Chapter thirty-eight:

"Blowing happy bubbles"

Two weeks passed.

Two long goddamn weeks in which Muichiro hadn't seen your face. No smiles, no goodnights, no small talk or random compliments, he barely heard you say anything to him besides house chores-related stuff. You were too busy going on constant missions to avoid being at home with the cause of your many mental breakdowns. Once in a while you would stop by the butterfly estate to have a proper meal with the girls instead of eating street food. Shinobu would always welcome you warmly, and Kanao would join you whenever she wasn't busy training those really loud demon slayers.

But you knew that you had left the mist pillar completely abandoned.

He would sit in silence in his mansion, looking around that place plagued with memories of all that you two had gone through. He had never felt so lonely, not even before meeting you.

It was the beginning of week three and he had decided to go to the butterfly estate to check if you were there. Spring was still settling in, meaning that the butterflies were roaming around as cheerfully as ever, the cold of winter now gone and forgotten. The grass beneath his sandals smelt fresh, baby sprouts were beginning to grow to become beautiful flowers. The estate wasn't peaceful, however, due to how incredibly loud the three patients were during their recovery training, even though they were supposed to leave for a mission the next day. But still, he ignored that and kept walking towards the place where he would pick you up after the pillar meetings, which was the garden that had a rock-circled pond.

He came to a halt when his ears picked up the sound of laughter. It was just like a birdsong, so joyous that he couldn't help but change the stern line of his lips into a gentle smile. His eyes, too, smiled to the point of overflowing into the fresh spring air.

Not too far from where he was standing, there was a ton of bubbles floating in the air. The sun made them look like tiny circular rainbows coloring everything around them, such as the cheerful [h/c]-haired girl that hopped around popping every single one of them, giggling to herself nonstop as the slightly older black-haired female blowed the bubbles through her star-shaped wand.

"Go slower! I can barely catch my breath jumping around like this, Kanao!" you whined, hopping to catch another big bubble.

Kanao looked at you with half-lidded eyes, softly smiling at your pouting. She thought it was cute.

And that's why she blew a ton more bubbles so you wouldn't have time to even speak, just whine.

Muichiro had sat down far enough to see and hear you laugh. He placed his katana on one side and pulled his knees closer to himself, resting his arms over them.

"I miss you..." he said under his breath, keeping half of his face hidden behind his arms.

"Since when did you become a stalker?"

He didn't bother to pay much attention to the honeyed voice of the insect pillar, who sat gracefully next to him. She smiled gently at him with her eyes closed.

"I forced Tomioka-san to tell me what happened, but it seems like you didn't confess to her and now she's avoiding you"

He nodded. Nothing more, nothing less. His eyes were fixed staring blankly at the joyous atmosphere that he used to be part of.

"Why didn't you confess?"

"Because she doesn't like me"

Shinobu's eyebrows rose, a wondering gaze brushed over her delicate features when her ears picked up that statement.

"What makes you think that?"

"She went on a date with the guy we almost murdered"

"Yes, and then?"

"She started avoiding me"

Shinobu frowned a little, her plump lips curving downwards as she crossed her arms, assessing the odd situation they had gotten themselves into. Last time she checked, you were head over heels for Muichiro, and now it was exactly the opposite. What the hell happened when she wasn't looking?

Muichiro buried his face on his arms and knees, closing his eyes. He kept asking himself what he did wrong to make you run away from him like that. He had never felt like garbage before, but now he despised that feeling which clung so strongly to him.

Shinobu threw her head back, resting her hands on both of her sides on the ground, feeling the grass between her fingers.

"I've never seen you like that before, you know? Showing so many emotions. Everyone thought you had left your heart along with your memories in the past... or rather, [Y/N] managed to uncover it. She's shy yet playful when she warms up to people, a heart as kind and justice-driven as hers is hard to come by in this world. She reminds me of both my sister and Mitsuri on that, and I think that's why Kanao likes her so much too"

He kept quiet, tightening the hold of his hands on the fabric of his uniform. He calmly raised an eye to see the girl he loved so dearly once again.

His heart stopped. Merely one glance at your face, and his heart stopped being able to work properly.

"Why don't you join them? They're blowing bubbles, and nobody rejects more company on games like those!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together and closing her eyes into a smile again.

In response to Shinobu's cheerfulness, Muichiro hid his face back, completely ignoring her.

"Oh, come on! You're a kid too! You should go around running and playing around, not slaying demons and having to make life-or-death decisions! Blowing bubbles is where true joy lies!" she stood up, patted her pants and haori, and looked behind her at the unresponsive boy "I'm joining them. Are you coming?"

Her violet orbs' light died down a little when she saw him shake his head slowly. "Don't give up on her, okay? There's a meteor shower tonight, I imagine she has never seen one. So, ask her if she wants to accompany you, just this once."

『 °*• ❈ •*°』

Nighttime arrived. Unfortunately, you were in the mist estate due to having no missions left for that day. Muichiro didn't have one either, so you were forced to have dinner with him. A very awkward dinner, as you refused to look at him and tried your best to avoid reaching out for something at the same time as he did. But, thankfully, it was over rather quickly.

Before you could stand up to lock yourself up inside your room, you heard the dullness of his voice as he called your name.

"[Y/N], do you want to watch the stars tonight? Shinobu said there's a meteor shower"

You turned your head towards him, meeting his cold expression. You flinched, averting your gaze as quickly as you could. Your bottom and top lips pressed against each other nervously, hesitant to say anything.

"I'm a little tired—"

"Just for a couple minutes, please."

Your heart skipped a beat when you heard him say that word. Please. It sounded so hurt and saddened that you felt it as if you had been stabbed.

"O-okay..."

He stood up as soon as he heard your response, extending his hand in order to help you stand up as well. You pretended that you didn't see it, looking the other way, and stood up on your own. Muichiro's shoulders sank as he returned his hand to himself, but his expression remained unfazed.

"Hurry up, it already began"

When he opened the sliding door and sat on the engawa peacefully, you had to stop a minute to catch your breath. Sitting next to him, you didn't stop staring at the beautiful night sky, eyes shimmering brighter than the stars.

It was like a dream. The meteors were shooting stars raining down the purples and royal blues, lighting everything up with thousands of wishes. It took everything from your soul, transporting you to that celestial shower up there in the sky.

A weight rested on top of your hand, and as if dictated by the beating of your heart, your fingers intertwined with his. It only took a second after that. A second in which your had realized the familiar warmth of that hand, and your eyes immediately widened and overflowed with tears, and a short yelp escaped your parted lips.

Time froze. Your heart came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly there was a mix of sadness and joy that overtook your soul.

And then there was the kind sensation of his warm lips touching your cheek.