𝚃𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚘𝚔𝚊 𝙶𝚒𝚢𝚞
Shinobu rushed out of the room, stating that she had chores to attend to. Even when I pointed out her messed up hair, she simply patted it down before running out.
Sighing, I fell back onto the bed, resting my arm over my eyes. 'Did she really hate what I did that much?' Feeling fatigued from my lack of sleep and the energy I expended moments before, I quickly dozed off.
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"Let's all welcome the new Water Pillar, Tomioka Giyu," Ubayashiki announced. "He'll be a valuable asset to the Pillars. Just like all of you, his family has died by the hands of demons. He's has a brave soul and is a great warrior." I stood next to him uncomfortably, my uniform suddenly feeling tight and itchy, my throat feeling extremely dry. He looked at me with a smile, edging me on to talk.
"Hello." Due to my lack of interactions with others, I was at a loss for words, only the common phrase, hello, coming to mind. A frown rested on my face, a bad habit that Urodaki commonly scolded me on. The pillars standing before me began to chatter.
"Is he mute?" "How dare he act so rude next to Ubayashiki." "He's constantly frowning." "He doesn't seem to be a very fun person." "Don't talk so loud. He'll hear us."
As the others began to gossip about me, I noticed a lady short in stature standing off to the side. Despite the others talking up a storm, she remained silent, only a kind smile resting on her face. 'Beautiful... she looks so majestic. She reminds me of Tsutako...' For a moment, the shield I created to protect myself and others faltered, letting a small smile show on my face.
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𝙺𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚘 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚞
After berating Mitsuri for several minutes, I shooed her out of my room, finally leaving me alone for the first time in a while. Even after several hours, my hear wouldn't stop pounding against my ribcage when I thought of what happened with Tomioka. Every time I thought about his cold, slender fingers or what could have happened, my entire body would heat up, especially my cheeks.
Lying beneath the comfort of my futon, drowsiness quickly ensued. Almost instantly, I fell asleep, a rare occurrence after everything that happened with Tomioka.
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A strange young man stood up straight beside Ubayashiki, who promptly introduced him as the next Water Pillar. His face was exceptionally clear and pale, a thin frown painting his face. For his introduction, he simply said, "Hello." Even under the pressure of all of the current Pillars scrutinizing his every move, he never once wavered. Every action he displayed was elegant, not once was a motion wasted, whether it was a change in stance or his breathing pattern.
From his one worded introduction, the other Pillars began to whisper among themselves, mentioning his odd behavior and his imprudence. Unlike them, I was lost in his eyes, a dazzling, dark blue, seeming to never end. My habitual smile was still glued onto my face, similarly to his frown.
His eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on me. He stared at me for a while, his eyes wandering all around me. After he seemed to be done scanning, a small smile formed on his lips. The same lips that seemed locked in stone curved upwards, creating a pleasant sight. All of the Pillars were too busy talking to notice the sight, but for some odd reason, I felt glad. It was almost like a small secret that only we shared.
His eyes had a kinder look, finally showing some vulnerability and compassions, formally hidden away by a glare. By the time the Pillars stopped talking, his smile and the warmth in his eyes disappeared, the glare and frown taking their place.
Mitsuri, the only other female Pillar elbowed me in the side. "The new Water Pillar looks really handsome right?" She was a man-lover, taking note of all of the attractive men she met where ever she went. Iguro, only a few inches away from Mitsuri heard what she said. He started to glare at the rookie Pillar, his pet serpent, Kaburamaru, following suit.
Upon Iguro's sudden death glare, Tomioka's eyes opened in surprise momentarily before quickly glaring back. Slowly and quietly, he took a stance, gripping his nirchirin blade hidden beneath his bizarre haori. Chuckling at the cautiousness of Tomioka, I evoked some strange looks from some of the other Pillars.
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"Shinobu. Shinobu." A hand shook me back and forth, pulling me out from my dream.
"What's... what's wrong?" I asked between a yawn. My vision still blurry, I rubbed my eyes until I could make out Aoi's dark figure.
"You were laughing in your sleep which was really strange, so I woke you up." I stretched my arms out, letting another yawn out. "Also, Tomioka came by to check up on you, but you were sleeping." 'Tomioka saw me sleeping? I hope I wasn't drooling or anything. If I knew he was coming, I would have worn better sleeping wear.'
"I'll change now, so you can leave Aoi." With my last and final yawn, I finally got up, getting ready for breakfast. As I buttoned up my uniform, I suddenly remembered what Tomioka and I did last night. 'How will I face him today?' Finishing the top buttons, I got ready to leave, draping my haori over my shoulders.
As I walked towards the dining area, a sense of impending doom came over me. I walked over to sit next to Mitsuri as usual, only to find her at a full table talking to several other girls. Noticing my presence, she looked over and waved, but made no effort to invite me over. 'This girl... she really wants me to sit next to Tomioka? She's really going to die later...'
Slightly annoyed, I got my food and walked over towards the only empty table. Sighing, I placed my food down and separated my chopsticks, setting them aside. "Itadakimasu." As I was bringing my head up after bowing, I was met with Tomioka's face. 'Well... this is a surprise. but not an unwelcome one.'
"Ara ara, the great loner Tomioka approached someone? Do you really want to eat with me that badly? If you truly want to, I guess there's no helping it." Nerves took over my body, causing me to tease Tomioka instead of greeting him normally.
He frowned for a while, looking at me with a puzzled expression. "I thought I told you that I was in love with you. You also said that you would want to be with me forever. If we both feel this way, shouldn't we at least eat together?" The entire room became silent, everyone straining their ears to hear each word Tomioka spoke. One by one, each pair of eyes landed on us, turning my entire face red.
Noticing my blush, Tomioka's frown dissipated, instead of turning into a look of sadness. "I see... you must be embarrassed by sitting or associating with someone like me. Your words last night must have been lies as to not embarrass me. I finally understand now." He stood up slowly as his mouth moved, but none of the words he spoke registered. As he turned around to leave, a small, "I'm sorry" escaped his mouth.
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know this update took 8 days, but I was super busy with school. I only wrote 800 words by Sunday, but I didn't want to release a short chapter, so I took an extra day to write this. Anways, I truly thank everyone who reads this fanfiction. This time I promise that I'll write a long, good chapter by Sunday :)
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The Swimming Butterfly (Giyushino Fanfic)
RomanceAlthough she may have reeked of cynicism and anger, one man in the Demon Slayer Corps was able to change that. This is the story about how the Water PIllar was able to make the Insect Pillar fall head over heels for him. This is an alternate unive...
