"House of mist"

"Y'all have been so nice, girls. But it's time to part ways, I'll miss you. However, there's nothing to fear! I'll send you the invitations to the wedding, I swear."

Kiyo, Naho, Sumi and Shinobu stood before you, as you all had finally finished packing your things —mainly medicine and a few clothes that the girls gifted you—.

"Excuse me, what?"

You shook your head at them, head hanging low. A few dramatic tears slid down your cheeks, your lips pressed together into a thin line.

"I know it's hard, alas, I must go to my future husband now."

You left the room, covering your eyes with your arm, the wind catching your tears as you ran from there dramatically. The girls, with widened eyes, took a minute before laughing it off.

Yes, they'll miss you.

You had brightened the mansion for a short, yet meaningful, time.

『 °*• ❈ •*°』

Tokito was mute. Not really, but it was.

All the way to his house, he hadn't said a single word, it was as if you were walking with a ghost. Well, you couldn't blame him for anything either considering you walked two meters behind him and refused to say even a word for fear of saying something stupid and looking ridiculous.

You didn't question why the path he was on was so far from society.

You didn't ask why you were entering a humid mist forest.

By a miracle of God, you managed to not scream when snakes passed through the small space between your boots, nor when a lizard jumped from your hair to your nose.

Not a sound.

But Tokito did notice, with the corner of his eye, all your panicked gestures and efforts not to complain about anything. However, he turned his gaze to the front, shrugging everything off.

Finally, you had reached the mansion. It was smaller than that of the butterfly girls, but it still lived up to the title of Hashira. Despite having crossed a forest to get there, the mansion was in perfect condition from the outside. There was no overgrowth vegetation, the mist dispersed as it touched the entrance, and everything looked very neat overall.

You had stayed to admire the exterior for a moment without realizing it, only reacting when noticing that your now master was still walking on the rocky path.

Panicking once more, you jogged up behind him just as he was opening the door.

The place looked much different inside, there was not much furniture, and the ones that were there were caked with dust.

"Achoo!" You sneezed, covering your nose and mouth with the long sleeves of your haori.

Sniffing, you guessed that by now your nose had to be red. Like, Rudolph the reindeer type of red nose.

Tokito continued on his way through the mansion saying absolutely nothing. You watched the neglected place. Unlike the butterfly estate, there were no people besides you and the mist slayer.

You took a deep breath, mixed with courage, so you could dare to ask him about it.

"Eh... T-Tokito-sama"

He stopped, abruptly, to face you.

"Aren't there assistants here like at Shinobu-san's mansion?"

"No. I don't need them"

Oh...

That means that we have the whole place for ourselves? We're alone?

With a creepy giggle, you admired his back. Thousands of ideas floated around you, making you blush intensely, but the creepy vibe was still present.

"You can stay here"

Snapping out of your thoughts, your mouth agape the second you stood next to him.

He was standing in front of a dusty, worn out room with one big window that probably faced the garden.

You blinked thrice, exchanging a quick look between the room and your master's bored face.

You wished to question why he chose that specific room for you, since the place was so big and empty. Couldn't he have chosen a cleaner one? You're just recovering from your illness, after all!

But you couldn't. Questioning people was harder for you than to be stepped on.

You stood inside the room, shyly examining it. Tokito was waiting in the sliding door, waiting for you to say something.

You turn your face to him, giving him a weak smile.

"T-thank you..."

At least I'm not sleeping in those woods. At the very least!

Tokito remained in the same place, as you put all your efforts on shakily smiling him with your eyes closed.

"Okay. Training starts tomorrow at 5"

And then he left.

"Phew!" you let out a breath that you hadn't realized you were holding.

You left your bag on a somewhat clean corner; grabbed a handkerchief and some cloth from it, changed into more comfortable clothes (well, one of Kanao's demon slayer uniforms that she'd given you) and rolled up your sleeves.

With your hands on your sides, you took a narrowed glance at the whole room, furrowing your brows.

"I've never cleaned anything in my life, but I'm sure I can wing it."

No.

No, you couldn't.

You smiled to yourself and rushed to find a well to get water from.

But I can at least try!