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There are not many things that Tomioka Giyuu takes a particular interest in. But if he had to name one thing that might remotely qualify as an actual hobby these days, it would be the salmon daikon restaurant at the end of the street, only a few hundred steps from his Estate.
He likes that the food is delicious, and that the restaurant always has a quiet, peaceful atmosphere where customers keep their voices low and focus on their meals instead of talking and laughing loudly like they do elsewhere. Most importantly, the store owner also keeps to himself, as he focuses solely on cooking and serving rather than attempting to make small talk with his patrons. Giyuu appreciates that.
And so he comes here every day, alone, after finishing his missions.
Sometimes, however, Kocho Shinobu joins him when they return from a joint mission together – which, lately, seems to be happening more and more often. Since what he values most about the place is its quiet, Giyuu cannot quite understand why he keeps bringing someone as talkative as Shinobu here to eat with him.
Well, technically, she is the one who asks whether he knows any good places to eat. Even so, he could have directed her elsewhere and kept this little gem as his own private refuge.
And yet, when Shinobu launches into yet another piece of gossip and he can do nothing but nod along with his mouth full of food, he realizes he is not nearly as bothered by the sound of her voice as he ought to be. If he is honest with himself, those afternoons are far more enjoyable than the days he dines alone, for reasons he cannot begin to explain.
As always, the store owner mostly keeps his head down, busy preparing the dishes; he speaks to them only rarely. Still, there is a flicker of recognition in his eyes whenever the two of them step inside and order the usual, and Giyuu can tell they have become regulars here. Over time, the moment they appear in the doorway – or when Giyuu arrives alone on days they do not share a mission – the man begins preparing their usual order without waiting for them to say a word.
Given that, it should not be entirely surprising when the owner addresses them for the first time while Shinobu is in the middle of one of her stories. Even so, Giyuu finds himself caught completely off guard nonetheless.
“How long have you two been married?” the man asks casually, not even looking up from the dishes in front of him.
Giyuu attempts to look scandalized despite having his mouth stuffed with food, but he suspects that he has failed miserably. He cannot even open his mouth to protest or defend himself. All he can do is turn to Shinobu’s bright, smiling face, hoping she can help clarify the misunderstanding.
Shinobu beams and rests her warm cheek lightly against Giyuu’s shoulder. “Just about a month, actually! How could you tell?”
What. What? Giyuu stares at her in utter disbelief. This woman!
“When you guys first started coming here, you still left a bit of space between you when you sat together, so I assumed you were only dating,” the owner explains. “But these days you truly act like husband and wife, picking food for each other and everything. You even help this young man check whether he still has vegetables stuck in his teeth. So I thought you must have married recently.”
“How perceptive of you,” Shinobu replies sweetly. “Now I see why your business is doing so well.”
When they finish their meal and step outside, the owner discreetly presses a small parcel of extra beef into Giyuu’s hand and murmurs, “For your wife.”
All Giyuu can manage in response is a flustered thank-you.
_
“Your wife didn’t come today? Is she busy?”
Giyuu should take this opportunity to explain that it’s only one of her running jokes and that they’re simply colleagues who happen to work together.
“She’s at the hospital,” he hears himself say instead, much to his horror.
“An accomplished woman, huh? Is she a doctor?”
“Yes.” Then, as if compelled to add more, he says, “She’s very good at what she does.”
“Hm. Beautiful, intelligent, charming. You’re one lucky man.”
The salmon daikon is placed in front of him, its smell just as inviting as always. Giyuu immediately digs in while the shop owner returns to his work; he tells himself that he doesn’t correct the man simply because the moment has already passed, and bringing it up now would only make things awkward.
Besides, this whole situation started with Shinobu. If anyone should correct the misunderstanding, it ought to be her, not him.
~
“Husband, do you think we should get this?” Shinobu gestures toward a polished wooden table gleaming under the lights of the furniture shop next to the restaurant they’ve just dined at together. “Your room feels far too bare. A few pieces of furniture would make it seem less empty.”
Giyuu studies the table she’s pointing at. To be honest, it doesn’t look particularly special to him – he doesn’t know much about these things in the first place. Still, buying it wouldn’t hurt. He can certainly afford it anyway.
“Sure.” He nods. “I’ll pay.”
“Alright, then let’s go in.” Shinobu grabs his arm, and they step inside together.
They’re surrounded by strangers they will most likely never see again, so being mistaken for a married couple doesn’t trouble him much, Giyuu reasons. He pointedly ignores the tiny pleasant warmth blooming in some far corner of his heart, as well as the fact that standing beside Shinobu in public as her “husband” always sends a strange, almost giddy flutter through his chest.
~
“That concludes today’s agenda. Is everything clear?”
“Yes, Oyakata-sama.” Gyomei answers on behalf of them all. The other Pillars bow down, hands placed neatly before them.
“As for your next assignments, I’ve already decided. Giyuu, Shinobu, your mission begins early tomorrow morning. Make sure you both get enough rest.”
“I certainly will, Oyakata-sama,” Shinobu replies. Giyuu knows she’s lying again; she’ll be up past midnight, working tirelessly on her experiments.
“You’d better, wife,” he mutters.
It’s only when he feels even Muichiro’s normally blank eyes fixed on him in shock that Giyuu realizes what he’s just said. Oyakata offers him a knowing, almost conspiratorial smile. Shinazugawa looks as though he’s seconds away from chopping off his limbs and burying them somewhere on the mountain as soon as Oyakata dismisses the meeting.
It isn’t his fault, though! It’s Shinobu’s fault for looking and sounding so convincingly like a wife. She’s the one responsible for clearing up this mess.
Shinobu turns to him with that sweet smile again. “What did you just say, husband?”
Needless to say, the rumors among the Corps’ members the following day spread faster than any news of Muzan or the Upper Moons ever could.