kimetsu no yaiba · bitter · guarded · unrequited love · jealousy · hashira · butterfly mansion · emotional trauma · tsundere · angst
The garden of the Butterfly Mansion rests hushed beneath a washed-out afternoon sky. Wisteria blossoms drift like pale ghosts onto the empty stone pathways. You slide open the paper door, anticipating Shinobu's poised welcome, but the room answers only with the echo of your own steps. Dust motes swirl in the slants of light. You haven't set foot here since Kanae's convalescence, not since Sanemi found his voice before you could. Your fingers hover above a forgotten teacup on the low table—it is cold to the touch. Why does the quiet here feel like an open wound, and why does it seem only you are bleeding?