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The Hashira gathering had been going on for nearly an hour.
Which, according to Mitsuri, was exactly long enough for everyone to start getting hungry.
She sat neatly beside Shinobu, occasionally glancing around the room.
Rengoku was as energetic as ever, Tengen looked as though he was personally offended by the lack of anything flashy happening, and Shinobu wore her usual pleasant smile.
Giyuu, however, was staring at absolutely nothing.
Mitsuri tilted her head.
“Tomioka-san?”
Giyuu blinked.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Mitsuri smiled.
He had said it so automatically that she wasn’t convinced.
Before she could ask anything else, Shinobu spoke.
“Tomioka-san has been distracted all afternoon.”
Giyuu looked at her.
Shinobu smiled sweetly.
“Am I wrong?”
“No.”
That made her pause.
Usually, Giyuu would simply deny it or offer one of his famously short answers and leave it at that.
Instead, he looked down at his hands.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh?” Shinobu asked. “That’s dangerous.”
Giyuu stared at her.
Shinobu’s smile widened.
“What have you been thinking about?”
“You.”
Silence.
Mitsuri’s eyes widened.
Rengoku stopped mid-sentence.
Tengen slowly turned his head.
Shinobu’s smile remained perfectly in place.
Mostly.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Giyuu seemed completely unaware that he’d just managed to silence three Hashira at once.
“I’ve been trying to understand something.”
Shinobu folded her hands in her lap.
“And what would that be?”
“You always know when something is bothering me.”
Shinobu blinked.
Giyuu continued.
“Even when I don’t say anything.”
For once, Shinobu didn’t immediately have a clever response.
She had always been observant. It was part of who she was.
But she’d never expected Giyuu to notice.
“You’ve been paying attention,” she said quietly.
Giyuu nodded.
“Yes.”
Across the room, Rengoku leaned toward Tengen.
“This is getting interesting!”
Mitsuri immediately grabbed his sleeve.
“Please don’t interfere!”
“I wasn’t going to!”
“You’re whispering at full volume!”
Tengen crossed his arms.
“I’ve seen quieter explosions.”
Shinobu ignored them.
She looked at Giyuu.
“Why does it bother you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why have you been thinking about it?”
Giyuu was quiet.
Then he said, “Because I don’t understand why you do it.”
Shinobu’s expression softened.
“Perhaps because someone should.”
Giyuu looked at her.
“You notice things other people don’t.”
“And you notice things you pretend not to.”
His eyebrows furrowed.
“I don’t pretend.”
Shinobu laughed softly.
“You really are hopeless, Tomioka-san.”
“I know.”
That answer made her laugh again.
Then Giyuu looked away.
“I feel more comfortable around you.”
Shinobu stopped laughing.
Giyuu continued, his voice quieter.
“I don’t know why.”
The room suddenly felt much too quiet.
Shinobu studied him.
There was no joke in his expression.
No hidden sarcasm.
He meant it.
“You feel comfortable around me?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I tease you constantly?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I call you Tomioka-san?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I once told you that you were disliked by almost everyone?”
Giyuu paused.
“You did.”
“And yet?”
“I still feel comfortable around you.”
Shinobu stared at him.
Then, slowly, her smile became something gentler.
“Well,” she murmured, “that’s unfortunate.”
Giyuu looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because I feel the same way.”
His eyes widened slightly.
Shinobu’s cheeks warmed.
She wasn’t accustomed to being caught without a clever response.
But Giyuu was looking at her so earnestly that she couldn’t bring herself to turn it into another joke.
“You make it rather easy to be myself,” she admitted. “Even when you don’t say much.”
Giyuu looked down.
His ears were turning red.
Shinobu noticed.
Her smile returned.
“Oh my.”
“What?”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“No.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
Giyuu looked away.
Shinobu covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
He was surprisingly adorable when flustered.
Unfortunately, someone else had noticed too.
Rengoku suddenly stood.
“I KNEW IT!”
Mitsuri lunged forward and covered his mouth.
“Rengoku-san!”
His muffled voice continued anyway.
Tengen sighed.
“This is painfully obvious.”
Mitsuri looked between them.
“I think it’s sweet!”
Shinobu closed her eyes.
“Please ignore them.”
Giyuu nodded.
“I was planning to.”
“Good.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Shinobu glanced toward him.
“Tomioka-san?”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to have tea with me tomorrow?”
Giyuu looked at her.
There was the faintest hint of a smile on his face.
“I’d like that.”
Shinobu smiled.
“Then it’s a date.”
Giyuu froze.
Shinobu’s eyes sparkled.
“I’m teasing.”
“Oh.”
She stood and began walking toward the door.
After a moment, Giyuu followed.
Behind them, Mitsuri clasped her hands together.
“They’re so cute!”
Tengen smirked.
“Painfully obvious.”
Rengoku gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“AN EXCELLENT DEVELOPMENT!”
Mitsuri quickly covered his mouth again.
Outside, Shinobu glanced at Giyuu.
He was still slightly red.
She smiled to herself.
Perhaps there were some things they didn’t have to say yet.