The day of the meeting was creeping up. Arelis had returned the day before, a small pebble in her grasp. You laughed when she dropped the pebble into your hand. He was still learning how to write, and if he sent something pretty it usually meant yes.

In the letter you told him where to meet you before going to see the Hashira, hoping he would be on time.

You were lazing about in a tree, having already gone into the nearby town for some fruit. "Miss (Y/n)?" A voice called out. You jumped, falling out of the tree, "goodness how did you do that?" You questioned, rubbing your side.

"I'm so sorry!" Rengoku yelled as he rushed towards you, looking you over to make sure you weren't visibly injured. "I'm alright, you just scared me. I don't know how though," you grumbled and finally looked up at the man. Holy shit, your mouth gaped. Rengoku had bulked up immeasurably.

You knew that mix would help him heal and gain muscle but you did not think it would do that. You did your best not to drool, trying to get your brain functioning again. You stuttered, trying to get it together. "Still, I apologize." He replied, grabbing your arm to help you stand up.

"How did you sneak up on me though?" You asked. He laughed. "I am unsure, however, it is a welcome change!" You grumbled, leaning into his arms, allowing him to help you up. "Thank you," you mumbled. Rengoku did not reply, which was odd.

You didn't think it rude but were confused. Did he not hear you? You repeated yourself, making eye contact with him this time. "Oh, it's my pleasure!" He smiled, still holding onto your arm. Ah, so he has hearing problems, good to know.

"What did you come find me for Rengoku?" His brows furrowed at first before his eyes lit up. "Ah yes! I came to ask for more of that odd mix! It had helped tremendously with my healing and training!"

"How much have you been using?" Your brows rose, curious as to how quickly he went through it. "A pinch per meal, I used it the day after you gave it to me." Ah, that explains everything you thought.

"I didn't expect you to use it so quickly after I gave it to you," you shrugged. "Would you like to learn what it all is? I can teach you and give you some if you'd like," you made sure to maintain eye contact with him throughout the conversation.

His expression brightened, "I would enjoy that very much!" He smiled lustrously, stepping away from you. You fought the frown from overtaking your features, missing the warmth he provided. "Well then, let's go. The herbs aren't very far from here."

He followed behind you closely, like a lost puppy. It only took a few minutes before you came across the first plant. You stopped in front of him, and because he was paying attention to the scenery and not you, he ran into your back. He stumbled back, stuttering from embarrassment.

"Sorry," he murmured. You smiled at him, waving your hand to usher him over. "This is the most important plant. It promotes healing and gives you more energy, we need a large amount of it as it's the main ingredient." You grabbed a few of the small plants, handing a few of them over to Rengoku.

You made sure to project your voice so he could still hear you. He nodded and hummed along, easily taking the plants from you. He held them gently, doing his best to not hurt the leaves. You moved on from that plant, not walking too much farther away.

You were getting closer and closer to the river you had bathed in not long ago. Rengoku was much more vigilant of where you were as he didn't want to accidentally run into you again.

While the sensation was welcome, the embarrassment was not. He never realized how much larger than you he was, his form almost engulfing your own. Okay shut up brain before you get us into a sticky situation, he tried to berate himself but it didn't work well.

He desperately wanted to hug you, wanting to feel how small you were. The provider/protector/caregiver part of his brain was rearing its head, not allowing his thoughts to focus. He groaned internally, begging his thoughts to cease. Of course, that's not how it worked though.

You had stopped by a large bush, grabbing some of its berries and holding them within your hand. "Rengoku, come here please!" You signal, waving him closer. He followed your gesture, crouching down next to you. He tilted his head curiously, which was incredibly cute, and awaited further instruction. "These are the only berries in that mix, they help everything stick together but they also help you sleep better, which in turn helps your healing process. We need at least two handfuls of them." You finished with a nod, trying to put more in your already full hand.

Rengoku watched you for a moment before he reached out and took more than half of the berries from your hand. You were startled by his sudden gentleness but allowed him to take the fruit from you.

While Rengoku was never a brash man, his gentleness wasn't usually directed to you, much less in the aspect of possibly touching you. He always seemed to want to get it over with, but maybe fate was changing in your favor, only time could really tell.

He proceeded to pick an abundance of more berries, holding them gently. You grabbed a cloth bag you forgot you had hidden and put the leafy plants in first, and the fruits in second. As you were grabbing the berries from him, you popped one in your mouth playfully.

He was astonished for a moment, trying to figure out whether you had just inadvertently poisoned yourself you not. When you couldn't contain your giggles, he guessed you hadn't. He threw one in his own mouth, joining you in laughter.

After laughing for what seemed like an eternity, the laughter slowly died off. You were both looking at each other, mirth and admiration filling your eyes. He smiled softly towards you, seeming to almost lean in.

You couldn't help but ruin the moment by opening your big mouth. "Well, time to get the next ingredient." Rengoku seemed almost dejected at your interruption, but did not complain and followed you along down a path that only you seemed to see.

You had stopped at the river, the final plant being here. He watched you carefully, seeing you looking along the shoreline. He didn't know what you were looking for so he gave you your space and watched.

You were starting to get annoyed with the fact that you couldn't find the damn plant, but just as you were about to go back to where you started looking you spotted the pretty purple flowers.

Your face brightened, moving quickly to the flowers and plucking a few of the petals off of each stem. "Rengoku, come here!" You smiled at the man, waving him over. He scurried over, watching where he put himself.

As he squatted down he bumped into you by accident, causing you to topple over. He tried to grab and steady you, you also reached out for him, but only lost his balance himself. You both went tumbling into the river, which was only about knee height. You both emerged gasping at the frigid water.

You repressed the shivers trying to rack your frame, and couldn't help but laugh at Rengoku. He looked like a drowned rat, in the most polite and adorable way possible. His hair was laying flat against his head, also falling over his eyes.

You did however almost die from seeing his clothes sitting all the more snuggly against his bulky frame. But even from that shock, you couldn't help but cackle. He looked at you, almost petulant, but found himself joining your laughter.

You looked at each other, only laughing harder at what each of you looked like soaking wet. Rengoku only thought you looked more beautiful but in a much more tangible sense. And you stuck by your drowned rat thought.

Your laughter dissipated, and as it did he began to crawl over to you. You had looked away from him at that point, embarrassed about having caused the whole situation. You only realized he was right next to you when you felt the heat he naturally radiated.

You gasped when you felt his warm grip wrap around your waist, he adjusted you in his grasp, resting both of his hands on your hips and he lifted you upright. You were standing chest to chest, noses almost brushing.

Time seemed to slow immeasurably, you only stood there, basking in the presence of the other. You tried to regulate your breathing, trying not to ruin the moment. You were begging him to do something though, not wanting to push him into anything he didn't want to do.

He only stared back at you, eyes owlish, breathing within the shared space. He was screaming at himself to just do something but his body was frozen. He could barely blink, and while he desperately wanted to move away, he couldn't find it within himself to do so.

You finally decided to take it upon yourself and broke eye contact with the man. You stepped back, separating the two of you. You felt his touch linger, his fingers twitching like he didn't want you to go.

You stepped farther away from him, wrapping your arms around yourself and shivering. You didn't want to shiver but the cold water was finally getting to you. He invaded your space again, "are you alright?" he gently gripped one of your hands.

"Just cold," you chattered, "let's just get this last plant."

He nodded, following after you to the shoreline. You grabbed the plant, showing him what to look for and how to identify it. You set it in the small bag, moving back towards the cave you'd been staying in.

He trailed behind you, looking like a kicked puppy. He was berating himself, wishing he'd done something. He felt like an idiot for not making the first move, whether that was to move away or not. You'd left it up to him, allowed him to choose, and he didn't.

He wished his brain had started working faster so that he could have made a decision, but you had done that for him. He was disappointed with himself, but he'd have to deal with it for the time being.

You made it to the small cave, telling Rengoku to wait while you grab a mortar and pestle. You showed Rengoku which parts of the plants to take, when to mix them, and how to mix them. Almost every piece of each plant was used, but it was important to do them at certain times to keep the proper consistency.

Rengoku watched your hands with rapt attention, asking questions here and there. You answered each question easily, happy to avoid an awkward situation. He nodded, happy to be learning.

You gave him the bag of the herbs, handing them over with a smile. Rengoku smiled brightly and thanked you profusely. As he stood to walk away he turned for a moment, "please change. I don't want you to freeze because of your wet clothes," and he dashed away.

Your mouth dropped open, and you could only help but nod. Watching his retreating back. You decided to heed his words, trying to find something to wear.

You were able to locate a thin shirt and pants. It wouldn't be as warm as your current clothes but it'd be better than wet clothes. The wind caused a chill to rush over you, so you rushed into the cave to try and avoid the wind.

You sighed, resting yourself against a corner of the cave wall. Closing your eyes and hoping for sleep to take you.