[Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba] Stay With Me [GiyuShino]

Chapter Three: Silent Night

The sun sets over the horizon, casting rays of pink and orange over the sheets of my bed. It's nighttime. It's nighttime already, and I haven't made any progress.

The sound of small footsteps echo through the hallway.

"Mission?" I ask as she comes into view.

My heart stops when she turns. Newborn slivers of moonlight tangle in her black hair and cast a light shimmer over her unique purple irises. Her cheeks blush pink from the stifling heat. And when she smiles at me, the whole world fades into nothing. There's only her, standing under the light of the full moon, only this moment, time has ceased to exist.

"Yes."

Her voice is sweet and calm, like the bubbling stream that ran beside my family's home, and just like that stream, it soothes me, putting my mind and rapidly beating heart to rest, releasing the tension in my shoulders. It would be so easy to fall asleep if I closed my eyes now.

Unconsciously, I keep my eyes open, afraid to blink, afraid that if I took my eyes off her for even a second, she'd disappear again. Knowing that if I fail again, I'll never hear that soft voice again.

"It's just a simple mission." she says.

I barely register the words, just the lovely sound of her voice and the graceful way she stands, like a butterfly, strong and fragile and the same time. The wind seems to blow on her command. She doesn't look like the frail girl she thinks she is. She looks like a goddess, standing with her feet planted into the ground, eyes searching the sky for answers to a question she doesn't ask.

It's easy to see why some people are intimidated by that powerful presence of hers.

It's a silent night, so it's no surprise that she can hear the abnormally quick rate at which my heart pumps. And I'm not surprised when she notices the slight pinkness of my cheeks either.

"Oh! Tomioka-san, do you have a fever?" she doesn't wait for an answer. She simply walks into the infirmary and rests a gentle hand on my forehead.

For once, there's no one else here, no one to distract me from the feeling building up inside my throat. I'm flustered by her closeness, but I'm not so shallow that that's the only thing I think about. I think about how easily she can end herself, and how much she want's to do so. Merely speculating about her thoughts sends a wave of coldness down my spine.

I don't know if it's possible that someone like me - who is hardly capable of showing human emotion - can save someone as broken as she is. Even now, it's hard to believe that she's managing to hold on.

"Tomioka-san, is something wrong? You're acting weird." she asks bluntly.

I jolt up from the bed, and sparks of pain flash brightly inside my head. "No." I say quickly, trying to keep the emotion out of my voice.

She sighs, exasperation clear in her voice. "I'm glad to see you're still a terrible liar."

I shiver as she straps a small pack of ice to my forehead.

"What's wrong?"

She rearranges her medical tools on the table next to my bed.

I'm just hopelessly in love with some whose only goal in life is to die getting revenge. But of course, I can't tell her that.

Kocho picks up a container filled with some kind of paste and mutters something about patients messing up the room. She walks to the other side of the room and opens the medicine cabinet.

The distance between us fills with cold air, and I can't help but wish she would come back.

"I'm just a little dizzy because of my injury." I say blankly. I put all my effort into making myself sound normal.

She finishes messing around with the medicines and closes the cabinet as she turns to face me. I compose my face, and blame the redness of my skin on the fever.

"If you say so. Anyway, I have to leave now. Sayonara!" she gives me a small wave and she signature goodbye and the door swings shut behind her.

I stare after her for longer than I normally would. I must have eventually fallen asleep, because the next time I open my eyes, the sun is shining so brightly it make my vision spot.

A/N: I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up. This is probably going to be the 'happiest' chapter in this fanfiction, other than the ending. But I hope you keep reading! :)