Giyuu, Mitsuri, and Kyojuro eventually finished up at the restaurant. The night was young, but the trio were content with their time in the village ending. Giyuu found himself at the end of the chain, rather than between the two. Rengoku was now in the middle and Kanroji was on the other end. Her face was still red from what he assumed was from her crying, her eyes seemed puffy. Giyuu couldn't help but feel concerned for her. She was normally someone that embodied positivity and cheer, to see her so disheveled, he wanted to help her however he could.
"Tomioka I must ask! You spoke with the old ladies as if they knew the demon threat existed! Just what is the story of this village?" Kyojuro had asked, overhearing the threats of being late to save them from earlier. He still did not agree with the abuse of trust and power that Tomioka had showed, but he still found it satisfying to see some degree of justice against someone he cared for. "This village has a history of multiple attacks. When I first arrived and spoke of demons, they all saw me as crazy. That was until, ironically enough, a desperate demon had returned looking for easy prey. This entire village knows of our work, so it is trusted to keep our secrets."
Kyojuro had looked around, noting that various people giving them nods of acknowledgement, or thankful smiles. This had warmed his heart, to be able to actually feel the support back from the people they dedicated their lives to keep safe. Kanroji still looked distracted by something, so he believed this news would help her. "Kanroji, can you believe this amazing news? This village knows of our work! They smile for us! We can actually see the results of what we do! I understand that we must function in secrecy, but this feeling of openeness and transparency, It's is refreshing!"
Mitsuri pushed away her thoughts as she decided to pay attention to Rengoku-san. She focused herself on the villagers who apparently knew of their line of work. It was a welcoming surprise, it meant she could come here again. They weren't banned from the restaurant, and the people welcomed them as their protectors. It gave a sense of ease to everyone, a sense of normality funnily enough. They continued their walk out of the village, looking back at it as the lights slowly faded from their gaze.
With nothing to distract her, Mitsuri unfortunately found herself thinking back to her feelings. She didn't mean to start feeling this way, she didn't want to start feeling this way. He called her a friend, that should've been the end of her goal and she could walk away victorious. But here she was wanting more. She couldn't help it! Tomioka-san... He... She sighed as she lowered her head in shame, she wasn't about to blame him for how she felt. He was the source of her newly growing emotions, but she couldn't just deny her own selfish desires.
She had a multitude of wedding failures back when her life was still relatively normal. They failed either from her strength, her unusual hair, or them believing her to be animalistic in her personality. After she starved herself to become weak and dyed her hair black, she finally found someone again who was willing to take her. But she couldn't even love herself for trying to live a lie. She ran away from the meeting, refusing to be with anyone before she could accept herself. If she wasn't able to love herself at the time, how could she ask others to love her?
After joining the slayers, she finally was able to embrace her true nature and love herself. She joined not only to help others, but to find the love she had not only been denied, but craved. She knew other strong people would have to be part of it, so she knew that she could be accepted for hers in the Corp. Her strength wouldn't be seen as special here, because in order to be protectors of humanity, strength in some aspect had to be required. The only reason she hadn't pushed for her selfish desire for romance earlier is because her focus was on becoming Tomioka-san's friend.
An uncomfortable guilt started to eat at her. She promised herself she wanted him as a friend, that was her goal the last nearly three months. She even told Shinobu-chan as such she just wanted to be his friend. But after tonight, she couldn't lie and say she was feeling more. He defended her not only from her first meeting with Shinazugawa-san, but also those old ladies who judged her. He bought her food and didn't judge her for her appetite, actually being thankful he could keep helping her. Even feeding her his own food with the same chopsticks. She was the only person he'd given a gift to, in just a few months compared to the years he's known others.
Her heart was wanting to explode, and her conscience following it. She was being showered with this raw unfiltered care, and was craving more of it. He was giving her the attention she had been denied and yearned for so long. She wanted to tell him just how much he was starting to mean to her, but her guilt continued to show itself. What if he saw all this as her lying to him about her intentions? If he believed all she wanted was a romantic partner, would he turn her away? Reject her feelings? She started to almost feel hot in her skin as her thoughts and emotions were in turmoil.
"Tomioka I do not wish for us to intrude on you, but the distance from your district to ours is quite the journey! To try and do so twice in the same day, would leave us exhausted and not properly capable of our abilities! I ask you if we may stay with you tonight?" Mitsuri quickly whipped her head towards Kyojuro, almost with mixed emotions across her face. Giyuu didn't expect the request, no one ever asking to spend the night at his estate, much less visit it. Shinobu had in the past, but for medical check-ups as she put them. He let out a soft sigh and looked to the duo. "Alright, you two may stay the night to recover energy for the journey tomorrow. I'll make breakfast as well for the energy you two will need for the journey back."
Kyojuro was excited to be able to see inside the water estate for the first time, but Mitsuri couldn't help but become more nervous. Eventually, they finally did come back to the estate. Before entering, they found themselves in awe of the lake. It's waters reflected the shine of the moon above, and it's already clear waters became illuminated. Mitsuri slowly approached the water, tracing her eyes from the shining waters, up to the bright full moon in the sky. "The moon really is beautiful, isn't it?" Giyuu had walked up next to her, looking up to the sky. The moon was often the only thing to accompany him, whether at home or on missions. It may have only been a stone in the sky, but it still helped him feel less alone. "Yes, it really is."
Kyojuro could not help but listen to what the two had said. He was unaware if the two understood what they accidentally said to each other, the only reason he knew was because his mother had told him of stories when his father was too scared to confess and tried to do so in secrecy. Suddenly everything had begun to make sense in his head, the memories of watching the duo being given additional context. The flushed faces, the looks of embarrassment around one another, the intimate actions that they would have. He decided to not interrupt them, wanting to leave them to work on things naturally, if something like that were to occur. He agreed to himself that he would only get involved if things reached that level of desperation.Giyuu eventually opened the front door and invited the two in. He quickly lit some candles he had, not wanting his very first real guests stuck in darkness. "My apologies if it is not much to behold, I never have guests and I have never needed much. But please, allow me to go set the beds for you two." Giyuu soon left and Kyojuro and Mitsuri were left in the main room of the estate. They both understood what Giyuu had meant, seeing that his estate was rather bare. Almost every hashira bought additional items after moving in to their estates for in case of guests, but it seemed as if Giyuu only still had enough just for himself to get by.
"No matter how often I heard it, I never wanted to believe." Mitsuri continued to look around the estate, not liking that she was finally seeing the truth with her own eyes. She sighed as she didn't see any family pictures, no plants or art, it was almost as if it was abandoned. After enough looking around, she found something almost odd. It was a model wearing a haori almost identical to the one he always wore, except the patterns were mirrored. Even if some places had some dust build up, the haori almost appeared near spotless. "What's the story behind you? What about the one he always wears?"
They both heard foodsteps as Giyuu had returned, placing his haori on a model that stood next to the mirrored one. "My apologies, I don't have any more than two mattresses, only my own and one in a guest room. You two may decide who takes mine tonight, I don't intend to sleep for a while so I am fine with the floor." Giyuu grabbed a wooden sword and inspected it before going to the door. "Wait Tomioka-san! You're going out for late training before bed right? I was wondering if... If I could watch?"
Giyuu had looked towards Kanroji, her face still showing something was bothering her. He believed this was an opportunity for them to talk so he could try to help. "You may join, I do not mind. This will also allow Rengoku to choose which bed he may take." Mitsuri and Giyuu walked out of the estate, leaving Kyojuro to ponder on many things. Giyuu had walked to the water's edge, but before he started to train, he turned towards her. "Something has been bothering you for some while Kanroji, I do not mind being a listening ear." He looked at her figure as she shined in the moonlight. Her eyes captured the light, her soft green eyes almost looked like two pieces of shining jade. His mind echoed back to the words that were spoken at the restaurant. 'Never feel like you have to hide your emotions. It's ok to feel happy.' He bit down on his lip roughly, remembering he's meant to focus on how she's feeling and help her.
"I'm okay Tomioka-san, honestly." She waved her hands quickly, attempting to avoid giving any real answer. "I just have a lot I'm thinking about. A lot to process." She looked down before bringing her eyes back up. "What about you though Tomioka-san? You're always stoic, quiet, alone." She slowly but surely made her way closer to him. "Why do you choose to be alone? Shinobu-chan told me you've actively denied spending time with anyone, almost as if you think that's what's best?" She watched as Tomioka-san went still, almost thinking of how to respond, if he wanted to at all.
"It is what's best for everyone, it's what's deserved." Giyuu started to focus on his sword swings, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate. "I'm not like the other hashira, I am not like you, my place is not among all of you." He could feel his heart speeding up, he had to maintain being calm. "Who are you to decide that Tomioka-san? You're a hashira just like the rest of us, yet you always stand away from us. You even told me to not stand with you after I was officially a Hashira. Why?" She continued making her way to him, standing now just outside the range of the sword. "Because I didn't deserve to have you stand by me. A part of me still doesn't understand why you would worry over someone like me." His heart continued to beat, his movements becoming less of a calm river, and more of restless white waters.
"Please Tomioka-san, I just want to know why you're so adamant on being alone. I can't imagine who would want that. The pain must be horrible to push everyone away." Giyuu couldn't hold it anymore, harshly swinging his sword downward to the water. The calm water surface finally broke and to waves and rippled across. "Because I don't deserve to stand with you! I am nothing but a fake! I shouldn't have even have lived this long, but by some twisted prank by the gods, I am still alive!" He lost all sense of calm that he had spent years maintaining. Year after year of shutting himself in, removing himself from everything emotionally. "I was never meant to become a hashira, not even a slayer. Ever since final selection, all I have ever thought was I was never good enough no matter how much I progressed. If I was, the people in my life wouldn't be dead."
"Here I am eight years later, living day to day with my only purpose in life is to slay demons. I never even wanted to take the position when the master offered it to me, I only accepted because he was in desperate need for the position to be filled. I stay away from everyone because I never deserved to stand by all those who have actually earned it. Everything was fine, I had accepted the role I believed I was meant to play. Then out of nowhere, the nicest, most caring woman I had the pleasure of meeting makes it her mission to befriend me and get me to open up. Telling me my smile is nice, telling me it's ok to express my feelings, trying to get me out of this life of isolation that I DESERVE." He stopped to wipe the tears from his eyes that he finally noticed, laughing in a pained breath. "I don't deserve to be around any of them, and I certainly don't deserve to be around you." He slowly dropped the sword, starting to walk away from even his estate grounds. "Please, don't worry about me anymore Mitsuri, I don't want to hold you back. Just hate me like the others do, it'll be easiest."
Mitsuri felt her eyes stinging with tears, her vision became blurry from how much they flowed. She understood the truth now, but she almost wished she was still ignorant to it. Everyone was wrong about him, he thought of the world of all those around him, but never spared any of that thinking for himself. She watched as he continued to walk off, believing even he didn't know where he was going. She promised she'd never let him be alone again, no matter how much he thought he deserved it. She quickly sprinted to him, tackling him to the ground. She turned him around to face him, and held him down as she stared into his eyes. "You dumb, caring, selfish, dummy. You can't just give me every reason to care about you, to want you in my life, and then ask me to hate you and let you be alone. You can't do that, it's just not fair."
Giyuu looked up as he saw Mitsuri a crying mess. He knew he couldn't push her off, her raw physical strength challenged his. He already said everything he thought he had to say, so he knew it was her turn to get everything off her chest. "Ever since you found me lost in the master's estate, you've been nothing but kind to me. You watched over me, and humored me with things only I wanted to do that you didn't. You've given me attention exclusive to me, that none of the others get. You've given me the feeling of being desired that I've been wanting for years! How could I not want you in my life?! How could I hate someone that makes me feel loved?! How could I not love you?!"Giyuu and Mitsuri shared a look of shock, neither quite sure if that was really said. "You love me?" Giyuu looked up to her, his eyes wide and his own tears stopped. He felt his face begin to feel hotter than ever. Love was something he never expected to be in his life after all that happened. If everyone that loved him as family was gone, why would he try to look for love in romance before now? He could read almost every combination of emotions on her face. Pain, fear, shame, sadness. "Why me? Why did you have to fall for someone like me? With as beautiful and caring as you are, you could have anyone. Why settle for me?"
Mitsuri got up off Tomioka-san and fell back onto her butt. She didn't want to say that now, but she just couldn't contain it! She may have said it in the heat of the moment, but she meant it just as much as if she had said it months or even years down the line. "How could it not be you? Ever since you gave me these socks, I cherished knowing you. When I learned I was the only one to recieve something like this, it made me feel special. When you defended me from being slandered, I felt protected. When you fed me with such gentleness for how I was feeling." Mitsuri looked down to the ground, no longer able to look at him anymore. "I felt loved."
The two sat there in awkward quietness, unsure what to do. Giyuu slowly sat up and slowly moved closer to her, facing her still. "It's funny, it almost sounds like we had the same reasons to fall for each other." Mitsuri quickly looked up at Tomioka-san, feeling her whole body heat up from how close they were again, and this new revelation from his side. "Kanroji, you made me feel cared for again. That someone actually wanted me around, was actually happy that I was here in this world." Mitsuri took his hands into hers, incapable of stopping herself from smiling. "Call me Mitsuri again, please?"
Giyuu let out a soft chuckle, resting his head against hers. "So does that mean I'm Giyuu now to you?" He watched her as she hid her face from turning her head down. He saw that she was still embarrassed, but felt her nod her head. "Let's continue this inside, Rengoku might be worried as to how late we're being out." Giyuu stood up, quickly helping Mitsuri to her feet. The two walked in silence back to the estate. Mitsuri slowly reached for Giyuu-san's hand, holding it lightly. Giyuu noticed what she wanted and intertwined his fingers with hers. He noticed her grip tightened a bit as they continued walking back to the estate.
"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor... Giyuu-san. Especially if we actually do become... Something. I can't let my possible love have the floor while I'm comfortable." Giyuu looked to her with slight embarrassment. "This does mean we're gonna have to share the bed. You know this right?" She nodded, resting her head on his shoulder once again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it earlier. I feared if I said it too soon, you'd think I was only after you in a romantic sense. I really did want to be your friend Giyuu-san. I just couldn't couldn't help but fall for you at the same time." "It's alright Mitsuri, I thought I was first having feelings for you when you first hugged me. My body felt as if I was struck by lightning. That was the most alive I had felt for a long while."
They made their way inside the Water estate. Giyuu had checked his room, noting the Rengoku had decided to take the guest room. "It looks as if we're sharing my bed tonight then." He guided Mitsuri hand in hand to his room. They both looked at the bed and soon back to each other. "Are you alright with having my sleep wear? I know you don't have anything else to change into." She nodded as she took the clothes, she saw as Giyuu-san stepped out the room giving her time to change. She quickly changed, not wanting him to stay out of his own room for too long.
Giyuu heard knocking on the door, and quickly walked back in. He saw Mitsuri wearing his sleep clothes, to see her wear baggy clothes and not the uniform someone gave her to accentuate her body was an odd image to look at. He didn't care though, she was beautiful in his eyes regardless. Giyuu followed suit, only removing his top garments, opting to keep his pants on. Mitsuri looked at the man before her, his body was covered in scars from the countless missions she'd been told of. She placed her hands against his body, feeling from toned muscle to battle worn skin. She could feel his warmth radiating into her hands. As strong as his body ways, his heart was the strongest part of him, and she would love him for that.
The two soon took each other in their arms, and laid in the small bed together. Mitsuri instinctively moved closer to Giyuu, wrapping an arm around him and throwing a leg over his. "Giyuu-san, what are we?" Mitsuri looked up to him, having a look of concern. "I know you're who I want, but I refuse to do anything if I'm not what you want." Giyuu looked down at her, not knowing just yet what to call her. He moved his face into her neck, almost as if he was hiding inside the little space. "Would you be disappointed if we stayed only as friends?"
Giyuu-san asked as Mitsuri tensed up. She wouldn't lie to him, she finally had what she had wanted after so much time. "Before tonight I would've said no, all I wanted since I've been here was to try and be your friend. Now though? I'm almost afraid if I let go, I won't get this chance again." Giyuu finally pulled his face out of her neck, looking at her without saying a word. Before she could ask if he would say anything, she felt him place a soft kiss on her forehead. "What's love if not built upon friendship? I'll be yours and yours alone Mitsuri. We can still be partners, and still work on our friendship." He soon placed his head back in her neck, almost finding safety and comfort in it.
"I need to ask though, Mitsuri. Am I really worth being with? I have a lot of things I need to work through, it's another reason why I've been alone for so long. I didn't want to be a burden." He was aware of how much he pushed everyone away, Iguro and Shinazugawa believing he was a narcissist and publicly hating him was enough of an idea. He was at least relieved they appeared to be the only ones thinking that. "Then we can work through it all together. One day at a time, even if it's only the two of us working on them."
Mitsuri held onto Giyuu-san tightly, careful to not hurt him. "Giyuu, I love you. As long as I'm here, you'll never know what it means to be alone again." She returned the kiss he gave, placing it on the side of his head. As she got comfortable, she felt something wet on her neck. Giyuu-san was crying, the tears were leaking through as much as it looked like he still holding back. "Mitsuri, you'll always know what it means to be cared for. You'll know I'll always be thankful for you. I, I love you." Giyuu continued to softly cry as he felt Mitsuri play with his hair. "There there Giyuu-san, I can only imagine how much you have to let out." They weren't sure how much time past as they comforted each other, only knowing eventually they fell asleep in each other's arms, feeling safe from anything outside their shared room.