Shinobu sighed, smiling softly as she nodded.

"Okay then, so now we need to think about what we can do to get them back together..."
She said, slight hurry in her voice.

Obanai crossed his arms, his brow furrowed in thought.
"We need to meet Tomioka, and talk to him first... it will help clear things up to some extent..."

Shinobu nodded.

"Yes, that's a good start. We'll talk to Tomioka-San first, and try to get him to talk to Shinazugawa-San."

"And Uzui, you're going to help us with this. You're going to make sure Tomioka listens to what we have to say, and doesn't shut us down before we even get a chance to explain."
Obanai said, his gaze stern on Tengen.

"Got it?"

Tengen nodded obediently.
"I'll make sure they get together in no time!"

Obanai raised an eyebrow.

"No need to overdo it. Just... don't mess this up."
He said, his voice gentle despite his harsh words.

"L-Let's just go and meet Tomioka today itself! I can't stand this anymore!"
Mitsuri suggested.

Obanai nodded.

"Alright, let's go now. We can't waste any more time."
He said, his expression serious.

Finally, having made their descision, the three along with Tengen walk out of the mansion only to find the sun setting and the moon coming up.

"Damn it's dark already..."
Tengen said, his words coming out as tiny clouds in the air.

"Oh dear... It's already this late! We must hurry..."
Shinobu's expression looked serious and determined. Obanai nodded, looking over at Mitsuri who shivered slightly.

"So chilly!"

___________________________________________

Upon reaching Giyuu's place, Shinobu stepped forward and knocked firmly on the door.
The sound echoed through the silent night, breaking the calm. 

"Tomioka-San? It's me, and I'm here with Iguro-San, Kanroji-San and Uzui-San..."
She called out, her voice gentle.

Surprisingly, there was no response.

Shinobu frowned, trying to force the door open. When it finally opened, she cautiously walked in.

"Tomioka-San? Are you home?"
She called out again, her voice slightly louder this time.

Sensing the calmness and the silence of the entire house, she knew he wasn't there.

"I-I don't think he's here..."
Mitsuri said, rubbing her hands for warmth.

Tengen nodded in agreement.

"Well, what do we do now?"
Obanai questioned.

"Look, if he's not here... He's clearly somewhere outside."
Shinobu said, closing the door and facing the other three.

"What do you mean?"
Tengen asked.

"Probably somewhere quiet, deserted, silent... He must grieving over how stupid he is..."
Shinobu let out a deep sigh.

"Let's go check if he's somewhere in the forest."
She said, indicating the others to follow her.

The three nodded, following up behind Shinobu.

The four looked through the forest, searching for Giyuu and even calling out for him... but all their attempts went in vain.

Even then, instead of losing hope, they decided to look further, searching deeper into the forest. The finally ended up in a quiet clearing with the sounds of the river water flowing.

As they approached the river, they heard a soft, muffled sob. Obanai's eyes narrowed, and he gestured for the others to be quiet.

___________________________________________

Giyuu sat near the river, his body shaking slightly with the muffled sobs.

He remembered the time when he was sitting near the same river a long time ago, but next to Sanemi.

He remembered the time when he actually told Sanemi how he felt, when he rested his head on Sanemi's shoulder for the first time ever, when they were only friends.

"It's just that I feel different when I'm with you..."

"Oh God... Shut up already, Tomioka!"

The old conversations, the memories, everything came running down his mind and he realised how mean he was with Sanemi. Even though Sanemi just wanted things to get better.

"Why the fuck do I ruin things for myself? I'm such a fool!"
He cried, his heart beating fast with emotion.

He was already hating on himself, and he didn't know what to do. What to think of himself or Sanemi.

If Sanemi was honest or not.

A cool breeze blew, lifting his hair to reveal his eyes, his glistening tears in the moonlight.

Oh! Tomioka-San!
Mitsuri covered her mouth, her tears threatening to spill.

Obanai's expression softened as he saw Giyuu's hunched figure. He signaled Tengen to go talk to him, but Tengen was too uneasy to even take a step closer.

He turned to look at Shinobu, who nodded reassuringly and patted his shoulder to go see Giyuu.

Obanai nodded back at her, slowly walking up to Giyuu.

Giyuu sensed someone behind, but he didn't even bother to turn around, infact, he stared into his reflection in the slow running river water.

As Obanai approached, Giyuu slowly looked up, his tears still falling. He seemed to stare at Obanai for a long moment before looking away again, his body shivering with the cold.
Obanai knelt down beside him quietly, not uttering a word.

He finally broke the silence.

"Hey."
He said softly, his gaze on the shivering man.

Giyuu just sat there, not responding to Obanai. He just looked at the water, tears continuing to fall from his eyes. He didn't bother wiping them anymore.

Obanai reached out and gently placed a hand on Giyuu's shoulder, feeling the cold tremble of his body.

"Tomioka..."
He called out softly, his voice tinged with concern.

"This is wrong..."
He paused, his own voice choked with emotion.

"You hear me?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Giyuu flinched slightly at Obanai's touch, but he didn't pull away. He just kept staring at the river, his voice hoarse and broken.

"Why are you here...? To remind me how pathetic I am?"

Obanai's grip on his shoulder tightened slightly.

"That's not... that's not why I'm here." He said, his voice gentle.

"Look at me." He commanded softly.

Giyuu refused to face Obanai, burying his face into his knees. He was still all quiet, drained out of energy.

Obanai stared at Giyuu for a while, his expression fluctuating between sadness and annoyance.
"Look, I know it hurts... But..."

Giyuu just shook his head, muffling his face deeper into his knees. He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to be alone, to wallow in his own misery.

"No... I can't..."
He whispered brokenly.

"You have to!"
Obanai replied almost immediately, his hand coming up to shake Giyuu's shoulder.

"Tomioka, I know how hard it is! But... It's wrong not to give Shinazugawa a chance! You hear me?"

Giyuu's body trembled as Obanai shook his shoulder, his face still buried in his knees.

"Shut up... shut up, shut up..."
He mumbled continuously.

"Tomioka, I know you don't want to talk about this but, listen up. Because you need to know this!"

Giyuu's body stiffened at Obanai's firm tone. He slowly unburied his face from his knees, his eyes squinting. He looked at Obanai, his expression unreadable.

"Wh-What?"
He whispered softly, his voice barely audible.

Obanai took a deep breath in, helplessly turning to Tengen standing far away.

Tengen nodded in response, slowly walking into the moonlight.

___________________________________________

We're forcing some sense into Giyuu next chapter.

Ik I'm late, I'm sorry.

It was my birthday on the 23rd and the day of my results on the 24th.

So yeah, a lot happened. (I celebrated my birthday and got beaten the next day.)

🍩🍦🍰✨
I'm trying to update but my mom does NOT let me touch the phone😭🙏

IF THEY DON'T ANIMATE THE LAST PANELS IMMA CRY-

BYEEEE
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