The Butterfly That Saved Him-A GiyuShino Story

Chapter Sixteen:

     Giyuu bolted upright, then threw off his covers and grasped the bed railing to support himself. He was in Butterfly Mansion again. Letting out a long breath, memories of the battle flooded back to him. Muzan was dead. Demons were now officially extinct. It seemed like a dream. All the demons....dead. He felt as if he would wake up any moment now and head into battle. But of course he wouldn't.

     He slipped out of bed and headed to Shinobu's room immediately, worry rushing through him as he realized he didn't know if she was wounded. On the way there, he found Aoi. "Aoi. Is Shinobu alright?" He was shocked to see tears welling in her eyes. Aoi never cried. "She's....severely wounded." Her voice hitched and she choked up. "She's....alive?" Giyuu hated himself for asking the question, but dread filled him. She had to be alive....right? To his tremendous relief, she nodded.

     "She's so....sad. Unlike herself. I don't know if she'll ever go back to normal again," she cried. By now Aoi was sobbing as tears cascaded from her blotchy eyes. Giyuu, hiding his own concern, pat her head a little awkwardly. "She'll be fine." He didn't sound convincing to even himself. Nodding, Aoi wiped her eyes fervently and hurried away. His heart pounding loudly, Giyuu opened the door to Shinobu's room.

     What he saw scared him. She was sitting on her bed, her eyes wide and unblinking as she stared at the corner of the room. Her hair was untidy and unkept, her eyes swollen and red-rimmed. She looked....empty. She didn't even notice him coming in until he tapped her shoulder lightly and called her name.

     "Tomioka-san," she whispered. Without warning, she burst into tears. She didn't even know why, but seeing him made the reality of everything rush back. Maybe it was because....ever since her sister died, she'd channeled all of her pain into rage. The desire to take revenge kept her from drowning in grief. But now....with Doma's death, her anger had evaporated. She wasn't angry anymore. No....there seemed to be a gaping void in her, one that she couldn't fill.

     She had meant to die on the battlefield. Because, in reality, she was weak. She couldn't take the pain. So she got angry instead. The pain of losing her family. Her Tsuguko, except Kanao. Of seeing so many lives, so many families, destroyed by these creatures. She had meant to die so she didn't have to feel the pain. But....she also hadn't realized she had wanted to live. Maybe not for herself, but at least for the man in front of her. How pitiful she must look now. Crying when she should be celebrating the death of her sister's murderer, the death of all demon kind.

    She hadn't even realized he was hugging her. Her tears soaked his haori, until she finally managed to pull back and dry her eyes. She pasted the smile on her face again, the fake one that she used as a mask. But the thing was, here was the only person who could see right through that mask. Who managed to, somehow, pull it off.

     "I'm sorry," she apologized. "That must seem so stupid." Giyuu gave her a look that said, Don't. Just don't. "Crying isn't stupid. It's human. And you're not weak for it," he added, his penetrating eyes staring into her soul. Shinobu lowered her gaze. "Actually, it shows that you're strong enough to trust." Shinobu nodded.

     "It's okay, Shinobu." She nodded again. "No. Of course it's not. But it will be. Alright?" Finally, she lifted her gaze and looked into his deep, ocean eyes. "Okay."

Aww. Well, please vote and comment if you like this story, and a huge thanks to everyone who reads this. Especially to some of you who have stuck with me since the beginning. FebiBlackWolfy2009Ga and Mars980, thank you. Author-san out.