You were training in the misty forest, doing your best to master the first form that you'd clumsily accomplished to do. Tokito was out for a mission since early in the morning, he had left you with clear instructions of practicing it until it comes off naturally.

He was a tough teacher as always!

You sighed, reminiscing those harsh words come out of his lips.

He's so dashing!

"Kya~!"

Your hands felt your cheek's heat rise, eyes shut while you performed a weird happy dance around the garden. Nobody could see you anyway, so you were free to fangirl all you wanted.

Your head collided with a tree, forcing you to abruptly wake up from your daydreams and rub your swollen forehead.

At least it served you as a reminder of your obligations.

I better start working hard before Tokito-sama returns.

And with that, you kept practicing the first form, over and over again. From the precious garden to the mist-clouded forest, your limbs and blade rose and fell, thrusting them forward and pulling back with complete awareness of your surroundings. Your footwork had gotten much better than the last time you practiced with Tokito.

From the rising sun to its setting form, you didn't stop performing it until your lungs burnt, your body became droppy and your mind was swarmed with dizziness.

Panting, the worn-out sword plunged, your calloused hands not having strength left to hold it.

Your body sank, the wet ground pillowed your tired form as soon as it hit it.

You hissed at the pain, yet meant to pick up the sword to keep going. Despite that, you had no sensation in your legs anymore, they were as good as useless.

What the...? They won't move!

"What do I do now?" you asked out loud, as if the forests' animals could understand you "I swear, if a spider approaches me in this state, I'll die"

Tiredness washed over you, eyelids weighting heavier than they should. Your mind alerted you to stay awake, being in the middle of the forest with cuts and dirt all over you, who knows what could happen? But the toll of physical strain had already settled on you.

Before you could completely lose yourself, you felt your body get farther away from the ground, a familiar scent floaded your senses, allowing you to open your eyes, ever so slowly.

"T-Tokito-sama...?"

His long locks tickled your tomato-colored cheeks, assisting you to completely wake up as you felt his strong arms holding your body tightly.

"Y-You've returned!"

The boy drifted his gaze from the road ahead to you.

"I never left"

What?

Your eyelashes batted rapidly, thoughts and unanswered questions forming on your brain, worsening the dizziness.

Does that mean he saw me train and run around like a crazy-in-love girl?

"I'm... tired" you muttered, your voice sounding as weak as a kitten's.

His warmth engluffled you, head resting against his chest, enjoying the odd calmness that his presence provided. He was comforting, soothing.

How can his presence feel so warm when his eyes are so cold?

The emptiness his eyes wore like a night gown picked your interest more than it should've. The question of what was the reason for having so much hatred kept bothering your dreams. Is his hatred towards demons? What happened to him to be in the Corps?

I know nothing about him.

A strange light caught your attention.

Your eyes met a body of water, widening at the wonderful sight of the shining blue water at night. You'd never seen that place before, it probably sat just outside the forest. Then, how long had he been walking?

You wished to question why he had brought you there, but ultimately chose to limit yourself to pay attention to his actions. He put you down just in the edge of the body of water.

"The water here is better, more fresh. Your body might feel better after staying here for some time"

He turned around to let you have some privacy -take off your clothes- but stayed there, resting on top of a rock so that you could face his back. That way, should you need his help, he'd be right there.

The water wasn't deep. Even though you were sitting, it barely reached your neck. A peace you'd never experienced embraced you. You were so immersed into the warmth that you hadn't realized how long you'd been silent.

"Are you dead already? I can't hear you."

"O-oh! Sorry!" you stuttered out, turning around to face his back "I'm not really good with small talk"

"Me neither. Just make sounds or something"

Somehow, that'd be more embarrassing.

"..."

More silence. It was a bit awkward being there, in his presence, half naked. Or maybe it was your wild imagination fueled by all the romantic novels you'd read in your lifetime.

Heat rose up to your cheeks, both the warm waters and your thoughts were responsible. Shaking your head to be free from such ideas, you turned again to see Muichiro's back.

Might as well give the whole 'small talk' thing a go.

"I... I've always wanted to eat sakura mochi. I've only seen it in pictures."

"Okay."

More awkward silence. You didn't know how to carry on a conversation and neither did he. Fifteen whole minutes passed before he spoke, shrugging, "I guess I like strawberry shortcake"

You were happy he responded with something. The problem was that you didn't know what to say after that either.

More, agonizing silence. Muichiro was peacefully staring at the stars, sometimes he would attempt to stand up and go away since he would forget that you were behind him. Remembering that small detail, he would try to focus on the water's sound and the gentle night breeze.

Meanwhile, you were dying out of not knowing if you should comment the weather or ask for his favorite color.

You shut your eyes tight, deciding on a random topic.

"W-When I was little," you started, catching Tokito's attention. "I was so bored of not being able to play like the other kids that I decided to prank the nurses. I hid underneath some loose boards on the floor, expecting them to go crazy trying to find me. Instead, I got bitten by a poisonous spider down there. I tried to return to the surface when I felt its bite, it hurt like hell! But the floorboards were stuck, and I was trapped."

You rested your head over your crossed arms, lying over the body of water's edge. A somewhat distressed look brushed over your face, the sensation of that hairy being hugging your leg with its fangs was a ghost you couldn't stop from looming over you.

"The nurses were so surprised when they found me three hours later; I was nothing but a mess of tears. They had to pull me out careful with the huge spiders that were still nearby. It's a miracle I'm still alive."

Muichiro said nothing, you guessed he had the same deadpan expression as ever, unimpressed by the sad tale of why you're so scared of spiders.

"When you become a demon slayer officially, they will be just insects for you."

"I hope so! Unless..." you gasped dramatically, raising your head up with wide eyes "Tokito-sama, are there spider-like demons?"

Muichiro's head faced skyward. "There might be some"

Whining, you buried your face between your arms.

Muichiro felt the saddened aura behind him, which was getting greater by the second. He closed his eyes and sighed, knowing full well that you got a little demotivated.

«She's going to stay like this all night, isn't she?

I should try to encourage her like Kocho told me to.»

His minty blue eyes connected the stars in the sky, their characteristic shimmer contrasted perfectly with the boy's empty ones.

«Ah... what was that constellation's name again?»