The Butterfly Drowns【GIYUSHINO】

「CH3: Tied to the Moon」

"The moon looks beautiful tonight as well~!" Shinobu glanced at him.

Of course, as usual, no answer followed it. In all honesty, despite popular belief, Shinobu meant nothing by the phrase itself. Often, she would say the old Japanese confession to seek a reaction from the receiving person—although she had really only ever said it to two types of people: Demons and the man strolling next to her, Giyuu Tomioka. Unfortunately for her, the demons had always seemed too frightened or prideful to answer her given confession, and on the other hand, Giyuu Tomioka had been too boring to even take a second glance when hearing it. At some point she had questioned if he knew the meaning of the phrase or not—but telling him herself would feel like an actual confession, and the very thought sent shivers down her spine. Still, she said it every time they had joint missions together—if alone—she enjoyed the teasing, but an outside misunderstanding would put her in a tight spot.

They had been in sync, step by step down the journey back to their organization. They were in a rush, but also not rushed enough to run in the course of night, just plenty to force them to travel without rest. It had been unfortunate that they could barely get a shut eye because of the attack, especially for Shinobu who only somewhat rested when meditating, but there was no use dwelling on it.

The ground beneath them had started to change, from the hard stone floors to a dirt path that surrounded them with crops and fields. Shinobu smiled at the sight, the long grains and leaves swaying with the wind as they matured and continued to breathe even in the cold night. She enjoyed watching them, for even a life still short and small—they were still living, and she somewhat had a sense of respect for that itself.

"I wonder if we'll get there before lunch?" Shinobu gently spoke, the images of Aoi smiling and cooking popping in her head. "If we get there in time then I can feed my goldfish their meal for the day, aha that would be great!" She hummed under her smile.

Giyuu looked up, staring at the moon above, "I thought you disliked small creatures."

Shinobu had actually been glad and smiled at the response, though it wasn't much, any more of the boring silence would keep her tired and all drowsy from the lack of sleep. She clapped her hands together, "You're not wrong," Her eyes turned behind them, "But it's more of just furry creatures, fish have scales."

A glow had crept at their backs, approaching to make their shadow visible under their feet. It had made a clash and rattle, the lantern swinging back and forth as the large wooden wheels crushed the rocks beneath it. The man in front of the cart had squinted, looking behind him then back as if he was confirming that he wasn't just imagining it.

"Hello sir!" Shinobu lightly bowed as the cart drew closer, putting the man at ease.

He stopped before them, "Are you guys traveling down here at this time?" The short hay stuck out from his lips, "The next town is still far from where you're heading!"

Shinobu smiled, "Haha, we happened to have somewhere important to be and couldn't afford to sit around." She continued the conversation.

Her and the old man exchanged words whilst Giyuu behind her had doubtfully observed, watching his every move and expression.

"Wow!" The man chuckled with Shinobu, "It's cold and dark out here, the farms don't stop for a long time around these parts, you guys should hop in the back for a while since we're heading down the same road anyway!"

Shinobu held her same smile, but hadn't answered and instead took a peep behind her, "Tomioka?" She waited for his response. If it was up to her alone she would have taken the offer, but the man behind her made this into a more complex equation, with his untrusting eyes.