"Tomioka-san!"
The air, in that singular moment, seemed to flash-freeze.
Kazama Aoi didn't dare turn her head to look at Sanemi Shinazugawa. She could already vividly imagine the expression on his face. It's over, she thought. This time, I'm truly dead.
"Oh my?"
Shinobu Kocho let out a tiny gasp of surprise, the smile on her face brightening as if she had just witnessed something incredibly entertaining. "Aoi-chan, you chose Giyu-kun? How unexpected."
The man in question, Giyu Tomioka, maintained his usual mask of unshakeable indifference. He merely gave Aoi a quiet, steady look before speaking tonelessly. "I have no objection."
"..."
Aoi cautiously glanced toward Sanemi out of the corner of her eye. His fists were clenched so tight the veins on the backs of his hands looked ready to burst. His pale, piercing eyes were fixed on her, swirling with an emotion so complex she couldn't even begin to decipher it.
Just as Aoi braced herself for a violent outburst, Sanemi suddenly laughed.
"Ha."
A short, icy sneer escaped his throat. "Trash is trash. Your taste is just as pathetic as your skills."
He spat out the cryptic insult, turned on his heel, and stormed away.
He left! He actually just... left?
Wait—was it just a trick of her eyes? Why did it feel like a flicker of genuine hurt had crossed his face just before he turned?
"Well then, since neither Aoi-chan nor Giyu-kun has any objections," Shinobu's voice broke the heavy silence as she clapped her hands together with a smile, "the mission is settled. Get your gear ready; you head out first thing tomorrow morning."
Giyu remained as stoic as ever. He cast a glance at the soul-crushed Aoi, said absolutely nothing, and followed Sanemi's lead in exiting the room.
Meanwhile, inside the Wind Hashira's quarters:
"Kazama Aoi!" Sanemi snarled the name, each syllable forced through gritted teeth, vibrating with raw fury.
That woman... she would rather choose that lifeless, depressing block of wood than go with him?
Was he really that terrifying?
Wasn't he a hundred—no, a thousand times better than that socially stunted mute?
"Ha... haha..." He let out a low, mirthless chuckle that held nothing but irritation and simmering rage. "Absolute garbage taste... that damn woman..."
The next morning, the sky was just beginning to turn the pale grey of dawn.
Aoi walked out of her room, her eyes puffy and bloodshot from a total lack of sleep. Not far off, leaning silently under the shade of a wisteria tree, was a familiar silhouette: Giyu Tomioka.
Aoi crept toward him, hesitating. Just as she reached out to tentatively tap his arm to get his attention, a cool hand snapped out and caught her wrist with clinical precision.
Startled, Aoi looked up and collided with Giyu's calm, bottomless blue eyes.
Awkwardly, Aoi pulled her hand back and tried to smooth down her messy hair. "Have... have you been waiting long?"
"No," Giyu replied, his words as sparse as ever.
"That's good." Aoi breathed a sigh of relief. It was bad enough she felt like a marked woman; she didn't want to be a rude one, too.
"You look terrible," Giyu stated flatly, as if simply reporting a weather condition.
"Ah... really? I just... didn't sleep well," Aoi offered a hollow explanation.
"Let's go." Giyu took the lead without another word, heading down the mountain path.
"Oh! Right, coming!" Aoi hurried to keep up.
The silence that followed was absolute. To Aoi, Giyu Tomioka was the living embodiment of the word "quiet." She stole a glance at him; he seemed entirely submerged in his own world, indifferent to everything around him—including his partner for the mission.
The silence grew heavy and uncomfortable.
"Um... Tomioka-san?" she finally ventured, her voice small and cautious. "Our destination... it's Mt. Kirigakure, right?"
Giyu didn't turn around. He simply gave a curt, "Mm."
"I heard... the villagers who go missing there... they can't even find the bodies?" she tried again.
"Mm."
Is this guy a human parrot? Aoi grumbled internally. Still, she summoned her courage and pressed on. "The intel mentioned it might be an Upper Rank... wouldn't it be dangerous for just the two of us?"
Giyu's footsteps faltered. He stopped and turned, looking at her with an expressionless gaze. "Are you afraid?"
His stare was direct, devoid of mockery or condescension. He was simply asking a question.
Aoi felt a pang of guilt under that piercing blue look. "I... I'm not afraid! I just think we should be fully prepared for anything!"
Giyu watched her in silence for a few seconds before asking a seemingly random question. "Your Breathing Style?"
"Huh? Oh, it's Wood Breathing." Aoi blinked, confused by the sudden change in topic.
"Understood." Having said his piece, Giyu turned back around and resumed his steady pace.
Understood? Understood what?! Aoi felt like her brain cells were being picked off one by one by this man's extreme brevity.
They continued in silence until the setting sun dyed the sky a bruised shade of orange and red. A fork appeared in the road: one path led to a small town at the base of the mountain, the other deeper into the dark forest.
"We rest here for now," Giyu said, pointing toward the town.
"Thank god," Aoi muttered, feeling like her feet were about to fall off.
They entered the town and found an inn that looked reasonably clean.
"We only have one room left," the landlady informed them.
"What?!" Aoi's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
A man and a woman... sharing a room? That was... that was way too...
"We'll take it." Giyu reached out and took the key from the landlady before Aoi could process the situation.
"Wait, wait a minute!" Aoi grabbed his sleeve, her face flushing a deep crimson from shock and embarrassment. "Tomioka-san, that's not appropriate! We... we should..."
Giyu stopped and tilted his head, his blue eyes meeting hers with total neutrality, as if silently asking, What's the problem?
"The problem is huge!" Aoi felt like her brain was short-circuiting. "Men and women shouldn't be together like that! We should... we should..."
Aoi trailed off, her meaning obvious, but Giyu cut her off with a blunt finality.
"There are no others."
"How can there be no others? This town isn't that small!"
"I checked everywhere." His tone was flat, but there was a hint of iron in it that brooked no argument. "This is the last one. You take the bed. I'll take the floor."
Without giving her another chance to protest, he turned and headed straight for the stairs.
Aoi stood frozen, staring at his retreating back. She felt like she was being choked by the sheer weight of his "straight-shooter" attitude.
Doesn't he feel awkward at all? What is actually going on inside his head?
Whatever! If anyone's going to suffer, it's not going to be me!
Fuming and reluctant, Aoi finally trudged up the stairs after him.