Seeing Kocho Shinobu like this, Tomioka Giyuu stopped teasing her and reminded her:
"Oh, by the way, tell your sister to be careful of that guy, Sanemi Shinazugawa."
"Huh? Why?" Shinobu picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth, asking with some confusion.
After taking the last bite of fish, Tomioka Giyuu said seriously:
"Nothing, but I guess he'll be your brother-in-law in the future."
"Wha…what?!" Hearing this, Shinobu stood up at once. "No… no way. Sanemi?"
"He should only be interested in killing demons, right?"
Tomioka looked at her strangely. Is that how Sanemi appears to outsiders?
"That's because you don't know him well enough. When he is alone with your sister, he's unusually calm and not irritable at all."
"He didn't say a word when he saw me just now. If it were any other time, he'd have drawn his sword and attacked me in the name of sparring."
Tomioka drank his tea helplessly. He couldn't understand why Sanemi was always so angry with him.
"Also, even though he's usually irritable, he's actually a very nice person."
"If you like small animals and reed cakes, how bad can you be?"
Shinobu sat back down, pursed her lips, and muttered,
"Hmph, I know what he's doing…"
Then she stared into Giyuu's eyes, with a hint of annoyance:
"You know him so well? Haha. What about my preferences?"
Giyuu pretended to think seriously for a moment. Then, in front of Shinobu's expectant eyes, he let out a short reply."
"I have no idea."
"You! Hmph!"
She stood up and put on her haori, clearly annoyed. But just as she turned to leave, Giyuu stepped forward and gently held her hand.
"Look at you, you're angry again. Of course I was joking."
"You like ginger pickles, Aoi's cooking, and marble soda."
"You like animals like goldfish, not ones with fur. You don't like wearing revealing clothes."
"Did I get it right?"
Shinobu was stunned—not just at what he said, but because he was holding her hand!
"You… how do you know so much about that? And your hand…"
Giyuu quickly let go and coughed twice.
"Sorry, I was a little anxious."
"It's okay…"
Just then, the restaurant door was pushed open.
A girl with sakuramochi-colored hair and a boy in a black-and-white striped haori walked in together.
Giyuu sighed.
"This world really is small…"
Yes, they were none other than Kanroji Mitsuri and Iguro Obanai.
"Hmm? What a coincidence, Shinobu, you're here too… No, you and Tomioka are eating together?"
"Ah? The two of us?" Shinobu glanced at Giyuu.
"Well, he was hungry, and I saw he was injured, so I accompanied him to eat."
Giyuu nodded cooperatively and didn't expose her.
Iguro, however, narrowed his eyes at Giyuu and asked curiously:
"But hasn't your injury already healed?"
Seeing Shinobu flustered, Giyuu quickly redirected the conversation.
"By the way, Iguro, are you pursuing Kanroji?"
"Eh? Eh!!" Kanroji covered her mouth in surprise, but her eyes sparkled as she looked at Iguro.
Iguro turned away, flustered, his hand moving unconsciously to his bandaged mouth.
"Let's eat."
Seeing Iguro's embarrassment, Giyuu and Shinobu smiled at each other.
"You guys eat, we'll be leaving first. See you at the Pillar meeting this afternoon!"
They left the restaurant together and returned to the Butterfly Estate.
On the way back, they joked and debated animatedly—even arguing about how an ant should transport food. Eventually, they both burst into laughter for no reason.
Childish to outsiders perhaps, even to their past selves—but now, they genuinely enjoyed it.
Without realizing it, the pink bubbles of affection were rising around them.
***
Later, all ten Pillars gathered for the meeting.
Tomioka and Shinobu arrived early.
As soon as Giyuu entered, Rengoku Kyojuro dragged him into a discussion about swordsmanship.
The Butterfly Sisters chatted with Kanroji Mitsuri, clearly trying to get her to open up about her relationship with Iguro.
Iguro Obanai stood off to the side with Sanemi Shinazugawa, discussing a recent mission.
Gyomei Himejima stood near a small pond, quietly praying with his rosary, while Uzui Tengen loudly proclaimed how to fight with flair.
Muichiro Tokito stared into the pond, counting fish:
"One, two, three, four…"
Just then, the girls' chat turned serious when Mitsuri said:
"Ah, I'm so grateful to Tomioka for practicing with me back then. It helped me understand how important distance control is!"
Giyuu, who was chatting nearby, immediately felt something wrong.
Two pairs of eyes bored into his back.
One was Shinobu, smiling sweetly:
"Yeah. He's very enthusiastic."
The other was Iguro, who had already let his snake crawl to Giyuu's shoulder.
Giyuu turned and clarified quickly:
"Yes, we just happened to meet in the Swordsmith Village. I had a new sword forged and wanted to try it out. Nothing else."
"Of course nothing else. Did you want something else to happen?" Shinobu added with a too-sweet smile.
Chills ran down Giyuu's spine. The snake hissed menacingly.
"No, of course not…"
Before he could finish, a soft voice came out of the room.
"Apologies, everyone. Master Ubuyashiki's health has worsened, so he can only speak to you through the door."
Everyone grew silent. Though they understood, the weight of the truth—that Ubuyashiki's curse was beyond healing—pressed down on them.
The meeting soon began, centered on the defeat of Upper Six.
The lord's voice, though frail, was filled with hope. But everyone felt sorrow instead. Even in weakness, he cared only about them.
Afterward, the Hashira departed one by one, heavy-hearted.
Giyuu was no exception.
The curse had advanced too quickly. He couldn't stop it.
One crazy idea crossed his mind—what if Tamayo turned the Master into a demon?
But he quickly rejected the thought.
If you become a demon just to live, what makes you different from Muzan Kibutsuji?