Bitter Sweet (Giyuu x Reader)

14. Wilted Flowers

You followed behind the water pillars fast moving form as he moved through the lightly populated village. The atmosphere was heavy and felt as if it could crush you in place.

The main street had remnants of abandoned shopping stalls and only a few places were still open. You know Giyuu isn't one to talk, so you decided to take matters into your own hands.

You see an older man in an Udon stall and decide to speak with him first. As you are walking over to him, you feel eyes watching you. You shiver from the feeling but shake it off quickly.

The man looks up from his work and meets eyes with you. You give him a light smile and a greeting.

'Hello sir, how much for a bowl of udon?'

The man peaks his head out of his booth and looks from left to right before he speaks.

"I'd recommend getting out of our town as soon as you can. It's not safe."

Your smile falters and your face becomes serious.

'I'm here to help. What can you tell me about the people that went missing?'

The mans eyes widen briefly.

"Woman are going missing, and more often then not the woman going missing are pregnant."

You nod your head at his words.

'Where were these women when they went missing?'

The man taps a finger to his chin a few times. He sighs and closes his eyes before speaking.

"They've gone missing almost everywhere in the village, there's no one spot. They always vanish at night, and they disappear into thin air."

The man shivers and looks down to the ground. He exhales shakily and rubs a hand over his eyes.

"My daughter went missing almost a week ago... I did everything I could to try and find her, but she never came back. She was due to have her baby soon and her husband hasn't eaten since..."

You bend down a little and try to meet his eyes. He looks to you weakly and you give him a reassuring smile.

'I promise I will do everything I can to help find the missing people sir. We will make sure that this stops happening for good.'

The man wipes his eyes and sniffles a couple times. He turns his back to you for a couple moments and you can hear the sound of pouring liquid and the slicing of meat and vegetables. The man turns to face you again and holds out two medium sized lidded containers. You stare at him blankly for a moment.

"Take these, free of charge. For you and that other young gentleman, I hope you stay safe."

You smile brightly at him and bow. You take the hot containers from him and bow again.

'Thank you sir, I'm sure he will be grateful as well. We will be sure to enjoy them.'

The old man smiles sadly at you.

"Stay safe kid."

You bow to him one last time before waving goodbye. You return to your walk through the village and scan everywhere for Giyuu. Where did he go..? You walk a little faster through the streets and try to listen closely.

The sun has almost set by this point and you are beginning to think Giyuu is hiding from you. You turn the corner and see Giyuu standing against a wall. He doesn't appear to be doing anything, and that honestly makes you mad. What the hell is he doing? You walk towards him angrily and just before you are about to speak Giyuu makes eye contact with you and places a finger to his lips.

You tilt your head at him in confusion and step closer quietly. He points to an opening on his left and you look that direction. Your eyes widen a little at the sight and you feel a pang in your chest.

A little boy is sitting at the base of a grave crying. He looks to have a bundle of flowers in his hands and his clothes are covered in dirt. He has short brown hair and he doesn't look to be any older than 6. This poor boy.... I wonder if he is all alone..

You turn to Giyuu with a sad look on your face and whisper.

'How long has he been here?'

He glances at you for a moment but doesn't turn his head.

"He's been here for over an hour now. From the information I've gathered from other villagers, his mom went missing almost a month ago and they held a burial ceremony with no body."

You gasp quietly and feel tears peak at your eyes. You shake your head lightly and look back to the boy.

"He has been bringing flowers for her grave everyday and the flowers remain untouched by anyone."

You look carefully at the ground around the boy and see flowers in different stages of decomposition, most of them are wilted and dead. You face Giyuu again and he meets your eyes.

You hear his breathe hitch when he looks at you. You feel a few salty tears slide down your face, you extend your hand out to him with one of the noddle containers. He hesitetently takes it from you and looks down at it. With your now free hand, you wipe your eyes lightly and sniffle.

'These poor people have suffered so much and are so confused as to why this is happening. I was told that these woman are disappearing anywhere and everywhere in town and there's no exact location where they disappear.'

He looks back up at you for a moment and then looks back to the child. You look at the young boy again before speaking.

'It's almost time for the damn monsters to show their faces. We should eat and get ready.'

Giyuu nods his head before walking to the edge of the forest. He sits down on a fallen tree and you follow suit and sit next to him. You open the container and a small amount of steam wafts up into the air. You put out your chopsticks and begin eating.

You can feel the tension in Giyuu's movements beside you, he sounds uncomfortable. I wonder if I'm what's making him uncomfortable?

You quickly finish the noodles before drinking the warm broth. You stand up and begin walking into the town again, the sun has set by this point.

'Im going to kill this thing, wether it's the last thing I do.'

(1084 words)

I'm back guys, my sickness has finally gone away and I'll be updating more regularly again! Happy new year everyone!