Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 59: Last date

[Seiji\'s POV]

We were in a cafe, or \'kissaten\' as it was called here. Many cafes were emerging all around Japan due to the Western influence and this was just one of them.

Mitsuri sat across from me and she was enjoying her castella. She cupped her cheek with one hand while using a fork to feed herself with the other.

She would also give me a melodious hum of satisfaction which I truly wished I could hear, but I could tell it was pretty just from the vibrations.

Castella was expensive as hell for no reason and she wanted ten. But seeing her eat like that was worth every yen.

"Is it good?"

"Hmmm, Hmmm!!" she replied with a nod as her mouth was stuffed with the sponge cake but she gave me a radiant smile that was just as loud as any yell of affirmation would be.

I returned a small smile and sipped my tea. I enjoyed watching her eat because she was beautiful but she didn\'t show any discomfort because she had gotten used to my staring.

We enjoyed the early rays of the morning sun in the cafe. But by the time the sun had fully risen, it was time to drop the bad news to her.

"Mitsuri, the reason why I called you here was because I wanted to tell you something." I began and I watched every movement of her face to read her reaction.

"Hmm?"

"I have to leave."

"Eh."

Her face just froze. I could not read her at all because all her facial expressions just froze like ice.

"I know this is sudden but there is no better way to say it," I said but still, I saw no reaction from her. Even her heart completely halted its beat.

"I\'ll miss you."

"..."

"I plan on leaving today so this will probably be the last time we see each other for a while," I said and finally, she exploded.

"EHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I was deaf but even I knew that was loud.

"What? Leaving? Why? W-Where-" She slammed against the table and stood up before bombarding questions at me but I put a finger on her lips to silence her.

I also pushed her boobs to stop them from jiggling because I did not want to be distracted by them while we were on a serious topic.

"Settle down please, it won\'t make much of a difference if you scream," I said. She took a deep breath and settled back into her seat.

She leaned forward, using her boobs as a pillow while she brought her face close to mine. Maybe she hoped to seek answers behind my eyes with how intently she was looking at me.

"Why?"

That was the most important question to her. I could see cracks of vulnerability on her face when she asked. She probably wondered if she did something wrong or if I was fed up with her.

It was nothing like that, I made sure to show that with gentle eyes.

"Remember what I told you yesterday?" she nodded, "I am a Demon Slayer and the strongest amongst them, which means I am important."

"I have been taking a break for three months now. It is time for me to return to my duty." I said.

"....I see." she said and withdrew from my face.

A silence settled between us and I allowed her to process what was said, the little that was said.

In only just a month, our relationship had seen much growth. Her because I was the one who helped her get over her issues and me because I knew her and liked her from my previous life.

Our time together was unlike the time I spent with Kanae, Shinobu or any other person because when we hung out, we did it solely to get to know each other and to enjoy the other\'s company. There were no jobs or missions in between.

"When will you come back?" she finally asked after some time.

"I\'ll visit frequently." I replied, "It\'s not like we won\'t see each other again, only that the time between our meetings will be longer."

The area around the city was under my territory anyway so it wouldn\'t be much trouble to visit her monthly when we get breaks.

"..there isn\'t anything much I can do is there?" she finally said with a helpless smile. It saddens me to see her so down.

"I\'m afraid not," I said and reached out to pat her head. Her hair was soft and fluffy like a weird mix between silk and cotton.

"It\'s okay. Like you said, we\'ll meet again," she said, more to herself than to me.

I knew she had a lot more things to say which she pushed down because she was not brave enough to say it. Her beating heart, her throat contraction and her breath told me so.

But she was afraid of annoying me by being too clingy and she felt that it was not in her place to tell me what to do when we were just fiance.

A part of me wanted to bring her with me, but more of me wanted her to stay and be safe. I was here now and I could work to cover everything she would\'ve contributed if she became a Hashira. She didn\'t need to be in danger, she didn\'t need to fight when she didn\'t like fighting.

"Enough of this heavy mood. This will be our last date for a while so let\'s enjoy it." I said and she joined my enthusiasm not long after.

"Yeah!! Let\'s go have the best time ever!"

And so, we left the cafe to start the date. Since we wanted to enjoy ourselves as much as possible, we did what both of us liked.

Cloth shopping!!

And I\'ll cut anyone who says it\'s gay. If you remember, I was quite a fashion enthusiast since I appreciated appearance and beauty.

This was also not just any cloth shopping, it was kimono shopping.

We went to the most popular shopping district which was known for its kimono, both handmade and machine-made. They had everything from plain colours to the most colourful ones, ranging from dirt cheap ones to noble luxurious ones.

We both tried many different kimonos and asked each other for opinions. Mitsuri was into the colourful ones with patterns while I preferred plain ones with nifty designs and the right measurements.

Because in my opinion, no matter how beautiful it was, as long as it did not fit you perfectly and compliment your shape, it was only a disappointment. A rainbow vomit if I were honest.

To my eyes, such imperfection was triggering and the opposite of beauty and elegance.

"Why don\'t you try this?" I said, showing her a pink kimono with could patterns, "Pink suits you."

"Okay!" she said before taking it and running to the changing room. When she came out again, I had a thoughtful look.

I was facing a problem.

She looked good in absolutely everything. It didn\'t matter what kimono she wore, she looked extremely beautiful.

Clothes were meant to make you beautiful, but she made clothes beautiful instead.

Her body had the perfect proportions, she was built like a hentai heroine. Small shoulders, generous breasts, and then she had a small waist and wide child-bearing hips that created the famous hourglass figure.

That\'s not all, as your gaze lowered, you would be met with thick supple thighs and a perfect rear the shape of a heart. It makes me want to write a wish fulfilment fanfiction \'That time I got reincarnated as Mitsuri\'s favourite chair\'

"We\'ll take that too," I said to the owner of the store.

"That too? Why don\'t you just buy the whole store at this point hahaha!!" she laughed while she held a mountain of kimono.

I simply stared at her, contemplating.

"Wait, seriously?"

In the end, Mitsuri convinced me not to buy the store. She picked two kimonos that she liked and said she didn\'t need more.

I ended up buying one for myself as well, plus a new haori which was not fully white but had purple cubic patterns for decoration.

After we were done shopping we went to a Kabuki theatre to watch a play. I proposed to watch a normal play but Mitsuri, being the sweetheart that she was said she preferred to watch a shadow play.

She chose this while keeping my deafness in mind. There was no dialogue in shadow play and it relied on visual storytelling so she thought it would be a better experience for me.

We watched the shadow play, enjoying ourselves with the story of two couples who got separated by the horrors of war. I was worried that it might have a tragic ending and make her not only sad but compare our situation with the story but luckily, they both survived and married and lived happily after the war.

Finally, we ended the date with how we began, food. We visited a total of six restaurants where we both ordered a normal quantity of food.

We created this perfect strategy in our earlier dates. We get to try the foods of different restaurants while not attracting any unwanted attention from the sheer amount of food we consume. Well, mostly Mitsuri but I ate well above the standard as well.

After the end, I walked Mitsuri to her home. We also indulged in the absolute debauchery of unprotected hand-holding as we walked.

"Why are you looking at me so intently silly?" Miitsuri asked while we walked in the calm of the evening.

"I was just wondering...where all the food went. Your stomach remains completely flat." I said while looking at her belly.

She blushed deep red much to my amusement but then her eyes shone with a hint of mischief and the desire to get back at me.

"I don\'t know, maybe here?" she said and suddenly shoved her boobs up. But much to her disappointment, my face was stone cold, call me Alex Pierra.

...or maybe not because she had a teasing smile on her face, much like Kanae. Impossible!! My face would never betray me!

"You\'re so cute when you blush," she said and I was genuinely caught off guard. Was she, verbally teasing me back? She never did that. Was it because we won\'t see each other for a while?

Nevertheless, "Who\'s blushing? I\'m not blushing."

The proof was in her eyes. When I looked at my reflection in her emerald eyes, my face was absolutely stoic.

She smiled wider and pinched my ear. Only when her fingers touched my ears did I notice how cold her fingers were. Or were my ears heating up? They are, aren\'t they?

Don\'t tell me people could see me blush from my ears all this time? What am I, a fucking tsundere waifu?

I covered my ears instantly, causing her to giggle.

"Har har, very funny," I said, keeping my hands on my ears. Maybe I should grow my hair just to hide it?

A few minutes passed and we reached the Kanroji compound. God, why did her house have to be so close? I wouldn\'t mind if it was still a couple hundred miles away.

"Well, this is it," she said and folded her arms behind her back. She turned around and faced me.

"Goodbye, Seiji."

"Goodbye Mitsuri."

She smiled and waited for a few seconds longer than necessary as if she were waiting for something.

I knew what she was waiting for, and I was hoping for it too. But my dumbass remained rooted in place like a whole tree.

She released a breath she didn\'t know she was holding...nothing happened.

\'Come on, aren\'t you gonna do it?\' my mind questioned me.

"Byee.." she whispered and turned around. Then she walked away.

"...."

Before she left an arm\'s reach, I grabbed her hand and gave a small tug. She released a cute yelp and spun around to land on my chest.

The moment she looked up, I leaned down and gave her a small peck on her lips.

It was brief, it was soft and a little wet. It was perfect.

\'I fucking did it!! \'

Mitsuri quickly turned beet red in my arms and I know this was out of the script but I leaned in and gave her another peck on her lips.

This time, I felt it more clearly. Her lips were warm and they were like the most tender petal of a flower.

Finally, I released her.

"I\'ll see you again soon," I said and my shamelessness suddenly ran out. I had used up all of my courage and the few I borrowed from God knows where.

So with the speed of the fastest Hashira, I fled the scene like a criminal who had just committed a crime.

It was my first kiss.

..

I would regret running away years later because that was not cool at all. But we all had our first kiss at some point, right? So you guys should understand me.

It was nerve-wracking, on par with peeking at Muzan Kibutsuji.

..

..

..

[MUST SEE IMAGE!!!!]

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Important note : The reason Seiji\'s romantic development with Mitsuri is much quicker than Kanae and Shinobu is that the Kocho sisters never made any advances on him. Shinobu liked thier friendship and never really made a move other than secretly crushing on him. Kanae is at the stage of denial where she holds herself back from loving her sister\'s crush/ best friend.

On the other hand, Mitsuri is all in on it. She laid her feelings bare for Seiji to see, without holding back. She knows what she wants, she wants to love and to be loved. In the anime too, we see her trying everything she could to change just so she would find love and a husband. It is also both thier first love and experience so things develop quickly.

Mitsuri is the Love Hashira for a reason. The Kocho sisters would need to up their game if they don\'t want him to be snatched by Mitsuri.