Tears Behind the Emotionless Face

Ch: 1 ° Carelessness

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It was a lovely evening, at least for Shinobu. The sky was painted in the hues of blue and orange. She was in the balcony of the room staring at the butterfly triplets running around the garden.

Mermerized by their happiness and freedom, her eyes remained glued to them.

Just then, a man with blue-black hair with a mismatched haori entered the manor. He had a crow on his shoulder with a sword sheathed near his waist.

'Ah. Tomioka-san.' Shinobu thought. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of him. She noticed a little decrease in his speed. Though he always seemed tired, he had gotten slower.

She went downstairs to escort him inside but she stopped at the sight of Aoi.

"Shinobu-sama. Tomioka-sama has arrived. It seems that he was brought in by the orders of Oyakata-sama. Only minor injuries. Should I take care of him if you are busy?" Aoi turned to Giyuu who was standing near the door.

"No need. I'll take care of him. It's not quite often that he comes here." Shinobu smiled in mischief.

"Wahh! Tomioka sama has decided to honor us with his presence after being forced by the Master! What a pleasant surprise!" Shinobu walked to him in a child-like manner, who had been waiting for their father all day to come back home.

Giyuu's face scrunched with a hint of discomfort on his face.

"I'm only joking. What's with the face?" Shinobu smiled.

"Well now, don't just stand there! Come in." Shinobu welcomed him inside. She led him towards the special ward for the Hashiras. Giyuu didn't say a word and quietly followed her.

"So, what injuries do you have?" Shinobu's eyes scanned his body.

"I have some bruising and scratches on my torso, near the solar plexus." Giyuu's  monotonous, nearly robotic voice spoke.

"Alright I don't think I will have to check your bruises since I think you already know what ointments I will provide you with. You always come back with the same injuries." Shinobu just took a step back looking for his medicine.

"Alright. I'll take my leave." Giyuu quickly got up and turned to leave when felt a strong pull, pushing him back.

"Who said you could leave? I'm yet to see your scratches now." Shinobu let go of her hand off Giyuu's haori.

''Oh. Alright." Giyuu didn't argue as he knew it was a compulsory order by the Master since he was skipping his regular check-ups at the butterfly mansion.

He took off his haori and removed his shirt.

Shinobu was not new to this well-toned body with training upto perfection. Such a beautiful body was completely spoiled with scars and marks of battle.

"Tomioka-san...How do you even call that a scratch...That's a deep gash." Shinobu's eyes twitched.

"It isn't that bad. It did some bandaging to stop the bleeding." Giyuu turned his head towards Shinobu.

"That bandaging is worse than that of a blind child! How are you even walking? I'm surprised that the wound has not been infected enough to kill you. Do you have a death wish?" Shinobu's smile only got wider every second as her comments hit Giyuu harder than blade.

Giyuu's expression showed slight confusion on where he did wrong.

'Is he seriously dumb? Even the Mizunoto have done better. He spaces out in battle, has left a fatal wound open for God knows how long..Does this guy seriously not care for his life.' Shinobu's train of thoughts ran through her head while she gawked at him in absolute devastation.

'Sorry. I didn't know.' Giyuu apologized.

Shinobu's eyes widened at his apologetic reply.

'Oh the gods have blessed me with your dear apology!' Shinobu started to blabber her taunts.

'Forget what I said earlier.' Giyuu deadpanned.

'Oh I'm just joking Tomioka-san. If you'll actually express feelings, you might as well even pull some girls with that handsome face of yours' Shinobu whispered.

'You think....I'm handsome?' Giyuu turned to look at her.

'Don't take it the wrong way! Do you not like compliments?' Shinobu frowned in a really obvious manner.

The both fell silent as none of them were the gossipers among the group. Shinobu finished cleaning the wound before wrapping it with a bandage.

'All done. You are not moving from here till I tell you to.' Shinobu spoke as she tied a tight knot at his back to prevent the wound from opening. He had seemed really still nor did he have any discomfort during the treatment.

There was no response nor movement. Oddly still even for the calm, quiet Giyuu Tomioka.

'Tomioka-san?' Shinobu turned to look at face.

He had fallen asleep peacefully.

"Guess he must've been really tired. Oh Tomioka-san, when will you learn to rest?" Shinobu smiled to herself and placed a pillow on his back after putting on his shirt.

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I am going to split a lot of chapters as I will write longer content. Akira will be introduced after chapter 20.