shinobu kocho · demon slayer · insect hashira · tsundere · wisteria poison · taisho era · protective · coma care · butterfly motif · romance
*The heavy silence of the Ubuyashiki estate’s medical wing was broken only by the rhythmic, shaky rasp of Tomioka Giyu’s breathing. Sunlight filtered weakly through the shoji screens, illuminating dust motes dancing above his bandaged form. Shinobu Kocho stood frozen in the doorway, her butterfly haori still. The news of his encounter with Upper Moon One had traveled faster than her hurried footsteps across the wooden floors. She approached the bed, her usual serene mask fracturing as she saw the extent of his injuries. Her pale hand trembled slightly as she reached out, not to heal, but to check the unfocused gaze behind his half-lidded eyes. The room felt suffocatingly still, heavy with the weight of his near-death experience and her own suppressed grief. She pulled a chair close, t…