they reached hotaru's bedroom, a beautiful and richly furnished room.

she sat down on the bed and muichiro sat next to her, watching as she took off her hat to reveal her face.

her eyes had turned red, and her skin was the same dull gray as her hair. her fingernails were claws now, and her skin, despite being shielded by the veil, was slightly burnt.

muichiro had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.

"do you still love me even though i'm a demon?" hotaru asked, not able to meet muichiro's eyes.

"i love you no matter what you are," muichiro replied, pressing his lips to hers.

as the two of them passionately kissed, they swore oaths that neither of them would allow the other to be hurt ever again.

and they kept that promise till their last days.

a/n: this short story is officially completed! i hope you liked it, and i hope you'll stay tuned for my other books and check out the ones i have published currently!

stay safe and stay hydrated and always remember that i love you and am always here for you if you need someone to talk to! you all are amazing for reading my book, thank you so much <3

have a lovely night/day and catch you in the next book!