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For as long as you could remember, the pillars—especially Shinobu—always joked about Giyuu being lonely and that no one liked him but you. You liked him a lot, maybe even loved him, and so you were the only one who would ever approach him or converse with him properly. You believed he thought nothing of it, but in reality, Giyuu couldn’t be more thankful.
Today was Mitsuri’s birthday, and everyone was inside having a special celebration, drinking sake and laughing loudly. You sat next to Shinobu, the Insect Pillar and your closest friend. Taking a sip of your sake, Shinobu nudged your side, causing you to choke. “Why’d you do that?” You exclaimed, setting your cup down on the wooden table. “Tomioka-san looks lonely~” she teased. You felt your cheeks burn. “S-Shinobu!”
Shinobu knew about your little crush on Giyuu and would tease you non-stop. She wasn’t subtle about it, either. You glared at her as she chuckled with that sweet, angelic voice. “He might hear you!” You whispered-yelled. “That’s why I do it, (Y/n)-san.”
You rolled your eyes, delivering food to your mouth with chopsticks. As you were chewing, you noticed Giyuu rise from his seat and exit the room, but everyone was too busy celebrating to notice. Your eyebrows knitted together, wondering what made him leave. Shinobu watched as you gazed at the sliding door and, with another poke, told you to go and talk to him. “Tomioka-san is lonely, (Y/n)~ you should go and entertain him~”
You swallowed your food and stood up. “I told you not to say things like that when we’re around the others.” You said, kicking her side lightly. Shinobu pushed your legs and smiled. “You should get going~” With that, you excused yourself and made your way out the door.
After a few seconds of looking around, you spotted Giyuu on the bridge above the lake, gazing at the moonlight. You quietly walked over to him with a soft smile on your face.
“Pretty cold tonight.” You said, moving next to him. Giyuu hummed, eyes fixed on the stars. You clasped your hands together and leaned your arms on the railing. “So, why’d you leave?” You asked, looking up at him. Giyuu then looked down at you. “Ah, it was getting too loud.” He replied.
You raised a brow, which made him sigh in defeat. “Yeah, okay, you got me.”
You knew exactly why. He wasn’t used to celebrating and stuff like that, and sadly no one wanted to hang around with him anyway. “What about you?” He asked, resting his hand on his nichirin sword. “I just wanted to check on you.” You blushed, looking down at your feet. “A-and I needed a breather.”
Giyuu let out one of those rare chuckles of his and smiled ever so slightly. “That’s cute.”
You leaned your chin on your arms while they rested on the railing. “You know, they’re wrong when they say that nobody likes you.” You began, making Giyuu look at you with his usual serious expression. “Because, I like you…” you finished, eyes following the little water ripples on the water below.
You didn’t realize how much of an impact this had on Giyuu, and the fact that he grew to like you too didn’t help the butterflies in his stomach. You didn’t give him much time to think, since you pulled yourself up from the railing and suggested you two should probably start heading back.
Giyuu, never knowledgeable when it came to the romance department, mustered all his courage and pulled on your arm before you could leave. You spun around, eyes meeting his deep sapphire ones.
“I… I like you too, (Y/n).. I really, seriously do.”
You felt your head spin and your stomach do summersaults when those words escaped his lips.
“R-really?” You asked, a warmth growing on your cheeks. “Really.” Giyuu told you, his hand slipping down from your arm to your hand to intertwine his fingers with yours. You smiled, throwing your arms around him happily. Giyuu felt hesitant, but slowly his arms wrapped around your waist.
But sadly, your tender moment was interrupted by rustling coming from the bushes.
You and Giyuu quickly tore yourselves away from each other, and although he knew you could manage a fight, Giyuu stood protectively in front of you, prepared to draw his blade.
While the suspense grew louder, suddenly Rengoku’s head popped out of the bush.
His eyes widened and he smiled sheepishly at you both. “Uh… hello!” He greeted before being pulled back down. “You idiot! Hello?! Are you kidding me?” A voice that belonged only to Sanemi whisper-yelled. “Guys, they’re looking at us!” Mitsuri added. “Gyomei! Move! You’re stepping on my foot!” Tengen growled. “How un-flamboyant!”
As everyone bickered, you felt anger rise from your stomach.
“Get out of there!” You growled, a darker blush coating your face. This was the most embarrassing moment of your life. Gyomei exited the bush first, a faint blush on his cheeks. “Oh… uh… we apologize.”
Shinobu’s head popped out of the bush with a nervous smile on her face. Mitsuri, Obanai, Rengoku, and Sanemi exited the bush. Sanemi looked angrily at the floor, scratching the back of his neck. You were surprised the bush could fit all of them. “W-were you guys spying on us?!” You yelled angrily, pushing Giyuu to the side. “Sorry, (Y/n) it was just too tempting!” Mitsuri squeaked, her hands balled into fists under her chin. “For the record, I got dragged into this!” Sanemi said before storming off, probably to avoid any more confrontation.
Gyomei bowed and left as well. Tengen bit the inside of his cheek, hands rested on his hips. “We meant no harm, I flamboyantly apologize…” he said, chuckling nervously before running off.
Rengoku stood with his arms crossed over his chest, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
“I was never here!” He said, quickly running away, avoiding your deathly glare.
“You’re both just adorable! I-I’m sorry I couldn’t respect your privacy!” Mitsuri blushed out of embarrassment as Obanai wrapped an arm around her and left without a word.
Shinobu was left, a tear of sweat forming on her forehead. “Shi-No-Bu” you stressed each syllable of her name out, your eyes with raging fires. “(Y/n)-san! Let’s talk about this…” she said, her hands waving in front of her.
“Just let her go, (Y/n)” Giyuu sighed, shaking his head. “What about you?” You asked. “Shinobu, you’ve done enough. Please, leave us.”
“Ah, looks like Tomioka-san isn’t so lonely after all~”