Chapter Text
It’s not even dawn yet Mitsuri’s eyes crack open, blinking once to adjust themselves. The room is dark, without even the light of the moon to give shape to her surroundings.
She stays still, listening as much as she can, and she holds back a sigh of relief when she’s met with only quiet breathing.
Obanai’s still asleep.
Mitsuri beams to no one but herself at this accomplishment. She’d never been the best at waking up on time, but for once she was the first awake!
She calms herself down before she can wiggle around in pride and wake up her husband, opting to instead begin the daunting task of getting out of the room without making a single noise or vibration. It will require all of her breath training and then some.
Mitsuri tries not to shiver at the cold air as she slides out from under her futon covers, keeping her teeth clenched so they don’t chatter. She’ll have to make some tea.
It takes ten minutes moving as slowly and quietly as humanely possible, but Mitsuri makes it to the screen door. She stares it down as if it were an Upper Moon, knowing there’s no way she can get it to open soundlessly, no matter how much she cleaned it yesterday. Her hand reaches for it, but stops when she hears a noise behind her.
Please, she prays to whoever will listen, please don’t wake up! I tried so hard to get this far! She chances a peek over her shoulder, prepared to see Obanai with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at her like she was trying to sneak out, before asking she return to bed. Instead, she sees Kaburamaru peeking out from his own miniature futon, fully handmade with a pillow to go with it.
The snake’s ruby red eyes zero in on her but that’s all he does, content to flick his tongue out at her. Mitsuri knows Kaburamaru doesn’t understand her but she holds a finger to her lips anyways, hoping that he’ll hear her wishes and not alert Obanai.
It seems whoever is watching is granting her some mercy as Kaburamaru begins to fold back underneath his covers, making enough sound that it doesn’t wake Obanai, yet loud enough for Mitsuri to slide open the screen door and shut it behind her. She stands in the halls of her house, wearing a wide smile. She did it! Thank you, Kaburamaru! Thank you, buddha!
With her largest hurdle out of the way she pads over to the kitchen. She had a lot of work ahead of her.
Feeding herself was hard enough. Mitsuri ate five meals a day instead of the normal three, all of them full-course meals. She was glad she had a good family that could provide for her until she joined the Demon Slayer Corps and made her own income, and now that she was married a decent chunk of Obanai’s payment went straight to their pantry.
He never once complained about it, though Mitsuri still felt embarrassed. Thus, she made it her duty to prepare the food as deliciously as she can. She request cookbooks for her wedding presents, and Tengen’s three wives were her biggest saviors, all of them used to preparing large meals. Albeit, those meals were for four people, whereas Mitsuri’s was for two (unless you count Kaburamaru, who they needed to feed once every ten days).
Mitsuri began boiling a large amount of rice, starting a fire under the stove as she began cracking open eggs and cutting vegetables. Soon, the smell and sound of cooking filled the kitchen, and she hummed a little song to herself as she worked.
She’s halfway done by the time she hears footsteps getting closer. It was a great first-try, Mitsuri noted, and perhaps with more practice she’ll get all of breakfast made before Obanai’s awake. Someday.
For now, she turns when he slides open the door, beaming happily. “Look, dear! I managed to wake up first! Breakfast will be ready soon, and since you don’t have to go to work until midday, how about we take a walk in the park?”
Obanai’s eyes crinkled, smiling her way as he took his seat at the table, watching her flitter around the kitchen. “Sounds good.”
Mitsuri smiled and blew him a kiss, which he caught even though his cheeks flushed at the childish display. She turned back to the dishes, making sure the fish was seasoned properly and piling the prepared rice into two bowls, one normal-sized and the other capable of feeding ten people.
Behind her, where she can’t see, sat Obanai. Kaburamaru continued to sleep in the arms of his robe, and likely won’t move until the sun is up and it’s warmer. He closes his eyes, face still a tad red, as he wonders if deceiving Mitsuri is the right thing to do.
After all, he knew she was awake as soon as she shifted away from him. He simply kept his eyes shut, listening to her try fruitlessly to get out of the room without stirring him (and failing) all so she can make breakfast.
He’s broken out of his thoughts when several plates and bowls are set down in front of him, along with a napkin, a cup of fresh tea, and a pair of chopsticks. Mitsuri seats herself to the side with her own extra-large sized portions of her meal, and she gives the brightest of smiles when she watches him take the first bite.
“Is it good?” she asks, and Obanai falls in love with her all over again.
“It’s good,” he says, and decides that a tiny bit of deception is okay, as long as it means Mitsuri gets to be this happy.