Bitter Sweet (Giyuu x Reader)

9. Comfort

You stare at him, your mouth hanging open slightly. Is it really ok for me to call him by his first name? I mean, he's a hashira! Is he just trying to be nice, maybe to make me feel better??

You search his face for any signs, any at all of what he meant. His face is fixed on the pond in front of him, his eyes unwavering. Your eyes trace the features of his face, his deep blue eyes, sculpted nose, sharp jawline, and his lightly tinted lips. Without turning his head, his eyes flicker to look at you.

'Ah- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare! I was just-'

You're cut off when Mitsuri yells to you from the deck.

"Y/N, Tomioka, Iguro, lunch is ready!!"

The snake pillar is here? I don't see him anywhere... You brush the thought off as you stand up and begin walking towards the deck, Giyuu following in suit. You step up onto the deck and follow Mitsuri back into the house. Giyuu slides the door closed and you hear it snap.

Mitsuri begins guiding you and Giyuu to her dining room, you hear the door slide open and close again. You turn your head to look behind you, you see Giyuu's haori and catch a glimpse of another man; he has a snake on his shoulder.

The serpent pillar.. I wonder why he covers his lower face? Mitsuri walks into the dining room and leads you to the already set table. She motions for you to sit across from her. She points Giyuu to the seat on your left and he sits down next to you. Iguro enters to room and sits on Mitsuri's right. You can feel eyes on you and you look across the table, Mitsuri flashes you a bright smile and turns her head to face Iguro. The snake on his shoulder slithers closer to Mitsuri's face and she pats his head lightly while giggling.

"Who is ready for some amazing lunch!?"

Rengoku, wearing a white apron, walks in balancing two large platters in his hands. He reaches over and slides both lidded dishes in the center of the table. Mitsuri lifts the lid off of both dishes and hands them to Rengoku. Rengoku exits the room with the lids to presumingly bring them to the kitchen. Moments later he walks back in, the apron no longer present, and sits on the left of Mitsuri. Her mouth watering, Mitsuri begins to speak.

"Eating with other people makes food taste so much better! Wouldn't you agree Y/N-san?"

You stutter for a moment.

'Y-yeah! I would say it does.'

She smiles lightly at you and begins reaching for the dishes in the center, Rengoku follows suit. You briefly glance at Giyuu who is reaching his hand into the center of the table. The table is large enough to fit 6 people comfortably, but you are much closer to Giyuu than you were outside. Vanilla? Why do I smell vanilla? You brush it off and reach for the sauced chicken and vegetables.

"Kyojuro, your cooking is tasty as always."

His voice sounds a raspy, but the serpent pillar was genuine with his words. He moves his face covering just enough to eat. Mitsuri looks like she's on cloud nine when you look to her, her face is lightly tinted pink. You smile to yourself and begin munching on your lunch.

.
.
.

You are waving at Mitsuri as you get farther and farther from her estate. You smile brightly for another moment before turning around and facing the path. Giyuu has already walked farther ahead, his form getting smaller and smaller. You run to try and catch up to him. Wait, why am I running after him? You stop dead in your tracks for a moment. Giyuu does not stop, he just continues on, unfazed and unbothered. You begin to walk again, this time a little faster to match his pace.

You walk in silence for a little while, the suns position is the sky moves slightly. A cross road appears before you, the butterfly mansion to the right, and to the left is unknown. Giyuu begins walking down the left path and you call out to him.

'Giyuu, would you spar with me? I mean, can you spar with me today?'

He stops, but doesn't look back.

"... Why spar with me and not Konroji or Rengoku?"

'I thought it would be cool to train with you is all. Our breathing styles are kind of similar in a way, you know, water and ice. I'm just a colder version of you.'

You babble on spewing nonsense for a moment before looking at your feet in embarrassment.

"... I don't think you're a colder version of me."

You look back up and stare at the back of his head from afar.

'What?'

A moment of silence passes before he speaks again. He turns around and faces you.

"... I am the colder one, not you."

You tilt your head at him and remain confused for a moment before it hits you.

'Ah- I didn't mean to say you were a cold person, I actually think that you're quite nice, just a little reserved is all, and sometimes sad. I can hear it.'

"You can hear how I feel, without me saying anything?"

You nod your head at him slightly, his face still emotionless.

'I have really good hearing unless I'm distracted. I've been trying to work on it so I can pick up sounds from farther distances and even hear things when I'm distracted.'

A moment of brief silence before he nods his head at you.

"Mmm... with a little more training, I'm sure your skill would match Tengens."

Your eyes widen a little bit, you're shocked by his words.

'Do you really think that I can match the level of a Hashira? I don't have nearly enough skill for that...'

He takes a couple steps closer to you and places his hand on your left shoulder.

"You've trained under and with two of our current pillars. You even developed your own breathing style."

You stare a him with wide eyes, his hand squeezes your shoulder lightly and then returns to normal. He meant what he said... But why does he sound so sad..? You feel your face heat up just a little and water fills your eyes and blurs your vision. His eyes widen and you see the confusion on his face.

"Y/N are yo-"

You wrap your arms around his torso and place your head on his shoulder. You feel his whole body stiffen underneath you, tears begin to fall and you sniffle. You bury your face into his shoulder and speak.

'... thank you Giyuu..'

You feel his body return to normal, no longer tense. He hesitetently places his hands around your body and onto your back. The tears in your eyes stop falling and you smile to yourself. He lightly pats your back a couple times, unsure of what to do. You stay like that for a moment, grateful for his attempt to comfort you.

You slowly remove your arms from around him and step backwards. You rub your haori covered wrists over you eyes and sniffle a couple times. You look at him, eyes red and puffy, and you smile.

'You're a great friend Giyuu, thank you.'

His face is back to it's default state, but this time, his face looks a little softer. He turns and begins walking to the path on the left again, but stops. You look at the back of his head and wonder why he stopped.

"If you still want to spar, follow me."

(1,282 words)