"You what?" Giyuu asked.
"I love you too Giyuu." Shinobu repeated.
"You... you..." Giyuu stuttered.
"Look at you stuttering, you're so cute. Isn't it supposed to be the woman who's stunned at the man's confession?" Shinobu teased.
Truthfully her heart was beating just as fast as his was. Feelings such as happiness, relief and worry all fought for control inside of her.
Giyuu went to say something but saw Shinobu's head begin to sway.
"The effects are taking hold, I'm afraid you'll have to take care of me for a little while." Shinobu said, a small smile on her face.
Giyuu watched as Shinobu's eyes rolled back and closed. The woman passed out and began to fall from her chair.
Giyuu snapped into action and moved to catch her before she fell to the floor. Unfortunately due to his own weak body he collapsed, sending them both to the floor.
Giyuu groaned as his back hit the ground, sending waves of pain up and down his spine.
He looked around the room and attempted to lift himself and Shinobu off the floor but failed. He sighed as he realised there was only one option left.
"AOI!" He called out.
A few short moments later Giyuu heard a soft knock at the door.
"May I come in?" Aoi asked politely.
Receiving no response, Aoi quickly opened the door and looked around the room, assuming the worst. She saw Giyuu and Shinobu laying in a compromising position and quickly averted her eyes.
"Oh... Um... I'm sorry, I didn't realise you two were so busy... I'll just leave you two alone." Aoi said awkwardly.
"She has passed out." Giyuu said.
"Oh... wow." Aoi said, a red tint decorating her cheeks as her thoughts roamed.
"I didn't realise you two were getting along so well. It appears I was worried for nothing." She continued.
"What?" Giyuu asked, confused.
"She passed out and I cannot lift her, my back won't let me." Giyuu said.
Aoi internally face palmed at her earlier thoughts and helped Shinobu off Giyuu. She moved her over to the bed that was set up in Shinobu's lab and laid her down.
"What happened?" Aoi asked.
Giyuu thought to himself for a moment. He hated lying to Aoi under any circumstances, but Shinobu had specifically said she did not want anyone knowing about what she did.
"She said she was feeling tired." Giyuu said hesitantly.
Aoi turned and looked at Giyuu and noticed the pained look on his face but ignored it, thinking it was due to his back pain.
"That makes sense, as I'm sure you know she's no stranger to overworking herself." Aoi said, checking over Shinobu.
Giyuu noticed her moving towards Shinobu's arm and quickly spoke up, diverting her attention away.
"Aoi, I am in a lot of pain, could you please help me off the floor." Giyuu said.
Aoi turned away from Shinobu's body and quickly helped Giyuu up, sitting him in a chair next to the bed.
"Sorry Giyuu-sama." Aoi said, checking to make sure he was okay.
"So, did you two make up yet?" Aoi asked.
"Yes, we did." Giyuu said, a small red blush appearing on his cheeks.
"I'm glad, it's going to make the rest of your stay here so much less awkward." Aoi said with a slight laugh.
"Yes, it will." Giyuu agreed.
"Are you alright, did you fall over or anything? Even though Shinobu-sama is very light I'm sure the extra weight was uncomfortable for you." Aoi asked.
"I'm fine, you can get back to what you were doing, I'll head back to my room once she wakes up." Giyuu said.
"Are you sure? I don't have much left to do, it's no trouble." Aoi asked.
"Yes, I will be alright. If I need any help I'll call out to you." Giyuu said.
"Okay then, I'll be back once I'm finished." Aoi said.
She began to walk out of the room when she remembered something and turned around to look at Giyuu again.
"Giyuu-sama, did you give her the charm yet?" Aoi asked.
"Not yet." Giyuu answered.
"I see, maybe I'll give you two some extra time alone then." Aoi suggested.
"I would... appreciate that." Giyuu said slightly embarrassed by his students implications.
"Then consider it done, take as long as you two need." Aoi said, leaving the two alone.
He's totally gonna confess. Aoi thought, having no idea how right she was.
Giyuu looked at unconscious Shinobu and smiled. He couldn't help it, he didn't mean to confess but hearing her say it back had butterflies fluttering in his stomach and his heart jumping.
Giyuu attempted to stand but the familiar strain forced him back into his chair. Accepting his fate he leaned into the chair and began to think about what to say.
She loves me too? I was only supposed to give her the charm and leave, this is crazy. He thought.
He looked at Shinobu and saw the woman had passed out with a smile on her face. Her chest rose and fell at a steady rate which allowed him to worry about her a little less.
But where do we go from here? I mean we both love each other, so does that mean.... He thought, his face growing red.
Wait there's more important things to take care of first. Giyuu thought, looking over at the poison bottle on the table.
A few minutes passed with Giyuu struggling internally thinking about what to do when Shinobu began to stir in her sleep.
Giyuu watched as Shinobu's eyes slowly opened. Shinobu stretched her body and turned to look at Giyuu.
"Tomioka-san, what are you doing here?" Shinobu asked.
Giyuu's eyes widened at the question.
She doesn't remember? Giyuu thought.
"I came in to talk to you. I saw you... taking the poison. Then we...." Giyuu said.
"What are you talking about?" Shinobu asked, sitting up from the bed and looking him in the eyes.
"But... we..." Giyuu tried to say.
"We what?" Shinobu asked.
Shinobu continued to look at her and felt saddened. As conflicted as he was about the confessions, he couldn't deny his feelings for her.
"I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone." Giyuu conceded, attempting to stand up.
Giyuu began to stand up until he felt a hand grab his and heard Shinobu chuckle to herself. He turned back and saw her smiling face.
"You're really giving up on me that easily?" Shinobu asked
Giyuu looked at her confused and Shinobu continued to laugh quietly.
"I remember everything Giyuu. You're just very easy to tease." Shinobu said.
Giyuu still looked a bit confused by her and Shinobu rolled her eyes but kept her smile. She grabbed his hand harder and made him sit back down in the chair.
"I suppose I should stop teasing you, you're so easily confused." She continued.
As Giyuu relaxed into the chair a little Shinobu released his hand. The two looked at each other in the eyes and Shinobu smiled at him.
"Are you okay?" Giyuu asked.
"What do you mean?" Shinobu replied.
"You just look a little different." Giyuu answered.
"Is there something wrong with the way I look?" Shinobu asked.
"No... of course not... It's just." Giyuu stuttered, attempting to navigate his way through Shinobu's loaded question.
Shinobu began to laugh again at the flustered Giyuu, finding his awkward situation incredibly amusing.
"Relax, I'm only teasing. I promise that's the last one." Shinobu said.
Giyuu took a breath of relief and cursed his current situation. The woman had him trapped in some sick game where she continued to tease him which delighted her and terrified him.
"So, are you okay?" Giyuu asked, resetting the tone of the conversation.
"The poison itself isn't lethal to humans if that is what you're asking." Shinobu answered.
"You said it wouldn't kill you. But it clearly has some fairly severe side effects." Giyuu said.
"You're right. As I said before it leaves me extremely weak. The most common symptoms are nausea, fatigue and sometimes causes unconsciousness. I also feel very lightheaded, it's almost as if I'm drunk so I apologise if my speech is slurred. This time I increased the dosage so the symptoms have set in a lot quicker and they're stronger than they were before." Shinobu explained.
"So you're not okay?" Giyuu asked sadly.
"I appreciate your concern but don't worry, I just need to rest." Shinobu said.
Giyuu nodded and a small silence set in between them, both of them being unsure of how to proceed.
"Thank you for putting me in the bed, it must have been difficult with your injuries." Shinobu said, breaking the silence.
"I didn't, it was Aoi." Giyuu admitted.
"What?" Shinobu asked, slightly panicked.
"I didn't tell her. She assumed you were too tired from overworking yourself. I was too weak to stand by myself and I didn't know how long you'd be unconscious for. I... was worried, and I didn't want you sleeping on the floor." Giyuu said, avoiding eye contact with her.
Shinobu calmed down and smiled at his act of generosity.
"Thank you." She said, the two going silent again.
The two couldn't make eye contact with each other and an awkward atmosphere rose in the room.
"Did you mean it?" Giyuu asked, still looking away from her.
"Mean what?" Shinobu asked.
"That you love me?" Giyuu asked, his face lighting up, forcing Shinobu to stifle a laugh at the sight.
"I see you're the type of person who needs constant affirmation." Shinobu joked, earning nothing in response from Giyuu.
"Yes, I mean it." Shinobu said.
A smile threatened to appear on Giyuu's face but the man supressed it, an act that did not go unnoticed by Shinobu.
"You're allowed to smile you know? Besides, I think your smile is quite cute." Shinobu said.
Giyuu allowed the smile to take over and Shinobu chuckled at his effort.
"I guess we should stop dancing around it, if we're going to move forward, we need to talk about the meeting." Shinobu said, her tone taking a more serious turn.
Giyuu sighed and turned in his chair, causing the two to the meet eyes.
"I'm sorry, it was wrong of me." Giyuu said.
"No, it's not all your fault." Shinobu responded quickly, confusing Giyuu a little.
"I realised my feelings for you some time before the meeting, and I didn't handle the thought of you giving up your own life well. I believe that's why I reacted the way I did, so for that I apologise." Shinobu admitted.
"No, you don't have to..." Giyuu began to say.
"But I do." Shinobu interrupted.
"You had saved those children and made that pledge long before the meeting. You tried to tell me that but I shot you down. I was too angry to even listen. I took it personally when it had nothing to do with me." Shinobu continued.
"No, I still made the decision when we were friends. You had taken care of me and we were close, so it was selfish of me to disregard any negative impacts that decision would bring. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time but there were better ways to handle the situation." Giyuu said.
"You know, I've been going over this scenario in my head for a while now, and in each one you reacted the exact same way you're acting now." Shinobu admitted.
"What do you mean?" Giyuu asked.
"Even though the way I reacted was extreme and hurtful, I knew you'd still try and take all the blame for yourself." Shinobu said with a small laugh.
"You do know me better than anyone else, perhaps even better than I know myself." Giyuu replied, a small smile on his face.
"I guess I do." Shinobu joked.
"I'm sorry." The two said in unison, causing Shinobu to laugh and Giyuu to smile.
After Shinobu stopped laughing she took a quick breath and smiled a content smile.
"I'm glad we got that over with, it's been weighing on me for a while now. Now that it's over we can finally move on, that's enough heavy conversation for one day." Shinobu said happily.
Giyuu went silent and looked at the ground awkwardly which was eventually noticed by Shinobu.
"What's wrong, are you feeling okay?" Shinobu asked.
Giyuu was fighting a small battle inside his mind, his thoughts clashing and fighting for control of his actions.
He wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose but she was moving on and trying to end their serious conversation before they started talking about her poisoning herself.
Two actions became clear in Giyuu's mind.
He could go along with her plan to end the heavy conversation there and move on. Or, he could say what he was thinking and bring up the poisoning again.
If he allowed the conversation to end it would most likely make whatever came next with their relationship easier. Shinobu would be happy and they could leave today on a happy note with both of them reconciling after their argument. But he would be ignoring the horrifying act he had learned of today.
If he brought up the poisoning it would more than likely lead to another dispute. Perhaps not an argument of the same type as their argument at the meeting, but still an emotionally charged and draining one.
How would this impact their newly developing feelings? Would she still love him if he continued to fight against her decision? Would this be the end of their friendship?
Even with all the risks, if he managed to stop her from hurting herself it would be worth the consequences.
Shinobu placed a hand on his shoulder and Giyuu turned and looked at her. She smiled at him and he saw the genuine and kind smile that he had fallen in love with. The pure innocence and beauty of the look convinced Giyuu of what needed to be done.
Even if it meant she hated him, he needed to do everything he could to get her to stop.
"We need to talk about the poison." Giyuu said, a determined look on his face.
Shinobu sighed at his words as she realised her plan to avoid the conversation did not work.
"You're hurting yourself, please stop." Giyuu pleaded.
"It won't kill me." Shinobu said.
"Yes it will." Giyuu said.
"The side effects aren't lethal, I've said this multiple times now." Shinobu argued.
"But the thought behind it is." Giyuu argued.
Shinobu went silent at the argument and Giyuu took a deep breath before continuing.
"You're resigning yourself to death with what you're doing. It doesn't matter if the poison isn't killing you, you're planning to die." Giyuu said.
"It's what I have to do." Shinobu said.
"No. You don't." Giyuu argued.
"Who are you to say that?" Shinobu asked angrily.
"That thing murdered my sister and I'm not strong enough to kill it. The only way I can avenge her is this way, I don't care what it does to me." Shinobu said, a tear emerging from her eye.
"But I do." Giyuu said, looking her in the eyes.
"I care what it does to you. I don't want to lose you, especially not like this." Giyuu pleaded.
"I'm doing it for her." Shinobu argued.
"I didn't know your sister that well, but if anything about her was obvious, it was how much she loved her sister." Giyuu said.
Shinobu continued to cry. She had kept her emotions surrounding Kanae buried for so long but this conversation brought them all to the surface.
"Is this what she would want?" Giyuu asked.
"Don't you dare." Shinobu said angrily.
"It has to be said." Giyuu protested.
"We may have worked things out but I can only tolerate so much." Shinobu warned.
"I don't care." Giyuu said, shocking Shinobu.
"I don't care if you hate me or never talk to me again. If it means you're alive I'll accept the consequences." Giyuu said seriously.
Shinobu remained quiet for a moment and Giyuu continued.
"If you die, then what have you really accomplished? You said yourself your sister wanted you to quit the corps, so what would she think of this plan? You're condemning yourself to be killed at the hands of the very same demon that murdered her. It's not what she would have wanted" Giyuu added.
Shinobu still stayed silent, processing what Giyuu was saying.
"We'll find another way, it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it doesn't involve you hurting yourself. So please... promise me you'll stop." Giyuu begged.
Shinobu looked at his face, his typically calm and stoic demeanour replaced with a look of desperation and gave a sad smile.
"Please." Giyuu repeated.
"I guess I'm just a big hypocrite." Shinobu said, letting out a single sad laugh.
"What are you talking about?" Giyuu asked.
"I was so angry when you offered your life, yet here I am refusing to stop my plan to give up my own." Shinobu explained.
The thought caused her to let out another small laugh before continuing to speak.
"I'll stop." Shinobu said, causing Giyuu to smile.
"Thank you." Giyuu said.
"You're right, this isn't what she would have wanted." Shinobu conceded.
"I'm sorry if what I said hurt you, I just... wanted you to stop." Giyuu said.
"You don't need to apologise. You said what needed to be said." Shinobu reassured him.
"Well, now it's up to you to help me come up with another plan to kill that demon. So if you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them." Shinobu said.
Giyuu went silent as he realised, he had no ideas and Shinobu laughed at the confused look on the man's face.
"You put all that effort into stopping me yet you have no idea of how to help me." Shinobu said, still laughing at him.
"I wasn't concerned with coming up with another plan, you were my main priority." Giyuu admitted, looking away due to his slight embarrassment.
Shinobu stopped laughing and smiled warmly at the thought.
"For someone who's so clueless about his own feelings you can be very romantic when you try." Shinobu said.
Giyuu looked up at her and saw her smiling. He returned the smile and the two settled in a small silence.
"Maybe I can help you." Giyuu suggested.
"And how would you accomplish that?" Shinobu asked.
"I'll fight the demon with you." Giyuu answered.
"It's not like we get to decide when we fight a demon so that may prove to be impossible." Shinobu said.
"Then I'll just go on missions with you until we find it." Giyuu replied.
"So clingy already, and to think we've only just started dating." Shinobu joked.
Giyuu's face went bright red at that line and Shinobu couldn't help but laugh again at the mans' reaction.
"What are you so embarrassed for?" Shinobu asked.
"Are we... dating?" Giyuu asked, his face still red and being unable to make eye contact with woman.
Shinobu laughed louder at his question.
"We both just confessed our love for each other. Dating is typically the next natural step." Shinobu said.
"Oh... that makes sense." Giyuu said.
"You really are new to this aren't you?" Shinobu asked.
"I've never loved someone before." Giyuu admitted.
Shinobu smiled warmly at the man, both entertained by his antics and touched by his words. She continued to look at him as he was still unable to make eye contact and an idea formed in her head.
Giyuu was still staring off into the room, looking at nothing in particular when he felt a pair of hands wrap around his face.
Shinobu turned his head to face and leant in towards him.
Giyuu froze as he realised what was happening.
Shinobu placed a small kiss on his lips. A simple and quick act that sealed their new feelings and officially ended the awkward stage of their friendship that had set in after their argument.
Shinobu pulled back and saw the stunned look on Giyuu's face, smiling at the genuine and adorable reaction.
"I am glad I am your first then." Shinobu said with a smile.
Giyuu finally recovered from his shocked state and smiled at her.
"I don't think it could have been anyone else." Giyuu responded.
"I suppose I am pretty amazing." Shinobu joked.
"Yes you are." Giyuu sweetly said.
Shinobu smiled and hugged the man.
"I have something for you." Giyuu said.
Shinobu let him go and Giyuu reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and handed it to her.
"What is it?" Shinobu asked.
"It's actually what I came here to give you." Giyuu said.
Shinobu slowly opened the box and pulled out the flower charm, immediately smiling at the gift.
"It's for your blade, you attach it on the Kashira (End cap of a katana)." Giyuu explained.
"It's beautiful." Shinobu said, still admiring the gift.
"I'm glad you like it." Giyuu said.
Shinobu placed the charm back in the box and put it to the side for later.
"I meant what I said. I'll stay with you on missions until we find the demon that killed your sister." Giyuu said.
"Well you'll have to heal first, you aren't going to be of any help in your current state." Shinobu said with a laugh.
Giyuu looked away again an embarrassed look on his face.
"Don't worry, how about tomorrow we have our first date and I will take over your training for a day." Shinobu suggested.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Giyuu asked, his face red at her mentioning a date.
"Don't worry, just go and get some rest and I will see you in the morning." Shinobu said.
With that Giyuu called out to Aoi and the girl helped him back to his room, allowing him to get a good nights rest after an emotionally draining evening.
Aoi made her way back to Shinobu's lab to check on her teacher but stopped when she saw the woman holding up and admiring the gift Giyuu had brought her.
I guess they really did make up. Aoi thought with a smile, leaving Shinobu alone for the night.
Shinobu looked at the gift for a while, then looked at the cabinet that held her poisons. She smiled at the cabinet and looked back at the gift.
Thank you Giyuu. She thought before drifting off to sleep.
Sorry the chapter took so long I am currently going through a break up so it's a lil difficult to write about romance at the moment lmao.
With that out of the way hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll see you all in the next one you beautiful people.