Is this the time to tell him about that beating in your chest? You can't. You told, "Of course I like you. You're my copartner and friend of 7 years." He stepped closer, leaving only a few inches of space between the two of you. "You know that's not what I meant. I know I'm physically you're copartner, but how do you feel about me?" Your face grew red as you replied, "We really shouldn't talk about this with Muichiro here."
Giyuu twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door to reveal Muichiro sleeping soundly. He pointed to Tokito, "Look, he's fast asleep." He shut the door and persisted, "So what is it? Do you like me?" You told, "Of course I like you as a roommate. I couldn't ask for someone better then my childhood friend." He stepped back and glanced at you. "Clearly you don't feel the way I thought you did. Sorry." He turned away from you and walked to the couch, resting himself on it. You nervously questioned, "Do you want me to sleep on the floor then? It doesn't bother me.." He nodded, "Yeah." Fortunately, you were quite tired, so dozing off wouldn't take long. As you laid down in the ground, chills ran up your spine. It was so cold. Was he really not going to offer you a blanket? You whispered, "Goodnight Tomioka." He shushed you, "Be quiet damnit."
You were awakened by someone's voice, "Y/n?" You slowly opened your eyes, adjusting to the light. Muichiro was standing over you. He asked, "You slept on the ground?" You looked to see Giyuu's face nuzzled into the couch, and could hear him snoring. You sat up and muttered, "Tomioka wake up.." He rubbed his eyes and groaned in a sleepy voice, "What do you need?" You stood up, "Muichiro's here." He quickly jumped off the sofa and said, "Oh, I'll make breakfast then." Tokito pointed out, "But you're still in your towel." Tomioka looked down at himself and scratched the back of his head, "Uh, let me change.."
Once he came back he asked, "Muichiro, do you know when Rengoku is coming home?" Tokito shook his head, "No. All he said was in the morning." Giyuu nodded, "I know he said he would make you guys breakfast," He paused and looked at the clock on the wall. "But he's late, so I'll make you both a small portion of eggs." He turned on the stove, and grabbed the apron sitting right beside it. Did he forget that you get sick when you eat eggs? You stated, "I get sick from eating eggs. I'll just have a granola bar." He looked back at you while holding a pan in his hand, "Oh, yeah. I forgot." You opened the cabinet and absentmindedly grabbed the first bar you saw. The pan sizzled as Giyuu sprayed cooking oil on it. He took an egg and tapped it on the edge of the cookware, letting the insides spill onto the hot oil.
You protested, "You're doing it wrong." He took a spatula and mixed around the egg. "Huh? I know how to make scrambled eggs, thank you. And get your ass to the table if you want to eat. Your damn crumbs are getting everywhere." You argued, "No, you're supposed to mix the eggs in a bowl before cooking them. It's called a scrambled egg because you scramble it before cooking it." Giyuu rolled his eyes, "You scramble them in the pan, right Muichiro?" You both turned around to see Tokito's input, but he looked like he had just seen a ghost. You noticed his crow was sitting on his shoulder. Was it bad news? You questioned,
"Muichiro? What's wrong?"
He didn't reply. You spoke louder, "Muichiro, what's the matter?" Again, no reply. Tomioka yelled, "Kid!" He finally looked up and whispered, "It's Rengoku." You asked, "What about him? Where is he?" Tokito muttered, "Dead. He was killed by Upper Rank Three, Akaza." You stared at him blankly for a few moments. It's this some elaborate prank? No, that's not it. If it were, Muichiro would've forgotten. It was also clear Muichiro's acting skills weren't this on point.
Rengoku's actually dead.
You stuttered, "D-Do any of others know?" At that moment, you heard someone burst through your front door. You turned to see it was Mitsuri. She sobbed, "You guys got the news too, right?!" She wiped her eyes and sniffled, "Y/n!" She threw her arms around you and continued to ugly cry. Once you finally hugged her back, she yelled, "Kyojuro was so kind, you know that? He's the reason I'm here today! He taught me everything I know!" You hardly knew Rengoku. It's sad to think that you won't be able to get to know him more, because you were really looking forward to that. Sabito said he was a nice guy. Kyojuro will probably find someone in the past life just like Sabito did. What are your options now?
It's selfish to think like this. All you're worried about is yourself. You were snapped out of your thoughts as Mitsuri screamed, "Y/n! Aren't you listening?!" You nodded and said, "Yeah. Keep going." She picked herself up while rubbing her eyes harshly, "It's fine. I'll just go find Obanai." She ran out of your estate, still sobbing. You slowly turned to Muichiro and asked, "He faced an upper moon by himself?" Tokito replied, "My crow said he was with Tanjiro and Nezuko, and a few other lower ranks." Giyuu stated, "You were awfully rude to Mitsuri, y/n. You should apologize" You scoffed, "Rude? This doesn't only affect her." Tomioka demanded, "You knew him for 3 days. Get over yourself."
You responded, "So? You don't even seem one bit remorseful. Freak." He replied, "You're only acting sad cause you had a crush on him." You questioned, "What's your deal? He-" Muichiro interrupted, "This isn't a time for adults to be acting like children. Go comfort your friends or something." Muichiro didn't look to be sad either. What was going on? You questioned, "Why don't you look sad? Why don't either of you look sad?" Tomioka stated, "Don't get me wrong, this is sad, I'm just not fond of crying." You yelled, "Clearly not sad enough! You cried when our other friends died!" He calmly replied, "Rengoku and I weren't friends. He was just my colleague and neighbor"
Tokito blurted, "What did I just say? Stop acting like this." You stated, "You're no better Muichiro. Rengoku offered you a spot in his home and you're acting ungrateful!" Muichiro glared at you, before making his way outside. After a few seconds, Tomioka sighed, "Think about it this way, y/n. Rengoku wouldn't want you, me, Muichiro, or anybody to be sulking in their room over his death. Arguing about him won't do anything now. He's gone." You snapped, "Hearing you trying to be nice makes me want to throw up." You walked out the estate and spotted Tengen. He must've seen you too, cause he called you over, "Y/n, we have a meeting. Cause of what happened to Rengoku." You asked, "Is it the same place as last time?"
He nodded in agreement. Tengen was usually pretty talkative, but he seemed too somber to speak. You stated, "I'm really sorry about Kyojuro. I remember you told me that he was your best friend. I understand how you feel, so please talk come talk to me if-" He smiled at you, but you could still see the pain in his eyes. "I'm fine, really. That's just how life is." Soon after he said that, Sanemi announced, "Guys, over here." Everyone seated at the table looked more upset then ever, and Mitsuri was still crying her eyes out. You sat next to her, and across from Sanemi. Ubuyashiki told, "Hinaki, please go get Giyuu Tomioka. Tell him to come quickly." The white haired girl obeyed her fathers request and left the table to fetch Giyuu.
As you were all waiting for him to arrive, nobody spoke a word. It was complete silence, besides Mitsuri's occasional sob. Sitting there was almost unbearable. You glanced over at Muichiro to see he was looking down at his feet, his face slightly pale. Once Tomioka came back and sat himself, Kagaya broke the silence. "Im sure you've all received the agonizing news. I know how much Rengoku meant to each and every one of you, he was an amazing friend who never failed to bring a smile to any one of your faces." Kanroji blurted, "We at least get to go to his funeral, right!?" In normal circumstances, interrupting Kagaya would be disrespectful, but no one was going to scold Mitsuri considering how distraught she sounded.
Ubuyashiki shook his head, "I'm very sorry, Mitsuri. Unfortunately, his family has decided to keep the funeral private." She wiped her eyes and sniffled, "I understand." Kagaya continued, "There is one last thing I need to address. As we all know, Muichiro shared an estate with Rengoku. Tokito my child, please choose any one of the other pillars to room with." He looked around the table, likely not knowing who to choose. It has to be you and Giyuu, right? Has he even spoken to anyone else? He muttered, "I'd like to stay with Ms. Shinobu." What? That's what he wants? Giyuu spoke up, "I thought you'd want to stay with y/n and I. You did just last night." Muichiro immediately replied, "Y/n yelled at me." You tried to apologize, "Look, I'm sorr-"
Shinobu cut you off, "Leave it. It's been decided." Ubuyashiki smiled softly, "I guess it has been decided. You all are dismissed." Everyone stood up, besides you and Tokito. Kocho told, "Meet me back at my estate kiddo." Once she was out of earshot you tried to change his mind, "She sucks at cooking. Do you really want to eat her gross food?" He mumbled something under his breath that you couldn't hear. You demanded, "Talk louder." He said, "I can cook for myself." Silence. He continued, "I don't need Giyuu's stupid overcooked eggs, and I don't need to be tucked in either. There's nothing I hate more then being treated like a kid when I act more adult like then everyone here. I grew up faster then you. You're a know it all."
You angrily replied, "You're only 14. You can't speak to me like that." He stood up and murmured, "You're only proving my point." You watched him walk away, and started to think to yourself. He's a pillar for a reason. He made his own breathing style at just 14. Maybe it's for the better that he doesn't stay with you, otherwise you would have to sleep on the floor for awhile. Giyuu called you over from the estate, "Get over here. You look stupid at that table by yourself." You rose to your feet and walked over to your estate. Giyuu closed the door behind you and said, "You should be glad the kid isn't staying with us, he'll take up space. It would be like having your own bratty child."
You replied, "That's all I've ever wanted. Being a mother sounds wonderful. I'm sure Kanae and Sabito are-" Tomioka blurted, "If your going to go on a rant about them having having a family again, just leave." What does he mean, leave? You mumbled, "I'm sorry?" He added, "If you want a family that bad, leave the Demon Slayer Corp and have children for all I care. You weren't even supposed to be here in the first place, so go do what you want." You'd love to have children, but protecting humanity from monsters is priority number one. No way you can just quit because you want a baby. You have to remember the reason you became a demon slayer in the first place.