Tears Behind the Emotionless Face

Ch - 11 ° Burdens of The Past

Keyword - Kinoto: Second highest rank after Hashira.

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There stood the grave of Tsutako Tomioka, the beloved sister of Giyuu. He was still, his eyes locked on the grave, processing the fact that he was finally visiting her after nine years.

Shinobu stood from a little distance from him, hiding her scent as she read the words engraved on the gravestone.

"I hope you're doing well up there, Tsutako Nee-san." He slowly put the gladiolus down, casting a small glance at the sky, making the atmosphere more tense.

'Nee-san?'

Shinobu's eyes widened as the words fell onto her ears. She could feel her heartbeat pace faster, the beating clearly audible. Regret filled her as she stood there, contemplating whether she should stay or not. Her guilt urged her to leave, but a side of her still wanted to hear the complete story.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you then." He said, his voice going lower and lower. He could feel his eyes and throat burn, his tears ready to spill out. If he cried now, he wouldn't be able to stop. Slowly wiping away the tears, he closed his eyes and tried calming himself down.

Shinobu could feel her own past events flooding in her mind, already clouded by different emotions.

"I decided I would visit you once again. I don't know if I'll see you again, if I'm coming back or not. I hope you forgive me for everything I have done." He spoke in a completely broken and apologetic tone.

Shinobu had to leave this place immediately. She had heard too much and she couldn't just forget this. Her remorse only increased after recollecting the memories of the eventful night of her sister's death anniversary. She shouldn't have spoken those words when she didn't know even a little about him. Drunk or not, it was wrong for her.

Fighting back her desire to stay longer and listen, her fear of getting caught won against it as her legs almost automatically moved on their own, towards the exit. Even on her way back to the Kudo Estate, her mind was still wrapped around Giyuu.

'I never knew he had a sister nor has he mentioned someone named Tsutako. How do I even forget this? First of all, I need to stop thinking about him or I'm not going to move on from this shock.' She mentally slapped herself to compose herself. She could feel her heart beat faster when she thought about him. The more and more she got closer to the estate, she could feel her fear increasing.

'What if he saw me? How am I supposed to even face him?" Her eyebrows scrunched in anxiety, not ready to face him. She hated confrontation, especially when she was at fault.

The reason she was scared was because she also shared the same grief as him. She wouldn't want anyone seeing her so emotional either. She had worked hard to put up such an act in front of Hashira that she had changed and Giyuu wasn't different either. He had emotions but he only failed to express them openly.

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Shinobu knocked on the door and was sweetly greeted by Saki. Still quite shaken up from the recent events, she was awfully quiet.

"Did you find Giyuu, dear?" Saki asked her while she scanned her face, her eyes narrowing in suspicion while Shinobu's heart pounded faster by the mention of Giyuu's name.

"No, actually. I tried looking for him but I was a little worried about getting lost in the village so I didn't venture any further to find him." Shinobu gave her clueless smile as Saki successfully believed her lie.