“Douma-san… are you dating Shinobu-san?”
He's in the middle of pouring a cup of tea. It's Douma's favorite, hibiscus tea. It's pretty expensive and a bit of a pain to have imported, but it was certainly worth it. Especially when he has guests over like Giyu. Whose deadpan tone was, a little refreshing actually!
He didn't even register the question fully, until it hit him like a freight train.
Douma's ever present smile falters for a split second ( what face should he wear for that? it was totally unexpected). But, he almost immediately recovers. He pretends it was some sort of shock.
"Aah, no. Shinobu and I are just friends--really good friends! I think going out hunting demons last time really helped strengthen our bond!"
He pauses, weighing his next words carefully. It went deeper than he was willing to go right now, but still-
"... I did promise Kanae to look out for her. So, I want to be around, you know?"