Tengu's bride | Giyushino [First draft]

[3] ~ He who barely speaks

During the week before her marriage, the ravenette buried herself in books at the village's library, desperately searching for all the information she could find about yokai. She searched about every species, from kitsune down to the kappa, wincing as she looked at the illustrations of each kind.

She secretly hoped that the yokai that she'll be married to will be the kinds that she won't gagged while looking at them every day, so imagine her surprise when she stepped into the village to find that none of the tengu she'd seen matched the description in the books that she has read.

"In general, Tengu are described as humanoid Yokai with feathery wings on their backs and wearing monk's robes. In Japan, there are two main variants of what their head looks like: a red-faced man with a long nose or with the head of a bird."

What a bunch of lies!

But she's pretty sure that the people who wrote these books have never seen any yokai in their lives.

Though she's glad they were wrong,

Also, she wondered: Why does she have to be married to a tengu? Is there a specific reason, or is it just pure coincidence?

Tanjiro looked back at her again before taking her away from the crowded road to see her husband. Shinobu quickly but gently wiped the dirt from her face with the cloth that the woman before her gave her. She made sure not to ruin any make-up on her face. She shudders as she is reminded of the maid who scolded her before.

"Some villagers, along with my mother, have prepared you some clothes and any essentials that you need." Tanjiro told her, and she sent him a thankful look.

"Please tell them I said thank you." She tried to smile through her nerves.

"Ne... Tanjiro.. What is he like? My new...husband." She asked, her fingers fidgeting with her kimono.

"What can I really say? He doesn't talk a lot, is awkward, and is easily distracted. He looks intimidating, but he's actually very nice. I'm sure you two will get along! Hopefully.." Tanjiro whispered the last part to himself, silently doubting his words.

Shinobu is doubtful about that as well. 'He doesn't talk a lot. Sounds boring.' She wanted to roll her eyes. Suddenly, the thought of someone came to her mind.

"Wait! What about my sister? Is she still alive? Her name is Kanae." She stopped Tanjiro; her hand grabbed ahold of his shoulders.

Tanjiro's eyes widened in surprise. "Miss Kanae is your sister?" Shinobu sighed in relief. If Tanjiro knows her sister's name, then that means that there is a big chance that she's still alive. Her stomach flutters in excitement.

"Yes, that's right! Do you know where she is?" Tanjiro nodded, signalling that he does.

"Um..." Tanjiro scratched his neck nervously. "She actually lives in another village, but still on the same mountain, of course! This village only belongs to Tengu's. All the yokai don't get along well with each other, so they live in separate villages due to the differences in each species, but they still manage to stay civil with each other."

Shinobu gasped, then looked down to the ground. All the relief she felt completely went away. Tanjiro noticed her dejected look and tried to do his best to console her.

"Don't worry, Miss Shinobu. The village that your sister resides in is not far away from here. I'll send her a message about you; I'm guessing you would like that."

Her eyes sparkled with joy. "Yes, I would! Thank you so much, Tanjiro! You're a lifesaver!" She giggled, and Tanjiro laughed along. He's glad that he managed to cheer the new bride up again.

"And also, please just call me Shinobu. Miss, Make me sound so old, don't you think?" Tanjiro nodded, sending her a bright smile.

"Of course, Shinobu!"

Shinobu gulped nervously; her stomach started hurting from hiding her fear too long. The boy next to her tried his best to reassure her until they ended up in front of an estate.

Suddenly, the fear completely disappeared as Shinobu stared in awe at the sight of the estate itself, for it is bigger than her now-childhood home could ever be.

'And I thought my parents were rich!'

As they walked around the outside of the house with the courtesy of Tanjiro showing her around, she noticed that the estate was split into two sections with a little bridge connecting them together. Under the bridge was a streamlet leading to a small pond.

There were also a lot of big glass windows. Though the estate itself is beautiful and breath-taking, Shinobu couldn't stop herself from deadpanning when she saw the horrendously unkempt garden.

Somehow, Tanjiro seemed to know what she was thinking about. "He's really bad at maintaining the garden, even though he enjoys staring out his window quite a lot."

"I see.. I'm guessing that's the reason that there's a lot of big glass windows." She pointed to one.

"Yes, that's right!"

'I guess I can also help my poor 'husband' with his gardening. I could not imagine how weird it is to stare out the window and see a messy garden every day. I cannot just live here and do nothing.' Shinobu thought. Though she enjoys tending to her parents's garden every now and then, seeing the state of the garden in front of her is exhausting her very much already.

She noticed a faint shadow through one of the windows. 'That must be him.'

"Now," Tanjiro started, getting Shinobu's attention. "It's time to meet him."

They made their way to the front door, and Tanjiro knocked a few times before entering. Shinobu followed, not far behind.

The house is empty.

Too empty.

Shinobu sighed. Quiet, awkward, and boring, and now she just learned that her new husband is blind when it comes to making a house look inviting, warm, and liveable. She mentally noted down that she needed to ask him to get more furniture.

'Am I warming up to this idea already? I should be fighting about being married to someone or something that I don't know and can't hold the concept of!' She kicked herself mentally.

"We're here, Mister Giyu!" Tanjiro shouted.

'So his name is Giyu, huh?' Shinobu thought. Suddenly, her jaw slowly dropped as a man stepped into her view.

A gorgeous man, if she had to admit it.

About a hundred and seventy-six centimetres tall, he wore a light blue yukata with a dark blue sash tying around his waist and a red haori to complete the look.

Not to mention his long hair that went down to his back. Shinobu's a woman, but she could never keep hair that long to save her life. She guesses that's admirable.

But she couldn't help but hold her breath as his piercing blue eyes noticed her.

"Welcome back." Was the only word that left his lips for what seemed like hours, days, and maybe even eternity. Gods, she dislikes silence sometimes.

Shinobu is annoyed. Incredibly annoyed. Her new husband could've at least greeted her. What happened to "Hello, how are you? How was your journey?"

Tanjiro could smell the discomfort and maybe anger radiating from the young woman standing beside him. With sweat slowly dripping down his forehead, Tanjiro quickly introduced her to the older man.

"Ah, Shinobu! This is Giyu Tomioka and Mister Giyu; you already know her name anyway."

She gritted her teeth. "Nice to meet you, Mister Tomioka; are you well?" She bowed, mainly to show some respect but also to meet his eyes.

She swears she could get lost in them if she looked at him even for one second.

There it is, that silence. Now that she has time to think about it, eternity does not seem long enough compared to this awkward moment she's in. Shinobu could feel his gaze burning against her flesh.

"Nice to meet you as well." Oh, so he does speak.

Wonderful.

"Hopefully, we'll get along, Mister Tomioka. I'd hate to live on eggshells around you, do you think so too, sir?"

He simply nodded. In that moment, another person rushed through the door, the sounds of their pants echoing around the empty hall.

"Am I late?"