× ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪɴᴅ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴍɪx × || REMAKE

1【Talk.】

He couldn't help but keep his head down at the Hashira meeting. He hated making eye contact with the other Hashira members. Especially Shinazugawa. Every time Tomioka looked at him he always thought the wind Hashira just wanted to rip him limb from limb. Which he did. He made it very clear, but just because Tomioka was scared to talk to them didn't mean he didn't want to talk to them.

maybe if I made a comment about their looks. they would want to talk to me.

His mouth wouldn't move though. His head didn't either. the only thing working was his ability to hear, his body couldn't move, and the feeling of anxiety caught up to him. He started to feel like he was losing control of himself. Sharp pains in his chest as his body started to shake and sweat.

What if they ignore me?

What if they don't want to talk to me and turn me down?

What if they-

"Tomioka-san.?"

Tomioka was startled by the sudden voice that broke him from his potential anxiety attack. Almost immediately shooting his head up. Say something, answer her. He looked at the bubbly girl that was now standing Infront of him with a bright smile. She looked pretty concerned for the Hashira, but she decided to give him a chance to say at least hello. Tomioka couldn't help but fidget with his fingers slowly tilting his head down, hiding his eyes behind his bangs.

"H- ello..." He spoke nothing above a whisper. When he said a word, his thoughts started to fill in his head again.

He always thought that his voice sounds a bit creepy and scary, and that's why no one wanted to talk to him.

It nearly scared him to death when the love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, jumped up and cheered when he spoke. "Hello Tomioka!" Her cheeks were bright red when she talked to him, He couldn't help but be shocked and confused. Suddenly the dark aura around her disappeared.

"Why are you standing here all alone? You should come talk to everyone!" She suggested, grabbing hold of Tomioka's hand, guiding him towards the small crowd. This action was certainly louder than her words. Once, she grabbed him he couldn't help but flinch, the contact of Mitsuri touching his hand caught the Hashira off guard. Mitsuri looked back at Tomioka with a soft, accepting smile. "Alright then..." She took a seat on the ground, in a side saddling position. "We can talk amongst each other then!"

He took a deep breath in before sitting down, with his hands resting on his lap.

...

The conversation was mostly the love Hashira talking about the other Hashira and how they were all different in their own way. Tomioka on the other hand just listened with his cheeks heating up. At this point, he was in a more comfortable position, with his knees to his chest hiding his mouth as he watched Mitsuri talk non-stop. It feels... nice listening to her talk. His eyes narrowed. She reminds me of...

Tsutako...

An image of his sister popped up into his head without warning as he watched Mitsuri. Unaware of the tears forming and falling down his cheeks. It took Mitsuri seconds to realize what was happening to Tomioka. "Oh no! Tomioka-san?? Are you ok?" She started to panic as she moved closer to him to rub his back. "Was it something I said...?"

Tomioka could only hide his face as he pulled his knees closer to his chest, sobbing and sniffling. Mitsuri's face went from panic to a soft smile, as she rubbed his back in a motion where her nails were moving in circles and luckily it helped loosen Tomioka up a bit.

"Hey Tomioka..." She whispers. "Wanna know what I do when I cry, hm?" Tomioka slowly turned his head towards the girl, as if he was saying "sure." She smiled at the action. "Before I was a Hashira, I used to cry a lot you see." She continued to rub his back. "I always told myself that yeah, it was health to cry but it wasn't healthy to keep all the pain bottled up inside of me." Tomioka lifted his head off of his knees, as he loosened his grip of himself. "So, I went to talk to my parents about it, it helps me a lot. Soo..."

"Let's talk."

The world for Tomioka went silent for a few moments after Mitsuri said that one word. His eyes widened, before he slowly let go of his knees and gently lowered them to the ground. "Take your time." She slowed down her motion of her hand on his back and slowly came to stop to let him focus on his words. He didn't make eye contact at all because it made him nervous.

"You..." His eyes hid behind his bangs. "You reminded me of my big sister." He was able to say with being nervous. "She talked to me... a lot." Mitsuri was the one watching and listening now. "She would always come home and tell me how her day was." His voice cracked and it came out very quiet yet soft. Mitsuri was having trouble hearing him, but she decided to just stay quiet and try to make out any word he said.

When Tomioka stopped talking, Mitsuri took the chance to say something. "What happened to her?" Tomioka bit his cheek among hearing the question. His thoughts were coming back to him as he tried a bit harder to control his tears. "She died... protecting me." Mitsuri almost instantly gasped when she heard the only words that she heard clearly out of Tomioka's mouth.

He was pulled into a warm and loving embrace. His eyes went wide, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching him. His face went soft, and his pupils relaxed at the contact. It took a while, but Tomioka started to hug Mitsuri back, slightly relaxing his eyes.

After a few moments, the hug was over. It felt like seconds for Tomioka, but it was mere minutes for Mitsuri.

The time has come for what they were really all summoned here for, the meeting amongst the 9 Hashira. Mitsuri stood up, before sticking her hand out to help him up. It didn't take long for Tomioka to grab hold of her hand. His hand is so cold... She pulled him up to his feet with a soft smile, leaving him there to walk to her placement in the line, slowly followed by Tomioka.

HOW WAS THAT? I THINK THIS IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER ONE. I WANNA SEE WHAT YOU GUYS THINK THOUGH.

1093 WORDS.