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On that very day the world was supposed to celebrate its final victory. The light of the sun was finally able to burn the demon king's body into ashes yet what greeted them was the birth of a new demon king “Tanjiro has turned into a demon! Kill him before he murders someone!” That was the last thing Giyuu shouted before Tanjiro pierce through his heart.

He couldn’t move, even when his mind was screaming at him to fight. Giyuu's body still lay on the ground lifeless. As he lay there helpless while witnessing Tanjiro losing his humanity, Giyuu thinks back on all of his journey. How he had wasted his life mourning the people that wanted him to live, how he could become even stronger if he just focused on what he can do for this final battle. “It can’t end like this” Giyuu could only mumble one final word before finally descending into the darkness.

They have come so far and sacrificed so much yet all of their effort was never enough. Giyuu can never accept such a fate, even if he will be thrown at the deepest part of hell Giyuu would deny fate of its cruelty “then I hope this time fate will be kinder to you my child”.

Giyuu thought that he had finally lost his mind even in the afterlife, not only did he hear strange voices calling out to him but the pain he felt never truly left. Is this his punishment? Giyuu could only ask himself as a bright light managed to appear before him, forcing Giyuu to open his eyes.

The sight before him is one that Giyuu could never forget. Being carried away by a group of boys while blood dripped out of his wound and the very familiar sight of Mount Fujikasane. “Thank god your awake, we thought you died back then” one of the boys stated while carefully place Giyuu down “stay alerted, even thought Sabito have killed most of the demon here doesn’t mean more won’t appear” that single statement was enough to confirm Giyuu suspicion “Sabito, where did he go?” Giyuu asks sternly as he grip one of the boys arms tightly “ouch! Calm down man, he told us to go to a safer place while he chased down that big demon. With his skill the demon will prob-” before the boy could finish talking Giyuu rushed deep inside the forest leaving the group in a state of panic.

The same kind of injury, the same group of boys, and a very familiar scenery right in front of his very eyes. Giyuu did not care if this was a dream or a hallucination that Muzan had prepared for him, his body moved naturally to the same place that he last saw him. Deep inside the forest he saw Sabito blade break the moment it came in contact with the hand demon body.

In that very moment Giyuu forces his body to move faster than ever, not caring about the current injury he had. As the demon was about to crush Sabito its hands were met by Giyuu sword “Giyuu? But how?” being able to hear Sabito voice again Giyuu could feel tears streaming down his face but before that he tighten his grip on his sword before delivering one last strike “water breathing, first form: water surface slash” the demon didn’t even realize what the boy had done until his head had already fallen from his body.

Witnessing such a clean cut from his friend has left Sabito bewildered at Giyuu's sudden performance “wait are you alright? I told the others to carry you to safety” Sabito asks, worried expression surrounding the boy's face as he carefully checks on Giyuu Injury. Sabito is alive and breathing, feeling the warmth in his hand Giyuu couldn’t help but embrace him tightly “woah, are you that worried about me?” Sabito asks, trying to tease him “you almost died!” Giyuu scolded his friend “can’t argue about that. You really saved me back there, thank you Giyuu” Sabito stated, even with his normal expression the trembling in his hand didn’t stop. Sabito is just as terrified as the others when faced with death, Giyuu couldn’t even imagine what Sabito must have felt when he wasn’t there to save him.

By the time both Giyuu and Sabito have come across a wisteria flower the sun has already risen to the sky, indicating that the both of them have successfully passed the final selection. In the end everyone that partake in the selection managed to survive, Sabito was swarmed by people thanking him for saving their life. “I would already roam the afterlife if you didn’t come to my rescue, I owe you my life” the boy said in tears. Even the Ubayashiki family was shocked at Sabito's performance, without knowing it Sabito had marked a big achievement in the demon slayer corps.

Giyuu thought that when he opened his eyes this time the dream would be over yet what greeted him was the scent of a warm breakfast and Sabito and Urokodaki preparing breakfast together. “You're finally awake, you passed out when we were walking back home. Thankfully I'm not injured so I carried you all the way back” Sabito casually said while checking on Giyuu injury “so it wasn’t a dream?” Giyuu said in disbelief of the sight in front of him “it feels like one doesn't it? I can’t believe it myself either. I have to ask teacher to punch me hard this morning to make sure” Sabito stated while showing off the bruised on his face “that is enough playing around Sabito, the both of you should eat fast before our guest arrive soon” Urokodaki stated as the smell of delicious aroma filled the entire house.

Now that it has been confirmed that Giyuu manages to turn back time doesn’t know if he should feel relief or terrified of the things he has changed in this timeline. The Sabito in his timeline never gets to live past the final selection, that itself is already a major change for the future.

In the final battle the most fatal weakness they have is the lack of man power to fight Muzan until the sun rises. By the time all of the upper moon was defeated most of them are either dead or critically injured, even Giyuu can’t deny that if it weren’t for Akaza willing defeat he wouldn’t have made it till the end.

Focusing on getting more slayers to help in the final battle against Muzan should be Giyuu's current focus. Kanae, Renggoku, Tengen, Shinobu, and Muichiro all of them are exceptional slayers that have the potential to change the future. It sounds like a solid plan yet is Giyuu strength even enough to keep them alive? Sabito himself was easy because the hand demon was just a common demon that happens to engulf many beginner slayers but all five hashira were injured and defeated by an upper moon. Will he himself really be enough?

As he was deep in thought Sabito managed to pull him back to reality with a single flick of his finger “what are you day dreaming about?” Sabito asked curiously “I’m just really nervous of what’s going to happen next” Giyuu stated, to say that he was nervous is an understatement. Giyuu is terrified of what will happen next. The consequences of all of the changes that he will make, will it be worth it in the end? Is all that Giyuu could think of “you did so well though, you saved me from the hand demon remember?” Sabito said cheerfully “I think i got lucky if anything” Giyuu lied “then how about one last spar? We’re bound to get our first mission soon so why not practice our breathing technique?” Sabito's offer, seeing Sabito smile in person was enough to drive all Giyuu worries away. Even if it's just for a second he would like to be selfish as he took Sabito's hand and held him as tightly as he could.

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The light of the moon manages to illuminate the calm night. In a small remote village where nothing but the wind can be heard through the dead of night, Giyuu managed to track down a demon easily.

Its footstep was light not even able to leave a single trace in the fragile snow, that is how it was able to consume many innocent lives undetected. Calm as a breeze yet sharp as a storm it leaps from building to building, frantically trying to avoid the demon slayer sword. An unfortunate fate for a demon, as Giyuu have no plan to let it get away “water breathing, tenth form: constant flux” in second Giyuu step rapidly increase as he continue to get closer and close to the demon as his sword came in contact with the demon body it stat to use its blood demon art.

The wind around them started to shift rapidly forcing Giyuu to back away “every last one of you has no rights to hunt me down!” The wind surrounding them started to rapidly increase its speed the louder the demon shouted. Soon the rooftop of the surrounding houses have started to crumble “if i’m dying then so does everyone else in this village” the demon smiles widely as the scream of villagers begging for help can be heard through the strom “you talk too much. Water breathing, eleventh form: dead calm” for a second everything seems so calm no sound can pierce through Giyuu focus as he deflect every attack that the demon throws at him.

As the demon starts to realize the real power of the slayer it frantically throws one big attack before attempting to run away, yet before it can even step foot outside of the village it can feel a sharp pain all over its body “trying to run after risking many innocent lives? Pathetic” the woman's words left the demon confused. It wasn't until he felt immense pain that he finally realized what she had done “is the pain starting to get to you? I guess that means my poison is a success” Shinobu stated as the demon fell to his death surrounded by a pool of its own blood.

By the time the storm has come to a stop the kakushi manage to retrieve the demon’s body before the villagers notice it. Giyuu and Shinobu manage to calm down the panicked villagers before departing to the Ubayashiki resident to report on their discovery. “The wisteria base poison was more lethal than I thought, as much as I hate saying it you 're right mr. Tomioka this poison can be more useful than we thought” Shinobu stated while tinkering with her sword “the credit is all yours since you were the only one with the knowledge to perfected the poison” Giyuu explain “I do think that we need to test the poison on stronger demons in order to see the full potential of the poison” Shinobu said sternly as she carefully observing the poison on her sword “but none the less this is a big progress on our little experiment, thank you for allowing me to conduct my experiment on your mission mr. Tomioka” witnessing Shinobu smiling sincerely makes Giyuu feel at ease, compared to the Shinobu in his past timeline she is much calmer and in a way happier.

It’s clear that Kanae's death is a big reason for her sudden shift in personality yet on the other hand it was also the reason why Shinobu skills have improved drastically in such a short amount of time. 

Giyuu knows that Shinobu is more than capable even when she is not a hashira but her physical strength is something that she has always been insecure of, and so Giyuu decided to give her idea in order improve on her combat strength “why aren’t we using wisteria poison to fight demon?” Giyuu asks while Shinobu is treating his wound “because it only works on weaker demons and we can’t predict how strong a demon can be before we went on a mission” Shinobu explains “but it’s only been tested once right? Doesn’t that mean it still has the potential to be more lethal?” hearing his question Shinobu can’t help but stare at Giyuu confusedly “your awfully talkative today mr. Tomioka” not wanting to be suspicious Giyuu has to come up with an excuse for his sudden question “Sabito is usually the one doing the talking but he’s been gone for weeks now” hearing his reasoning Shinobu instantly understand “missed you boyfriend already? I’m sure he will return safely soon”. 

At first Giyuu thought his plan had failed and immediately tried to find a reason for Shinobu to perfect the wisteria poison, yet as he was about to embark on another mission she suddenly came and approached him “allow me to accompany you on this mission mr. Tomioka”.

The moment they arrive to the Ubayashiki resident Sabito and Kanae were seen talking in front of the mansion gate “oh I didn’t expect the master to send you both on a mission” Kanae said as she greets the both of them “it was actually my request to accompany Mr. Tomioka on his mission, I was conducting an experiment with the wisteria poison” Shinobu explained “wisteria poison? I thought that only effected weaker demon” Sabito said as he help Giyuu out of the carriage “I did some research and found a way to make it more lethal than it should be, although it still need further testing I wanted to inform the master about my discovery before going further with the experiment” Shinobu explain, Kanae seems delighted to witness her sister determination on her research and decided to accompany her to report to the master while Sabito and Giyuu parted ways with them.

With the development of a more lethal wisteria poison on the way Giyuu felt more confident with his plan, and even Sabito started to notice his personality change. “You're smiling more recently, I’m glad” Sabito reached out and caressed the other man's cheeks “am I? I feel like nothing really change” Giyuu said calmly as he accepted Sabito affection “you said that yet when we first met your face will be red when I even attempt to hold your hand” Sabito teases him “that was because you said something embarrassing to me!” Giyuu defended himself “and what I’m doing now is less embarrassing?” Realizing what Sabito has done Giyuu can’t do anything but rush inside the water estate to hide his shame “wait Giyuu! I take it back, it wasn't embarrassing!” Sabito can only chase after Giyuu hoping that he will accept his affection back.

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Frantic footsteps echo through the small village. It's loud enough to cause a commotion amongst the residents yet the swift cut from Giyuu sword was quick enough for him to kill the demon without being detected, it took the kakushi help in order to distract the village resident from witnessing the demon presence.

Giyuu was supposed to investigate a demon sighting in the mountain side but he had requested Sabito to take on that mission instead as he was dealing with multiple cases in a remote village. Sabito was confused at first but decided to respect Giyuu's decision and accepted the mission. Of course the real reason for his request was one that he simply cannot speak so willingly.

It was morning by the time his crow had delivered the news, Giyuu was investigating the surrounding area when his crow announced “Kanae Kochou have fallen against upper moon two”. At the time Giyuu didn’t know what to feel, in this line of work death is always lingering around them that he has become numb to grief but this time Giyuu is determined.

While he has never seen the upper rank two power in person, Giyuu did manage to witness Shinobu rage in person. The dedication and time she put in  order to create the perfect poison is enough for him to imagine the demon's strength, Giyuu could only hope that he manages to hold off the demon until the sun rises.

Before he departed on his mission Giyuu make sure to visit the butterfly mansion to check on Shinobu research she seems to be busy at the time so he didn’t manage to talk to her, although the slayer that are currently training there mention Kanae have been investigating the nearby village for a while now and have been coming back with no successful result. Giyuu can’t be sure but he definitely knows that her death was supposed to happen and so he quickly prepares himself by taking on minor missions in the same area.

That night under the moonlight glow Giyuu grew anxious each second, he decided to stay at an inn at a nearby village to prepare for his mission. Kanzaburo is sleeping soundly as it was delivering a mission report for a week straight and was visibly disappointed when Giyuu decided to stay longer.

The moment Giyuu couldn’t hear anything but the night breeze was his cue to go on patrol. From one village to another Giyuu walked around to survey the night and for a while he couldn’t find anything. “Did I get the day wrong? I was so sure it’s going to happen tonight” Giyuu wondered as he continued to observe his surroundings.

Just as he was about to investigate a different area Giyuu could feel a sudden rush of cold breeze through his neck, he reached out his hand to discover a single drop of snowflake. Dread starts to fill Giyuu's brain as he rushes to the source of the cold, each step he takes increasing his heartbeat.

On his way Giyuu could spot a kasugai crow frantically flying away from the area before he spotted Giyuu “don’t stop! Go to the butterfly mansion and call for back up!” That was all the crow could hear before continuing its mission. “Please stay alive for your sister's sake” Giyuu nervously mumbled.

All that Kanae could feel right now is the never ending pain from the upper moon blood attack, he wasn’t even using his full power and Kanae had already tremble intensely from his blood demon art. “Are you alright? I told you to just give up didn’t I? Now your beautiful butterfly is covered in blood” his words are meant to comfort yet his gaze and expression is so emotionless that Kanae can only feel anger.

Kanae gathers all her remaining strength and forces herself to stand up, she can’t give up now. She made a promise to Shinobu that she would protect her and she can’t let such a horrible person break her promise to her beloved sister. “you shouldn’t move too much, you're only going to open up more wounds. You’ve already lost so much blood. Is this fight really worth it?” Kanae can only look at Douma with disgust “any fight that will give me a chance to end an abomination like you will always be worth it” Kanae gript her sword tightly before launching another attack.

Each strike of Kanae sword was managed to be parried by Douma fan yet the flower hashira was not one to be easily discouraged. Taking advantage of Douma carelessness Kanae uses the time to increase the speed of her attack gathering enough momentum to deliver a heavy attack “flower breathing, fifth form: peonies of futility!” Douma didn’t expect the girl to still have enough strength to overwhelm him as a result Kanae managed to cut  through both of his arms.

Still at awe at Kanae skill Douma didn’t hesitate to regenerate his arm to give her a standing ovation “beautiful even after experiencing such excruciating pain you still manage to injure me! You truly deserved the title of hashira” Douma said, trying to comfort the girl once more. Kanae can only stare in shock, years of training and mastering her breathing technique only for the demon to be healed in an instant “is this really the power of an upper moon?”.

Noticing her distressed the demon tried to comfort her with his encouraging words “don’t be so sad. You work so hard to gain an advantage over me, I'll make sure to grant you a painless death as a reward” Kanae glare grew sharper as the upper moon took pity upon her.

If her strength alone is not enough to defeat the upper moon then the only other way is to trap him in the sunlight. Kanae stares at her body full of wounds combined with the immense pain that she has suffered. Only one result came to mind and it’s a result that Kanae dreaded to see through.

The flower hashira has been resting for a while that has led Douma to believe that she has officially surrendered “are you tired? I’m sorry you have to go through so much just to kill me. Everything will be alright now you can rest” hearing the demon word Kanae frantically force herself to fight as Douma launches multiple attacks with his fan “oh you're still breathing? Thank goodness I thought I would need to look for another company” Douma attack was much more powerful this time, he even started using his blood demon art to launch an ice storm towards the girl.

As Douma prepared his final attack he sensed another person rapidly making their way to their area “water breathing, third form: flowing dance” a swift strike of the slayer sword managed to stop Douma attack to observe the unexpected guest.

Even Kanae was surprised at Giyuu's sudden appearance, her kasugai crow was just deployed not that long ago and Giyuu had already arrived. “How is your injury miss Kochou?” Giyuu asks while still observing the upper moon closely “he manages to pierce through my lung and as a result i’ve been losing blood since the past few hours” Kanae explains resulting in Douma sudden excitement “I pierce through your lung? Sorry it must have been painful, but that really surprised me since I am not even trying” hearing Douma excitement Giyuu grip his sword tightly in advance “thank you for your hard work miss Kochou, I will take it from here” Giyuu words shocked both the hashira and the upper moon.

While Douma is staring in disbelief, Kanae can only stare at Giyyu in horror “mr. Tomioka he is an upper moon, one of which that can’t be defeated by beheading them” Kanae tried to explain calmly “I am aware miss Kochou but right now our only other option is to wait for reinforcement and I don’t think he is kind enough to let us wait” Kanae didn’t know if she should be terrified of Giyuu’s plan or how calm he is while facing an upper moon “how noble of you. Letting a lady rest while you fight for her life with your own, I'll make sure to grant you an end of the highest caliber!” a snow storm started to pour as Shinobu and Sabito made their way to Giyuu’s location.

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That night despite it being a warmer season the air was colder than what they are used to. Icicle forms in the sky as it was aimed at Giyuu only for him to deflect every single one of Douma attacks. Kanae's injury was getting lethal by the second, Giyuu told her to get as far away from the battle field as she can before Douma uses his blood demon arts.

Douma, not willing to let the hashira escape, launches multiple attacks in order to hinder her escape, yet every time he thinks she is gonna die Giyuu manages to repel all of his attacks. The slayer was faster than Kanae, he moves flawlessly through the battle field. Like a flow of water he maneuvers through the fight with ease much to Douma's surprise.

As the frozen lotus flower started to surround Giyuu, standing his ground and steadying his breathing “water breathing, sixth form: whirlpool” in second every lotus flower surrounding him was shredded to pieces.

Before Giyuu could land on the ground Douma summoned an ice spike to surround a large area below him, forcing Giyuu to strike the ground “water breathing, eight form: waterfall basin” the sharp spike was instantly shattered the moment Giyuu sword touched the ground.

“You're a really strong slayer! You must have worked really hard to be able to perform such a beautiful attack” Douma stated happily as he rushed towards Giyuu side and swung his fan closer to him, at this point Douma's target had shifted allowing Kanae to run away safely while Giyuu distracted the upper moon.

Compared to Akaza Douma attack is slower yet much more lethal than the upper three, each icicle that manages to pierce his skin hurts so much that Giyuu body is starting to become numb, it doesn’t hurt as much as Akaza punches yet the pain linger long enough to drain his energy. But Giyuu can’t afford to slow down the sunrise is just around the corner and it won’t be long until reinforcements arrive “water breathing, seventh form: drop ripple thrust” Giyuu pierces through every attack Douma throws at him as they dash around the battlefield.

The sound of fighting could be heard a mile away as both Shinobu and Sabito can be seen rushing to the battle field to witness thousands of ice shards scatter around the village. “What in the world is going on? It's not even winter and snowflakes are scattered around the village” Shinobu said as he observed her surroundings nervously “it must be a blood demon art. We should focus on assisting Giyuu and miss Kochou as soon as we can” as Sabito said that a familiar figure can be seen crawling in the distance.

Shinobu did not think before approaching the heavily wounded Kanae. The moment Kanae caught sight of her sister she finally allowed herself a moment of rest as she fell into her warm embrace. “Sister! What have they done to you?” Shinobu can’t control her emotion the moment she lays eyes on her sister. Anger, sorrow, and fear filled her entire mind as she frantically treated her sister's wound.

Sabito took off his haori to help warm Kanae up as the temperature started to drop “he approach me so casually, I didn’t even realize he had a weapon before he managed to pierce through my body” Kanae said, her voice shaking uncontrollably as she recount her entire encounter tonight.

As the storm started to pick up, both of them managed to get Kanae into a safer location before the Kakushi arrived with a large amount of medical supplies. Sabito was about to rush to find Giyuu but suddenly a large block of ice can be seen rushing towards their side, before Sabito could even take out his sword Giyuu suddenly rush in front of him “water breathing, tenth form: constant flux” and with a single swing of his sword the ice shatter into pieces.

Witnessing his heroic act Douma gave Giyuu his last standing ovulation “beautiful performance, I have a lot of fun tonight. Tomioka right? I’m looking forward to our next dance” as he said that the tiny spark of sunlight can be seen in the distance, not wanting to waste this chance Giyuu gathered all his remaining energy for a final strike.

As he closed his eyes Giyuu concentrated on his breathing and focus his gaze at Douma “water breathing, eleventh form: dead calm” for a split second Giyu manage to cut through Douma head yet the second he regenerates his head Giyuu heart started to drop “you can’t get enough of me, I guess you should be grateful that I left you a parting gift” hearing that sentence Giyuu can already imagine what the demon have done.

Sabito immediately rushes to Giyuu side the moment Douma ran away, the kakushi follow soon after with medical supply to treat his injury. Giyuu's outfit looks terrible as his haori was torn into pieces and blood splattering all over his uniform but what scared Sabito the most is how Giyuu caught up a flow of blood before falling to the ground, causing Sabito to go into a state of panic. “Giyuu! Stay awake for me! Don’t you dare leave me behind! Giyuu!” Despite Giyuu's desire to slay away the pain was overwhelming his body. He wanted to reach into Sabito's hand one last time yet the darkness got to him first and he slowly fell into a deep slumber.

That day he dreamt of his sister, she was holding his hand as they walked around the city. Her smile is just as beautiful as he remembers. Tsutako held his hand tightly as they visited many of their favorite places. The large rice field near our house, the candy shop on the edge of the street, and our favorite kiosk serving Giyuu favorite salmon daikon.

For a second everything was calm and Giyuu could breathe peacefully as his sister played with his hair. “Do you still feel pain Giyuu?” Tsutako asks with a worried expression “I don’t know, this is a dream afterall” Giyuu word manages to surprise Tsutako yet her worried expression turns into a cheerful one “you realize. Guess I didn’t do a good job at hiding it” her smile was gentle yet her eyes are still filled with worry as if she is about to cry at any second.

Giyuu reached out to her sister's hand, the warmth that usually filled her was absent yet he didn’t mind he still held on to her as he lay in the rice field watching the sun set in the distance. “I’m sorry you have to go through so much” Tsutako said as tears streamed down her face “I was supposed to protect you and yet all you went through since my death is pain and suffering” her hand started to tremble.

That night when the demon attacked their home Tsutako stayed to make sure Giyuu could escape. She looks so calm over the terrified situation, her expression shows no fear yet now as he grew up Giyuu couldn’t imagine how scared she must have felt at the moment.

Ever since that night all Giyuu wanted to do was fall into his sister's embrace even if it was just in a dream. In that dream he decided to be vulnerable and hug Tsutako as tightly as he can, surprising her in the process. “I don’t care anymore, now that you're here can I hug you as much as I can? I don't want to regret anything anymore” that single sentence was enough for her to wrap her hand around him as they both cried tears of joy upon reuniting with each other.

In the end Giyuu didn’t regret a single thing, even in this beautiful dream he bid farewell to the person he cherished the most. When he woke up Giyuu was covered by bandages, his whole body felt sore as he took a step out of the bed.

Upon further inspection it seems like he was in the butterfly mansion, it makes sense since the last time he was awake Douma had dealt lethal damage to his whole body. “I wasn’t able to use my mark” Giyuu mumbled. The air around the battle field was so cold that he wasn’t able to activate his mark. This reason alone is a big factor that led to Shinobu's death. 

A blood demon art that can prevent a slayer from releasing their full potential and he was just an upper moon two, Giyuu can’t imagine what the others went through when they fight the first upper moon.

A huge gust of wind can be felt rushing into Giyuu room the moment he opens the door. The morning sight of the butterfly mansion has always been a calming viewing place, Giyuu decided to sit down at the estate porch to think about his next plan.

The sudden sound of a broken glass can be heard through the corridor. When Giyuu turned to look at what happened and was shocked to see that Kanao could be seen visibly shocked at the mere sight of Giyuu presence “are you alright? Let me help you clean it up” before Giyuu could even come close to the girl, she was already yelling as loud as she can “miss Kanae!”. 

Her voice was loud enough to wake up the entire estate, Giyuu is already dreading the lecture Shinobu is going to give her. After a while Giyuu suddenly realized that the girl was calling out to Kanae instead of Shinobu yet when it comes to treating patients it was usually Shinobu that handled most of them.

As Giyuu was in the middle of his thoughts a familiar person managed to rush to his side in a panic, the moment their eyes met Kanae couldn’t hold back the tears in her eyes. “Thank goodness, welcome back Mr. Tomioka” that day he was greeted with a warm embrace.

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The sun was shining brightly on that very day. Kagaya was thankful for this day seems to be a peaceful one. Since the last upper moon sighting they have gained no luck in tracking down Muzan location, the corps have suffered major losses since that day. With Giyuu showing no sign of recovering and Kanae heavy injury forcing her to step down as hashira.

Each day they can only make small progress as they patiently await for a single clue of the twelve kizuki whereabouts. “The entertainment district has been calmer in terms of demon attack, there will be an occasional disappearance but nothing my family couldn’t handle” Tengen reports “I’ve investigated a rumor of a mysterious clinic in Asakusa but so far nothing has come to light” Muichiro explained.

Everyone reports are about the same but the main reason why they are here is because of Sabito finding “recently there have been many reports of a well dressed individual roaming the countryside whenever a murder occurs. The first few days I was searching nothing seems to happen but on the fifth day a massacre happen” the victim have always been family living far from the city, their body was mutilated and many blood was scattered across the crime scene “what’s more strange is that when I first arrive people was talking about that well dress individual yet when I patrol the area I have never encountered anyone that fit their description” Sabito explain, his expression grew stern with each detail he revealed.

Shinobu then took out a map marking all of the massacre location they encounter so far “all of the victims are living far from each other, even with the kakushi help alone it took me a whole month to be able to reach every resident where the crime took place in” Shinobu then breath a heavy sigh at her empty finding “it’s either a blood demon art or Muzan order his minion to take us in a wild goose chase” Sanemi stated “isn’t this is a bit unusual for him to do though?” Mitsuri ask, trying to make sense of the situation “I have to agree with miss Kanroji that man usually do things for a purposed, weather its to decrease our man power or create an opening to attack” Obanai said calmly “and yet even after sending many of our lower rank slayer to investigate, all of them have come back safely” Shinobu stated.

In the end their meeting came to a halt as Kagaya assigned Sabito and Shinobu to investigate the incident a little longer, all they can do is wait and prepare for the worst to come. As the mission ended many of their kasugai crow came to give them new information for their latest mission “well you guys certainly wait for right time” Tengen said sarcastically “it can’t be help, demon never stop at anything” Rengoku stated cheerfully as he prepared to depart on his mission.

Kagaya himself was about to head back yet the sight of a crow flying frantically to his estate caught his attention “Giyuu Tomioka is awake! Shinobu Kochou is needed in the butterfly mansion!” That single sentence was enough to stop everyone at their track. As the others stare in disbelief, Sabito is already rushing towards the butterfly mansion “wait Sabito!” Shinobu soon chased after him in a panic.

All of the hashira were stunned at the announcement. The man that faces off against an upper moon that they all thought will never survive is awake “three years” Kagaya mumble, all of the hashira then turn to look at their master shedding his tears “after three years he finally comes home”.

Sabito was told to move on, that accepting his death is what Giyuu would have wanted. He spent countless nights sitting by his bed side holding his hand praying for a miracle. He prayed that he could feel his warm embrace even for the last time.

The moment Sabito opens the door of Giyuu room he immediately falls to his knees at the mere sight of Giyuu waking up and smiling once more. “Your alive” Sabito voice cracks the moment Giyuu wipes away his tears “I’m sorry for making you wait” hearing the gentle sound of Giyuu voice was enough for Sabito to kiss him.

Shinobu was covering Kanao's eyes as she noticed the group of hashira staring intently at the couples reunion “it seems like their love is more distracting than we thought” Kanae chuckled at the sight of her colleague curiously peaking inside of the room “I’ll make sure to close the curtain whenever they are together” Shinobu sigh in defeat.

The sight of so many familiar faces gathering to celebrate Giyuu awakening was overwhelming at first, not that long ago they died by Muzan hands yet now they are all gathered together to welcome him home.

Mitsuri was the first to greet him the moment they entered the room “it’s a pleasure to meet you mr. Tomioka. I’ve heard of your achievement ever since I joined the corps. I hope we can work together to defeat Muzan” her smile is just how Giyuu remembers “achievement? I think you got the wrong person” Giyuu said, confused of Mitsuri statement “she meant your achievement in facing an upper moon” Shinobu explain while checking on Giyuu wound “I wouldn’t call getting into a coma after fighting an upper demon an achievement” Giyuu stated. After hearing Mitsuri's perception of him now Giyuu is getting worried of what kind of rumor people made out of his recent act.

After Shinobu was done treating his wound Giyuu thought that all of them would depart for their mission but to his surprise Kagaya decided to visit him personally. Giyuu was taken back by the sudden visit yet he had expected this, he was the first one to visit Giyuu after his final selection even after telling the master multiple times that he would rather be alone the master will always find a way to accompany him.

Gyomei and Sanemi help Kagaya walk as Shinobu sets a chair for him right next to Giyuu bed “how are you feeling Giyuu?” The master's voice is always gentle when he speaks as if he knows all of the weight Giyuu has on his shoulder. “I am feeling better master, it’s nice to finally be awake” Giyuu said with a smile as he held Sabito's hand for support.

As they talk, Kanae closes all the curtains and locks the door to make sure that no one is able to disturb their discussion. “I would like for you to tell us your experience on fighting the upper moon, Kanae have already told us her side of the incident but she stated that the upper two only use a fraction of his blood demon art when he is fighting her” it make sense fo the master to ask him straight away, Kanae was gravely injured even when Douma did not use his blood demon art that fact alone is already enough to make them worry.

Giyuu retells the incident of that very night, how Douma manages to make his surroundings as cold as possible to make his body numb and how his blood demon art is related to ice. “But I have a feeling that the ice he created is not just any normal ice. Each time I breath I could feel a sharp pain stinging my whole body, slowing my movement as a result” Giyuu explain calmly “not only is his blood demon art is powerful but he can also poison our body overtime” after hearing Giyuu explanation Shinobu can be seen gripping her palm tightly “even after experiencing such pain your still focus on protecting miss Kochou, I respect your principle mr. Tomioka” Rengoku said while patting Giyuu shoulder “Kanae said that he didn’t even bother to use his blood demon art on her yet her injury was more severe than yours” Sanemi stated “that is because I only came right as the sun was about to rise, if I fought him for longer I think my fate would have been the same as miss Kochou” Giyuu explained.

Kagaya was satisfied with the information Giyuu has given, now that they know one of the upper moon abilities he can already expect what kind of demon they are going to face in the future. Before he left Kagaya asked Giyuu to rest and that he will give him a mission once Shinobu deemed that he has fully recovered.

As the meeting came to a conclusion a problem arose “make sure to eat. don’t train too much for now wait for Shinobu to conclude that you're strong enough to lift a sword” Sabito said as held on to Giyuu tightly as the other hashira had to use all of their strength to pull him away from Giyuu. “Stop being a pain in the ass and get back to work!” Sanemi yelled out, it took Sanemi, Obanai, and Mitsuri hours to finally get Sabito to go on his mission “I’ll take you on a date when we come back!” Sabito shouted as he was carried away by Sanemi, leaving Giyuu and Shinobu to stare at him in disbelieve “that was the first time he showed so much emotion in years” Shinobu explain “I’m glad that your finally awake” hearing Shinobu statement Giyuu can’t imagine Sabito being emotionless, whenever were together he would always be the first one to smile.

Once everyone have left Shinobu ask to take a sample of Giyuu blood for further testing “if the upper moon ice manage to poison you we need to check if there are traces of it left on your blood, it won’t only prove useful for your recovery process but also to find a way to defeat him” Shinobu explain sternly. Her gaze now is more serious than when they first met. Giyuu understands why yet he still feels sad knowing what she is going through now that she is a hashira “aren’t you tired miss Kochou? I heard from your sister that you just got home after a long mission” Giyuu ask curiously “thank you for your concern Mr. Tomioka but I am fine. The twelve kizuki have been quiet for years now. It won't be long until they cause another trouble, until that happens I need to be stronger”.

That was the same answer that Shinobu gave him after her sister's death, in the end he couldn’t protect Kanae. Douma blood demon art is too powerful for him to fight alone, preventing a slayer from awakening their mark while also being able to poison their opponent easily. Giyuu understands why Shinobu works so hard to perfect her poison.

Kanae told him that after their battle with Douma it becomes harder for her to breathe properly that she can’t fight like she used to and since then Shinobu have been researching ways to cure her but was unsuccessful. Giyuu was lucky in a way, he managed to recover fully without any complication yet he still feels guilty for not protecting Kanae.

“I’m sorry” Giyuu voice was quiet yet Shinobu still manage to hear him clearly “you don’t need to apologize it is my job to take care of every slayer injury” Shinobu stated not looking away from her research “no I mean, I’m sorry for not being able to protect your sister” Shinobu turn to look at Giyuu the moment she hear his reasoning “I was too slow, if I had notice sooner your sister would still be able to recover fully. I’m sorry” for a while it was quiet, the only sound that Giyuu could hear was the wind.

Giyuu did not dare to look Shinobu in the eyes, whether it was fear or shame he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. It wasn’t until Shinobu reached out and tightly held his hand that he finally saw Shinobu genuinely smiling at him “Mr. Tomioka from now on, let's do our best” that sentence alone was enough to make Giyuu smile back at her for the very first time.

Chapter Text

The mountain is more dangerous at night, not only because of the demon but also because of the wild life and the absence of light in the area. Sabito often encounters many demons along the mountain path, some tried to run while some are a bit daring than the others.

Its body was harder than the normal demon making it harder for Sabito to slice its head off. “So…hungry!” Its voice echoed through the entire mountain as it continued to attack Sabito frantically “not even close” Sabito was much faster than the demon. As he jumps from one tree to the other the demon is getting visibly angry and starts knocking down every tree it comes in contact with.

As the demon continued to attack Sabito can confirm that it was just a weaker demon with abnormal strength, it must have gotten hungry since people rarely went through this side of the mountain.

Not wanting to waste time Sabito jumps down from the tree and concentrates on his breathing “water breathing, eight form: waterfall basin!” He plunged his sword into the demon separating the body from its head.

He expected the monster to scream and yelled yet what comes out next is an excruciating cry. “I don't want to die!” tears streaming down its eyes “he promised me more food! I just don't want to feel hungry anymore!” Sabito then thrust his sword into the demon head “then you should have thought twice before drinking his blood”.

In the end all that Sabito discovered was a weaker demon waiting for someone to devour. The mountain was basically inhabitable with no sign of life all over the area “good work, now go home” his crow said as they both made their way back to the water estate.

The journey back was less eventful as he expected. It took Sabito a week to get home, along the way he managed to help the lower rank slayer fight against a horde of demons before finally stepping foot in the water estate.

Even when his body is tired from not sleeping for days on end the first thing that Sabito wanted to do is to check up on Giyuu. He was on his way to their room when he heard a commotion coming from the training ground. There all of the beginner slayers simultaneously attack Giyuu at once while he swiftly avoids their attack “your attacking too carelessly” Giyuu said while striking their back.

Some managed to get close enough to strike but were met with Giyuu extreme reflexes “not good enough, again” he instructed. Most of them are already kneeling before him with no energy left in their body. “I’m so tired” one of them complained “I can’t even lift my sword” all of them soon fell to the ground as all of their energy was drained.

They expected Giyuu to let them rest but all they got is a strict instruction “get up, we are not done” all of the slayers stare at him in horror. Slowly one or two people attempted to fight him but was met with a disappointing result.

Sabito could see their hands trembling and some even on the brink of passing out. “Mr. Tomioka I can’t feel my legs anymore” one of the slayer stated “then you need to get up” Giyuu said coldly, all of them could only stare at him in disbelieve “demons will not wait for you to regain energy, once you stop moving your as good as dead. So get up and strike me as hard as you can” they were tired yet one by one they all slowly stood up and attacked Giyuu.

Giyuu managed to ask the kakushi to help carry all of the slayer to rest for the day, he was just about to head back to his room when he noticed Sabito observing him from the gate of the water estate. “That was one tough lesson” Sabito teased him. “It was necessary, you and I both know this very well” Giyuu said as he walked to Sabito's side.

The fox mask that he has worn during their final selection has been with Sabito's side throughout his journey. Giyuu did not understand why Sabito had chosen to wear it all the time but Giyuu did not like the fact that he could not see Sabito's face.

As Giyuu carefully removed Sabito mask he was greeted by the sight of his partner longing gazing at him “I’m back Giyuu” Sabito said while Giyuu reach out to kiss him “welcome back Sabito” In the end Sabito never got to sleep. He promised Giyuu that they would go out together when Sabito got back from his mission and he will not be waiting any longer. 

Giyuu was never someone that liked crowded places, Sabito noticed that he is much happier walking along the river side and bird watching from a far. “Kanzaburo and Isamu look happy” Giyuu stated as both of their kasugai crows fly carelessly “they are going to crash into a tree at this point” as Sabito said that Kanzaburo accidentally bumped into a small branch.

Even though it was just supposed to be a nature walk Sabito had already planned what to do, he had heard from many of his colleagues that there is a place near the river where flowers naturally grow and it is said to be the number one spot for couples to skip training. Of course Sabito immediately scold them for skipping their training but not before getting the exact location of the romantic spot, armed with this knowledge he sworn to make today the happiest day of Giyuu’s life “he is hopeless” Isamu stated “very hopeless” Kanzaburo agree.

The journey to the romantic spot was not actually easy to get, they would need to travel deep inside the forest with a high potential to encounter a demon and after a long walk they would need to climb a rather steep and slippery cliff and only when they caught sight of a waterfall is when their journey have finally came into a finished.

Along the way they encounter many scenic views where Giyuu would ask Sabito if they could stop and enjoy the view. While this would hinder Sabito plan he was not bothered by it since Giyuu happiness is more important to him “this takes me back” Giyuu said as Kanzaburo is resting on his lap “we used to go on a nature walk like this everyday since there is nothing much that we can do to relax” Sabito then recall many fond memory of both of their training days with Urokodaki “I receive a letter from teacher not long after I woke up, he scolded me for being careless and would hope that I will be more careful from now on” Giyuu chuckled as he remember how worried Urokodaki sound just from how he write the letter “he is right thought you need to be more careful” Sabito tease him “you of all people should be the last person to lecture me for that” Giyuu stated coldly.

Sabito is trying his best not to fall asleep as his sleep deprivation is starting to get to him. After hours of walking they finally manage to caught sight of the cliff that they need to climb, while Giyuu is not usually one to doubt his partner ability he can’t help but hesitate when Sabito reach out to help him climb the cliff “I won’t let you fall, promised” hearing such enthusiastic Giyuu decided to trust Sabito and accept his help.

It was a rather smaller cliff than what Sabito had expected and so he was able to help Giyuu climb easily. Everything seems to go smoothly much to Sabito delight yet when they are about to reach the top Sabito vision has started to blur, Giyuu manages to reach the top safely yet the moment Sabito pulls himself up his hand manages to slip and lose his foothold.

Realizing Sabito's mistake Giyuu frantically gripped his hand and tried to pull his partner up a cliff “Sabito wake up! Don’t fall asleep now!” Giyuu shouted loudly, Kanzaburo bit the neck of Sabito haori and tried to pull him up with all his strength yet that alone wasn’t enough.

Sabito did not even realize he had fallen asleep, for a second it was just darkness yet when he opened his eyes he felt a constant pain hitting the back of his head. “Wake up moron!” Isamu yelled out and he continued to hit his slayer head with his beak.

His heart drops the moment Sabito looks down to see that he is dangling off a cliff. Sabito immediately grabs onto the edge of the cliff and pulls himself into safety. “Are you alright? Did something hit your head? Should we go to the butterfly mansion? How many fingers do you see” Giyuu frantically ask while checking to see if Sabito got any injury “I’m fine really, sorry I was supposed to be the one to protect you” Sabito said not wanting to meet Giyuu’s gaze “what are you talking about you’ve been protecting me before we even become demon slayer” Giyuu said “did you forget? You saved me from the hand demon, remember?” as he reminded Giyuu of that incident, Sabito's smile started to disappear.

Thinking back Sabito has seen Giyuu risking his life many times. From the final selection to the upper moon attack, even witnessing Giyuu ended up in a critical condition. “When the upper moon attacked you I didn’t even notice. I was too scared, I remember how my hand trembled the moment I saw you getting close to him” Sabito gripped his hand as he recalled the sight he remembered on that very day “I’m such a coward aren’t I? A hashira trembling upon witnessing an upper moon power, how am I supposed to protect anyone?” Even as Sabito tried to put on a forced smile his eyes could never hide the tears he was holding back.

The feeling of being helpless is something that Giyuu knows very well, back then he wasn’t this strong, all he could do when Sabito died was cry. Years he spent training just to catch up to Sabito level only to feel more hollow each time he swung his sword. 

For a while none of them spoke, it's just them and the afternoon wind blowing through their hair. Sabito was just about to speak when suddenly he felt Giyuu embracing him tightly as he buried his face on Sabito's back “are you trying to comfort me?” Sabito ask, amused by his partner action “it’s a compensation hug, for all of those years we missed” upon hearing Giyuu explanation Sabito turn around and hug him back “back then you used to hug me like this, when I cried missing my sister comfort it was you who filled her spot” Sabito remembers, they were just a kid back then both mourning the death of their love one “I feel in love with you at that moment. You protected me at the lowest point of my life and that is just one of many times. so it’s alright you can be scared, you can cry all you want because you will always be enough for me” that day Sabito mask cracked for the first time as a stream of tears started pouring out as he hugged Giyuu as tightly as he could.

In the end they did not make it to the romantic spot like Sabito had wanted, he ended up sleeping on Giyuu’s lap as they waited for the kakushi to arrive and help them get back home. “A romantic spot? Mr. Tomioka that is just a route couples go through to avoid getting spotted by the hashira” the kakushi explain “oh I’m aware, I caught many of them while taking a walk with Kanzaburo” Giyuu stated calmly, confusing the kakushi as a result “then why didn’t you inform the water hashira about it?” Giyuu can’t help but smile while playing with Sabito hair “I don’t want to ruin his fun” even their crow knows about that fact before Sabito even suggests it to Giyuu “you did not tell him?” Kanzaburo asked “he won’t listen” Isamu stated.

Chapter Text

On a particular morning in the butterfly mansion, many of the hashira seem to be gathering in Shinobu’s office. A white snake lay on the patient bed comfortably as Giyuu reached out to pet him “your right miss Kanroji he is a gentleman” Giyuu stated “his name is Kaburamaru, he is mr. Iguro’s loyal companion” Mitsuri announced cheerfully “it's a pleasure to meet you mr. Kaburamaru” Giyuu greeted the little guy, Kaburamaru seemed to enjoy the man's presence because of that Obanai managed to lower his guard around him.

In his original timeline Obanai was not this kind to him. Giyuu did not blame him, at the time he was too focused on grief that not many people like to interact with him. He is happy that in this time Giyuu could get to know everyone personally “after everyone manages to come home safely from their mission Miss Kanae and I would host a tea party for everyone, Mr. Tomioka would you care to join us sometimes?” Mitsuri ask nervously “I would love to but that strange I never seen Sabito going to the love estate after a mission” Giyuu said as he tries to remember if he had missed Sabito sneaking off without Giyuu noticing “Sabito rarely interact with the other hashira outside of mission” Obanai stated.

Obanai started to explain that before Giyuu woke up Sabito is not very social. He was distant from others hiding his emotion behind the fox mask he always wears. Even when they were having a meeting together he always distanced himself from others and spent his free time training in his estate, Mitsuri tried to get him to open up to her but all she got was a cold response. “I know that Mr. Sabito is going through a lot at the time so many of us are understanding but when the news of your awaken was announced I was happy for him, for the first time we get to see Mr. Sabito smile” Mitsuri smiles widely as he remembers the look on Sabito's face as he stares at Giyuu longingly.

The three of them ended up chatting for a long time before Shinobu finally came back “it seems you all are having fun” Shinobu entered the office, bringing a large bottle of medicine. “Don’t tell me all of that is for me” Giyuu stare nervously at Shinobu “don’t worry you have recovered fully and have no need for medicine, this is for Kaburamaru” Shinobu explain scaring the snake in the process “that whole jug for a digestive problem?” Obanai asks, shocked at the amount Kaburamaru has to digest “Mr. Iguro he’s been bloated and vomiting for the entirety of your mission” Shinobu reminded the man “I’m sorry mr. Iguro. It’s my fault for feeding him my homemade honey” as three of them argue back and forth. Kaburamaru is trembling on Giyuu’s lap.

As they were leaving the butterfly mansion Kanzaburo can be seen flying towards Giyuu direction “go north! Demon sighting north! 3 slayers injured!” Kanzaburo yelled out. “Looks like the master have finally given you a proper mission” Obanai stated “please return safely Mr. Tomioka” Mitsuri smiled softly as Giyuu departed on his first mission.

Deep at the heart of the forest lay a graveyard of people that no one ever visited, its only grave keeper was a monstrous figure devouring every living being that caught its sight. Three slayers laid lifeless at the ground as their body was slowly torn apart “delicious, as expected from a slayer body” the demon stated as it grabbed one of the slayer legs and slowly tore it away from his body, earning a hysterical scream from the slayer. “Why won’t you kill me?” the slayer voices tremble as the overwhelming pain creeps through his body “because I want it to hurt you more” the demon smiled widely as it tore off all of his legs.

Following the sound of screaming Giyuu traversed through the snowy forest, as he ventured deeper inside the forest the scent of blood became stronger and stronger until he was greeted by a pool of blood oozing from a slayer body. They lay lifeless as every limb on their body was torn apart and scattered through the area. The demon was standing beside another slayer munching on his body part as he screamed in agony.

It was enjoying its meal so much that it didn’t notice a sword slicing through its neck “water breathing, third form: flowing dance” as its head fell to the ground Giyuu gripped his sword tightly, sensing that the demon is more powerful than any weaker demon he encountered. “How dare you interrupt my meal!” it lunges its body at Giyuu forcing him to back away and use a defensive stand “wretched filth! I will devour all of you!” A spike of bones crawl out of the demon body constantly attacking Giyuu every movement.

Not wanting to give the demon a chance to recover Giyuu decided to continue attacking “water breathing, seventh form: drop ripple thrust” as Giyuu rapidly thrust his sword the bone spike movement stop, creating an opening for Giyuu to attack “water breathing, tenth form: constant flux” in mere second Giyuu manage to cut the demon’s body into pieces, leaving only the head to remain “if only I devour the last one I would have had enough power to defe-” before it can even finished his sentence Giyuu slice through its head “you talk too much, hurry up and go to hell” he stated coldly not wanting to listen to its fantasy.

Before the kakushi arrived Giyu tried to treat the slayer's injury but unfortunately both of them are in critical condition, two were left heavily injured and one had already passed away. As Giyuu was treating one of them the slayer push him away “go to him” he stated sternly with trembling hand “I already lost a lot of blood, there is no saving me he needs you more” Giyuu held onto his hand tightly before answering “thank you for all that you’ve done, you can rest now” when the kakushi arrived both of the slayers were already dead, leaving a single comrade to live in their place.

It’s been a while since Giyuu was last sent on a mission, he missed the peaceful feeling of sitting on a carriage while he traveled from one location to another. The long journey gave Giyuu some time to think of his next plan, since all of the hashira he knew have already gained their rightful title it won’t be long until Giyuu is finally given the mission to meet Tanjiro.

On that day Giyuu arrived late to save the Kamado family causing Nezuko to turn into a demon, he had long debate on how he will handle that mission now with the knowledge he has. The fact that Nezuko is a demon that can conquer the sun means that the person that attacks their family is Muzan himself and even if Giyuu brings the whole corps to attack him directly they have no chance in winning.

Whether they like it or not the demon king power is not something they can underestimate, even after master Kagaya has made a very detailed plan and strategy for us to defeat him Muzan still manages to find a way to counter them. Tanjiro is the only person that can use sun breathing and Nezuko play a big role on many of their critical mission and the only reason Tengen manage to survive the fight against the upper six, as much as Giyuu hates it the best course of action is to let fate do its job, Giyuu can only hope that the Kamado family will not cursed him once he join them in the afterlife.

Giyuu woke up that morning by the fury of his kasugai crow, he was so deep in his sleep that Kanzaburo had to hit his head really hard leaving a mark as a result. “Giyuu…” Kanzaburo mumbled as he trembled in Giyuu’s arm “What’s wrong Kanzaburo? Did the master give us another mission?” Giyuu mumbled, still trying to wake himself up after a long night of non-stop mission. “If you keep sleeping like that demon will easily kill you in your sleep” Sanemi stated, Giyuu could only stare in shock at the sudden appearance of the wind hashira riding the same carriage as him.

Upon arriving at a small remote town Giyuu learns that there was a rumor going around about a demon living amongst the townspeople, Sanemi was sent to investigate the matter and that is where he met Giyuu sleeping soundly at the back of a merchant carriage. “That rumor sounds too good to be true” Giyuu stated while accompanying Sanemi on his mission “the description of the demon seems to be too accurate to ignore, a young malnourished man with pale grey skin and bloodshot eyes” Sanemi explain “if he is malnourished then it won’t be long until he finally devour someone” as they wait for the sun to set Giyuu decided to investigate while Sanemi prepare to fight.

The town is more peaceful despite all the rumors that are going around, many of them believe that the rumor was just a stunt parents made up to prevent their kids from playing too late at night while some that believe the rumor have simply avoided his gaze the moment Giyuu even glances their way.

Hours went by and Giyuu only managed to gain a growling stomach after hours of investigation. He was just about to meet with Sanemi when a delicious scent caught his attention, when he turned to look it was a family restaurant serving a variety of local delicacies “I’m sure Mr. Shinezugawa would understand” Giyuu stated as he entered the restaurant.

As Giyuu was browsing the menu he noticed that despite having many customers there is only one person running the store. An older gentleman maneuvers in and out of the kitchen while simultaneously cleaning the table top and conversing with his customer “Is your son getting any better?” The moment the customer asks Giyuu notice a slight discomfort expression appear on the owner's face “after his last treatment I can’t afford to pay for another one, so I’m currently looking for a cheaper alternative” the owner answers “are you sure you don’t need any help? Your wife just passed away not too long ago, it’s a miracle you can handle so much” despite the generous offer the owner rejected it immediately and continued to run the restaurant.

After gaining that information Giyuu starts to observe the owner's behavior, at first glance he seems to be a hard working man with the biggest smile on his face yet the longer Giyuu observes the more questions he has. 

Despite assuring his customer that he doesn’t need any help he is clearly struggling and suffering from the lack of workers, he watched as the owner continuously spilled many ingredients and condiments to the floor and walls and from the stain that is presence all over the kitchen that means he is constantly knocking over many appliances. Giyuu did not blame the man for being so clumsy as there are many bowls and plates scattered all over the sink and counter that there is barely any room to move, meaning that usually he had some help around the kitchen. 

With that much observation Giyuu can easily conclude that the owner is struggling with the lack of help yet what makes Giyuu even more suspicious is the clear frustration that he shows the moment he thinks no one is looking. At first Giyuu thought he was angry at himself yet after a moment tears started forming around his eyes before he wipes it off to continue cooking.

That night as he and Sanemi are patrolling the town Giyuu curiously asks him “what would you do if your loved one was turned into a demon?” unexpectedly the hashira did not flinch at his question, his answer came fast as if he already had a clear answer to the question. “I will kill them, as there is no worse fate than becoming a demon” Giyuu expected this answer as Sanemi never shows any empathy to his enemy but what he didn’t expect is for the hashira to ask him back “what about you? If Sabito became a demon would you kill him?” the silence Giyuu gave as Sanemi asked him that question was loud.

As the wind started to pick up a wretched scream could be heard from a nearby house. Both of them grip their blade as they immediately lunge at the demon but were stopped the moment a man shielded him “please stop!” Giyuu's suspicion was correct, the owner's ‘sick’ son was indeed the demon they are looking for “I beg of you! Please spare him!” the owner begged as the demon continued to bite into his arm.

Sanemi is visibly enraged by the owner's action, he grinds his teeth as he asks the owner “you're still sparing him even as he is slowly killing you?” the hashira asks no longer hiding his anger. “He didn’t mean to do it! He was hungry!” The owner tried to explain yet Sanemi is already aiming his blade at the demon, the owner uses all his strength to push his son away from danger yet was met by the pain of a Sanemi sword. 

Even after experiencing such excruciating pain the owner continues to embrace his son, protecting him with his whole body as a result. “You coward! You rob him of peace the moment you let him roam as a demon! Even as he is suffering now you force him to live only to fulfill your lonely wish!” Sanemi shouted “he is the only one I have left!” the owner cried out, as his blood dripped to the ground Giyuu used the moment to separate him from his son.

Giyuu's movement was so fast that even Sanemi did not realize what happened until he gazed at Giyuu's side, the owner tried to frantically chase after Giyuu but Sanemi managed to hold him down. “Tomioka, kill him now!” Sanemi shouted, even when Sanemi's strength was too much for the owner to handle he desperately tried to break out and call out to Giyuu to spare his son “I will do anything! Even if you have to kill me, I'll do anything! Please let him live!” not wanting to hear the man's reasoning, Sanemi picks up the owner and holds him by the collar. “I’m only going to say this once, as long as demons exist humanity will never know peace. How selfish can you be to not only let your son suffer but to put the entire world in danger” Sanemi's voice was stern and cold, stating facts that some refused to accept.

The man can only shed his tears while staring at the hashira with his hollow eyes “he was a kind child. Always helping around our restaurant, studies hard, and earns so much love from others. So why?” The owner's voice trembles the moment his eyes meet with the sight of his son shaking uncontrollably at Giyuu’s grip. “Why is he reduced to such a fate?” The owner then stops fighting as he closes his eyes, not wanting to witness his child end.

In the end Giyuu let go of his grip, as the demon dashes towards him, Giyuu steady his breathing and grip his sword tightly preparing to end the child’s suffering. “Water breathing, fifth form: blessed rain after the drought” Giyuu’s sword strikes fast, causing the demon to feel no pain in the process as its head falls to the ground. As Sanemi finally let the owner go, Giyuu tried his best to treat the man wound before the kakushi arrived “he did not feel any pain, I make sure of it” even after hearing the fact his tears did not stop, Giyuu could only bid him farewell as him and Sanemi made their way back home.

Before they depart Giyuu to witness the townspeople comforting the owner as the kakushi is treating his wound, it will take a while for him to get back to his feet, he might not even recover. It’s tragic but it’s the price they all have to pay and that price is something that Giyuu is willing to pay. “You ask me what I would do when Sabito turns into a demon right?” Giyuu said, reminding Sanemi of their conversation. “I will put my life on the line in order to turn him back into a human” Giyuu answered, his voice was stern and Sanemi could tell that Giyuu was very serious about his answer.

Arrogant is the first thing that Sanemi thought the moment he heard Giyuu answer yet he would be lying if he said he did not expect the answer. “How romantic” Sanemi stated in disgust cause Giyuu to chuckled at the hashira response “this was a valuable experience Mr. Shinezugawa, thank you for letting me assist you” Giyuu said while petting the sleepy Kanzaburo “just Shinezugawa is fine, your a strong fighter Tomioka we should practice together next time” Sanemi offer while sharing his snack with him “it would be an honor, i’ll make sure to bring Sabito along” hearing Giyuu word Sanemi could only laugh “sure bring your lover along that way you can finally see the difference in our power” Sanemi stated confidently, Giyuu could only imagine how Sabito would feel after hearing of his experience right now.

That morning in the water estate Sabito was training the lower rank slayer when Kanzaburo arrive with a letter for him, he notice the hand writing immediately Sabito then prepare himself for a heartfelt message Giyuu had sent him yet what he ended up getting was Giyuu informing him of his vacation with another hashira. “I hope this letter finds you well Sabito, the purpose of this message is to inform you that I will be staying in the city with Mr. Shinezugawa for a couple days before heading home. We just finished a mission together and he insisted on showing me around as a reward, I'll make sure to bring you some souvenirs. Please take care of yourself sincerely Giyuu” Kanzaburo could feel Sabito's anger as he continued to read the letter.

Noticing the water hashira trembling, one of the beginner slayers decided to approach him “is there something wrong with the letter water hashira?” he curiously asked yet what answered him was the tight grip of Sabito's hand on his shoulder. “In today's training we will be hunting down the wind hashira” the lower rank slayer could only scream in agony as Sabito led them outside of the water estate.

Chapter Text

Months have passed since Giyuu was awakened from his long slumber, since then Urokodaki has been receiving constant letters from both of his students. He was overjoyed at first but overtime Sabito has used the letter as an excuse to vent about Giyuu idiotic venture. It’s been years since they first departed on their first demon slaying mission, Urokodaki trusts his student well yet recently as the season starts to change he can’t help but feel like something big is going to happen.

Snow descended from the sky accompanied by the cold breeze of winter. Winter has always been many slayer's least favorite time of the year, not only for its unbearable temperature but also for making many paths extremely inaccessible. 

Many choose to spend their free time warming up before inevitably facing the wrath of the winter frost while others choose to embrace the cold hoping that once they set off on a mission their body would get used to the cold. Giyuu was just meditating in the training room when Kanzaburo started flying to his side to inform him of a mission. “Giyuu…demon spotted…mount Kumotori” even the kasugai crow is not spared from the extreme weather “i’ll be counting on your guidance then Kanzaburo” Giyuu then patted his crow head knowing full well of what is waiting for him in the mountain.

Even after Giyuu has decided to let fate do its job he still needs to hold himself back from rescuing Tanjiro’s family. The snow storm occurred as Giyuu followed Kanzaburo guide, each step he took felt heavier and heavier as if his mind it’s not prepared to face Tanjiro once more. Giyuu remembers the look on Tanjiro's face the moment he turned into a demon, the sting of pain he felt the moment the boy pierced his heart. Giyuu's body still trembled at the mere memory of that day yet he didn’t stop running.

After hours of traversing through the snowy landscape Giyuu finally caught sight of them, Nezuko pinning Tanjiro to the ground as the boy begged her to remember him. As he lunges at them with his sword Tanjiro manages to dodge him at the last second yet he loses sight of Nezuko in the process “you protected her” Giyuu said as he tightened his grip on Nezuko “she is my sister! I was just about to bring her to the city for treatment!” Tanjiro explains as he looks at Giyuu with his worried gaze.

In his previous timeline Giyuu was undoubtedly much harsher upon meeting with the young boy, at the time it was the best course of action yet now he is debating on how he should handle this situation. “She can’t be cured, once she gets exposed to a demon blood it’s already over” Giyuu stated coldly while drawing his blade to Nezuko neck “Nezuko is different! She still recognizes who I am! I’ll cure her no matter what so please…” Tanjiro then kneels in front of the man “I beg of you, please spare my sister's life” . His action is the same as before, still trembling at the sight of Giyuu and at the sight of her sister's life on the edge of death.

Giyuu then lowered his sword and called out to the boy “get up” his sudden command surprised Tanjiro as he hesitantly raised his head. “You said you wanted to cure her, then show me if you are capable” Giyuu stated as he aimed his sword at him. As the snow starts to surround them Tanjiro uses this moment to execute his plan.

The sound of footsteps rushing around Giyuu is clear as day, if Tanjiro is going to attack him just like he did in the past Giyuu would have no problem dodging every thing the boy throws at him yet something about this felt different. Just like Giyuu had predicted Tanjiro had thrown a rock at him, that simple attack was easily deflected yet what Giyuu didn’t expect is for Tanjiro to suddenly appear in front of him with a sharp wooden spear.

Despite his sudden appearance Giyuu managed to kick the boy in the stomach and hit the side of his neck causing Tanjiro to pass out. That was very different from the past, how did Tanjiro manage to get so fast? Is he also from the same timeline as his? Giyuu was so deep in thoughts that he almost forgot about the axe rapidly approaching him.

As Giyuu tried to dodge the attack his grip on Nezuko was loose causing the girl to kick him away, even after knowing what the girl would do Giyuu still couldn’t hold back his shock as Nezuko put himself in front of his brother to protect him from the slayer. Giyuu then lowers his sword as he approaches the siblings, Nezuko still growl at him the moment he got close to Tanjiro “it’s getting cold, he won’t survive with such thin clothing” Giyuu explain as he cover Tanjiro with his haori.

Recognizing the man's attempt Nezuko starts shrinking back to her normal size as she lowers her guard around the man “would you allow me to treat your wound miss Nezuko?” Giyuu asks while taking out his bandages, the girl hesitates at first distancing herself the moment Giyuu tries to approach her. “Your blood is contagious if anyone got exposed to it they will instantly turn into a demon, I do not wish for your brother to go through such hardship so please allow me to treat your wound” hearing the man explanation Nezuko then allow Giyuu to approach her as they wait for Tanjiro to wake up.

Hours went by before Tanjiro finally showed signs of being conscious, when he opened his eyes the sight of Giyuu braiding Nezuko hair was the last thing he thought of witnessing. As the boy slowly stand up Nezuko then rush to his side embracing him tightly once more “once your ready head to the foot of mount Sagiri and seek a person with the name Urokodaki, tell him that Tomioka Giyuu have send you” Giyuu then got up and prepare himself to depart “right now the sun light can’t reach your sister but once it start to clear up you must never let it touch her” as Giyuu was about to walk away Tanjiro suddenly shout out “thank you so much! I will not let you down!” That was all Giyuu had to hear before making his way back home.

Kanzaburo did not notice it but Giyuu was holding back so much of his emotion, days he spent traveling back home and the moment he finally got some time alone he could no longer hold back his tears. “Thank goodness, Tanjiro…I beg of you live on” his whole body trembles as he remembers what happened the day of Muzan’s death.

Giyuu still remembers how cold Tanjiro's hand felt when he held the boy's arm for the last time, even when Tanjiro became a demon Giyuu can’t imagine himself killing him afterall he was the one that reminded him of Sabito's will. “Aren't you going to pass on what Sabito has entrusted you?” That single reminder is the reason why Giyuu is fighting for a better future “you don’t have to worry Tanjiro, this time i’ll make sure to never forget it”.

That night the water estate was much quieter than usual, many of the beginner slayers were already sound asleep by the time Sabito arrived. As the hashira entered the estate he was greeted by the sight of Giyuu sitting alone in the kitchen counter “you seem deep in thoughts” Sabito greeted him “sorry it was just a very hard mission” Giyuu breath a heavy sigh as he contemplated if he should mention of what he had done. 

Silence filled the room as Sabito accompanied him through the calm night, Giyuu knew very well how Sabito felt about demons. Years ago when Sabito have not gain the title of hashira they handled a similar case and despite their family begging them to spare the demon and Sabito did not hesitate to kill their child “I see so the brother was protecting her even after she turned into a demon, it must be hard for him” Sabito said as he listened to Giyuu story “killing a family member is hard even when they are a demon, you don’t need to feel guilty Giyuu his sister will thank you for ending her suffering” Giyuu could only gripped his hand tightly when Sabito voice his opinion.

‘Nezuko is different’ Giyuu wanted to scream it so badly yet he has nothing to prove such a fact, even if Giyuu were to march to the Ubuyashiki estate begging them to spare a single demon life they would refuse and kill her immediately. 

 Each second of silence had only caused Giyuu to be even more anxious to the point that he must hide his expression from Sabito at all times as he confessed “I didn’t kill her” Sabito stopped moving the moment heard Giyuu's statement. “oh then the brother killed her?” The lack of answers has already answered Sabito's question. “Giyuu, did you spare a demon's life?” Sabito's voice grew colder as he asked one last question.

Sabito doesn’t need Giyuu to answer for him to confirm his suspicion, his partner expression is all that he needed to see. The sound of glass shattering can be heard near Giyuu “do you have any idea what you have done Tomioka?” Giyuu didn’t know what hurt more the mark Sabito had left on his face or the fact that Sabito no longer calls out his name “I am well aware of the risk” Giyuu stated sternly “there is no cure for demons! The moment she is hurt that boy life is already done for!” Sabito shouted, enraged by Giyuu action “she was already hurt! When I found them Nezuko was already bleeding out for hours yet as I was about to kill her all she did was stand by her brother's side and protected him from me!” Giyuu's explanations have left both of them in silence.

In the end they didn’t say anything to each other, Sabito just grabbed his sword and departed from the water estate leaving Giyuu alone without an explanation. He wanted to cry more than anything, Giyuu wanted to beg for Sabito to stay yet he kept his mouth closed knowing that Sabito will not oblige.

This is the result Giyuu has expected, the consequences he must bear in exchange for a better future. “Sister, did I make the right choice?” Giyuu didn’t even notice the tears streaming down his face the moment Sabito's warmth disappeared.

It was already very late at night the moment Shinobu was done treating her last patient, she was finally ready to rest when she caught sight of Giyuu standing in front of the butterfly mansion door step. “This is a rare sight, what brings you here mr. To-” before she could even finish her question Shinobu was caught off guard with Giyuu expression, redness filled his eyes with a visible water mark present on both of his cheeks indicating he had been crying before coming to the mansion. “I’m sorry to bother you so late but would it be possible for me to stay here for a couple days?” Giyuu asks, not letting the woman meet his gaze “sure but why so sudden?” Shinobu tried to get the man to speak his reasoning “I’m tired Shinobu” for the first time Shinobu could hear the exhaustion in Giyuu's voice, she should ask for a more detailed explanation but the pitiful sight of the man was enough for Shinobu to let him stay.

Deep down Giyuu knows that Sabito will never treat him the same way anymore, he tries to convince himself that it is for the best yet even Shinobu could see that Giyuu is not in the right mind to make the decision. She is not one to judge but once Shinobu caught sight of Sabito soon he will be in for a very long lecture once they were given the chance.

Chapter Text

That night Sabito was awakened by the cold breeze of winter blowing through his hair, dawn had finally arrived as the carriage he took traveled through the foot of mount Sagiri. Before parting ways the kakushi have given him a letter from the Ubayashiki family regarding his request “the master would still want you to attend the hashira meeting Mr. Sabito, your kasugai crow will inform you of the time and I will be here assisting your travel” Sabito thanks the kakushi for his job before finally departing on his journey.

Nostalgia filled Sabito's mind the moment he took a step in the mountain. He remembers finding a boy unconscious in the forest as he was training, he was out of breath and his pulse was so weak that Sabito thought he would die. Urokodaki managed to nurse him back to health just in time for him to train together with Sabito.

The first few nights with the boy were annoying for Sabito, it was clear that he was still grieving his loss, crying almost every night and refusing to eat even a single bite. It wasn’t the fact that he was grieving that Sabito was annoyed by, it was the fact that the boy showed no interest in living that annoyed him, disregarded his sister's effort to protect him Sabito hated that the most about the boy. Yet Sabito chose to tolerate him as he didn't want to cause Urokodaki more stress.

A demon slayer was supposed to be strong, they have to be strong in order to protect the weak. That is always how it’s been yet that night as Sabito made his way back home a demon suddenly ambushed him, Sabito thought he was strong enough yet the strength of the demon still managed to overwhelm him. 

Just as he thought death was upon him Sabito could hear a wretched scream as the demon head fell to the ground “are you alright?” Giyuu asked frantically as he rushed to Sabito's side, the boy he thought was never capable of becoming strong was the one that protected him in the end. “Thank goodness, I thought I would lose someone again” even though it was Sabito that almost died that night it was Giyuu that cried the hardest, at that moment for the first time Sabito embraced Giyuu tightly not knowing how hard he would fall for the weak boy.

In this cruel and unforgiving world the weak never have any option, their choices were trampled by the strong as their reality was built around protection. Yet despite not having a single talent and strength, Giyuu's will to protect him that night was strong enough to kill a demon.

Time and time again he kept throwing himself at dangerous situations without a single care of his own life, but every time he came home injured and wounded his smile was so bright that Sabito couldn’t bear to look at his face. He loves him, Sabito loves him so much that it hurts.

Sabito loves it when Giyuu would send him letter when they are a part, Sabito loves it when Giyuu welcome him home with a warm embrace, Sabito loves it when Giyuu hold his hand whenever he is nervous, Sabito loves Giyuu so much that his love alone was enough to keep him living.

Not even Urokodaki can stop Sabito from overworking himself to train Tanjiro, he remembers the first night he met with the boy. Urokodaki has tasked Tanjiro to split the boulder in order to prove himself worthy of being in the final selection. His movement was slow, his stand was all over the place, and his sword strike won’t even be enough to slice through a demon's neck. 

Such a weak person is not even worth training yet Giyuu entrusted his life to him, Sabito couldn’t accept it. From that day onwards he dedicated his time into training the boy, Sabito would depart on a mission making sure he would finish in a day then he would train Tanjiro until the boy finally passed out. 

Urokodaki was amazed at his student determination, even when he departed at the dead of night Sabito still made sure to prepare a training plan for Tanjiro making sure the boy would improve the moment he came back. For months Sabito has always finished a mission in a day or less, returning with nothing more but a scratch on his arm “you really love him” Urokodaki said as the both of them observed Tanjiro training from a far “more than anything” Sabito reply without hesitation.

Being a demon slayer is not an easy job, witnessing many deaths and constantly facing it himself is not easy. On his first mission after final selection Sabito couldn’t hold back his tears as the sight of a whole family lay in a pool of blood after being devoured by a demon.

His emotion created a weakness for demons to manipulate, that is why Sabito chose to wear the fox mask his teacher has gifted him. Over time even as Sabito grew numb to the cruel sight he could never take the mask off, whether it was because of fear or shame he chose to dawn the mask in every mission he takes.

Yet what Sabito is looking forward to the most is the sight of Giyuu smiling softly as he took off Sabito's mask to welcome him home. That moment alone is enough motivation for Sabito to do his best on every mission.

Two years have passed since Tanjiro had stepped foot in mount Sagiri, his body was filled with bruises and his hair has grown longer. On that day Sabito had just come back from a mission when the boy suddenly approached him “Mr. Sabito I would like to challenge you” at the time the water hashira thought the boy had finally gone mad but the expression the boy shows upon challenging him felt oddly familiar.

Both of them venture deep inside the forest where the boulder is located to start their duel. “Just like before, I will only allow you to cut through the boulder if you can land a hit on me” Sabito stated as he gripped his sword tightly.

Tanjiro stands have become more proper since the first time they met, he was more confident and his body finally understood the flow of water breathing. Sabito did not hold back the moment Tanjiro made his move, leaping from one tree to another the hashira still managed to overwhelm the boy with his agility alone.

Hours went by and Tanjiro movement was starting to slow down, just as Sabito thought the duel was over Tanjiro concentrated on his breathing. He managed to parry every attack Sabito threw at him, taking advantage of the situation Tanjiro took the moment to search for an opening thread.

As the hashira took a step back Tanjiro suddenly appeared in front of him, slicing his sword through his mask. It happened so fast that Sabito didn’t realize it at first but as Tanjiro's surprised face appeared before him Sabito finally breathed a sigh of relief as he finally allowed the boy to pierce through the boulder.

That night Urokodaki prepared a heavy dinner for all of them. All of them enjoy the delicious food before as they celebrate Tanjiro's achievement. Sabito was looking after Nezuko as both Tanjiro and Urokodaki were chatting.

Ever since Tanjiro started his training Nezuko has been deep in slumber, at first they thought she would wake up at night yet each day she shows no sign of waking up. “You said that you guys fought a demon before arriving at Mount Sagiri, correct?” Sabito curiously asks “Thats right unfortunately he had already killed the people in the temple before we arrived” Tanjiro explained while gently patting Nezuko head “how did your sister react upon scenting human blood?” Sabito asks coldly.

Tanjiro hesitates at first knowing that the hashira asks that with such hostility but as he gazes at his sister sleeping Tanjiro decided to answer honestly. He told Sabito how Nezuko had to resist the strong urge to consume a human upon smelling the blood and how Nezuko managed to control her hunger and help Tanjiro kill the demon.

A demon with a will strong enough to resist their own nature, Sabito almost laughed as Tanjiro was retelling him their experience. Compassion is not something that the water hashira gives for free but witnessing Tanjiro’s will first hand Sabito is willing to bet his own life for the siblings.

Stars filled the night sky as Sabito sat in front of his teacher hut, after Tanjiro finally went to sleep Urokodaki had joined him while handing his student a brand new fox mask. “You have grown so much” Urokodaki said “did I? It feels like I stay the same as before, maybe even weaker” Sabito stated while gazing at the fox mask “I doubt you would still be a hashira if you are weaker” Urokodaki laughed at his student statement.

In the end they both spend the night star gazing before Sabito departs to the water estate as Tanjiro has finished his training. Sabito did not show it but he was terrified, when he left he had accidentally knocked down a glass as he was slapping Giyuu.

Sabito didn’t even know why he did that, directing his anger at the one and only person he loved so dearly. Sabito wanted to jump off a cliff at this very moment.

As the view of the water estate becomes closer and closer Sabito prepares himself for a lifetime of beating, he will accept his punishment like a man and let Giyuu beat him up as much as he wants.

Yet when Sabito stepped into the water estate no one was there to greet him, the whole building was left empty with no sign of Giyuu anywhere inside. The hashira have also expected this afterall why would he stay at a place that causes him such pain.

In the end Sabito chose to continue his training when an unexpected guest appeared “finally chose to stop running away?” Obanai asks while giving the water hashira a disgusted gaze. 

Of all the colleagues he could have run into, it was the one that hated him the most that showed up. “I don’t get it, he told me that he loves you so much and many expressed the same thing yet all I see is a coward that chose his anger over love” Obanai did not hold back as he continued to mock Sabito even more. “Are you here to judge my love life now?” Sabito asks sarcastically “Tomioka asks me to look after the estate since he is not ready to come back” Obanai explains sternly.

Sabito kept trying to get Obanai to tell him where Giyuu is as he wanted to talk things through yet all he got was a constant mock from the snake hashira. “Stay away from him, that is what Tomioka wants you to do. Nothing more and nothing less” Obanai stated coldly.

The tension in the estate was so tense that Sabito was prepared to fight the other hashira to get an answer. Yet as the both of them gripped their sword tightly two kasugai crow can be seen flying frantically towards them.

“Twelve Kizuki sightings! Mitsuri Kanroji and Giyuu Tomioka are currently fighting!” Sabito's body moves on his own after hearing that announcement, as Kanzaburo is leading them towards the battle field his find is filled with multiple worries.

It's been years since a member of the twelve kizuki appeared, and the last time Giyuu was left in critical condition. Sabito doesn't care if he is going against an upper or a lower moon this time he will protect Giyuu at all cost.

Chapter Text

Years have passed since the last upper moon sighting, Muzan was not happy with the result of Douma antics. As an upper moon he had expected Douma to take it seriously and kill at least the hashira only to find out the woman not only survived but one of his victims had also recovered fully from his blood demon art.

Rage couldn’t even describe how the demon king is feeling right now, more than a hundred years and not single progress was made. The blue spider lily still remains missing and his experiment to create a demon strong enough to withstand the sun have gone in vain.

Even as Muzan was venting his anger on the lower moon he can never truly calm down, as blood splattered all over him Muzan glances at the lower moon coldly. Her body is still recovering from the demon king attack, as little by little her body starts to regenerate Muzan suddenly grabs the lower moon by her collar. “I’m starting to question why I chose you in the first place Mukago” the lower moon trembles at the mere implication of Muzan's statement.

Just as Mukago thought she was gonna die, a monstrous flesh struck her stomach injecting her with more of Muzan blood. “I will give you one last chance to prove yourself, don’t disappoint me” Muzan stated coldly, leaving Mukago alone as she screamed in pain at the mere feeling of the demon king's blood was more painful than death itself.

As she was recovering from a long excruciating pain a human suddenly stumbles upon the horrific scene, his expression shows concern as he witnessed a young woman alone and injured at the dead of night. “Hey are you alright?” Yet as he anxiously approached her Mukago did not hesitate to rip out the man's heart and slowly consume his entire body “I will not die like this” that was the last thing the man could hear before being slowly consumed by the lower moon.

It’s been years since Giyuu finally get the chance to visit the city, he had planned to go home after his mission but the guilt of living under Shinobu protection has been eating him a lot recently, “I really don’t mind Mr. Tomioka, you have helped me a lot in the past you can consider this as my payback” despite Shinobu's playful comment Giyuu can’t help but feel like a burden. 

 During his stay Giyuu remembers Kanao and Aoi complaining that they kept running out of food whenever the beginner slayer got injured. Kanae and Shinobu often restock cooking ingredients for Aoi but he imagined with how many slayers gotting injured daily that alone won’t be enough “should I buy some snacks then?” Giyuu wondered as Kanzaburo nuzzled on his shoulder.

Each shop carries a variety of snacks to choose from. Giyuu didn’t even know most of the treats they were selling, as he was deep in thoughts conflicted with the option he had. Suddenly Giyuu could feel a sharp pain on his back as Mitsuri tried to greet him “Mr. Tomioka I’m so happy to see you!” Mitsuri cheerfully said while unknowingly ramming into the man back harder than she intended to do.

Since Giyuu has been staying in the butterfly mansion for a while he got to know lots of people in the process. One of which is surprisingly the love hashira because of how often she visits Shinobu and Kanae “I’m sorry if I scared you Mr. Tomioka, I just never see you around the city so I got so excited!” Mitsuri stated as Giyuu helped carry her bags “it’s no problem, thank you for helping me pick a snacks for everyone in the mansion” Giyuu said trying his best not to show the pain he still felt on his back.

In the end Mitsuri will not let Giyuu go back before treating him to lots of food in the city. “this is my favorite soba shop, they even served salmon daikon! It's your favorite right?” Mitsuri ask “yes it’s my favorite but please let me pay this time, you have already pay for the snacks I got” Giyuu said nervously while looking at the prices of the meal “only if you can beat my high score, mine is 300 bowl of soba” Mitsuri stated proudly as the waiter brought a huge amount of soba noodles.

Even as he struggles to keep up with Mitsuri eating phase Giyuu feels happy, occasions like this never happen in his past timeline. Mitsuri is very kind, even when Giyuu was blatantly ignoring her she would always smile whenever he is around “Mr. Tomioka no matter what let’s get along” that was the first thing Mitsuri said to him when she first became a hashira. It hurts to know that they will never get to know each other after the war with Muzan, so right now Giyuu is overjoyed knowing that he managed to be a part of her happy memory.

The sun was already setting mid way through their journey home, both of them lost track of time as they talked through the day. Giyuu was thinking of setting a camp since they are in the middle of nowhere yet when they passed through a forest an unfamiliar village then came to view.

It was a rather small village located deep inside the forest, in the center of their location stood a tall tree whose roots were surrounded by a large body of water with many residents that seemed to be guarding the area. “I passed through this area before and not once have I ever seen a village” Mitsuri explains while trying to remember her past journey “I doubt that it was built overnight” as both of them about to investigate further an elderly woman suddenly appeared to greet them.

Her voice was gentle as she invited them to her house “thank goodness I found you in time, it's dangerous to roam outside at this time of day” the elderly woman then directed them to a room. “Thank you for your generosity ma’am, we didn’t even know there was a village in this area” Mitsuri said cheerfully while trying to get an explanation out of the resident “that’s because it was built just over a year ago, I doubt even the authority are aware of our community” the elderly woman then tells them how the village came to be.

Most of them are merchants that barely make ends meet, they have no home to go to and so they took refuge in the forest. It was cold and dark during their first night with only a tiny bon fire to warm all of them up, that is until a giant tree sprouted overnight. The tree was not an ordinary tree, it was their symbol of hope as they first prayed to it all of a sudden their business started to take off bringing them enough wealth to get through the year.

That single tree was their beacon of hope, lighting the night for a better future for all of them and as an exchange they worshiped and nurtured the tree hoping that it would live to see the fruits of their labor. “Yet after rumors started going around many people outside of our community would visit the forest and take advantage of the tree blessing and that is when the disappearance started to happen”. Hearing her story both Mitsuri and Giyuu look at each with a hint of suspicion.

As the elderly woman bid them good night, Giyuu made sure that no one was around as they discussed what to do next. “What do you think Miss Kanroji?” Giyuu asks while observing through the window “that tree is definitely the work of a demon but that doesn’t explain why it hasn't attacked any of the residents” Mitsuri stated. Hearing Mitsuri word Giyuu then was reminded of how Nezuko protected Tanjiro in their first encounter, he was hesitant to ask yet his curiosity got the best of him “do you think that it’s protecting the resident?” Giyuu asks, it took Mitsuri a while to answer yet even as she finally spoke her expression shows a hint of uncertainty “I've seen a few instances of demons protecting humans but it never ended peacefully” Mitsuri confessed.

The moment the forest went quiet is when both Giyuu and Mitsuri headed up the rooftop to investigate the demon tree, as a precaution Giyuu have asked Kanzaburo and Urara to be stationed high up just in case that both their owners are in need of reinforcement. “It seems like only a few people are stationed tonight” Giyuu stated observing the area closely “the lady did say the disappearance only happened when outsiders try to take advantage of it, lets just observe for now” even with a hashira presence Giyuu couldn’t help but feel like something is wrong. 

Hours went by and everything seemed to be more peaceful than expected, the night breeze flew past the village blowing through every tree branch in the area. As it blew through the blessed tree branches Giyuu witnessed a strange sight. It was faint but Giyuu can definitely see a young woman merging with the tree.

As Giyuu was gripping his sword tightly the young woman opened her eyes and glared directly at him, revealing a writing in her eyes ‘lower moon four’. Giyuu's heart drops the moment he realizes the severity of the situation “Miss Kanroji!” As he calls out to Mitsuri the house they are standing in are split in two revealing that the lower moon are in control of every house in the village.

Roots sprouted from the ground separating the two slayers from each other, terrified screams could be heard through the forest as Giyuu searched for any survivors. an elderly woman can be seen comforting a child as they pray together inside the broken house, Giyuu traverses through the crumbling land to reach them both yet just as he was reaching out to them a giant root sprouted from the ground and shallow them whole.

Blood splatters all over the forest covering the land in blood, slowly the blood then fuses with the tree roots forming multiple demons that start attacking Giyuu. In the last second Giyuu managed to jump in and cut through every demon body in sight “water breathing, third form: flowing dance” yet as their body crumble to the ground the demons body start to fuse together creating a bigger body to attack him “why do you all have to be difficult” the demon then start charging towards the demon slayer only for Giyuu to swiftly cut through each of their bodies.

Despite how many demons Giyuu manages to cut to pieces they will always rise and continue to attack him leaving Giyuu no room to rest, it was an endless cycle of battle one that can only be finished by attacking the main body. As Giyuu tries to get away from the horde of demons a wall of vine then blocks his patch from escaping forcing him to face a never ending battle. “Forgive me Miss Kanroji this will take me a little longer” Giyuu stated while concentrating on his breathing.

Deep in the heart of a forest Mukago stands tall as she fully merges herself with the forest itself, taking the form of a giant tree she attacks Mitsuri with her sharp branches and slicing through her haori. She no longer hides her form instead her body sticks out of the tree visibly enraged by the demon slayer action “Why must you all get in my way!” Her scream managed to send Mitsuri flying far while Mukago leaf managed to pierce through her skin.

Mitsuri moves fluidly with her sword charging straight at the demon with her full strength “love breathing, second form: love pangs!” As her sword manages to cut through Mukago defenses the lower moon took advantage of her spilled blood to summon a horde of demons to attack the hashira. “I can’t fail him like this!” Mukago trembles in fear as the image of Muzan keeps appearing in her mind “that’s too bad, because I’m not going easy on you!” Mitsuri stated as she gripped her sword tightly “deceiving so many people for your own gain is unforgivable!”.

Chapter Text

Mitsuri remembers the question her comrade asked her when she first joined the corps “why did you join the demon slayer corps Miss Kanroji?” She remembers the curious gaze her comrade shows as they eagerly await a noble answer from her, with such expectation Mitsuri didn’t dare to tell them the truth.

When Mitsuri killed her first demon everyone praised her strength, the demon she faced was a weak one yet it still managed to devour an innocent life. She remembers the cries of a child as the kakushi tried to hide her mother's corpse from her. Back then Mitsuri thought that she would scare the child away yet it was the little girl who embraced her first.

A woman is supposed to be gentle and kind, that was what Mitsuri always believed. She carried that principle throughout her demon slaying journey, even when she herself knew that she would gain nothing in return. “You tried to comfort a demon?” Shinobu chuckles at the love hashira sudden confession. “she was just a little girl” Mitsuri tried to defend her action. “Miss Kanroji it doesn’t matter if she was a baby. A demon is still a demon, your kindness is pointless to them” Shinobu's words echo through her mind as Mitsuri is reminded of the reality they face.

In the end she starts to question herself even more. Is all her effort really pointless? Deep down Mitsuri already knows the answer yet listening to other people's opinions has only made her question her principles. “You're a really kind person Miss Kanroji, I hope you can see that everyone truly appreciates the love you gave them” of all people it was Giyuu who assured Mitsuri to keep fighting with all the love she has.

From that day onward Mitsuri encountered many hardships along her journey but through those hardships she found hope, it doesn’t matter if people thought she is not worthy, it doesn’t matter if no one accepted her for who she was. The smile and love Mitsuri received whenever she saved their life was enough for her.

That is why Mitsuri could never forgive Mukago, the people in the community loved her very much. They took care of her, respected her, even adored her till the end yet the lower moon treated them like nothing. Such ignorance towards a human life is unforgivable. “Love breathing, third form: catlove shower!” As her sword twisted through every demon in the area, Mukago stared at the woman in horror as she realized who she really is “This power don’t tell me, You're a hashira?” Mukago voice trembled at the mere sight of the woman “Finally decided to talk? Now tell me what did you do to Mr. Tomioka?” Mitsuri asked while glaring at the lower moon.

As the love hashira asks her question, Mukago could feel a sudden surge of pain in the lower half of her body indicating that her roots have been severely damaged. “Why now? I was so closed” the lower moon voice trembles as the forest surrounding them starts to shift. The roots of the tree start to emerge from the ground, causing the land to crumble beneath Mitsuri’s feet, the hashira then leaps into the air and lands on one of the tree branches preparing herself for Mukago to strike.

Blood starts to flow out of the tree's broken roots. The cut was smooth and precise, indicating that Giyuu managed to injure the lower moon severely. “That's such a clean cut! As expected from someone who survived a fight against an upper moon, Mr. Tomioka is amazing” Mitsuri’s statement strikes fear into Mukago’s mind.

The swordsman that survived against the upper two, the reason Mukago was seeking more power in the first place is the same slayer that managed to pierce through her blood demon art, Mukago could still feel the pain from Giyuu's sword strike even when her body had completely recovered. “Please…” the lower moon whimper caught Mitsuri off guard, making her observe Mukago closely. “I just wanted a place to belong. I never had a choice! If I don’t kill them then the lord will-” before she could finish her plea Mitsuri cuts her off “Really? The multiple corpses planted on your roots said other wise” As the ground crumbles below them, it reveals a pile of human remains connecting to Mukago's roots.

In an instant Mitsuri rushes to the lower moon with her sword cutting through all of her roots and branches. “I’ve seen many demons try to protect the people they love and I know for certain that you never intend on protecting them!” As the hashira got closer and closer Mukago decided to pour all of her remaining power into a single attack.

Mukago uses the last bit of her blood to forge a horde of demons to attack Mitsuri, as the love hashira cuts through each of their bodies a pool of blood starts to form around her. “Blood demon art: propagate surge!” In a mere second the blood surrounding Mitsuri manages to form into multiple demons that instantly strike her, giving the hashira no time to deflect them.

Just as Mukago thought she was about to win she could feel a slight pain stinging her neck, it happened so fast that she had only realized when her head was on the ground. “You shouldn’t let your guard down so easily” Giyuu stated while witnessing the lower moon body crumble into pieces. 

To be able to use her blood demon art Mukago had to sacrifice a lot of her blood making her main weak point easily open for Giyuu to strike in an instant. “Mr. Tomioka! Thank you so much, I thought I was done for!” Mitsuri hugged him tightly, relieved that Giyuu was safe. “I’m glad that you're unscathed Miss Kanroji” for a moment everything seems peaceful yet as they both took a deep breath they sensed a sudden movement rushing towards them.

Mitsuri manages to deflect the attack in time, shielding Giyuu in the process. Yet what greeted them next brought fear into both of their faces. “Such a dulled creation, no wonder it was easily destroyed” a monstrous figure emerged from a vase, showing an anatomically incorrect figure consuming the body of a lower moon. “And to think that lord Muzan gives you a drop of his blood, we can’t waste that now” Giyuu's body trembled as he caught sight of the demon eyes revealing the title of upper moon five.

As Gyokko consumed his comrade the sight of Giyuu managed to catch his attention “oh my, it seems like fate has answered my wish” witnessing the upper moon's sudden interest toward Giyuu Mitsuri then put herself between the two of them shielding Giyuu from the demon's line of sight “Don’t get any funny idea” Mitsuri stated sternly. “Oh, you're beautiful too, maybe I’ll include both of you in my art” Gyokko stated while admiring the two slayers.

When the upper moon finished consuming his subordinate, he teleported close to Giyuu to further inspect him “it’s you alright, the one that managed to cause the wrath of lord Muzan. Lord Douma has been singing you praises ever since” Giyuu didn’t hesitate to swing his sword towards the upper moon yet his heart dropped the moment his sword was broken in half. Mitsuri manages to protect him with her sword as they both back away from the demon.

Gyokko then picks up the shattered Nichirin blade only for it to be broken into pieces “It seems like the lower moon manages to cause more damage than I expected”. Giyuu didn’t even realize that his sword was chipped so badly “Mr. Tomioka back away, i’ll buy us sometime until the sun rise” Mitsuri stated as she gripped her sword tightly “it’s alright Miss Kanroji i’ll be just fine” Giyuu respond came quicker than expected “but your sword is already broken” worried fill Mitsuri face as she witness Giyuu grab the remaining of his broken sword and smile softly at her “I’ve been through worst situation”.

Just as the two demon slayer was distracted, Gyokko summoned a horde of fish creatures to attack them. Both of them managed to dodge them in time as they landed on a tree branch to get away from the creature. “What is that creepy looking creature?” unbeknownst to Mitsuri, her question managed to offend the upper moon “how dare you criticize a person's artwork with hair like that?” Gyokko yelled, offending Mitsuri in the process.

As the two of them are bickering, Giyuu uses the opportunity to attack all of the creatures “water breathing, fourth form: striking tide” he moves his sword swiftly from one creature to another until all of their bodies crumble into ashes. “Such an impatient audience couldn’t you savor my art for a little longer?” Giyuu didn’t like the upper moon statement.

In the past, it was Muichiro who defeated the upper moon five alone. Giyuu remembered hearing the young boy's experience and it was nothing short of hell. Akaza and Douma might be stronger but the fact that Muchiro awakened his mark as they were fighting means that the upper moon managed to corner him to the brink of death.

The sound of a ceramic rolling could be heard through the forest revealing a vase rolling to his side, not wanting to give the upper moon a chance to attack him Giyuu back away “blood demon art: thousand needle fish kill” multiple gold fish then emerge from the verge and immediately rushing towards both of the slayer, luckily their attack was too slow for Mitsuri and Giyuu speed. “Miss Kanroji I'll distract them! Go for his head!” Giyuu yelled as he continued to deflect every needle the creature threw at him.

Gyokko teleported to a higher ground, anticipating the hashira attack. Mitsuri then leaps into the air and twists her sword “love breathing, fifth form: swaying love, wildclaw” the love hashira manages to cut through all of the creature Gyokko summons yet the eerie smile the demon shows as he attacks only manages to make her heart drop. 

Suddenly as Mitsuri was about to land, the upper moon summoned a vase from one of its hands with water pouring from the vase and surrounding the hashira, trapping her inside his water vase. “Blood demon art: water prison pot!” Giyuu immediately rushed to Mitsuri's side and tried to break her free yet no matter how much he tried his sword was not strong enough to pierce through the water's surface.

As both of them realized the danger they were in Gyokko couldn’t help but laugh at their useless effort “hyo hyo! Such a terrified expression is so sublime! Now I’m truly inspire” the upper moon didn’t give them time to breathe as he continued to summon more creatures, leaving Giyuu with no choice but to back away.

Mitsuri tried to use her last remaining breath to pierce through the water bubble, yet it was of no use. Her strike was weaker than before. She witnesses Giyuu visibly struggling to fight against the upper moon alone, even when his sword manages to reach the tip of the demon's neck Gyokko still manages to teleport away.

The air in her lungs is starting to run out, making Mitsuri's vision blur in a second. Tears started streaming down her face as the last thing Mitsuri saw was Giyuu being pierced by needles “forgive me Mr. Tomioka I failed you”.

Chapter Text

That night was supposed to be a peaceful night, Mitsuri was smiling so brightly as she talked about her favorite food. Yet now all that Giyuu could see is the light in her eyes fading as she drowns under the demon power “hyo! Such a splendid expression, it truly brings out the beauty of death!” Gyokko stated proudly as he admired his creation.

Giyuu hands tremble as he struggles to stand up, a thousand needles could be seen piercing through his skin while he continues to attack the upper moon. The chipped on Giyuu sword got worse as crack started to form all over his remaining sword but that didn’t slow him down. “Oh my you're a strong one, that makes me want to kill you even more” Gyokko then teleports away and summons a horde of gold fish to attack the slayer.

As the gold fish rushed towards him, Giyuu calmed his mind while trying to steady his breathing “water breathing, eleventh form: dead calm” none of the upper moon creations manage to get close to Giyuu before being cut into pieces. The moment his sword pierce through the last fish body it has finally given up and Giyuu could only watch as his sword shattered into pieces leaving only the handguard as a proof of its strength.

Witnessing the slayer left defenseless Gyokko took the opportunity to teleport close to Giyuu “hyo! Such a shame, if only your sword wasn’t chipped” the upper moon's cheerful tone had only enraged Giyuu even more. As Giyuu forces himself to stand up an overwhelming pain sting through his entire body as he finally realizes that the needle piercing through his skin is poisonous.

Noticing Giyuu's painful expression Gyokko couldn’t help but chuckle as a vase form in his hand “blood demon art: octopus vase hell!” tentacles crawl out of the vase and lounges straight at Giyuu as it grips the slayer tightly. Its tight grip manages to push the needles deep inside of Giyuu's body causing him to whimper in pain.

Gyokko then thoroughly inspect Giyuu face as he torment him even more “lord Douma was right your eyes really is beautiful, especially when I’m tormenting you” the smile on the upper demon face infuriates Giyuu even more, he wanted nothing but to kill him on the spot. 

Without a single thought Giyuu used his last remaining strength to free his arm and punch the upper moon in the face, Gyokko froze as he processed what the slayer had done. The needles that were deep inside of Giyuu's body should be enough to paralyze him to the point of death yet Giyuu not only managed to free one of his arms but landed a punch to the upper moon.

As he was about to attack Giyuu the upper moon felt a liquid running down his face, as he looked down Gyokko was greeted by the sight of multiple of his teeth falling down his face as his mouth was dripping blood. “such an ungrateful creature, people like you will never understand the true meaning of art!” As the upper moon rapidly approached him, Giyuu could only close his eyes and wish for a quick and painful death.

The moment he closed his eyes all that Giyuu could feel was a sudden breeze rushing by him as a familiar voice spoke to him “that was the most impressive yet stupiest thing i’ve seen a demon slayer do” Obanai stated as he carried him away from Gyokko “Mr. Iguro?” He didn't expect the snake hashira to be so willing to carry Giyuu in his arms. “Both of your crows manage to reach us in time” Obanai explains as he gently places Giyuu on the ground “thank goodness, wait did you say us?” Obanai can only direct his gaze towards the upper moon to answer his question.

Sabito was there, his movement was fast yet Giyuu could see him clearly. His breathing technique was more aggressive than most water breath users as he modified every form according to his fighting style “water breathing, tenth form: constant flux!” The water hashira charged toward Gyokko as his speed and strength increased with each strike he landed on the demon’s body. 

Force to back away, Gyokko summons a horde of goldfish to attack the hashira “blood demon art: thousand needle fish kill!” yet no matter how fast Gyokko attacked him the demon could never catch up to Sabito speed “Insolent brant! How dare you disrupt me!” As Gyokko was distracted by the water hashira Obanai managed to free Mitsuri from the water prison at the last second.

Giyuu thought it was already too late when Mitsuri emerged from the water prison, her pulse was weak and her whole face showed no sign of life. Not willing to give up, Obanai continued to compress her chest, praying that she would breathe again. It took them a moment before she finally caught out all of the water in her lungs, Obanai looked so relieved as his grip on her hand tightened the moment she smiled at the snake hashira.

As the sound of sword clashing become more aggressive Giyuu body naturally approach the battlefield only to be stop by Obanai at the last second “you can’t fight in your condition” the snake hashira stated while pointing at all of the needles piercing through Giyuu skin “stay by Kanroji side, i’ll protect him in your place” that was the last thing Obanai said before joining the fight with Sabito.

Despite being in a weak state Mitsuri held Giyuu hand firmly as she assured him that everything will be fine, but how can he be calm when this has never happened in the past. When he faced Douma Giyuu at least had expected it to happen but at this moment Giyuu is truly terrified.

The wind is starting to pick up as both hashira manage to slice through every one of Gyokko creations, while the upper moon teleports away Sabito managed to track down his movement and aim his sword directly to his neck. As blood dripped from Gyokko's neck Obanai took advantage of the situation and lunged at the upper moon “serpent breathing, third form: coil choke” as the serpent hashira managed to slice through his body Gyokko had no other choice but to teleport away.

He was not expecting to lose so much blood tonight, the upper moon's only goal was to devour the lower moon body yet the situation he is in now have only resulted in him losing so much for his own blood. “unforgiveable, unforgiveable, Unforgivable, UNFORGIVEABLE!” multiple vases started to form at the palm of Gyokko hands “blood demon art: ten thousand gliding slime fish!” A horde of fish then bursts out of the pot as it changes straight at all of them.

Mitsuri reaches out for her sword as she slices through the upper moon attack “Mr. Tomioka stays behind me” she stated sternly twisting her sword through all of the fish. Gyokko was about to use another blood demon art when a glimmer of light can be seen through the forest leaving a burn mark on the demon skin.

Just as Gyokko was about to teleport Sabito and Obanai managed to lunge their sword straight at his neck leaving traces of his blood burning on the ground as the upper moon disappeared into the shadow. “Damn it!” Sabito shouted in frustration “it wasn’t even close to dying” Obanai stated while gazing at the demon burning blood.

Both Mitsuri and Giyuu came running towards the two hashira to check on them “did any of you get hurt?” Mitsuri's voice was gentle as she checked on their condition “look around the forest, there is a chance he is still near-” Giyuu forces himself to walk even when his whole body is aching from the upper moon needles.

As his legs were about to give up Sabito caught him in time while carrying Giyuu in his arms “Isamu informed the kakushi we need help transporting Giyuu to the butterfly mansion now!” his voice was stern yet Giyuu could see the hashira's eyes filled with tears as he carried Giyuu all the way back to the butterfly mansion.

The journey home was awkward as both of them didn’t say a word to each other. Even when Obanai is glaring at Sabito intently the hashira never let go of Giyuu, it feels like Sabito gripped become tighter the moment they arrived at the mansion.

Shinobu had already prepared his room the moment he heard news that they were fighting an upper moon. “Take him to the room upstairs, Aoi has prepared all my equipment so we can treat your wound” The butterfly mansion was busy that morning, after the news of an upper moon attack reach the corps the Ubayashiki family have instructed the kakushi to help Shinobu with treating any slayer.

The love hashira gaze was filled with concern as so many people rushed in and out of Giyuu room with blood stains on their uniform. If it weren’t for Obanai company she would have cried harder “I should have tried harder to break through that water prison” Mitsuri cried while Kanae is treating her wound “it’s not your fault Miss Kanroji, Mr. Tomioka choose to fight despite his disadvantage” Kanae said trying to comfort the hashira “it was a stupid decision but still a honorable one” Obanai was gazing at the room intently, his expression was empty some might even say cold yet both Kanae and Mitsuri notice the nervous tapping of his feet as they wait for the result of the treatment.

In the end Shinobu concluded that the injury Giyuu had sustained was not as critical as before but she would need to perform a surgery to get the needle out of his body. “He is resting for now, the needles almost punctured his vital organs but I caught it on time” Shinobu then breathed a sigh of relief as she asked the kakushi to clean up her equipment “you want me to drag Sabito out of there?” Shinobu took a moment before answering Obanai's question, as she gazed at Giyuu sleeping soundly while still maintaining a hold on Sabito's hand “there is no need, I think he learned his lesson”.

On that night Giyuu woke up to the sight of Kanzaburo and Isamu sleeping soundly next to him. As he reached out to pet the two crow Giyuu felt a cold breeze can be felt blowing through the room, when he turned around Sabito was sitting on the open window. It didn’t take long for the hashira to notice Giyuu gaze towards him.

At first silence filled the room as none of them dared to start a conversation, Giyuu thought long and hard about what he wanted to say to Sabito once he finally came back to him yet as he was right in front of him Giyuu’s mind went blank. Doubt and uncertainty filled his mind as he tried to avoid Sabito's gaze. Does he still love him? Where did he go for the past two years? Can things go back to how it was before?

Giyuu expression must have shown his concern as the first one to speak was Sabito “I’m sorry” the wind started to calm the moment the water hashira stand up and gaze directly at his partner “I was a coward, I let my emotion get to me and hurt you but that was never my intention” as Sabito spoke he slowly start to approach Giyuu side “our duty is to kill every demon, so when you said that you let one of them live I can only think of one outcome and I…” Giyuu could see the sorrow in Sabito's eyes the moment he paused his sentence “I don’t want to live in a reality where you no longer exist” his voice cracked the moment he finally touched Giyuu’s hand.

Relief starts to fill Giyuu's mind as the doubt that was haunting him these past few years have finally left his mind. He spent years thinking that Sabito no longer loved him and many more thinking of how he could handle living in a timeline where Sabito hated him. After hearing Sabito's explanation Giyuu could no longer hold back his tears. “Then can we go back to how it was before you left?” Giyuu's voice trembles while holding Sabito's hands tightly “I’ll try my best not to get injured, I'll stop calling myself weak, I will even train harder so I can protect you. So please…” Sabito could feel his heart aching as Giyuu cried out to him  “please don’t leave me” that night both of them welcome each other home with a warm embrace as Sabito touches his lips onto Giyuu’s as they make a promise to never leave each other's side.

Chapter Text

The wind was calmer that day, a rare event for any demon slayer. The lively sounds of a village, combined with the clash of swords, are enough to make Giyuu drift off into the distance. For a moment, it felt as if time froze as Giyuu leaped into the air.

If it wasn’t for the sudden sight of Kanae sword charging towards him Giyuu would still be day dreaming. “Water breathing, eight form: waterfall basin” Giyuu plunges his sword downwards, parrying Kanae attack in the process. Their movement was swift as Giyuu managed to keep up to Kanae speed as she swung her sword at him.

The moment Giyuu started attacking the former hashira, Kanae was already preparing to use her technique. As she evades every attack Giyuu throws at her, Kanae spins her body to start her attack “flower breathing, sixth form: whirling peach!” Faced with Kanae's overwhelming strength Giyuu was forced to back away.

Just as they were about to clash Gyomei suddenly interrupted their match with a single swing of his weapon “that is enough training for today Kanae” Gyomei stated while instructing her to rest “Mr. Himejima I can still last a li-” before she could finish her word a sharp pain can be felt on her chest. This caused Giyuu to help carry her back to the village while Gyomei looked for a medical worker.

After the battle with upper moon five Giyuu swords have completely broke forcing him to take a break once his new sword is ready. Unfortunately the swordsmith that was assigned to make his sword is busy making him unable to deliver the sword to the water estate, so Giyuu decided to visit the swordsmith village himself.

Originally he had planned for it to be a short visit having only picked up his newly forged sword but the village chief assigned Giyuu to a luxury room with plenty of local delicacies and a beautiful hot spring for Giyuu to enjoy. “Master Kagaya has asked you to take your time enjoying your break, it will take a few days for your sword to be ready. Until then please enjoy our village” that was the last thing Giyuu heard before getting shoved into his room.

Throughout his stay Giyuu managed to bump into Gyomei and Kanae training together deep inside the forest. He did learn from Shinobu that her sister is training to regain her former strength, even when she struggles to breathe, Kanae strikes remains as powerful as ever. Giyuu wouldn’t be surprised if she managed to master flower breathing again.

In the end the medical worker managed to ease her pain, they instructed Kanae to fully rest and avoid any heavy movement for a while. After they finally left Gyomei went to get Kanae medicine and ask Giyuu to accompany her “I’m sorry our match end so abruptly” Kanae said as she lay still on the futon “you don’t have to apologize, I would rather lose than cause another reason for Shinobu to hate me” Giyuu jokingly said as Kanae chuckled at his comment “my sister is a kind soul but sometime I wish she wasn’t” Kanae expression sour as she said that.

Hearing the former flower hashira statement, Giyuu could only think of one reason why Kanae thought of that. Shinobu's strength has always been her intelligence, everyone in the corps rely on her medical expertise not knowing that she herself is doubting her own strength. When Giyuu heard the crow announcing her death during the final battle he already knew what she had done.

The strength that people rely on ended up becoming the cause of her death, it's ironic and Giyuu can’t imagine that Kanae would let Shinobu go through with her plan in this timeline. “We got into a fight” Kanae said as she avoided his gaze “it was after she treated your injury, I said something that I shouldn’t have”.

Kanae remembers the slight pain on her arm as she continuously struck the training dummy. When Shinobu arrived Kanae hands were already filled with blister and she could only smile as her sister scolded her once more “you could have ask me to train with you” Shinobu stated “I know you keep holding back whenever we train together” Kanae chuckle at the sight of her sister pouting face.

The former hashira didn’t know what came over her but the sight of Shinobu walking in front of her, wearing the butterfly haori she gifted her, managed to awaken a faint nightmare that Kanae tried to forget. “Shinobu I think you should quit the demon slayer corps” hearing her sister said that Shinobu turn around and face her “that’s not funny sis” Shinobu voice was stern yet Kanae could see her clenching her fist tightly, hiding her emotion despite knowing that Kanae could see through her facade.

Silence filled the area as only the sound of the wind could be heard. “You don’t deserve this kind of life, you are a brilliant woman that can easily get a better life” as Kanae explains she could see Shinobu gaze getting darker and darker “even after so long you still think I’m unworthy?” this time Shinobu didn’t bother to hide her rage “thats not what i me-” before she could even explain her reason Shinobu immediately cuts her off “I will quit when every demon on this world die, if you think i’m too weak to achieve that then you shouldn’t have gifted me this haori” that was the first time that Kanae truly saw Shinobu rage.

In a way she is proud to see Shinobu dedication to get stronger yet Kanae couldn’t help but worry as every upper moon the corps faces has never been successfully killed. “Ever since she became a hashira Shinobu has been suppressing her emotions. In the past her laughter would fill the entire mansion as she played with all of the girls in the butterfly mansion. It pains me to see her force a smile whenever I’m around” Giyuu could understand her worries.

When he first woke up from a long coma Shinobu is definitely different, she would take every opportunity to tease Giyuu no matter what but that day she held his hand tightly as she comfort him “Mr. Tomioka from now on, let's do our best” Giyuu could never forget her gentle smile that day.

Knowing the fate they all must face in the future, Giyuu could only pray that all his effort could change the fate of Shinobu battle. “I think Shinobu wants you to trust her, not only as a hashira but as your sister” Giyuu stated, his words echo through Kanae's mind as she tried to hold back her tears. “God, I’m such a terrible sister” Kanae's voice cracks as she turns around to avoid his gaze.

The moment Gyomei arrived with Kanae medicine, Giyuu was standing outside of her room. “Has something happened?” Gyomei asks worryingly “I think it's best to leave her alone for now” Giyuu then explains what happened as the stone hashira accompanies Giyuu to his room.

In that brief peaceful moment Gyomei couldn’t help but open up to him. “I was the one that brought them to the demon slayer corps and the very reason why they became a demon slayer” Giyuu can’t imagine the pain Gyomei felt when Kanae death was announced in the previous timeline. “I am proud of what they have grown to be but part of my mind regret exposing them to such a cruel life” the stone hashira then turn towards Giyuu with tears streaming down his face “I can’t thank you enough for saving Kanae’s life” this gentle side of the stone hashira brought warmth to Giyuu’s heart, just like a parent worrying over their children, Giyuu couldn’t help but find this side of Gyomei endearing.

By the time Giyuu had made it to the hot spring it was already late in the night, the sound of water streaming down the forest filled the entire bath as Giyuu took off his clothes. While the warmth of the hot spring touches his skin, Giyuu's body manages to relax as he enjoys his peaceful bath.

As he gazes at the night sky, Giyuu's mind lingers through his past memory. The sudden appearance of an upper moon was unexpected, indicating that the future has truly changed. Both Sabito and Kanae's survival has already been secured, what worries Giyuu now is that of an unexpected sacrifice.

Lower moon four was never supposed to attack them let alone an upper moon. Giyuu was lucky enough to hold his ground until reinforcement arrived and no life was taken away. Even with the knowledge of the future his demon slayer mark has yet to be awakened, Giyuu is aware that gaining the mark back will be difficult yet he can’t afford to make a mistake as the next challenge he will be facing is the Mugen train.

As Giyuu submerges his body with the hot spring a sudden cold sensation linger on his neck and as a reflexes Giyuu grips a hand and throws the attacker to the ground. “Ouch! Can’t you be a little gentle to me?” Upon witnessing Sabito tackle to the ground Giyuu jumped away from the water hashira and tried to cover himself “what are you doing sneaking up when I’m taking a bath?” Giyuu said nervously while trying to avoid Sabito gaze “Giyuu i’ve seen you naked thousand of time” Sabito said sarcastically “I will break your arm if you try anything funny” Sabito ignored his partner's threat as he continued to take off his clothes while joining Giyuu for a bath.

It’s been a while since they've had the time to properly talk with each other. Between Giyuu’s unlimited resting day and Sabito's ever lasting mission the only time they manage to spend time together is if Giyuu manages to escape from Shinobu watchful gaze, and Giyuu already knows that he is her most hated patient because of that.

Before Giyuu could make an excuse to run away Sabito drags him by the arm and sat Giyuu down on his lap “so how are you?” Sabito asks while holding on to Giyuu’s hand tightly. Knowing the hashira will not give up easily Giyuu accepted his fate as he leaned his head towards Sabito shoulders “you're so persistent” Giyuu complained “that’s how I won you over, no?” Sabito teased while wrapping his hand around Giyuu's waist.

That night they ended up staying in the hot spring a little longer than what they anticipated. Giyuu didn’t remember much from last night but the bite mark around his body is enough proof to confirm his suspicion. 

Sabito was the first to wake up that morning, as he was enjoying his breakfast the sight of Giyuu awkwardly walking towards the dining table caught his attention. “Did I go too fa-” before the hashira could finish his question Giyuu had already cut him off “my back hurts” even as he complained Giyuu had thrown himself at his partner's lap, not willing to let go as they accompanied each other through the day.

Chapter Text

Last night Giyuu remembers coming home from a mission, only to be greeted by a messy estate. Sabito claims that he had invited Rengoku over to train yet the flame hashira brought not only Tengen but also Obanai and caused more damage than they had expected. Unfortunately for Giyuu, Sabito got an urgent mission that forced him to depart before the sun even rose, leaving him to clean up the hashira mess. 

Not wanting to request the kakushi help so early in the morning, Giyuu munched on a leftover rice ball as he began to clean up the estate. Most of the mess only consists of wooden debris from the target dummy they used to train beginner slayers. By the time the kakushi arrive to check on him, Giyuu has already finished cleaning and organizing the trash.

All of the wooden debris is neatly wrapped in a cloth while the trash Giyuu finds while cleaning is set to the side. “I’m sorry to make you work so early in the morning but could you make some breakfast while I throw this out?” The kakushi immediately got to work as Giyuu carried the trash out of the water estate.

This is not something that Giyuu does in his past timeline. Most of the time he would spend his free time in self-isolation ignoring everything and everyone around him. Yet now Giyuu feels like he could never have a moment of peace as Sabito forces him into every social interaction they could come across.

It started to calm down when Giyuu woke up from his coma, but he couldn’t ignore the light in Sabito's eyes when he is in desperate need of socializing. As Giyuu was heading back to the estate he stumbled upon a peculiar scene. Gyomei was seen crouching down behind a bush while seemingly humming a tune, upon further inspection he was seen playing with a stray cat. Such a rare sight Giyuu couldn’t help but smile.

Even as the stone hashira was preoccupied with the cat, he could still sense someone approaching him. “Tomioka is that you?” Gyomei's response has left Giyuu speechless, he is aware of how sharp the stone hashira senses are but he didn’t expect it to be that sharp. “You scared me sometimes Mr. Himejima” they ended up talking for a while as Giyuu offered to give the cat some food before Gyomei took them home.

Giyuu never expected to one day invite Gyomei to the water estate, let alone witnessing the man cry over how cute the cat is. “I see, so you took care of many cats in your estate” Giyuu said while handing the cat a fish to eat. “At first I just left some food outside of my estate to feed them, but over time they grew fond of my presence and chose to stay” Gyomei explained.

Maybe it was because they rarely spoke in the past but recently Gyomei has been smiling more. Was it due to Kanae influence? Giyuu remembers her telling him that ever since she got permanently injured she has been training with Gyomei to regain most of her strength. Whatever it is Giyuu hopes that the stone hashira could smile more often as the fate that awaits him was the cruelest of all.

As Gyomei was about to depart on his mission, Giyuu managed to chase after him. “Forgive me if I hinder your mission, but I wanted to give you this before you left” he then handed the hashira a neatly wrapped meal “your stomach was growling so much when we talked I asked the kakushi to make you some riceball” witnessing his kindness, tears started streaming down Gyomei's eyes as he happily accepted the meal. “I wish you a safe return Mr. Himejima” Gyomei then reaches out to pet Giyuu's head before finally departing on his mission.

By the time afternoon starts coming around Giyuu finds the gentle breeze of the wind as a sign to go on a walk with Kanzaburo. Witnessing his crow flying carelessly worried him, Giyuu is already aware that Kanzaburo is older than most kasugai crows, making it difficult for him to guide his owner on a mission yet Giyuu couldn’t find the heart to ask the master for a replacement.

Despite his many disadvantages, Kanzaburo has always been by Giyuu's side. He has seen through many sorrows, anger, and happiness in Giyuu’s life. He remembers the time when Kanzaburo got heavily injured by a demon, Giyuu cried for days until he finally witnessed Kanzaburo flying to his side. “Giyuu…demon” Kanzaburo mumble “that is a rock Kanzaburo” Giyuu stated while embracing his beloved crow as they walked along the riverside.

Along the way, Giyuu notices a small paper airplane flying towards him. As it lands in front of him the sound of a familiar voice suddenly calls out to him. “Could you throw it back please?” Muichiro was approaching him while his crow followed behind him “useless slayer, how dare you steal Muichiro's treasure?” Unlike her soft appearance, Muichiro kasugai crow's choice of words is sharper than any Nichirin sword.

Even after the rude remarks of his kasugai crow, Giyuu still ended up accompanying Muichiro as he peacefully played with the origami paper. “You made all of this Muichiro?” Giyuu asks while curiously observing all of Muichiro's creation “I like how the paper plane flies in the sky, the one I make actually flies for a long time” the mist hashira stated while demonstrating his claim.

His paper plane indeed flew far away, to the point that neither of them could even see where it went. “Your skill is on another level, all I can make is this simple salmon” Giyuu said while showing his salmon origami to Muichiro “it looks like a normal fish…” Muichiro said with a confused expression “the shape might be a normal fish but the color is what makes it a salmon” Giyuu explained while pointing at the origami orange color “but isn’t salmon only orange because it was cooked?” Even after countless explanations Muichiro still questions Giyuu’s salmon origami.

Giyuu could only sigh as he accepted his defeat, even when there was not much of a competition to begin with. “Hurry up and get shallow by a demon!” Ginkgo mockingly said “Giyuu…I think she is a demon” Kanzaburo stated while hiding on Giyuu's shoulders “hah? Do you wanna die?” as both of their crow are bantering with each other Muichiro can be seen playing with many origami paper.

While Giyuu observed the mist hashira closely, he was hit with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. Tsutako used to bring him to play with her friends and each time they would always have an origami for Giyuu to play with “what are you making Giyuu?” Tsutako asks, curious about what has interested her little brother so much “salmon!” Giyuu then proudly shows his sister the orange fish he has been working on “isn’t that just a normal fish” one of their friends stated “normal fish is blue, this orange!” Giyuu defended his creation “salmon is not even orange!” as they banter back and forth. Tsutako chose to calm the situation by carrying Giyuu in her arms “it’s alright if Giyuu thinks salmon is orange he can believe so, he is still a child afterall” their friend can only breathe a heavy sigh as Tsutako continues to spoil Giyuu even more.

Looking back, their friend must have been infuriated by many of Giyuu’s actions, this is the first that someone has successfully counter him. After a long while of silence Muichiro then approaches Giyuu and hands him an origami, it was in the shape of a fish yet Muichiro version was longer and had more detail making it look like an actual salmon. “I think this is what a salmon looks like” Giyuu could only accept defeat as Muichiro managed to make a better origami than his.

As Giyuu was observing the mist hashira creation, he noticed that the color Muichiro had chosen was the same orange color Giyuu chose “I thought you said salmon is not orange?” Giyuu could see Muichiro flinching a little as he asked a question “it looks like a regular fish with grey or blue…” even as when the young hashira hid his expression, Giyuu had already noticed the slight blush on Muichiro's ears “I agree orange is definitely a salmon color” not wanting to tease the young hashira too much Giyuu had only patted Muichiro's head before parting ways with him.

Night is still hours away but Giyuu decided to visit a market near the water estate. Usually it was Sabito who would buy them food, but Isamu just delivered a letter from him that said his mission would take a little longer due to complications which leaves Giyuu alone for tonight. “Do you have any salmon sir?” Giyuu asks while browsing the fish market “sorry we just ran out, how about some mackerel? It tastes just as good as salmon” Hearing the shop owner's statement, Giyuu couldn’t even hide his disappointment no matter how hard he tried.

Giyuu arrived a bit later to shop for dinner ingredients, most of the shops he visited had run out of the stuff he wanted to buy. “Oh your in luck, we do have one salmon left but it is on the smaller side” the shop owner stated while showing Giyuu the salmon he caught “I don’t mind sir, I will be the only one eating it anyway” as the shop owner pack salmon a familiar figure then approach the stall “excuse me do you have any salmon?” Rengoku asks while carrying multiple items in his hand “sorry sir but that gentleman just bought the last one” Giyuu could feel the awkwardness of the situation as he paid for the salmon while Rengoku stared at him intently.

The light in the flame hashira eyes is as bright as ever. In the past, he would always encourage Giyuu to speak his heart out. Even when the other hashira have given up on him Rengoku still stay true to his encouragement “don’t give up Tomioka” Giyuu was confused at Rengoku's sudden statement “your a strong demon slayer and one of the best hashira, whenever your mind is filled with doubt just come and fight me!” At the time Giyuu didn’t take Rengoku's offer seriously, causing him to close his heart once more.

When news of his death finally reached him, Giyuu felt nothing. Not a single tear was spared for his fallen comrade. The flame hashira died in a brazing battle against an upper moon, protecting Tanjiro and his team even when he had opposed Nazuko during the Kamado sibling’s trial. 

Rengoku is the true embodiment of a hashira, one that Giyuu could never reach. The whole walk home Giyuu had been silent, choosing to listen to Rengoku retelling of his recent mission, it wasn’t until they arrived at the Rengoku estate that the flame hashira finally offered. “Would you like to join us for dinner Tomioka? Sabito is still on his mission right? It will be lonely to eat dinner alone” receiving the sudden invitation Giyuu’s mind is telling him to refuse it, yet looking back to all that the flame hashira had done for him, Giyuu’s heart aches for the first time.

Whether it was guilt or grief he couldn’t bring himself to refuse the flame hashira invitation, as Giyuu took a step into the Rengoku household he prepared his mind to face a regret from his past. “Senjuro I’m back, they ran out of salmon but I bought some mackerels” Rengoku explained while handing his brother all of his ingredients “this is more than enough brother and who might this be?” Senjuro asks while directing his gaze towards Giyuu.

On that night Rengoku saw Giyuu smile for the very first time, as the water breath user retold his story of facing the upper moon Rengoku could see the genuine smile he gave when Senjuro constantly asked him about his mission. “Wait so when you breathe the upper moon blood demon art can poison you?” Senjuro asks with a horrified expression “that is why all of the hashira are developing a new technique to counter each upper moon” Rengoku announces proudly “is that why the water estate was ransacked last night?” Giyuu said with a sharp gaze as Rengoku nervously apologized.

As laughter filled the quiet night Giyuu thought that he was finally part of Rengoku's happy memory, yet the flame hashira smile vanished the moment a crash could be heard from one of the rooms. “Forgive me Tomioka but I think it's best if we end our gathering here” Rengoku stated while Senjuro discreetly left the room. 

The scent of liquor came out of the room Senjuro had entered, it was faint but anyone could notice it right away. Giyuu couldn’t even imagine what both siblings have to endure. Even after Giyuu had insisted that he would be fine walking home alone, Rengoku still set on walking him home. “Your brother is a strong person Mr. Rengoku” Giyuu's sudden compliment managed to surprise the flame hashira “he would be very delighted to hear that” as the water estate came into view Giyuu felt a little disappointed that their meeting had come to an end.

Rengoku is too kind, Giyuu didn’t even know how he managed to keep a smile in such a harsh situation. “Forgive me again for ending our dinner abruptly but there are certain situations I wish to avoid” even the brightest smile couldn’t hide the sorrow lingering in one’s heart. The moment Rengoku started walking away Giyuu’s mind went into a panic, he didn’t know what to do but Giyuu knows that it can’t end like this. 

In the end Giyuu managed to reach towards the flame hashira hand and ask “Mr. Rengoku, may I know what’s your favorite food?” faced with a sudden question Rengoku took some time to think of an answer, out of the many dishes that he consumes there is always one that manages to make him smile every time. “I love miso soup! Specifically miso soup with sweet potato!” Rengoku announce proudly “I’m not very good at talking to people, some say I come off as cold at first but I really enjoy our dinner tonight and so whenever you feel tired or sad your always welcome here” Rengoku was taken a back by Giyuu offer, just a moment ago he had thought that his action managed to scared Giyuu yet the one that ended up getting comforted was Rengoku.

Giyuu is starting to get nervous as Rengoku shows no sign of replying to him, he had debated if he should let go of the flame hashira hand, just as he loosened his grip Rengoku dragged him into a tight embrace. “Thank you for the offer Tomioka, it really means a lot” this was the first time Giyuu had heard Rengoku speak so softly, it was warm and comforting like a tiny flame blazing through the calm night. 

Kanzaburo was already sleeping soundly beside him that night while Giyuu was left wondering about his action today. If the Giyuu in the past had seen him interacting with so many people he would have thought it was an illusion created by demons. “Today feels like a fever dream” Giyuu mumbled as he gazed at the night sky “Giyuu…sleep…” Giyuu couldn’t hold back his laughter the moment he heard Kanzaburo mumbling in his sleep “good night Kanzaburo, let’s build a better future together” That night Giyuu didn’t want to admit it but he wish for this moment of peace to last forever as they continue to face the many challenges ahead.

Chapter Text

The scent of blood filled the air, with strings of web scattered all over the mountain. Tanjiro remembers this mission very clearly. A family of demons controlled by a lower moon, this time he will make sure not to make any mistakes. “I wanna go home!” Zenitsu cried out as he held on to Tanjiro tightly “this place is full of spider webs, yuck” Inosuke stated while trying to clean the spider web on his hand. 

As they walked deeper into the forest they finally caught sight of another demon slayer “who are you?” Murata asks, jumping at everything that managed to get close to him. “We came as back up, my name is Kamado Tanjiro” after he introduces himself Murata finally breathes a sigh of relief “thank goodness but I never heard of a hashira name Kamado before are you new?” Murata's expression turns sour the moment they mention that they were not hashira “why would they send more Mizunoto into this mess! They already sent ten slayers on this mission and all they did was use us against each other! We need a hashira right no-” before Murata could finish his explanation Inosuke immediately punched him in the face “quit your whining, you're just as bad as that creep over there!”

Tanjiro tried to calm them down, yet as they talked the scent of blood started to get closer and closer “you idiot are leading the demon in our direction!” Zenitsu stated while pointing at the horde of slayers approaching them. “That’s not the demon, they are all the slayers that got sent on this mission” Murata's hands start to tremble the moment the dead slayer starts attacking them.

Back in the demon slayer headquarters a kasugai crow was breathing heavily as it finished relaying a message to the Ubuyashiki family. “The twelve kizuki have already made their move, can I entrust this mission to the both of you?” Kagaya asked while gazing at the two hashira, Shinobu had already prepared to leave with Sabito sitting by her side. “As you wish” both hashira stated in unison “if only demons are willing to live by our side peacefully” Shinobu said sarcastically “as long as they devour humans that will never happen” Sabito coldly stated.

In a village not far from mount Natagumo Giyuu was already waiting for Kanzaburo to deliver his mission. “Giyuu…mission” he then patted Kanzaburo's head before preparing to depart. “Lead the way” he stated before following the kasugai direction. Unlike his previous mission this time Giyuu feels a little more at ease. The lower moon has been proven to not be much of a threat Sabito could take them on with ease.

What worries Giyuu right now is if an upper moon will suddenly appear. Just like what happened to lower moon four, Muzan could use the lower moon as a distraction allowing the upper moon to kill the last remaining survivor. The possibilities are endless, this time Giyuu needs to be ready for everything. “Someone help me!” hearing the loud cries of help Giyuu didn’t hesitate to rush and help, yet what greeted him was the remains of a human slowly mutating into a demon.

The slayer's hands were covered by purple bruises that slowly deformed her body, her eyes bloodshot red with the only sign of humanity being her voice. “Please…help me” her voice was weak yet she still tried to reach out to Giyuu, but it was already too late. He took a deep breath before swinging his sword “thank you for your hard word, leave the rest to me” that was the last thing she could hear before finally falling into a deep slumber.

Deep inside of the forest both hashira managed to track down most of the slayer, many of them are not fortunate to survive. “Do you know any of them?” Shinobu asked curiously “beginner slayer that used to train in my estate. It’s unfortunate that my teaching was not enough to save them” Sabito stated while closing their eyes for the last time.

Even as they venture further in the mountain Sabito could not see any sign of Tanjiro being around. The kasugai crow mentions many beginners Mizunoto was assigned to work on this mission, Sabito could only hope that Tanjiro is strong enough to face a twelve kizuki member. “You’ve been very distant with me recently Mr. Sabito, it would be nice to get along since the master entrusted us with the same mission” Shinobu said playfully “I’m only here to slay demons, we should focus on that before playing around” Sabito stated sternly, she couldn’t even see his expression as Sabito constantly wear a fox mask during his mission. “serious as ever, then we should split up from here. I shall take on the west side” that was the last thing Shinobu said before rushing towards the west side of the mountain, leaving Sabito to investigate alone.

The mountainside atmosphere has become calmer ever since Tanjiro slain the spider woman, yet the familiar scent of acid odor surrounding them managed to put him on edge. Just like before another demon appeared at the other side of the river “Inosuke be on guard! She is not alone!” Just as Tanjiro warns his friend, a gigantic figure descends to the ground.

It was a muscular demon possessing the same pattern as the other, his body was bigger with a giant spider form as his head. In the past Tanjiro remembers struggling to defeat the demon but this time he won’t get hurt as easily. “Water breathing, second form: water wheel!” Even when Tanjiro uses all of his strength to swing his sword, it isn’t enough to cut through the demon’s hand.

Witnessing the slayer struggle, the spider father then raises his fist towards Tanjiro only for it to be blocked by Inosuke’s blade. “It's too damn hard!” Inosuke complained, enraged by the slayer's action the spider father threw both Tanjiro and Inosuke away from him. “Why can’t I cut through him? I’ve cut through many upper moon’s bodies before so why?” as Tanjiro was distracted the spider father took the opportunity to attack him only for Tanjiro to swiftly dodge the attack.

Not wanting to lose to his friends, Inosuke changed straight at the demon with all of his strength “where are you looking at? Your real opponent is me!” Yet his strength alone was not enough to withstand the full force of the spider father punch. “Damn it, this stupid injury is holding me back” blood starts dripping from his wound, combined with the overwhelming pain all over his body Inosuke has no choice but to run away.

As the spider father was distracted by Inosuke Tanjiro decided to use the same technique he utilized in the past, he rushed to the biggest tree and cut through its trunk. The moment Inosuke passed by him the tree immediately fell and crushed the spider father beneath it, seizing the opportunity Tanjiro concentrated on his breathing and launched a powerful attack “total concentration. water breathing, tenth form: constant flux!” Before his sword could even reach him the spider father shielded himself with the tree causing Tanjiro to be thrown far away.

The moment he was lifted into the air all Tanjiro could think about is the danger Inosuke will face the moment he was left alone with the spider father “Inosuke! Stay alive! I will come back! So no matter what, don't you dare die!” That was the last thing Inosuke heard before standing face to face with the demon alone.

On the far west side of Natagumo mountain Zenitsu was left crying up in a tree “Tanjiro you coward! Even after you gave a whole speech about sticking by my side the whole mission, in the end you left me to die!” No matter how much Chuntaro tries Zenitsu can never calm down. The sparrow has watched the young man dodge every single attack the demon thrown at him yet all he could think about is his own fear of dying. 

Back when the demon was controlling all of the dead slayers, Tanjiro entrusted him to distract the demon with Murata but with just a single swing of the slayer sword Zenitsu had already started running. “Chuntaro, is this mountain really that big? I just wanna go home in shame already” Zenitsu complained yet all the answer he got was an angry pecking from his sparrow.

It wasn’t until Zenitsu finally observed his surroundings that he witnessed the most terrifying scene. A house stood tall amongst the forest as it was attracted to a singular spider web, below them many humans were tied to the web while some of them can barely even be called human. Their hair started to fall out and their hands morphed into spider-like legs. The moment Zenitsu recognized the demon slayer uniform some of them had worn he could feel his heart start to drop. 

For a moment Zenitsu feels like he is already in hell yet the pungent scent surrounding him wakes him back to reality. “Why is my throat stinging so badly?” Zenitsu mumbled while trying to block out the hideous scent, just as he thought it couldn’t get any worse a sudden noise came from the house startling both him and his sparrow. A humongous spider demon then scrawled out of the house, its head took the form of a human man with a red-like pattern surrounding his face.

The demon doesn’t need to speak as his appearance has already terrified Zenitsu to the brink of death. “No screw this, I’m not talking to you!” witnessing the slayer run in fear the spider demon couldn’t hold back his laughter “it’s useless to run away, you have already lost” the spider demon mockery has only caused Zenitsu to run even faster “it’s not like standing still will be any better!” he stated while being held back by Chuntaro “you don’t believe me? Look at your hands” Zenitsu didn’t want to believe anything the demon said yet after witnessing his hand filled with purple blisters he had finally understood what the spider demon meant.

Laughter filled the entire forest as the spider demon laughed at the fear Zenitsu showed “you were so scared of dying that you didn’t realize one of my spiders bit you, once you were bitten by their kind your body will transform into a spider. Just like everyone here” Zenitsu could only stare at the spider demon in fear as he vividly described what will happen to him in the next 30 minutes.

As the demon observed him from afar he had commanded multiple of his creations to chase Zenitsu around the area, tormenting the boy as he awaited his fateful death. “Didn’t I tell you that running away-” before he could even finish mocking the slayer Zenitsu had already cut him off. “It's futile! I know! I understand okay!” In the end Zenitsu can only climb high up in a tree to avoid the spider demon creation.

Since the very beginning it has always been like this, his fear has always clouded his mind the moment Zenitsu steps into the battlefield. “Get it together! Stop crying! Stop running away!” Each time his mentor found him running away Zenitsu would always get a thorough scolding “come down from that tree and get back to training!” his mentor shouted “no way! If this keeps up I’m gonna die! Just let me rest gramps!” Zenitsu cried out.

In truth Zenitsu hated himself more than anyone, he was a pathetic man who wanted to do everything for the people he loved. Yet the moment he even tried to prove himself Zenitsu had nothing to show. He wanted to be strong, he wanted to become someone that people rely on yet no matter how many chances he got to prove himself Zenitsu would always run in fear. “Why? I already tried my best! I was so adamant on not going on this mission but Tanjiro was so nice and trusted my ability! Yet here I am getting poison and am about to turn into a monster!” as he was having a mental breakdown the spider demon could only stare at the boy in confusion.

Even when the demon had done everything to taunt Zenitsu, the slayer had done nothing to attack the demon back. This had only made the spider demon even more suspicious of the slayer, could such a coward person really be a demon slayer? Just as he thought Zenitsu had given up he witnessed the slayer charging straight at him.

The young man moves so fast that the spider demon barely has time to react, as a reflex the spider demon spits out a large amount of acid from his mouth. In the last minute Zenitsu managed to dodge, causing the acid to melt the surrounding tree. “Did he just twist his body midair? And he is not crying for once?” Yet even as the slayer started to get close to him the spider demon noticed that he had been holding the same pose over and over again.

As the demon commanded his creation to attack, Zenitsu form never falters while he dodges every attack his creation has thrown at him. “I understand now, he must have only known one form. I feel sorry a weak person like you got accepted to be a demon slayer” the demon mocks while constantly attacking Zenitsu.

Despite all of his effort none of the demon attacks managed to reach Zenitsu, the spider demon thought that this would be an easy fight by how the young man acted after meeting him yet no matter how hard he tried Zenitsu refused to die. “You brat! Just stay still and accept your fate!” the spider demon yelled out in annoyance.

If only he had paid more attention the demon would have noticed Giyuu’s blade cutting his web. The sound of crashing echoed through the entire forest as the house came crumbling down to the ground. Crushing the spider demon along with it “your not a twelve kizuki” hearing the slayer word the spider demon leaps into the air and lands on one of the trees.

Blood started oozing out of the demon’s body with many of his legs broken upon impact “another slayer? It doesn’t matter how much of your kind they sent, I have enough blood to kill all of you!” as Giyuu was preparing himself to attack the demon a thundering roar could be heard from behind him.

Zenitsu stood tall maintaining the same form as he cut through the bodies of all the spider demon creations. The air around them starts to vibrate while Zenitsu lifts himself into the air and cuts through the demon’s neck “thunder breathing, first form: thunderclap and flash sixthfold!” As the thunderous roar echoed through the forest Zenitsu's body had already become numb, with the little time he had left as a human the young man then closed his eyes as he slowly descended to the ground.

Chapter Text

Even when the spider demon has been defeated, the poison embedded in Zenitsu's body is already spreading rapidly. The purple blister around his hand started to spread around his body rendering him immobile and just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse an overwhelming pain started to sting his entire body making it hard to even breathe.

It doesn’t matter how hard Zenitsu tries, in the end he will still cry and run away. He has only defeated the demon through sheer luck, if it were a more powerful foe Zenitsu would already be dead from the start. “I want a happy dream, one where I am strong and can help everyone in trouble. Maybe then all of Gramp's effort will not be in vain” as Zenitsu mumbled to himself a gentle stroke could be felt on his forehead.

That night, under the moonlight, he caught sight of a beautiful woman; her hair was a radiant blue, and her eyes were as deep as the ocean. “Don’t give up, keep your breathing steady. Someone will arrive soon with a medicine to cure you” the woman's voice was a bit deeper than Zenitsu had thought yet the kindness she showed him managed to give him the motivation to live on.

Chuntaro could be seen crying by his slayer side. Giyuu could tell that the poison was already at its full effect, any minute and Zenitsu could be turned into a demon. “Kanzaburo can I entrust you to look for Miss Kochou? The situation is dire. We can't afford to make any mistake” as his crow flew deep inside the forest Giyuu took the time to comfort the little sparrow “Your owner is going to live, stay by his side until help arrived” it wasn’t until Chuntaro finally calmed down that Giyuu finally rushed towards the other side of the mountain.

Blood trails spread through the forest as Inosuke hid from the spider father's sight yet it didn't matter how long he ran, the blood he left behind was enough for the demon to track him down. How does one defeat a demon that can’t be cut with a sword? That is all Inosuke could think of, no matter how strong he swung his sword at the demon it would always get stuck at his flesh. 

The tree Inosuke used to hide behind came crumbling down with a single blow from the spider father's punch. The young man's legs move on his own as if all he could think of is running away “I need to get away, until he comes back I nee-” As Inosuke was running away his body suddenly came to a halt the moment he was reminded of Tanjiro “what is wrong with me?” The demon movement was suddenly stopped at the sight of Inosuke dashing towards him.

Inosuke then plunged his sword at the spider father's arm with all of his strength and constantly stuck it with his other sword until it finally managed to cut through the demon’s arm. “Tonratro has been infecting my mind! Using my head? What use does that make!” screams of pain could be heard throughout the forest as the spider father ran away from the slayer. “Don’t you dare run from me! Come back here demon!” Inosuke shouted.

As the demon led the slayer inside the mountain slowly his arm started to regenerate, just when Inosuke thought he had finally got the upper hand the spider father's body started to tremble. “Are you trembling at the sight of the great Inosuke? Well it’s too late to beg for mercy!” It wasn't until Inosuke witnessed the demon’s body start to melt that he finally understood what was happening.

The spider father tears off his weaker skin revealing a sharper body underneath. His arms were filled with spikes revealing every vein that is visible, his mouth was open with multiple sharp fangs taunting the young man. This time the demon stares directly at Inosuke before jumping down to the ground.

Just the mere sight of the demon was enough to scare anyone away, even Inosuke could sense an overwhelming power just from staring at the spider father. “There is no way…I can’t win” for the first time the young man's voice was trembling, as if he had already accepted the fate in front of him.

In his last moment he could hear a familiar voice shouting at him “Inosuke! Stay alive! I will come back! So no matter what, don't you dare die!” Tanjiro's voice was sharp, it managed to pierce through Inosuke's doubt and gave him the courage to change straight at the demon. Witnessing the slayer fighting back, the spider father then launches a powerful punch at Inosuke causing him to be thrown far away.

The demon’s movement was fast and powerful but Inosuke still managed to dodge just in time before the spider father launched another attack at him. “Beast breathing, third fang: tear and gorge!” as Inosuke swung both of his swords at the demon’s neck, only for it to break upon impact.

Enraged, the spider father punches the slayer away causing Inosuke to crash into a tree “damn it…I couldn’t…break my fall in time” the young man's voice is weaker now as all of the injuries he accumulated have started to impact him. Witnessing Inosuke trembling on the ground, the spider father grabs him by the head and prepares to kill him.

It tightened his grip before threatening him once more “stay away from my family!” not willing to die so easily Inosuke then gathered all his last remaining strength to launch another attack “beast breathing, first fang: pierce and bore!” His sword managed to pierce the demon's neck yet the spider father did not show any fear, instead he raised Inosuke high into the air while slowly crushing the young man's head making sure he felt all of the pain.

In his last moment memories of his past came rushing in Inosuke's mind “forgive me Inosuke. All I want is for you to survive” the woman’s words were gentle even as blood tainted her clothes Inosuke could still remember her warm embrace. Yet it’s strange he couldn’t remember who she was and why he could remember her.

Just as the demon thought he had finally defeated the slayer, the sound of footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching them. It moves so fast that the spider father didn’t realize he had arrived until his arm was cut into pieces. Sabito managed to catch Inosuke in time. He gently placed Inosuke on the ground before charging straight at the demon “water breathing, fourth form: striking tide!” In an instant the spider father's body crumbles to the ground and disappears into the wind.

Sabito's movement was fast and aggressive giving demons no time to defend themself, as he wiped his sword clean of demon blood the water hashira witnessed Inosuke staring at him with excitement in his eyes. “You should lie still for now, the injury you sustain would only be worse if you move so much” even when Sabito told him to rest Inosuke couldn’t hold back his excitement any longer “I was never injured, now that you have defeated that demon the great Inosuke challenges you to a fight!” the young man announced proudly.

Upon hearing the naive challenge Sabito took out a pair of ropes before answering “too weak, too slow, too immature. A slayer like yourself can’t even be considered a man” Inosuke didn’t even know which insult to be mad at “what did you say! I’ll have you know I was just about to kill that kizuki!” Inosuke stated in anger “kizuki? You can’t even tell if a demon is a twelve kizuki or not, go back to training then maybe i’ll finally consider you a man” Inosuke was about to attack Sabito with his sword yet all he feels was his whole body getting restrain, he didn’t even realize the water hashira had tied him up a tree “come back here and fight me you ugly fox! Damn it! Once kentaro comes back to rescue me you will be the first one i’m hunting down!” ignoring Inosuke rage Sabito quickly made his way up the mountain in search of the real twelve kizuki.

The scent of blood filled the air as the moment Rui's sharp web was about to cut through Tanjiro's body, Nezuko jumped in his place and took the blow for him. “Nezuko! Wake up please, I’m sorry you have to protect me” blood started oozing out of Nezuko's body as her hands and legs were cut off upon impact.

Rui's eyes started to light up. This was his first time witnessing such a powerful bond. A demon sister putting her life on the line to protect her demon slayer brother. That kind of genuine bond is something that Rui has always yearned for “wait Rui! I’m your sister right? Please don’t abandon me!” The spider sister's word has only annoyed the lower moon as he launches an attack upon hearing her beg.

Blood splattered all over the area as the spider sister's body was cut to pieces upon coming in contact with Rui’s web “none of you have succeeded in fulfilling your role, if you truly wish to be my family then go kill all of the remaining slayer!” faced with the lower moon wrath she could only obey Rui’s command and start descending the mountain.

So far everything that happens mirrors the past. From the moment they step into the mountain to his confrontation with Rui, yet despite his advantage Tanjiro is still struggling to cut through the lower moon’s web. Tanjiro remembers the technique, he remembers every form of water breathing and hinokami kagura but his strength remains the same as when he first became a demon slayer.

It infuriates him as Tanjiro is aware that he could cut through Rui’s web yet his sword still broke the moment he came close to the lower moon. “You may come out now boy, I have an offer for you” Rui’s voice was more gentle than usual, as if he wanted Tanjiro to listen to him. “I already know what you're going to say. Let me be very clear, I will never hand Nezuko over to you” Tanjiro stated coldly, his grip on Nezuko becoming tight while trying to help heal his sister.

Despite the lower moon's generous offer Tanjiro did not falter, he stuck to his original statement as he held on to Nezuko tightly while awaiting Rui’s attack. “Your gaze really irritates me, do you really think someone like you could defeat me?” As the lower moon flicked his hand Tanjiro started to swiftly avoid every single web he threw at them. Nezuko was still unconscious in his arms making it hard for Tanjiro to move freely.

Each web that was thrown was faster than the others, one single mistake could cost Tanjiro his life as each web managed to cut through his haori. Tanjiro remembers the fear he felt the moment Rui started to attack him in the past, back then he was weaker and slower making it easy for the lower moon to overwhelm him. But this time he is not afraid Tanjiro still remembers the knowledge each hashira gave to him, making it easy for him to dodge every single attack.

Witnessing the young man's skill Rui didn’t expect him to survive for this long, Tanjiro leaps from one tree to another as he swiftly avoids the lower moon attacks. “Enough your determination is annoying” Rui stated while controlling his web to grab Nezuko. “You're fast, I'll give you that but do you really think you can cut through my neck?” Hearing the lower moon question, Tanjiro was reminded of crucial information.

Back then Rui’s neck was too hard for him to cut through, he tried using all of his remaining strength yet the only reason Tanjiro managed to cut through Rui’s neck was hinokami kagura and Nezuko’s blood demon art. “Do you understand now? There is no way that you could beat me” Rui managed to kick Tanjiro far away, causing Nezuko to yell in distress. “Shut up” the web grip on Nezuko suddenly became tighter as each web managed to pierce through her skin.

In the end Tanjiro was not strong enough, even when he moved his body the same as before Tanjiro could never cut through the lower moon’s web. Why? Why now when he finally gets the chance to save them all. The sight of Giyuu's limp body in his hand still haunts him to this very day. Tanjiro never wanted to make the same mistake.

“Tanjiro calm your mind, control your breathing and let fate do its part” as his father's words echo through his mind, memories of the past flash before him. Tanjiro didn’t become strong in an instant. It took him years to finally refine his skill, he struggled to use his breathing technique outside of battle, he struggled to cut a weaker demon's neck, and he struggled a lot in the beginning of his journey. 

He was not a prodigy, he was not gifted, Tanjiro is just someone that wanted to protect his sister. “Why are you the one always suffering? Don’t lose yourself brother, come back home to us” that was the last thing Nezuko said to him before tearing her body into pieces, such a cruel future. Tanjiro will never let it happen again. He could feel his body getting faster and faster while finally managing to cut through Rui’s web.

The lower moon gazes at Tanjiro in rage as the young man manages to cut through every attack Rui throws at him. “Blood demon art: cutting gossamer cage!” The lower moon embedded his blood onto the surrounding web, forming a cage trapping Tanjiro inside with no way of escaping. Tanjiro concentrates his breathing, remembering everything that his father had taught him in the past. Hinokami Kagura, the tradition that his father has kept for him to carry into the future. Tanjiro will make sure to utilize it to its final potential. 

As the web started to approach him Tanjiro’s body moved on his own as the young man twisted his sword through the blood demon art “Hinokami Kagura: waltz!” Witnessing Tanjiro's powerful movement Rui launches countless attacks towards the young man “is that a different breathing?” The lower moon didn’t have time to observe as Tanjiro started charging towards him. Multiple webs were sent to attack the young man yet Tanjiro pierced through every single one.

In a split second Tanjiro managed to pierce through all of Rui’s web and struck his sword at the lower moon’s neck, even when he used up all his strength it still wasn’t enough to behead the demon. Hearing her brother's struggle, Nezuko finally woke up. The moment she witnessed Tanjiro strike his sword against Rui’s neck. She seized the opportunity to attack “blood demon art: blood burst!” In an instant the blood-stained Tanjiro sword was embedded by pink flame, giving the young man enough strength to cut through the lower moon's neck.

 Knowing what’s going to happen, Tanjiro tried to cut through Rui’s body yet the lower moon had already summoned his webs to surround him once more. “Are you happy now? I don’t know if that flame was your sister's ability but I guess I should thank you. Now I won’t feel sorry for killing you” Tanjiro is not afraid, he gazes at Rui with a stern expression as Sabito rushes towards his side and easily cuts through the lower moon’s web.

A familiar fox mask and accompanied by peach colored hair, Tanjiro doesn’t need to ask as the sight of Sabito standing before him alive and well is still clear in his memory. “You work hard, leave the rest to me” The arrival of another slayer had only managed to enrage the lower moon even more. Rui gathered all of his strength to launch a large attack “blood demon art: cutting web mandala!” As the lower moon web starts to rapidly approach them Sabito focuses his sight onto Rui before charging straight at the demon.

Sabito launches himself forward as each web that came in contact with his sword was cut swiftly, the water hashira leaps from one tree to another building a powerful motion as he charges towards the lower moon “total concentration. Water breathing, twelve forms: rust of heroism!” In a mere second the lower moon body was cut into pieces, leaving only traces of his blood as proof of his existence.

Despite the blood splattered all over the area Sabito managed to remain clean, as none of the blood managed to even come close to touching him. The twelve techniques of water breathing developed by Sabito are just as deadly as Tanjiro imagined it to be. “Are you alright?” a familiar voice called out to him, when Tanjiro turned around Giyuu was there carrying Nezuko in his arms. 

Tears started streaming down Tanjiro's face as the sight of his past mentor standing in front of him alive brought him more joy than he had thought. “I’m alright Mr. Giyuu-” just as he was about to hug him Sabito smacked the Tanjiro in the head “a man doesn't call his elder by their first name, it’s Tomioka you brat” the water hashira wanted to scold the young boy more harshly yet his partner's worried gaze managed to make Sabito hold back his strength.

Remembering what happened in the past, Tanjiro managed to drag Giyuu and Nezuko away as Sabito blocked Shinobu's sudden attack. “Oh my, for what reason would you get in my way, Mr Sabito?” The insect hashira tone was playful yet the rage hidden in her eyes is as clear as Tanjiro remembers.