Give Life a Chance

Chapter 43 - What Could Have Been

With Giyuu

Giyuu's vision was blurry. He kept blinking in an attempt to restore his eyesight and eventually his surroundings became clearer. He saw green grass, pristine flowers, and well-kept hedges. The place he was in looked extremely familiar. 

His head felt fuzzy, but he managed to steady himself.

"Giyuu-sama, are you okay?" A voice asked.

Giyuu turned to his right and saw Aoi and was extremely confused.

"What... where..." Giyuu stuttered.

"Are you okay? You don't have to help me with my chores if you're not feeling okay, I can handle it." Aoi said.

Giyuu looked down and noticed he was holding a white sheet and a few pegs. He shook off the weird feeling and began to hang the sheet on the clothesline in front of him.

"Giyuu-sama, please answer me, are you okay?" Aoi asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Giyuu said.

"If you're sure." Aoi replied.

What is going on? I could have sworn I was somewhere else. Giyuu thought.

Suddenly he felt a pain in his head and fell to one knee.

"Giyuu-sama! Come on, let's get you inside." Aoi said.

She wrapped Giyuu's arm around her to support his weight and lead him inside the butterfly mansion. Once inside she put him on a hospital bed and gave him some water.

"Wait here, I'll go get you some medicine." Aoi said, running out of the room.

The pain in Giyuu's head got worse, it was almost like the more he tried to think the more it hurt.

"Ah, Giyuu-san, pushing yourself too hard as usual." A calm voice called to him.

That voice sounds vaguely familiar, but who is it? Giyuu thought.

"So tell me, was it Kanao or Aoi who caused this one? You need to stop getting so hands on with their training, you are retired for a reason." The voice said, letting out a light laugh.

Retired? Giyuu thought.

"Okay come on, open wide, this will help with the headache." The voice said.

Giyuu turned and looked towards the voice and was shocked by what he saw.

The woman tending to him was a tall slender person. She had long, straight black hair falling all the way to her hips and two butterfly hair pins on either side of her head holding her hair in place. Her eyes were kind and a vibrant shade of violet, and she wore a familiar looking  butterfly Haori.

"Kanae?" Giyuu asked.

"Were you perhaps expecting someone else? Sorry to disappoint, but your girlfriend is currently preoccupied." Kanae said with a laugh.

"What?" Giyuu asked.

"Are you two seriously not official yet? You technically live together you know." Kanae said.

"But you're..." Giyuu said.

"On a mission? Yes, I was. I was actually partnered with the new Water Hashira. I see now why he was chosen, you trained with him right?" Kanae asked.

"What are you..." Giyuu tried to say.

"Come on Giyuu, don't tell me you've forgotten me already. You only moved out a few months ago." A male voice called from across the room.