"Miyasha, you've exercised enough! You need rest!"
"I can still continue—" I huffed tiredly before collapsing as my hands gave out underneath me, "Okay, never mind. My weak-ass arms are useless."
"You shouldn't say things like that about yourself, Aneki!"
"Kamado is right, Miyasha!" I gave Ren-senpai a flat look as he kindly offered me a hand, "You can't bully yourself into becoming better!"
"Yeah, yeah," I brush them off almost carelessly as I stood up with his help — all the joints in my body aching and burning to the extreme while my arms shook with exhaustion, "I'll keep that in mind."
"You only keep that in mind but never actually follow it," Zenitsu quipped from his position against the wall — it was almost impressive how he could still manage to taunt me while doing his handstand perfectly.
Maybe calling it a 'finger' stand would be more accurate, considering how only two of his fingers were actually supporting his whole upside-down frame.
"Y'all brutal, oof," I joked as I collapsed on the familiar porch of the Rengoku Estate, "Taunting me while doing that? Damn, showing off much, eh?"
That brought on a round of chuckles as Ren-senpai guided the trio in changing their hands and repeating the handstand again, making me look at them in a daze as I wondered how much they had grown.
It has been about two months since we started training in Rengoku Estate and honestly, it definitely had been one of my best decisions if I did say so myself.
The Trouble Trio had now become quite stronger — even more so than I ever thought they could be.
In fact, their enthusiasm to learn and practice impressed me; even Rengoku-sensei was surprised at their vigorous selves, though, not in a bad way.
"Why are you sitting here?" I turned to look back as I felt Rengoku-sensei approach us swiftly from within the Estate, "Are you done with your push-ups?"
"...kinda?"
"And how many did you manage before you collapsed?"
"Twenty-nine," I sighed as he took a seat beside me; I hated how good he was getting at predicting my actions, "I almost made through to thirty but Ren-senpai distracted me."
"Your hands were already shaking way before that, Miyasha!" Ren-senpai added good-naturedly, his eyes twinkling as his father directed a flat look towards me, "I was only asking you to not push yourself beyond your limit, again!"
"I was fine~!" I whined jokingly as both father and son shook their heads at me; the relationship dynamics of this household had improved by leaps and bounds, and I was quite proud to see it.
Especially since it meant seeing Ren-senpai being more carefree and relaxed while Senjuro too started acting more natural and joyful around his father.
"No matter how much effort you put in, acting in opposition to your nature is simply counterproductive, Sarota." Sensei pointed out bluntly as he stood up to go inside, "If you keep this up, you will lose the little progress you have gained these past two months."
"Well, then maybe I should simply align my efforts following my nature, shouldn't I?" I quipped back as I was suddenly handed a flask of water by him, "Ah, thank you so much, sensei."
"Doing too much would not help you," he sternly pointed out before sighing and looking ahead at the boys training in the yard, "I know you are not satisfied with your progress, but you can't push your body to do something that it wasn't made to do."
"I know," I took a deep breath, "Trust me, sensei, I know. It's just, I'm attempting to be a bit optimistic, if you may call it as such."
"Then be cautiously optimistic because what you are doing is only going to damage your body further," Sensei stated ruthlessly as I made a face at him while drinking the water from his offered flask.
To be honest, I knew he was right — my body had its own disadvantages and pushing it beyond its breaking point would only widen the gap instead of covering it.
And while I did know that, it still frustrated me beyond anything — especially after I got to know how moving my joints had slowly started turning quite painful after any strenuous training involving my joints.
'And this all started after that off-brand Michael Jackson tried to use me as bait to distract Tanjiro.'
It was still a theory but even its possibility made me feel like I was useless and stupid as fuck.
"You should focus on your hand-to-hand combats more."
"Eh?" I focused back onto reality at sensei's voice, "But I thought those are useless in demon slaying?"
"No, they aren't," he stated confidently as he kept observing the boys' training, "They will help you enhance your strength and make your flow better."
"But I thought you said my flow was way better now?"
"Well," He gave me that very familiar sour look of his as he continued, "Practice makes a man perfect and in your case, perfection is desperately needed since your blood doesn't even allow you to fight close range safely and yet you insist to do exactly that."
All I could do was give him a sheepish smile as his daily nagging started up again. It made me almost regret not telling him about it myself first. Almost.
'Those bastard twins,' I cussed silently as my eyes went back to Zenitsu whining while rubbing his fingers gingerly, 'If only they had kept their traps shut when they visited.'
To be honest, that whole incident was a series of disasters whose consequences still haunted me — from Rengoku-sensei learning about the shenanigans I and the trio had gotten into for the past few months to the twins learning how rude as hell I was acting here.
'I still don't get why the fuck they had suddenly visited me like that.'
The only working theory I had was that they came to visit me at the Butterfly Estate and noticed me missing — but even that didn't justify them following me here.
To be honest, I shouldn't have expected anything better from those overprotective asses but, oh well. At least they were behaving themselves now.
I jolted back to avoid the flying wooden sword coming at me before I heard Senjuro yell beside me.
"F-Father!"
"Your senses are at least sharp, I see," I glared at Rengoku-sensei as he threw another wooden sword at me which I caught with much disdain, "Did you feel the aura lingering on it first or was it from your instincts?"
"It was from my wariness for you, sensei."
That made him laugh shamelessly while Senjuro gave him the same look as I was directing at him.
"Looks like your father needs professional help, Senjuro-kun," I off-handedly commented, making the younger Rengoku's lips quirk in a quick smile as he handed me a bun.
"Eat something, Miyasha-san," He gave me a closed-eye smile as he placed the tray beside me, "You've been training since the early morning, without taking any breaks."
"Nah," I waves him off as I bit into the sweet bun, "I did take breaks — you just didn't notice."
"I could see you from the kitchen, though."
The utter defeat I faced was bitter enough to make me slump back dramatically while Senjuro giggled at my theatrics.
To be honest, I liked this atmosphere — this calm and tranquil atmosphere that made me almost forget about what was to come. Almost.
"Oi, put more strength into that swing, you idiot!" I watched silently with a bun in my mouth as Rengoku-sensei reprimanded Inosuke and criticized his posture again — while simultaneously insulting his intelligence.
"Haaah! Shut up, you old man!"
It was almost amusing to watch the trio interacting with Rengoku-sensei after they got used to him — their brazen attitudes (especially Inosuke's) didn't seem to hinder sensei at all as he behaved with them just as brazenly.
'It's somehow different from before, though,' I mused silently as I watched Inosuke being pushed back effortlessly.
And it was true.
It was quite different than earlier when sensei interacted with the trio — it was borderline rude back then but now...
'It's almost like a banter,' Senjuro pushed another bun into my hand, making me give him a look, 'Well, a very violent banter if one wants to call it that.'
Well, at least sensei was acting more civil than before.
"Sarota! You needed someone to practice your kicks with, right? Use this boarhead!"
"...are you sure about that—?"
"Wait, father, no—"
(~<>~)
"I really think you shouldn't rush your missions like that," a large hand brushed my hair behind my ear from the back as I raised an eyebrow at him, "Seriously, stop fiddling with my hair, Tomioka-senpai."
"Yes," Giyuu smiled at me softly, not actually looking like he listened to even a word I said as he continued to hover over me as I made tea.
"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
"Yes."
"Looks like it's time for me to go—"
"I'm listening," I suppressed my smile as he looked at me with that adorable sad face of his, "Don't go?"
"Doesn't sound like that," I glowered at him playfully as I poked him in the stomach, "Now, shoo! Go sit down and let me finish up with the tea."
I smiled as he followed through with my words, sitting down on the table silently while facing me as usual. And thank Lord that I'm used to those blue eyes of his staring at me like that or else I would definitely have misunderstood them as threatening or monitoring me.
Oh, that reminded me of the time he was actually told to monitor me.
"Senpai," I tilted my head towards him as he nodded to show me he was listening, "When was the first time you saw me? I mean, when Oyakata-sama had sent you to 'look after me' and all."
"Oyakata-sama," Giyuu paused before starting again, "I met you before Oyakata-sama asked me to check on you."
"Oh?" I placed the kettle on the table before pouring the tea gently into the cups, "Was that during the time I was causing havoc with the missions and all?"
That made his lips quirk up slightly as he nodded, "Yes. The first area you were active in was under my territory."
"Territory?" I asked curiously before remembering, "Oh wait, yes, you Hashiras are allotted your own territories to look after and protect. Sorry, that skipped my mind. Please continue."
Giyuu smiled slightly as he looked at the cup I offered him and nodded, "I saw you when you were fighting the demon in the Nara District."
I gave him a blank look as he tried to explain again.
"The... merchant District? Um, water demon?"
"What do you mean by water de—" then it suddenly clicked, making me widen my eyes as I sat up straight, "Wait a second, you mean that lake demon I fought about four years ago?!"
"Yes," it was funny how relieved Giyuu looked at my realisation but unfortunately, I couldn't derive any amusement from it as my mind reeled with how he almost knew me from the moment I started demon hunting.
"Fuck," I cussed freely as I leaned back, knowing full well Giyuu wouldn't mind me doing so, "You met me four, no, almost five years ago? What the fuck?"
"I only saw you," he pointed out bluntly as he took a sip from the jasmine tea I had just brewed, "I reached when you were finished with the demon."
"Oh Lord, you even saw me use my blood then."
"Sorry, I didn't know."
His adorable apology made me smile as I waved him off, "Oh hush, there's nothing for you to apologise for. I was just surprised that the Corporation knew about me for so long. In fact, a Hashira knew about me since the very beginning of my shenanigans."
However, that also arose the question of why the Demon Slayer Corps didn't stop or try to appoint me earlier than it did.
'Was it because of Shigeno-sensei's letter, I wonder?'
Because if it was, I owed him a thank you letter as well as a gift for all the trouble he went through because of me — only for me to end up as a Demon slayer in the end. Why the hell was I struggling against it so hard, again?
"Do you," my attention snapped back to the present as Giyuu spoke almost hesitantly, "Remember seeing me?"
"Well," I smiled reassuringly at him, "I do, kinda? I mean, I remember feeling your aura around me a lot. Like, so much so that I could almost recognise you by your aura and know exactly when you were following me."
"Sorry."
"Oh hush, you were only following what Oyakata-sama asked you to do," I waved off his apology again as he slid some crackers towards me, making me smile at his attentiveness, "Thank you. Anyway, while I did know you were following me, I didn't know who exactly you were."
Giyuu tilted his head as I explained further.
"I mean, your aura was familiar to me, but your face wasn't. I had never even caught a glimpse of you no matter how hard I tried — well, honestly speaking it wasn't much hard effort either cause I was more busy running away from you than anything else."
"I know," he nodded understandingly, "But do you, ah, remember Furusato village?"
"You mean the time when you almost caught my ass in action?" I gave him a cheeky grin which he replied with an innocent nod, "Oh yes, I sure do. You almost gave me a heart attack that time, I swear."
And Lord, he sure did.
I remember back when I was about fifteen, I was still tinkering with my blood but had recently started experimenting with other herbs and chemicals. And to test the product of that, I hunted down demons like a maniac during that period.
In one of those hunting sessions of mine, I got stuck fighting over four demons at once — a worst and very unexpected situation for me since I still thought that demons couldn't group together.
Which they technically couldn't due to Muzan's cells and the mental barrier it brought with it but this case was mostly four demons having the same idea of hunting down a marechi they had somehow gotten the sniff of.
While I never got to know who that unfortunate marechi was, I had somehow managed to subdue those demons on my own and experiment on them simultaneously.
It was a win-win situation, considering that I saved whoever their target was and got four demon carcasses to test all my solutions on — which was a fortunate thing since I had quite a few of those chemical solutions and it took me longer to test on them than actually fighting them.
It was by the end of that bloody (in the most literal sense) session of mine that I felt the familiar warm aura of my occasional follower at the corner of my conscious. And while I may have not known it was Giyuu, I did have a hunch that it was someone affiliated with the Corps.
His sudden presence had genuinely surprised me at the time, making me stumble through as I quickly tried to leave the scene and disappear somewhere back in the village.
"Did you see me, then?"
I frowned while pushing my glasses up my nose as I tried to remember if I did ever get a glimpse of him, "Not really, no. I don't think I ever saw you — only felt your aura. That was the only way I knew you before you, well, saved me from that father spider demon."
That was definitely not a moment I was proud of either, since I was stupid and panicked enough to literally forget about using my blood against that blasted demon.
Giyuu shook his head, "I didn't save you."
"Senpai," I gave him a look that made him instantly realize what he was doing.
"Sorry."
"Ayo, I didn't say that to make you apologise," this time, it was me who shook my head, "And you don't need to apologise for everything. Well, I'm not the best person to say that to you but, oh well. Denying anyone appreciating you or stating your accomplishments is not healthy, senpai. Remember what we discussed last time?"
"Yes," he nodded as he continued obediently, "I should let people appreciate me."
"And," I patted his arm over the table, "Don't let your deprecating, negative inner thoughts overrule you, yeah? They are not right nor are they good for you."
Giyuu nodded softly before moving his empty cup away and laying his head lightly on my hand, almost as if cradling my hand while enjoying my touch at the same time.
His whole posture looked so vulnerable that I couldn't help but gently caress his head.
For the past two months, I've been visiting Giyuu's estate almost regularly — giving him pep talks and budget-therapy sessions over tea and random talks.
And, quite surprisingly, he has been very receptive and quick at picking up things; in fact, he was an even better listener than the twins, which was a literal blessing.
My heart melted when Giyuu suddenly tilted his head to lean into my touches, his eyes looking at me almost lazily while he gave me a small smile.
Have I mentioned how he had become much more confident than before? I mean, maybe confident wasn't the right word, but it was almost similar to that.
He was much more open about his emotions now and way more vocal with his questions about anything he was unsure about, specifically about his feelings and inner voice.
And while he was still working on his self-image and inferiority issues, his efforts genuinely made me proud of him.
If only I had even half the motivation as he did.
"Tanjiro was saying he'll visit you tomorrow," I informed him suddenly as I was just reminded of it, "I don't know exactly why though but he only asked me to notify you so."
"...movements," Giyuu mumbled out something that I couldn't hear much of.
"Eh?"
"He needs help with his flow and movements."
"Oh, you mean the, uh," I struggled to remember the exact term he had used back then while correcting my own forms, "I mean, to smooth out his forms and cut down on any extra movements, yeah?"
"Yes," Giyuu finally sat up straight before weaving his hand through his unruly bangs, making me involuntarily stare at him, "Will you come tomorrow...?"
"With Tanjiro? Nope," I suppressed a smile as he looked almost sadly at me, "But I'll visit you at our regular time in the evening. So, don't worry, senpai~"
I loved watching his expressions change as he slowly became more and more expressive — or maybe it was me who got more used to reading him? I don't know.
"You've done a great amount of progress in the last few weeks, senpai," I praised him as he followed me to see me out, "I know it's odd of me to say this, but I'm really proud of you for that!"
I watched with great satisfaction as the taller man averted his gaze almost shyly, making me feel mischievous while I somehow tried to suppress my urge to tease him more.
"Although, senpai," my voice came out more sombre than I intended as I continued, "Are you alright? I mean, with me doing all this — please do tell me if you ever feel uncomfortable or if you ever want me to stop, yeah? I'll hate to push you to do something you don't want or like."
"No," Giyuu shook his head as he stepped closer to me, "I like it. I like... I like how I feel now and your words. I like myself better when I'm with you."
My heart skipped as his blue eyes glimmered down at me, making my breath hitch just as the implication of his words hit me.
'This guy is gonna be the death of me,' I gave out a nervous chuckle as I patted his arm and thanked him, feeling myself flush at his words and my mind kept repeating his words.
It wasn't until I was out on the road that I stopped and covered my face to muffle my flushed face.
I was so gonna think about this for the rest of the week or so. Or even the rest of the month.
I was not yet over this crush I had on him and this bastard only made it harder for me to curb it as he kept spewing shit like this with that handsome face of his.
'He could have meant it platonically.'
Well, would he? I mean, I know he didn't have any experience in such things but in all seriousness — after this many times?
'Then again,' I rubbed my face in frustration, 'It can also be the case that he doesn't know how to differentiate between romantic and familial love?'
Okay, that thought immediately made me feel worse.
Giyuu was not ready to be in a relationship or even think about one. He was still in a stage where he found comfort in his guilty thoughts and my feelings would only add to that when he rejects me.
He didn't deserve that and I knew it.
'If only these stupid feelings of mine did,' I thought almost wryly as I entered the Butterfly Estate, my mind feeling as muddled as ever while I went through my daily motions.
(~<>~)
With days changing almost monotonously, I quickly found myself following a routine of switching from Estate to Estate of the three Hashiras as a full cycle in a day.
Well, more accurately two current Hashiras and one retired one.
And while I had a good amount of adventures during my stay in each of their residences, the most chaotic and disrupting ones usually came from the outside — specifically speaking, from the Red District.
Yes, Uzui was still in contact with me through his crow (and occasionally, my Shiori). Most of these interactions only revolved around him confirming some details or asking me for random information for his other missions.
Which came as a surprise to me since I didn't expect him to be performing other missions side-by-side with the Red District one.
Then again, he wasn't performing in this one directly either and as an Hashira, he must be swamped with missions just like Giyuu and Shinobu were.
In fact, it seemed like he had come to trust me more and more over the past two months — from his authoritative and almost rude letters in the beginning to his casual and almost teasing letters now.
At least, that's how I see it. But, then again, I didn't hope for too much.
I was glad that I at least had the basic level of familiarity with him before the arc actually began; it would make my life infinitely easier during the whole of that mission.
I mean, after how I literally helped Uzui and his three wives infiltrate the Red District indirectly by acting as a bridge between them and my informants there through Shiori, I think it's fair to expect at least some level of trust from him, right?
Well, that's what I thought for a good while before I was greeted by Uzui standing in my room as he waited for me, again.
And this time, it was way more serious than earlier since Uzui never left his post on the Red District unless given a very solid reason or a mission.
"I want you to come with me," my heart thundered as Uzui crossed the room in two long strands to approach me, "To the Flower District — now."
"Woah, woah, woah," I leaned away a bit from his much closer frame as my left hand automatically went into my right sleeve to place itself on the holster of my fan, "Let's calm down a bit first. I can't just leave without any proper information, Hashira-sama. Please explain to me what is going on so that I can help you predict the best course of action we must take, if you may?"
Thankfully, Uzui seemed a little more patient than I initially assumed as he stepped away from me and explained the whole situation — one, which I was quite familiar with due to my prior knowledge of the manga.
However, I never anticipated that Uzui will approach me directly like this — or even try to listen to me when I asked him to explain to me first since this may seem like a waste of time to him, whose wives were kidnapped by man-eating demons.
"So, your three wives went missing one-by-one throughout the past one week," I summarised, "Or more accurately, they stopped replying one-by-one, right?"
"Hai," Uzui leaned in towards me as he sat on a chair positioned at the side of the bed, "You were... right. About the demon, I mean — it is a high-level one, maybe even a Demon Moon but I cannot pinpoint it since it masks its presence too damn well."
I hummed as I mused on how to approach this dilemma despite knowing that this was gonna happen, "So, please do tell me this again, when was the last time you received a letter from one of your wives."
"Two days ago," he admitted honestly, "I was supposed to get another one today but didn't receive it."
"Did you go in and checked if they were absent from their positions?"
"I did," he sounded almost annoyed but still answered me patiently, "And they were missing. I want your help to track them and the Demon down — if not the Demon, then at least my wives before something happens to them."
Honestly, at this point, I so wanted to point it out to him that I had warned him exactly about this thing before but I didn't — for two main reasons.
First, I didn't want to agitate him any further and second, Uzui distracted me by grabbing my hand without a moment's notice, almost dragging me out with him before I interrupted him.
"I, I completely understand your haste, Hashira-sama!" I couldn't suppress the panic within my voice as I pulled back with all my strength, halting the Sound Hashira in his steps as he turned to me with an expressionless face, "But heading out like this without evaluating the situation isn't wise."
"What do you—"
"As I said before, I know the layout of the Red District quite well!" I admitted immediately, making his grip loosen on me but as I continued, "So, I can suggest to you some places your wives might be held captive — especially considering that if your wives are not contacting you, then that means either their letters are intercepted or they are in a place where they are unable to get or send you letters."
"In that case," I concluded, "It'll be better to first check out those places before confronting the demon — in that way, we can corner the demon without putting your wives in harm's way."
"What and how many places do you know within the Flower District where they can be right now?" Uzui asked me bluntly as he finally let my arm go, making me stumble back onto the bed as I didn't expect the sudden let go.
"Uh," I gave him an awkward smile as he looked at me blankly.
I immediately took out my journal and gave him the name of some of the brothels in the lower area — on the condition that if he did find any of his wives there, he was to not act; just observe and return.
"I understand your urgency," I tried to console him as he looked at the list I gave him with a strangely worried expression, "However, acting instantly without plans or proper strategy will jeopardise the lives of not only you and your wives but also the people of the district. That's why, I beg you to just listen to me this once."
Uzui turned to look at me sceptically before sighing and reluctantly agreeing.
Unfortunately, before I could add any other instructions or suggestions, he disappeared as swiftly as he appeared; leaving me behind in a state of confusion and headache as I collapsed on my bed and just covered my eyes.
"Fuck," I cussed out loud as the fact that the Red District mission had finally started hit me.
This was going to be a mess, an absolute disaster and I could already feel that.
(~<>~)
"Thank you, dearie," I smiled at Senjuro as he handed me the cup, offering me to sit on the dining table as I shook my head, "Ah, no it's fine, dearie. I have to leave anyway."
"You can stay here for the night, Miyasha!" Ren-senpai said as he entered the kitchen before instantly backtracking on his words as he saw the look I gave him, "I mean, it would be easier for you to train if you do!"
I almost huffed at his poor attempt at persuasion that he has been trying to do for a good month now.
"That sounded very misleading, senpai," I decided to tease him before shaking my head and replying in earnest, "Jokes apart though, I really can't stay any longer than I already am — mostly because the trio don't start eating unless I'm there with them to have dinner and because I still have some work to left to do back at Butterfly Estate."
That and I had a good hunch Uzui will visit me today again after how he almost dragged me out last night.
"You can..." Senjuro started shyly as I smiled at him, "...stay here in the future, though."
I patted the younger male as I smiled kindly at his sweet nature, "Sure. Though, no promises since I have a feeling I'm gonna get really busy after today."
"Ah, so Oyakata-sama finally gave you a mission?"
"Not yet," I frowned at the way he phrased his previous question — what did he mean by Oyakata-sama gave me one? Didn't only Hashiras get missions directly from him?
However, before I could him anything about it, Ren-senpai diverted the topic to the three stooges and their training — which was apparently going quite well.
So much so that even Ren-senpai was saying that they might be done training under him in the next three months or so, which is a feat even I know Mitsuri wasn't able to pull off.
Was my influence on the plot that huge?
'Well, how does it matter anyway when I want to change the plot either way, right?' And while that kept replaying in my mind, I walked down the street towards the Butterfly Estate with strange anxiety in my lower belly.
I know what was about to come and I had a basic idea of what to do about it as well but the whole thing still felt off.
As if it was too early.
Was this world even following the plot, at this point?
'The manga didn't quite mention any seasons or even a proper timeline, though,' I blew warm air into the cold atmosphere as the grey clouds above me hovered without any threat, 'Maybe it's because we live in the area of Japan where it doesn't snow?'
But the manga still didn't show any kind of changes in clothes or even events like New Year's, which was right about the corner this time.
And so was the twins' birthday.
Now that was an issue I wasn't quite sure how to address, considering how our current communication was going or lack thereof.
'What gift should I give them this year?' I thought absent-mindedly as I entered the Butterfly Estate, 'It's been years since I celebrated their birthday with them too; what will be special enough for such an occasion?'
Now, that was another thing I would need to make an extensive plan about.
'Maybe returning back alive from this mission would be a good one, eh?'
"You are late."
Uzui's voice greeted me as soon as I opened the door to the room I'd been occupying for the past few months at the Butterfly Estate.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Hashira-sama," I replied swiftly as I closed the door behind me and placed my satchel on the bed, "But I assure you, I attempted my best to be on time for your unexpected visit."
He fixed me with an unamused look at the sarcasm; I mean, what was he expecting? I even skipped going to Giyuu's residence for him today and that guy was leaving for another mission tomorrow!
"I found Hina in the Kirimise brothels," I straightened up as Uzui started promptly, his expression unreadable as he handed me a few letters that he brought with himself, "She was... poisoned."
"By the demon?" I frowned as I tried to remember the plot of the manga; wasn't this supposed to be an act or something? "Is she alright?"
"No, not by the demon," he sat down on the foot of the bed as he urged me to read the letters, "She poisoned herself when she found the demon since she couldn't do anything to get out of its monitoring. Even in that lower-class brothel, she was strapped with some kind of sash to keep an eye on her."
"I didn't touch the sash," he instantly added as I fixed him a look, "Or my wife. I only visited her and signed to her about our plan."
"Please tell me she has taken the antidote to that poisoned too, now that you know?"
"Yes," he looked at me with a strange expression as he replied, "Yes, she did and I made sure of that. She'll recover in a day or two, you don't have to worry."
I felt awful as I looked at the strange tiredness on his face; this was not a side I remember seeing in the original and that made me feel worse.
"I'm... not worrying," I decided to reply softly as I went through the letters he handed me, "I am only enquiring, Hashira-sama. Also, please tell me if these letters—"
"Yes, the demon knows about it."
My blood ran cold as I scanned the letter again; all the four letters that I was given contained information about the Demon, or rather 'Warabihime', and other small details including Uzui's involvement in the District.
"Well," I took a deep breath as I looked him right in the eyes, "This means the Demon actually did intercept your messages with your wives and knows exactly what is going on then, eh? That's good then."
"What—"
"The demon we are talking about here is not well-known for leaving her victims alive," I started explaining myself as I observed Uzui's body language keenly, "However, if one of your wives is found alive, then that means your other two wives are most likely also alive but somehow confined — waiting to be used as traps to draw you out since the demon seems to know about your presence."
I watched with wry amusement as Uzui paused and took a few moments to process my words.
"That's..." His gaze seemed to change as he leaned back and gave me a lopsided grin, "I'll be following your word on that then since this is the first time I've heard you say anything optimistic."
"I—" I gave him a dirty look as I folded back the letters I was handed, "I am not that pessimistic, what are you talking about?"
The grin he gave me had a hint of mischief as I shook my head when he continued on with the banter — Uzui seemed to have relaxed quite a bit now that he had some news about his wives.
And while that was a good thing, there was still a lot left to address and plan.
"So, when are we leaving?" I gave him a look when he blinked at me blankly, "I mean, for the Red District, Hashira-sama?"
"You still want to go?"
"Of course?" My frown deepened as Uzui straightened up.
"I thought you stopped me yesterday because you didn't want to go," Uzui raised an eyebrow at me, almost challenging me to tell him that I was wrong.
Which he wasn't, of course, and he knew it.
"I didn't want to leave right at that moment," I confessed, as I tried my best to not divert my gaze from his, "However, my hesitance was simply due to the suddenness and lack of planning. I assure you when I say I have no issues accompanying you now if needed."
"And what if I don't need it now?"
"Well, then," I tilted my head as I replied innocently, "I'll just have to go on my own since I have my own agenda too, you see."
The smile Uzui gave me was one of approval as he chuckled, "You are very interesting, Sarota. And flamboyant too."
"So, is that a yes?"
"That is a yes," he chuckled again before fixing his gaze on my journal, "But I'll need you to tell me everything you are planning to do during this mission and I mean everything."
"No issues," I smiled softly as I looked where he was looking, "My agenda is something that coincides with your goal anyway, so you may not have to worry. However, I will let you know all of my actions beforehand, you have my word."
Uzui nodded briefly as he leaned back on the bed again and seemed to think over what I said to him; meanwhile, I kept staring at him shamelessly as I felt a strong aesthetical attraction to his immaculate appearance.
Honestly, I felt like a crow staring at a shiny object as I couldn't help but keep scanning through his silver hair and beautiful face structure.
Even his body proportions seemed to be so balanced with all those big muscles and veins running through his arms to the tip of his fingers was truly a masterpiece. And with the way he was lying, it made his arms look more pronounced.
"Sorry," I instantly apologised when I noticed him raise an eyebrow at me, "It's, uh, just that, I can see how you managed to garner three wives."
That made him laugh as I gave him a sheepish smile and explained briefly how I like aesthetic things and he himself was quite pleasing to the eye.
"Now, that is a flamboyant way to flirt, if I've seen any!" He joked as I shook my head and added that I wasn't looking to be his fourth wife, "That's tragic because people who appreciate my flamboyance are rare! Although, you can do well with some glimmer and jewels too, Sarota."
"Nah, I don't have that well of a fashion sense to pull that off."
His laughter echoed through the room as I smiled myself before taking my journal out, ready to formulate a quick and easy plan.
Because if I wanted to pull this mission off with me and Uzui as the only participants, then I needed to orchestrate one hell of a plan to support it.
Especially one that can be pulled off quickly since it wasn't worth taking any chances even with the knowledge I have.
'That and,' I drew a circle over the letters 'Red District Arc' in my journal, 'The twins will kill me if I don't come back for their twenty-fifth birthday.'
(~<>~)
"Stop with that unflashy way of yanking!"
"Kanao-chan—"
I and Uzui exchanged a confused look with each other as we both turned back to Kanao, who was tugging the ends of my haori almost desperately.
"Kanao-chan," I gently patted her clenched fists on my haori while I gave her a smile I hoped didn't come off as awkward, "I have to go, dearie. Can you, uh, please leave my haori?"
"No," Kanao shook her head as she clenched my bunched-up haori even more tightly, "Tanjiro... I can't..."
"Oi," Uzui looked almost comically annoyed at this point as he turned directly towards Kanao now, "Stop your yapping! Did you forget you just received orders?"
I gently shook my head as I touched Uzui's arm lightly in a way to tell him to not yell.
Uzui looked at me with disappointment, "We can't waste time here—"
I almost jumped out of my skin as three smaller bodies crashed into ours, halting us further as Naho, Kiyo and Sumi looked at us pleadingly.
"Please don't go Miya-nee!"
"Shinobu-nee-san told us to not let you go without her permission!"
"Tanjiro-nii-chan will be very sad if you are not here!"
"Oi! Stop it, you damn—" I elbowed Uzui in the stomach, interrupting him in between his cuss rant.
"Please do not use profanity in front of kids, Hashira-sama!"
"Then get these unflashy brats off me!" It was almost comical how Uzui was wriggled to keep the kids off himself, without realizing they were not aiming for him anyway, "Knock it off, brats — it's my order as Hashira to let us leave!"
I shook my head lightly before getting down on my knees on the kid's level, trying my best to calm them and try to understand what exactly they meant by Shinobu and Tanjiro forbidding me to leave. In fact, I had almost neutralized the situation enough to finally make the four give us some space and listen to me.
However, Uzui had an entirely different idea as he grabbed the collar of my haori and dragged me up, making me yelp as I almost kicked him in the shins before he put me over his shoulder — carrying me almost like a potato sack.
And while this should be considered humiliating, I felt more confused than anything, to be fair. And, let's be honest here, the high view from his shoulder was quite new to me as I looked down at the four girls staring at me in shock.
They looked way smaller from this angle.
"M-Miyasha-san!"
"Aneki!" I stiffened as I heard what I thought was Tanjiro's voice, "How dare you touch Aneki like that?! Let her go!"
I wriggled around a bit to look back and see Tanjiro standing there with Zenitsu, both looking shell-shocked — though, Tanjiro seemed more pissed as he came running towards Uzui, most likely to headbutt him like he did to Sanemi once.
However, Uzui jumped away at the last second, carrying me across the yard to the top of the fence almost too effortlessly.
"Oi!" This time it was Zenitsu who shouted at Uzui while pointing his finger at us, "How can you treat Aneki like that?! Leave her now, you filthy pervert!"
"Zenitsu—"
"You fools," Uzui interrupted me unintentionally as he fixed them with a look, "Do you know who I am? Hashira Uzui Tengen, a former Shinobi."
I felt the Sound Hashira jump again as he avoided Inosuke's attack on him, jerking my body off violently as he carried me over his shoulder carelessly.
"Hashira-sama, please let me just—"
"You little idiots!" I could literally hear the annoyance from his voice as he almost started yelling at them, "I am a Hashira, your senior! Do you really think I would fall for such measly tricks of yours? Just shut up and let us leave!"
"I don't acknowledge you as a Hashira! Let Aneki leave, you lousy kidnapper!"
"Why you—!"
"Enough!" I shouted loudly in genuine anger, feeling more than just irritated with the situation as well as how I was interrupted several times by now, "Hashira-sama, please let me down now."
Uzui followed my 'request' wordlessly, placing me relatively carefully beside him on the fence as I fixed him with a heated glare. He raised his hand up in a surrendering motion, stepping a bit away from me as I whispered firmly.
"Touch even one of them, Hashira-sama," My whisper came out more fierce than I expected, but I couldn't care less as I continued, "And I'll make sure to replace your eyes with your severed balls. I hope I am clear with that."
His terrified look mixed with amusement did little to calm me as I focused back onto the three idiots down there.
"And you three," I glared at Zenitsu, Tanjiro and Inosuke as they instantly straightened up at my look, "What is wrong with you?! Why are you attacking a Hashira without any proper reason?! Do you even know what is happening here before you jumped in without any prior information?"
The silence that followed almost felt unbearable as I sighed and rubbed my face in complete exhaustion.
"Kiyo, Sumi, Naho," I called out their name softly to grab their attention, "I told you I was called for this mission by the Sound Hashira himself. What appropriate reason do you have to stop me, even when you know you can't breach his orders?"
"I told them to not let you go, Aneki," Tanjiro piped up meekly, making me frown as I titled my head in a way of questioning him, "I..."
"Rengoku-aniki mentioned that you were exchanging letters with the Sound Hashira," Zenitsu added reluctantly, looking away as soon as I focused my gaze on him, "And we, uh, we thought you will leave for another dangerous mission without us and..."
"I... what?" I looked at them in bewilderment as they tried reasoning out this shit, "What the fuck is this? Why the hell are you guys policing me—"
It was Uzui this time who lightly poked me in the shoulder, distracting me from scolding them as I fixed with him a look.
"Hey, no cussing in front of kids, remember?" His smirk widened at my flat expression before turning to the boys almost amusingly, "And you idiots, stop with your unflashy toomfoolery and let us leave. You've already heard from Sarota, right? We have a mission to do."
"We can't let you leave like this!"
"E-Especially with Aneki!"
"Okay, enough," I made a face at this very unexpected development, "This is my mission, that Hashira-sama here asked me to participate in. I have no reason to refuse him since I am not a tsugoku who needs the permission of another Hashira; in addition to that, this mission specifically needs a female demon slayer."
"Now," I stared them down with a calm smile, "Please do let me know what reason you can weave through to 'not let me leave', as you so eloquently stated."
I could feel Uzui's maroon gaze piercing through me as I ignored him and watched the three almost-adult slayers squirm. The whole scene would have been funny if I wasn't so annoyed with this whole situation.
Why were they trying to stop me, again? I was neither being kidnapped nor was I leaving against my will.
So, why the fuck was the universe following the plot exactly when I didn't want it to?
"You are injured," it was Inosuke who finally started, pointing at me almost rudely if wasn't for his softer than usual tone, "And you shouldn't go to a mission alone!"
"First of all, I'm not injured," I pointed it out calmly before looking at Uzui beside me, "And second, I'm not going alone. Next reason."
"We don't want you to go alone," Tanjiro piped up, making me look at him strangely as he continued almost sheepishly, "Um, I know you are not injured but we just..."
"Hah, you little bottom-feeders," Uzui sounded almost tired as he fixed them with a stern look, "All wailing and moaning in an unflashy way. Maybe this is why the Corps is getting weaker and weaker, with guys like you in it. You aren't even clear with what you want to say."
"I want to go with you," Tanjiro stated almost firmly before he saw my expression, "...Please."
"Tan—"
"Take me too!" Inosuke requested enthusiastically, "I just got back this second, but I have power to spare!"
"I-I want to go-o, too!" Zenitsu was shivering as he spoke, "I am not going to-o let yo-you take Aneki alone. You may be a muscular monster, but I am not b-b-backing down! No sir!"
Uzui naturally turned to me as I looked back at him almost with the same expression — exasperated and confused.
"Do you want them to...?"
I shook my head at his lightly whispered question, "I am no one to decide on that, Hashira-sama. This mission is more important and personal to you, so please exercise your complete discretion over it."
"Your fancy words are not helping me, I hope you know," I smiled at his half-hearted complaint as he jumped down the fence and landed in front of the three stooges, "So, you want to go with me? Is that right?"
"No, we want to go with Aneki."
I almost stumbled through while jumping down as I heard Inosuke reply to Uzui almost innocently. Why was this happening with me, again?
"And if you don't take us with you," Tanjiro continued in an even tone, "We will still follow you."
"Is that right?" I hated how Uzui turned to look at me almost amusingly, "Then I guess I'll take you with me."
"Wait, what?" I turned to look at Uzui who shrugged.
"You said I could do whatever I want," He looked at me meaningfully, "So, they are your duty now. We need to check more than one brothel too, so I don't see any problem with them coming with us anyway."
I gaped at the four men around me, ready to maybe smack some sense into them but before I could do any such thing, I was tackled by a crying Zenitsu, a nagging Tanjiro and a huffing Inosuke.
"Aneki~!"
"No, no, absolutely not! I'm talking to any of you four idiots — absolutely not! And no, you are still not following us!"
"But Aneki—"
"Hey, Sarota, did you say four or was I hearing wrong, hm?"
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Heya!
Been a while, ain't it? Hope y'all doing well!
My life has been as hectic as ever — those who saw my announcement may already know it — and I've been scrambling around with the pieces of the messed up schedule of mine. It's been chaotic but so fulfilling, so I don't mind xD
Anyway, I swear, the number of people asking me to make a Rengoku × OC fanfic is unholy. Like, y'all sure got a second male lead syndrome, lmao.
But seriously, while this book is not one where I can help you with that, I was musing if I really should write one with Rengoku as the ML. Like, I can do that but it'll need me a lil more time since I'll need to plan and shit. I do already have a draft idea of what I would like but not sure if it'll work with the storyline.
So yeah, if you want me to write one, please do comment so that I can see if people are genuinely interested or not. 'Cause if not many people are interested, I'll drop the idea. No use musing about something I won't write.
》Taishou Secrets《
When Shiori was finally reunited with Miyasha after more than a month, Shiori jumped up to 'hug' her owner by resting her head on her should and spreading her wings in a way to cover Miyasha's forefront. She didn't release Miyasha for a good portion of the hour as she kept nuzzling her beak onto her owner's haori.
And that's it for this chapter, folks! Please leave a vote and comment if you liked it or even if you didn't — I'll love to hear your opinion on it!
Stay safe and stay healthy!