Mirrors | T.Muichiro X Reader

♡ | 1 - Meeting | ♡

(A few weeks later)

Who... Who is that?!

Y/n stared at the back of the boy infront of her.

His hair is pretty... And his aura feels odd... She couldn't quite place what it was about him, but something was different: his footsteps made no sound, the way he held himself was strangely familiar, even his breaths seemed to hold some kind of elegance to them. Summoning up all of her courage, she strode up to him and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Hi there! I don't think I've seen you around before... What's your name?" Y/n mustered up her friendliest smile. After all, she was trying to make good impressions around here.

The boy turned, and their eyes met. For a split second Y/n felt a cold shock run up her spine. His eyes were so bright and piercing; her breath caught in her throat and she clenched her fists.

I feel as if he's staring right into my soul-

The strange boy looked her up and down before answering in a soft, monotonous voice.

"Oh.. uhm.. hi. I'm Muichiro Tokito. The.. oh yeah, I'm the Mist Hashira."

Y/n's eyes widened. Is it really him? She hadn't been able to tell that he was a hashira, since he wasn't wearing a haori... Shaking off her surprise, she smiled and held out her hand to give him one of her strong, friend-making handshakes.

"Hi Muichiro! I'm Y/n, the new mirror hashira! I'm glad to finally meet you!"

She had heard a lot about him from other demon slayers before she became a hashira— about his battles, his talent, his skills... Now she was happy to put a face to the name. After all, having another hashira her age certainly felt like a relief after spending so much time being looked down on by all the adults in the field. Part of her was hoping that knowing him would help ease some of the loneliness she had been experiencing.

Muichiro took Y/n's hand, and shook it in return. "Hello Y/n... It's nice to meet you."

Muichiro's voice was emotionless, but he looked away slightly as they shook hands, almost as if he was nervous. Does he not want to make eye contact?

"You okay Tokito? You look rather serious!" She smiled, attempting to soften him up with her classic cheeriness. Part of her was hesitant to continue the conversation, but Y/n decided that she wouldn't let herself be deterred just yet.

"Oh.. I'm just... daydreaming. I'm fine." Muichiro replied, awkwardly trying to match Y/n's smile. He spent a moment looking her up and down, trying to commit some of her appearance to memory. "You're pretty." He added, nonchalantly. "You look strong aswell. Welcome to the ranks of the hashira."

Y/n felt her stomach flip in surprise at the bluntness of his compliment. She didn't know quite how to react at first, but she quickly cleared her throat and regained her composure.

"Well, that's nice of you to say!" She felt her cheeks warm up, suddenly feeling a little self conscious.

Do I really look strong? And pretty, of all things? She thought to herself. I didn't expect him to say that, but at least he's being nice to me.... Suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Would you um... would you like to maybe come train with me?" A shy smile crept across her face. Please say yes, please say yes! Y/n crossed her fingers behind her back. She hadn't actually ever trained with a hashira before, so this was all making her stomach tie up in knots.

Hmm? She wants to train with me? He thought, looking down at his feet.

"Oh.. Yeah. That would be okay." Muichiro's expression was almost the same, but his voice was now slightly less monotone than before. Y/n couldn't really tell if he was simply agreeing for the sake of it, and Muichiro noticed her confusion and cleared his throat.

"I mean, yeah, I would like to train with you..." He replied, the corner of his mouth lifting a little. In juxtaposition, Y/n couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. She was so glad to be getting on well with the only other hashira that was her age, especially since she had been afraid that he wouldn't like her.

"I haven't been around this part of the training grounds much... Could you please... Show me where you like to train?" She bowed her head to hide her embarrassment. Y/n HATED being new, as she was still clueless as to how to act around here. There were miles of training grounds, yet Shinobu had advised her to stay away from the places where the wind and serpent pillars liked to train so that she wouldn't give them a reason to dislike her. Y/n sighed; the unfamiliar environment was daunting enough without having to worry about antisocial hashira aswell.

"I can show you a nice spot, if you'd like..." Muichiro answered. She's really... really nice. I don't even remember the last time I had a conversation this long. He looked down at his feet in embarrassment, suddenly wondering if he should even be talking to someone this much. After all, he would likely forget about it in a few weeks time. That was how most of his budding friendships ended— after all, not many people take kindly to someone forgetting their name.

And yet, this girl...

"Do you like any arts and crafts?" He asked Y/n, suddenly determined to make conversation.

From what Y/n had heard, Muichiro rarely spoke to anyone, even the other hashira. Part of her was glad that he was talking, but the other was apprehensive, not wanting to make him comfortable. Yet, as she watched him walk, he seemed nonchalant and eerily calm. His gaze was trained on the floor, so he couldn't see her watching him as the wind blew a strand of his long, silky hair into his face. Y/n watched as it curled around his face— Muichiro didn't brush it away.

He seems so distant...  Y/n forced herself to look away, not wanting to stare too much and make a fool of herself. Oh, right, he asked a question...

"I um, I paint! And draw, and sew, and bake... I do a lot of arty and crafty stuff, actually!" She beamed at him, happy to be asked about one of her skills. "How about you? What do you like doing in your spare time?"

"I uh.. well... It sounds funny, but I like cloud watching. It's rather relaxing.." He paused for a moment as if considering whether or not to continue. "... I also do origami. I'm actually a little.. uhm.. better than average at it." He went a little pink. "I.. don't really do a lot of the other stuff, baking and such." He started to fiddle with his fingers, as if a bit nervous.

"Cloud watching? Origami? That's..." She paused. "That's so cool Tokito! I love clouds, they're so pretty and fascinating! Learning about the science of evaporation and precipitation is so fun- but of course, you're the mist hashira, you know about that better than anyone!"

"I'm glad you like clouds too. They are really interesting, just.. floating in the sky. The way they move and change shape.. it's quite pretty.." His expression seemed to have warmed up quite a bit, and there was a hint of a smile in his voice. Maybe because he liked the topic a lot, but Y/n's reaction also pleased him. A lot of people liked to scoff at his childish hobbies, not finding them befitting of a hashira. Maybe having another hashira my age will be quite nice after all.

They spent a few moments walking in silence, before Muichiro spoke up again.

"Oh, you said you sew? How good are you?"

Y/n was taken aback at the bluntness of his question, but gave an honest answer despite her slight embarrassment. "Well, I hate to brag, but my mother was a seamstress so I'm no beginner..." Her heart warmed at the memories of her mother. "She was... my mother was very good at all that. I won't claim to be anywhere as good as she was, but I know my way around a needle well enough."

Her mother? How sweet... Muichiro looked at the floor bashfully. She has a good heart, it seems...

"Oh, that's impressive..." He murmured.

Y/n smiled.

He seems nice... a little airheaded, but nice!

...

Chapter 2 to be published on 14/8/23

1441 words