Secret of the Spider Lily

Chapter 33 - A Final Resting Spot

Yuki and Giyu had spent the night at Yuki's old home. Neither of them had gotten any sleep that night due to the endless thoughts running through their heads. Giyu had been pacing back and forth around the perimeter of the house, while Yuki laid in a sleeping bag inside of the home. She stared out the window, looking at the night sky that was covered by dark clouds. A numbness had crept into Yuki's features and mood, and Giyu could feel the tension in the air. It was thick enough to cut with a nichirin blade. Giyu wanted to try and comfort her, but he also didn't want to disturb her and make things worse.

That night was painfully slow for the both of them, and neither of them were able to get any sort of rest. Once the sun had risen, they packed their gear and started their trek back. The silence in the air was deafening to the both of them, but neither wanted to utter a single word. Yuki's eyes were swollen from the endless hours of crying, and the lack of sleep only made her exhaustion worse.

After hours of travel, they finally made it back to the Butterfly Mansion. Yuki felt the exhaustion hit her like a ton of bricks. She had started to slow down in her pace, and Giyu quickly took notice. He went next to her, putting his arm around her waist to support her, "Come on, you need to get some rest..."

Yuki tried to push him away, not really wanting his help, "I'm fine... I don't need any help..." she pushed him away, but soon started to stumble forward.

Giyu quickly grabbed her again, tightening the grip from before to not let her fall, "No, Yuki, you're not fine. You're so exhausted that you can barely keep yourself upright. I'm taking you to the Med Bay and you aren't going to argue with me about it."

Yuki groaned as Giyu pulled her along, not wanting his help at all. She tried to pull away from him again, but he kept his hold firm. He dragged her into the Med Bay, seeing that Shinobu was inside treating another slayer at the time. Shinobu's eyes widened seeing Yuki in such an exhausted state, before she sent the young slayer on their way.

Giyu had laid Yuki down on one of the exam beds as Shinobu walked toward them. She looked incredibly worried before pulling Giyu outside of the Med Bay, "What the hell happened to her?!"

Giyu sighed before he quietly spoke back, not wanting Yuki to overhear, "We... figured out what happened to Kori..."

Shinobu's eyes widened, before placing a hand on Giyu's shoulder, "She's... not with us anymore... is she...?"

Giyu nodded, trying to hold back the tears forming in his eyes, "Y-Yeah... b-but... Yuki is taking it so bad, b-because..." Giyu was having such a hard time getting his words out, but through sobs, he managed to get it out, "S-She... killed her..."

Shinobu's eyes went wide as she covered her mouth from the shock. She started to tear up as well, "Y-Yuki... killed her...?"

"Y-Yeah... Kori... she was the demon we were sent to fight and kill... Yuki dealt the finishing blow... and Kori recognized us as she was dying... she gave us her final words... telling us how much she loved us... before she burned to ash..."

Shinobu could hear Yuki sobbing from where they were in the hall, and she couldn't help but feel so sorry for her, "I-I'm so sorry... I-I know that you must be in a lot of pain... both of you..."

Giyu could only nod, looking back at the entrance of the Med Bay, sighing once more, "Yeah... I know that we both are hurting right now... however, I'm in nowhere near as much pain as Yuki..."

"I know... she could be like this for months..." Shinobu muttered, looking back at the door one last time, before an idea came to her mind, "let's call the rest of the Hashira here. We can plan a small funeral for Kori, and put her to rest..."