Date in Tokyo

[Seiji's POV]

She was beautiful.

"Love Breathing : Second Form,"

"Shivers of Love!"

Her body moved with the elegance of a dancer and the strength of a Rishiki. It was one of those moments when logic made no sense.

Her almost gentle-looking movements never told about the force of a ton they had behind them. Vision and touch could not have been further apart.

She dashed towards the dummies and with an effortless slash of her sword, she ripped all of them apart. They broke as if they were made of feathers when in reality, they were made of tough wood.

I did not know how long I had been standing here, hiding behind a tree in the training ground of the Rengoku family.

It was evening and on this rare occasion, I did not spare a glimpse at the setting sun. Instead, my eyes were only focused on her.

Her incredible body - superior to every other human since birth, her exotic hair that stood out like a beautiful flower in a barren land, the youthful determination etched on her flawless face, the sparkle in her eye that saw a more beautiful world than the rest, and so on.

If the sky turned into endless sheets of paper and if the oceans turned into ink, I still wouldn't be able to write down all of the beautiful things I saw in her. She was worth a thousand sunsets.

I continued watching her train until the sun finally set behind the mountains and darkness consumed the world. By then, Mitsuri was covered in a sprinkle of sweat and she looked tired from all the training she did.

I shifted from my statue-like state and made a move.

Maybe I stepped on dry leaves or a stick, Mitsuri became alerted and immediately turned her head to me.

Oops, I should've looked where I was going instead of staring at her like an idiot.

"Who's there....." she started strong and serious but when her eyes landed on me, they died down. She became a doll for a moment, eyes blinking dumbly while she just stared.

"Seiji!" then her brain finally processed my existence and she came running at me.

I opened my arms and before I knew it, her body was already clinging to me. She fit so perfectly in my embrace that I hardly noticed.

Even though she just trained, she did not smell bad at all. My nose only caught the scent of love and supple flesh. If feminity had a smell, this would be it.

I walked out of the bushes with her body in my arms and I put her down only when we reached the veranda.

"Wait, you are here," she said, more to herself than me. She quickly checked my body with her hands and eyes to see where all the injuries had gone.

Then her eyes returned to mine and she asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

"I don't know, around the time when your sword slipped out of your hand and almost cut the well in half," I said with a smile.

Love Breathing was meant to be used with her whip-like sword, but since she had not used that yet, the normal sword she had would frequently slip out of her hand due to the rigid force.

"What? That's like two hours ago silly. Were you spying on me for two whole hours?" she asked.

"I guess so...is that creepy?" I said thoughtfully. I never considered it but wasn't that a stalker behavior that I just displayed?

"Not at all, it's just that.." she said, "That was two hours more I could've spent with you,"

Oh my god, she can get even more beautiful.

I laughed, "Is that how you see it? If so I have good news for you,"

"I'm here to invite you on a date tomorrow, back in Tokyo," I said.

Then stars immediately shone in her emerald eyes. The wide smile that decorated her face made me question why I had not invited her sooner and more frequently.

"Really? Like we used to before?"

"Yes, exactly like we used to. I have some business to take care of in Tokyo and I thought it'd be a good time to have a date and also for you to visit your parents." I said.

It has been quite a while since she had seen her family as well. Although they were close to the city, Rengoku wouldn't allow her to go home frequently and skip training.

"Yes!!" she raised her hand and hopped a couple of times in joy.

"Finally, a day off," she added.

"What day off!!" Rengoku suddenly slid open the door with a loud bang and yelled loudly, spooking Mitsuri out of her wits.

"Oh.." his tone changed when he saw me, "Hello Seiji, what brings you here?"

I held back a laugh seeing the bandana and the apron he was wearing. It was a ridiculous dress compared to his usual Hashira uniform.

"Just asking my fiance out on a date, hope you don't mind,"

"Not at all!!" he answered enthusiastically.

"Thank you,"

"What are you two doing outside for so long? Come on in, it's time for dinner!!" Rengoku said and gestured for us to come in with the hand holding a giant food.

"I came unannounced so-"

"Nonsense!! Come join us," Rengoku cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.

"Are you sure you have enough food?" I asked and Mitsuri giggled.

"My friend.." Rengoku said proudly, "We always have enough food,"

And so, I joined them for supper and ended up spending the night as well. Early in the morning, Mitsuri and I headed out for Tokyo with high spirits.

The positive aura she had was contagious. No matter how tough life gets, Mitsuri remained my sweet ball of love and positivity.

..

..

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[Seiji's POV]

Tokyo was the busiest city in all of Japan with many people coming and going about in the streets during both daytime and nighttime.

The city was also slowly changing from a traditional to a more modern city. You could see small trains, automobiles, street lights etc in the city. The people were also dressed in a more Western style of fashion rather than with traditional Japanese clothes.

The Industrial Revolution was at its most prominent during these years.

Mitsuri and I stood out like a sore thumb in such a place. We wore our demon slayer clothes which were more traditional than any other clothes the people in the city wear. People would assume that we were rural pumpkins.

We also stood out because of our appearances. Mitsuri's beauty and her pink hair shone brighter than the sun above our heads and my good looks along with my scars also attracted attention.

"Make sure no one sees your sword," I whispered near her ear which for some reason got red on her cheeks. She gave me a nod for an answer while making sure her sword was hidden by her haori.

Carrying weapons were not allowed in the city and I wanted to avoid trouble at all cost.

I turned my focus away from her and I looked around at the city. I wore sunglasses and my purple eyes shone with an eerie light, hidden by the dark shades.

I scanned the city in its entirety.

I found many things while I did so but I paid no mind to them. I saw too much that if I acted on them, it would take me forever and I had no time to waste. Instead, I continue my search.

I was looking for signs of a blood demon art, any demons hidden in the dark alley and I was also on the lookout for Muzan Kibutsuji. Basically, I was searching for anything related to my profession.

'I also need to find Lady Tamayo, she should be somewhere in Tokyo right?' I thought to myself while looking around. Most people would assume I was a village boy who came to the city for the first time due to how much I was looking around.

I was holding Mitsuri with one hand and we were walking together. I felt a little bad that I was not completely focused on her during our date but it couldn't be helped.

"Cafe?" I asked after I scanned the entire vicinity but did not find anything.

It was like saying 'treats?' to a puppy, she immediately perked up.

"Come follow me, I know a good place there!" she said enthusiastically and dragged me to the cafe she wanted to visit.

I followed her with a smile.

.....

"mmmmmm, sweets are like my second favourite thing in the world," Mitsuri declared while eating her cake.

It was the middle of the week and around 10 am, so there was no one else in the cafe except the two of us - others were either working or just had breakfast.

We sat on the table furthest away from the counter and enjoyed the chaos of the city. It was a contrast to the peaceful rural areas where I beheld the beauty of nature, but I liked looking at all the activities as well, it was a good change of pace.

"What's your favourite thing in the world?" I asked while drinking my coffee.

"It's a secret," she answered with a playful grin.

"Come on, just say it. We all know it's me," I shot back but she shook her head.

"Wait, then what is it?" I asked, a little concerned this time. If her favourite thing was not me, then what do I need to kill?

"Not telling~" she said before stuffing more desserts in her mouth.

I chuckled and looked down at my coffee, feeling a little thoughtful when I saw the beverage I was drinking.

"I don't know how you can drink that bitter thing, it tastes awful," Mitsuri said in a cutesy manner with a finger on her chin.

I smiled and turned to get a better look at her, but not meet her eyes.

"I used to think the same before. I never understood how people could enjoy something so bitter. I like the smell and I wanted to enjoy it, but I could never do it." I said, "That is until I learn something,"

"??" Mitsuri tilted her head with a spoon in her mouth.

"I learned that it was not the coffee that was the problem but me. I drank it with the expectation of tasting something sweet, trying to make the coffee abide by the rules of what I deemed was tasty." I said and took a sip of my coffee.

Then I continued, "It was only when I learned to stop expecting sweetness from it that I enjoyed coffee. When I accepted the bitterness for what it is, I learned that it was not so bad. There was a very powerful aftertaste and something soothing about it which I never noticed before,"

"Sometimes, you need to learn and accept things for what they truly are, without expectation or delusion," I said.

Mitsuri listened closely, I was not sure if she understood my musing or not but she asked, "Can I get a sip?"

"Sure," I said and gave her my coffee. She picked the cup up and took a few sniffs before she drank the coffee once.

"....."

"Bleh," she stuck out her tongue, " I still don't like it. It makes my tongue heavy," she said.

I laughed, "At least now you know,"

We stayed in the cafe for a couple of hours, trying everything they had on the menu while spending time with each other. We played board games which - mind you - Mitsuri was quite good at.

Sometimes we would talk about the things that happened to us while we weren't together. She told me how her training progressed, and in return, I told her how I spent my time in the flower mansion during my recovery.

Everything was going perfectly, at least I thought they were going perfectly.

But Mitsuri suddenly touched my cheeks and made me look into her eyes.

It was only when I saw the emotions in her eyes that I realized I had been avoiding looking at them.

God, sometimes I hate that I could see so much.

"Tell me Seiji, what's wrong?" she asked. I did not know what gave it away or how she came to that conclusion.

"For some reason, I'm scared," she said.

...

...

"I want to try it," I said after a long stretch of silence.

"Try what?" she asked.

"Coffee," I asnwered.

I wanted to try it for what it really was, without expectation and without lies.

"I have important things to tell you Mitsuri," I said and grabbed both her hands.

"Go on, I'm always listening,"

And so I told her.

..

..

[IMAGE]

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Author : Wish me luck!! I'm battling some things rn