丨Soar丨 Kimetsu no Yaiba x OC｜

Chapter 32

Muichiro sat and nodded, his usual misty stare became sharp as a blade.

Chizuko's breath hitched, she opened her mouth but no sound came out. You need to tell him the truth, a voice in Chizuko reminded her. But what if she damaged their friendship? What if Muichiro never wanted to talk to her anymore? What if she made him uncomfortable?

It is now or never.

Chizuko ripped her eyepatch off.

She didn't expect Muichiro to hold her cheeks with such gentleness, as if she were a fragile porcelain doll.

"You are still Chizuko," Muichiro whispered. He couldn't possibly hate her, and this incident only added heat to the brewing hurricane of fury in his mind. Chizuko was still Chizuko,the angel he couldn't forget, the biggest soft spot he would ever have.

Tears spilled from both of Chizuko's eyes, it was like she saw a ray of sunlight in the midst of boundless darkness. No words could express the comfort and gratitude she felt, so she hugged Muichiro, hoping that her emotions can be transmitted.

"Thank you, Muichiro-kun."

The two held each other tightly under the jewel studded sky.

***
"Ehhhh!!?" Chizuko's eyes widened, "You are self studying mist breathing!!?"

It was not even dawn, and Muichiro had already woken Chizuko, informing her his training plans.

"You are running ten laps this early!!? Muichiro-kun! Your body hasn't- Hey! Muichiro-kun! W-Wait!" Chizuko had no choice but to go after Muichiro, who didn't seem to hear what she was saying.

Sitting on the roof, Hachi observed the two kids that trained from morning to evening, until they lacked strength to pull themselves up from the floor. She was stunned by them. The boy was a rookie, but he swung the wooden staff as if he trained for years, as if he were born for it. And Chizuko, she was picking up mist breathing with shocking ease, already mastering some basics within a day.

"Mui-kun, at least we have to eat dinner!" Chizuko bandaged Muichiro's bleeding palms. Honestly, Chizuko's muscles ached, like she was stabbed by thousands of needles, and lifting her sore limbs seemed impossible. It was long since she trained till she was drenched in sweat, Obanai's schedule for her was at least half less compressed.

Muichiro blinked at the nickname Chizuko gave him, he likes it. He stumbled after Chizuko, forgetting about training for a moment, allowing her to drag him to wherever she was going.

***
"S-sorry for showing up for dinner without notice, Kanao-chan," Chizuko apologised. She knew things were constantly busy at the butterfly mansion. It was too late to start cooking after training with Muichiro, thus she was ready to tell Shinobu and the girls the truth.

Kanao smiled and shook her head. She was glad that Chizuko visited them, and she knew that no one would feel bothered by her. Should I ask Chizuko-chan about her eye? Kanao was worried since Chizuko never talked to Shinobu, Aoi nor her about what really happened.

"A-And..." Chizuko stuttered, "Kanao-chan, th-there's something I want to tell you all, can you please call the others?"

***
Shinobu stood, enveloping Chizuko in her arms,

"I still believe in you, Chizuko-chan."

Aoi, Kanao, Naho, Sumi and Kiyo followed, pulling Chizuko into their embrace.

"You idiot!" Aoi broke into sobs, "We were so frightened you know!? You w-went straight to Ichika-chan's grave that day, we didn't even know you were back until Hachi told us! A-And then we heard you lost an eye! B-But you change the subject every time we talk about it!"

"I-I know, I'm sorry," Chizuko wept, "Thank you. Th-Thank you so much."

Shinobu waved to Muichiro, urging him to join. She had seen how the boy's empty eyes were filled with life whenever Chizuko was in sight, how his emotionless complexion had slight changes, how he squeezed her hand when she had been nervous.

Perhaps someday when they grow up.

The butterfly mansion was full of laughter and smiles once again.

***
Chizuko paced around on the tatami* mat.

She should probably be sleeping, it would be her first time to be on duty in the swords smith village tonight. She was glad to have bumped into Haganezuka earlier, who was happily munching on dango.

Chizuko really would like to nap, but one particular thing kept bugging her.

"I want to become a hashira."

Muichiro didn't sound like he was joking at all.

Chizuko knew he was serious, she had never seen him with such determination. And she saw his devotion, he wouldn't stop until he couldn't raise from the ground, he wouldn't care if he were covered in bruises or cuts, he wouldn't stop even if he spat out blood. Besides, he was truly talented, he could do what Chizuko spent almost a year working on in less than two months.

Chizuko wanted to make Obanai's wish come true, but it clashed with Muichiro's dream.

There are only nine positions for the hashira rank, and eight were taken.

To be honest, she was inclined to let Muichiro achieve his goal.

Although all reactions she received so far were positive, Chizuko still felt like a ticking bomb that could explode at any moment, she didn't know if she could trust herself anymore.

"Caw!" Hachi flew into the house, "Information about Lower Moon One! Caw! Classified information!"

****
I'm sorry for forgetting to put the explanations
(☍﹏⁰)｡

*furin : Japanese wind chime, which is traditionally hung from the eaves of a house during the summer.

*tatami : A type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms.