"Tsuguko presentation?"

"Shinobu-san, I'm serious. I have to go! He hasn't returned yet, isn't that strange? He wouldn't take so long to finish a mission that's not even lower moon demon level!"

"(Name), are you alright? It's only been 10 minutes since he left for his mission" she comments, chuckling.

A week had passed since the last mission you did with your master. He had been going into missions without you since then, but being without him for half a day made you feel alone, despite the fact that in the first two months of training you barely saw him. Now, you were so used to his presence that not even Shinobu's visit was enough company.

Shinobu chuckled again at your distressed expression, "I think you really like him, [Y/N]."

You straightened your head, surprised.

"Of course I like him, he's the source of my happiness!"

Shinobu came closer to you, smiling gently, and patted your head pulling you closer to her.

"I mean that I don't think you're simply crushing on him"

You raised an eyebrow, confused as heck.

"Why would I crush him?" you questioned, lifting your head up at her.

Shinobu threw her head back, laughing a little. "Did you forget the meaning of those words already? I think you've spent too much time with Tokito-kun"

"Oh... In my defense, there's no such thing as too much time with Tokito-sama"

Shinobu smiled softly, pulling you back into a hug. She felt like an older sister, even though she had Kanao and the girls of the butterfly mansion, she also had you: naive, talented and infatuated. It was as if the beast made out of rage inside her heart calmed down whenever she got to see your panicked or fantasizing self.

"I hope you never die, [Y/N]" she said under her breath, eyes lost in the cruelty of the world you had gotten yourself into.

"Uh?? I hope you don't die neither, I guess?"

『 °*• ❈ •*°』

Shinobu supervised you attempting to do your fifth form, which was a complete failure and an embarrassment for all the mist breathing users, who at that moment were only you and Muichiro. She helped you the best way she could, so at the end you got an overall idea of how to make it correctly. She left when the moon was starting to crawl up to the clouds, just when Muichiro returned from his mission unscattered.

That didn't stop you from tearing up out of happiness that he was safe and by your side again; which in turn gave him no choice but to cook you something tasty for dinner. He wasn't too tired from his mission anyway, so he didn't mind it much.

"Fine," he sighed "go prepare the bathroom for when we're done eating"

"Yes sir!"

After you were done collecting wood to heat up the water, and set everything on the table, you two could finally sit and eat.

Muichiro ate at a slow and patient, yet a bit messy, pace, observing you happily eat all the types of sushi he made in roughly two hours. He mentally reminded himself that you liked sushi, for future reference.

"About what happened last week..."

You froze on the spot. You weren't expecting him to speak about that topic ever again, considering how impulsive you had acted. Some rice went the wrong way, making you cough several times and drink all the water in both you and Muichiro's glasses of water. He didn't react.

"Oyakata-sama was actually impressed, but advised me to not bring you in any other until you pass the final selection."

You lowered your head, ashamed of that ridiculous memory. You knew that he could've easily cut the demon's head in the blink of an eye, but something inside you desperately desired to help him destroy that evil creature.

Putting another roll of ebi inside his mouth, the chopsticks stayed close to his mouth as he looked at his plate with boredom.

"It's good... that you've grown stronger. Compared to the first time you fought against me four months ago, you've gotten better" he commented, attempting to comfort you a little bit.

You showed him a wide smile, content with the praise he had given you. With a silly smile, you continued eating joyfully. Honestly, it seemed like you were a giant rainbow and he were a cold storm.

«I can't believe a person like her is my trainee. She's completely different from me.»

As you finished eating, he rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. "There's a pillar meeting tomorrow, [Y/N]. You're coming with me."

The bewildered expression your face painted was enough for him to know that it was a matter of seconds before panic swarmed over you.

«3... 2... 1...»

"W-Whaaaat??? Why?? I can't possibly be around those people! I don't know how to socialize! I don't even know what speaking is!"

Muichiro closed his eyes, patiently hearing you whine until you noticed he wasn't really minding whatever you were complaining about.

"Are you dumb? It's not a party."

"Bu—"

"You can wander around the estate while we speak, afterwards you can meet the other pillars." he sentenced, standing up, his long locks flowing as he motioned in the bathroom's direction.

"It's protocol that a pillar introduces their tsuguko to the others, but in your case he postponed it due to your unstable nature towards people. Now that you seem to be adapting, there's no reason to keep the others in the dark."

You crossed your arms and stuck your tongue out at his back, but he halted and glared at you over his shoulder, forcing you to regain your neutral expression.

"Wake up at six sharp. Good night."

You waved at him slowly, sniffing, and yelled at him disappearing through the hallways "Sweet dreams!"