Reflection

A Not-So Hectic Night

Uzui was a man of flashiness, he believed that life should be lived to the fullest and strived to live every moment in a way that he would never come to regret...

"Now don't move Uzui-san, this will only take a minute."

A process that was very hard to do when he was standing still, waiting for Shinobu to douse a bucket of ice-cold water on him from the well a few feet behind her, filled to the brim from the last storm so she could refill it as soon as she ran out.

"Kocho-san... I don't see why-"

"Why what, Uzui-san? Why I have to douse you with water before I give you the burn cream? Maybe it's the same reason you decided to kidnap Tomioka-san and make me chase you around the prefecture for an hour, ever think of that?"

Uzui shut his mouth immediately, deciding to accept his fate as a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped on his head. His teeth shook as he powered through it, deciding to talk a bit since he was already in trouble and he figured it couldn't get much worse.

"Sp- speaking of to- Tomioka-san how did the mis-
mission go?"

'Splash'

"It went fine. There were some minor hiccups but I think it'll be fun to work with him for the next two months."

'Splash'

"Re- really? He said yo- you two fo- fought?"

'Splash'

"We did, one of the demons had a memory of blood art. I thought he was a demon and attacked him, he thought I was a demon and did the same. Luckily we were able to break out of it before we hurt each other."

'Splash'

"Di- did it loo- look like the- there was a clea- clear winner?"

'Splash'

"Huh? Well, I don't know, we stopped before it got serious, but if I had to choose I'd say Tomioka-san won. He was going to decapitate me and the most I could do was try to take him with me."

'Splash'

"Tha- that's str- strange..."

'Splash'

"How so?"

'Splash'

"No-nothing, just tha- that he made it see- seem like it was- wasn't close-"

'Splash'

"Really?"

Shinobu frowned a bit, looking at Uzui for confirmation he just nodded, shivering uncontrollably as he watched the bucket in Shinobu's hand like it was a bomb. Shinobu tilted her head and forgot about the cleaning procedure for a second as she mulled over Uzui's words.

Huh, I know I didn't win but I at least thought I put up a decent fight. Did he really think I wasn't a challenge...

Shinobu grits her teeth on instinct, freezing as she recalled the conversation back in the hotel after all was said and done. Giyuu's soft yet sincere words made her relax as they played over again in her head.

'The demons didn't think you were a threat... they were wrong.'

Shinobu smiled softly at the memory, shaking the doubts out of her head as she held the bucket back up and met Uzui's surprised yet fearful expression.

"Well, I don't know what goes on in Tomioka-san's head most times, but I'm sure he had a reason for what he said. I trust that he didn't mean it in a way that was demeaning to me."