𝐌𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 (𝐓𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐫)

✦𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭✦

ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛs ᴛᴏ: livelaughlovekny

   “One cloud, two clouds, three clouds…” Muichirou murmured to himself as he patiently waited for you to arrive. The both of you had agreed to train together at his estate after you came back from your mission. As Hashiras, this was a rare opportunity as the both of you were constantly bombarded with missions and tasks. That surely had to be the reason as to why Muichirou had been looking forward to today. Since he wrote back to you, telling you that he was fine with the arrangement, he had anticipated for today to arrive.

  You were taking a while to arrive though. Why were the both of you always assigned missions that were so far away from each other? Bored, Muichirou listlessly plucked at the surrounding grass. He tried recalling the contents of your letters. The both of you had agreed to exchange letters whenever possible. In your latest letter, you informed him that you should arrive at his estate at three in the afternoon. Or was it four? He couldn’t quite remember, though both felt too late and not enough to him. Strange, Muichirou wasn’t sure when was the last time that he had looked forward to someone so strongly.

  He tried reasoning with himself. Training time is precious. What he was actually looking forward to was training with someone strong. It could be any other Hashira. It didn’t have to be you. Though the idea of training with anyone else but you seemed appalling to him. Perhaps it was because he felt closer to you than others. Before meeting you, his training consisted of him and only him. 

  An hour passed, and you had yet to arrive. Did you get lost? No, your crow would have guided you. Did he get the date wrong? No, he didn’t. Then what could be taking you so long? Slightly frustrated, Muichirou got up and wandered around his yard. He passed a patch of wild flowers. He stopped and stared at it. “What was it about flowers that the Love Hashira said… Oh yeah.” He sat down in front of the patch of flowers and plucked one.

  He twisted the flower around his fingers, studying it. It was a stupid idea but he was bored and… that was it. There was another feeling within him that he just couldn’t put his finger on. It was a nagging feeling that somehow kept bringing up memories of you. Pushing away his feelings, he plucked a petal off the flower. “Loves me.” The petal fluttered down.

  “Loves me not.” His heart sank a little. “Loves me.” Hope rose again. “Loves me not… Ah.” It felt as if something was clutching onto his heart tightly. There were only two petals left. His fingers hovered near the remaining two petals. It’s just a stupid game. Yet he couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling within him and bring himself to finish the game…

  “Loves you!” Two fingers plucked off the remaining two petals together. Muichirou turned around in shock. He looked up to see your grinning face. “Helloo, sorry for being late! I encountered a few villagers who needed some help.” You squatted down so that the both of you were at eye level. Your free hand reached out and opened up his, your other hand placing the two petals onto his palm. “There you go, I’m sure whoever you were thinking of loves you.”

  Muichirou closed his hand, clenching the two petals tightly before placing them carefully into his pocket. “I wasn’t thinking of anyone. I was just plucking off the petals out of boredom.” You snorted. “Right, I heard you murmuring ‘loves me, loves me not’ to yourself. Even if I didn’t, you shouldn’t bully flowers.” Getting up, Muichirou looked down at your squatting figure and gave you an unimpressed look. “Whatever, it was your fault for taking so long.”

  You whined. “I got here as fast as I could. It’s not my fault that it’s my duty to help others.” Not replying, Muichirou turned away and walked off. Pouting exaggeratedly, you complained loudly about how mean he was. You don’t notice how the tip of his ears had turned red or how relieved he was when he heard you said “loves you”, especially when he realised that he had played that game with someone in his mind and heart.

A few weeks later, it was your turn to wait for Muichirou to arrive at the Mist Estate for training. You wandered around his home, marvelling about how one could bear to live in such an empty house. Walking into yet another empty room, you notice a tiny frame hanging above the bed. This was the only decoration in the entire house. Upon closer inspection, you realise it was two petals framed. “Oh, I didn’t know he liked flowers.” Just then, you heard Muichirou calling your name. Leaving the room, you walked towards the voice, not realising that those were the petals you gave him.