Isn't The Moon Lovely?

30 - Delusion That Had Worn Off

shinobu's pov
—————
We were walking back to headquarters and we were able to see the headquarters in the distance. we were talking about relationships and couple things, as usual. then, i thought about Hina. does Hina hate me?

"what are you thinking about, kochou?" he runs his fingers through my hair.

"it's just... do you love Hina?" i ask quickly, all while anxious and curious about his answer. i look up at him as he towers over me while we walk.

he sighs as he walks. "i dont love her, okay? why are you so worried about that?"

i stop in my tracks and i turn to him. "because..! i know that you guys flirt and stuff. i know your inlove with her." i sigh.

"why does that matter? are you jealous, kochou?" he asks, his voice slowly becoming more and more frustrated.

"yes, im jealous! your inlove with her, aren't you!" i yell, and i start to stomp away. he grabs me by the wrist but i pull away.

"im not inlove with her! if i was, why would i be with you now?" he replies, slightly frustrated now.

"because! you cant decide!"

he goes silent.

my eyes widen and i take a few steps back.

"kochou, i—"

"stay away from me." i look at him with the feeling of betrayal before turning around and walking away.

"kochou listen to me, i really do love you i do, its just that hina... shes a flirt, and shes... not as independent as you are... and thats what i like about her but i truly love you so much, please kochou dont be mad at me before the battle." he catches up to me again and he grabs my arm. i look at him with anger and i push him away.

"see? i always knew you saw something in her. im never the first choice, ever! i dont understand why boys like you treat me like this!"

he completely grabs me, his grip tight. "i never intended for this to happen, okay. i never thought i wouldve liked her. but ever since you left for... like a year, i learned about her, got to know her... and i fell in love with her."

i stare at him blankly. "so this was why you were so distant with me when i came back. of course." i look away.

he cups my face and brings it closer to his. "i only want you."

i chuckle sarcastically. "oh yeah, like i believe that anymore." i kick him away, causing him to stumble back. "stop lying to me already, will you? i know we were doing so good but guess what? we're over. get that through your head you moron and dont try chasing me." i walk away, again.

he takes my hand and pulls me to him. gosh, his smell is so good at drowning people. "we are not breaking up kochou. i want you and i want to make this work. yes, i still like hina a little but... please believe in us."

i quickly push him away and i snap. "you wanna make this work, giyuu? well your the problem. i dont understand why you want me and hina at the same time. look, there wouldnt be another girl if you truly wanted me. so get away from me. and you wanna know something, giyuu? i hope you know im never seeing you again after this battle and im happy that i wont be," i announce before running off into the headquarters, leaving giyuu confused and concerned.

~time skip

i was examining wisteria, i tried my best to keep giyuu out of my mind but i couldnt concetrate. why couldnt giyuu keep hina out of his mind? after everything me and giyuu went through. did they... fuck—

mitsuri walks in holding her favorite food, sakura mochi and causes me to flinch. was i thinking to hard?

"good day, shinobu- chan! i brought your- well, my favorite food— shinobu-chan? are you okay?" she asks, approaching me and sitting on the seat next to my desk.

i nod, trying to sound reassuring. "im fine, mitsuri, maybe i was just.. you know, focusing on this wisteria to hard."

she squints her eyes at me before shaking her head. "no. whats wrong shinobu-chan? i can tell theres something wrong." she takes a bite out of her mochi.

i sigh before speaking. "look, i found out tomioka-san still liked hina, and we broke up."

her eyes gleam with interest and she swallows a part of her now bitten mochi. "wait so... tomioka-san is still inlove with that freak hina?"

i nod but then pause. still inlove ? "what do you mean still inlove..?"

she looks at me as if she just revealed a secret. "oh— shinobu-chan i didnt mean to tell you that i... i tried my best to keep it a secret from you. so did the rest of the hashiras."

i look at her in an even more shocked state. "what..? what are you talking about, mitsuri..?"

"im sorry... but tomioka-san and hina dated during that year you went missing... tomioka-san broke up with her a month or two before we found you... he did still like her secretly when you came back... but we thought he stopped liking her once we saw you guys get close again..."

i stare at her in utter shock. they dated? while me and giyuu were still dating? i... cant believe that.

i stood up, covering my mouth. i connected all the pieces. hina did always try to talk to giyuu, she was always flirting with her but he always told me he didnt like her... or he would tell me my mind was just playing tricks with me, and i believed it. then.. that one night.. hina told me about a mission.. and once i came back and i asked master, he told me that he never told hina to tell me anything about such mission. i thought i was crazy again.

this entire time, hina was trying to break me and giyuu up, and it worked.

word count: 1028