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

Chapter Thirteen: The Love Pillar

It had been only two hours after the sun had risen over the horizon that our crow gave us our summons.

"Kocho Shinobu, Tomioka Giyuu and Kanroji Mitsuri are to board a train and head south! Receive further instruction upon your arrival." My crow had screeched abruptly as I was crushing wisteria flowers for poison. I had paused immediately and looked up at my crow, wondering if it had made a mistake. No mission could possibly require three pillars, and the crow hadn't said anything about an Upper Moon either, like the Corps protocol required. Not to mention the fact that Oyakata-sama almost never paired the silent Water Pillars with any of the other Pillars other than myself.

I didn't mind it, as Mitsuri was my close friend, but I couldn't ignore the suspicion twisting inside my gut. "Is it some kind of diplomatic mission? Like speaking to a sponsor?" I mumbled to myself as I bottled up the wisteria juice and set it on my shelf. "But then why would they send Tomioka-san, of all the people?"

Yesterday, when he had badgered me about abandoning my plan to sacrifice myself and pulled me into a hug, I had quickly pushed away from him, apologized and talked to him for a bit to make him feel better and left to patrol my region. I made sure not to make it seem like I was rejecting him, and thankfully, he understood.

It had just been too soon. When he wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck, I got scared. I thought he might leave me if I let him too close.

"I should give him a chance." I decided quietly.

But what if I'm not what he expected? I've always been strange. Other girls always liked to read romance, but I'd always liked horror. I don't like the 'cute' furry animals that most other girls loved. I'm not scared of 'creepy' creatures like spiders, in fact I've always thought they were cool. I'm not sweet, shy and submissive.

I'm fully aware that there are many people who claim to be in love with me, but they only know the mask I put on.

What if Tomioka-san gets scared?

No. I don't need to overthink. If he doesn't like the real me, he simply wasn't the one. I refuse to change myself for any man.

I shake off my negative thoughts. I know that if I told Mitsuri what I was thinking just now, she would be shocked. After all, I'm the one whos always telling her not to change herself - that no man is worth her changing herself.

I sling a bag of essentials over my shoulder - just in case - and head to the front gate of the Butterfly Estate, where I find Mitsuri waiting for me. She clutches her own, very full bag.

When she spots me, she visibly perks up and waves enthusiastically in my direction. "Shinobu! It's been so long!"

In reality, it's only been two weeks, but I had been missing her presence as well, so I wave back at her and pick up my pace. "It has been a while. Mitsuri-san, how have you been? "

"I've been great! Iguro-san even took me to a new barbecue place earlier this week! He's so sweet, isn't he?" My friend gushed, thick braids bouncing as she leaned forward.

I hide my smirk behind my hand. Might as well tease her a bit before Tomioka comes along. "Especially when it comes to you. How was your date? From what I can tell, it was fun." I giggle at Mitsuri's expense and watch with amusement as her face heats up.

"No way! Do you think he likes me?" She gasped, trying to hide her blush by covering her face with both hands. How cute.

I nod and lean in to whisper. "He's always so protective of you, and he's always taking you out to eat. It's obvious that he loves you." A strangled squeal bursts from my friend's mouth. "All you have to do is pick the date." I say.

Mitsuri nearly faints and I bite my lip to hold in my laughter. "Shinobu!" She gasps, seemingly incapable of saying anything else. She slowly lifts her palms from her face, now covered with a sheen of sweat due to the heat of her skin.

She takes a couple deep breaths to calm herself. "What about you? Shinobu, do you like anyone?" The Love Pillar asks. "You're pretty close with Tomioka-san, what do you think about him?"

I pause, scrambling to come up with a satisfactory answer. Just as I'm about to give up and tell her everything, Tomioka arrives, half-and-half haori flapping in the breeze.

"Sorry, am I late?" He asks, forgetting to reply to Mitsuri, who's already so used to it that she doesn't care. I notice that he directs the question at me, and apparently Mitsuri does too, because she covers her mouth with her hand and glances at me, excitement dancing in her light green eyes.

Oh dear. Knowing her, Mitsuri won't stop until she gets an answer. This is going to be an awkward mission.

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated for so long! Anyway, the next couple chapters will mostly be Mitsuri helping their relationship develop and a bit of ObaMitsu too, because I love them. How many chapters do you think I should write for this book? Please let me know in the comments! After I'm finished with either this one or Saviors, I'm planning to start a book of GiyuShino oneshots. :)