#obamitsu angst

[yoonkles]

i think one of the biggest tragedies of kny is that even if obanai and mitsuri had somehow both survived, they would not have wed. obanai’s guilt was all consuming and he would never dare stain mitsuri in such a way. he would never dare shame her lineage with his sins.

even if they had both survived the war, they would have been just as lonely as before.

[xxlady-lunaxx]

obanai and the thing about him hating praise towards his scar+obamitsu

obanai sat, hands fidgeting on his lap. his bandages rested on his shoulders where kaburamaru was usually perched—the snake was curled on his arm now, diligently watching. somehow, it felt like obanai had been stripped naked. the cool air against his entire face, the lack of restriction when he moved his jaw, it felt unnatural, almost. he might as well be more comfortable without clothes than without his mask. he wished mitsuri would speak. but they’d been sitting in silence for a while and, though he could feel her gaze on him, he couldn’t discern it. finally, after what felt like forever, he forced his eyes to flick back up.

mitsuri was sitting still, hands curled on her knees. her expression was one obanai hadn’t seen on her before, but pretty nonetheless. except he couldn’t find it in himself to appreciate it now. not when his entire being seemed formed of anxiety and he was barely containing himself from squirming. it was all he could do to not jump up and run far, far away. but he was trying. he wanted to stay. for mitsuri.

noticing his attention, mitsuri composed herself. her brows were furrowed, but they relaxed slightly as she smiled at him. her cheeks were their natural rosy pink, and they puffed up with her effort to say something. in a way, she was just as worried as obanai. anyone could tell it was a touchy subject.

after a moment, she mustered up the courage to move closer to him. abandoning the comfortableness of the cushion she’d been sitting on to sit directly in front of obanai. with a quick affirmation, her hands slipped under his hair, cupping his cheeks. her thumbs traced the edges of his scar, sending a shiver down his spine.

“iguro-san…” she whispered. despite the softness of his name on her tongue, it cut through the silence. obanai jolted, more surprised by her speaking than her touch.

“y-yes?” he asked, straightening. he felt like he was being called out. her fingers burned against him where skin met scar. he wished she wouldn’t touch it. as if, by doing so, the filthiness of it all would transfer to her like a disease. he felt guilty, even. allowing her to do this. allowing her to act so caring to someone who didn’t deserve any bit of it.

mitsuri’s eyebrows dipped down again, her expression a mellowed bittersweet. she let her hands fall, resting them on top of obanai’s. she squeezed gently, her skin soft as her fingers soothed him. “you shouldn’t have to hide this… you’re… very pretty, iguro-san,” she murmured. her voice was oh, so quiet. and, for the first time in his life, obanai hated it. not her voice, itself. but it was wrong. her mouth forming those words. here, now. with her gaze tracing the years filled of agony on his face.

unable to help it, obanai jerked away. he slipped off his cushion, nearly tumbling down. he managed to settle on the floor, the pillow a distance between them. his fingers knotted into the fabric of his pants. there was a sharp, belated gasp, sounding sweet despite everything. obanai couldn’t find it in himself to apologize. instead, he choked out a shaky, “i’m… not… pretty. it’s not pretty.”

“i… iguro-san,” mitsuri tried. but today was a day for firsts. so obanai interrupted her.

“what happened to me wasn’t pretty. none of it was pretty.” obanai’s throat felt hoarse, his words gravelly.

mitsuri stumbled. she hesitated. then, tentatively: “i didn’t mean…”

obanai shook his head. his hair rustled. his bandages slipped. kaburamaru was suddenly on guard. he hissed, but obanai was quick to coax him away. petting the snake gently, vaguely comforted as he soothed his friend.

“iguro-san… i’m sorry… i meant”—mitsuri looked down, her action only visible from the way her braids shifted. obanai was avoiding looking at her—“i meant that nothing could… get in the way of you being perfect.”

the words tasted bitter in the air. “i’m not perfect, either, kanroji.” obanai spoke flatly. he couldn’t understand what mitsuri couldn’t comprehend. but he felt almost sorry for her. that he was nothing she wished he was. he was far from perfect.

“you are,” mitsuri insisted. before obanai could interject, she added, “perfection doesn’t have a solid definition. some people think ‘perfect’ means their ideal person. some people think it doesn’t exist. but i think that what makes a person perfect is that they’re them. it can come in so many varieties. and you’re one of them, iguro-san. i’m sorry i came off as… insensitive, earlier. but this is what i meant.”

finally, obanai looked up. he was gaping, he knew. a flicker of amusement passed by mitsuri’s eyes. she must enjoy playing games of pretend. it took obanai several moments to speak. because he almost wanted to believe it. but he knew, as a fact, that she was only amusing herself. amusing both of them.

“you’re wrong,” he said. he pushed enough confidence into his words, allowing them to taste strong as they rolled passed his lips. “i wish- i’m sure we both wish. that what you said was true. but it’s not. if you knew- if you’d seen… you would realize. you’d agree with me.”

only a beat of silence, this time. mitsuri was indignant. “perfect people don’t have to do everything right, all the time, iguro-san. we’ve all done stuff we regret. we’ve all done bad things before,” she said firmly. she looked like she wanted to move closer but was holding herself back for his sake. he let himself appreciate it.

“that’s not it. it’s different. it’s more than just something i did.” obanai returned to staring at the ground. his fingers itched to rewrap his bandages. “it’s worse.”

“it couldn’t be,” mitsuri said quietly. “if you didn’t even do it, then—“

“you just- you don’t get it!” obanai snapped, abruptly. his head jerked back up so he could look at her. his fingernails dug into the palms of his hand. “you wouldn’t understand! just- just stop! stop trying to pretend that i can be a better person, when it’s written in my god damn blood that i can’t! you’re just- you’re the perfect one, okay? i can’t compete! i don’t want to! so stop acting like i ever could!”

mitsuri was stunned, her eyes wide. but her surprise seemed purely on his outburst, shying away from his words. why wouldn’t she just let it go? accept that he could never be anything good? he hadn’t anticipated this when he’d worked up the idiocy to show her his scar. he’d almost hoped she’d be scared away. or, at the very least, finally see his flaws. realize he isn’t as great as she thinks he is. and yet all she can muster to understand is that none of it is a good memory.

when the silence stretched on, obanai’s shoulders slumped. he hated that she refused to see it. but he hated himself equally, if not more, for pushing it all onto mitsuri. as if he wanted her to carry his own burden. this was all so stupid. he never should’ve done this.

he turned away, making a quick work with retying his bandages, the movements precise and practiced. when he spoke this time, his voice was considerably quieter. almost meek. “please, kanroji,” he mumbled. “i’m sorry. please forget any of this happened.”

then he stood. he heard her calling out, maybe following him too, but he forced the temptation of her voice away. replacing it with the shock on her face instead. allowing his guilt to guide him out and away. kaburamaru moved back to his usual place as obanai rushed home. but this was how it should be. kaburamaru on his shoulders, his bandages wrapped tightly around his jaw. tucking away and repressing everything that shouldn’t be shown. the only evidence of his visit was mitsuri, who was left standing by the doorway. he could only hope she’d heed his advice and forget what had happened. it was only for the best, after all.

[six-eyed-samurai]

Basically this was based off art by @sm0lb3tch (so credits again to them) and here we're going to make ObaMitsu canon, give the Kamado siblings new parents, give Muzan an aneurysm trying to find Nezuko when her whole family is a bunch of Hashira and as you can probably guess - deep breath - FOUND FAMILY TROPE.

Obviously in order for Obanai and Mitsuri to be the ones saving Tanjiro and Nezuko that fateful day we'd need to have them on the mission instead of Giyuu. For the sake of this theory Kagaya has assigned Mitsuri to accompany Giyuu, causing a very jealous and fuming Obanai to request (demand) to go in Tomioka’s place instead. Whether or not Kagaya is actually a shipper is up to you, but for whatever reason he says yes and Obanai proceeds to leave for the mission with Mitsuri a day or two earlier because he doesn't want Giyuu to argue with the decision when he finds out (he wouldn't) and wants some extra time with a certain pink haired crush. Mitsuri doesn't mind, she's more than happy a dear friend is accompanying her, after all!

When they reach the village Mitsuri’s a little embarrassed that she ordered so many helpings that the ramen store owner had to go out and buy more charcoal for the stove from the seller outside and Obanai's rather put out that the inn is too full for the both of them, not wanting Mitsuri to go camp out in the cold like she had suggested. Even more put out, in fact, with all the attention she's showering the charcoal seller, gushing about how he reminds her of her own brother and how hardworking he was to be doing this for his family - some idiot kid named Tanjiro something. At this point Obanai is having an existential crisis torn between disliking Tanjiro because Mitsuri's so nice to him (even feeding him a bite like in the Hashira Training Arc) and being nice to Tanjiro as well because whatever makes Mitsuri happy, makes him a happy camper. So he just settles for cold indifference.

(Yes, Tanjiro knows he's mad but doesn't realize that Obanai is mad AT HIM).

Anyways when Mitsuri expresses their problem of having nowhere to stay Tanjiro excitedly chirps that his family would be more than happy to have them over. Mitsuri, not wanting to be a bother, tries to refuse but Tanjiro insists so they compromise by letting her pay.

Then Obanai insists on paying but anyways-

We all know what happens from here so I won't go into too many details lest I bore you (small note that Tanjiro does not stay at his neighbour’s house this time and the timing is a little different to fit) but even Obanai felt terrible when they arrived and Tanjiro found his family shredded and dead. Since none of them realized Nezuko was a demon, Mitsuri helped Tanjiro begin carrying her down the mountain in order to seek help.

However the moment the truth was revealed Obanai immediately wanted to kill Nezuko despite Tanjiro’s pleas. Chaos ensues as is canon until an unsure-on-what-to-do Mitsuri finally succeeds in separating them when Nezuko suddenly defends her elder brother.

Mitsuri pleads for Obanai to reconsider, backed up by Tanjiro who says there's another demon's scent in the house so it wasn't Nezuko, at the very least take Nezuko to Oyakata-sama? If it was anyone else Obanai would have probably shoved aside to stab the demon, but since it was Mitsuri asking after all and as much as he hated to admit it he knew what it was like to have your entire family killed in such a bloody manner - so he agreed and we all know how the Hashira meeting went down.

I think I better clear up some points here, so because we have no very convincing letter from Lawyer Urokodaki to back Nezuko up we'll have Mitsuri testify that despite Obanai attacking her Nezuko made no attempt to eat him and only did a little to protect Tanjiro as well as a very grudging witness of a Serpent Pillar and why am I writing this like a court case-

Here's another important factor to how Nezuko gets off. In canon everyone dislikes (some of them at any rate) Giyuu and were very eager to have him punished and Nezuko killed, but here we have Mitsuri and Obanai as the defendants- uh, Hashira involved. Mitsuri is popular, so I feel like this would make everyone else more sympathetic to letting Nezuko live or just consider it. Obanai, not as much, but seeing how as Sanemi was the main aggressor in the canon events, I imagine he’d be pretty reluctant to throw his friend to the wolves as much as he hates demons. Also the journey to the Ubuyashiki House and summoning all Hashira would’ve taken time: time that would prove that Nezuko sleeps instead of consuming humans.

So, Nezuko and Tanjiro get off but Kagaya requests that they both become slayers to prove themselves and yadda yadda yadda. The catch is, he’s assigning Mitsuri and Obanai to do it.

(Once again we know not if Kagaya is secretly a shipper, but he said it was because a Hashira would be able to protect them both better and I don’t think any cultivator would want them.)

Mitsuri is ecstatic! Having the Kamado siblings live with her in the Love Estate is like having her younger siblings around again! You best believe this woman is treating them to six course meals (she eats twelve), shopping trips and really loves it when they come into her room for a sleepover to the point Nezuko and Tanjiro are faking reasons to just go in. A few “nightmares”, nothing much~~

Obanai, on the other hand…he’s definitely pissed off. Extremely so. But he wouldn’t disobey Kagaya and so grudgingly agrees to train Tanjiro. He’s as harsh as he was in canon, but I think at some point Obanai isn’t going to stay petty and jealous forever, and eventually warm up to Tanjiro and Nezuko’s sunny nature, probably after realizing Mitsuri just sees Tanjiro as a brother, Nezuko isn’t stealing ALL her attention, they could still hang out together alone and those precious moments he got to spend with Mitsuri a lot more.

”Aw, Obanai, that’s so sweet of you!” Mitsuri clapped her hands together, beaming at him. “I had no idea you cared about Nezuko so much!”

“…yeah, well, don’t mention it.” Thankfully his bandages covered his reddening face as he put away the wooden swords. What was Mitsuri so excited about? All he had done was to drape his haori on the sleeping demon when she suddenly dozed off in the midst of watching yet another brutal training session between him and her brother - a brother who was now being forced to run twenty laps around the Estate for even mentioning his actions.

“I know, but I can’t help it! You’re really a softie inside no matter what you say to Tanjiro!”

“What? Since when?!”

Mitsuri laughed at Obanai’s shocked expression. “Like yesterday! Tanjiro’s food was cold but he didn’t want to make a fuss at the restaurant but you went and demanded another plate, or when Nezuko shrunk and hid in my house you came over just to help us find her. Then it turned out she got stuck in one of the cupboards and you helped dig her out. Plus you’re always so nice to me too, like when you got me the socks, or offer to pay every time we go out to eat-”

“Okay! Okay! I get it, please stop, Kanroji…” Kaburamaru hissed reassuringly as Obanai quickly turned away from Mitsuri to hide his red face.

“You can call me Mitsuri, you know?” Mitsuri suddenly yanked him into a crushing hug excitedly, oblivious to Obanai’s flustered state. “Kyaaaaaaah! I’m so glad Oyakata-sama assigned us both together to train and take care of Tanjiro and Nezuko! I’ve gotten to spend so much time with my favorite Hashira - uh, wait, that’s Shinobu…so male Hashira! - and you’re actually really good with kids! I think you’ll be an amazing dad if we ever have our own kids one day!”

Silence.

“…I’MSOSORRYI’LLGOCRAWLINTOAHOLETOHIDENOW-”

“….that’s…a…nice….thought…”

“AAH, OBANAI, I MADE YOU FAINT I’M SO SORRY-”

Well, you can pretty much guess how they got together after that.

Because I’m a human and at the end of the day I’m lazy I will not elaborate and instead let your imagination run wild with how exactly they officially confessed after that night, broke it to the Kamado siblings and the rest of the Hashira and the messy details I can’t think of right now. I will, however, talk a bit more on how it changes the storyline.

Obanai eventually moves into Mitsuri’s Estate, shortly before the Final Selection (they celebrate with pancakes when Tanjiro comes back safely by the way; Obanai had a hell of a day trying to calm Mitsuri after she couldn’t stop crying worried that Tanjiro would be eaten. Now that I think of it, this might cause them both to go lodge a complaint on how the Final Selection is being run, because how exactly sending kids off to certain doom constitute as teaching? They should’ve done some other tests, one where they could monitor and guide where they did wrong and y��know, NOT MAKE ANOTHER GIYUU? (Sorry, I’m getting off track)).

There won’t be much variation for the beginning of the storyline, save for the fact Tanjiro and Nezuko have a home to return to in between for Mitsuri to cheer that they made it back and spoil while Obanai berates them for taking so long and fixes their ruined haori (I have like this idea that Obanai struggles with love language so he mainly sticks to small gestures like gifts revolving around clothes because you’ll use them every day and I dunno, if he was stuck in that cage in a house full of women he might’ve picked up a bit of sewing and figure out how to fix the holes in his loved ones’ haori?) as well as Tanjiro’s relationships with the Hashira change:

Obanai and Mitsuri aside, a major difference would be Giyuu. Tanjiro would not be developing a bond with him in this theory and honestly I feel like he would be the one to heavily advise against allowing Nezuko to live, therefore creating an enemy in Tanjiro. It doesn’t really help that’s he’s a loner whose words really don’t make sense to anyone and Obanai hates his guts, so it’ll take longer for Tanjiro to crack open his backstory and he would probably treat Giyuu like how he behaved to Sanemi in the Training Arc - “It’s okay! I don’t acknowledge you either since you didn’t want Nezuko to live.”

I’ll just skim through the rest of the Hashira before we move on. Shinobu, Rengoku, Sanemi and Muichiro would be a heck lot closer to Tanjiro and Nezuko since the four of them are on good terms with their adoptive parents, hence the Kamados would be seeing Shinobu a lot more often, cry harder at Rengoku’s death, soften Sanemi (perhaps fix his relationship with Genya?) and transform Muichiro into the silly boy we love earlier.

Do note, however, in this theory Tanjiro has mastered not one but TWO Breathing Styles and I’m sure he would then pick up Total Concentration Breathing a lot faster, so he’s definitely even more powerful in this universe. The same would apply for Nezuko, though in the sense that her physical prowess is better having been trained by two Hashira because even Mitsuri and Obanai can’t do anything about Blood Demon Art. Although, at the end of the storyline Tanjiro still learns Sun Breathing/Hinokami Kagura.

Another thing to be noted is that while I said MUCH variation that doesn’t mean there won’t be any subtle ones in Mitsuri and Obanai’s behavior and personality. I can’t really think of much for Mitsuri, other than the fact she’ll be more motherly and stuff, and probably really ecstatic that she’s finally achieved her dream of finding someone who’ll love her unconditionally and a family. I can see Tanjiro and Nezuko being really popular with her siblings as well.

For Obanai there’s a much bigger gap, as he’ll definitely mellow out and be less snarky. You know those gruff, serious dads who don’t show emotions or love easily but if you make a dumb crayon drawing from kindergarten he hasn’t taken it down from the fridge since and if some bully even implied you’re stupid they’re a goner because he’s there? Something like that for Obanai, I guess. Basically he’d be a lot less sarcastic and cutting with others and not as jealous because he knows Mitsuri is his and well…he’s not gonna admit it but he’s actually very touched when Tanjiro said he’s really glad he’s his new dad (Uncle Sanemi and Godbrother Muichiro anyone-).

BUT BUT BUT the big difference arrives on Mount Natagumo: home of Rui.

Instead of Giyuu and Shinobu arriving it’s ObaMitsu because what parent doesn’t worry about their kids, especially when they hear it’s a Lower Moon. So in this case it’s Mitsuri off to go save Zenitsu with Nezuko, whom Tanjiro had ordered to go help their surrogate mom navigate the crazy mountain and find Spider Sister, although Mitsuri is going to kill her with a lot more compassion…and leave Tanjiro to attempt to get Obanai off from stepping on the remains of Rui.

Okay, serious question, do you think Obanai would stomp on them more to be petty-

(DON’T KILL ME, I’M SORRY, I LOVE RUI AS MUCH AS THE NEXT PERSON, IF NOT MORE.)

Back to the storyline, this time round the reason Tanjiro and Nezuko are taken to yet another Hashira meeting is due to being able to celebrate the success of having finally slain one of the Twelve Kizuki. They still will go to the Butterfly Mansion, of course, most probably because their adoptive parents have missions of their own and honestly do you really trust them to be your doctor?

Anyways, aside from the little differences like it’s Mitsuri who brings her adoptive kids to the Swordsmith Village and Obanai going to the Entertainment District to go pick up his kids it’s all yadda yadda yadda, so we can pretty much guess what happens next, therefore I’ll jump straight to the two endings/outcomes that would be changed because of this theory. Depending on your mood today you can read the Bad Ending or jump straight to the Good Ending and don’t say I didn’t warn you <333 (I gotta go hide before you hunt me for the Bad Ending, ta!).

BAD ENDING:

Notice how not once did I say that Obanai and Mitsuri ever got married though?

Bwhahaha. Now I am. And you’re not going to like it.

Obanai had the ring (helped picked out by Nezuko). He had the plans (dinner made by Tanjiro; Shinobu would be babysitting the kids that night). He wanted it to be memorable when he would finally ask Mitsuri to allow him the privilege of becoming a Kanroji and probably officiate the adoption of Tanjiro and Nezuko.

But it all got shoved aside when they had to do the Hashira Training. Obanai slowly regrets waiting that long, but while he’s not an optimistic person in general he hopes that afterwards he’ll get the chance when everything is so perfectly in order. Of course Muzan took one look and thought “absolutely not” - and deposits them all into the Infinity Castle.

So it’s only in their dying moments that Obanai confesses. He can’t even put a ring on her, because she’s lost her arms.

Mitsuri said yes and asks if they’re reborn would he still marry her?

He says yes. At least they die happy. Unable to be pulled apart even in their last moments.

(Tanjiro and Nezuko ensure to carve a love poem into their headstones and bury them in wedding clothes, so at least they can be together in death.)

GOOD ENDING:

Now that Obanai and Mitsuri have SOMETHING to live here they’ll live on in this theory. Mitsuri armless and Obanai totally blind, but hey, with diligent kids like Tanjiro and Nezuko they would be well taken care of no matter what, rebuilding their family slowly.

Eventually Obanai and Mitsuri are blessed with their own kids! Five, if I remember what happened in canon, so because I’m self-indulgent let’s simultaneously rebuild the Kamado family and combine the OC children I originally made for them. Nezuko’s delighted to receive two twin younger sisters and a baby one, spending majority of her time with them doing their hair or just playing dolls (Zenitsu steaming mad because they keep stealing her attention and don’t like him). Tanjiro feels like he’s got his own siblings back again with the Kanroji’s two rowdy boys who often beg him to teach them swordsmanship and perform the Hinokami Kagura. Does Obanai gift them all tiny snakelings? Absolutely. Does any of them inherit Mitsuri’s hair? One or two, but Mitsuri’s sakura mochi is a family recipe now (I’d like to think Kotetsu somehow managed to forge a pair of mechanical arms for her).

Oh, imagine Mitsuri and Obanai at Tanjiro/Kanao and Nezuko/Zenitsu’s weddings! Mitsuri would be amazing mother-in-law for anyone and you bet your ass that she helped plan the best wedding possible for them, welcoming Kanao and Zenitsu happily into the family and perhaps being a little embarrassing for the newlyweds because she’s asking when they plan to have children or a honeymoon - sorry, she can’t help it, she’s just so excited! Obanai dislikes Zenitsu INTENSELY (he dislikes all boys near his girls, but Zenitsu the most funny enough) and makes it VERY known with glares and snide remarks; he likes Kanao better though, so he’d probably tell Tanjiro to treat her right or he’ll give him a walloping blind or not.

AND WHEN THE KIDS COME-

(exhales, clears throat, reminds myself that other people are watching) So I hope YOU cried, because I did. And I’m not totally cruel, alright! So for funsies here’s an extra snippet in which Mitsuri and Obanai reincarnate as the godparents of Tanjiro and Nezuko’s descendants:

“Are you-” The man ran his hand through his already unruly ponytail again. “Are you actually stupid? You better be. You have to be. You can’t possibly not be.”

“I’M SORRY! I REALLY AM! I DIDN’T MEAN TO POUR IN SALT INSTEAD OF SUGAR! TOKO, HELP ME!” Yoshiteru was a snotty, emotional mess as always, even more highly strung when faced with his godfather Obanai’s cold rage…especially after he made a mess of himself as usual.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE STILL ASKING ME FOR HELP AFTER THAT!” Toko smacked her brother upside on the hand. “Don’t even associate with me right now! The cake must be disgusting, and Tojuro can only distract Sumihiko for so long before he comes to the restaurant!”

Obanai pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out another exasperated sigh. “We’re going to have to start all over again; Yoshiteru, get out of the kitchen and if I see you so much as pop your head by the door or so help me-”

“Hey, hey, Obanai, you don’t have to be so harsh! It was a genuine mistake after all!”

The pink-haired woman pulled her husband into a quick hug, pressing a quick peck to his temple that left him tomato red under his face mask. Kanata followed from behind, holding a tray of fresh baked goods and obviously bewildered by what was happening.

“Mitsuri - I told you I could handle this - you need to rest-”

“What, sit back and do nothing for my godson’s birthday?” Mitsuri pouted, rubbing her swollen belly. “I’m sure baby wants to help as well!”

“SEE? IT’S NOT SO BAD!” Yoshiteru hollered, desperately trying to escape his sister’s glowering. “Tojuro’s good, he’ll probably keep Sumihiko occupied for a really long time!”

“Oh my god, just get out of the kitchen and go help Mom and Dad set up the restaurant for his birthday party or something!” Toko gave him a powerful kick out the door.

“HEY! Aren’t the Agatsuma girls supposed to be sweet and gentle? You’re a monster!”

“A monster who can bake a cake without creating disasters!” Obanai barked.

Mitsuri laughed. Obanai could never get enough of that sound. “You’re going to be a great dad…”

“…thank you…you’ll…you’ll be a great mom…too…”

“Sorry to interrupt Iguro-san fainting again but Tojuro just called and said Sumihiko is coming back,” Kanata said matter-of-factly, shutting off his pinging phone.

“WHAT?! TOJURO THE TRAITOR-”

Yoshiteru seemed to have awakened Obanai from his near faint. “What did I say about coming back into the kitchen?!”

[nayrring]

Obanai after getting scolded by mitsuri for mistreating tanjiro during training :

[beddybites]

"those who unlock the demon slayer mark, without exception..."

tdlr obanai's reaction to muichiro and mitsuri's fates as a result of manifesting the demon slayer mark will haunt me forever..... two of the people he cares about the most... doomed... and right after he lost rengoku, too is he to blame... could he have stopped it somehow? had he never exposed them to his tainted blood, had he never cared... could he have saved them...

[yuki2sksksk]

Been busy with stuff lately, but what do you think of Hashira centric arc ideas?

1. Obanai

Set during the Entertainment District arc, a few days before the fight against Uppermoons 6.

Two Hashiras -- Obanai and Mitsuri -- are sent to investigate a village rumoured to have a demon hiding in it. The villagers have that sacrificial ritual that hasn't been done for a few decades and suddenly resumed back out of nowhere.

Obanai finds a familiar face of his remaining cousin during his stay there, and to his horror, discovers that she was the cause of this.

A demon had captured her children and made a bargain for her to sacrifice other people in their stead. She manipulated the villagers in doing the rituals again until the demon is satisfied and will return her children. Obanai has to settle the dispute with the villagers who think he's trying to bother the ritual and endangers their lives while Mitsuri goes to save the hostages the demon has a hold onto.

A stand off between Mitsuri and the demon. She manages to defeat it, but not without some costs when the people she was trying to protect didn't listen to her warning to stay put. About three people died, and one of them was the cousin's child.

" Why do you have to go and ruin everything again?! " The cousin screams at Obanai as she clutches her dead child's body. " You've always been the one to cause disaster! All you had to do was stay put! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!!! "

Obanai can only stare and stare and says nothing, even if inside he knows that he should defend himself at least, to do something to make up for when she blamed him in the past. But his mouth remains sealed.

Later, when the villagers chase away the Hashiras due to still in confusion belief, Obanai and Mitsuri get to talk a bit.

He doesn't reveal much, just something along the lines that the woman was his cousin, and he wasn't even considered human in his family's eyes. That his cousin blames him for everything, for getting everyone killed, for not just to stay in his role.

" I am tainted with dirty blood, " he says in a soft breath, " this I will carry until I die and reborn. "

Mitsuri wants to tell him that his family doesn't define what he is, that he's not them, and that he's not dirty. In her eyes, he's such a strong and amazing person fighting for the innocence.

But as she keeps her gaze on him, and he doesn't even look at her since the moment they left the village, she realizes that it's not easy. Those comforting words would fall into deaf ears.

Perhaps her words would be listened, but not accepted.

So she takes his hand gently, noting the flinch as his response but no withdrawing.

" You're not alone, Iguro-san. I'll always support you. "

And at that moment, Obanai knows that he really doesn't deserve Mitsuri at all.

(he wants to love her, to show how much she means to him but she deserves so much better than what he is. She wants to love him, wants to give her heart but how can she, if he refuses it?)

[mitsvriii]

Attraction

TW’s: angst throughout half of the fic, self-doubting

Pairings: one sided! Obanai Iguro x reader, Obanai Iguro x Mitsuri Kanroji, Giyu Tomioka x reader

Word count: 1.11k (first 1k+ piece!)

A/N: Sorry if characters are ooc, this is my first time writing for them. All images are from the KnY manga.

Part 2

Tags: @imyourbrokenfridge

You knew that it was stupid. To have a crush on the Serpent Hashira of all things. He had the personality of a brick, in the kind words of Muichiro, and was only nice to Mitsuri much to your dismay. But that didn't seem to stop you from trying to get close to him.

You tried to give him bentos, tried to see if he wanted to spar with you, tried to see if he'd like to accompany you to go get some ramen...hell, you even tried to see if he wanted to sit next to you in the pillar meetings. Your tries were all in vain however, as the answer was always the same.

"Mitsuri already gave me one."

"Mitsuri and I are going to spar actually."

"Mitsuri and I already went to get ramen this morning."

"Mitsuri and I are sitting next to each other, as always. Of course you'd forget that."

No matter how many times you heard his answers, they always seemed to hurt. You never gave up though, you always ignored the sympathetic look Shinobu gave you when you went to ask her if you could give Obanai his medicine for his wounds. You ignored the look that Sanemi gave you whenever you chased after Iguro after a meeting. And poor Kyojuro having to grab your wrist and reminding you that Iguro was out with Mitsuri whenever you were searching for him.

It was pathetic to put it bluntly. Chasing after Iguro like he was the only man alive. Uzui himself had even told you it was a lost cause, but you didn't care. Because to you he was one of the prettiest people you've ever seen, his heterochromia eyes and his crow-colored hair that you knew had to be soft was just two of the features that you liked about him. If only they carried over to his personality, though.

You sighed as you shifted on the bench, trying to stop thinking about Iguro. God...why did you have to fall for the guy that already had his eyes set on someone else. And it didn't help that it was Mitsuri either. She was the perfect in your eyes, strong, sweet, beautiful, and social. Obanai must've thought so, too, or else he wouldn't act like a puppy around her.

You knew it wasn't worth it to confess, and if you did it for closure you're positive Obanai would only make you feel worse. He might not look like it at first glance, but his tongue is sharper than his katana and it cuts like it, too. If you were Mitsuri you'd confess faster than your heart could beat. But you weren't and that was the entire problem.

You thought of how everyone was telling you to stop throughout looks and actions the entire time, but you were too lovesick to see it. Kyojuro, Uzui, and Shinobu were persistent on telling you to stop. Muichiro, Samemi, and Gyomei could only sigh as they watched and listen to your conversations...even though you couldn't even call them that. They were just basic greetings and questions, nothing special.

Your brows furrowed in thought when one name didn't come to mind. Giyu didn't ever try to stop you, did he? No..he didn't. In fact, you don't think you've even seen him in the past couple of days. Did he really go away because of how you acted? You wouldn't put it past him, he once left the hashira meeting early because he had to sit next to Sanemi during it.

"Hi."

You snapped out of your thoughts and lifted your head. Speak of the devil, it was Giyu.

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"Oh um, no", you watched as he sat down, holding a bento in his hand. Was he here to comfort you or something?

"You weren't at lunch", Giyu spoke, turning to look at you, "So I brought this for you." He held out the bento for you to take, a pair of chopsticks on top on it, turning his head away shyly.

"Oh, thank you Tomioka-sama", you took the bento and chopsticks from his hands. Opening it you saw that it had your favorite dish in it. How did he know that? You don't remember telling him.

Giyu sat in silence as he watched you eat, scanning your face to see if you liked it. The way you sighed and relaxed seemed that you did. He smiled softly, although it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

"Obanai's an idiot", he spoke, still looking at you.

"What?" you turned to look at him, placing the bento down onto your lap.

"He's an idiot, and has the personality of a brick", Giyu answered, a look of what seemed to be disgust on his face.

Oh, so that's where Muichiro got it from.

"Honestly don't know what Mitsuri sees in him, he's rude to everyone but her", Giyu continued, glancing back at you, "I can't believe he didn't pay any mind to you."

"What do you mean?" You were still confused, you didn't think yourself to be interesting in anyone's eyes.

Giyu sighed before looking at you, a slight pink dusting his cheeks, "You're beautiful and kind...I don't know how anyone couldn't be interested in you."

Your mouth parted into an "o" shape as you stared at Giyu. He wasn't kidding, he thought you were worth someone's time. And did he distance himself from you because he thought that you were interested in Obanai? It would be most likely.

"Tomioka-sama...do you like me?" Although your question was simple, it got Giyu red as he looked away. He nodded his head softly, still avoiding your gaze.

You both stayed silent. You couldn't believe that the stone-faced Water Hashira could get so flustered over someone. You broke the silence.

"How long?"

Giyu turned to look at you slightly, "Four months."

Your eyes widened. Four months? You hadn't even been crushing on Obanai for that long.

"Tomio-Giyu. I think I might like you too."

As bad as it sounded your attention was brought to Giyu first. Then as you adjusted to being the Frost Hashira Obanai came to catch your gaze. Maybe it was something about black-headed people that caught your attention.

"Would you...like to go get some ramen?...To see if you'd like to do it more often?" Giyu asked, his blush fading into a pink.

"I would love to Giyu", you replied with earnest.

Giyu gave a small smile as he got up and reached out his hand, inviting you to take it. And you took it as you both walked, both of your walks a little more energetic.

[everlastingleuthymia]

Poseee

[giggly-squiggily]

Time Wasn't In Our Favor (Demon Slayer)

We're just going for the angst this week huh- kjajkearjkeajkr

Heyo everyone! I wrote this a while back and did a small poll with everyone on which Obamitsu fic they wanted to see: the super fluffy one or this. The fluff won. All this time later I finally decided to share this with everyone! :D I hope you like it!

CW: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DEMON SLAYER MANGA. Angst, Heavy angst barely any comfort, mentions of past abuse, mentions of past torture, mentions of past bullying, insecurity, blood and injury, death, food mention, almost confessions, just lots of pain and heartache y'all I cried writing this kjarjkekjarjek

Summary: Four times Obamitsu almost confessed, and the one time they finally did.

“Kanroji looks…uneasy.” Obanai mused out loud one day, watching the pink haired Hashira speak with the others. While she smiled and greeted everyone as per her welcome, there was clear discomfort on her face whenever she was alone. She was always clutching the ends of her uniform, tugging on it as if it would somehow get longer.

“I don’t blame her. That perv was the one who made the uniform.” Sanemi grumbled, referencing none other than Maeda- one of the many tailors in the Demon Corps. He was good at the craft, but notorious for his…revealing design choices. “I heard he tried to pull the same thing on Shinobu and her Tsugoku. She burned it before him.” The Wind Hashira snickered, clearly pleased with the thought. “Shame she didn’t get to him a third time.”

“He designed yours too, yes?” Obanai eyed the bare chested Hashira, his scars gleaming brightly against his skin. “I assumed he only did that for the woman.”

“Ay, eyes up here, buddy.” Sanemi snapped his fingers, focusing the other. “And yeah- I told him to make mine like this. Makes the whole bleeding thing easier.”

The ‘Bleeding thing’ was what Sanemi called his Marechi blood- a rare type that demons craved like an addiction. He often used said blood to kill his targets, luring them in with the smell and cutting their heads off clean. It left him with scars all over, but the white haired man didn’t seem bothered by it.

Obanai was about to remark on Sanemi’s other intentions regarding the choice of clothes when his eyes went back to Mitsuri. She was now talking to Shinobu, her stance relaxed once more. It must have been comforting, having another woman on the team to talk to. While he hasn’t seen any of the Hashria leer at Kanroji, he wouldn’t be surprised if those outside their group have, taking in her entire being like a piece of meat.

The thought alone made his stomach turn. He wanted to hunt them all down and gut them.

“Ayo, your bloodlust is showing.” Sanemi reached up and nudged his foot, bringing him back to reality.

“Says the man with the most bloodlust here.” Obanai retorted, earning a snort.

“I save it for demons.” A half truth. Sanemi followed his gaze, humming softly. “She’s a tough woman. You don’t have to worry about anyone being gross to her. She’d probably knock them out with those killer biceps.” He nodded approvingly, flinching when Obanai punched his shoulder. “Ouch, damn- what the hell?”

“Don’t be cruel.” He growled, feeling protective. He didn’t know much, but they seemed to be an insecurity for her- her arms. The way she tucked them in when in groups or kept her hand gestures close to her chest. It was like she was trying to shrink in on herself.

“I wasn’t....” Sanemi rolled his eyes before turning back to the girl in question. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I like her arms. I think they're great.” He nodded. “Don’t hit me again- I’m not trying to steal your girl.”

“She’s not my-”

“But she does look uncomfortable.” He carried on, furrowing his brows. “Especially with the skirt. Think she’d feel better if we force Maeda to make her a longer one?”

Obanai doubted it. Not only would it not be ready for a while, but the implication felt…wrong. Like he was telling her what to wear, or that he was only looking at her legs.

Legs…wait a moment…

“Don’t. It’ll make things worse. But I do have an idea.” Obanai mused, starting to perk up.

~~~

“Oh wow…Iguro-san, these are beautiful!” Mitsuri gushed as she held up the socks. They were knee high, light green with stripe detail down the legs. Thick enough for coverage but light enough so she won’t sweat. They matched the tips of her hair, she realized- a detail she hadn’t even thought of herself. “I love them!”

“I’m glad.” Obanai smiled behind his mask, fighting down the blush threatening to spread over his cheeks. He looked away politely as she pulled them on, Kaburamaru hissing in approval as she squealed with delight. “They’re on! How do I look?” She asked, striking a pose. Already she looked much more comfortable in her own skin.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Obanai almost said it as he took in her smiling face, the look of utter joy in her green eyes as she fluttered about- beyond pleased. It was like the sun was eclipsed until this moment- finally peeking out behind a mass of dark matter to shine down on them, enhancing the world around them. Obanai nearly forgot to breathe when she smiled at him like that.

“You look wonderful.” He got out, making her blush and shine more.

One day, he’d tell her.

One day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mm! Mm, mm mm! The smell is amazing!” Mitsuri was in heaven- her cheeks flushed with absolute joy as she breathed deeply. She had gotten back from a particularly long mission, and she was starving. The plan had been to go home and make something, but she ran into Obanai along the way. The first thing to greet him, much to her horror, was the growl in her stomach.

“Hungry?” He asked, voice teasing. Her face burned.

Now they were here- a small restaurant that Mitsuri knew well. The shop owner loved her- she tipped well and always made his day better. When she walked in, the old man greeted her with open arms and a bright laugh. “Welcome back, Miss Kanroji! Ah, I see you brought a date!”

“Oh, this is Iguro-san! He’s a fellow Hashira.” She reassured him, her cheeks bright red as the man and his wife came around to properly say hello. She dared a peek- Obanai looked rather flushed himself. Don’t let this get awkward, Mitsuri. “I’ll have my usual, though er…keep it to one serving.” She shifted, forcing a smile.

“Just one? But we made a whole pan-” The kind man began, cutting off when his wife pinched his arm. “Alright then- a serving of Curry rice for the lovely lady, and for you sir?”

“I’ll have the same thing.” He nodded, his voice quiet. The couple faded away as Mitsuri and Obanai took a seat, side by side along the table. She knew she should sit across from him but…”Sorry- is this weird? I’ll move.” She offered, starting to stand.

“It’s alright. I don’t mind.” He patted her hand, keeping her there. He didn’t look uncomfortable- even if he seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Oh dear, did she take too much space? She wasn’t exactly slender. Was she crushing him?

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind-” She began again, only to stop when the restaurant owner came by, placing their bowls before them.

“Here we are! I added half an extra serving for you, Kanroji. I know how much you love our curry rice!” He winked playfully at her before heading back, ignorant to the way her soul dropped to her stomach.

“Kanroji? Are you okay?” Obanai asked, brows furrowing as he took in her pale face. “Is there something wrong?”

“No! No, not at all!” She squeaked, shaking her head as she gathered her chopsticks. “I’m fine! Totally fine! Let’s eat, shall we?”

If she were completely honest- she wasn’t fine. When she usually came here, she was either by herself or with Rengoku. The Flame Hashira ate as much as she did, so she never felt weird polishing off so many bowls of the delicious curry rice.

Awful as it sounds, being here with Obanai- it reminded her of her ex fiance.

“You’ll never find a man who will welcome your presence for the rest of your life.”

“You eat like a boar. What man would want you?”

“Your hair is hideous. And your arms? God- it’s like you're more monster than woman.”

All this time later, and those words still stung. She felt them clawing up her throat, choking her. Her eyes burned as the shame she felt coated her skin like oil, sticky and suffocating. She couldn’t let Obanai see her eat that way. It was bad enough he saw her hair. He saw her fight demons in a way that was without a doubt not fit for a lady.

If he saw her eat like a monster- like a demon…

“Kanroji, are you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick.” Obanai sounded so concerned. He looked at her bowl, taking a sniff. “Is there something wrong with the food? You haven’t touched it. Do you want me to get you something else?”

I want to disappear. She thought helplessly. I want to fade away. I want to be more what the world wants. I want to fit in, to blend in. To go unnoticed. I want to be forgotten.

“I…” She began, freezing when she saw the chopsticks before her, holding some of the rice.

“Erm…sorry if this is…eh…” Obanai seemed flustered as he offered the food, his cheeks red behind his mask. Still, he held her gaze. “I think…I think eating something might make you feel better. Sometimes we get stomach aches from not eating…at least, that happens to me.” He nodded at the rice. “Erm…this is kinda awkward, if you want me to put it down I’ll-”

Her lips closed around the chopsticks, the rich flavor melting on her tongue. It was a little embarrassing, being fed, but… “Thank you.” She smiled, taking the chopsticks from his hand. Taking a breath, she looked at her bowl. She wanted so badly to dive in and eat, but…

“Kanroji, please.” Obanai nodded. “You should eat. If you want, I’ll keep feeding you-”

“Oh no! I got this!” She tried to eat slowly, but before long she was devouring her bowl, lost in its flavor. When she finished, there wasn’t a grain left. “Mm…mh!”

Oh no. Oh god. She forgot. She forgot he was-

The untouched curry slid into her view, Obanai’s eyes kind. “If you’re hungry, eat. A Hashira needs their fuel, and you especially.” At her questioning gaze, he nodded. “Love breathing is a branch of Flame breathing. Those types of moves burn through calories like nothing. You need to restore your energy, so eat what you want.” He nodded. “Besides; I think the restaurant owner here would be pretty sad to let that pan go to waste.”

Her eyes grew misty, but not from hurt. She smiled wobbly, taking the bowl. “Thank you, Iguro-san.” She paused then, suddenly feeling bad. “But your food…”

“I already ate.” He dropped casually, making her stare. “Really. I had those snacks you left me. They were amazing.”

“You really liked them?” She asked, her heart starting to swell. As she turned to her bowl, she heard Obanai ask the old man to bring Mitsuri her usual order. “And some Sakura Mochi. They’re her favorite.” He nodded, making her heart race within her chest. He remembered.

~~~

“That was amazing!” She sighed, patting her belly as she and Obanai left. The restaurant owner and his wife saw them off, smiling at eachother knowingly. She had a feeling she was never gonna hear the end of it from them next time she came. “Thank you so much, Iguro-san. You really didn’t have to pay though! I know my order can get…expensive.” She almost cringed at the amount of bowls she tucked away.

“It’s no trouble at all. You were happy, and that’s what matters.” He nodded, not quite looking her way as he tugged on his mask. His ears were red now, something she found rather cute. “Please never feel the need to hide from us, Kanroji. We’d never judge you for how you live.”

The unspoken “I” was there. It made them both blush.

“Thank you, really. I…” She wanted to say more then. It had been a long time since someone made her heart race like this. Someone who looked at her only fondly as she ate, no judgment in sight as she finished off bowl after bowl. He never pointed it out, only kept the conversation going; talking about missions and life and friends.

He made her feel…normal.

She wanted to tell him that.

She wanted to tell him more.

“Hm? What is it?” Obanai asked, looking at her curiously.

No. Not yet. She swallowed her heart back to her chest.

“Nothing. Just…thank you again.” She smiled, tugging at her hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Obanai was more careful than this.

As the Serpent Hashira, he was rather fast on his feet. He moved like his breathing style, slithering and evading demon attacks as he brought them down one after the other. At best, he walked away without a scratch.

Today, he wasn’t so lucky.

“Iguro-san! Oh no, you’re hurt!” Mitsuri was beside him before he hit the ground, the demon fading into ashes behind them as her hands steadied him. His entire body hurt, and his face felt wet. When he blinked, nothing fell from his eyes- it wasn’t tears.

Which meant it must have been blood. Lovely.

“It’s alright- are you okay?” He grunted, the smell of Sakura Mochi telling him she was rather close. Her hair was frizzy from the fight, and her eyes were wide with worry. She had a bruise along her chin, and her clothes were frayed at the sleeves.

Bruised and dirty, but she was alive. Good.

“Nevermind me, you’re bleeding!” Her hands reached out, hesitating momentarily before she took his chin, gently turning it to look at the cut. “It doesn’t look that bad- if Kocho-san was here, she’d know exactly how to handle it.”

“It’s alright- I can take care of it.” If anything- he’d prefer to. The cut ran past his mask, cutting it to the middle. In order to clean the wound, he’d need to remove said cover.

The cover that hid his scar and the painful memories it carried.

“You’re so strong, Iguro-san.” She smiled, cheeks pink as she wiped the blood away with a portion of her Haori. “That’s what makes you so great- you can handle just about anything.”

The words made his face heat up, and he was about to tell her not to use her Haori on him. “The blood will never come out!” He was about to say.

Only for the words to get caught in his throat when he felt his mask slip.

“Oh!” Mitsuri caught it before it could hit the dirty ground, the damage it took was more severe then they realized. “I’m so sorry- I must have worsened the damage! I’ll fix it up-” When her eyes came back to Obanai, he looked stricken, pale and shaky as he clamped a bloody hand over his mouth. “I-Iguro-san? What’s wrong? Are you about to be sick?”

He didn’t answer, his throat closed with fear and his mind racing a million miles a minute. No- no no no! This wasn’t supposed to happen! She can’t see it- she can’t!

His fingers pressed tightly against the scar tissue stretching past his lips, reminding him of that horrible day. The knife glinting in the candlelight. The pain stretching along his face. His tears as he begged and begged them to stop, to let him go, to kill him.

All for that horrid Serpent Demon. All to keep the stolen riches the demon provided.

He wished he could forget it. How he was almost given to that horrid beast, and the consequences that came when he escaped.

All of it, there on his scarred mouth. If Mitsuri saw it…she’d know what he was.

A coward. A monster.

“Iguro-san…” Mitsuri bit her lip, eyes wide with worry as she took in the shaking Hashira before her. Then her eyes grew clear. she grabbed her sword. 

Before Obanai could stop her, she sliced through a clean chunk of her Haori, the strip long and thick. Folding it, she brought it up and pressed it over the hand covering his mouth, her touch light.

“It’s not much, and it probably smells weird, but it’ll have to do for now.” Her eyes were so gentle, so kind as his hand fell away, his mouth once again secured. Her hands came around and tied his new makeshift mask into a secure knot, careful not to catch any of his hair in the process. “There we are! Feeling better?” She asked.

The mask smelled like sakura mochi and tea and home. Even with everything that happened, she never lost that scent. Tears burned his eyes and cut off his voice, making it impossible to speak. Instead, he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tightly in his own. He hoped she’d hear his silent thank you.

When she squeezed back, fierce and kind- she squeezed his heart as well.

~~~

Later- with his face newly cleaned and his clothes fixed, Obanai found a small parcel waiting for him. The note on top was written in curly strokes, a heart dotting her name.

Iguro-san, I fixed your mask! It was kinda dirty, so I cleaned it as well.

With love- Mitsuri

He held it close to his chest, his newly stitched and clean mask. It still smelled just like her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Master Ubuyashiki was gone.

He gave his life so he could end this Demon war once and for all.

Mitsuri wiped at her tears, running through courier after courier as she searched for the demon in sight. She would not let Master’s parting gift go to waste. She would make his dream come true!

Now if she could only find the freaking thing!

This particular one- an Upper moon she believed- was rather elusive. Anytime she got close enough to cut her head off clean, she’d strum her Biwa and the room would shift. One minute Mitsuri was above her, the next she was free falling into yet another part of the tower.

“THAT IS IT!” She raged as she stood, racing through more hallways. The changing made her head hurt, and she was sure if she saw another Biwa after this the instrument would only play sour notes. Still- she had to pursue!

Flying high, she raised her sword, the witch once again in sight. “I’ve gotcha now-”

And then there was a door.

Smacking her then and there, pain exploded across her body as Mitsuri flew off the edge. Her nose was bleeding- but she didn’t know if it was from pain or embarrassment.

Or both. Most likely both.

Falling backwards, she knew it was not gonna end well. Her body was already sore from crashing into various walls and floors. This time she suspected she wouldn’t make it.

Suddenly, arms were around her, and she was flying. Blinking, she barely registered her savior before they rolled onto a nearby column. “I-Iguro-san!” She gasped, staring up at him. Her heart did a hundred funny things then as she looked into those concerned mismatched eyes.

And then her face burned, shame bringing her back to reality. “I’m so sorry- I got ahead of myself.” She moaned as she covered her face. “Forgive me!”

“It’s quite alright, Kanroji.” He reassured her, helping her to her feet. “You’ve done well. Please be careful- we don’t know how this Upper Moon works or what her abilities are. She very well could have more than we expected. It’s better to analyze her now and look for any openings.”

“Right!” She nodded, the logic in his voice soothing away her nerves. “You be careful too, Iguro-san. This whole room shifting thing isn’t fun to deal with.” Her bruises screamed in agreement, making her wince.

Obanai nodded, a picture of preparation. “Very well. Let’s-” Suddenly the floor split, sending them in different directions. “IGURO!” She cried, barely breathing as he dodged the column. Obanai called out something to her, but before she could react, she was suddenly flying once more, this time towards the ceiling.

With a wall jump and a slash of her blade, she was safe- barely. She shook it off as she turned to glare at the Upper Moon. “You won’t be able to attack me with the same move twice!” She cried, going for an opening.

The room changes, a door opens. She’s falling again.

Well damn.

“GAHHHHH!” She raged as she fell. She was so mad she nearly forgot what Obanai called out to her.

“MITSURI LOOK OUT!” Was what he called.

Mitsuri.

Mitsuri.

He said her name.

The realization motivated her, pushing her to her feet. “He said my name…I have to live, so I can say his.” She nodded, running once more.

And then…

“Later.” She decided. “I’ll tell him it all later.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rain would have been appropriate in a situation like this.

Footsteps she knew like the back of her hand came towards her. Gentle hands pulled her up, resting her against a bloody chest. “Kanroji..I’m back.” Obanai’s voice was raspy. He didn’t have long left.

“Please…call me Mitsuri.” She breathed, the phantom pain of her missing arms nearly choking her. There was blood everywhere. She didn’t know who it belonged to. At this point, did it really matter? “Did we…did we do it? Is he dead?” She had to know. She needed to know.

“Yes. He’s gone.” Obanai breathed, blood dripping from the cuts where his eyes once were. She wanted to see them. To run her once there hands along his cheek, brushing away the blood that coated his face and just feel him.

Muzan took that away from her. She hoped he burned wherever he went.

“Good…hey, I can’t feel anything.” She laughed up blood, shaking her head. “I guess I’m dying.”

“I’m dying too.” The words cut, even if she knew it was true. “So you won’t be alone.”

“No…don’t die yet.” She breathed as her eyes filled with tears. “You can’t die yet.” Her voice grew sad then. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t much use in the fight.”

“No, don’t say that. It’s not true.” His voice was so gentle as his hand came up, running through her shredded locks. “Do you remember that day? The day we met?”

“Of course. I got lost in the mansion.” She giggled at the memory, it felt so far now. “You helped me then. Thank you.”

“It’s the other way around.” His voice grew soft as he reflected on all their moments together. The day they met- how she laughed like bells and smiled so warmly at him. How their time together made him feel like they were just normal people living their lives.

“You’ve saved so many people with your bottomless kindness. You should be proud, Mitsuri. Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me stand by your side.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she let out a sob, shaking her head. “I’m so- so happy Obanai. Thank you, for always making me feel loved. Meals tasted better with you. I just- I want to do it all again.” She looked up at him through the blurriness, and it was like she could see him for all that he was- human and the love of her life. “If we are to be reborn, please- make me your bride!”

“Of course. If you will have me.” He pulled her closer, his lips brushing hers as the last of her breath faded away. “This time…I’ll be sure to make you the happiest person alive. I won’t let you die next time…Mitsuri, my beloved.”

Thanks for reading!

[ehluuhnee]

more Obamitsu angst,this song and them go together so well.😮‍💨🤍🖤🐍🍡💓✨🫧

(I do not own copyrights to the song!!)

[strarri]

[Mitsuri Kanroji Character Analysis (ends before swordsmith village)]

(im literally so tired of people who say she has bad writing. see i’d probably write this till chapter 205 but tbh i’m way too sleepy)

Mitsuri, who considers herself less than other girls of her age due to her strength and appearance. Who belittles herself and represses her own strength due to the trauma of her failed marriage interview. The girl who shrinks herself down, no matter how much it has damaged her within, because all she wanted were the of encouragement, words of affection from someone. She wanted someone who would accept her the way she was, without having to lose her own sense of self.

Nineteen years of her life. A child, an adolescent, and adult. She’s never been fully confident in herself. She was loved by her family and friends, but there was always a hollowness that remained in her heart, without the other half of it. This damaged her more because she lived her life thinking she would marry a man who loved her. Instead, the one she trusted hurt her, and she only harbored even more inferiority within her.

Other girls would’ve been married at her age, but she wasn’t. That was another reason she considered herself abnormal.

She did everything to fill the hollowness of her heart. Dye her hair, lessen her food portions, repress her strength, speak only when spoken to. But that wasn’t her.

She wanted to marry someone for love, but it didn’t help at all if she just locked the love in her heart, she didn’t need to find someone in that case. She first wanted to find her place in life, where she was worthy and accepted. If she couldn’t find someone who would love her, then acceptance was her true love.

She found a place that accepted her. The Demon Slayer Corps. Originally, she’s only wished for two things. To first discover a place in the world that truly appreciated and accepted who she was, a place where she wouldn’t harbor negative feelings about herself, and where she could live with all the love in her heart. Even if she was considered “ditzy”.

And that she received, she met Kagaya Ubuyashiki. He was truly her inspiration. She helped her understand how she felt, re-evaluate her feelings, and was kind enough to let her join the corps.

Because of his words of encouragement, she persevered through any obstacle, soon rising to the top of the ranks. Her strength was a gift the corps, and she was talented enough that she was able to join the final selection in half the time a normal slayer would take. She was already talented even before getting used to a breathing form. She was trained under Kyojuro’s stead as his tsugoku, but she soon realized she would never fully master flame breathing, and instead created her own breathing style that was derived from Flame breathing.

Love breathing. It was an outlet for her outstanding strength, agility, and flexibility. Mitsuri was able to create a breathing style that accentuated her strength best. And after a few more years of demon slaying, she was promoted into a Hashira.

The second thing she wanted was to find a husband, a suitor who was stronger than her. With this they wouldn’t feel inferior to her and instead insult her strength like her previous failed marriage. Being accepted by others was enough, but she still wanted a significant other that would love her as much as she loved them.

She developed a crush on her colleague, Iguro. He wasn’t physically stronger than her, he was shorter and had less of an appetite. They were polar opposites, this was never a problem for her. She loved him because she knew he accepted her knowing the circumstances.

With him, she felt loved. He always complimented her, in letters or when they went out together. He always stared at her with gentleness in his eyes, he showered her with so much kindness and hospitality. Even if she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way as he did.

She considered confessing her feelings to Iguro, but due to the trauma from her previous marriage interview, and the misunderstanding that he was just nice to everyone. She never had the guts to, and her feelings for him were always left in the dark.

She continued pursuing her missions and goals as a slayer. Mitsuri loved what she did. And throughout her life as a slayer she realized she wanted another thing.

She wanted to help others, to save them from peril caused by demons. She doesn’t want others to get hurt, to never have experience any pain and sorrow that would lock up the love and happiness in their hearts. Mitsuri would not wish that upon anyone. Love is something everyone should experience, it’s a branch of happiness, demons were taking that blissful feeling from others, and that was truly unforgivable.

These three things, she was passionate about.

No, she doesn’t consider herself as perfect. But she knows she’s loved enough. Others accept her for who she is. Her feelings for Iguro are not reciprocated, he’s just a sweet guy who appreciates her and would never choose to belittle her even if she slips up badly. She may never find her other half, she may not even live to see her soulmate.

There is no guarantee she will live to see tomorrow considering her current life circumstances. But that’s okay with her, she would do her best to make people happy, as she was happy with her place in life. She wanted to make up for all the kindness people have given her throughout her life

Maybe there were still flaws, maybe she’s still insecure, maybe she’s still repressing her strength. Her love for Iguro is unrequited.

She’ll work on that in her next life.

[kakushigotofanclub]

Me: I should write a cute wholesome Obamitsu happy ending AU!

My brain: Okay hear me out: it starts with Kaburamaru fucking dying

Me: WTF NO!!

[xxlady-lunaxx]

Obanai hated the phrase ‘I love you.’ It was never spoken with sincerity. ‘I love you,’ as a blade carved through his jaw. ‘Because I love you,’ as he was thrown in the cell once again, vulnerable and attacked. ‘She loves you,’ as ‘she’ drank his blood. Nothing but white lies. Nothing but a sugar coating over a ball of mud, feeding it to him, smiling as he choked. So it took him a while to accept it when Mitsuri told him she loved him.

He trusted her, truly. With all his life. But he couldn’t believe that it was sincere. No doubt, she’d take it back. It was a joke. She would find someone better than him one day, leave him behind. He wouldn’t be anything more than a vague memory in that beautiful mind of hers. Because she was so much more than him—because he could never be truly loved. Right?

But Mitsuri loved him. She said so. She said it with such sincerity. She said it while holding him in her arms, speaking quietly. As if it were their little secret. How much they loved each other. How much she loved him. As if it were just between them, as if they were the only people in the world—as if all her love, all of it, was… all for him. Only for him.

Because she loved him.

Truly.

[colourstreakgryffin]

Angst ObaMitsu Scenario

*HOLY SHIT. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS. ALL ANIMES-ONLY OR NON-COMPLETE MANGAS! PLEASE CLICK AWAY OR YOU’LL BE SPOILED*

Anyway. Re-read the ObaMitsu’s death panels and thought to myself. What would it be like if only one died, instead of both; So here is this very depressing scenario(s) I made up at 2am. I’m sorry, ObaMitsu fans.

Probably not the best thing to write as the first ObaMitsu post but whatever

Needed Warnings; mention of depression, mention of obsession, mention of seppkuku, mention of death, mention of mental health problems

If only Mitsuri died

Obanai woke up almost two months ago and is recovering finely

But Mitsuri hasn’t. She still hasn’t woken up

Obanai sticks by her bed everyday. Just hoping that she’ll spring back up any minute

He forgets to look after himself. He can’t continue whilst knowing Mitsuri is still so vulnerable and hurt

Giyuu has to drag him out of the room and pin him down so the girls can check up on her

It doesn’t work. Obanai breaks in and pushes Aoi off Mitsuri as she attempts to put a blanket over her. He is a complete mess but he needs to know what’s going on

Aoi sighs weakly. “I… I’m so sorry, Iguro-san. Kanroji-san… has passed away…”

Passed away? No. No. No. She must be joking

“We believe she did last night” “No… she can’t be… you have to be wrong!” Aoi only lowers her head

Obanai breaks down into a hysterical anger-mixed-sorrow fit. He refuses to believe Aoi is right but deep down, knows she is

Why did he have to survive and not Mitsuri? Why does he always end up escaping death when he deserves it?

Why couldn’t have he been the one who died?!

Giyuu, Sanemi and Tanjiro have to drag Obanai out, once again but this time, kicking and screaming

Eventually. Obanai cries

And he cries his heart out. The first time he has ever experienced such emotion

He gave everything he had to Mitsuri. And now, she won’t be on this earth to enjoy life with him

What’s the point of living anymore? He couldn’t stop the death of a person he loves so dearly

There is only two reasons Obanai won’t commit seppuku. One, Kaburamaru is far too important to him and two, Mitsuri always tells him to push forward

Every night. His dreams only consist of Mitsuri. Meeting him in the beautiful Sakura tree pathway they promised to find each other again in and pushing forward that he doesn’t take his life

“Wait! Obanai! Don’t do that to yourself! Stay alive. Please. I need you to! I— …I hate this too but do it for me. Won’t you?”

Obanai returns to the Serpent Estate broken in all forms for good. Sure, life is now much safer with the eradicating of demons but it isn’t colourful without Mitsuri

His world is monochrome. His eyes are basically dead, his voice is dark and lifeless. He is depressed

Obanai takes Mitsuri’s belongings. Every single thing she owned. Her katana, her uniform, her favourite hairclips, the keys to her estate, her cats. The Love Estate will end up empty

He protects her belongings like his life depends on it

Obanai looks after Mitsuri’s cats as intently as he looks after Kaburamaru

Obanai makes Sakura Mochi in his spare time. He never liked it but for Mitsuri, he started pushing himself to liking it

Obanai visits Mitsuri’s grave daily to sit in front of it and eat the Mochi he made

He pretends Mitsuri is talking to him. He nods and responds to nothing. He claims he can hear her talking

Whilst he can’t see anymore, no thanks to the irreversible damage of his eyes, he sees Mitsuri all the time

He is growing mentally unwell, the more he keeps up this routine. He is getting a bit obsessed with keeping Mitsuri in his life

He snatched Mitsuri’s fixed haori from Aoi and wears it over his shoulders all the time

He likes to pretend that Mitsuri married him. So, he sometimes calls the imaginary Mitsuri he talks to “my wife”

Obanai is more aggressive and sour after Mitsuri’s death. He can’t see himself making connections ever again. He is barely hanging on

He’ll live the rest of his broken life completely alone. No new love or no new friend. Just him, Kaburamaru and Mitsuri’s grave

No woman can match Mitsuri. They’re all pathetic, he can’t stand another woman after he lost the woman of his dreams

If only Obanai could sense the way Mitsuri cuddles his side. Her spirit, clings to him everytime he sits at her grave

Obanai always leaves beautiful rose bouquets and bowls of Mitsuri’s favourite ramen at her grave. Their always gone when he returns the next day

Obanai truly isn’t alone. Mitsuri is always following him around and pressing kisses on his forehead every night

Obanai, truthfully, is trapped inbetween fantasy and reality. Inbetween acknowledging that Mitsuri has crossed the rainbow bridge but yet refusing to admit in favour of pretending Mitsuri is still alive

Obanai treasures all the letters Mitsuri wrote about him. Sure, he can’t read them on his own anymore(Kaburamaru reads them for him) and he ends up crying and crumbling onto the floor

All he wants is Mitsuri back

If only Obanai died

Mitsuri wakes up in a hospital bed. She survived? But. What about Obanai?

Obanai… he isn’t in the room with her. Where is he?

She desperately climbs her way out of bed and clings onto the walls to walk through the hallway. She is in so much pain but she needs to see him

Busting into the other hospital room, Mitsuri is shocked by the sight before her

The Butterfly Assistants and Aoi are surrounding Obanai, putting a blanket over his resting body

“No! Wait! Stop! What are you doing?!” Mitsuri stumbles over when running to the bed and her head bumps against Obanai’s shoulder

Her heart almost stops and her eyes widened in fear

His bare skin is cold. He didn’t make any noise nor move

“I’m… so sorry, Kanroji-san… Iguro-san has… has passed away… we believe he passed away last night…” Aoi remarks gently

Mitsuri cries instantly and screams. She can’t hold back as she grabs onto Obanai’s arms and shakes him

She doesn’t want to believe he’s dead. He must be alive! He has to be!

Mitsuri shakes him until she has to stop, out of the extreme pain. Her heart shatters into pieces as she crumbles onto the floor and cries hysterically. She cries out his name, begging for the heavens to bring him back to her

The man of her dreams… has left her for good

Mitsuri never gets over this. Never. No matter how old she gets

She becomes semi-lifeless. Her smile is no longer genuine. Her eyes are almost grey. She becomes depressed

Obanai kept her smiling. Mitsuri doesn’t see any reason to pretend to be happy. She doesn’t care about her missing arm, she doesn’t care about the other Hashira

All she cares about is how she lost Obanai

Mitsuri eventually found and swiped Obanai’s repaired haori from Aoi and brought it with her to her hospital bed

She sleeps with it

And when she is released from the Butterfly Estate and returns to her Estate. She takes care of it like it has her beating heart in it

Mitsuri wears Obanai’s haori everywhere and every second of every day. Mitsuri never takes off Obanai’s haori for longer than changing. She’ll die wearing it

Mitsuri got Kaburamaru. She may struggle with separating Kaburamaru from Obanai but she still loves the serpent and keeps him with her as much as possible

Mitsuri visits Obanai’s grave everyday. She eats in front of it, she talks to it

She likes to pretend that she is still talking to Obanai. It’s her coping mechanism

Breaking her illusion will make her break down so don’t. Let her get it out of her system

It is so unhealthy but Mitsuri can’t bring herself to let Obanai go. She needs to feed her fantasies to keep herself from slipping further into depression

Mitsuri, however, is unaware of how Obanai is still with her. In spirit, laying his head on her shoulder as she forces out a laugh at her own joke

Mitsuri will definitely live the rest of her damaged life with no new love. Not a single man in Japan can compare to Obanai

She considers seppuku. At one point, she just wants to be in heaven with him. But Obanai talks her out of it

“Mitsuri! Put that down! Don’t hurt yourself! It’s not worth it! I know, I know you’re in pain. Please, stay alive… for me”

Can’t say Mitsuri becomes obsessed with Obanai after his death but she keeps basically all of his belongings and protects them with everything she has. His katana, his uniform, the keys to his estate, all trinkets of Kaburamaru’s, his favourite kimonos

Mitsuri even changes her last name to Iguro. It’s her way of dedicating herself to her one true love

Living in a fantasy where she married Obanai, despite the fact he is now above in heaven. Forced to wait for Mitsuri to come to him

But everybody can clearly see that Mitsuri’s sanity is chipping. She is losing herself in her depression, her grief, her regret

She is stuck between her fantasy and reality. She speaks outloud to Obanai’s grave when she is with it like it’s a person, but when literally anywhere else, she is relatively normal

Mitsuri still cries as hard when she reads the long letter Obanai wrote for her before he died. His battlefield confession replaying in her head as she keeps reading the most important parts. The parts that cements his love for her

All she wants is Obanai back

Changed the pic cause it was annoying

Well. Fuck. This is very depressing, Jesus and #firsteverpostpostedwithoutsavingittodraftfirst

[dustyp3arls]

Obamitsu

Spelling and grammar are probably off

“Love i yearn for love”

“I am filthy.”

“I wish for to be accepted, i wish for someone to enjoy my embrace and so i suffocate in there unconditional affection”

“I wish to escape myself. To blossom into a new body and get away from my disgustingness and the disgraceful blood that follows and lingers in my body. But i will forever be tainted with the one casted upon me.”

“Will i find the acceptance of another here?”

“Will i be a better person here?”

“Iguro san! Iguro san! Please! If we are reborn, if we are reborn again as humans… Will you make me your wife?”

“Without a doubt. If you say you’ll have me, I will definitely do anything to make you happy. Next time, I won’t let you die. I’ll definitely protect you.”

“He loved me with every fragment of his soul. I can feel his love as the warmth of his embrace and his soul”

“She saw me as someone who was incredible, not looking at my bloodline but at me, i feel that now”

Pearls note: Happy Halloween!!! I hope everyone likes this short basically poem ig. Idk if this counts as angst but i hope yall like it!!Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

[sweetthepotato]

The Final Pillar: Chapter 3: Thanks for the Meal

Disclaimer

Chapter 2

AO3 Link

Chapter Summary

The Nightmare Breathing is reminded of some harsh truths amidst a lively gathering at a local donburi (rice bowl) shop.

Contents

Ricebowls, alert! Some angst. Hints of ObaMitsu.

The Snake Breathing user stared at her with a pinched expression in his two-toned eyes, clearly annoyed at her for some reason. His white snake, Kaburamaru, if she remembered his name correctly, seemed to be of a similar disposition, his red eyes peering at her blandly.

'Kanroji's been calling you over at least four times,' Iguro exhaled, his brows knitted together. 'You will deign us with your presence, won't you, kouhai?'

Looking over the back table, she could spot Rengoku and Kanroji waving her over enthusiastically. The Love Hashira was somewhat dismayed at having -unintentionally, Kagome asserted -been ignored in the last few minutes. Noting the potential death warrant glaring daggers at her, she thought that refusing at this point would be the moral equivalent of stepping on the paws of two very eager puppies.

Stifling a sigh, the girl acquiesced and resigned to her fate of being dragged into an instance requiring social interaction. Picking up her tray, she tiptoed behind the Snake Hashira around the crowded donburi-ya, eventually landing a seat next to Rengoku.

'Good afternoon,' she murmured.

The Flame Hashira's face lit up in response to her greeting, not bothering to pay attention to the brunette's reluctance. 'Kagome-kun!' He boomed, 'A pleasant surprise to see you here, of all places!'

At her curt nod, he sized her up for a few moments. Left eyebrow lifting, he commented, 'I see you managed to fix your haori yesterday, kouhai! It looks like you did a splendid job from what I can see!'

'Eh?? I didn't know you sewed, Kagome-chan!'

Feeling their collective gazes upon her, the brunette resisted the urge to curl up and swallow her whole sense of presence, 'It was due for some repairs, that's all.'

'Indeed, it's quite hard to picture a demon slayer using a style such as "Nightmare Breathing" doing something so domestic,' Iguro followed, flatly, 'To be honest, I don't believe I've even heard of your breathing style before our last meeting. You said it was something you developed?'

Kagome glared at the Snake Hashira as the blunt delivery of his seemed to continue his interrogation of her from the other day. Nodding, she proceeded to pick up the first of her tempura, which, having sat on top of steaming rice for the past few minutes, had started to go soggy.

'Iguro-san, same here!' The pink-haired girl smiled between them both, the dimples at either side of her mouth becoming more pronounced. 'It sounds interesting, so I can't wait to see what it actually is!'

'It's... a new style I had to develop based on my trainer's breathing forms,' she explained, 'While I was able to replicate some of his Illusion Breathing kata, it didn't come as naturally to me within our set timeframe...'

'Like how I created Love Breathing from Flame Breathing! But... I can't say I know much about the Illusion style either, though...'

Iguro's brow raised, 'I'm a similar case. I haven't heard of Illusion Breathing before you mentioned it, Kagome.'

‘Kanroji-kun, Iguro, I've only heard my father talk about it once or twice,' Rengoku supplied, 'From my impression, Illusion Breathing is a rarely practised style, and my family's archives only has a few texts about it.'

Turning his head, he faced his intense gaze upon his new colleague. 'Kagome-kun,' he started, 'Considering how much information is available, it's impressive that you were able to create something new at your age!'

A slap on the back shook Kagome, 'Ah, no, not really...'

Obanai turned his gaze away from Kanroji, and used this opportunity to assess the latest pillar, who was sitting diagonally from him. He, Kanroji and Rengoku often travelled together after meeting at Oyakata-sama's, and he didn't need much to tell that they were already receptive to a new person, if she would even classify, joining their ranks. Their kindness, Kanroji's in particular, was why he enjoyed their company, but he acknowledged that he didn't share the same immunity from speculation as they did.

Kagome sat on the innermost seat, closest to the wall. She already seemed keen to fade away into the background, to his indignation. Judging from her appearance, the Nightmare user's hair was tied up and pinned behind a patchwork bandana. He assumed that the oni mask she'd brought with her was kept somewhere safe in her satchel, as her face was completely bare now they were dining in the donburi shop.

With a pessimism that he had learnt to internalise the worst of, especially in front of his present company, he stifled a sigh at the girl's youthful appearance. He surmised that she would have to be around Tokito's age, if not slightly older, and he mourned the prospect of more demon slayers being promoted at that time in their lives. While hollowed out slightly, the last remains of baby fat clung to the rounds of her cheeks. Her face, though pale, was patterned heavily with brown freckles and looked drier than it ought to be on a healthy human being.

Even if he was obligated to trust Oyakata-same's assertions, he couldn't yet imagine the young girl being ferocious enough against Kibitsuji's forces. This was, especially considering, her weakness to the smell of blood and now her timid behaviour when surrounded by Kanroji and Rengoku, of all people.

Aesthetically speaking, she looked fairly plain and common in comparison to the other hashira, with her half-asleep eyes featuring unremarkable, brown irises. He pondered that, perhaps in hindsight, the garish oni mask was the only thing that made her stand out as a demon slayer.

He was curious, however, about the grey-purple colouring shading the skin underneath her eyes.

Her meal was eaten in almost complete silence, as if the Flame user's praise was too much to process. With the sound of clicking, her chopsticks dug deeply into the rice, grabbing clumps of the grain mixed in with the tempura. She ate her food without much relish, focusing on one item in her set while the miso soup had probably went cold by this stage. As her donburi was finally emptied, her eyes met with Obanai's for a moment, and upon further inspection, he noticed that they were slightly rimmed in red, the veins streaking through the whites.

After a considerable period of silence, Kagome was compelled to speak, 'K-Kanroji-senpai, do you have any plans before your next mission?'

'Huh -me? Hmm... I was thinking of finding a bathhouse at some point, it's been a while since I've been able to relax, and so it'd be good to do something fun in the meantime!'

Bobbing her head in understanding, the Nightmare Hashira picked up her miso soup and sculled the whole serving down. 'I see,' she said, picking up the first slice of pickled radish, 'Taking breaks is quite important after a long mission.'

Rengoku hummed in agreement, tilting his head at the brunette sitting next to him, 'Kagome-kun, are you planning anything fun before your next mission? More sewing, perhaps?'

She shook her head, a half-bitten radish paused between the ends of two chopsticks, 'Just some body conditioning, I suppose. All of this walking around has probably unbalanced my physical strength, and I intend to work through my forms more,' with the sound of crunching, she progressed quickly to the last radish, 'After I check out of my inn, though. There's not much room there for training.'

Pressing her hands together, Kagome expressed a quiet thanks for her meal.

Holding a cup of green tea against his lips, Obanai felt his eyebrows furrow again. While he acknowledged the fact that the Nightmare Hashira seemed to understand her place among the rest of the pillars, there were a lot of things that concerned him about her demeanour.

'Do you have a place in mind?' he asked.

She shrugged in lieu of an answer, but after realising that Obanai was still insisting on a verbal response, stated, 'I usually rely on any wide, unpopulated area. In my travel to this place, I've been able to gather that there is an evergreen forest that surrounds this town, so if it improves the likeliness of being out of everyone's way, I'll probably go there.'

'Kagome-kun,' Rengoku assured her, 'I would be more than honoured to offer my family's estate for training, especially for the sake of our newest hashira!' He clapped onto the space between the girl's shoulders, which the Snake user noticed caused her to stifle a flinch. 'I'm sure Senjuro would be happy to learn some-'

'-Senpai,' she cut off, appearing to clutch at her tea too tightly for Obanai's liking, 'Thank you for offering, but I'm sure my presence there would cause more confusion than the benefits would justify.'

Her initial wariness of the other pillars reminded him too much of his interactions with Tomioka, a thought he would prefer to not be occupied by. The bandaged man shifted, his sense of schadenfreude encouraging him to prolong his questioning of the girl from across him. Placing his cup down on the table, he leant closer to Kagome, his voice intentionally taking up a bland tone, 'Is there anything that you do aside from training?'

In a manner that was telling to him about her untrustworthiness, she stared back at him, her brown eyes hardening against more of his scrutiny. He tapped his fingers along the top of the table in sequence, waiting to see whether the Nightmare Breathing user would crumble under his pressure or not.

'There aren't many things that I like doing, aside from what is asked of me, Iguro-senpai,' she said plainly, choosing to only half-entertain his questioning.

Placing her tea cup upon her lacquered tray, Obanai couldn't help but notice, with a sense of sadistic pleasure, how his junior colleague in all senses of the phrase, trembled under his gaze. However, he was soon torn out of his reverie when she stood up abruptly, her hackles somehow smoothing over without a moment to spare.

Sharing another look with him, he caught onto the well-contained anger within her now bloodshot eyes. He suddenly noticed that her usually brown irises looked more like the colour of well-steeped spiced tea.

Although he could take the time now to dissect his observations, the Snake Hashira deliberately decided to put them to the side for now, in favour of savouring his time with his other colleagues. His eyes slithered back towards Kanroji, his uneasiness soothed over.

'Thank you for the talk, Rengoku-senpai, Kanroji-senpai, Iguro-senpai. With deep regret, I am afraid that I must take my leave, as I believe I'd agreed with the proprietor to check out around this time,' she bowed slightly, 'I look forward to cooperating with you, if our paths ever cross before our next meeting.'

Extracting herself from their company, she returned her tray to the counter at the opposite end of the donburi-ya. The screaming raged in her head in response to Iguro's interrogation, and it took conjuring Shizu's voice to calm down her nerves. She didn't know why, exactly -perhaps to kill one's boredom -but the Snake Hashira was making it difficult to maintain her composure in front of the other pillars.

A provocation was something she should've expected, she realised. As a result, she tried to avoid taking it personally, even though that was likely Iguro's intention.

His coldness wasn't anything new, nor was it anything special, but it exhausted her in a way that killing demons didn't. Rengoku and Kanroji's fast friendliness was a relatively new thing to her, and she might've warmed up towards them if the circumstances allowed for it. In reality, Iguro was more like the cold splash of reality, one that admonished any desire to exist in any place other than what was determined for her.

As she exited, the brunette headed out towards the bookshop she spotted upon arriving in the town.