It sometimes amused Shinobu how some things turned out in the end — especially if it was something that seemed quite obvious at first and yet the end result still turned out to be quite unexpected.
And that exactly was what happened with her when she met Miyasha.
In fact, it was even more than that — the first time she had heard of that girl was when the Kinomiya twins had a whole packet of mochi delivered to them by their crows; making her quite confused about how they managed to teach their crows to buy stuff for them.
That's when she came to know about their junior, Sarota Miyasha — a girl who they loved to talk about, if given the chance. And with how many times those two ended up in the Butterfly Estate, it was safe to say that Shinobu had enough chances to know about their junior more than she would have cared to do so herself.
And then came the rather confusing incident of Hashiras and several other slayers getting already completed missions — the second time she unknowingly heard about her without even knowing it was her.
Then again, who could fault her in that when the twins had made it explicitly clear how her junior was not interested in being a demon slayer; a rather funny and ironic notion, now that Miyasha stood quite proudly as one in front of them.
What a play by fate, Shinobu mused as she walked down the hallway.
What made this even more amusing was that their said junior was a Dokuchi; making her a vital piece in the war against demons. She was the piece to the puzzle of a solution that could help her make the ultimate poison for demons — something, that could inevitably help them annihilate Kibutsuji.
And while that did sound ambitious, Oyakata-sama believed quite a bit in this batch of Hashiras — and with how she has never seen any of his advice or predictions go wrong, Shinobu was quite inclined to believe him.
Amusingly enough, did Miyasha seem to know exactly how much power she held over the Corps with the unique nature of her blood — a fact that made Shinobu somewhat impressed of her, as she noticed quite a few times how she used it to back the twins off her tail.
And honestly? It intrigued Shinobu more than she'll care to admit — especially with how complex and different Miyasha seemed despite her learning quite a lot about the said female from the now Hashira twins.
"I'm glad you talked to Aneki about it, Tanjiro," Shinobu paused as she heard a passing conversation from one of the windows in the hallway leading to the yard.
"I am glad too," She heard Tanjiro reply in a sheepish tone, "I am sorry for not listening to you earlier, Zenitsu."
"At least you did in the end," Shinobu smiled as she heard Zenitsu's exasperated voice, "Inosuke doesn't even bother. That animal has no regard for—"
Shinobu quietly chuckled as she started walking again; her mind reeling with thoughts about the conversation she just heard.
She knew they were talking about what happened a few nights ago; Shinobu hadn't given much thought to the situation during the time, with how urgently and in a rather panicked state Tanjiro had called her that night. Well, until after she was done checking Miyasha's injury, at least.
Once she was done, Shinobu had instantly noticed how the blood represented what was supposed to be Miyasha's tears — making her wonder what was that they were talking about that made her cry.
However, if it was a heart-to-heart chat, then it cleared a lot of things for her — like how Tanjiro had finally started sleeping and waking up at a more usual time (by his standards) and how he had started eating with his friends again; something that he had suddenly stopped doing after the day they returned injured.
It would also explain Miyasha's improving mental condition as well; since the time she woke up, Shinobu (as well as almost everyone in the Estate) had noticed how quiet and sad the said female had suddenly turned.
Her unresponsiveness and rather uncharacteristic absent-mindedness had made everyone worried, including Shinobu herself. It was almost worst seeing her slowly deteriorate as she tried her best to navigate with her lack of sight.
However, Shinobu could almost do nothing besides giving her the space to properly grieve and maybe accept her situation — it was not her place to intervene, after all.
And no matter how much she hated it, this was something that every patient with a life-altering injury had to go through.
Though, if Shinobu had to be honest, Miyasha's case made her even more worried than she had ever been for the other patients — and it wasn't only because of her invaluable position in the Corps but rather how much she suppressed her emotions and tried to act normal.
Something that ironically Shinobu herself was quite familiar doing.
It made her relate to Miyasha on a completely different level — she saw her smile and her best attempts to act normal for those around her, knowing full well how much others looked up to her for hope. The tragedy in that whole scenario was not lost on her as she had watched the female gradually spiral down at her lowest, making everyone worried about her while she herself seemed to not understand her own emotions.
Detaching herself from her thoughts, Shinobu decided to focus on the task at hand and knocked on the door gently before opening it, "Ohayo, Miyasha-san~!" She smiled when she noticed the said female combing her hair — which was unexpectedly already quite past her shoulders, "It's time for your medicines~"
"Ah," Miyasha smiled in her direction as she entered, "Ohayo, Shinobu-san. And thank you so much for the medicines."
"You're always welcome," Shinobu's lips spread in a genuine smile as she handed her a glass of water, "How are you feeling today?"
"Honestly? Very sleepy," Miyasha's honest answer made her chuckle while the said female continued in an annoyed tone, "I hate how I can never sleep properly at night — and I actually did try that, these past few days. It just ends up making me feel even more tired than when I went to sleep and I don't even get how that works."
Shinobu couldn't help but chuckle at the younger female's complaints; despite half of her face being covered, Miyasha still managed to express her emotions quite well. Her tone, her body language as well as her overall facial expressions made her seem so open and friendly — as if she was speaking with her whole body.
And yet, Shinobu still found her the most closed off and mysterious person in the whole Estate — even without considering her quite intriguing blood and bodily functions.
"Maybe you should go back to your nocturnal schedule, eh?" Shinobu suggested gently as she took away the glass once Miyasha was done taking her medicines, "Or would that affect your training with Tomioka-san a lot?"
"...I don't think it would," she replied thoughtfully, "Let me see. And maybe consult Tomioka-senpai about this. I hope that won't be an issue to you?"
"Of course not~" the Insect Hashira answered honestly, noticing keenly how the younger slayer seemed quite comfortable with her fellow Hashira — a fact that would have been rather unbelievable if she hadn't seen her interact with him herself.
It honestly made her wonder how she managed to even make him talk to her so casually; Tomioka was someone Shinobu found to be the quite oblivious and socially introverted guy, making her sometimes worry that he would isolate himself from others unintentionally.
Which, well, he promptly did end up doing many a time.
However, since the arrival of Miyasha and Tanjiro, she could see some changes happening in Tomioka — at least, with how he didn't seem to mind people around him now. Shinobu wondered if he would react the same way he used to do before if she tried talking to him now.
Shinobu blinked in surprise as she noticed a small (and younger than her usual form) Nezuko walk into the room silently, making her look at her in amusement as Miyasha called the young demon's name affectionately.
Honestly speaking, Shinobu never thought she'll ever see a demon so calm and... affectionate — especially one as Nezuko, who crawled up to the lap of the injured demon slayer; who, in turn, tugged her into her arms and gently hugged her.
The whole imagery of the situation made Shinobu's smile softer as she fleetingly thought how her sister was right; maybe demons can work with humans.
The thoughts of her sister made her heart ache as she silently left the room, not bothering to disturb the two occupants; it has been four years since Kanae's death and yet, the anger, the sadness, the resentment still wrecked her core whenever she thought about her sister.
Shinobu knew she should move on; she knew even her sister would have wanted that for her and yet, it hurt to even try to do so.
How does one move on from something like this, anyway?
Heaven knows she wouldn't have survived a minute without her sister after their parents died — Kanae was the only one who kept her mentally stable, reminding her how to live again after the Demon ripped apart more than just their family.
She thought she knew how much her sister mattered to her but it wasn't until after her death that Shinobu realised how much she genuinely needed her.
Shinobu smiled wryly as she remembered the first few months after her sister's funeral.
It was difficult, painful and hopeless — everything reminded her of her sister as everyone looked sad and down after the loss. The whole atmosphere in the Butterfly Estate felt off and hopeless; something that her sister could have lifted up with her mere presence if she was alive.
It was hard to change and step up in her sister's position but even she knew it was needed; she had to take charge or else the people looking up to her now would lose their way just as she was slowly doing.
She took a deep breath as she stood at the porch and looked at the cloudy sky above her.
Shinobu tried her best to smile even when she didn't want to; she wasn't Kanae, she couldn't comfort people as well her sister did but she could try.
And even now, she knew she wasn't like her sister but somehow she did try to smile like her and help others — just as Kanae did and wanted to. That's the least she could do, after all.
Ironically enough, Shinobu thought wryly as she heard Tanjiro and his friends loudly rush down the hallway towards Miyasha's room, after years of trying to craft her personality and behaviour just like her sister's, it was Miyasha who still felt more like Kanae than Shinobu herself ever could.
A wry smile stretch on her lips as remembered how Miyasha interacted with Aoi or treated Naho, Kiyo and Sumi. It reminded her keenly of her sister; the way she interacted, the way she worried and even the way she smiled at them made her seem more like an elder sister than Shinobu — despite her trying to fit into that role for years now.
It made Shinobu even more intrigued about her, if she had to be honest.
She may not know Miyasha that well, but there was something familiar in the way she treated and interacted with others; it made Shinobu feel warm and rather nostalgic — so much so that at one point, she started drawing parallels between her and Kanae.
And, to her misfortune, she found a lot of things common between them that she couldn't unsee — from her caring nature to her soft smiles to her lack of self-care; Miyasha was similar to Kanae in so many aspects that it sometimes pained Shinobu to even look at her.
However, it was the differences between them that made it more painful for her — especially with how Miyasha seemed quite distrustful of humans even more than demons. The implication behind her words in the last Hashira meeting was not lost on anyone; however, the lack of clarity on the said implication made it even worse as the only thing she could do was assume what might have happened to Miyasha to even make her think that way.
It pained her to think something that drastic might have happened to make her feel so much disdain towards her own species; even worse was how she didn't seem to even act on it despite feeling that way, making Shinobu quite jumbled about her behaviour in general.
She remembered the Kinomiya twins once telling her how Miyasha never forgot, resulting in her keeping long-time grudges that they complained a lot about.
And yet, now when she actually met her, Shinobu couldn't help but try to find that quality in her through her acts — failing again and again as she couldn't match the feelings behind her words from her actions.
It made Miyasha seem even more complex than the twins had once made her out to be; somehow making Shinobu keener on observing her. She was new and very different from the people around her; something about Miyasha always made her feel strange, which she could never pinpoint.
Shinobu shook herself mentally from her abstract thoughts — it was no use thinking about them either way. Not to mention, she had a lot of work left to do this morning; especially since Aoi still had some mending work left to do that she was working on currently in the storage room.
The thought of Aoi made her lips tug into a small but proud smile. That girl was incredibly skilled with her hands — a literal blessing to the Estate, if you ever asked Shinobu. She was very proud of her and couldn't help but express it whenever she could; especially when Aoi felt particularly low.
Shinobu knew about Aoi's insecurities and how she tried to compensate them by working herself to the ground — and while she tried her best to ease the blue-eyed girl's worries and somewhat reassure her of her skills, it still didn't help much most of the times.
At times, Shinobu wondered if what she was doing was actually enough — or was it her way of handling the situation that was wrong?
Then again, there was no right way of knowing that either.
Shinobu walked over to her personal dispensary and took out the medicines she needed to give Rengoku for the day — his injuries were healed enough at this point that he could move without the splints.
However, his shoulder still seemed to need some time to heal completely; resulting in Shinobu detaining him for few more days before she could release him. Though, that only made him even more persistent in taking responsibility for his own tasks and medicines.
Shinobu wondered if it really was luck that Rengoku survived a solo encounter with an Upper Demon Moon; well, it would be unfair of her to call that a solo encounter when Rengoku very clearly emphasised how much Miyasha had contributed in the fight — going as far as acknowledging that it was her quick observation that had potentially given them the slight upper hand.
What intrigued Shinobu, and she was sure the other Hashiras too, was Miyasha's ability to quickly deduce the Demon's skewed moral code and use that to her advantage; something which ultimately seemed to make her a valuable addition to their fight and maybe their chance of survival too.
Though, sometimes she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Miyasha wasn't there to intervene — a question she knew the answer of quite well and yet still mused about.
Shinobu slowed down as she approached Rengoku's room, noticing the voices chatting inside the said room as she absent-mindedly wondered if someone was supposed to visit him today.
"I... thank you for understanding, Ren-senpai," she recognised Miyasha's voice as she neared the door, "You are too kind, you know? And yes, I will make sure to apologise to Rengoku-kun for my abrupt leave as well. I... I'm just glad I didn't hurt his feelings because of... well, because of my uncalled actions."
"Don't worry about that, Miyasha! You don't have to apologize for anything!" Shinobu took the pause that followed his comment as her cue to knock and enter into the room, greeting and smiling at the occupants as she walked over to place his medicines on the bedside table.
"I hope you know which medicines are to be taken when, then?" She asked him directly as she observed the retired Hashira take his morning pills without any guidance.
"Yes, I am familiar with them!" He answered cheerfully before turning to Miyasha, "Say, Miyasha! Have you taken your medicines yet?"
"Oh, yes I have," The younger female replied softly before turning directly to Shinobu to give her an appreciative smile, making the Hashira muse off-handedly if she could see through the bandages around her eyes, "Shinobu-san gave me my medicines for the morning a few moments before I came here."
"If I knew you were going to visit Rengoku-san today," Shinobu smiled as Rengoku handed her the glass silently, "Then I would have given you both your medicines together, Miyasha-san~"
The Insect Hashira smiled at the two slayers as they quipped at her remark, declaring it as a good idea before Rengoku chimed in with his questions about her medicines — making the youngest of the three patiently explain to him about the biology behind her injuries and the workings of her medicines.
Shinobu lingered in their room as she heard them converse, her mind reeling through the conversation she had accidentally overheard. From what she gathered, Miyasha seemed to be apologizing for her sudden leave a few days ago — an incident that had subsequently worried both her and the former Flame Hashira as he had narrated how distressed she seemed before her abrupt leave.
And while Shinobu couldn't fault him for his worry, his refusal to state what may have triggered such response made her question his intentions.
However, from what she heard, it seemed like Miyasha had such a reaction after being introduced to Rengoku's younger brother — a fact that confused her even more as she tried to solve the puzzle of what even happened that day.
Thankfully enough, from what she heard Zenitsu mention later, Tomioka was there to calm her down and help her through her distressed state — a fact that Shinobu couldn't exactly imagine happening and yet still found herself believing.
After all, while she still may not know Miyasha that well, she sure was familiar with Tomioka; and with how he had allowed her to stay the night with him at his Estate a few days back, Shinobu couldn't bring herself to deny that the Water Hashira was gradually changing in her presence.
And while Shinobu would have loved to poke around at both the slayers to see how close they had become, she knew it was not the right time to do any such acts.
Besides, she knew her time would come someday to tease those two to death — especially if they kept growing closer as they already were.
"That's why our eyes work completely different than our body," Shinobu tuned back into the conversation, "Making them acquire a 'privilege' from our immunity as they have their own immune system already."
"Ah, so your medicines only help to increase their recovery speed?" She silently observed Rengoku ask earnestly, his interest reflecting in his words as he seemed to listen to Miyasha quite dedicatedly.
"In a way, yes," Miyasha replied softly, "That and recover any damages that had been done to my skin around the eyes — that's why it contains milk and herbs along with wisteria."
"Miyasha-san," Shinobu called out her name, effectively drawing both the slayers' attention to her, "I was meaning to ask this before, but doesn't taking wisteria so directly..."
"Could affect me adversely?" The youngest of the three completed the sentence for her before explaining patiently, "Of course not. As you may have already noticed, my immunity is extremely high — making my body resilient to not only many diseases but also a good many poisons, as far as I've observed. This is why wisteria, even when injected or given directly, doesn't affect my body as it should have done if it was given to a normal human."
"That," she added sheepishly, "And the fact that I have been using it directly on myself for years at this point. Even if my body had any reactions, the way I trained it would have made it resilient. I think."
"That's phenomenal!" Shinobu could see Rengoku's eyes sparkling as he commented, "That makes your blood optimal for demon slaying!"
"Conveniently so," Shinobu could feel the dry humour in her voice; though, what she drew that humour from, she wasn't sure.
"Rengoku-san is right — it indeed is very unique and helpful." Shinobu smiled towards the younger slayer despite knowing that she couldn't see her expressions, "I'm glad that such medicinal herbs—"
Shinobu was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door, surprising all the three occupants as Rengoku called for the person outside to enter. However, it was Miyasha that drew her attention though as she noticed the younger female's face twist into a grimace.
"Ah, Tomioka!" The Insect Hashira frowned in confusion as she noticed the blue-eyed Hashira stand stiffly in the doorway, "Come in! Come in!" Rengoku welcomed him cheerfully as the said Hashira glanced at everyone in the room before fixing his gaze onto Miyasha.
Shinobu silently observed the two as Tomioka stepped in and stood at the end of the bed — just behind Miyasha who turned to look at him... sheepishly?
She wondered for a split second if something had happened between the two to make her act like that; but before she could address it or even think about it further, the question was unintentionally answered by Miyasha's next few words.
"Ohayo, Tomioka-senpai," she gave a sheepish smile in his direction before continuing, "I'm so sorry for forgetting about the change in time for our training! Please forgive my forgetfulness—"
Shinobu watched amusingly as Tomioka started shaking his head midway through her apology before shifting to verbally brushing her off, telling her bluntly that it was not an issue. The sight of the Water Hashira acting so open — or at least, relatively so — to the younger female made Shinobu feel strangely amused and excited; especially with how he actually bothered to reply to her without even being coerced to.
"Ah, so you shifted your schedule then?" Rengoku's question pulled Shinobu out of her musings as she focused back onto the conversation they were having, "Would you be free on the afternoons then?"
"Not sure...?" Miyasha relayed unsurely, "I mean, we were mostly training in the afternoons so that I didn't miss my daily check-ups but since we aren't doing those anymore, Tomioka-senpai suggested I try practising from the mornings."
The younger female shrugged as she continued, "I mean, the more time the better, I guess? I'm making very little progress anyway."
"You are doing well," Tomioka interjected unexpectedly, making both her and Rengoku look at him in surprise while Miyasha shook her head in stubborn denial, "Stop thinking otherwise."
"You are too kind to say anything otherwise, senpai," Miyasha quipped back, making Shinobu's lips twitch as she watched the two banter, "But I can see how much progress I'm making, you know? Well, 'see' in the figurative sense since if I could do the literal one, I wouldn't even have to do this training in the first place."
Shinobu cracked a smile at her dark sense of humour while Rengoku reprimanded her for making such a joke on her injury — though, if she had to be honest, Shinobu couldn't deny she liked her sense of humour.
Not that she would ever admit.
"Oof, I know that, senpai," Shinobu watched her reply exasperatedly while she gradually shifted to get off the bed, "I was just, you know, clearing any doubts anyone ha—"
Shinobu's eyes widened as Miyasha suddenly lost her grip on the edge of the bed and stumbled, making everyone in the room reach out to her in an attempt to stop her fall.
Thankfully, Tomioka caught her immediately and steadied her with a gentleness that made Shinobu smile even more; they looked so natural together that she couldn't help but wish they could see that too.
But knowing Tomioka, she doubted he'll even understand what was happening.
"Are you alright?" Rengoku asked as soon as Miyasha steadied herself.
"Thankfully enough, yes," The said girl gave them a lopsided grin as she continued, "And don't worry senpai, this is literally in my routine now — to stumble at least once a day. I swear, I have never been as clumsy as I am now and it always happens when I get off the bed!"
"Well, you are injured," Shinobu gently pointed out as she eyed the couple still standing quite close to each other, "You should take things a bit easier, Miyasha-san."
"Trust me, that won't help either," the younger female quipped back as she finally stepped away from Tomioka to go stand near the doorway, "I have accepted my destiny already."
"You'll injure yourself again like this." Tomioka monotonously pointed out, to which Miyasha jokingly replied, "Well, destiny it is!"
Shinobu couldn't help the smile that stretched on her lips at the unimpressed look Tomioka gave her, making her feel oddly giddy as the two of them bid their farewell and left the room.
She never expected them to act so... casual around each other— especially Tomioka, if she had to be honest. But seeing him readily accepting her physical closeness without moving away or even mentioning it made her smile almost stretch ear to ear.
They looked very adorable — and dare she say — maybe even as much as Mitsuri and Iguro.
Similarly oblivious too, if she had to guess.
"They look quite comfortable with each other, don't they?" Rengoku's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, making her turn to the former Hashira who seemed to be staring in the direction of the door.
"That they do," Shinobu answered vaguely as she observed her once fellow Hashira, "Maybe her training made them quite familiar with one another. I mean, he has been mentoring her before her last mission too, as far as I have heard."
She noticed how Rengoku's face twisted into a slight frown before it melted into his usual, cheerfully blank expression.
Shinobu honestly wondered if it was really as it looked like, while leaving the room after a quick farewell. How amusing would it be if Rengoku was romantically interested in Miyasha as well?
Shinobu shook her head as she tried to suppress the amused smile still playing on her lips; what would be too amusing to actually be the case — maybe Rengoku was just as surprised as her to see Tomioka behaving so out of character?
Then again, she can't say she was much familiar with him to be the judge of that either.
By the time Shinobu next saw Miyasha, it was already dark outside. Tomioka had escorted her to her room after their training, while still lingering there for a few minutes as Miyasha gave no sign of letting him go either.
And while Shinobu found it extremely adorable (and somewhat intrusive of her to do so too), she soon had to remind them of the time and nudge her fellow Hashira out of the room.
Shinobu honestly wondered if he was actually dense enough to do this or was it the other way around, with him being smooth enough to get away with it?
A sigh was the only answer she could give herself as she proceeded to give Miyasha her nightly medicines once she was done eating.
"Shinobu-san?"
"Hm?" The Insect Hashira turned slightly towards the younger female who was sitting upright on her bed, "Hai, Miyasha-san?"
"When do you think the bandages could be removed?" She asked bluntly, making Shinobu hum as she tried formulating an answer that won't sound like an excuse to her.
Because, in the end, her bandages should have been removed by now — something that Shinobu kept delaying, honestly because of the best chance she wanted to give her eyes to heal, along with the secondary reason of making the girl in front of her rest and somewhat take a break.
Alas, the latter part was a harder goal than she had expected it to be, and now that she had finally gained some resemblance of acceptance of her state, her 'time off' became even more scarce.
"In a few days, if all goes right," Shinobu answered as she hesitated a moment before continuing, "Maybe by the beginning of next week. Although, I'm not sure if your sight..."
"Ah, that's understandable," Miyasha gave her a soft smile; one that she had seen her give the younglings so many times before, "I'm not expecting much either way. I just want to return to a semblance of normalcy while also knowing for certain how I should proceed with the next step of my training — especially if, by some miracle, my eyesight does remain intact."
"In that case," Shinobu decided to point out as she slowly removed her existing bandages, "You might have to be very careful with your health. There will be a very high chance of your eyesight being temporary more than anything."
"I know, I know," the younger female chuckled as Shinobu finally got her bandages off her face; her clear as sky expression making the Hashira kind of miss seeing her wisteria coloured orbs, "I just want to be certain of what I need to do next. Especially since that'll affect a lot on how I am going to base my future fighting style as; thankfully, Tomioka-senpai has been very patient with my condition and has helped me a lot in formulating my next few steps, so I'm not that worried either."
Shinobu hummed as she gently applied the cold, milky ointment around her eyes, "That's quite good to hear. I hope your current training with him is going well?"
"Exceptionally so," The Hashira noticed the smile that bloomed on her face as she spoke about Tomioka, "He has been extremely patient with me and has helped me a lot in concentrating and focusing on my own aura. Honestly, I can't even properly convey how thankful I am for his help and overall guidance."
A smile tugged on Shinobu's lips as she noticed Miyasha's genuine emotions for her fellow Hashira, "I'm glad to hear he could help you so much. Although, I can't say I quite saw this coming when you two first approached me to ask about leaving the Estate."
"Hm, why so?" The Insect Hashira noticed how the younger female had somehow simmered down, her body language shifting to a slight defensive one that only amused her further.
"Ah, not much," she decided to answer honestly and see how it played out, "Just that, I have never really seen Tomioka-san that... open and friendly with anyone. That's why I didn't quite anticipate you two approaching me in the first place — and even when you did, I still had doubts regarding how much he will be able to help you."
"That's," Shinobu noticed as Miyasha's posture loosened after hearing her answer, "Understandable. He is indeed a bit..."
"Standoffish? Air-head?" Shinobu 'helpfully' provided.
Miyasha chuckled at her suggestions, "I was going for awkward and oblivious, but I can see where you are coming from. Don't be too harsh on him though, please. He is the way he is mostly due to how he had to adapt to protect himself. Can't fault him for that, can we now?"
"Maybe not," Shinobu confessed as she rolled a fresh roll of bandages around her eyes, "But his ability to not pick up obvious social cues doesn't help him either."
"That I do agree," the younger girl answered as she tilted her head down to give Shinobu better access, "However, I find that it's better to explain and teach such people than poke fun at them. Especially since they won't be able to even comprehend such jokes as good humour if they are not much familiar with the social etiquettes in the first place."
Shinobu absent-mindedly nodded as she processed her words — Miyasha was right, maybe being indirect with Tomioka really is a waste if he is that oblivious. She would have a better chance of getting him to talk if she's direct with him. Maybe.
"That sounds quite plausible," Shinobu admitted as she tied the bandages securely at the end, "Although, I can't help but feel like you are telling me this from your personal experience, hm~?"
"Eh, maybe," Miyasha's off-handed reply coupled with her shrug caught Shinobu off-guard, "I mean, that's the approach I have been taking with him for the past few weeks, and so far it has worked well with me."
The Insect Hashira stared at her in disbelief for a few seconds — she knew Tomioka was oblivious; however, she never expected Miyasha to be the same as well.
An amused smile tugged at her lips as she suppressed her bubbling laughter at the very ironic situation in front of her. Honestly, she never expected this from Miyasha and while she couldn't deny how amused this made her, she definitely could feel how long of an affair this was going to be. Especially considering that both the parties, in this case, were relatively clueless, unlike in Mitsuri's case.
Truly, what an adorably clueless pair.
"...did I say something wrong?"
"Ah, no, you didn't," Shinobu amusingly replied, "I was just thinking, that's all. Maybe I should do that, as you suggested."
"Thank you for considering it then." Miyasha replied as she leaned on her bed before asking, "That reminded me, Shinobu-san, how is Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke's injuries?"
The said Hashira raised an eyebrow as she noticed the lack of honorifics at the end of their name, though didn't bother to mention it as she replied, "They are completely healed, fortunately. While Tanjiro-kun's wounds were the gravest, he recovered the fastest as well."
"No complications on their side?"
"No complications."
"I'm glad to hear," Shinobu smiled as she noticed her slump against her pillow, "Those three got some very serious injuries in the last mission — and with how often they get injured, it worries me a lot."
Shinobu agreed with her sentiment as she added, "Their temporary lay off as a punishment is helping them well to recover completely both physically and mentally."
"Temporary lay off?" Miyasha's frown greeted her before she explained how the three of them — technically Miyasha too, but she wasn't explicitly mentioned unlike the rest — were temporarily laid off from any missions as a 'punishment' for 'interrupting' a Hashira on their mission; a punishment completely on the paper and given for the benefit of the said slayers than the Corps itself.
"Ah," Miyasha nodded after the explanation, "I did hear about that — I just wasn't aware that it was given as a form of punishment. Though, I can't deny I don't see the reasoning behind doing it that way either. It was quite needed too, if you ask me."
"I am sure it was," Shinobu smiled as she finally took a seat at the edge of her bed, noticing how Miyasha automatically gave her enough space to almost comfortably lay beside her; reminding her of when she had found her and Tanjiro dozing off on her bed, a few days ago.
What may seem inappropriate if someone heard it as such, it looked completely innocent and rather sweet as Miyasha had slumped above the younger male's head while she dozed off — a position that was bad for her posture but painted a rather protective imagery as both of them slept.
"Miyasha-san," Shinobu started as a question popped in her head regarding their previous (unauthorised) mission, "Do you know whether the demon Tanjiro and Inosuke killed was a Demon Moon or not?"
She noticed how Miyasha took a pause before answering, "I can't say for sure, but I do believe that the demon was as strong as one. Why, did something happen?"
"Ah," Shinobu kept her suspicion out of her voice as she replied, knowing full well that she couldn't technically get it out of her without her realizing it — though she still felt unsure about the reason behind such secrecy, "Rengoku-san mentioned about it earlier, that's why I was curious."
"Of course." She observed the younger female keenly as she nodded a few times, letting the strange silence linger before she called out her name, "Shinobu-san?"
"Hm?"
"Have you," the hesitance in her voice intrigued Shinobu as she focused all her attention on Miyasha, "Uh, after the mission, what happened to the passengers of the train?"
"Can't say I know much about that," the Hashira admitted, "But, I think, they were retrieved by the local authorities once the slayers left."
"Ah," she noticed how Miyasha frowned while turning her head towards the right, "Do you... um, have you me— I mean, have you heard about any... children during the mission? Or got any of them as a patient or something?"
"Unfortunately no," Shinobu felt genuinely confused as she answered, "We didn't actually have any civilian casualties in the last mission, if that is what you are asking. Not even adults, let alone children."
"Oh," she noticed how Miyasha deflated and turned silent.
"Why, were you expecting someone, Miyasha-san?" Shinobu asked directly, confusion evident in her voice as she didn't bother to mask it.
"Not exactly," the younger female chuckled nervously as she sat up, "I mean, I was hoping against my better judgement, but oh well."
"...would you answer if I ask who you were expecting?" Shinobu finally asked, deciding to let her curiosity run rampage one time as she couldn't help but feel worried about how she was asking about children on such a mission.
"It's nothing serious, don't worry," Miyasha replied softly before pausing for a brief moment; Shinobu could literally see her hesitance in sharing the information with her, making the Hashira feel somewhat hurt as she felt she was not trusted by her.
Which she could understand as well, but it still saddened her.
"It's just," Miyasha took a deep breath, "It's just, I had to deal with some kids on the train who were being manipulated by the demon, that's all."
"That demon controlled some children?" Shinobu asked with thinly veiled disgust, which somewhat turned back into confusion as Miyasha shook her head in denial.
"Manipulated, not controlled." She pointed out before narrating the incident she is faced in the train in great detail — how some civilian children had been working with the demon, laying off to kill the demon slayers from the within by going into their subconscious.
"At least, that's what I think they were trying to do," the younger female relayed at the end of her narration, "However, since I had stopped them before they could, they resorted to blurt out their plans to me and essentially tried to attack me."
Shinobu couldn't help but feel disgusted and shocked over the aspect of humans stuping so low to kill other humans upon a Demon's words — her disdain multiplying as Miyasha continued with the reason behind those children's motivation, making the Hashira feel a mixture of emotions she wasn't quite comfortable with.
"After all," Miyasha's soft, levelled voice relayed, "Humans are not always without cause — however, how good the cause might be, differs from one another. They did what they thought would be the best for them, opting to choose the more... appealing reality than the harsher one they were too familiar with; something that is ingrained in basic human nature, if you will."
Shinobu somewhat agreed with her as she silently thought over her words — her inner-self feeling rather conflicted between the emotions of disgust and pity.
She understood why the kids attempted to do what they were doing but even that somehow felt like an excuse as she kept comparing their past to that of her own — would she have ended up as such if she was left alone too? No, right?
"I can't say I completely agree with you on that, Miyasha-san," Shinobu decided to confess honestly, "I may have the same past those kids do — in fact, I think the other Hashiras may have even worse. That didn't make us help the demons, or even be like them. I don't think justifying their actions because of their past is fair or valid, Miyasha-san."
"Ah, you are right," Shinobu frowned as the younger female smiled at her kindly, "Their past does not justify their actions — and please do forgive me if it seemed I was saying as such. The only reason I was talking about their states and possible pasts was only to highlight their reasonings — after all, that's the only way we can understand why they did what they did."
"As for you and the other Hashiras," she continued smiling softly as she explained her perspective, "I agree on that part too; your past may have been way severe than any of these children. However, the circumstances had been different — we had the fortune to be given a ray of hope by the Corps, which they weren't. In addition to that, just because your past may be harsher, does not means their experience could be invalidated. They faced what they did, saw what we didn't and interpreted it in a way we can only hope to understand. Blaming them for the depravity that was caused by the failing system is quite unfair, isn't it?"
Shinobu remained silent as she mused over her words, realizing quite quickly how biased her own view could seem — a skewed view over the morals that she, as well as the Hashiras, believed to be universal.
Is this what Tanjiro talking about in the Hashira meeting?
"If it helps," Miyasha's voice drew her out of her thoughts, "Then I can give you an example for better understanding. Would you like that?"
Shinobu replied affirmatively once she got over how strange this felt — her explanations along with her words gave her a strangely older presence that the Hashira couldn't help but admire.
"I once had a sister," Miyasha started, making her stiffen as her words registered, "Well, a younger sister, if I had to be precise. She... She was my everything."
The younger female gave her a soft, melancholic smile as she continued, "I loved her beyond life itself — I still do, in fact. And so does... and so did she. Don't worry, she is not dead — at least I hope she isn't. It's, it was me who died for her and I just can't return to her anymore."
"Died... for her?" Shinobu couldn't wrap her head around the new information as Miyasha took mercy on her and explained it to her further.
"She saw me get severely injured; and while I somehow ended up escaping the situation that had almost killed me, I couldn't go back anymore as I was already too far away by the time I realised," the melancholic smile on her face stretched as her expression softened further, "I... I love her still and I always will — so much so that if I was asked, or maybe given the chance to meet her even once, I wouldn't hesitate to take it."
"At least I think I wouldn't," The younger female huffed as she added, "Look, what I mean to say is that every human has a desire that they can't reach — something that they either always wanted or something that they lost forever. These... unreachable desires shape us and often end up becoming our reason for the way we are. It is unique to each and that's why you and the Hashiras turned out to be as you are while others didn't."
Miyasha paused as she gave a chance for Shinobu the speak; however, she couldn't speak a word as her mind was still stuck on her recent confession — drawing parallels between her and Kanae once again, despite the hurt she felt with that very action.
"What would have you said to her if you could ever meet her once again?" She couldn't help but ask once she somewhat regained the ability to.
"If I could meet her one more time...?" She watched as her smile turned affectionate when she continued, "If I could even talk to my little sister one last time, I would've said her to do the one thing I wasn't able to — to live life to its fullest."
Shinobu's heart thundered as Miyasha repeated the very words Kanae had once said to her, "I would have told her to live her life to the fullest and not cling to my memory."
"Because," it was eerie how Miyasha was looking right at her now, making Shinobu feel strangely uneasy while she continued unknowingly exposing her, "In the end, grief and anger only consume you from the inside — blinding you from what you are becoming, while your vision is stuck in the past."
The silence that fell after her words extremely bothered Shinobu — however, she couldn't bring herself to break it as she still felt quite too exposed and vulnerable from the sudden calling out Miyasha had done unintentionally.
She took a few moments to collect herself before she made a much-needed leave; she needed some space and time to think about what had just happened along with what Miyasha had suddenly disclosed. Since all this happened altogether, it made Shinobu feel quite uneasy and overwhelmed — a combination of emotions she didn't feel for quite a long time.
And even during this, her mind couldn't help but compare a few subtle things between Miyasha and her sister — however, the differences this time overpowered as she realised Miyasha was way more mature and calculated than her sister was ever.
The Insect Hashira took a temporary seat on the porch as she looked up at the still cloudy night sky, musing almost absent-mindedly how indecisive the clouds had been the whole day as it didn't rain a drop and yet covered the sky nonetheless — quite ironically similar to how Shinobu was feeling now as she knew what Miyasha said was true and yet, still couldn't see past her one motivation, her one desire in life.
She couldn't believe how much she found herself agreeing to the younger female as she recounted her words; taking time to process the entire conversation as the cold wind blew past her.
And, in the end, as she looked up at the waning moon, she couldn't help but wonder how much Miyasha really knew — she was quite sure it was more than she led on, but the way she talked today...
It only made her feel more intrigued about her. And maybe impressed.
(~End of Demon Train Arc~)
And with this, we are finally done with this trainwreck of an arc! (No pun intended) On a more serious note — I hope I did the characters justice. Especially Rengoku in the previous chapters and Shinobu in this one.
In fact, this chapter was ridiculously hard to write as I had to rewrite about a good quarter of this chapter thrice only to 'keep her in character.' I mean, I am still writing my own interpretation of her which may be a bit canon divergent but it still turned out to be the most difficult chapter I've ever written from the other's perspective.
That, and I genuinely wanted to explore her a bit beyond the 'I-hate-Tomioka-but-not-in-a-mean-way' perspective that I've seen way too many paint her. I mean, she is like that but it goes beyond it as well — which most of the manga readers will know, if you went ahead and read the extra panels of the said manga.
Again, no offence to the GiyuuShino (that's the ship name, right?) shippers, but I honestly can't see them more than friends — Giyuu is too traumatised to even realize or have such feelings while Shinobu is too focused on revenge and her burning anger to actually even consider seeking such relationships.
Anyway, my own opinions aside, we have finally finished this arc! And now, finally, I will start editing the previous chapters from what they are currently — nothing too major, I assure you. Just the grammatical errors and smoothing out the writing since my writing style has changed exponentially in the past few months.
Regardless, since the next arc is gonna be another major one Miyasha, I'm gonna take a bit of time to maybe plan it out then start — maybe after editing or alongside it. Who knows?
》Taishou Secrets《
Shiori, Miyasha's owl, was fed and taken care of by Shinobu and occasionally Nezuko — who had taken a liking to the owl after the said bird had refused to leave its owner's side after her injury. However, Shiori was temporarily removed before Miyasha could wake up, and sent to the Kasugai training grounds. That's why she had not yet made an appearance — but would most likely be allowed to come back once Miyasha's bandages are removed or she starts on her missions again.
Now, onto the review replies!
Zephyrine Tremblay: Heya dearie! I'm happy to hear you liked my new chapter! However, as for schedule — it's non-existent :') I mostly post when I can, but the best I can give is once in two weeks. However, since my college is ass and life loves me no more, please do not hold my word to its last letter ;w;
Starrat: Thank you so much for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I hope you like this one too ^^
ukitakeitalialover041757: Awwie, I'm glad you liked those moments! And yes, I feel ya onto the hug part xD I myself wanted to hug them so much but I can't so I write them hugging each other ;w; Also, thank you so much for your review! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
MehScrewIt: I'm glad you liked Miyasha and Giyuu's dynamic! I mean, with how both of them are, Giyuu is far from realizing his own emotions and Miyasha ain't even looking for them right now, lol. That's why all the flusters, cute beans bean being all oblivious and Miyasha dying halfway through. As for Tanjiro — I'm glad you liked how I portrayed his emotions about this all! I mean, he did feel guilty for Rengoku's death in the manga as well; that's why I think he'll act this way if something like this happened too, because he is too used to being in the position of responsibility!
And that'll be all for this chapter! Thank you so much for your kind reviews! They made me smile so much! Please review this one too if you want to— I love reading from you guys, and honestly, it motivates me like no other ^^
Stay safe and stay healthy!
