"I apologize for troubling you, Tomioka-san."
Tomioka looked at me from the corner of his eyes as I apologized, his dark blue orbs staring with emotions I wasn't yet used to reading.
He didn't say anything as he looked forward again, his walking speed almost same as mine as we passed down the empty streets.
'It's a beautiful day, today.' I thought absent-mindedly as I looked around the forest nearby; I could even hear the birds chirping, if I concentrated enough.
It was indeed a beautiful day. A good day to go outside for a mission before my overprotective seniors showed up and whined to take them with me.
'Thank goodness, Oyakata-sama allowed me to go today.' I thanked him internally as my eyes roamed around the scenery, before stopping at the man with the mismatched haori beside me, 'Though, it would've been better if he had sent Rengoku with me instead.'
Not that Tomioka was a bad person or that I didn't want him to come with me; it just would've been much more easier if Rengoku was here since I wouldn't have to worry if he was currently on the train or not.
'Though, I still think it's a bit too early for that mission to pop in yet.' I thought as Shiori hoot-ed on from my shoulder.
"Hoo, hoo!" Shiori nuzzled her beak softly against the base of my lower jaw, making me chuckle at the brush of her tickling feathers on my neck.
"Hai, Shiori~?" I called her name in a sing-song voice as her tangerine's orbs blinked at me innocently, "Do you need anything, sweetie?" She hoot-ed back at me, making my lips stretch into an involuntary smile.
"Ah, do you wanna fly now?" I asked off-handedly as she spread her wings a bit, "Souka, souka! Then go ahead, Shiori! Just don't fly too far away, sweetie." I call out as she took off from my shoulder — somehow meticulously avoiding to injure me with her somewhat sharp nails.
'Such a magnificent creature...' I mused lovingly as I kept walking while staring at the white fluff flying in the sky just above us.
I turned my gaze back towards the silent man beside me, his blue ocean eyes staring back at me with emotions I wish I could read.
'What are you thinking, Tomioka?'
"I apologize for my behaviour, Tomoika-san." I apologized again, giving him a sheepish smile as I adjusted the strap of the satchel on my right shoulder.
He didn't reply anything, but something shifted in his eyes — something that I didn't yet learn to read. Was it amusement or his usual indifference? I sure didn't know.
"Tomioka-san..." I started once silence had befallen between us two again, "May I ask you a question, if you don't mind?" I asked hesitantly as I contemplated if I really should ask what I was about or not.
Tomioka didn't give any verbal or physical confirmation that he heard me, but I knew he did.
'After all,' I thought wryly, 'I have dealt with brooding people like him before.'
Though, it was a lifetime ago. Literally.
"Assuming your silence as an affirmation," I continued, "I will continue with my question; I was wondering that, um, did you ever... were you following me for the past few years?"
Tomioka turned to me with an almost quizzical look before tilting his head slightly in the right, making me immediately elaborate my question, "I mean, I... I actually felt your aura quite a few times during my," I stumbled as I try to find the appropriate term for my nightly endeavours, "Uh, my missions. That's why I wanted to enquire if it was your aura I felt... or not."
"Yes." He simply replied, making me blink at the suddenness.
"Y-Yes?"
"Yes," he surprisingly added, "Oyakata-sama asked me to look after you."
"Oh." That... actually made sense.
'That would explain why I felt his aura so frequently during my hunting sessions.' Not to mention his warm wave like aura was very hard to miss.
'And here I thought I had successfully avoided the Demon Slayer Corps for the past few years.' An ironic smile stretched upon my lips at my ironic thought. My life was nothing more than a series of ironic events.
"So, you knew about my existence way before all this, eh?" I asked rhetorically, to which Tomioka hummed back in reply, "What about the other Hashiras? Did they—" He didn't even need to reply as his stare answered it enough.
"W-Wait, all the Hashiras knew about me before the meeting?" I asked in surprise as I thought back to when my identity was revealed.
'But... everyone looked genuinely surprised at it though— why would they pretend to be surprised in the first place anyway, if it was not genuine?'
"Not everyone." Tomioka replied as we gradually exited the forest area.
"Then who? Shinobu?" I blurted out in annoyance before it clicked in— of course Shinobu will know. She was the head of the Kakushis, and poisons were right up her alley. Not to mention it'll explain a lot about her behaviour towards me as well.
'Even a blind person could see how she was favouring me more than anyone else.' I nodded to myself as I noticed a town on the horizon of our path.
"Thank you for answering my questions, Tomioka-sen—" I stumbled upon my words once again, as I almost used the wrong honorific before I took a split second decision and blurted out, "Can I call you senpai, Tomioka-san?"
He looked at me for a few seconds before vaguely nodding, making me smile brightly at him and thanking him again.
'Thank goodness he didn't mind... and technically he is my senpai though.' I tried to convince myself, trying desperately to cover up the real fact I slipped up like that, 'Now just play cool, and don't scare him away, Miyasha, please.'
"Oh and thank you for saving me from that demon in the mountain mission, Tomioka-senpai." I thanked again as we kept walking towards the approaching town, "I wouldn't be alive here, if it weren't for you. Also, thank you for what you did for Tanjiro and Nezuko— it means a lot to us."
Tomioka didn't reply back anything this time either; instead, almost deliberately turning his gaze away from mine as the town came into our clear view.
'Did I...' my brows creased again as an almost awkward silence engulfed the atmosphere between us, 'Did I embarrass him?'
'Nah, you're overthinking it, Miyasha.' I shook my head, focusing back on the task on hand, 'Let's just avoid assuming anything since I can't read jackshit from him yet.' I nodded to myself before going back to mentally enlisting the people I had to visit and the information I needed to collect.
'Hopefully we have some proper lead on Muzan this time.'
(~<>~)
"Moshi, moshi?" I loudly called out as I softly tapped my knuckles on thick wooden doors of the traditional Japanese house. Tomioka stood behind me; his eyes taking in every detail of the house in front of us.
My eyes roamed around the yard as well, looking for the familiar face of my favourite policeman as the rays of the setting Sun bounced off the wooden panels of the house.
"Moshi, moshi? Is anyone here—"
"Miyasha?" A familiar rough voice called out my name, making a small smile bloom on my lips as I turned towards the old man.
"Good evening, Yamaga—"
"Oh God, kid, you're alive?" Was the first thing he said as he almost sprinted towards me; his expression etched with a mixture of worry, relief and happiness that made my heart soar with warmth.
"I-I am." I hesitantly replied, feeling at a loss of words.
"Where were you, kid?" The older man bluntly asked, his eyes scanning through my whole body; as if to check for injuries, "Did something happen to you? You were out for almost two months and everyone thought you... That you..."
"I'm so sorry for worrying you all like that..." I sincerely apologized, smiling sadly at the sweet man in front of me, "I actually got mixed up... in a few things and that ended up with me being detained with some very heavy matters to decide on. Trust me when I say I'm completely fine, okay? I apologize for worrying you all like this — especially you. Please forgive me, Yamagata-san."
"I'm just glad you are safe and sound." Yamagata replied, a serene smile playing on his lips as he gently patted my head, "You sure did scare us good, kid."
"I sincerely apologize for that..."
"Well, an apology won't do—" his eyes trailed back in the direction of Tomioka, "I want to know all about your little detainment and whatever you might know about, well, him."
"I understand." I nod taking a step back and slightly turning towards Tomioka to introduce him, "This gentleman here is, uh, one of the best demon slayers in the Corporations and is currently on a mission with me. We can trust him with any kind of information; so, no need to filter out our chat in front of him."
Tomioka blankly stared at me while Yamagata's eyes snapped back to me, "Demon slayer?" He asked, his brown eyes staring into my bluish-violet ones, "I thought you were avoiding them?"
"Haha," I nervously laughed as I felt Tomioka's gaze intensify on the back of my head, "Well... seems like I couldn't avoid them for long?"
Yamagata stared at me intently, as if trying to find something on my face.
"Well, come inside then." He finally offered, his eyes finally trailing off from me to Tomioka standing behind me, "It'll be better if we talk about these matters privately."
"Indeed." I agreed before taking another step back, "Although, I hope you won't mind if I call in my little friend?" I asked rhetorically before taking out my whistle and blowing.
I watched amusingly as the older man's eyes widened when Shiori landed on my stretched arm in all her white feathered glory; his mouth opening and closing for a good few minutes before he started speaking again.
"An... An owl?!" Yamagata exclaimed, his brown eyes meeting the bird's tangerine ones, "Wait, how did you even..."
"I'll answer it all inside, how about that?" I answered cheekily as I opened the entrance and entered; all the while the policeman stared at me utterly confused.
.
.
...
"You sure haven't change a single bit there, kid."
"Of course, why would I?" I genuinely asked back as I sat down in the spacious living room, noticing the warm decorations of the house, "It's been quite a while since I visited, didn't I?"
"You were quite little back then too," Yamagata cheekily replied as he handed me and Tomioka a cup of tea each, "All innocent and worried with a level of sarcasm hard to handle."
"I'm sorry you couldn't handle me, Yamagata-san~"
"I still can't." He huffed back jokingly, his eyes softening as he added, "I made black tea for you, just the way you prefer it."
"Thank you so much, Yamagata-san!" I genuinely thanked before drinking the warm beverage; its content making my cold body warm from the inside, "It tastes phenomenal!"
"I'm glad you liked it." He said as he settled in front of us, his eyes momentarily shifting towards my little avian partner before coming back to us, "Now, let's begin with the questions— where were you for these past few months?"
"I met a demon hunter while I was on one of my outings." I started, deciding to keep things vague and short as his eyes moved to Tomioka before moving back to mine, "Not him; someone else." I intentionally kept out mentioning anyone's name— including Tomioka's as I gave him an overview of the timeline.
"So, you've joined the Demon Slayer Corps, now?" Yamagata finally asked after I finished my explanation, "Wouldn't they mind you... uh, giving this information out?"
"Well, not really." I answered honestly as I took a sip from my cup, "I didn't exactly give you any major information to jeopardize the Corporation in the first place; not to mention just because the Japanese government doesn't acknowledge this organization doesn't means they are not aware of it."
"Well, that's true." The older male sighed as he leaned back, "We are just ignoring the existence of demons to not raise any panic among the general public... especially with all the political changes happening in the recent times."
"Agreed." I replied as I finished my tea, "That's why it's now our duty to hunt and finish them down. Your department has helped in it a lot too, if I were to be honest."
"Not near enough, kid." Yamagata huffed, "Not near enough."
"Well, that is our job." I met his stubborn brown eyes with my own, "And I'll appreciate if you... leave us to it as well."
His eyebrows creased as he looked at me quizzically, "What do you mean?"
"Well," How should I put it? "Many of the slayers from our corporation are listed under the 'criminals' category in the police files; even when all they did was eliminate the creature who actually caused the deaths."
"You want me to erase those records?" Yamagata asked in a scandalized tone, "You know I can't do that, right? The higher ranks will—"
"—Will kill you if you did," I completed for him, "I know. That's why all I'm asking you to do is pass on a letter from me to the higher ups about it. If needed, I'll approach them myself about it as well."
"But why—"
"Because it hinders the work for us when we are literally trying to save lives." I interrupted him immediately, "Not to mention, it would be getting even worse from now on since demons are becoming active as never before."
"...I understand that but," He sighed as he brushed his hand through his short hair, "Okay, I'll talk. Or give the letter— whatever you want me to do. Just make sure you have written it in a formal way, please."
"Of course!" I gave him a toothy grin before moving onto the next topic: Muzan.
"Anyway, any information on Muzan?" I could feel Tomioka perk up at my mention of the demon, "And also his family and colleagues?"
"We successfully relocated his family before anything happened." Yamagata informed serenely, making a huge weight lift off my heart, "His 'colleagues' are kept an eye on and investigated as well. Unfortunately, that bastard ain't anywhere around to be seen."
"Eh, that was to be expected." I lightly caressed the adolescent snow owl sitting on my lap, "He ran away the moment he was found out. Now, he is laying low by hiding in some other form of his."
"You know where he is?" The older man bluntly asked, his eyes gleaming in a strange way.
"Unfortunately, no." I answered honestly, "But I am working with the whole corporation on it, this time. We will surely find him and eliminate him as soon as possible."
"That sounds very optimistic of you, kid." Yamagata deadpanned as he moved to take my empty cup, "Never heard you being this sure about anything before."
"Really?" I blinked in surprise, was I that cynical?
"Of course." He bluntly replied before getting up, "Anyway, I'll bring you the papers—"
"Wait, I had more questions~!" I whined as he huffed and shook his head, his eyes holding that soft annoyance I was so used to seeing.
"Just read the damn papers and you'll know everything you need to."
"Aw..." I pouted as he carried Tomioka's cup as well, "I thought you cared about me~"
"Don't be a brat, kid."
"So mean!" I heard him chuckle as he left the room to clean up, making a grin appear on my lips.
'I'm glad he is laughing again.' Especially after all the worrying he did for me.
My heart warmed again as I thought back to his worried expression, a strange calmness washing over me as I realized I had many people to look after me.
I was blessed, to say the least.
"Oh wait, I forgot to tell you about something!" I immediately called out, "His daughter is completely human!"
"What?" Yamagata rushed in the room as he asked again what I meant by that.
"Me and senpai," I lightly gestured towards the indifferent senpai of mine, "Had actually visited Rei's town the day before yesterday. Rei might have been with a child from her previous fiancé before she married Muzan."
"You sure?" He sceptically asked as he crossed his arms, "I mean, is that from a reliable source?"
"Yes, it is." I nodded along as I continued, "I cannot tell you the source though; so, you might have to take my word for it."
"As usual, of course." The brown-eyed man shook his head in exasperation as he continued, "Anyway, anything else you would like to discuss?"
"Mmhm!" I raised my hands to show Shiori to him, "This is my partner, Shiori! She will be the one delivering my messages to you from now on."
Yamagata stared at Shiori for a few minutes, his eyes fixed at her tangerine orbs as the avian tilted her head animatedly.
"You sure she is reliable?"
"Yep!" I grinned at him as I patted my adorable little white friend, "She might look small, but is very reliable!"
"Ah, like you then."
"Hey! I'm not small!"
He huffed as he left the room again, "You sure about that, kid?"
"It's not my fault you all are gigantic!" I quipped back, shaking my head as Shiori hoot-ed back at me.
"He is actually one of my oldest informants." I started without any moment's notice, making Tomioka blink in confusion as I turned to him, "That's why we are so casual with each other, if you were wondering."
Tomioka didn't reply (as usual) but did nod as he looked down at Shiori in between my small palms.
"I brought us in here so that Shiori can memorize the path." I said further as I caressed my little ball of feathers, making the said ball nuzzle back, "I apologize for how long this mission is turning out to be."
Tomioka shook his head, making me smile at how he relaxed he was around me. Well, we have been travelling together for about four days now— it was bound to happen sometime.
"Thank you so much for your help, Tomioka-senpai. You have no idea how much this means to me." Especially since he didn't ask many questions and followed my lead without any hesitation. His calm and unwavering company was almost like a drug to me at this point— not to mention his warm aura made me feel even more comfortable than I already was.
Tomioka looked away from me once again, his eyes shifting towards the decorations on the several cabinets in the room rather than my own self.
'Is he embarrassed?' I thought not for the first time as he did so, 'Or does he simply not want to talk about it?'
Well, with him, I was never sure.
I mean, reading him was very difficult due to how inexpressive he was most of the time, and since I wasn't yet used to his emotional and physical cues, I couldn't read his body language that well either.
Out of all the Hashiras, Tomioka was the one that actually felt the most difficult to read— despite having one of the most vivid auras I've ever felt. But even that didn't help since his aura was almost always calm and stabilized.
"Here's the papers," Yamagata's voice suddenly rang throughout the room, making me almost jump as I turned to face the old man standing at the door frame, "These are all the official news on him, though. We don't exactly have anything on the unofficial news regarding him, though."
"Ah, that's still a lot. Thank you so much for your help, Yamagata-san!" I thanked him as he handed me the bundle of loose papers, all of which consisted of the written paperwork of relocation and protection the people previously connected to Muzan.
"You said you didn't had any unofficial news on Muzan right? What about any other demons? Are there any strange happenings going around recently?" I asked off-handedly as I went through the papers, my eyes skimming over the details as Yamagata listed off any strange ones he got to know about.
"Well, there has been some activity noticed in red district area since the past month— even more than before, actually." He rubbed his chin as he tried to remember the incidents, "Too many reported deaths; most of them being suicidal in nature."
"Hm, interesting. Are there any more other than that?"
"Yes, there's this rumour of a train—" my heart skipped as he mentioned the Infinity train, "-where the passengers travelling in it are supposedly going missing. We sent in a few of our officers a week before and they haven't returned back yet. No one is sure what is going on about it though."
"I'll highly suggest you to leave that case alone then."
"What?" His eyes snapped back to me, "Wait, you know something about it, don't you?"
"Well, I do." I shifted my position a bit, feeling very uncomfortable and cold all of a sudden, "There might be a demon involved in that and one of my seniors is going to see to it for now."
"Ah, I understand." He nodded, "What about the red district one? We did lay it off there as you had instructed us but the cases there has been nothing but increasing now."
"Give me a month or two for that, and the threat will be eliminated till then."
Yamagata looked sceptically at me, "You are gonna look after it?"
"Maybe," I vaguely answered, "Or I'll ask my seniors to look into it instead."
"Well, I'll be taking your word on that then." He left at it when he noticed how I wasn't going to elaborate anymore on that, "What about you? Do you have anything else you think will be useful to us?"
"I'm afraid not." I shook my head as I spoke, "At least not for now. I'll send you any news as soon as I come across it. I'll also suggest you to look forward to some more cases in the upcoming weeks, if not days."
That alerted the older male, "How big will it be?" He asked, his eyes turning sharper as I shrugged.
"I'm not exactly sure, but it will be big. I'll highly suggest you to keep some paramedics on high alert too, as you may need their assistance as well."
Yamagata nodded as he straightened his back, "Should we also be looking forward for some people's anonymity to be maintained?"
"Hopefully not." I sighed, trying to calm down my tensed body, "Any slayers in the vicinity might be removed by that time and even if they are not, please just treat them as normal people and ignore any weapons on them. It'll be helpful for all."
"Duly noted." He nodded as his eyes shifted to look outside the window adjacent to us, "It's already late outside." Yamagata stated as noticed the moon out among the evening clouds, "You both want to stay in?"
"Thank you for your generous offer, Yamagata-san, but we already have a place we are currently staying at." I smiled kindly as I thanked the generous man, "Not to mention I won't want to disturb you and your wife here."
"Ah, that explains the lack of your old white bag that you carry around." I grinned as he shook his head in exasperation, "And as for my wife, she is at her mother's house for now; so, you staying here won't be an issue."
"Wait, what?" His last statement sent alarms in my head, "Is she okay? What happened?"
"Don't worry, she is fine." He brushed off my worries as he elaborated, "She is just with a child; so, she decided to—"
"Wait a second," I interrupted him, my eyes comically widened as I processed what I heard, "Your wife is with a child?!"
"Well, yes?"
"And you didn't tell me?!"
"You were out for two months; how did you expect me to contact you?" He shot back, "You didn't even arrive for our bi-monthly meeting in Asakusa!"
"Oh, that's... true. Sorry." I rubbed my neck sheepishly before jumping up, "But still! You could have told me before! I could have brought some gift or something— oh, wait, how many months along is she? What names did you decide? Oh, and do you need any help?"
"Calm down, kid, let me at least answer one first!"
(~<>~)
'Ugh, I can't sleep.'
I tossed around in my futon, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep but my cold limbs just made it uncomfortable for me to do so.
'Not to mention sleep isn't coming to me anyway.'
I sighed as I got up, rubbing my cold fingers against each other as I blew warm breath on them.
It was almost midnight right now, I really should be sleeping since I could get next to no sleep for the last two days and yet, here I was, unable to do so as I got out of my futon and decided to roam outside.
I sighed again once I left my room; the moon looked beautiful from the open hallway and I couldn't help but admire it as I sat down on the edge of the porch.
After staying at the Wisteria mansion, the previous month, I got into this strange habit of appreciating the stars and moon that I never properly did before.
Maybe because I was too busy? Or was I just ignorant? Who knows?
All I did know was that I loved the view and the similarities it had from my old world; I could look at it for hours and forget where I was and what situation I was in.
The moon had an almost calming effect on me; and I preferred to have it that way.
My heart skipped a beat when I felt his warm aura near me; his ocean eyes staring at my figure from the door frame of his room across the hallway.
His eyes met mine in the most natural way of communication; asking me silently for what I was doing there at this time of the night.
He approached me slowly once I didn't reply him; his eyes taking in the night sky just as I had.
"Sorry," I apologized once he reached me, keeping my voice soft as to not disturb the other residents, "I couldn't sleep."
Tomioka nodded as he sat down beside me, his warm aura radiating through his body instantly relaxing my figure.
"Why?" He bluntly asked, making me blink at his suddenness.
"E-Eh?"
"Why can't you sleep?" He asked softly, his serene yet deep voice just low enough to make a shiver go down my spine.
'How the hell can someone's voice make me feel cold?'
"It's cold." I simply answered, blowing on my cold digits as he looked at me strangely.
"Cold?"
"Yep."
"Then why are you sitting outside?"
"Because it's not cold outside."
"..." Tomioka completely turned towards me gave me the flattest look I ever saw on him, making me burst out in laughter as he kept staring at me.
I pressed a hand against my lips to muffle my laughter, still feeling his eyes on me as my body quaked with laughter.
"I'm so sorry!" I apologized as my laughter subsided, the residue of it still present in my voice, "But the look you gave me was really funny! I couldn't help it."
Tomioka just stared at me as I laughed some more— this time way softer than before.
"Anyway," I continued as I calmed down from my fit of laughter, "I actually feel more cold since my limbs oddly can't retain any heat properly, making me feel very uncomfortable as I try to sleep at night." He nodded as I finished explaining, "That is why I actually prefer sleeping in the sunlight."
Tomioka nodded again, his eyes glued to my hands as I blew on them.
"Hm?" I blinked as he offered me his hand, "I... what?"
He lightly shook his hands again, looking at me unexpectedly as gave my hands into his—
'Oh Lord, his hands are so huge!' I thought absent-mindedly as his warm hands rubbed my cold ones, his eyes intently focused on the task.
God, he was innocent.
Once he was done warming my hands, he respectfully left them and looked up at me; his blue eyes looking into mine as if asking whether I felt warmer now.
"Thank you so much, Tomioka-senpai!" I smiled kindly at the little innocent bun, my heart warming up as he proceeded to ask if I could go sleep now.
"If only it was this easy, senpai~" I jokingly touched his warm cheeks, making him flinch as he felt my already freezing hands.
He nodded dejectedly as he understood my dilemma, making me desperately want to pat him.
But before I could do anything like that, he scooted near me and looked back up at the sky.
I proceeded to do the same; staring at the moon and the twinkling jewels beside it as the night turned darker with every passing hour.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked off-handedly as my eyes slowly began to feel heavy— his addicting warm aura making me feel warmer and safer than I ever did in the night hours.
Tomioka kept staring the moon instead of replying; his eyes focused on the ball of reflection as mine started drooping while I sat there, basking in the warmth of his aura.
I desperately tried to keep my eyes open and yet, how or when I fell asleep, I didn't know.
All I did know was that I felt someone carrying me to bed and the warmth that I felt never left.
───────────────────────
And here's the next chapter! After months of unexpected hiatus xD
I'm so sorry for that and I no have excuses except that my college assignments and online exams had swamped me!
I'm also supposed to have my offline exams of both this and the previous semester by 19th of this month; so, please, do have patience with me! I have the whole book planned and I know exactly what will happen next but just the typing time takes me out of it xD
Anyway, I really hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! The next one will be in Giyuu's perspective and will be a continuation of this before we move to our next arc!
》Taishou Secret《
The Kinomiya twins are about 6 feet and 2 inches tall, making them the third tallest of Hashiras after Himejime and Uzui! Miyasha, on the other hand, is only 5 feet and 1 inch tall! Almost an inch taller than Shinobu and a head smaller than the twins!
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!
Oh, also check out my other books on KNY named The Typo Pillar for a short, crack-fic with male OC and Sinful KNY pics for some collection of hot fanarts that I had!
Stay safe and stay healthy!