Chapter three:

his Tsuguko"

"Is this what people in books feel? Is this love?" you asked the girls, daydreaming about Tokito.

The girls had guided you back to your room. In the way back, you couldn't stop fantasizing about that person.

"Maybe you're rushing things, [Y/N]-san" Naho commented, they were looking at you with both troubled and worried eyes.

"Yes! You just met him!" Kiyo agreed.

However, you were too busy coming up with your future children's names to even listen to reason.

"But I've read about this before! And I've never felt my cheeks burn so much! This is fate, girls. We're soulmates!"

Floating flowers appeared around you, your hands still hiding your red-colored cheeks while your whole body spun around the room as if you were a ballerina. Your aura of happiness could've been defined as somewhere between suffocating and contagious.

The girls turned their backs at you and got closer to whisper among themselves, while you were still in the background jumping from side to side squealing.

"...should we tell Kocho-sama about this? I think she hit her head"

"She was super shy 30 minutes ago, and now she's jumping and saying all kinds of crazy stuff"

"What should we do?"

They turned their heads to see you radiating joy. Their frowns softened, knowing that they couldn't blame you for overreacting considering you had been neglected all your life.

They exchanged a reassuring look before coughing to get your attention.

You halted, your toothy smile fading into a softer one.

"[Y/N]-san, Tokito-sama is one of the strongest demon slayers! He's the mist pillar"

Oh? They're going to speak to me about him?

You sat on your bed, cross-legged (sedente position), to pay more attention to them. It was as if you were a little kid eager to learn and the girls were your teachers.

"He became a pillar only two months after becoming a demon slayer"

Fireworks exploded inside your pupils as the girls commented how amazing Tokito was. You mentally fangirled at every single word of admiration they were saying.

"But, [Y/N]-san..."

You stared at them again, leaning in anticipation.

Kiyo, the one who was speaking, seemed down. The other two were just as troubled as she was.

"Tokito-sama is an air-head, he might not remember things easily and that includes you"

Shaking your head, you smiled again. "It's okay, I can deal with a partially amnesiac soulmate"

"It's not just that, he doesn't remember anything about his past!"

"And he's mean!"

"He won't pay any attention to you!"

They were fixated on making you stop believing that Tokito is your soulmate. They were frowning, face flushed and fists made balls, as they made strong eye contact with your widened orbs.

"Uh..."

You blinked slowly, not knowing what to say to them.

After several minutes, you closed your eyes, tilted your head and smiled at them.

"It's okay girls, soulmates are meant to be together, so he will surely fall in love with me too!"

Silence.

They sweat-dropped, clearly defeated by your logic.

『 °*• ❈ •*°』

The petite black-to-purple haired girl, who's name you learned was Shinobu, entered the room with a tray on her hands. She sits down next to your happy self, smiling when she realized that you were no longer shying away too much. You stopped daydreaming and kept a quieter stance the moment she walked in.

"Master is calling you" she said, passing you the medicine for you to take "You seem to be adjusting well to your life here! It's only been a week since you woke up"

You nodded slowly after having downed the liquid. Remembering the reason why you were so happy, you blushed again.

"M-My mind has gone to all kinds of places now, that's all!"

Shinobu's mouth formed a small 'o' as her eyes widened slightly. She quickly regained her gentle expression.

"That's nice"

You stood up and walked with Shinobu to the Headquarters, where Master Ubuyashiki was waiting patiently for you.

Shinobu opened the sliding door for you and you took a tentative step in, feeling overwhelmed. You look at Shinobu, eyes being those of a small prey, and she nods reassuringly. You sighed, finally entering the room, Shinobu only bowed at the black haired male before closing the door again to wait for you outside.

Trembling, you lifted your gaze up, finding not only Ubuyashiki Kagaya, but also the cute boy who had saved you, he whom the girls called Tokito and pleaded for you to keep your distance.

"[Y/N], I'm glad you're feeling better. Please take a seat." he pointed to the cushion next to Tokito.

Your face was burning red, eyes wide open and hands over your hammering heart. If it hadn't been for Master's calming —and therefore contrasting— presence, you swore you would've fainted.

"Oh, okay..."

Step by step, your legs kept trembling like jelly. Eventually, you managed to sit seiza style next to the hashira. While you were a sea of crazy thoughts and a blushing mess, he remained serene, or distracted, as if he was questioning his existence or something like that.

His mouth was slightly opened as his blank eyes stared at the ceiling.

He's so cute!

When master spoke again, Tokito focused his attention on him. Not minding you, at all.

"Now that we're all here, I wish to say that I have been thinking about what you told me, [Y/N]."

As nervous as you could be, you nodded several times quickly.

"About being a demon slayer"

"Yes. I decided that I'd be a good idea if you trained under Muichiro."

...What?

Are you kidding?

You wanted to speak, to ask the meaning of his words or a further explanation, but no words came out of your throat.

"With all due respect, Master, may I question why you chose me for this task?"

Ubuyashiki smiled.

"I feel like you two can help each other, that's all"

Help each other?

Oh! Maybe Master Ubuyashiki knows that we're soulmates too?

Tokito simply closed his eyes, accepting his words and trying to remember them. He thought it'd be annoying more than helpful in any way, but he didn't wish to deny his master's request.

...Meanwhile, your cheeks were burning more than a thousand suns.

Feeling both of your very different auras, Ubuyashiki knew he had taken the right decision.

You two needed only to wait until realizing why he chose to link you two.