Give Life a Chance

Chapter 10 - The New Tsuguko

"So you are sure it's okay?" She asked.

"Of course, he practically begged me to have you." Shinobu answered.

"Then please, can I?" Aoi asked again.

"Well Aoi-chan, from this day forward, you are officially the Tsuguko of the water Hashira Tomioka Giyuu. Congratulations." Shinobu said, hugging the girl.

"Thank you so much Shinobu-sama, I promise I will not let you down." Aoi promised, beginning to cry happily.

"Tomioka-san will visit later today and you can speak to him more, but you will stay here until the end of the week." Shinobu informed her former student, reciprocating the hug.

"Understood, I will perform my responsibilities here as best I can until I leave." Aoi said, allowing tears to flow more freely.

"Good, now go check on the girls." She said.

Shinobu sat outside for a little longer reflecting on the events of the past two days.

"What would you have done sister? Is this the right decision." She asked, looking towards the sky.

Hours Later.

Giyuu arrived at the butterfly mansion and took a deep breath, today was the day it became official, he was going to become a sensei.

Knocking on the door he was greeted by a short dark-haired girl with large pink eyes. She stared at Giyuu not saying a word.

"Um, hello, I am here to see Kocho." Giyuu said.

The girl said nothing, flipping a coin she watched and waited for it to land. Giyuu was confused but said nothing. The coin landed and the girl spoke.

"Please come in, I will take you to Shinobu-sama." She said, her voice extremely weak and unsure.

"Thank you." He said.

The two walked in complete silence through the mansion, passing by Kakushi and other volunteers helping around the mansion. Stepping outside the girl then stopped and pointed to Shinobu who was walking about in the garden.

"Thank you." Giyuu said to the girl, who bowed to him then left.

"Is that you Tomioka-san?" Shinobu asked, not turning around.

"Yes." He said back.

"Tomioka-san, what did I say about one-word answers?" She asked him, turning to face him.

"Sorry. Yes, it is me." He rephrased.

"Would you like me to call Aoi-chan?" She asked.

"I would." He answered.

"Aoi-chan! Please come to the garden!" Shinobu yelled.

"So, will we go shopping today?" Giyuu asked.

"Of course, I hope you brought a lot of money. Oh also I invited someone else." Shinobu admitted with a smile.

"What?' Giyuu asked. He attempted to keep speaking until he was interrupted.

"Shinobu-sama, what do you need from... Tomioka-sama?" Aoi asked suddenly stopping.

"Hello Aoi." He said, pausing his questioning of Shinobu for now.

"Tomioka-sama." Aoi said quickly dropping to her knees and bowing.

"Thank you for offering to train me. I promise I will do my best to not let you down." She said seriously.

"O...oh that's okay, please there's no need to bow." Giyuu said slightly nervous.

"Understood." She said quickly.

Shinobu looked at Giyuu expectedly, clearly wanting him to talk to the young girl.

"Thank you for accepting the training. I will do my best to prepare you for the future." He said with more confidence.

"Please I should be thanking you Tomioka-sama, I can't wait to get started." She responded excitedly.

"I am glad to hear it." He said.

"Well Aoi-chan, Tomioka-san and I are going to head into town and do some shopping, I leave this place in your hands." She said confidently.

"Understood Shinobu-sama." She said responsibly.

"Um... Aoi?" Giyuu spoke up, his tone once again being laced with nerves.

"Yes Tomioka-sama."

"Do you have a favourite colour?" He asked.

Aoi was slightly stunned by the question. She didn't know Giyuu very well but from what she had seen of him and heard from Shinobu; this was out of character for him. Shinobu too was shocked.

"Oh... Um... I guess blue." She answered, clearly confused.

"Okay, thank you." Giyuu said walking towards the entrance of the mansion.

"See you soon Aoi-chan." Shinobu said, following Giyuu.

"That was an interesting question Tomioka-san, I'm glad to see you trying to interact with her at least." Shinobu said.

"Yes well, like I said I promise to take care of her as best I can." Giyuu said.

"Good, I'll accept nothing less." Shinobu said as the two of them left the mansion.