Work Text:
It was a shitty day. A shitty fucking horrible day. Obanai had just returned from an absolutely atrocious mission. Truly abysmal. It did not help that he hadn't slept in days, his nightmares always got worse this time of year.
They had even been haunting him when he tried to catch a wink during the day. Completely unfair. The daytime was suppose to be a safe haven for him, where he shouldn't have to worry about the possibility of yellow prying eyes leering at him from the shadows.
"Don't dwell on it...think of something else...like that embarrassment of a mission and those sorry excuses that call themselves slayers."
A scowl of contempt graced the Serpent Pillar's features as he kicked a rock, glaring at the offending object with such intensity he might have been able to burn it to a crisp.
"Damn recruits..." He grumbled sourly, as he ran a hand through his choppy raven hair.
The mission could have been so simple if he had been allowed to take care of it himself, but alas...the Master had other plans, having requested Obanai to attend to a couple of newbies. The last thing the pillar wanted was to babysit his juniors, but who was he to deny a request of the Master? Obanai respected him too much to disobey.
A sharp pain made him pause, reaching up to place a hand on his chest as he drew in a slow breath. A weight shifted on his shoulders as Kaburamaru let out a soft hiss and moved to flick his tongue against his companions cheek.
"Yes yes...I know..don't worry my friend...I promise I'll let Kocho stitch it up" He murmured reassuringly.
The snake nestled his head under Obanai's chin, seemingly satisfied with his friend's response.
Obanai smiled fondly before his face scrunched back up into a bitter scowl. While his injury wasn't fatal, it was annoying that it had happened at all. If only the new recruits were more reliable maybe he wouldn't have had to act as a meat shield.
He recalled how the boy had apologized and thanked him profusely but that didn't stop Obanai from giving him a good tongue lashing afterwards.
"Be more aware of your surroundings you moron! You call yourself a demon slayer? Either up your training or quit! There's no room for fools that can't even handle a simple low ranked demon! You're going to get yourself or someone else killed one day, idiot!" He snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the poor boy as an angry vain throbbed on his forehead.
"M-Mr. Iguro, please calm down! You're going to irritate your injury!" The other junior pleaded as she reached out to grasp the Serpent Pillar's sleeve in a weak attempt to still him."We should get you to the butterfly estate as soon as possible!" She insisted.
Obanai recoiled away from her. "Do. Not. Touch. Me." He hissed through gritted teeth.
The recruit snatched her hand back and took a careful step backwards. "I-I'm sorry..." She stammered as she looked at the ground.
Closing his eyes, the pillar sucked in a slow, shaky breath as he tried to calm his nerves and slow his rapid heart rate.
"Shit...breath Obanai." He tried to sooth himself before a full blown panic attack could set in. Damn this fear of his...what he wouldn't give to be normal.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and shot another glare at the two recruits, noting how they both flinched.
"I can make my own way to Kocho's. Worry about yourselves." He said tightly as he turned on his heel to walk away. "Go back home and reflect on what went wrong today and how you can prevent it from ever happening again."
Another jab of pain pulled Obanai out of his thoughts. He let out a hiss and clutched at the fabric of his uniform.
"Damn...I hope Kocho is at her estate." While he had gotten...somewhat comfortable with Shinobu, he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't there and any of the other butterfly girls had to tend to him.
"It's not like I don't know how to stitch up my own wounds..I have done it before..." He pondered. "Maybe I can just do that..it's not like this is a Serious injury..."
Kaburamaru lifted his head and gave Obanai an annoyed hiss.
"You're right Kabu...I did promise you I would seek her help. Besides, she would probably track me down and kill me herself if I tried to hide an injury from her again. I'm sorry for almost going back on my word." The young man reached up and gave the snake a gentle pat on the head.
Kaburamaru snorted before tucking his head back under Obanai's chin.
"I suppose we should make our way to the Butterfly Estate then.." Obanai sighed as Kaburamaru flicked his tongue in agreement.
----
Relief flooded The Snake Pillar as he exited the Butterfly Estate.
"Thank God, that's over.."
Shinobu was in fact, not at her estate much to Obanai's chagrin. She had been sent out on a mission...damn her. When he realized she wasn't there he had hoped to be able to simply slip away.
Unfortunately, Aoi had taken notice of him before he could escape and insisted upon treating him.
He cringed as he thought about the events of the last...hour? Two hours? He couldn't recall. The entire ordeal had felt like an eternity.
They had to get a couple of male Kakushi to hold him down so Aoi could apply his stitches. He had nearly lost it when she had asked the butterfly triplets to do it. Thankfully she realized it was a bad idea pretty quickly before calling the Kakushi in instead.
Obanai gritted his teeth in frustration.
"God DAMN those recruits..."
The Serpent Estate was a couple hours walk from the Butterfly Estate. Obanai tried to enjoy the warmth of the sun beating down on him as he trudged along the path. It was a simple thing that gave him comfort ever since he had escaped that cold dark cell.
As he dragged himself through the front gate, he slowly lifted his eyes to a sight that made him stop in his tracks.
His heart rate stopped for a split second before picking up speed, threatening to pound right out of his chest as his eyes took her in.
Kanroji Mitsuri, The Love Pillar, was sitting on his engawa. She twirled a flower in her fingers as a delicate smile graced her features.
Obanai's two toned gaze roamed her beautiful face as he swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat.
What was she doing here? Not that he was complaining, but she had never visited him unannounced and he was VERY unprepared for her sudden appearance.
The pink haired girl paused and looked up, sensing his presence and forgetting the flower in her hand.
As her brilliant green eyes met his, a wide smile broke out across her face, so full of warmth and happiness.
And just like that, Obanai's foul mood, all of his anger and resentment, melted away.
Mitsuri quickly stood up, smoothing out her skirt before walking up to greet him.
"Mr. Iguro, hello! I had heard you came back from your mission! Ah! I'm terribly sorry for showing up unanounced but I missed you and wanted to surprise you and- I-I mean I was thinking of you and we havn't spent much time together recently and I just thought maybe I'd come over so we can hang out and chat and-" She rambled, flailing her hands in the air as her cheeks flushed.
Warmth bloomed in Obanai's chest as his eyes crinkled into a smile, a smile only reserved for The Love Pillar.
"Kanroji...there is no need to apologize. Your presence is always welcome." He said smoothly, though his heart still hammered against his chest.
Mitsuri smiled softly, her blush refusing to fade as she nodded her head. "Oh that's...good. I'm glad I'm not imposing. C-Cause if I was you can always tell me and I'll-I'll-"
Obanai lifted his hand, cutting her off. "It really is ok Kanroji...I promise you are not imposing or being a bother. I'm..happy you are here." He said softly.
Her smile returned as she gave him another quick nod and began fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
"God she's cute..."
He cleared his throat before motioning to the engawa.
"Sit with me? It's a lovely day, why don't we enjoy the sun for awhile longer."
"Of course! I'd like that!" Mitsuri affirmed as she stepped back to the engawa and resumed her seating position.
Obanai took a seat next to her,lifting a leg up and folding an arm over it to rest as he took a moment to admire her features again. He never got tired of looking at her face, she really was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he felt so honored that she wanted to spend time with him of all people.
Kaburamaru lifted his head, tongue flicking in Mitsuri's direction
"Ah hello Kaburamaru! I'm sorry I didn't greet you before...you are looking very handsome today." She cooed as she reached up to stroke the top of his head.
The reptile pressed his head against her before retreating, pleased with the interaction.
Obanai smiled softly as he watched the two of them. He loved when she gave his oldest and dearest friend attention, most people either shied away from or ignored Kaburamaru.
Mitsuri hummed as her eyes met his. "So how was your mission?"
At the mention of his most recent mission, Obanai's mood dropped again. He straightened out before leaning back, glaring up at the sky with a sour expression.
"Awful." He said flatly.
"What happened?" She asked, leaning forward expectantly.
Obanai shook his head and sighed.
"One of the new recruits was careless. Could have gotten himself killed. I had to shield him...thankfully the blow wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but still...these recruits get weaker and duller by the year."
She smiled and brought a hand up to her lips, her eyes sparkling at him. "Awww Iguro...you took a hit for your junior? You're so caring!" She gushed, causing Obanai's cheeks to heat up.
He averted his eyes from her and cleared his throat. "Well..I wasn't happy about it...and it..wasn't that big a deal...I was doing my job." He mumbled.
"You may not think it's a big deal..but I do. You're a very kind person, Iguro..." Mitsuri said softly as reached down and placed her hand over his.
The contact made Obanai's heart jolt. He balled his other hand into a fist against the floorboards and willed himself not to pull away from her.
He gulped and kept his gaze fixed on the floor of the engawa.
"You give me far too much credit, Kanroji..."
"And you don't give yourself enough credit!" Mitsuri shot back.
His eyes lifted up to meet hers again, her cheeks puffing out as she pouted at him. Oh how he wanted to cover them in kisse- "No. Banish that thought from your mind Obanai. You are not worthy."
"I wish I were half the man you thought I was..." He murmured as his gaze dropped back down.
Mitsuri scooted closer to him. "But you are!" She insisted. "What can I do to convince you of that?"
Obanai looked back up at her. "You can't." He replied plainly. "I do what I must as a slayer but ...I am not as nice as you think I am. I'm mean, rude, demanding and so selfish." His nails dug into the floor as he said that last part, gritting his teeth as the old feelings of self loathing began to bubble up.
The pink haired pillar turned so that she was fully facing him now, legs tucked underneath her as she pressed her fists into her thighs. "That's not true! Well I mean...I am aware that you can be rather...sharp with other people, but I don't think that changes the fact that underneath you are a caring person!" She said with conviction.
"Just because you want that to be true doesn't mean it is! Kanroji I...I'm not even sure that I'm a good person let alone caring..no I KNOW I am not a good person. I don't know how you convinced yourself that I am or why you would waste your time with someone like me when you could be with literally anyone else." He choked out. His eyes were starting to sting. Damn was he about to cry? Why was he even spilling his guts like this? He was always so careful to swallow down his feelings of self hatred in front of her. He knew it would upset her so why was he doing it now? It felt like something inside him had snapped and he could no longer hold up the filter he had so carefully set up.
The feeling of Mitsuri's warm hands taking his own and grasping them tightly broke him out of his thoughts and made him shut up. His chest twisted as he looked into her eyes, her expression fierce.
"Stop that...stop talking badly about yourself." Her voice shook as she squeezed his hands.
"I don't know what happened to you to make you hate yourself so much...and I won't force you to tell me until you are ready. But whatever it was it Won't change my opinion of you. A bad person would not take a potentially fatal blow for someone else. A bad person wouldn't fret and worry about others the way you do...even if you can be harsh about it." She lifted his hands, clasping them together in hers and gently pressed them to her chest. Obanai's chest heaved at this.
"A..." She took a deep breath. "A bad person wouldn't write me such beautiful letters, or treat me to meals despite how big my appetite is or..or look at me with so much affection." She leaned closer to him, the softest smile on her lips as her cheeks flushed yet again. "Or..buy me socks because he was worried about how self conscious my uniform made me."
Another lump caught in Obanai's throat as his own cheeks darkened. "A...a selfish person might.." He whispered.
"Well...maybe it's ok to be selfish...I know I am." She whispered back as she inched closer to him
.
His brows furrowed as he sucked a breath in through his teeth. "Do not...do not compare yourself to me, Kanroji...you are so much better than me. I don't even deserve to be next to you...I-"
"Not true." She cut him off swiftly.
"But it is! I'm no good! I'm...I'm..." His jaw clenched and he squeezed his eyes shut as tears began fall down his cheeks.
Suddenly, the feeling of a warm hand pressed against his cheeks caused his eyes to snap open. He stared at her, unable to fully process what was happening as she gazed deeply into his two toned eyes.
"You are good...you are." She affirmed gently as her thumb stroked his cheek, wiping away his tears.
Obanai's eyelids fluttered as she stroked his cheek, her touch so warm and comforting he could feel himself melting into her. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, letting out a soft sigh as all of the tension left his body.
"That's it...let yourself be selfish, Obi." He heard her soft voice coo as her other hand came up to stroke his other cheek.
Kaburamaru slowly slithered along Mitsuri's arm, transferring from Obanai's shoulder's onto hers and settling in so he wouldn't get in the way of her attentions, to which she smiled gratefully.
His brain didn't even register the loss of Kaburamaru's weight on his shoulders or the use of the nickname as he instinctively reached up to hold her hand's in his, pressing them into his cheeks as he leaned further into her.
She ran her thumbs up and down his cheeks, marveling at how vulnerable he was being for her.
"You are so good Obi...I really mean it. You are a good, wonderful man..."
"Mi-tsuri..." He breathed out as he turned his face to nuzzle her palm.
Mitsuri froze as her breath hitched and Obanai froze as well, his eyes opening wide in horror.
He jerked back as panic began to settle in.
"I-Kanroji I-m so sorry!"
"Idiot! How dare you use her given name! How dare you shamelessly indulge in her touch! You are unworthy! Tainted! Dirty! Do not corrupt her the way you are!"
He tried to get up, he had to get up, he had to get away! For her own good he had to leave he couldn't..couldn't let her offer so much of herself to him. But he was stopped as her hands shot back up, gripping the front of his uniform and gently tugging him back down.
"No no no no..." Mitsuri's eyes were also filled with panic and desperation as she coaxed him closer to her.
"Please...please don't pull away from me again...not today...please just for today...let me in." She whispered softly as she brought one of her hands back up to stroke his cheek, her other still clinging to his uniform.
Obanai felt breathless as his chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes searching hers and finding them filled with so much affection he felt like he could combust beneath her gaze.
"You look exhausted..." She murmured as she drew little circles around his cheek. He nodded as his eyelids fluttered.
"Then relax..and let me take care of you." The hand gripping his uniform slowly and gently slide down his chest, earning a shudder from him as she reached down to take his hand.
"Will you let me give you my undivided attention and affection...just for today?"
Obanai's entire body trembled as gave her a hesitant nod of affirmation.
"Ok..."
Mitsuri smiled at him gently before reaching back up and tugging on his uniform again. "Come here..." She whispered as she pulled him close.
Obediently, Obanai allowed her to pull him into her arms. She enveloped him in a tight hug as she rested her chin on his shoulder.
Shaking like a leaf, he hesitantly brought his hands up to grip her haori.
She nuzzled his shoulder as she ran one hand through his hair and the other stroked his back, earning a shiver as the raven haired boy finally relaxed and melted back into her touch. He flattened his hands against her back and slid them around her, bringing his arms tightly around her as he buried his face against the crook of her neck while Kaburamaru slithered out of the way.
Obanai sighed with content, he didn't realized how much he needed this. Mitsuri's presence was always calming but being held by her was like nothing he ever felt. He didn't think it was possible to fall even deeper in love with her than he already was.
"I wish we could stay like this forever..."
She pulled away suddenly, inciting a needy whine from the male pillar.
"It's ok I'm not going anywhere" She giggled as she brought her hands back up to his face. "I just wanted to look at your face again." Obanai felt his face get hot again as the object of his affection leaned back to admire him. Never in his wildest dreams did he think the woman he loved would look at him like that.
Her smile softened as she stroked his cheeks before gingerly guiding his face closer to hers. Obanai's lungs nearly gave out as he realized what she was doing but he made no effort to stop her. Her lips stopped just short of touching his as she locked eyes with him.
"May I?"
"Yes..." He breathed.
She closed the distance, pressing her lips against his through the mask.
Obanai's mind buzzed, even thought he still had his mask on, the kiss sent electricity throughout his entire body. He could not control the noise that rumbled in his throat and he could feel Mitsuri smile against his lips as she brought her hands up to run through his hair. Her fingernails brushed lightly against his neck and scalp, intensifying the sparks as a shiver ran down his spine.
She broke away so that they could both breath before sliding her hands down to his neck. She gently pulled him back in and began to pepper kisses all along his face.
Obanai whimpered and bit his tongue, strangling the "I love you" that was threatening to claw it's way out of his throat as Mitsuri smothered him in kisses.
"M-Mitsuri..."
"Hmm..." She hummed happily as she pulled away to admire her work.
She mentally patted herself on the back for the shade of lipstick she had picked, it looked good on her but it looked even better all over his face.
His normally pale cheeks were flushed crimson and he was panting heavily as he gazed up at her through half lidded eyes.
"You're so cute, Obanai." She gushed as she leaned forward and nuzzled him.
Pulling her closer, he buried his face back into her neck to hide his embarrassment.
"You're going to kill me...gonna make my heart explode.." He mumbled as he clung to her.
She let out a giggle as she peeled him away from her neck to look into his eyes again.
"Aww I'm sorry Obi...was that a bit overwhelming?"
"Yes...but...I did enjoy it." He admitted shyly.
Mitsuri smiled as she reached up to grip his chin, running her thumb over his lips.
"Hmm good...I hope I was able to chase the bad feelings away."
Obanai reached up to take her hand, placing a kiss on her palm and nuzzling against it.
"For the time being...I may need a reminder soon though."
"I"ll reassure you as many times as you need" She replied as she leaned forward to kiss his forehead.
He hummed softly as he closed his eyes, yawning as exhaustion threatened to take him.
"Are you still tired?" Mitsuri whispered. She reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his face.
"Mmmhmm.." He nodded.
"Here then.." She reached up, placing a gentle hand behind his neck and slowly guiding him down to her lap.
Obanai sighed as his head met her thighs, too tired and overcome with bliss to feel self conscious as she began to run her fingers through his hair.
As sleep began to overtake him, he could feel her lips against his cheek and her soft, melodic voice whispering in his ear.
"Happy birthday, Obanai..."