丨Soar丨 Kimetsu no Yaiba x OC｜

Chapter 12

"Hina-chan! Ichika-chan!" Chizuko ran to the girls in the garden.

"You're finally back!" Hina squealed with joy and engulfed Chizuko in a hug, "I can't wait to tell you a good news!" "Good news?" Chizuko's eyes lit up, "What is it?" "It's a secret for now," Hina winked.

Ichika beamed, "I'll get master and the other girls. Wait here for a bit, Chizuko-chan."

"Chizuko-chan!" "Chizuko-san!" Aoi and the three little girls came running out from the hospital building. "Guys!" Chizuko was drowned in a massive group hug. "Ara ara, you arrived early, Chizuko-chan," Shinobu approached the overjoyed girls with Kanao and Ichika by her side.

"Shinobu-san! I packed as soon as I heard from Hachi that I will be sleeping over for a week!" Chizuko chuckled, she missed spending the whole day with her best buddies. Obanai didn't really let her do anything aside from training, the only other things she gained permission doing were visiting Muichiro and learning medicine from Shinobu.

"Let's start the training then," Shinobu announced, clasping her hands together. "Hai!" the girls replied.

After running laps around the mansion, the girls went indoors. "Rope skipping?" Chizuko asked, finally not slicing bamboo or crazy obstacle course. Besides people, Obanai placed glass shards, nails, knives all over the dojo, was he planning to finish her off? Chizuko watched as Ichika and Hina skipped, her jaw dropped as Aoi and Kanao increased the speed of the rope to an inhuman level.

Their feet danced along the rope, Ichika even managed to do tricks like hopping on one foot, switching sides and turning. They skipped for what felt like forever until Hina accidentally tripped.

"It's your turn! Chizuko chan!" Hina appointed. Chizuko nodded nervously and complied.

Only to be smacked in the face when they sped up.

"Owwwww!" Chizuko held her face and whined, "How did you guys do it?"

Hina patted her shoulder, "Practice, now let's try again."

************************************************
"Are you sure you are okay? Your cheek is still red," Aoi glanced at Chizuko.

Chizuko rinsed the vegetables, "I'm okay! Don't worry about me!" she handed Aoi the tomatoes, lettuce and carrots, "I miss you guys so much!"

Aoi asked, "Why didn't you come visit us?" W-Well... I..." Chizuko stuttered, should she tell her? But would it be like talking behind Iguro-sama's back? What if bad things about him start circulating? She doesn't want to ruin her master's reputation. Though Obanai isn't the nicest person, she still respected him.

"Chizuko-chan? You can trust us and tell us anything," Aoi reassured Chizuko. "It's just... Iguro-sama refuses to dine with me, I'm not complaining! B-but he never touches the food I cook, and... I kind of feel lonely again, you know, I used to live by myself for a year or so," Chizuko lowered her head, she should be thankful for shelter and food, "A-And I think he hates me."

Aoi drew in a sharp breath, she knew it, that serpent hashira was bad news. "I can't tell you how you should treat him," Aoi looked at her friend, "but you can come over whenever he becomes unbearable. I'm sure Shinobu-san would understand."

Chizuko smiled, "Thanks, Aoi-chan, you're the best." This time, it was Aoi who lowered her head, "No, I'm not." "Hm?" "I'm not the best, Chizuko-chan. I am not even half as talented with swords as Hina-chan or Ichika-chan, and not to mention you. Y-you may not notice, but you are a natural," Aoi confessed. There were countless times when she wasn't as fast to master swordsmanship techniques as Hina or Ichika, when she saw Chizuko improve drastically in merely hours.