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Their first meeting was not ideal, no, not at all. The two men had always kept to themselves, never finding a reason to ever utter a single word to each other. They were colleagues and that was it, nothing more and nothing less.
As time went on though, the two soon began to see more of each other, practically forced to interact. The more they happened to be in the same room, within a nearby radius, or close to proximity; the more the both of them realized how much they despised each other.
Sanemi was a merciless brute, he never spared anyone or anything with reason or thought. He was a maniac killing machine! He would do whatever he pleased, caring for nothing but Ubuyashi's concern. But even so, the master couldn't control Sanemi and his unhinged temper and violent force.
Obanai, on the other hand, was the embodiment of a snake. He was small and petite, scrawny, and had a sharp tongue filled with venom and hatred. Albeit he had all these qualities that hindered him being considered a "good" person, he was obedient to the master regardless. He didn't feel sentimentality towards the decaying corpse of a man, but he of course respected and trusted he had everyone's best interest in the Demon Slayer corps.
With the men being so different, the two Hashiras hated each other, the difference between the two being enough reason for them to loathe the latter. Even so, no one could explain why . If anything, they're the most similar to each other, having loads in common. They both despised Giyu and his pathetic sulking, they are both difficult to get close to, they preferred being alone, were competitive, judgemental, and secretive about their lives. But as we all know, opposites attract and like repelled.
Some of the corps members theorize as to why the men don't get along with each other, but they're just wasting their time. The real reason as to why they can't and don't see eye to eye at all is because of the grudges the men have bestowed upon each other from the very beginning of their relationship.
It all began when Sanemi had been promoted to a Hashira, it was the day he was being initiated and welcomed. Funny enough, Sanemi had become a Pillar shortly after the scrawny man did. Obanai gave the scarred man a look of distaste, brushing him off as a pathetic weakling who'll be an easy and inexperienced snack for demons. Sanemi, who hated being underestimated, took that as a challenge and willingly accepted it.
Silently vowing to prove himself, Sanemi began his quest to one up the Serpent Pillar. Obanai seemed to believe that he wasn't capable nor strong enough. Annoyed, Obanai eventually became passive aggressive at the news of Sanemi steadily improving and becoming stronger, his assumptions about the Wind Hashira being proven wrong.
Everyone was aware of the tension between the two but never butted in, much preferring to mind their own business for the sake of keeping their skin intact. Unfortunately, things did begin to escalate and eventually, the Hashiras did have to get involved.
Sometimes, when it came to having tea with the young master during the Hashira's monthly meetings, they would compete to see who could charm Ubuyashi the most. Sometimes, they'd even race each other to the teapot and if the latter dared to help themselves first to a fresh, hot cup of leaf juice; a scuffle would soon follow.
There had even been times when they accidentally crossed paths with each other on the same street, at the same stall, in the very same line coincidentally ordering the same thing. Most times, they rarely spoke aloud to each other but always resorted to communicating telepathically with their eyes and body language. Because of this, a heated stare down would inevitably occur as if the men were animals fighting for territory. It happened so much that the locals and frequent visitors just assumed it was normal behavior between them.
One day, though, Ubuyashi had had enough of their tomfoolery and had ordered them to absolutely never return to the Demon Slayer Corps unless they could get along. It was a gamble, everyone knew that. They would risk losing two prominent and powerful warriors for the sake of getting along . But the master knew well that slaying demons was all that the men had going for them and that they will surely be back.
They will get along whether they like it or not. It was their only choice, the only option for them.
---
A knock softly pounded against the wooden gates and not long after a girl of exotic pink and green hair came rushing in, holding tightly onto the scarred and muscular arm of Sanemi Shinazugawa, her face flushed a bright red from being so flustered about how physically close they were. Sanemi, on the other hand, looked indifferent and slightly uncomfortable with the unfamiliar physical contact.
The sun was shining on them brightly, giving birth to fresh optimism and new hope within Obanai, who desperately needed assurance that somehow his scatterbrained plan would work out in his favor.
"Hey, Obanai!" She called, approaching the Snake Hashira with her other arm waving animatedly. Obanai felt a small smile meet his lips while he sat quietly at his round metal outdoor table, his matching metal chair cushioned generously beneath as he waited for her to meet him. "Hello, Mitsuri." Obanai said softly, feeling his tense body relax at the sight of her.
She had been extremely supportive of him and been very adamant about him coming back to work, telling the man, "it's not the same without you!"
Obanai was honoured and felt his cheeks grow hot with affection and appreciation. Mitsuri was the perfect remedy for any sickness or conflict with her overwhelming positivity and sweetness. Mitsuri pulled her hands away from the latter man and dusted off her clothing politely. "There, I brought Sanemi as you requested! Please do try getting along, I'm really gonna miss you guys if you don't come back! Oh, also the pay is super amazing, you guys would be missing out on a lot, too!"
Sanemi crossed his arms and said nothing, looking elsewhere, watching a yellow butterfly glide and drift in the soft afternoon breeze. Obanai frowned. Was this buffoon really gonna act like a child now of all times? Their livelihood was on the line! The least that damned "Wind Pillar" could do was try and make an effort instead of trying to look uninterested.
The master had explicitly stated that helping the two was strictly prohibited, and if anyone dared to disobey they would face his wrath. Although Mitsuri wasn't really "helping" the two at the moment, she didn't mind going behind master Ubuyashi's back anyways. If anything, she would use her bimbo charm (which worked practically all the time) to escape any discipline Ubuyashi would attempt to exact on her.
"Thank you, Mitsuri. You best be going if you don't want any trouble from the master," the smaller man said, nodding to his friend and colleague to leave. The Love Pillar nodded and flashed two thumbs up and a big smile before leaving the two men alone, unashamedly optimistic about the two getting along.
As she left and closed the gate shut behind herself, Obanai glanced at Sanemi, who stood awkwardly trying to play it cool. "You look pathetic, Shinazugawa. Why don't you take a seat, hm?" The scrawny man taunted, his thin black brow raising with irritation and eyes half lidded.
Sanemi scowled, seemingly considering the choice before reluctantly taking a seat on the cushioned metal chair from across the Snake Pillar. "Fine. But what the hell do you really expect us to do, huh? Play tea party and dress up as princesses and go back with things magically back in order?"
Obanai rolled his heterochromic eyes at the question. "Well, if that's what you want to do, then sure, be my guest. But don't you think that's a little bit childish and girly for you?" Sanemi huffed and his gaze hardened even more than before. "You're so damn obnoxious." The scarred man added.
"Yeah? Well at least I'm making the effort to try and get our jobs back." The ravenette man hissed, his eyes narrowing at the latter. "For someone so small , you have a lot of big things to say. You really get on my fucking nerves, I hope you know that." Sanemi mentioned flatly, his arms crossing even more tightly over his exposed and marked chest.
Even if they were temporarily terminated from their job until they could get along, the two men continued to wear their corps uniforms. To Obanai's disappointment, he had wished that Sanemi would've come in more formal clothes, clothing that covered his large breasts. Those pecs that the small man wished were not so distracting, eye catching, and hypnotizing to him.
"What're you looking at? Eyes off." Sanemi grunted, his cheeks looking a bit darker than usual. Obanai nearly jumped in his seat and looked away quickly. "Jeez, you're just as bad as the other women." Of course, other women. There was no doubt that Sanami had a plethora of adoring fans who were thirsty, desperate, and willing to forfeit all their physical possessions for a peice of the Wind Pillar.
Who was Obanai kidding, it wasn't just a lot either, it was everyone . Everyone wanted a piece of him. Deep down, Obanai was everyone. But there are some things that we should keep secret and that's definitely one of them. "Please, this isn't about you or your tits or your fangirls. Stay on topic, idiot."
Sanemi chewed the inside of his cheek, his gaze burning into the ravenette man as his flustered blush faded away. "Whatever, I'm wasting my time here. I refuse having to get along with the likes of you, or even stay within your presence longer than necessary," the Wind Hashira stood up abruptly, his chair screeching against the paved ground. "There's no point in even trying, just accept it. We're never getting our jobs back and we're never getting along."
Sanemi was likely right, they were never going to get along. But Obanai refused. They had to go back. The latter began to walk away, heading for the direction of Obanai's wooden gates. "You may be right, but that doesn't mean we can't pretend." Obanai blurted out, hoping that Sanemi would stop in his tracks and turn back towards him.
"Pretend?" Sanemi repeated, turning around slowly. "Are you serious? Pretending? That's a load of crap and time being wasted. There's no way we're pulling that off, and even if we did, everyone will just see right through the deception." Obanai felt his throat tighten and his hands sweat but pressed on anyway. "Well, we don't have much of a choice do we? Besides, you've been real helpful trying to figure these things out."
Sanemi returned to the metal table, slamming his hands against the firm, dark frame. "Look, I'm just being realistic . And if i'm being realistic right now, this is none of my fault. It's all yours. This is your doing, you're the one who made me come here and so you should be the one to figure this out yourself." Obanai felt his hands ball up into fists and his heart rate increased with frustration. He was finding it increasingly harder by each second to keep his cool.
Obanai stood up swiftly, his chair getting knocked over in the process. "Listen here, Shinazugawa. I've had enough of you. You have the audacity to blame me when it was clearly your fault! I've been guilted and dealt with blame all of my life! I'm not gonna let this chance slip from my hands or even deal with your bullcrap if you're the reason we never come back to the Demon Slayer Corps!"
The two men stared into each other's eyes for a while, uncontrollable fire igniting between them as they began to have their signature stare down. "Oh boohoo, the Slug Pillar has had a hard and sad life! Ugh, get over it! I'm not taking bullshit from you of all people, I've had things worse than you!" Sanemi snaps without a moment of hesitation, his eyes wide and wild while his nose flared in and out.
Obanai planted his hands firmly against his round metal table and leaned forward into the Wind Hashira's space. "Oh wow, I'm trembling in my wee little boots! So fucking what? You expect me to start bawling out my eyes?" Despite Sanemi being the most handsome man he had ever laid his eyes on, he had the ugliest personality and quite the punchable face.
Obanai contemplated throwing in a punch but settled that it wasn't worth it, considering that if they end up staring into each other all day, he could just silently savour and appreciate the beautifully crafted face the Wind Pillar had. His long, gorgeous eyelashes, his messy and probably greasy hair, and his sharp eyeliner; Obanai envied having those qualities- except for the potentially greasy hair part.
But just before they could stare at each other for an eternity, something seemed to click between the two of them and Sanemi launched himself across the table like a wild animal to tackle the smaller, fragile man.
They tumbled to ground, narrowly missing the cement path near the metal table and scuffled about on the short, freshly cut grass, pummeling each other, both the men swinging their arms and fists frantically in an attempt to hurt their opponent significantly more than they already were from the fall. All the pent up anger and loathing for each other was finally released and exploded before their very eyes. Even if Obanai possessed less strength than the latter, he was one slippery and flexible motherfucker.
He did well dodging the barrage of attacks that the scared man unleashed albeit he scored a few unlucky hits to the bandaged jaw. Eventually, the tides turned and Sanemi was the one on top of Obanai with the weak man locked between the thicker and stronger thighs of the Wind Hashira, both of them panting heavily. With his knees tightly pinned to each side of the thin torso the Snake Pillar possessed, there was definitely no escaping now.
The Wind Hashira planted his hands on the ground near Obanai's, holding himself up, just mere inches away from his bandaged face. Sanemi barely looked like he had a scratch on him, if you exclude his bruised fist from accidentally missing a few blows and hitting the rough grass instead. "I hate you." Sanemi uttered, his brows frowned with his cheeks being a dark red, standing out against his slightly tanned skin.
Obanai had his brows furrowed as well but just looking up at Sanemi from his angle was sending butterflies to his stomach. "Think you're the only one?" The smaller man quickly added, his jaw sore from receiving a hit there as well.
"Shut up." Sanami grunted, still kneeling over the man, not moving a single inch. The two men nearly seemed too scared to make any sudden movement, so they remained where they were, staring into each other's eyes as they panted and sweated.
Obanai closed his eyes, breathing long and slow breaths, already exhausted with having to deal with the obnoxious man. "For fuck's sake, dont go dying on me!" Sanemi's voice interrupted, his deep stoic voice wavering and sounding worried. The scarred man's hands moved to Obanai's bony and skinny shoulders and began to shake him frantically. "Stop it! Im not dying!"
The dark haired man hissed, his different coloured eyes opening immediately with a hand moving to grab Sanemi's wrist tightly.
Within that brief moment Obanai noticed the genuine panic that had flickered in Sanemi's eyes and slightly felt sympathy seep deep into his grip on the man, his hand slightly loosening. Sanemi pulled his hand out of the Snake Hashira's grip and unconsciously shifted his weight onto the Snake Hashira's legs, almost sitting on them. The white blonde looked around awkwardly. "G-good." Sanemi muttered, refusing to make eye contact. "What? You think I'm that fragile? I'm not, but I'll likely need to go to the hospital if your 1,000lb ass doesn't get off of me."
Sanemi huffed, his worry quickly dissipating as he brought a hand and leaned it's weight onto Obanai's chest, moving slightly closer to his pale face. "You know what, maybe we'd all be better off without you. I could truly put you out of your misery if I really wanted to," Sanemi said, his voice deep as his warm breath ghosted the Snake Pillar's chin. Any closer and the latter would be within kissing distance.
"Yeah? Well why don't you do it then? Try it, I dare you." He said under false composure, looking to say anything to distract himself from the feeling of his lungs being squeezed and the thought of having his first kiss with Sanemi of all people. Obanai didn't know whether or not that could be a good or bad thing. There have been times the Snake Pillar had seen that tense face soften, the way his face looked rounder and squishier when he was amused or content, even if it was a little bit. Obanai wondered for months what it'd be like to caress the man's scarred face. He even wondered what the scarred individual would say about Obanai's own particular scar.
Would Sanemi turn his head away in disgust? Would he trace the mark with a calloused finger? Would the Hashira even consider kissing him? Obanai had only ever shown Mitsuri his scar and even then she was surprised as well. The Snake Hashira always contemplated what Sanemi's reaction would look like. Perhaps, if things continue from here, they'll never go back to work and Obanai would never be able to see the Wind Pillar's reaction.
Sanemi leaned closer, putting even more weight on the smaller man before stopping out of confusion, letting out a small "huh?" As Obanai placed a hand on his soft, well-toned and scarred chest. "Wait…" he murmured before reaching the back of his head and undoing the bandages with his other hand. The cloths unraveled and came loose from the man's pale face and suddenly, cold air brush over his lips and his face was full and bare for only Sanemi's eyes.
The Wind Hashira's eyes widened. I knew you'd think it was ugly , Obanai thought, his heart twisting as he regretted ever wanting to find out his reaction. Sanemi brought his hand to Obanai's cheek gingerly, afraid he might cause pain to the petite Hashira. "How long have you had this scar? Who did this to you?" Sanemi whispered. Obanai looked away, avoiding eye contact. "I've had this scar my whole life ever since I was a young child. Fortunately, the demon who had done this is dead." Sanemi nodded. "Good," he murmured. "Why are you showing me this?" The latter asked. Obanai looked back into Sanemi's eyes and felt hesitance curl itself up into a knot at the pit of the Snake Hahsira's stomach.
"After this whole mess, I assumed that this would be the end of us ever seeing each other, ever going back as demon slayers. I just," Obanai swallowed down the anxiety in his throat, wondering if he should even continue. "Wanted to see your reaction to my face. Its hideous right? Who'd ever want to kiss this face."
"I would," Sanemi blurted instantly.
Obanai opened his mouth in surprise as the sight in front of him unfolded. Sanemi quickly brought his hands to cover his mouth as his face turned to the reddest hue they'll both ever witness.
They stared at each other for almost a whole century. Sanemi was sweating profusely. Obanai felt as if the heart in his chest was running for dear life like there was no tomorrow. What do they do now? Should they address the elephant in the room? Ignore what Sanemi just said and go on with their lives?
Sanemi brought his hands away from his mouth before taking a breath. "L-look, I know what you mean by having a hideous face," Sanemi started, his eyes darting frantically around, hoping to somehow "fix" the situation. "I have so many ugly scars, I don't know who would even want this face. There's nothing redeemable about mine but you're lucky. You only have one and always been p-pretty." Obanai felt his stomach doing gymnastics as the whole world began to slow down. Was this seriously happening? Did Sanemi seriously call him pretty?
Obanai moved his hand to caress Sanemi's scarred cheek. "Your scars aren't ugly, Sanemi. Not at all." He assured. The two men silently panicked and became flustered at the use of Sanemi's first name. This was unusually intimate of the two Pillars. Never had they ever imagined opening up and being sincere with each other.
Slowly, as if some kind of invisible magnet was suddenly activated, they began to move close to each other, drawn to the latter's mouths. They were just mere centimetres from their lips touching and hesitance kept them on the edge of their metaphorical seats. Suddenly, there was nothing stopping them. No barriers, nothing. All their anxiety and hate gone, out with the wind. Their pent up mix of emotions and reservations about each other, it didn't matter now. What mattered most now was bathing in the comfort of each other.
Their lips touched, pressing gently against each other, causing both Hashiras to closed their eyes, holding the kiss for a few moments before inevitably pulling away. They stared wide eyed in disbelief at each other, unable to believe what they just done. "We seriously did not just do that…" Sanemi muttered to himself. "We did…" Obanai added, his eyes wide.
But at this point, why did it even matter? Their dignity was out the window now and there was absolutely no turning back. They kissed again, harder and more impatient this time, trying their best to make the most of the moment. And that's what they did for the rest of the evening, kiss and kiss and kiss until all their worries and anxieties went away. Kiss away the insecurities, kiss away the awkwardness, and kiss away the painful memories. Obanai kissed Sanemi's throat and cheek while the latter moved to pepper the smaller man on his nose and forehead.
They were so different which made them attractive but at the same time so similar too. It was no wonder why their relationship was so rough and confusing.
When they finally stopped battling it out with their flushed faces and bruised lips, the men pulled apart from each other as they both panted like a dog on a hot day. The scarred men stared into each other's eyes once more, having almost nothing else left to say. No more insults, no more retorts.
"I didn't know you were a good kisser." Sanemi commented, not quite thinking straight from the high he got from the overwhelming amount of kisses. "You're actually my first." Obanai admitted, although pleased to know that he was somehow "good" at it. "Maybe we should do this more." The Wind Hashira suggested without much thought, his eyes moving back to Obanai's mouth. The ravenette felt dizzy, did this seriously happen or was it all a dream? "Yes, we should." He agreed.
They stayed there, laying in each other grasps on the warm grass, even after the sun dipped behind the horizon and the ground turned cold as it welcomed the night.
---
Through the night welcomed good news, traveling in a bundle of feathers and a knack of being in places at the right time and excellent information gathering ability. Soaring through the cold and quiet night, a crow glided gracefully to an open window before soon relaying news to it's master.
"What's this? They're finally getting along?" Ubuyashi asked, repeating the news given to him from his personal Usugai crow as it rested on his windowsill next to a lit wax candle. The bird croaked loudly, confirming that the information is true. Ubuyashi chuckled, amused. "I'm glad that my plan worked, I was hesitant at first but I see now that it was the right decision. Even though my plan worked, I hink it worked a little bit too well."
The crow and the master blissfully laughed together, only imagining what things will be like when the two men return to their duties. Will they hold hands in secret? Or will they let it be known to all of Japan?. Will they act as if none of what occured even happen? Or will they play it cool like it was all according to plan?
Ubuyashi gently brought his finger to his crow's head, rubbing it before returning back to his futon. "Goodnight." He said to the crow, his smile becoming broad with excitement for the two Hashiras to report back to him that they've successfully gotten along with each other.