„Haha , you're a funny one Tomioka-san" she tried to laugh it off. „Kocho, that smile of yours is just an imitation of the smile Kanae Kocho once wore before she...died" That was the moment she knew , she couldn't trick him anymore . If she was being honest , she had thought that Tomioka would have been the last person she expected to notice her fake personality.

She just sighed. „Fine , you got me" her smile dropped and she looked annoyed at him , questioning what he would say next. „if I want you to help me , then I want you to trust me . Your secret is safe with me. Do you wanna know a secret ?" He leaned over to her ear . „I'm the same as you . I'm not acting like the person I really am . I always believed that me showing my real self to others was a weakness I had to hide."

She was surprised. „What do you mean by that ?"
„You know it yourself , don't you ? That feeling of hatred against anything and anyone , the urge to hide those feelings." he directly hit the spot.
„I don't know your reasons for the acting you do , but I assume it's because of your sisters death. You know , we have a lot of things in common."
He started to smile creepily , what creeped her out. He's smiling ? Oh lord , what's even happening right now!

„I want to tell you a story. Once , I was a cheerful little boy. My parents died before I could remember them , so it was always just me and my sister tsutako. She was the light in my life , the person I wanted to protect the most but then..." he suddenly stopped and closed his eyes. When he opened them they were full of indescribable hatred. „One day before my sister would have married her fiancé, a demon attacked our home in the middle of the night . Before the demon got to me , my sister threw herself over me and died in that process . I saw the message in her eyes , she wanted me to run away and life , and so I tried . Right before my eyes , the demon absorbed my sister and I was traumatised for my life . I was able to run away , because this piece of trash called demon wanted me to become stronger so that I can be his toy when I'm older."

Shinobu was shocked. ,,Tomioka-san! I never knew"
„That demon , that ... filthy creature was the upper two demon , called douma . I need to kill him , that's my goal since that moment , and I would really appreciate it if you would help me." as soon as the name douma left his mouth her mimic changed.

Tomioka's pov

He didn't know what drove him to say all those things. He never planned to reveal anything to Kocho any time soon , but the dream with sabito and the perfect opportunity he now had changed his mind. He looked at her facial expression , and the way it changed once he told her his story was quite interesting.
I wonder what causes this reaction of hers

She suddenly stopped and looked on the ground. He couldn't see her face , but he saw that she clenched her fists with anger. Maybe because she relates to me ? That would be good , that way it will be easier to convince her to help me.

,, tomioka" the lack of honorific manner did put him on guard. ,, can you repeat the last part of your story" she was still not facing him , so it was hard for him to identify her real intentions. ,, my sister died one day before her wedding ?" ,, no , after that. About the demon , what was his name again ?" where is she going with this ? ,, douma , uppermoon 2. the most disgusting being in this world" she suddenly looked up and the expression on her face suprised him.

She was looking very furious, like she's about to kill anything that comes in her way. ,, oh , that's quite funny , you know !" he was getting more confused by the second. ,, do you remember when you said that we actually have a lot in common ? Well , looks like we are almost same !" he didn't understand what she was trying to say and just waited for her to explain herself.

,, you know , my sister , kanae Kocho , was also killed by uppermoon 2". He backed away ,suprised . Who would have known that we share the same fate ?
„Now thats a creepy coincidence, don't you think ?" by the time he had heard her answer , he knew that he didn't need to convince her anymore, as she was probably planning something out herself.

„I always knew that that monster was heartless. You know , I became a demon slayer to safe people, but before I knew it , one of my only purposes was to kill that demon. I've always felt selfish about it , but now that I know that I'm not the only one who's driven by revenge , I am happy and relived." she sighed , a neutral expression on her face.
He smirked. „ I must say that I'm pretty impressed of the way you handle your emotions. One moment your furious and the other you act like nothing has ever bothered you , I'm jealous."

She returned that smirk , and for the first time since he had known her , that smirk wasn't fake. „Well , you really got me when you suddenly smiled. It was kinda creepy. But I really think that your also very good at handling your emotions. It doesn't matter if you cover your real emotions up with fake emotions or if you act like you have no emotions at all , I believe that the results are the same. We are just professionals in the human psychology."
He shrugs his shoulders. „Guess your right"

Now that they had a lot of things to discuss , they finished their mission very quickly without any problems or casualties and then went to tomiokas estate , the water estate. Well , the water estate wasn't anything special , just a relatively big house with nothing in it but the essential furniture .

Shinobus pov

His estate is pretty boring , but I think it fits his personality. She looked at him from the side. Now that she knew him better , she saw the emotions hidden deep underneath that stoic facade of him. Acting how your not can sometimes also be a coping mechanism to a endured loss , like with her and how she adapted to her sister's personality.
Now that I think about it , this estate doesn't match his real personality, but rather the fake one. Is it to prevent suspicion?

,,ne , Tomioka-san , why is your house so empty ?" he looked at her and then he looked around the house , trying to find an answer. „I have more important things to care about than my furniture. Also , we are demon slayers , we can die anytime, especially if your goal is to kill an uppermoon and at that , the second strongest of them. If I die , then a pretty house is of no importance anymore, so why would I care ?" „kinda make sense I must admit." now that her curiosity was satisfied, she thought about the more important matters. „So , now, let's talk about our plan" she made herself comfortable at a table.

„Well , I mean I'm not weak but... no one in the demon slayer corps can take on uppermoon 2 and survive and win. I needed a better solution to kill him , because I just wasn't enough. So I thought , what is another way to kill a demon other than pure strength ? And that's where you come in , poison" she just now realised how strange it was to hear him talk so much.
„well , I think your right. No one could beat him alone , so I really understand why you thought of potential help. One question though , what would you have done if I denied your your request of help and told oyakata-sama about your potential suicide plan ?"

Suddenly he smiled again. „I never thought of this possibility to be honest. Guess it was just a win or loose kind of thing , and looks like I was successful fortunately." she returned that smile. „Well , I've never fought against an uppermoon demon. I think my normal poison wouldn't be so helpful in that situation, so , what about I tell you about my original plan ?" her smiled turned kind of creepy and her eyes looked as if they could kill." time to tell him my real plan!