To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

Bonus Chapter: Tomioka Giyu Special

Tengen hiccupped as he downed another cup of sake. He swept his eyes over the table, seeing the flushed faces of his obviously tipsy or drunk friends. He had invited all the former pillars to celebrate the eight-year anniversary of the eradication of demonkind. One thing led to another and now the six of them were a group of drunk mess.

"But Tomioka-san is so cruel." Mitsuri wiped the tears that slipped out of her eyes, her words slurred as she leaned her head against Obanai's shoulder. "Tomioka-san smiles a lot now, but you didn't smile despite all our efforts back then."

"That's right." Kyojuro slung his arm around Giyu's shoulder, bringing both of them down to the table. His own face was flushed with alcohol. "In the end, nobody was able to make you smile. That was the first time we failed Oyakata-sama."

"What?" Giyu forced himself to raise his head, swaying until he eventually slumped back onto the table. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?" Obanai, ever the responsible husband, made sure to limit his alcohol. "That unofficial Pillar Meeting we had in the Star Estate."

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

"Himejima-san, why did you ask us to gather outside of a Pillar Meeting?" Sanemi asked upon arriving at their meeting spot, which so happened to be the Star Estate. "What is going on? We didn't discuss anything last week that requires an unofficial meeting, and there's no recent news that requires one either. And why are we gathered here instead of the Ubuyashiki Estate?"

Gyomei didn't flinch even when the other pillars stared expectantly at him. "It is Oyakata-sama's will and not my personal whim for us to gather today."

His answer was enough to ease some of the tension in the air, but it still didn't give them the answer they were searching for. Though there was something much more important for them to address.

"Himejima-san, I don't think Tomioka-san is here yet." Inori looked around, as if expecting Giyu to hop out of the bushes or trees.

"You don't think?" Obanai scoffed. "Don't beat around the bush, Hoshizora. He isn't here. Even if he doesn't show up, I won't be surprised. That self-centered bastard will probably say something along the lines of 'it has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want. I'm different from you guys' and ignore us."

"That piece of shit."

"Shinazugawa-san, those were simply Iguro-san's thoughts. Let's not act based on assumptions." Shinobu frowned, a little disappointed that such a baseless assumption could rile someone up so much. "Tomioka-san is probably misinformed of the time again, his crow tends to do that. We can just ask one of our crows to deliver the news."

"That is not needed," Gyomei said. "I deliberately asked Tomioka to come here fifteen minutes later."

"What?" Sanemi felt his eyes twitching. "What is the meaning of this, Himejima-san?"

"We're not making some kind of decision in his absence, right?" Shinobu asked, feeling mildly surprised.

At the same time, Tengen, who was lazing around the pond, laughed. "So, we're finally going to demote the Water Pillar who can't coordinate with others. It better be a flamboyant demotion."

"That's not good! I can't allow that to happen!" Kyojuro exclaimed, surprising the birds that were perched on top of the trees. "We cannot do such things behind his back. If you want to demote him, then do it in front of him directly. Don't you agree, Tokito?"

"I don't really care either way." Muichiro shrugged, not taking his eyes off the butterfly that landed on his nose. "I'm not that close with Tomioka-san anyway, so I'll probably forget soon. Why should I care what happens to him? That aside, Inori, what's this butterfly called again?"