|
₊
.‧ ‧.
—· · · · ⋆꒷꒦‧₊˚𓆩♡𓆪˚₊‧꒦꒷⋆ · · · ·—
| ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 26 |
˚₊‧
The words had just spilled out of your mouth.
And now they're staring...well Ubuyashiki is always staring...
"Full of surprises aren't you Y/n?" Ubuyashiki mused as you felt yourself fluster, however, you kept your composure.
"Sorry, that was hasty," You were quick to apologize, mentally scolding yourself to stop being so pushy, "What I said was meant to be a suggestion, of course, the actual decision is up to Gen'ya."
"M-Me?" Gen'ya stammered, wide-eyed looking between Ubuyashiki and you. His face grew warmer by the second, along with his aura flooding with tension and embarrassment, amusing Y/n in the slightest.
"Well, Gen'ya? What do you think?" Ubuyashiki pressed on, and seemingly numerous thoughts crowded Gen'ya's mind.
"Well...I—Uh, with absolutely no disrespect to Gyomei..." Gen'ya struggled under your gaze, your doll-like e/c eyes boring into him, sending a chill down his spine, "...I would like to work under Y/n."
ਏਓ ｡ ﾟ
"Who would've thought I'd have a Tsugoku within the first few weeks of being a pillar," Y/n mused to herself as Gen'ya's jaw dropped.
"Y-You've just become a pillar?!" Gen'ya exclaimed as he walked side by side with you, starting to regret the decision he made a few minutes ago.
"Yeah," Y/n shrugged it off as Gen'ya only became more baffled, "Are you sure we're going to see Gyomei? We're heading straight for the forest..."
"Well, at this time of day he's most likely training...and in the same spot as yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Y/n questioned, as once again Gen'ya was baffled at your cluelessness.
Had you no idea of the man's intense training?
"Have you ever met Gyomei?" Gen'ya questioned, now doubting your possible capabilities of surpassing Gyomei as a mentor.
"Well, I have been in the same room..." Y/n pondered as the two strayed off the stone path and into the forest, Gen'ya leading the way as they passed dozens of wisteria trees.
"I guess that is something...do you know anything about him?"
"Just that he's the strongest," Y/n kept the same laid-back expression as Gen'ya sweat dropped, beginning to nervously sweat. He kept his gaze forward in case you might see his troubled expression and yell at him, "Is that a waterfall I hear?"
The sound of rushing water and splashing could be heard as you both continued to stroll through the lush forest.
"Yeah, that's where Gyomei is," the two of you entered an open space, and your eyes were quick to almost bulge out your head as you saw the humongous, shirtless, man maintaining a squat under the waterfall. Water rushed down his burly but defined figure as his hands were clasped together with prayer beads. And to top off the whole scene, his whole expression was blank as he seemed to be deep in focus.
"Are we...going to say something?" Y/n nudged Gen'ya with her elbow, causing him to go stiff at her contact.
"J-Just give him a few minutes..." Gen'ya prayed that Gyomei would hurry up so he wasn't the only one talking to this persistent woman.
"A few minutes?" You thought out to yourself, your posture slumping as you watched the man continue to get battered by the water, "Do you think he'd respond if I talked to him."
Gen'ya was quick to shake his head as you seemed to ponder your thoughts. And suddenly, you began to strip...nearly giving Gen'ya a heart attack, in which he quickly diverted his vision in another direction.
"Hold these," You flung your uniform and haori to Gen'ya who was quick to respond as he stared at your revealed s/c skin. All that was left was a thin pair of black shorts and a fitting black sleeveless shirt, "I'm still wearing clothes Gen'ya, don't get too flushed now."
Your simple tease practically made Gen'ya blow up as he watch you step into the shallow river, making your way to Gyomei. Holding your clothing garments, your scent reached his nose and he flushed, once again.
I guess I can understand why Sanemi likes her...
His eyes widened as he watched you walk right next to Gyomei and enter the waterfall, squatting into the same position as Gyomei.
Though you were considerably smaller than the stone pillar, it was quite impressive how you were handling the rushing water, it was sure as hell something Gen'ya didn't want to do.
Gen'ya swore he could see a small smile on Gyomei's lips as he stood up, stepping out of the waterfall, the female following suit as she looked up at him. A few moments passed, and not a word had been said.
"Y/n L/n, the life pillar, correct?" Gyomei's deep voice boomed, catching you off guard as you didn't expect him to speak first.
"Yes, Gyomei, the stone pillar I presume?" You retorted as Gyomei nodded, a few silent seconds passed after.
"You seem...nervous."
"You can tell?"
"I'm blind, not inattentive."
"You're right. Allow me to explain. Your aura is extremely closed off so I don't know how you feel...yet you're so emotional. You have no pupils, yet I feel you're staring into my soul. You stand tall and are extremely intimidating, yet you're soft-spoken and kind-hearted," You admitted as Gyomei's eyes widened in the slightest, surprised by your words, "So yes, I'm nervous."
"I see Y/n," Gyomei rubbed his prayer beads together as tears rolled down his cheeks, not surprising you, "I appreciate your honest words, usually people cannot stand to say more than a sentence to me."
"My pleasure Gyomei," You brushed off his words while he was stuck on yours.
He meant what he said though. No one had ever treated him the way you had within seconds of speaking to him for the first time. Even people he had known for years still struggled to keep conversation with him.
Only minutes ago had you willing meditated beside him to attract his attention, no matter the intense condition. Not once did you complain, and then you opened up about how you felt. You admitted your fear, which only Ubuyashiki had ever done all those years ago. Needless to say, Gyomei felt...normal, at least around you.
He had heard about you...mostly about your beauty and lack of expression. The seemingly opposite of him.
On his hand, he was intimating and scary. An ugly scar crossed his forehead and he was blind. His build was large and he was extremely intimidating. And when he cried, he only scared those who didn't know him more. He never considered himself approachable, let alone ordinary. But you, you caught the eye of everyone you presented yourself to, and Gyomei would be lying if he said you didn't captivate him.
He could tell how much smaller you were compared to him, though you didn't stutter or make fun of him. You seemed to be a bit around the taller side, somewhere between 5'6 and 5'8, your frame was small but you were muscular, and with the help of the wind, he could even tell your hair was on the h/l side. The slight disappointment of not knowing fully what you appeared to be at first glimpse tweaked him scarcely.
His respect and admiration began to grow the more he thought about you. Sure, when the Kakushi had mentioned your name, your looks, your skill, he had brushed it off. You were just another pillar, at first. He disgraced himself for being quick to judge. Thinking that you were like everyone else.
It was clear that he was wrong in how you had appealed to him within merely 10 minutes.
"G-Gyomei," Gen'ya piped up, breaking Gyomei's concentration as he seemed to be staring down the female, who was slightly anxious at his behavior.
"Yes, Gen'ya?" Gyomei's looming figure turned to face the shorter boy, who almost wanted to faint at his intense aura, which was a lot more frightening than usual.
"As I would never lie to you, I have to tell you that I am resigning from being your Tsugoku. As we discussed, I can't perform any breathing techniques, and in which I am in no position to work under you," Gen'ya released a deep breath as he confessed to his former teacher who only held the same unfazed expression, but instead seemed rather pleased.
"I agree with your decision, yet I feel there is more you have to tell me," Gyomei pressed on, making Gen'ya's breath hitch as he couldn't find the right words. His wandering eyes met your e/c ones as he fell into your safety and sent a pleading look your way, which you immediately understood.
"Gyomei," You caught the attention of the larger pillar at the second your mouth opened, "Gen'ya has stepped down as your Tsugoku...and decided to learn under me instead."
The words seemed to slowly sink into the stone pillar as the same frown was held on his features, but to you and Gen'ya's surprise, he did not cry. Rather, he looked pissed off.
And he was.
But he didn't blame you.
No. He blamed Gen'ya.
Was he taking advantage of his situation? Had he used his weakness to sway her heart? Was he using her?
Though Gyomei had only met Y/n minutes ago, he could note how gullible you were, so of course, you wouldn't know what Gen'ya's true intentions were.
"Are you sure you want to take on a Tsugoku so early?" Gyomei voiced, undoubtedly trying to get her to rethink her decision, which Genya noticed. He most definitely did not say anything, however.
Gen'ya was Gyomei's ex-Tsugoku, therefore out of everyone besides Ubuyashiki, Gen'ya knows Gyomei the best, specifically his personality and behavior. And what he was witnessing now, was not the Gyomei he had grown accustomed to.
"Well, how I see it, this is something I can learn from. Gen'ya can't perform any breathing techniques so it's not entirely difficult for me to teach him anything. I just have to help him discover something that will help him further as a demon sl—"
"But he will never be able to become a pillar," Gyomei interrupted, stunning you and making Gen'ya flinch.
"That doesn't mean he can't be strong," You argued back, almost pissed at someone who was supposed to be a peacemaker. What kind of peacemaker doubts his pupil?
"Why teach someone how to become stronger when you can further your skill? Even learn from someone else."
"Are you trying to imply something?"
Realizing what he was getting at, Gyomei quickly shook his head and recomposed himself, "I apologize for my behavior Y/n. I completely trust in your skill as both a pillar and a teacher. I pray for both you and Gen'ya as a teacher and student."