After The Rain

"That makes it the third time I've won against you." She prodded him in the back, face beaming. The faint hum of cicadas prowling in the grass and the hoot of an Ural owl forming a melody that followed the two, the forest all but silent. Ancient boles of Japanese cypress soared high overhead, their shadows outlined in shreds of silver, and red-brown trunks spotted with fields of peat and white mushroom: She felt the urge to scale their branches, jump from tree to tree just like that fateful day where she had first met Tanjiro and Nezuko, and fought with Giyuu under the watchful gaze of the night. But he was heaving from exertion, and she could feel the strain of exhaustion settling into her thin arms. They were exhausted, and the road to the Butterfly Estate was long yet.

"No." He said, marching forward. His face was largely expressionless, but Shinobu had been with him long enough to see the nuances in his behaviour. Chiefly, it was the way he pursed his lips that piqued her attention. Giyuu was still reeling from the excitement and rush of battle, but she noticed that he was thinking about something, something that irked him. "It's the second."

She glanced at him, eyeing his stature. His shoulders were drooping inwards as though he carried a burden, his footsteps still heavy and off-set. No, this wasn't what bothered him. It was too small.

He'll tell me, in time.

For now, she cleared her throat.

"You say large words for a man who would've died that day, had my blade been coated in poison." Her voice was lilting and sweet, like the sticky malt sugar Aoi would pull from a tree branch until tight and taut. "I had grazed you enough times to make it a win. I assumed you knew this."

He shivered. If he was any other person, he would be smiling. Shinobu wanted to poke him further, but she was no fool without tact or respect, and she watched as Giyuu opened his mouth.

"Point taken."

They came across a gurgling creek with water running so clear a blue, they could see the tumbling faces of green rock beneath its surface, swimming to form a moss-bound path across the water's edge. Giyuu took a step forward, until Shinobu let out a cough. She looked expectantly at the other man, mouth twisted into a saccharine smile.

"My, my." She asked. "Aren't you forgetting something?" One would say that there was ice behind her teasing words. But then again, there was always a hint of temper in her speech — it was just one of her many mannerisms. They were friends who understood each other, or, at least, Shinobu considered them friends... Even if she would never admit it. She only could wonder if Giyuu felt the same.

He let out a small grumble, holding out his hand. She took it, and they began to navigate across the stream, tip-toeing across the stones with practiced grace. Shinobu let go as Giyuu, lost in thought, took one wrong step and fell into the water with a splash, floundering in the shallow bight that now stained his patterned haori in shades of water-stained deep. He cursed as she giggled at his expense.

"Something is bothering you." She said this time, hopping towards the river bank and helping him up. He looked to her with a slightly accusing expression, which she promptly ignored. Dusting off his black uniform, he fiddled with the grey buttons like Mitsuri did, during the pillar meetings.

"What?" He blanched. Cute. She swatted the thought away as quick as it came.

"Don't take me for a fool." Shinobu motioned towards him, eyebrows furrowing slightly. Really? Was he this much of an idiot? "Something must be wrong. You aren't usually the type that falls into rivers for no reason." A small, snide look settled onto her face. "Or are you just always that clumsy, Hm, Giyuu?"

He paused, giving her a deadpan look. She met it with a sugary smile.

"I..." He finally murmured, looking up at her. "...I have a question."