Tengu's bride | Giyushino

[4] ~ Warning of dangers

"Hopefully, we'll get along, Mister Tomioka. I'd hate to live on eggshells around you; do you think so too, sir?" She flashed him a big yet nervous smile, trying to fight the urge to wipe the sweat off her forehead as he stared at her absently.

After awhile, he simply nodded. At that moment, another person rushed through the door, the sounds of their pants echoing around the empty hall. Another person is trailing, not too far behind them.

"Am I late?" A voice belongs to a girl, and Shinobu noticed that she looks like the boy standing between her and Giyu. She couldn't help but smile at the young girl.

'Finally, another girl. She's adorable too.' She thought, and her hand rested on her chin.

"Are we late...?" Now that is a voice she clearly recognised. "Zenitsu?" Her eyes narrowed as the name left her lips.

The yellow-haired boy hid behind the girl as the older woman glared at him. "What is the meaning of this?" She demanded.

"You two know each other?" Someone asked, and Shinobu couldn't be bothered to find out who.

"Very well, his grandpa is one of my father's patients. Is this where you have been running off to all this time? Do you know how much your grandpa worries about you every time you've disappeared?" She scolded him, and Zenitsu continued to hide behind the girl.

"I'm sorry!" He cried, "I didn't want to make him worry, but my brother hates me, and I have no choice but to leave every now and then." As the boy continued to sob uncontrollably, the girl gently patted him as she started approaching the ravenette and gently grabbed her by the hand.

"What happened to you, Miss Shinobu? We need to get you cleaned up!" She then turned to Giyu.

"I'll get the bath ready and give her a little tour of the house, big brother Giyu." The man nodded. He glanced at Shinobu for a moment. She looked away as the reality finally hit her.

She has to live with this man for the rest of her life.

'For the rest... of my life.' Her face slowly turned red at the mere thought of them being together.

"How bothersome.." She whispered to herself while the girl dragged her away. She could hear Tanjiro trying to calm Zenitsu down behind her.

"I'm really sorry about what happened back there." The girl apologised; her face turned red from embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it.."

"My name is Nezuko! Nice to meet you, Miss Shinobu!" She said her smiles were so bright that Shinobu thought she might've gone blind.

"Nice to meet you too, Nezuko!" She greeted her, "It's nice to finally have another girl around; it's a little awkward with just men."

Nezuko giggled, her voice echoing through the hallway. "I understand! Though I have to apologise for big brother Giyu... he's not really a people person."

Shinobu smiled awkwardly at the mention of the dark-haired man. "Don't worry about it. Tanjiro told me about him earlier."

The other girl nodded. "He's been like that ever since we met him. One of his friends, Sabito, once told me and my siblings that he used to be the opposite of who he is right now. He was bright, fun, and a bit shy, but his smile could brighten up the whole room... At least that's what big brother Sabito said. He didn't really say why, but it's big brother Giyu's business, not mine."

Shinobu sent her a look of understanding. Her mind wandered back to the man she had met before. She wasn't going to lie and say that she wasn't curious, secretly hoping that one day they might become close enough for him to tell her.

"I see... At least he does have friends to give him some company when he needs it."

"Yes, definitely, and now he has you as well! We were all cheering for him when we found out that he was going to have a wife. Big brother Giyu is the kind of person who likes to be on his own, but I think he feels very lonely living by himself sometimes."

Shinobu stared at the girl as she rambled on, not knowing what to say. She kept quiet.

"And even though I've only just met you, I think you are a lovely person, Miss Shinobu. I can't wait to get to know you more!" Nezuko hooked her arm around hers.

"I'm not sure if I should be described as lovely... To be honest, I feel like that too," Shinobu suddenly said, "feeling lonely even though you are surrounded by people you love..."

Nezuko slowed her pace as if she wanted to listen more.

"After my sister was sacrificed first, it felt like a part of me was gone. It's hard to enjoy doing anything. I had people beside me, but still.. loneliness caught up with me eventually, but I think I got that part of me back now that I found out my sister is safe and still alive."

"Your sister was sacrificed too?" Nezuko stopped in her tracks and quickly turned her head.

"That's correct. Tanjiro said she lives in another village."

"Kanae? It's Miss Kanae, isn't it? I knew you looked familiar." Nezuko's hand clasped around her lips, seeming to be in deep thought.

"It's not nice that you didn't end up in the same village, but I'm sure that once Miss Kanae is informed of where you are, she'll be sure to come and visit you every day."

Shinobu smiled, but what Nezuko said next completely wiped the smile off her face.

"Miss Shinobu, can I be completely honest with you? This mountain is very dangerous. I've heard that years ago, the girls who were supposed to be married to other yokai were killed before they could reach their destinations, especially during nightfall. After my ancestors moved up the mountains, it was a complete scandal until they made a deal with the yokai that we could live among them as long as our male family members were to guide the girls who were sacrificed safely to their designated villages."

"For about thirty years, my father was the one who handled that title until he passed, so now my brother is the one to guide. You were his first to be guided."

Shinobu looked at her with horror before asking the younger girl some questions.

"Do they ever know who was the culprit? Is there a chance that it might happen again?" Nezuko shrugged her shoulders.

"They never caught them, though they did have some suspicions of who that might be, but since it hasn't happened in years, they don't have proof of who was the culprit."

Nezuko watched the woman's shocked face in guilt: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you, and I'm not sure if I should have in the first place, but since hearing that story myself, I was just so worried that I had to tell you. You have no idea how glad I am that you made it here before the night fell."

"Just don't go out alone at night, just in case." Shinobu nodded, and her face turned completely serious.

They came to a stop, and Nezuko opened the door that was in front of them. Shinobu noticed two futons laying side by side. She felt her sweat drop.

"This is yours and big brother's bedroom." She pointed, and Shinobu noticed her eyes glimmer with excitement, and the corner of her lips turned into a slight smirk.

'Suddently, I have a different thought about her. Nezuko, you are evil after all.'

"This is... his too.. you say.." She felt her head throbbing in pain, and Nezuko's lips turned into a more noticeable smirk after noticing that Shinobu had already figured out her intentions.

"Big brother decided it himself." The brunette simply shrugged.

'More like you pressured him into accepting it.' Shinobu thought as she rubbed her fingers on her forehead in an attempt to relieve her headache.

"At least the room is big."

"More open space to do anything you want." Nezuko nodded. "Suddenly, all our available guest rooms were used for something else, so we didn't have any rooms for you to sleep in except this."

"I see.." Shinobu smiled annoyingly.

"I'll show you other rooms too! Let's go!" Nezuko took Shinobu's arm and dragged her away.

Shinobu wasn't so surprised at how big the spaces were. Since she has already seen the size of the area itself from the outside.

Despite Nezuko's behaviour from before, Shinobu found her to be a fun company to have. Her laughter and smiles reminded me of her at a young age, before her big sister was taken away from her family. The little girl was starting to grow on her.

'Her and Aoi would be great friends.'