People will start to think that I have an obsession with this AU since it's the second one I make BUT ANYWAYS

I've finished something and that's enough for me (?) I have other AU's baking in my computer, so it's fine.

I have to admit that sometimes writing this became difficult, since English is not my native language. I had to check again and again the terms I used in the dictionary. At least it helps me to practice the language. If there is any grammar mistake, thanks to point them out QwQ I hope there aren't a lot.

This is just domestic fluff, but I need this or else I'll become crazy QwQ Now, enjoy :D

Little visitor in the raining afternoon

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She kept staring at her homework sheet full of physics formulae and after a moment, she just sighed. It was too much. She couldn't take it anymore. But it was the last one to be done, this one, and then she would be able to lazy around as much as she wanted. Just not immediately. If she keeps staring at the paper, her brain might stop functioning for good. Even though Shinobu was a top student with outstanding marks, she too needed a break from time to time. So, for once she allowed herself to raise her gaze from her homework and look out of the window.

It was raining outside, pouring heavily as if they were in the middle of the raining season. Good thing she was inside, dry and warm with her legs tucked under the kotatsu, even if she still had homework to do. She would rather be here than fighting for a place in the school library: that place had a tendency to gather all sort of people with this weather, and not everybody was there to study. She needed a quiet and comfortable place to study properly—though she can, in fact, study almost everywhere: she was just too tired to do it in a library full of people—and that's why she came to his place, pretty much unannounced. He didn't mind anyways, and he had just let her inside as usual, making some space on the table to allow her to study comfortably. He was just worried that someone might have seen her coming, but she assured him that nobody saw her, as always.

Her gaze slowly drifted from the raining weather to him. When she arrived, he was grading some papers but he had finished quite quickly, and now he was sitting by the window, his back resting against the wall, looking outside and with a cigarette in his hand. The window was slightly open to allow the smoke to go out and thus the sound of rain was stronger, clearer. She didn't mind it. She found it rather relaxing.

"Shinobu?" his deep, baritone voice startled her. "Have you finished?"

She didn't realize that she had kept staring at him longer than intended. He was bringing the cigarette closer to his lips when he felt he was being watched, and when he turned to see her, he found her staring silently at him. His deep blue eyes were looking attentively into her purple ones, and she could feel herself absorbed by his gaze.

She felt her cheeks grow warmer even though the window was open. He had caught her like a child trying to snatch some cookies before snack-time.

"N-not yet" she replied while breaking the eye contact, smiling to hide her embarrassment. She cursed herself for stuttering. "I'm just taking a small break."

He hummed thoughtfully before taking another puff on his cigarette, then turning outside to exhale. "Don't strain yourself too much" he finally said still looking outside.

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind" she replied still smiling.

When she made sure he wasn't going to turn around again, she allowed herself to let her head softly drop on the table. Her cheeks were still hot and she was sure she was blushing. She must have looked like a hopeless teenager in love—which she was, but she would never admit it out loud, it was way too embarrassing.

Finally, she decided that staying like this would lead to nothing, and so, she prepared herself to attack the last part of her homework. But when she was about to write down the first exercise, she heard a meow.

Her body froze. Mustering all her strength, she slowly raised her head again, to the direction where the sound came, by the open window.

"Gi-giyū-san… Isn't that…"

There was a cat. A cat. A grey and white cat poking from outside, meowing softly. All the warning bells in her head where ringing, and she was mentally preparing herself to hide into the bathroom if that cat ever dared to come anywhere close to her. Giyū, on the other hand, was just slightly surprised to see the cat in his balcony.

"Oh. You came" he greeted the animal with a soft voice, looking rather pleased to see it. The cat meowed in response.

He raised his hand to pat it in the head, and the animal leaned to his touch, purring loudly. Shinobu was astonished. Was she dreaming? Did she concentrate too much on her homework again that now she was having visions? Was Giyū really patting a cat without being scratched or getting bit?

"Is it really possible?" she couldn't avoid to say out loud. "Is there really a cat… no, an animal that doesn't hate you?"

For once, he didn't shoot her an offended look. "He's a stray cat that lives around here" he explained while rubbing behind the cat's hear. It kept purring loudly "We take care of him with the neighbours, giving him food and sometimes bringing him to vet. Sometimes he visits us. He likes to hide in the balconies when it's raining."

All the while he was talking, he was smiling softly. He had peaceful expression she had rarely seen, and she was rather distraught to see that it was a cat who caused it.

"It's nice, though" he said quietly. "To find an animal who doesn't react angrily at me."

Shinobu's expression softened. She liked to make fun of it sometimes, but she knew that the animal's natural aversion for Giyū leaved him disheartened, even if he didn't show it. Heck, he even got bitten by a dog in the ass when he was a child. She had laughed hard that day, when his sister told her stories of his childhood, much to his chagrin.

The cat decided that a pat on his head wasn't enough, and outrageously ignoring Shinobu's horrified expression, it entered in the small apartment and laid itself down on Giyū's lap. As for him, he was smiling while rubbing the cat's belly with one hand, the other still holding the cigarette.

Shinobu was conflicted. She felt as if there wasn't enough room for her and the cat to be in the same space. Given, she was seating at the other side of the room, but it was still a six-tatami room, and although she didn't usually mind the lack of space, now she was feeling quite cramped inside. She was tempted to ask Giyū to throw the cat out, but seeing his content expression she reluctantly decided otherwise. Besides, the sight of Giyū smiling was quite an endearing one.

"Shinobu?" he asked again. He caught her staring again, but she couldn't really avoid it when he looked so handsome when smiling. "You still haven't finished? Do you need help?"

Scrap that. He was still a moron. She plastered her best fake smile on her face as she felt a vein popping out on her forehead.

"No offence Tomioka-sensei, but as a PE teacher I hardly believe you have the knowledge to solve advanced physics formulae. Now, can you please keep quiet as usual? I still need to finish this."

He was clearly taken aback by her sudden change of attitude and the switch to his last name. She didn't intend to snap at him, but in her defence, the cat was making her nervous. Giyū relented, and chose to focus his attention on the cat again. It was quiet, except for the sound of the rain and the cat's purring.

She took a deep breath and chose to ignore the animal's presence. She wasn't going to finish her homework if she kept sulking over it, yet she had to admit that thanks to the cat, she had the chance to see Giyū's smiling face. She still disliked cats though, or any animal with fur.

When she finally finished, the rain had stopped pouring. The clouds were slowly drifting away, letting the sun peek here and there. Giyū had already finished his cigarette, and shortly after the rain stopped the cat stepped outside to enjoy the sun, allowing him to close the window. She was still checking her answers when he got up, and only took notice of him when he crouched by her side.

"Have you finished?" he asked, startling her. She kept smiling.

"What was that Tomioka-sensei? Do you intend to give me a heart arrest? And yes, I've finished" she retorted. "Can you wash yourself please? You still smell like cigarettes and you know I can't stand it."

Giyū froze on the spot. He had been rebuked twice in less than two hours by his student. She still wasn't over the cat's visit. He finally chose to call defeat, and went to the bathroom to wash himself. Shinobu started to put away her schoolbooks when she noticed that the cat was still in the balcony, seemingly looking at her.

Frowning and with her lips pressed, she stood up and walked towards the window, crouching in front of the animal. She could still hear its muffled meowing through the closed window. She glanced back towards the bathroom's door. Giyū wasn't going to come out until a while. She looked back at the cat, still frowning, and sighed.

"You can still come if you make him smile" she said softly. "But try to not come when I'm here" she quickly added.

The cat merely meowed a last time, before jumping into a nearby balcony and continuing with its own day.

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A few notes about this:
-Giyuu states in a Taishou Secret that Shinobu can't stand cats, dogs, and pretty much any animal with fur. And it's also canon that Giyuu got bitten in the ass by a dog and that's why he doesn't have any pets (databook info if I remember well)
-Smoking is bad for health, but I really wanted to write Giyuu smoking Q_Q The few times I saw fanarts of him smoking I was like "damn, he looks so good." Anyway, he doesn't smoke a lot either, just once every five hundred years. Shinobu herself only saw him smoke once or twice (and they spend a lot of time together, so she knows)
-Ok, I admit I wrote this only because I wanted to see an animal being friendly with Giyuu AT LEAST ONCE. I know it's canon that animals hate Giyuu, but it would be so cute if he could just spend a couple of hours with an animal without getting attacked. So I made it QwQ

Honestly I'm not sure about how I wrote Shinobu's character Q_Q I hope it's okay.

Now, my brain needs resting QwQ