Tell Me That You Love Me... Even if it's fake

Chapter 1 - Don't Cry

'...' : internal thoughts/monologue

".." dialogue

It's the late flower hashira Kanae's passing where she died fighting  valiantly against upper moon 2, and the Master Kagaya Ubuyashiki asks Giyu to meet with him privately.

"Oyakata-sama, is there something you need?" Giyu inquired.

"Ah, not much actually, but My child.. How are things progressing in the area you patrol? I hope all went well." The master asked.

Giyu tried to remember if anything important happened during his patrolling but couldn't come up with anything of significance.

"I'm sorry to say, but it's been somewhat uneventful, Master. However, I did meet a demon who was close to being at lower moon level, but I killed it. The demon didn't have a blood demon art but had incredible speed which would have been troubling for non-Hashiras to have dealt with," Giyu reported.

"I see. It's fortunate that the demon was dispatched before it could become a threat. I should have mentioned that the area you patrol is relatively close to the one that Kocho patrols. If it's not too much trouble, starting tomorrow, I would like to assign you both to a joint mission. It could serve as a valuable bonding experience among the Hashira. Given your close relationship with Kocho, Himejima san speaks of. I trust that this arrangement will be acceptable for you."

'Me and Kocho patrolling together?' Although the Water Hashira didn't mind that much of the idea of patrolling with Shinobu, he remembered the times when she would constantly tease him.

"Moshi moshi, Tomioka-san, are you there? It's rude to ignore a lady, you know?" she said one time.

"Tomioka-san! Do you know if you keep ignoring me or people in general, people will start to think you are socially inept!" She said with a sly grin. That was one of the times she teased him. The next mission she also kept teasing him.

"Tomioka-san, this is why no one likes you," she said in a fairly cheery voice.

Though she can be annoying to deal with, she doesn't actually intend to be mean. Giyu would come to find she is actually pretty caring.

"Kocho, why do you keep saying you don't like me? If you don't like me then don't go on missions with me, go with Shinazugawa or Kanroji-san. I already know I'm utter trash! You don't need to keep reminding me.." He shot back at her. He didn't want someone to keep reminding him he was utter trash because frankly, it was making him remember some unpleasant memories.

"Tomioka, sorry, I would never call you utter trash." Her expression darkened.

"Although I tease you a lot, I don't actually mean it. I really do care about you and would never think someone as strong as you would be utter trash. We are friends, Tomioka-san. So since when did you think I thought of you as utter trash?"

Giyu's expression softened a bit, but he remained silent.

'She thinks of me as her friend? I guess friends tease each other, so maybe I'm overreacting?' The Water Hashira thought to himself.

"Tomioka-san, if you don't want me to tease you, then it's fine. I will stop with the teasing-"

"Kocho, it's fine. Teasing me is probably just part of our friendship," Giyu said after cutting her off.

"Do you want to patrol with Shinobu, Giyu?" The master asked the Water Hashira.

Unfortunately for the master, Giyu was zoning off, remembering his times with Shinobu, so he didn't quite catch what the master was saying.