After what felt like an eternity, Shinjuro spoke, "You can stay."
Hotaru blinked, not quite believing what she heard, "I-huh?"
"I said you can stay," Shinjuro repeated, then turned away.
Hotaru took that as her cue to leave, "Thank you Rengoku-sama." She bowed then exited the room sliding the shoji door behind her.
Hotaru sat on the engawa facing the garden letting her feet dangle barely grazing the ground (she's short).
"Hotaru!" She heard a voice call for her.
Senjuro appeared behind her and sat down next to her. He noticed that her belly was bigger than last time but didn't comment.
"How have you been, it's been awhile," he said, hugging her.
Hotaru felt guilty for running off on him a few months back after finding out about Kyojuro's death.
"I'm sorry for running off on you like that when you informed me of your brother's death, Senjuro," she said.
"Don't worry, I figured you were upset about my brother's death," Senjuro said with a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure you can already tell but you're going to be an uncle, Senjuro," Hotaru said, smiling rubbing her stomach.
"Does that mean you and the baby are staying here?" Senjuro asked with a hopeful look.
She nodded with a smile.
"I'm so glad," Senjuro said happily then gave Hotaru a big hug being careful of her belly.
"I'm surprised your father allowed me to stay. He doesn't seem like the way he normally is," Hotaru said.
Senjuro went on to explain about how the young demon slayer with the earrings visited shortly after Rengoku's death.
"So this Tanjiro was with Rengoku during his last moments," Hotaru said, tears forming.
"Yes," Senjuro replied.
"He seems like a fine young man," she said.
Hotaru held back a laugh when he mentioned that the demon slayer, Tanjiro, had managed to head butt Shinjuro.
"Ever since I've said Kyojuro's last words to our father, he's been a bit different," Senjuro said. "I haven't seen him drink that much anymore. He still keeps to himself mostly but he hasn't raised his voice to me or yelled at me like he used to."
"I'm glad to hear that. Maybe things will turn for the better," Hotaru said sincerely.
"Hotaru there's something I wanted to tell you in person. It's something Aniue shared with me before he left for his mission. It may be hard for you to hear," Senjuro said with a sad expression on his face.
"What is it, Senjuro?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Before he left for the mission, he told me of his intentions on marrying you upon his return. It seemed sudden at the time but I had no objections to it. He never mentioned the fact that you were expecting a baby. Aniki (elder brother) said he has wanted to wed you for a long time and live with you for the rest of his life," Senjuro said. "I'm sorry if I've caused you more pain."
Hotaru smiled sadly and let a few tears slip out before wiping her face. "Thank you for telling me Senjuro, I really appreciate it. Kyojuro told me that he would come back for me and our baby and that we would be together," she said.
"I found out I was pregnant before he left. I was scared at first to tell him but he reacted better than I had expected. He was so excited. I know he loved our child even though he barely found out about their existence. I'm sad that my child won't know their father but at least he or she will know their father loved them," Hotaru said.
The two sat in silence for a minute then Hotaru felt movement in her belly.
"Senjuro!" she exclaimed.
"What?! Are you ok?!" He exclaimed concern on his face.
"Put your hand here. The baby's kicking," Hotaru said.
Senjuro put his hand on her belly. He felt something move against his hand. It felt like something was poking him from the inside.
"That's amazing. I've never felt a baby kick before," Senjuro said with a happy smile.
"Do you think the baby will be a boy or a girl?" Hotaru asked.
"Hmm, our family lineage has been largely boys so maybe this one will be a boy too," Senjuro said.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with light conversation between the two. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel alone.