❝𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻❞

Ch - 13 ° An Unwelcoming Home

Giyuu stood there, staring at the house in disbelief. It looked brand new, renovated and completely different. When he first saw the house, he had thought it was someone else's but once he saw the old dusty name tag outside the house, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Tomioka Residence"

By the looks of the house, it was a little dusty, indicating no one had visited the house in a lot of time.

"There's no living here?" Shinobu asked, doubtful about no one's presence.

"No. My parents are dead." Giyuu casually replied as if it was nothing.

"I'm very sorry for your loss." Regret immediately washed over her, as she muttered constant apologies.

"No need to be. They died very young so I didn't know them very well." Giyuu added while scanning every corner of the house as he opened the dusty, cobwebbed front door.

They were welcomed with a dangerous amount of dust and an eerie silence. Shinobu quickly covered her nose and turned around while Giyuu entered inside, having no problem as such.

Shinobu finally took a deep breath and entered the house, still covering her nose with her haori. The inside of the house was completely different than the outside. Broken wardrobes, cluttered mess all around the house and many mysterious statues of deities.

"My, my, this is gonna take some time. These are some really beautiful sculptures you've kept here. Why don't you take them to your home? It's better to not let them marinate in dust here." Shinobu stared at the collection in awe.

"They're not mine. The villagers must've left it here. This house is considered a bad omen." He glanced at the statues, a slight expression of irritation and disgust forming on his face.

"Oh. I'll not pry into that. Besides, I don't believe in these superstitions." Shinobu scoffed, retracting her  hand from the sculptures, stepping back from them.

"I'll clear this mess first. You can sit on the tatami. Just make sure you dust it off or your uniform will get dirty." He advised, offering her a cloth to clean the mats.

"Well didn't you bring me here to help, why would I want to sit?" She gave him a skeptical expression.

"No, I just wanted your company." He blankly added while picking up the stuff spread out on the floor.

"Oh my. I'm certainly surprised but I must say it is quite scandalous to bring a lone maiden into a mysterious house, don't you think so?" Shinobu meekly smiled, getting a reply from Giyuu scoffing at her ridiculous comment.

"Do you seriously not trust me?" He gave her a very fake worried expression, returning her mockery in the same way.

"I was only kidding. Since I'm here, I'm going to help you with this." She replied, reaching out to the broom covered in spider webs, lying in the kitchen.

They quietly continued their work, having no disturbance in between as they enjoyed the comforting silence. Though Shinobu felt safe around Giyuu, there was something bothering her ever since she had entered the house. No, it wasn't a demon. It just...felt off to her.

The atmosphere was unusually heavy, the sculptures by the villagers, the stuff thrown onto the floor and finally Giyuu. He wasn't looking very pleased coming back to the house. There was something wrong with this house, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Shinobu decided to shrug off those thoughts and continue with the work. There was too much dust all around the house and ever since she entered, she couldn't breath in the stuffy and closed area.