A Flower That Blooms in the Rain

Chapter 6

As it turns out, your actions do have consequences, Uzui and Kocho learn this very well as they witness a change in their coworker's appearance. But at least this shows some improvement in his condition, right?

Right?

WARNING: referenced and/or suicidal thoughts and tendencies! Also warnings of an eating disorder!

-linebreak-

It was odd waking up with short hair, Giyuu figured out the next morning. It was even odder staring at himself in his cracked mirror. Staring back at him was a man he didn't recognize.

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, but for some reason, he felt a strange sense of giddiness. The feeling was odd and unfamiliar but not to his own knowledge, it'd be a feeling he'd soon be acquainted with very well. 

He supposed there were positives to the situation as a whole. Blood would be easier to wash out, and it'd be less of a hassle to take care of. It all felt liberating in a sense, to have his shoulders be lifted of one less burden to take care of. It was... Nice.

One less thing to worry about in his already unforgivingly, stressful life. It almost brought a smile to his face. Almost. But he did not deserve that smile, he had not earned a reason to smile, to begin with. He may have foolishly allowed his lips to curl upwards last night in his own self-indulgent ignorance but he would not allow it again. 

Not until he earned it. 

And with the letter weighing heavy in his pocket maybe there was a chance he could earn to smile if he played his cards right. 

With a deep breath, he slid on his zori's and made his way out of his house and to the Corps Headquarters. Giyuu didn't know why, but a foreboding sense came over him as he left his house.

He feared their reactions to his spontaneous decision. 

-linebreak-

Mitsuri was in tears. 

That was their first warning that something odd was going on. 

Almost immediately she ran up and blocked their path, clinging to her former mentor, Kyoujurou, as she sobbed into his haori. 

"Noooooo! Y-you can't go in there!" She cried, tightening her grip on the pearly white fabric of the cloth. "The person in there-" She pointed at the gate. "-that isn't Tomioka-san!"

The group stared at her in bewilderment, even Iguro finding it hard to believe the woman. Nervousness crept up the edges of the Flame Hashira's smile as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "Kanroji, I'm sure it's not-"

"But it is!" She grabbed his collar and pulled him close until their faces were a mere inches away, wearing a grim expression. "The man in there is an imposter! A traitor! There's simply no way that can be Tomioka-san!"

 The group watched as she let go of the other Hashira's collar and shifted around on nervous feet. "The man in there is an imposter! An imposter I tell you!"

With a scoff, Shinazugawa pushed past the Love Hasira, his hands tucked roughly in his uniform's pocket. "I could be doin' more important shit right now so let's get this over with already." The bubble gum-haired woman let out a squawk of surprise before clinging to the man's arm and pulling him back, earning a growl from the man.

"No! You can't do that! I won't allow it!" Iguro glared with unhidden malice at the white-haired man, gripping tightly at the edges of his haori. Meanwhile, both Shinobu and Kyoujurou stared on in embarrassment as they watched the trifling squabble play on. Himejima simply shook his head in disapproval as Tokito got stuck in a state of reacting to it and then forgetting, and then responding to it again.