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This was absolutely ridiculous. It was madness that stood before Shinobu. That’s exactly what she thought as she took in the image of the men who stood before her. Uzui Tengen, the Sound Pillar, in his flashy garb, stood proudly as he presented Giyuu Tomioka, dressed in the same ridiculous style.
A bedazzled headband, glimmering armbands, rings upon multiple fingers, and, for some reason, it looked as though Tomioka’s poor uniform had its sleeves torn right off and the top buttons were loosened, exposing the stoic man’s chest. The poor man's listless demeanor made it clear to Shinobu that this was not his idea, not that Shinobu couldn’t figure that out on her own. What she couldn’t figure out was how this sight came to be. Her eye twitched as she smiled and finally broke the silence.
“What am I seeing here, Tengen?”
The tall man grinned. “My work in progress; the man is plenty handsome, but his attitude was unbearably underwhelming. I figured if the man were to have a change in wardrobe, it’d help make him feel more like a man”
She couldn’t disagree with the first part of Tengen’s answer; Giyuu was indeed handsome; in fact, she would venture out to say he was among the most handsome men in the corps that she had met. It was annoying that he naturally looked that way, but to have his natural look be adorned and displayed like it was right now was very distracting.
Shinobu turned to Tomioka and looked at him questioningly
“I asked if there was anything specifically he needed from me to accomplish the mission, and I got put in this outfit,” stated Giyuu as he gestured to his current outfit. Giyuu shifted slightly as he felt Shinobu's eyes inspect his current state of dress. As he moved, his uniform opened just that much more to reveal his well-developed chest muscles. Shinobu’s eyes dropped immediately towards the exposed skin, and she took a deep breath. Distracting indeed.
“He really needs to fix that poor attitude of his; he was a real catch with the ladies, but all that time he kept complaining, and being drab, mumbling something like Kocho would find this look ridiculous, so here we are”
“And I am inclined to agree with him, Tengen,” replied Shinobu as she stepped forward to Tomioka, who looked very tired from spending time with Tengen.
Pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing a corner of it against her tongue, she proceeded to wipe off the makeup that decorated Giyuu’s face.
“Tomioka-san is handsome enough as he is, but sadly, no amount of makeup or dressings will make a significant change to a man who is disliked by others”
“I’m not disliked,” Giyuu immediately retorted, but both parties ignored him.
“Oh my, it looks like this may take a bit of extra work to get off of you, Tomioka-san. Please come inside and let’s get this horrid mess off of you”
“Kocho! You’re ruining art! He looked fine like that!” shouted an appalled Tengen. He began to move forward, only to be stopped at a warning glance from the small woman who was radiating malicious intent if he made a step closer.
The point was made. Any closer and there likely would be a blade at his throat.
With that point made, Shinobu brushed her other hand up Giyuu’s front and grabbed him by the lapel.
“Come with me, Tomioka-san; I’m certain we have a proper uniform for you to use. Uzui, you can stay out here until we return.”
“You're really going to return him to that dull and unapproachable look of his? So many people actually found him approachable in his current look, and I thought you wanted him to be more approachable”
“I absolutely would like it if Tomioka-san would be more approachable, but like this I would say he's gaining attention from others in a less than desirable light, am I wrong?”
“No, many women approached me, and they kept staring at my chest and arms”
Answered Giyuu as he made to button himself up, noticing that Shinobu’s eyes were being drawn to his exposed chest, making him slightly embarrassed.
“There, you see, Tengen? Poor Tomioka-san does not need attention like that for his body, but rather him as a person,” stated Shinobu as she made another pull at Giyuu, motioning him to go inside the estate.
“And here I thought it might be because you don't want any competition on your claim”
Chortled Tengen.
The door was promptly slammed in Tengen’s face. He wasn’t expecting to be cut off from his fellow hashira in such a manner. But he also wasn’t expecting to hear what came next from the other side.
“Kocho, why’re you upset with me? Is it because I was attracting too much attention from strange women?”
“So, you know why I’m upset”
“It was for the mission though”
“Mission or not, I don’t approve of you showing off your features to strange women”
“But, you’re fine with me being like that here?”
“Tomioka-san, you must understand, there are some things I’d like you not to share with others”