Chapter eleven:

"What even is love?"

In two days, you were feeling much better. The weather returned to its usual calm, the sun bright in the sky with the sea of white clouds adorning it. You were eager to go back to training, specially since you'd to pay respects to your master's consideration in not killing you or not letting you die for not having listened to him in the first place.

Once you were ready to go out of your room, you cheerfully skipped towards the garden.

Before you could arrive though, a familiar woman came into your field of view. Forcing you to stop dead in your tracks.

"Shinobu-san?"

The petite girl gave you a closed-eyes smile, gently patting your head (despite the height difference not being much).

"Hello, [Y/N]-chan~!"

Her presence was an odd occurrence inside that household.

"What are you doing here?"

Shinobu looked up, index finger on her chin, as she pretended to think.

"Well, first of all, my patient came down with a cold a couple days ago"

Just as her violet eyes drifted towards yours, they averted; like a cat chasing a mouse.

"And second, I was wondering if I could check in on Tokito-kun as well" Shinobu said, making you blow out your cheeks.

"Check on him? Why?"

Shinobu looked at you with a certain secretiveness, as if she were about to gossip. She shortened the distance to the point in which you could smell her lavender perfume. Her porcelain hand, with their fingers slightly spread, travelled all the way to the side of her mouth, likely to make herself less audible as she told you what you wanted to hear.

"He came to my estate, soaking wet, just so I could give him some medicine for you. I guess he came running, he even forgot that umbrellas exist!"

You leaned in closer to her, whispering in a tone as low as hers.

"But, Shinobu-san, of course he wouldn't use an umbrella. We don't have any here."

"Even so! His face was a dead as always, but isn't it such a romantic act? He came running all the way to the butterfly estate during a thunderstorm because he was worried! The girls had to clean the wet floor after he had brought the rain under our roof" she nodded to herself, emphasizing how bad the whole mess was.

You gasped, not believing anything she had just said.

"I-I can't believe it... Tokito-sama is such a gentleman! Kya~!"

Shinobu took a step back with a gentle smile as she admired you jumping from side to side, holding your fiery cheeks. She swore small pink hearts floated around you, the beaming happiness as clear as your love for the mist pillar.

Then, you came to a halt. All happiness shattered in the air in a matter of a second.

"What if he gets sick too now?"

"That's why I'm here. I need to check on you both."

You hugged her mentally, eyes glittering in admiration at the butterfly girl.

Shinobu-san, why can't you be my older sister?

『 °*• ❈ •*°』

"Aaaaand, we're done!" Shinobu cheered as she had finally extracted blood from her fellow pillar.

She threw away the syringe, having already put its content inside various tubes. This was for a prevention measure alone, in case he had another illness other than the possible flu.

She had ordered him to take off the upper part of his uniform to listen to his lungs, which she could perfectly do without having him take most of it off, but her intentions were clear when she gave you a wink and a thumbs up. Of course, girls understand girls... and your drooling made it obvious.

"Thank you" he plainly said, putting his clothes on again, much to your disappointment.

Organizing the tubes inside a small case that she had brought his her, she let out a chuckle.

"You should watch your health better, Tokito-kun. Your fans might get upset if they see you coming down with something"

Your senses tingled. Your head rose up in her direction, a little faster than your poor neck could handle.

"What?"

"Oh? You don't know? You're very popular among the other demon slayers AND the kakushi! Unlike a certain pillar, despite your cold exterior, you're very loved!" she commented, then began humming to herself taking specific remedies and placing them inside a box.

Muichiro didn't react at all, he didn't care. Whereas you were having a panic attack, but not exactly out of jealousy or the thought of people having a crush on him like you do. It was more confusion and self-disappointment than any other emotion.

"Okay," she pointed to the box "these are medicines for certain problems that you guys may have, like allergies or any pain. If any of them run out, you can tell me."

Muichiro nodded, taking the box in his arms in order to leave it in a safer spot than your room.

The second he left the room, you tugged Shinobu's haori. When she saw your head hagging low, she was completely thrown off.

"S-Shinobu-san, do I love Tokito-sama?"

The insect pillar wanted to laugh. You weren't asking her that, were you? It was so surreal for her that she rathered take it as a joke.

"What kind of question is that? How would I know?"

Your grip grew stronger, wrinkling the cloth.

"You talked about fans of his and I... I have never experienced love, so I can't tell if I am. I have read about it, but I don't know if that's enough. Am I just a fan of his? Or do I love him?"

"Kids be kids" she sighed, remembering that you were thirteen years old and had little to no interaction with people "Listen, I can't tell if you're in love or not, I might even say that you're too young for that, but I had my first love when I was seven"

Seeing as you were interested in her take on love just so you could compare it to your own experience, she turned and placed both hands on your shoulders.

"Love is different for each person, sweetie. But, I guess that I can give you an example"

You nodded quickly, big eyes staring at her expectantly.

"There's this person that I would throw myself in front of a demon for. I would love to spend every day of my life with this person, including all their flaws and virtues. I want them to be happy more than anything else in this world. When I'm with them, life is just... so bright."

She was saying that with all the seriousness she could give, but your were fangirling inside, again.

"[Y/N], you... remind me of Mitsuri, a lot."

You tilted your head, questioning who that person was mentally. Shinobu massaged her temples, the whole situation was a bit too much for her.

"The love pillar" she clarified, then prepared to leave the mist estate. Outside was dusk and she wanted to get home to Kanao and the others as soon as possible "Anyway, please don't feel too pressured or anything. Love is something that should come off naturally, so maybe you should just let the whole thing go and try to be friends with Tokito-kun"

You were left alone in the room, taking in your little chat with her.

I can barely look at him without blushing, how is being friends gonna help me?

All I know is that I've only known Tokito-sama for two months, but if anything were to happen to him, I would kill everyone in the Corps and then myself.

...maybe I'm going overboard. Just maybe.