Chapter thirty-three:

"Boys give advice to boys"

As usual, there was a meeting for all the pillars with Oyakata-sama. Shinobu and Mitsuri were away on a very important mission on the south, which at first was a little bit odd. Oyakata-sama had greeted everyone as usual, and spoke with his ever-so-gentle tone about the current situation of the Demon Slayer Corps. That was until his smile widened and his voice died down. He had noticed his children's lack of attention. They would never do that under normal circumstances, it made him wonder why they would act that way.

"Is something wrong, my children?"

They were in shock. They didn't even bother to hide their surprise and dedicated themselves to stare at the mist pillar, who was sulking.

He was clearly frowning.

They had never seen his annoyed expression before. They thought he was incapable of showing any, just like the depressed water pillar.

"Please accept our sincerest apologies, Oyakata-sama"

"It's just that Tokito-kun has been acting strange!"

Kagaya hummed, understanding the situation. He sat down seiza style and gestured towards Muichiro, who came back to the real world after being trapped inside his thoughts.

"You may tell us what's troubling you, we'll listen" he offered, relaxing the boy who had realized how rude he had been towards his master.

Kagaya's smile and the other pillars' attentive eyes made him sigh in defeat. He could at least admit what was troubling him and see if Kagaya knew a way to help him.

"After much thought on what Kanroji told me... I've reached the conclusion that I like [Y/N]"

They froze. Puzzlement crossed their faces as they threw narrowed glances at each other.

Kyojuro cleared his throat before asking, "As in, romantically?"

"Yes"

Uzui wasted no time laughing loudly, slamming his hand on his thigh as he did so.

"Haha! Called it!" he exclaimed, extending the palm of his hand with the biggest grin possible.

Giyuu, who sat next to him, did the same, but with a much calmer expression than his fellow pillar.

Sanemi let out a grunt, but smacked 10,000 yen on both of the extended hands. Kyojuro and Gyomei followed.

Obanai side glanced at all of the boys there, question marks floating around him while a wave of confusion drowned him.

"Wait, you guys were betting on it?"

"Yes! Sorry for not telling you!"

"Yeah, you spend too much time with Mitsuri-chan and and none of the girls could know because they'd probably call the bet off"

Kyojuro hummed in agreement to the sound pillar's words. He shrugged, concerning the fact that he had lost the bet.

"I thought it was nothing, but Mitsuri-chan told us that you two slept together!" he said, with his eyebrows raised.

Uzui did not know of such information, so he couldn't help but smirk and ankle his head to fully see the young pillar.

"Hoho! Which "slept" are we talking about?"

Gyomei shook his head like a disappointed mother. "The innocent definition, I'm sure"

Nobody usually paid attention to any of Giyuu's words, but just then, when he had part of the juicy gossip, everyone magically had Uzui's perfect hearing sense to listen to what he stated in his monotone voice. "Yes, but Shinobu said that [Y/N] told her that she and Tokito showered together"

The pillars' mouths fell. Uzui couldn't be happier to see all the tea being spilled. Sanemi and Obanai were cringing, while Gyomei was muttering prayers and crying. And, of course, a smiling Giyuu was glad that they listened to him for once. He guided his hand to his heart, which felt warm.

"They took a shower?! As in, a naked one?"

Giyuu nodded, "Yes"

The ravenette boy rolled his eyes, tired of how they made that a big deal.

"It wasn't like that, Shinobu was exaggerating"

Before the pillars could proceed with the interrogatory, Kagaya interrupted with a simple gesture of his hand. They shut their mouths and paid attention again, to not be rude a second time.

"I understand that you've taken a liking to [Y/N]. Why don't you confess to her?"

Muichiro's lips curved downwards, his body stiffened.

"No... I don't think she'll like me back"

As if in sync, the pillars ankled their heads to admire the mist pillar's density. They kept silence for a long minute, wondering if they had heard correctly.

"...Are you fucking kidding me?" Sanemi asked in disbelief.

"Didn't you see how she acted the last time she was here? She was drooling over you" Uzui said, laughing.

Muichiro shrugged, looking down at his hands perfectly folded on top of his lap.

"She does that with everyone. She gets nervous and starts overheating, it's one of the things that make her cute..."

"Yeah, that's true. She was blushing nonstop when Kanroji hugged her" Obanai gritted his teeth saying that line out loud, with his arms crossed and a somewhat darker aura.

Kyojuro's thick eyebrows raised at said sentence, his mouth became an 'o' shape. Letting out a short gasp, he spoke. "What if she likes girls?"

"Poor child..." Gyomei's tears became more intense, as he felt bad for the mist pillar who might've just been (indirectly) rejected.

"I don't think that's the case. She has called Shinobu and Mitsuri as if they were sisters."

"Also, anyone would react that way around Kanroji. Obviously." Obanai said, now he seemed much more relaxed. The love pillar's smile present in his mind was all he needed to feel at ease.

Uzui rolled his eyes, exhausted.

"Oh, shut it, simp"

Kaburamaru hissed at him, while Obanai threw imaginary daggers at him with an intense glare. His image of the sweet love pillar had been replaced with an irk mark.

"Who the fuck are you calling simp?!"

Before they got into a fight, Gyomei got in between them.

"Why don't we give Tokito-kun some advice instead of bickering about meaningless things?"

"Tsk. Fine."

Sanemi let out a grunt. He didn't really care much about giving advice or talking about girls, but at the end of the day, it was Oyakata-sama's petition to listen to Muichiro. And, well, even though he hated to admit it, they were —sort of— friends.

He laid back, casually waving his hand casually, "Play hard to get, man. Girls love that"

"Oh, sure, because you've got soooo many girls"

"Shut up! You don't have a girlfriend either!" the wind pillar scrowled, forcing the snake pillar to frown at him. They usually get along, but in that instant, nobody was in a good mood.

Oh, except the Sun itself and the Greek god of the group.

"Allow a man who has three wives guide you," he said, holding three fingers up and his chest high with pride "my beautiful wives usually don't need them but that's because, honestly, who can resist me? Anyway, if I had to court a girl, I'd buy her a lot of flamboyant and expensive stuff. The shinier the better."

"That's ridiculous! No, no! I think it's better if Tokito-kun ignores [Y/N]-chan for a few days, make her miss him!"

Muichiro's head suddenly lifted in panic at his words, his eyebrows lowered as he looked at Kyojuro and Uzui with wide eyes.

"That sounds like torture. I don't think I can handle that."

Both men exchanged a look before sighing. They didn't consider that it could backfire at him, considering how detached and stoic he usually seemed.

And then, there was Giyuu. The water pillar was sitting crossed legged, listening to the others give their advice. His head swinging from side to side like a little kid as they spoke. He was waiting for his chance to give a piece of his mind, remembering what had happened in the time which he had spent with you.

Night had fallen, the sky as dark as it could get. That night, there was no stars, only clouds, it had been raining all day. Therefore, there was dew on the grass and the pleasant smell of the earth after a good day of rain. You shrivered, your body hair stood up from the chilling weather of late autumn. Apart from the thunders, your ears caught another sound: hollow footsteps against the wood. Then your eyes noticed a big shadow behind you. You didn't blink when the warmth of his haori engulfed you from behind, covering you like a soft blanket. Your eyes followed him as he sat next to you, offering a cup of hot chocolate with tiny mashmellows, which Mitsuri had probably done.

"Hey, are you okay?" the water pillar's monotone voice seemed to have a hint of concern.

Your eyebrows lowered as your shoulders sank. It was kind of noticeable that you were sad. Shinobu had seen this and urged him to take care of it while she and Mitsuri finished making dinner.

"I miss Tokito-sama"

"I know. You told me how much you care for him"

You looked at him, tired expression present. Giyuu didn't have friends so he wouldn't tell anyone, and wouldn't react or tease you when you're sincere about your feelings. It was easy to talk to him.

"Back then, when I first met him, I liked him because he was the cutest person I'd ever seen. He was mean and sometimes cruel or indifferent, but I tried to convince myself that he would eventually like me back, because in my novels, if love you give, love you shall receive"

Giyuu nodded in silence, occasionally sipping on his hot chocolate as you did yours.

"But now I'm scared because I can't stop feeling everything so deeply. It makes my heart smile, and my lungs can barely pick up any air. I feel like all I've ever needed is him. He's my happiness. And I'm scared he's not going to be here one day, if he abandons me, if he dies, if I die, if he loves someone else and just leaves me behind... I'm scared, Giyuu-san" you gazed with his ocean blue eyes when your voice broke, and his heart sank seeing tears spilling over the sides of your eyes.

He had no idea what to say, but regardless, he knew that he couldn't simply let you drown in your own tears.

"It's okay... whatever happens, be strong and face it. You're not alone, okay? You will never be."

He was certain that you cared for him just as much as he cared for you, so he just needed to be honest. When their voices seemed to be dedicated to rambles, Giyuu decided to speak.

"I think she—"

"You know what? Just get her pregnant so she can't leave you" Sanemi said, throwing his hands in the air done with the whole conversation.

"What the hell, man?"

"Disgusting. I'll pray for you." the stone pillar said, shaking his head like a disapproving mom again.

"Why? Respectfully, isn't that what Oyakata-sama did?" Obanai argued, backing the wind pillar up, even though they had just had an argument like three minutes ago.

"No! That's completely different!" Kyojuro defended, crossing his arms.

"Then just make her jealous. Hang out with some girls" Uzui said, rolling his eyes. He, too, was tired of the topic.

«But that would make her sad...»

Before the pillars could continue their talk, Oyakata-sama clapped twice, silencing everyone. They all looked at him as he showed them a gentle smile.

"Muichiro-kun, I believe [Y/N] is a very soft-hearted person. Just be kind and respectful of her decisions, try to be honest with her, and let her know that she matters to you. I'm sure that she already cares for you as much as you care for her, but, if you're having doubts, take it slow"

Muichiro's previously worried expression melted into a much more relaxed one. He closed his eyes, nodded, and opened them again, regaining his usual bored face.

"Yes, Oyakata-sama"

"Now let's go back to the topic at hand, shall we?"