Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 27 - Kindness from a True Friend

 Rengoku was pacing around in the courtyard, unable to focus on anything other than Yuki's well-being. He had been trying to spend some time training but he just couldn't keep his mind off of Yuki. Some of the others noticed Rengoku's unfocused state, but only one came up to speak with him. His friend, and fellow Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji.

"Rengoku, is everything alright?"

He hadn't noticed her come up, and put his sword in his sheath before turning to face her, "Mitsuri! My apologies. I'm doing alright... I'm just a bit distracted is all..."

"Are you sure...? We all heard that Yuki is being cared for by Shinobu... Are you really sure that you're ok?" Mitsuri's voice and expression was filled with concern, worrying about her friend and former mentor.

Rengoku wanted to say that he was fine, but seeing Mitsuri's concern, made him realize he can't keep bottling up his emotions, "Well... no... I'm not ok... I'm worried about Yuki... She was so unstable when Shinobu told me to leave the Med Bay... It's been hours since Shinobu and Kanao started trying to stabilize her, and I still haven't heard anything..."

"I understand that, but she was, and still is in a critical condition. It's going to take a long time for her to heal and recover from this."

"I-... y-you're right Mitsuri... I know it will take time, but I'll be by her side the entire time"

Mitsuri gave him a warm smile, seeing Shinobu walk into the courtyard out of the corner of her eye. She places a firm hand on his shoulder, giving some words of encouragement, "Well, don't forget that you can always come to me and the others if you need someone to talk to." With that, Mitsuri began to walk toward Shinobu, making Rengoku see her.

Rengoku stood in place as Shinobu walked up to him, seeing the solemn expression on her face, "Shinobu... How is she doing?" He asked, his voice filled with worry.

"As for now, she's stable," Shinobu stated, giving Rengoku some relief, before she continued with the bad news, "However, she's in a coma... and I have no idea how long it will be until she wakes up from it..."

Rengoku's heart sank hearing she was in a coma, "Can I see her?" he asked, his voice dropping to a sad tone.

"Of course. Come with me"

Shinobu and Rengoku went to the Med Bay, seeing Yuki sleeping peacefully on the exam table. Rengoku walked up to her, gently grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze, "Do you think I can be in here alone with her for a bit?" He asks, gazing up at Shinobu.

"Sure. I can give you two some privacy. I'll be doing some training with Kanao in the courtyard, so I'll be there if you need anything."

"Of course... I'll let you know if she needs anything. Thank you, Shinobu."

Shinobu gave him a no before she walked out of the Med Bay. Rengoku was now alone with Yuki. He held onto her hand tightly as he sat next to her, praying she would be alright.

"Yuki... why did this have to happen to you...? You've already had to live with so much trauma... and now you lay here... comatose because of those demons... I'm so sorry Yuki... you didn;t deserve any of this..."

Rengoku was lost in his thoughts, continuing to mutter to himself and quietly apologize to Yuki under his breath, guilt the only thing flooding his mind.

"Rengoku...?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, turning around to see someone standing in the door. Another fellow Hashira, and friend, "Giyu... What are you doing here> I thought you were out on a mission..."

"I was on my way back when I heard Yuki had been found. I rushed back to the Butterfly Mansion as soon as I heard... How is she doing now?"

"She's stable for the time being, but she's in a coma..."

Giyu let out a deep sigh, before sitting down in a chair next to Rengoku, "DO you know how long she'll be like this?"

"Unfortunately not... Shinobu said it could last weeks..."

"Do you really think she'll be in the coma for that long...?"

"I hope not... The past month without her has already been so agonizing... I don't know if I could handle another..."

Giyu was very understanding about how he felt, since he had to deal with something very similar not that long ago, "I understand where you're coming from..."

"You do...?"

"Yeah... You know that Kori and I were together, right?"

"Of course I did, Mitsuri would always be talking about it. Why do you ask?"

"Kori has been missing for 2 years now... It's been difficult for me to be without her, not knowing what happened to her."

"It's been two years already...?"

"Yes... It's hard to believe that it's been that long, but not a day passes where I don't think about her..."

Rengoku stayed silent for a while, trying to process everything Giyu had said. He sighed before looking at Giyu, "I hope we can find her, so you can at least get some closure."

"I hope so too... I just want to know what happened."

The two men sat there in silence. Neither of them knew what to say to each other. After what felt like an eternity, Rengoku finally asked a question, "Giyu... did you ever... plan to propose to Kori before she disappeared ?"

Giyu was caught off guard by the question, but it flashed him back to the day he and Yuki were going to search for answers about her family lineage. The short conversation rang back through his mind.

"Yuki... I'm wondering about something..."

"Hm? What is it Giyu?"

"Did Kori ever... tell you about me?"

"Um... not that I can think of... I've seen you picking her up to bring her on mission, but that's about it."

"I see... well, what if I told you that we weren't actually going on missions."

"Huh...? What were you guys doing then?"

"I- Uh... We were actually... going on dates..."

"I bet you both were a cute couple"

""Mitsuri thought so for sure. She is the Love Hashira after all. I was actually planning to propose to her before she went missing."

"Well, I hope we find her soon so you can pop the question. I bet she would be happy..."

"Being by my side forever..." Giyu trailed off, coming back to the present conversation with Rengoku.

"Giyu, are you alright?"

"Sorry... Just reminiscing on an old conversation I had with Yuki... but to answer your question, yes, I did plan to propose to Kori..."

"Do you think we'll ever find her?"

"At this point... I can't say if we will or not... it's been such a long time since she disappeared, that it isn't very likely that we will find her at this point..." Giyu then pulled a small box out of his pocket, before putting it into the palm of Rengoku's hand, "I think this will do more in your possession than in mine."

"But Giyu, this is the engagement ring you planned to give to Kori... I couldn't take this from you..."

Giyu stood up from his chair, going toward the door, but standing in the hall, looking back at Rengoku, "I know how much you care for Yuki, and how much you love her. I think you should keep it. Just think about it."

"Are you sure Giyu...?"

"I'm sure. I'll leave you be for now, but feel free to talk to me if you need."

Giyu walked away from the Med Bay, leaving Rengoku alone with Yuki once more. He looked down at the small ring box in his hand, before looking at Yuki again, "Maybe I will propose... Once the time is right"