A/N: An upload? After 2 years? I'm alive?

OKAyokay please hide the pitch forks and torches omg ;A;) I'm so sorry I was gone for so long. I'm okay, no injuries, and no threats of imminent death lmao

Last year was just...hectic. I moved to a new country, I was adjusting to a new family, I feel like I wasted my first three years in uni because of the diff education system (I'm back to taking freshman classes), I can't see all my irl friends anymore, and now I can't make new ones. I also had to visit lots of doctors for follow up check-ups (born with a heart dse).

I know those all sound unbelievable reasons, but believe it or not I'm good with any. I'm just so, so tired. I received some lowkey hate on my stories during all that and I just can't take it anymore haha I quit writing ever since, basically scrapped all my ideas and just drowned myself in studying and drawing (where I feel like I'm better/received better feedback?) My mental health committed seppuku on the first few months of 2019.

I'm doing better (?) now. I feel like I'm managing my thoughts and loneliness better than last year, and I felt a creative spark for writing again. I'm still on hiatus on my other stories, but I decided to try finishing a new one shot for a ship I'm new to. I'm not sure how often I'll be active, but I want to write more soon! :D

Thank you, and sorry for the long rant. Please enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: Kimetsu no Yaiba belongs to Koyoharu Gotōge. This work is fictional, any similarity to any real life place, name, and event is purely coincidental.

If one asked Tomioka Giyuu about Kochou Shinobu, he would answer, without missing a beat, "A strong Pillar, probably the fastest person in combat I've ever fought with."

Never in his mind, so single-mindedly focused on survival and slaying demons, would he have noted on her inherent beauty and natural charm.

Granted, that charm was most likely lost to him, considering she does nothing but tease him to oblivion whenever they had joint missions together.

To Giyuu, a Demon Slayer was a Demon Slayer. Gender mattered little to him, and he certainly thought of Koucho more of a formidable Insect Pillar and a trusted ally than a woman.

So it came to his surprise when, during his visit to the Butterfly Mansion for an injury after a recent mission, Zenitsu—one of the trio who more or less bunked in the mansion on their days off—told him quite aggressively, and frankly out of the blue, "Man, you're so luuuucky to be close with such a pretty lady like Kochou-san!"

And, with Giyuu's usual predilection for short conversations and even shorter replies, he told him, "Kochou is not a lady." She's a strong and respectable warrior, capable of protecting herself and others. And we're not close .

He didn't know why Zenitsu's mouth hung open at that, and why he suddenly looked like he was about to burst a major vessel, but at that moment the ward door slid open and Tanjirou walked in with Kochou.

Tanjirou has bandages around his forehead and kept casting wary glances at Kochou, his nostrils flaring as if he's predicting with his supernatural sense of smell that something is about to happen. Kochou, on the other hand, was smiling as usual, but there was a prominent vein on her temple, like how it would appear whenever they used strenuous breathing techniques.

"G-Giyuu-san! How rare to see you here!" Tanjirou said when the silence stretched on for too long. He kept his eyes on Kochou as she inched closer to Giyuu's bed to check his bandages.

Giyuu grunted in reply, addressing the younger boy with a slight tilt of his head.

"This is bad...so bad," he heard Zenitsu whisper repeatedly, his eyes meeting with Tanjirou briefly before they both eyed the door as if considering to bolt. He also eyed Kochou cautiously, probably hearing something a normal human ears' couldn't.

Giyuu didn't understand this. Were they embarrassed for him due to his lack of upper clothing, with only bandages covering his chest? He didn't mind, especially with Kochou.

She was, after all, not only a skilled Demon Slayer, but a proficient doctor as well. She'd stitched him up more times than he can count; the worst was when an uncharacteristically quick demon had clawed a long diagonal line from above his knee to a few inches below his buttocks.

It had been an aggravating injury, especially since the demon's claws were poison-tipped, and he was delirious and barely conscious when Kakushi had taken him to the Butterfly Mansion. But he dimly remembered Kochou's scent—herbs and wisteria—and her voice reprimanding his carelessness.

She'd stitched him up, without a complaint, and if he had any embarrassment with her seeing his unclothed skin before that, it had been gone after that incident. She'd probably seen worse scars than his.

Kochou was a professional, and he liked that about her.

"Tomioka-san," Kochou said as she untied the bandages around his midriff. "It's true that you don't often visit the estate, but my, you always come in with the worst injuries." She started unwrapping his wound.

"It's not that bad," he argued quietly when she finally uncovered his abdomen, where a raised, angry red line laid diagonally above his hip. Even Tanjirou and Zenitsu winced when they saw it.

"Hmm, is that so?" Kochou hummed in reply, and he sensed some annoyance in her. It didn't come as a surprise when she poked his injury with a prodding finger, causing him to nearly jump away from pain.

Thankfully, he managed to let out only a small, "Ow," and a twitch in his eye. He scowled at her in warning.

He was recovering and in pain, which meant that he has less patience to her teasing and poking.

"Hand slipped, sorry," she said with a fleeting giggle, not looking and sounding sorry at all. "Excuse my clumsy, strong fingers. I'm not a lady , after all." She started wrapping fresh bandages around his midriff after applying an appropriate amount of salve around the stitches to prevent infection.

He didn't reply, merely grunted. He grunted again when she tied the bandage tighter than he expected.

So she heard their conversation? Giyuu didn't mind, not when it comes to Kochou, who he was certain understood the amount of respect he had for her.

"Thank you," he grumbled under his breath once she assisted him to lay back down and tugged the covers to his chest. He remembered Urokodaki-san's teachings about manners, and how his former master often had to remind him since he always forgot.

There was a pause, one Giyuu stopped minding since it happened so often around him. He kept his eyes closed to drown out the pain lancing his abdomen from moving.

"You're quite welcome, Tomioka-san," she finally replied with a strange note in her voice. He thought he felt her touch his forehead, but it was so soft and fleeting, he was certain he imagined it.

"Um, excuse me but my arm really, really, really hurts. It's gonna fall off soon, oh God. It's gonna fall off!" Giyuu heard Zenitsu whine. He recalled why Zenitsu was bunking and wasn't in a mission in the first place—he was injured with Tanjirou while in their joint mission to the south.

"My," he heard Kochou's soft voice drift away, "let's tend to that now, shall we?"

It was a few weeks after—once he'd sufficiently healed enough to move but not quite enough to take on a new mission—that Giyuu finally pondered on his conversation about Koucho as he walked on his way to his favorite restaurant to eat his favorite meal.

Though he admittedly has poor social skills, he wasn't dumb, unlike a certain someone's insistence on calling him an airhead.

He simply needed more time to think and reflect on conversations before fully understanding them, which he supposed was why Kochou started calling him names in the first place.

But he was absolutely, absolutely not an airhead.

So reflect he did, finally realizing that he may or may not have offended Koucho by omitting so many words in his reply. She was...not a man after all.

He was so used to the brash and outspoken male Pillars like Shinazugawa and Obanai—the man to woman ratio of the Pillars was out of proportion after all—that it often slipped his mind that the quiet and smiling Kochou and the energetic and upbeat Kanroji are, well, women.

Like his sister.

Suddenly, he reminisced a very distant memory, one of his sister running her fingers through his hair and drying his tears with her soft fingers as she spoke.

He was young, probably around seven or eight, and he had just come home from playing with their neighbors.

He didn't really remember what he said or did, but he does recall that his playmate had ran home wailing, calling out her big brother's name. Giyuu then got scolded by a much older—and very pissed off—brother who did not appreciate him making his little sister cry.

Giyuu had come running to his sister's warm and open arms, whining about how he did nothing wrong and how it was unfair.

His sister had softly hushed him, and in a chiding yet playful voice she said, " Giyuu, girls are very, very sensitize creatures. We overthink all of the little actions—and some not so little—and all of the words spoken by someone important to us. If we think someone meant to hurt us, intentional or not, we get very sad."

Giyuu hadn't understood her then, thought she was consoling him just because it was her duty as the older sibling. Their parents had died when Giyuu was too young to learn anything from their father, and so he only had Tsutako's words as he grew up.

He thought he understood now. Maybe, but not really. Had he hurt Kochou by not calling her a lady? But he thought she was very strong, and wasn't that more acceptable, given their jobs?

Thinking back, his sister was the definition of a delicate lady. She was soft spoken and gentle, with only kind and reassuring words leaving her smiling mouth.

Meanwhile, Kochou, while she smiled all the time, felt more like a brewing tempest; the scary calm before the torrential storm.

Does Kochou want to be more like Tsutako, who was very reserved and serene? Giyuu didn't understand why she would like that. Tsutako was Tsutako, and Kochou was, well, Kochou.

They were both fine as they were.

Giyuu was very confused.

With his mounting bewilderment and the further furrowing of his brow, it felt godsend to see Obanai and Kanroji walking the opposite direction, seemingly headed to the same restaurant to eat.

Kanroji noticed him first, and in her usual cheery tone, she greeted, "Tomioka-san!" with an exaggerated wave of her hand. Beside her, Obanai sported a slight frown.

When they met in front of the restaurant, Kanroji was grinning from ear to ear, as if it was such a rare occurrence to accidentally meet at the most popular eating place near headquarters.

It wasn't, it's just that Giyuu preferred to eat alone, and so he usually went when he knew none of his acquaintances would be here.

Kanroji offered a polite, "Would you like to eat with us?"

Obanai started glaring daggers at him, looking as though he would rather Giyuu was on the other side of the world right now.

Giyuu understood his hostility. He'd already accepted that he really wasn't the most social towards his fellow pillars, and Obanai probably thought Kanroji was enough as it is to handle.

But today was different. He had nothing to do but heal, and he found it uncomfortable that he hurt Kochou...maybe. In any case, he wanted to fix it.

To do so, he needed intel, and what better insider than a fellow pillar who was not only a woman, but also friends with Kochou?

So Giyuu nodded.

When they stared at him with shocked owl eyes, Giyuu stared back, patiently waiting for them to head in.

It lasted for ten seconds.

Giyuu knew because he counted.

Kanroji recovered first, giggling happily as she led them inside and had a waitress squire them to a table. They ordered their usual meal—or meals, in Kanroji's case.

As they waited, Kanroji propped her elbows on the table, tucked her interlaced fingers under her chin, and leaned towards Giyuu across the table—she was seated beside Obanai. She grinned.

"It's a surprise you're here with us. Is something wrong?"

Kanroji was oddly perceptive. That, or Giyuu was more unsociable than he thought, so much so that his allies immediately thought he was troubled upon experiencing the prospect of him being around other people.

Giyuu always cut to the chase. He found it a waste of time and energy to beat around the bush, but he supposed he should give her a bit of context, so he started with, "Kanroji, you are...a woman."

There was another stunned silence, with Kanroji rapidly blinking at him in bewilderment, and Obanai looking as him he wanted to square him in the jaw.

Giyuu stared back at them patiently once more. Maybe they needed time to collect their thoughts?

Again, Kanroji recovered first, giggling hesitantly. "Last I checked, yes."

Obanai huffed.

"And you are sensitive, and caring. And overthinks about people you care about. This is why people likes you," Giyuu added. Kanroji blushed and gushed at his words, using her braids to cover her reddening face. This reaction confused him a bit, but he supposed it was because of a reason entirely unique to people like Kanroji.

Obanai stared at him with wide eyes, his hand clenching and unclenching into fists on top of the table. "Tomioka...do you...are you...?" His ire at him seemed to grow, until a deep frown twisted his usual calm face.

"T-Tomioka-san...you're unexpectedly forward," Kanroji squeaked, still red as a tomato. "But you know, I already lo—"

"But you're also very strong, physically—" Kanroji's expression did a complete opposite turn then, a furrow appearing on her brow, "—and you're a Pillar, which is not very ladylike."

"Oi!" Obanai stood and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Watch your words, asshole!"

Kanroji was sulking now, and her dejection seemed to make Obanai angrier. But before he could pounce on Giyuu across the table, he finished his explanation, "Kochou...I think she wants to be more like a lady. She...poked my stitches angrily when I called her otherwise."

Understanding dawned on Kanroji's face, and her mouth formed a small O. Even Obanai's anger calmed as he sat back down.

"Oh," Kanroji said, wide eyed, followed by a longer, " Ooooooooh!" while elbowing Obanai, who only grunted, but looked relieved.

"This is about Shinobu-chan?" She squealed, suddenly very giddy.

When Giyuu nodded, she squealed again and shook Obanai by his arm. He sighed, exasperated, yet he looked intrigued at the same time.

Their reaction confounded Giyuu, but he said nothing.

"See, Tomioka-san, we women, despite being strong and independent, still want to be rescued and protected, you know! We are sensitive and caring, but we want other people to be like that to us, too. We are complicated creatures, but that makes everything more fun and adorable!"

Giyuu still didn't understand, and dealing with complications wasn't his strongest point—he was more of a hack and slash kind of guy—but he appreciated the additional information nonetheless.

"I'm sure Shinobu-chan feels the same way," Kanroji giggled, though Giyuu slightly doubted her words. "She may be tough and rarely shows anything besides a smile, but Shinobu-chan's really, really adorable!"

Again, Giyuu doubted her. Kochou sometimes...scared him. Her words and expression often don't match the turbulent feelings he sensed from her. He didn't know what she was truly thinking, thus, he was always aware of her. Sometimes painfully so.

"Shinobu-chan's popular with the boys, so you should hurry up before the competition beats you." Giyuu didn't have any idea why she was talking about this, but he let her continue anyway. "She's friendly, pretty, and has a nice figure, so boys naturally flock around her. And since the village pretty much knows she's a herbalist, they sometimes even fake injuries just to get closer! But Shinobu-chan's more than that!"

That was news to Giyuu. He didn't know that some people liked the torture disguised as rehabilitation the Butterfly Mansion gives to its recovering patients. Though he quite liked the Butterfly Mansion's residents—because they only talk to him when necessary—they were all unforgiving when it comes to rehabilitation regimens.

Speaking of, he had to go back there later for a check-up. He'd cracked several of his ribs in his last mission, and Kochou sternly told him to return a week after he was allowed to go home.

Maybe he'll also ask the younger ones there for their opinion on the matter about the Insect Pillar.

"But I'm glad you know her so well, Tomioka-san!"

Giyuu's gaze swept back to Kanroji. She was smiling happily, and he found himself asking with a perplexed frown, "do I?"

"Hmm? I mean, most joint missions are assigned to you guys. And I sometimes see you two walking together in town during day offs."

Now that she mentioned it, Kochou often stocks on herbs and medical supplies on her days off, and since they were often assigned to the same missions, their days off usually coincided. More than once he'd seen her carrying baskets of provisions as he'd strolled through town, not knowing what to do with all his free time.

Of course, he'd offered to help, because she's small, and though she's skilled in battle, he was admittedly physically stronger than her.

He'd never tell her that, though. Not again, especially when it was him saying that to her during their first meeting that had landed him on her bad side in the first place.

He'd endured all the teasing and poking and prodding as he'd escorted her home, because he really had nothing better to do and he did not do well with boredom.

Over those times he'd helped her, he'd noticed some things about her that he'd profiled in the back of his head. He'd noticed that she swayed her right hand more than her left as she walked, and so he always walked on her left to give her more space.

She was a fast walker, something he knew she had to develop to match other people's huge steps, him included. Though his gait was faster and longer than hers, he didn't find it that difficult to adjust to her pace because of this.

When she was going to deliver a particularly well-thought up remark, her lips would curl up in a ghost of a smile and her eyes would sparkle with a mischievous glint before speaking.

When she's surprised, or something she didn't quite expect happens—such as his occasional participation in her conversational attempts—she touches her cheek with her palm.

And when he'd told her a remark she thinks is rather rude, she'd tell it straight at his face.

Kochou was frank to him, and he appreciated her honesty, because it meant that he knew what to correct and how to interact with her.

He was very bad at socializing, and she was very good at it, yet somehow in their parallels they met somewhere.

"Sometimes," Giyuu agreed to Kanroji's observation, "but not always. We're all busy as Pillars."

Kanroji smiled happily in return. "Mmhmm. Good luck, Tomioka-san. Remember that whenever you're in doubt, it's best to talk it over, rather than leaving it as a misunderstanding, yes?"

That was probably the most understandable advice Giyuu had gotten out of their entire conversation, and he muttered his thanks.

Kanroji was about to say more, but their steaming plates arrived and all talks halted, their mouths occupied with food.

A few hours before sunset, Giyuu arrived at the Butterfly Mansion and was greeted by Aoi. She was pleasant enough out of the training hall, yet monstrous in it.

"Shinobu-sama was called to an urgent mission, so I'll be checking you today," she said as she guided him to the wards.

Giyuu wondered why that made him frown, an unknown feeling prickling his neck. He ignored it.

Upon entering the ward, he found the curtains drawn, and found its cause sitting on the bed beside her brother, who had a gauze on his cheek and bandages around his arm.

"Tomioka-san! Aoi-san!" Tanjirou greeted, his face brightening with a pure smile.

Why is this kid always injured?

Nezuko noticed him then, and she jumped from the bed to stand in front of him, staring up at him expectantly.

"Mmph!"

Not knowing what to do, he lifted a questioning gaze to Tanjirou, who patted his head with a grin.

Oh . Giyuu found this very adorable, but he was an expert at never voicing his thoughts.

"Mmph!" Satisfied with the head pat from Giyuu, Nezuko received the same from Aoi before the leaping back to the bed.

Zenitsu and Inosuke were in their separate beds, but they were snoring the world away.

"Just here for a quick check-up," Aoi said as she motioned for Giyuu to sit on any bed. He sat on the one closest to him, which happened to be beside Tanjirou's bed.

"Just a few more days, and I'm healed completely, Tomioka-san!" Tanjirou explained, even though Giyuu didn't really ask. "Then I'll be available for missions!"

Nezuko hummed happily behind her muzzle, and Tanjirou gushed at her.

"Actually, no," Aoi said sternly. "Unfortunately, even though we're convince that your head is invincible, the rest of you is still very much vulnerable, so you won't be getting out if here until that's fully healed," she gestured to his arm and face.

Tanjirou looked ready to protest, but obediently shut his mouth when Aoi narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled a curtain around Giyuu's bed for privacy.

While Giyuu unbuttoned his shirt as per Aoi's instruction, he found this an opportunity to ask her about Kochou.

"How do you know if you've hurt a woman?"

It took Aoi several seconds to process his question, but when she did, her eyes widened and she gasped. "Shinobu-sama?! What did you do?"

Giyuu had no idea how she knew who he was referring about, but seeing as she was correct, he didn't bother asking her.

"Anyway, knowing her, she'd probably be angry. Shinobu-sama reacts with anger to any negative experience more often than not."

Giyuu nodded, mentally taking notes. He should be careful not to anger Kochou, then.

"But her temper falls as quickly as it rises. Shinobu-sama is very kind, quick-tempered, but kind. But then again, with you, she'd probably be angrier than normal. Tell me when it hurts," there was a note in her voice that said the conversation was over, and that he was no longer a Pillar but a patient until she was done with the examination. And he would behave as such.

So should he just let Kochou's ire with him simmer down? Somehow that doesn't sit well with Giyuu, but still he kept Aoi's words in mind.

After giving him a final pat and told him that his ribs were now completely healed—all that's left is for his stitches to heal—Aoi practically ran out of the room to attend to her other duties. Since Giyuu already knew the way out, he didn't stop her nor ask for directions.

Buttoning his uniform, he looked to his side when he felt gazes on him.

The Kamado siblings were staring up at him. Why? He didn't know, but he did realize that Nezuko was a girl, so...maybe?

"Nezuko-san, what do you do when someone hurt or angered you?"

She smiled, not understanding a single bit. "Mmph!"

Tanjirou chuckled, patting Nezuko's head. "Maybe it's different from people to people when it comes to that, Tomioka-san. But I do know what to do when I've hurt someone I care about."

"What is it?" Giyuu asked, not even realizing he stopped fixing his clothes to listen intently.

"I apologize," the young boy replied with a grin.

"It's...not that easy."

"Is it?" Tanjirou smiled. "You and Shinobu-san are very close. I'm sure she'll forgive you if you apologize properly." He made it seem like it was the simplest thing in the world. And why does everyone keep thinking they were very close?

Then he remembered how they would banter as he escorted her home, how she would call him crass when he unintentionally offended her, and how he would tell her to shut up when her teasing started to really annoy him; how they both listened to each other's warnings and respected them; and how they learned how to connect, one grunt, poke and teasing smile at a time.

They were friends, he realized, and ones who were comfortable with each other despite their incompatibilities. He never wanted to lose their friendship, and most especially, her.

Tanjirou made apologizing seem so easy.

And suddenly, to Giyuu...it was.

Giyuu didn't see Kochou until a few weeks later, when he was healed enough to take a new mission. But Oyakata-sama was aware that he was not at his peak condition yet, so he assigned him and Kochou instead of a solo mission that Giyuu expected.

"Tomioka-san, it's been a while!" Kochou greeted with a smile as she closed the door to Oyakata-sama's conference room after the meeting adjourned.

Giyuu didn't reply, but not because he didn't want to. It was because the words of those he conferred to about Kochou were now replaying in his head over and over.

Shinobu-chan's really, really adorable!

...friendly, pretty, and has a nice figure...

...And I sometimes see you two walking together in town...

...with you, she'd probably be angrier than normal.

You and Shinobu-san are very close.

...nice figure...

Giyuu, in all his seriousness in battle and near apathy to everything else, was still a full-blooded male. And although most of his life was spent fighting for survival, he does know what occurs between a man and a woman.

Years ago, back when he and Sabito were still training under Urokodaki-san, they would often sneak down the mountain to secretly attend festival nights in nearby towns. There, they'd watch as people milled around in fancy clothes and ate seasonal food, and sometimes they even played in temporary tents that hosted different games.

During those times, he'd often see couples pulling at each other in dark corners and alleyways. He'd been curious to know what was actually happening, so he'd made a lame excuse to part from Sabito so he could investigate. What he saw made him so confused and so embarrassed that he begged Sabito to go back home.

Then he'd proceeded to tearfully confess to their master what he saw, his young mind convinced that whatever it was must be stopped. It looked very frantic and distressful, with their clothes all ruffled and their faces, darkened by shadows, strained and filled with agony.

Sabito, who'd been older and more knowledgable than him, guffawed. And to this day, Giyuu never forgot the sight of their stoic master's pinked ear as he explained what really was it that he saw.

He was well into adulthood, but Giyuu's mind has always been more preoccupied in staying alive more than pleasures of the flesh. Perhaps that was why he never saw Kochou as a woman until now.

...has a nice figure...

Damn that Kanroji! She'd successfully poisoned his mind with something that feels awfully worse and more sinful than Muzan's blood.

Giyuu never noticed anything but Kochou's skill in battle and her poison, but then again he'd never really looked. Despite his mind screaming at him to take the moral high ground, his eyes seemed to have grown a will of its own.

...has a nice figure...

"Tomioka-san?" His gaze strayed to her face, where he met her lovely purple eyes. He noticed her nose was small and cute, and that she has pretty lips, soft-looking with the bottom one slightly fuller than the upper.

Then, his eyes unwittingly travelled lower. He knew she was a woman, but he didn't know why seeing the curve of her breasts was such a shock to him that he almost jolted.

Under her haori, he noticed she has shapely hips and strong thighs. Her feet, small and enclosed in customary sandals, looked very cute to him.

Though properly covered and wearing pants instead of a skirt, unlike a lot of female Demon Slayers he saw, Kochou Shinobu was admittedly pleasing to his eye.

Then suddenly he was a young boy again, viewing gyrating strangers in the dark. But this time he saw Kochou's face, her cheeks flushed and her teeth biting on her lip as small sounds escaped her thr—-

" My ," Kochou blinked up at him, palm pressed to her cheek, "what an interesting expression you have, Tomioka-san."

That snapped him out of his inappropriate thoughts, and his eyes landed on her laughing face. "You looked like you've swallowed a whole hot potato."

Giyuu realized it then. His face was burning, and he was sweating. And because he noticed, he felt his face heat up even more.

He glared at her before turning away, but she side stepped and leaned around him, trying to catch his fleeting eyes. Look anywhere but her, anywhere but her. Anywhere at all.

"Was it an interesting thought?"

Damn her. Damn her and her superior knowledge in Science! She knew, or at least she has a sneaking suspicion of where his mind wandered. She's a trained doctor after all.

He choked on his tongue, getting mortified by the second. This was very uncharacteristic of him, he knew, but everything he was feeling right now was unknown territory to him. He didn't know how to handle it.

His mind scrambled to find an excuse, but his jumbled mind and tied tongue could only say, "Um, it's a new Breath of Water form." His voice was so thick that he had to cough on his closed fist.

"Hmm?" Kochou hummed, her eyes wide as she stared at him for full five seconds. Then she burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her stomach as she wheezed. She stayed like that for a good couple of minutes, recovering and looking up at his deepening scowl, then hunching over and losing it all over again.

By the time she was done and was wiping away the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes, Giyuu has already schooled all of his mortification and replaced it with a frown.

Later, in the safety of his home, his embarrassment would punch him right out of his stomach, but at least then he'd have the privacy burying himself alive or committing seppuku.

"I see that's what they call it these days," she aimed a teasing smile at him, and he had to purse his lips, or else his deadpan facade would crumble and he'd want to lock himself in his room forever, mission be damned.

"Come on, we have a demon to kill." With a giggle, she leapt from Oyakata-sama's courtyard and headed east.

With a long-suffering sigh, Giyuu quickly caught up to her.

It was nearly midnight when they arrived at the forest of their destination, where a number of travelers and villagers from a nearby town reportedly kept disappearing since last month.

When Giyuu landed on his feet, he surveyed his surroundings, noting the absence of singing insects and the howls and hoots of nocturnal birds.

It was eerily quiet, one indication that a demon or two was lurking nearby.

Beside him, Kochou landed gracefully, smiling as she turned in a circle to see if anyone would attack.

"What a lovely night," she remarked.

"Hm."

"Split up? The forest is quite big."

Giyuu opened his mouth to agree, but then Kanroji's words echoed in his mind, "... despite being strong and independent...still want to be rescued and protected, you know! "

He looked at Kochou, then shook his head. "No, we stay together."

She looked taken aback, then mildly annoyed, but she replied with a single, "Hm."

Together, they leapt from tree branch to tree branch, following tracks left by demons mindless from bloodlust. When they approached a clearing, Giyuu saw three demons on all fours, feeding on fresh meat.

"There," Kochou whispered beside him.

...Rescued and protected...

With those words guiding him, Giyuu shot from the branch, beheading the three demons before Kochou could even land on the forest ground.

When he glanced at her, he saw her infuriated frown, but she quickly masked it with a tight smile. "Working out some aggression tonight, Tomioka-san?"

He didn't reply, but instead leapt to the trees again to hunt for more demons. The forest was teeming with them, and though it was rare for demons to group up, populated routes between two big cities such as this forest are usually a free-for-all feast at night.

When he saw a group of five, he went straight for the kill, not bothering to alert Kochou of his discovery.

This went on, him leading, her following closely. If it was a different mission, she surely wouldn't have followed him and went her own merry way, not minding Giyuu's order earlier. But Oyakata-sama has told her that she was more of a support this time around, since Giyuu was technically still healing, and since this was technically supposed to be a solo mission.

A few hours in the hunt, Giyuu's abdomen already pained him, and blood, sweat, and dirt caked his clothes. Kochou, on the other hand, appeared refreshed and pristine. Understandable, considering that she hasn't even had the chance to draw her blade yet.

Every time he looked back at her, she would flash a smile. But each time, her lips was stretched tighter and tighter, until even Giyuu, with his poor emotional perception, knew that she was well on her way of reaching breaking point.

But wasn't this what she wanted?

He was about to confront her about it, but they suddenly came upon a wave of at least fifty or more demons, gathered around a pit of human flesh. Understanding lit Giyuu's mind.

No wonder this forest was infested with such a huge number of demons. Some idiots used it as a dump site for dead bodies.

They perched atop a high tree, looking down at the carnage below.

" Giyuu, I want to fight." Kochou's voice was tight with strain and barely leashed anger.

Giyuu didn't even notice that she used his first name, so engrossed he was at the disgusting scene. But he did register her last three words.

"No."

She gasped, the sound so offended and befuddled. "Wha— ? Why? Is it because I'm wea—"

Without letting her finish, Giyuu leapt headfirst into the fray, his sword sharp and ever ready. He beheaded all that he could reach, leaping over decomposing bodies as he danced from each corner of the battlefield.

Demons attacked him, three, sometimes five at a time. He turned and twisted his body to avoid and deflect them all, shoving the worsening pain of his recent wound to the back of his mind. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

Protect...

He didn't know how long it took, but by the time he cut down half of them, his lungs were aching, and each breath he took felt like needles prickling his organs.

He heard the familiar landing of her foot behind him just as he heard her shout, "Let me help!"

Giyuu, his aggression mounted from the combat, turned to her and snapped, "No!"

She jerked back as if slapped, then her eyes glazed as anger like no other seemed to fill her entire being.

"You—"

But she was cut off when a humongous hand landed on where she'd been standing mere seconds ago, her life only saved by her speed.

" Shinobu! " Giyuu shouted as he hacked down demons that attacked him so he could see her.

"I'm fine!" She landed a few feet from the demon that had emerged from dead pit, her unique sword unsheathed and ready.

The monster was a culmination of death, both of demons and humans congealed into a huge, seven foot blob of flesh and rotting limbs. Its mouth was filled with two rows of teeth meant for grinding tough flesh and bone.

And it smelled awfully disgusting.

"Pretty..." the morphed demon cooed at Kochou, its lips tearing as it moved against razor sharp teeth.

" Shinobu! " Giyuu shouted again, not even realizing how he was addressing her. He was taken farther and farther away from her and the monster as the remaining lower demons flanked him.

"I'll be fine. Worry about yourself, idiot!" She sheathed her sword and coated it with a mix of her deadliest poison using the small, hidden buttons on her scabbard.

Unsheathing her deadly weapon once more, she attacked. She evaded and twisted around its huge body, and weaved through the openings of its bigs fists. She realized that though the demon was big, it was no match to her speed.

Finally, Giyuu slayed the last lower demon. He turned and pumped his legs to reach her, just in time to push her away from a fist slamming down.

He failed to tamper his strength, however, and she landed face first on the mud and gore with a squeal.

Just as Giyuu prepared his stance to face the towering demon, Kochou finally snapped.

The bellow that Giyuu heard surprised him because of two reasons: one, because it didn't come from the demon; and two, it came from a very, very scary five-foot woman who was now charging at him.

Giyuu freezed, like how he'd seen wild deers do when they thought a predator was watching them. This was something not even the twelve moons he'd fought so far had managed to inflict upon him.

"You—" unabashed and apparently uncaring of the morphed demon before them, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to her eye level. This was a considerable change in height—he was a few millimeters off six feet—and Giyuu winced when the sudden change in posture pulled at his stitches.

Caught off guard and honestly more than a little scared, he could only stare. Then he felt the cold tip of her poisoned blade against his throat, pushed strong enough to hurt, but not strong enough to tear through the skin.

It was practiced and precise, an antithesis to the wild anger that reddened her dirty face.

"Do you hate me that much?" She spat at his face. Not giving him time to answer, she continued, "Don't get in my way or I'll stab you through your throat. I'll show you." Then she pushed him away and faced the demon, wrath pouring from her every pore.

The demon, though it remained curiously quiet and courteous of their little argument, darted its beady little eyes between them before curling it's lips in what it appears to be an attempt for a smirk.

"L-lovers—" its guttural voice rumbled.

"Shut the fuck up!" Koucho screamed before charging.

Giyuu stood to the side, dumbfounded because he honestly has never heard a curse ever leave Kochou's mouth, so used to her smiles as he was.

Then he kicked to action when it became clear that she wouldn't be able to reach the demon's vital parts.

She was too...short.

Giyuu suddenly felt very mean, because he found his lips curving up at the sight of the very angry and very tiny woman getting up in the face of a towering foe. She's just so... adorable .

She gracefully evaded each one of its swings and hits, one time even breaking into a quick split and springing back up again when a swipe was too low for her to duck under.

With each evasion her poisoned blade poked through her target's skin, causing purple wisteria poison to spread in its exposed flesh like wildfire. But the demon's regeneration was too quick, and its hide too thick and fatty for poison to properly reach its head.

Frustrated, she backflipped out of its reach, her sword held at her side and pointed diagonally to the ground. She was slightly out of breath, but was able to maintain her breath and was otherwise still good to go.

Giyuu, on the other hand, was realizing that he's probably more wounded than he thought. Adrenaline was starting to wear off, and he was starting to feel the gashes and cuts that littered seemingly every inch of his skin.

Adding that to his healing injury that now throbbed like there's no tomorrow, he was clearly in no condition to fight for long.

Still, that doesn't stop him from doing his duty.

They were pillars, after all.

"Kochou—" he called, and when he saw her glare at him over her petite shoulder, he quickly added, "—san!" Then he prepared his stance.

She didn't say anything and merely refocused on the demon. Still, he understood that they were at a temporary truce.

Crouching low, she dug one of her heels in front of the other to assume a running position. She inhaled a deep breath, her back bowing, then she released it slowly. The pressured air from her lungs was so loud that Giyuu heard it even from a distance.

Her blade was pointed away from the demon, because she was preparing not to attack it, but to gain momentum.

When she finally bolted, leaving behind a swirling cloud of dust, Giyuu couldn't afford to blink, lest his eyes lose track of her and off their timing.

Inhaling, he readied another stance. He poised his arms in front of his face as he held his blade in a blocking position, its pointed tip oblique to the ground. His eyes darted as he followed her every movement.

Meanwhile, Kochou darted around the demon in circles, waiting for the perfect strike before acting.

It came with two consecutive smashes of three out of its five meaty fists, sending chopped limbs and wet mud flying as it landed on the ground with a huge boom. Kochou jumped back to a calculated dodge, not high enough to bait another smash, yet not low enough to bait a quick punch.

The demon snarled and swiped its fist at her, as Kochou expected, and she thrust her sword into its knuckles, then used her blade as leverage to hoist herself up on its arm.

She could try to go for its neck at this position, but she had no room to build up speed, and she wasn't strong enough to chop off thick arms that could protect its fragile neck.

Now angry, the demon aimed a punch at her, and she leapt back in time to its swing, the timing so perfect that instead of crushing her legs, she was catapulted from it and towards her waiting ally.

"Tomioka-san!" She didn't even need to look back, knowing for certain that he'd be there to catch her as she twisted midair so she was facing the demon once more.

Kochou lined perfectly on Giyuu's sword, one of her feet on its grip and one near its guard as she curled her body to prepare, her forearms crossed in front of her and her sword tucked at her side. He moved one foot behind the other so he stood partly sideways.

As Giyuu released his breath, time seemed to slowly stir to a stop. He gathered all of his strength to his arms, and felt power surge through his muscles. Thick veins pressed against his skin as he pulled his sword back as if to swing a bat.

Precisely when Koucho's full weight descended on his sword, he swung it forward with all of his might, his muscles bulging as he maximized his power onto his swing. Just before he sent her off, she cheekily stepped on his knuckles harder than usual. It hurt, but he allowed it this time.

When at last he used up his breath, time snapped back to normal and she ricocheted off his sword, her mischievous chuckle reaching his ears just as a gust of wind from the force of her movement fanned his face.

The morphed demon didn't have time to react. Fast as a bullet, Kochou stretch to her full length and poised her Nichirin sword to thrust midair. Once the demon's vital points was within her reach, she left pin-point stabs on its forehead, between its eyes, both of its cheeks, and finally three on its neck.

It screamed in pain as its body immediately starts melting, goo and blood spreading into a puddle on the ground. Its head started to turn into ash.

But before it completely disintegrated, Kochou jumped on its meaty shoulder to launch herself up high, then she used that momentum to relaunch herself back at Giyuu, her sword already in line with his throat.

She's still mad...

Their swords clanged loudly when they finally clashed. Giyuu had to grit his teeth from the jarring force of her impact.

When she leapt back, she sized him down, clearly thinking of a way to bring him down his ass despite their strength and size difference.

"This is against corps rules, isn't it?" Giyuu tried to argue.

"Hm."

Then she lunged, but Giyuu quickly deflected her thrust. They both knew she had no way to win—her Breath Style was not made for sparring as it offered mostly thrust attacks and barely anything else.

This knowledge, however, only seemed to make her angrier. Gritting her teeth, she continued to attack, often times leaving herself open to counterattacks Giyuu would never take.

"Why? Why? Why?" she chanted, and something that shone in her eyes made Giyuu realize that he'd somehow done it again.

He'd hurt her once more.

He didn't even realize his back was to a tree until he almost tripped on one of its roots and its rough bark dug onto his back. Taking advantage of his stupidity, Kochou lunged to strike, but Giyuu quickly recovered and deflected her sword to the side of his face. It embedded itself into the trunk with a loud thunk .

She tried to pull it back, but it had struck too deeply into the wood. When she failed again on her second attempt, she released her sword with a frustrated huff and balled her fists.

Then she started punching him.

It didn't really hurt, so Giyuu merely sidestepped her sword to keep it from slicing his face or its poison from dripping onto his shoulder.

He continued to take hits, and she continued delivering them. His sword, though he never released it from his grip, was safely turned away so as to not accidentally injure her.

Eventually the force of the punches lessened until she placed a shaking fist on his shoulder and left it there. She was panting, half of her hair was off its pin, and her eyes were shining with wild light.

She reminded him of a frightened animal, and so he tried to treat her as such. Slowly, he took her fist off his shoulder and placed it between his big hands. Her eyes were affixed on the movement, so he continued.

He pried her fingers open as gently as he could, until her small palm laid open against his. He pressed it against his chest, right above his calm heartbeat.

He repeated the same ministrations with her other fist, and she was quiet the whole time. When both her hands laid side by side on him, he gauged her reaction.

Her eyes were still glossed and her bottom lip was quivering, but her gaze was fixed on her hands. They must look so small against him.

Ever so slowly, so he won't scare her, he gently wrapped his arms around her; one around her shoulder and the other around the small of her back. He pulled her close until he had her tucked safely under his chin, and her fingers gripped handfuls of his haori.

She released a stuttering breath, and then she was sobbing against him, her small frame racked every time she heaved.

"I-I'm not weak," she kept repeating between sobs. "I can fight w-well. Not w-weak anymore."

Giyuu then realized what he'd done.

By trying to protect her, he'd instead brought forth her greatest fears: being powerless, and being inadequate.

She'd felt like he was belittling her by excepting her from fights, and she felt weak and useless every time he won without her help.

She was the type to react angrily to hide the hurt and the pain, but once her anger reached a certain threshold and she couldn't quite keep it together anymore, she would quickly deflate in tears.

What a precious creature Kochou Shinobu was.

He loathed himself for doing this, for once again failing someone he cared about. Yet he didn't know how to stop her crying, so he only held her close until he couldn't feel fresh hot tears on his neck anymore.

When she eventually pushed against his chest, he let her go. She met his eyes with a glare, uncaring of her puffy face, red, stinging eyes and runny nose.

She sniffed, but her voice held more conviction as she lifted a stiff finger at his face and announced, "I'm not weak!"

Giyuu found himself chuckling at how adorable she was, a sound which surprised both of them.

"I know," he said as he lifted a cleaner part of his haori and used it to wipe snot off her face. She blew onto it, maybe her attempt in petty revenge, but he honestly couldn't care less.

"I'm sorry, I'm an idiot," he finally admitted, looking straight into her eyes.

"Yes, you are."

"I shouldn't have blindly listened to others, and just talked to you instead," he added.

"Listened to who?"

Giyuu wasn't sure if he should share, but when she impatiently tugged on his haori, he met her eyes once more and finally relented.

He started from the conversation with Zenitsu, and told her any detail he could remember from all the conversations he's had with everyone about her—including his thoughts. He was even forced by her angry scowl to share what went through his mind after their meeting with Oyakata-sama earlier this evening.

Giyuu nearly swallowed his tongue several times, and he was certain he'd already reached his yearly quota of words to speak, but he continued until the very end. When he finished, they'd already settled at the base of the tree, him leaning against its bark and her sitting between his spread legs facing him, one hand on his knee and the other tracing patterns on his soiled haori. Her forehead pressed gently against his collarbone.

"I know I'm a Pillar, and a Demon Slayer first and foremost, but don't forget that I'm a girl too. I like to feel more of a normal girl than a monster slayer sometimes. And I'm not mad about the incident in the clinic, just...miffed. I realized something because of it, though, so I'm happy in the end."

Giyuu nodded, mentally noting all she said. "I'm sorry," he said against her hair.

"And I don't need you protecting me. Our teamwork is enough. We Pillars, we're all strong individually, but we're stronger together. That's why there's nine of us instead of one, and why we're called Pillars in the first place. Didn't you realize that when we developed cooperative breathing forms during our joint missions?"

Giyuu...now does. Breath of Insect had branched from Breath of Flower, which in turn had branched from Breath of Water. It makes sense that their Breaths were compatible in covering each of the other's shortcomings.

He didn't know what else to say, so he once again held her close and continued to murmur his apologies against her hair, "I'm sorry, Kochou."

When she finally lifted her head, her cheeks were suspiciously stained red, but neither remarked on it as their eyes met. "I'll forgive you, if you admit you're an idiot."

Giyuu paused. Then, "I-I'm an idiot."

"Good, now say you're a complete and utter airhead that you could really start using the Breath of Air."

He opened his mouth to speak despite the words that tangled in his throat. But when he finally saw the mischievous glint in her eyes, he snapped his mouth shut with a deep frown.

"Kochou, I'm being very serious here."

"I know!" She laughed, eyes alight with merry, and seeing them relaxed him, because he knew they were in good terms once more.

"And Shinobu is fine. Also—" she reached up to plant a small kiss on his cheek. "—thank you for all the effort in wanting to know more about me, and in trying to find out if we had a misunderstanding or not. But next time, you can just ask straight from the source," she finished, pointing at herself.

Giyuu was completely frozen, not because of her statement, but because her lips on his skin felt like a brand, fresh from the forge. It seared and seemed to burn its way under his skin, marking him as hers forever.

"Shinobu," he whispered, dark blue eyes as wide as saucers, like he was divulging a very embarrassing secret. "Are we...are we dating?" His voice had faded into a whisper so quiet, as if he was worried that his words might break like glass upon voicing them.

Shinobu smiled, but seeing his expression, so much like a deer that has a lion nipping at its heels, made her guffaw until he finally snapped, "I'm serious!"

Still giggling uncontrollably, she stood and held her hand out to help him up.

Giyuu accepted, her hand so small and warm against his. They held hands for longer than necessary, and only broke contact when he deftly pulled her blade out of the tree with a strong yank and wordlessly handed it back to her.

Grinning, she leaned down to fetch his sword, which he'd settled on the ground beside them as he'd related his story earlier. She used both hands to pass him his trusted weapon since it was too heavy for her to do with one without straining her tired arms.

Out of the corner of his eye, Giyuu saw the sun starting to peak atop the highest tree tops. Dawn draws near.

They both wordlessly sheathed their weapons and fixed their appearances. Shinobu tried her best to fix her hair, but she couldn't get it all under her pin without help from Kanao or Aoi.

"Here, let me." His knuckles tickled her nape as he gathered her hair and neatly tucked it in the security of her large butterfly pin.

"How did you learn how to do it?"

"I saw when I was healing from my injuries. I always wake up early, so I stroll around the property to pass time. I sometimes see Kanao or Aoi doing your hair through your window."

She gasped, looking scandalized at his admission as she covered her mouth with her hands. "My, Giyuu-san, with your strong sense of justice I never would've pegged you for a peeping tom!"

"Accident," he bit out, "I didn't mean to see."

She hummed. "But you said sometimes it was Kanao or sometimes it was Aoi," she tsked, shaking her head as if in disappointment. "Once is an accident, Giyuu-san. The rest are intentional," she said in a matter-of-factly.

He grunted, but didn't say anything more.

Shinobu laughed, but didn't press any further. She stretched her arms above her head and flexed her legs. "Now, shall we go home?"

Before she leapt up to the nearest tree branch, Giyuu caught her by the sleeve of her haori.

The first ray of the sun hit his face, but he didn't even care that it partially blinded him. "My question earlier," he paused, mustering the courage to speak despite his heating face. "Are we dating?"

He thought he saw her face color a very bright red, but quickly dismissed it as the color of sunrise hitting her face. Her words were also proof of his imagination.

"Giyuu-san, that depends entirely up to you!" Laughing, she climbed to the highest branch before cupping her hand to the side of her mouth, leaning down to him and shouting, "Though with how your thoughts are about me, I suppose we're already married!"

"Shinobu!" he called, mortification coloring his face.

He leapt after her, and he followed the sound of her tinkling laughter.

Giyuu: We're dating...right?

Shinobu: Sure, we are.

Giyuu: ...

Shinobu: ...

Giyuu: ...

Shinobu:...

Giyuu: ...are we?!

A/N: I uploaded this one to another fanfic site. I included story notes there, but since ffn is in a different format, I'll just omit them here since they're really not that relevant lol I don't want my notes to take half of the word count ;u;)

Anyway, thanks for reading~!