Wisteria Eyed

42

"Miyasha, you need to be strong!" Rengoku encouraged me as I curled in on the chair beside his bed, "You can't let some mere compliments defeat you!"

"...may Lord have mercy on my soul..."

"Come on, Miyasha! Say with me!" He poked me gently on my arm, "I can sing well! I'm an amazing demon slayer and I can—"

"Ren-senpai, please shut up!"

"Not before you say your achievements out loud!" I groaned as I buried my face in my hands again, wishing for some miracle to instantly kill me.

It has hardly been a day since I sang a few songs for the three stooges at their request — and since then, what I thought might be a one-time ordeal, became a huge gossiping topic as some passing Kakushis heard my voice.

And while I didn't care enough what people thought about my singing, the language I was singing in wasn't exactly familiar to many and that got me worried. And rightly so, since it got a shit ton of people curious and interested in me and I was already done with this.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about admitting your achievements, Miyasha!" Rengoku encouraged enthusiastically as I felt his warm hand patting my cold arms, "You are so talented! You even developed a way to fight demons despite your blood's condition! Incredible!"

I groaned again, "I don't want praises, Ren-senpai, I just want my peace of mind back."

"You should accept the compliments gracefully, kouhai!" At this point, I wasn't even sure if he was genuinely encouraging me or teasing the hell outta me, "After all, it just means you are doing well! Nothing to be embarrassed about, there!"

"I know?" I sighed as I continued, "But... I just, I don't exactly mind the praises, but rather the attention and people being curious and nosy and asking me questions..."

I sighed again as I felt rather ashamed of myself — I felt like I was bragging like this and I really didn't like or want to show off. Especially since there wasn't anything to even brag about.

"You are surprisingly intolerant of compliments, Miyasha!" I groaned again as Rengoku hit the final nail on my coffin, "You should be proud of your achievements!"

"Ren-senpai, please stop. I'm literally begging you at this point."

I felt his aura shift to a brighter, warmer tone — confirming my suspicions of him teasing me instead of innocently encouraging me like he was claiming to do. I swear to Lord, I never expected him, out of all the people out there, to be this cheeky.

However, before I could hear his reply, I felt another aura approach us — and with how strong and familiar it was, it made me wonder if it was a Hashira.

'Is it Uzui?' I frowned as my head involuntarily turned towards the yet-to-be opened door, 'No, his aura shouldn't be this fuzzy? I think I felt it during the Hashira meeting?'

"Miyasha?"

"Hm?" I turned back to Rengoku, giving him an apologetic smile as I explained my actions, "I apologize, I actually felt a very strong aura just pass through and—"

A knock interrupted me, confirming my statement as Rengoku loudly called out to the person outside.

"Oh!" A feminine voice greeted my ears as soon as the door opened, "I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was visiting—"

I turned to her as she suddenly stopped speaking but before I could ask anything, I felt two arms wrap around me in a tight hug.

"Miyasha-chan!" I squeaked as I felt Mitsuri's fuzzy soft aura surround me from all sides, "I'm so glad to see you awake! You had everyone so worried!"