Disclaimer: I don't own KNY or RWBY
Prologue
Giyuu Tomioka's promotion to the rank of Hashira was a rather sombre business. The previous Hashira had died in a recent assignment, killed by a horde of demons that had overpowered her in an ambush. And so it was up to a 16 year old boy who was thoroughly unqualified for the position to take up the role.
It said quite a lot about how stretched the demon slayers were. The audacity of an unprepared, woefully unqualified child to become the water pillar. The ceremony had been conducted at the dead of night with only two people: Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the demon slayer corps, and of course, himself.
It was strange how only a few years ago, he would have strived for this position and would have been gleeful to accept it. Naive. Foolish. He was almost criminally foolish then, and perhaps he still was, considering he had accepted the rank in the end. It was an inevitable thing. Even if he also knew that he didn't deserve the position of a Hashira, he also knew that at the current moment he was the best in line for the role.
Still, he couldn't accept the position. Technically he was a pillar, but he wouldn't accept it truly until he had earnt himself that position.
But with the ghost of a pink haired heroic demon slayer trailing behind him, constantly reminding him of his inadequacy, perhaps he would never reach that point in life. Not until he died, which considering the average lifespan of a demon slayer, was presumably not very far away.
The previous Hashira had been skilled after all. But skill could only do so much when you risked your life every waking moment you had. Eventually, everyone's luck would run out. Just like the previous Hashira, just like the dozens of demon slayers he had personally known who had died on missions.
Just like a certain pink haired fool.
A fool that he would constantly have to chase no matter what. A fool he couldn't help but admire more than anything else.
Giyuu twitched. A wave of emotion flooded him. Nostalgia from old memories, sadness out of what he could never achieve, anger for the concept of death. Anger because his only confidant had the guile to get himself killed for the sake of swordsmen that wouldn't last a year anyway.
Giyuu, I know that these guys are probably gonna die later on in the field. But if I see them in danger and don't jump in to help, what kind of person would that make me?
He clenched his fists.
"A fool," he whispered. "It makes you a fool."
Because here he was, sitting in a room that was part of a house that was too big for him, with a blade that he had only been able to hone from the blood of those who had given their lives to save him, and with a position that someone else deserved. Someone who was sociable and heroic and confident. Someone who didn't need to be saved.
What kind of pillar would he be if he was always going to be the one being helped? If others would always be the ones sacrificing their lives for his?
The wind twisted and turned in the air, changing directions rapidly. It felt almost spiritual with its timing.
That night, Giyuu slept with his Haori on, his sword clutched to his side. It was his only link to the past, after all. His only link to the boy who frankly- should have been where he was now.
Fate was a funny little thing. The most skilled of warriors could be fated to die, and the most bumbling child could inevitably save the world. Similarly, Giyuu Tomioka had never been destined for greatness. Eventual happiness, perhaps. But the role of saving the world would always be left to another boy no matter what. A boy with a goal in his mind and a head as hard as steel.
It was inevitable. In one way or the other, Tanjiro Kamado would kill Muzan Kibutsuji. It was an event that was a constant no matter what would happen.
But sometimes, a river can indeed fluctuate. Throw a stone into a river and it ripples. Throw a bucketful of lava into it and it possibly flat out stops becoming a river altogether.
And as Giyuu Tomioka slept that night, the winds simply wouldn't stop changing direction.
It was a growl of a wolf that woke him up.
A wolf. Growling.
Giyuu's eyes snapped wide open, his vision instantly being filled with sunlight. Crap! Since when was I outside? Didn't I go to sleep inside of a house? And grass? Why do I feel grass under me? Why is there a wolf growling? Is this some sort of demon blood art?
Despite the blinding light that briefly killed his vision, he did his best to stand up. If a demon had attacked him and trapped him in a blood art while he was asleep, he was in danger. Large danger, and so were the rest of the demon slayer corps. Quickly unsheathing his sword, he honed his ears with practiced ease and flicked his eyes from left to right, trying to find the wolf that he had very clearly heard.
Now where- there it is!
The wolf- which despite sounding like the familiar animal sure didn't look like a wolf at all, was an alien looking creature with a skull mask and pitch black fur and bones protruding from its limbs. It also positively did not look like any sort of demon Giyuu had ever encountered in his life, despite giving off the same hostile aura.
Demons were green, with occasionally purple and white color schemes. Demons were definitely not pitch black with red and yellow skull masks. Demons also never had fur, at least to his personal experience. Maybe this is just something rare that I've never seen before?
That was when the other wolves joined in. Immediately after noticing the first wolf, Giyuu found himself surrounded on all sides by similar creatures. Alright, so it travels in packs. That's strange, then. I've seen tons of demons so far as a demon slayer. Why wouldn't I have encountered one that looks even remotely similar to this?
Before he could finish the thought, the wolves pounced.
Giyuu narrowed his eyes, thankful that he had mastered constant total concentration breathing a year before. It saved him a precious moment that he could use to otherwise think. But this time, it was a demon he had never encountered before in his life. It looked like an easy kill, but he would have to be careful.
Overconfidence was a demon slayer's most fatal enemy. And he was a Hashira, like it or not. He wouldn't get himself killed this easily out of arrogance.
The first wolf jumped. It was a straightforward, obvious attack that felt animalistic in the way that most lower demons did. From what I can tell so far, these creatures aren't intelligent. At best, they want to kill me and nothing more. They have no sense of actual tactics other than perhaps moving and attacking in a pack.
And in that case...
When the second wolf pounced a split second after Giyuu sidestepped the first wolf's attack, the swordsman twirled his blade towards his side, the point of the ninchirin sword soon finding itself embedded inside the head of the demonic seeming creature. Giyuu let out a sigh of relief. So these creatures were weak after all, it seemed. His sword sliced through them almost too easily, even easier than the lowest level demons.
That was good. For a brief moment, he had feared that the wolf would have some form of impenetrable skin. And now that he could confirm that the creatures were indeed easy to kill, he could dispatch the situation quickly and efficiently.
Water breathing, Second form! Water wheel!
With a flourish and a spin, Giyuu spun his blade horizontally, a trail of ocean blue water following the blade to create a perfect circle that expanded outwards, cutting everything in its path. The wheel of water bisected the wolves with deadly efficiency, the creatures dissipating after their collective death.
Just like a demon, Giyuu immediately thought. Except this felt oddly different in a way. Perhaps it was the color difference, but the way that these creatures dissipated didn't look like how other demons dissipated. And now that I think about it, many of these creatures are dead even though I didn't cut their necks... Giyuu felt his mind stir at that. Could this be a new, stranger breed of demons?
That wouldn't be good. If these were newer versions of demons created by Muzan, then even if these particular ones were weak, that would also mean that there were stronger ones out there. That meant more and more trouble for the demon slayer corps. More and more dead corpsmen.
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.
Giyuu sheathed his sword, making sure to position it so that he could draw it as quickly as possible if he needed it. And then, he looked towards the direction the first wolf had come from and sprinted forwards. He didn't have an exact plan yet, but in his defense, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to get out of whatever blood art this demon had created.
And he wasn't about to sit in an exposed clearing like a sitting duck waiting to get ambushed. Right now, keeping himself moving was the best idea that he had, and going in the direction of the first wolf seemed like the most natural choice available at the moment.
Total concentration breathing enhanced his physical abilities as he jumped from tree to tree, finding the forwards momentum he got from pushing off a faster alternative to running. On the way forward, he encountered a few more wolves and the occasional demonic bear, both of which he dispatched rather easily.
Still, there didn't seem to be an end in sight.
Giyuu stopped, landing on the floor in a small clearing.
Maybe I'm thinking of this too literally? This seems to be the obvious work of a blood demon art. So obviously the solution to these problems wouldn't be obvious. But what could I do? Stab my sword into the ground and try to break the illusion? Is there a hidden spot? Something I've missed, maybe?
He rubbed the back of his head in frustration. It was both deadly and extremely frustrating how varied and strange some blood demon arts could be. This one wasn't deadly to him so far, but it could soon turn extremely deadly, or even possibly trap him here for an indefinite amount of time. Is that even possible? There must be some way to get out of this, right?
That was when the scorpion showed up.
Damn his luck.
Crashing the biggest tree in the area as it raced towards his location, the giant scorpion demon, a demon with the same color scheme as the bear and the wolf, crawled towards him. Immediately, Giyuu could notice that this one was stronger. Much stronger, at least compared to the previous two.
He doubted that it would be too much of a challenge either, but he would still be careful. There was no room for mistakes when fighting a demon.
Quickly brandishing his sword, he raised it in a defensive stance, ready to block and counterattack whatever the demon would send his way. Considering this one looks like a scorpion, I'll probably have to watch out for its pincer and front arms. It might be poisonous too, so I'll have to be careful not to be hit.
Especially since the tip of its pincer was bright yellow. He would have to watch out for that part especially. Maybe if I wait for it to attack me first, then attack? I'll probably be able to cut off the pincer with no problem. It looks like it's the thinnest part of the beast.
And attack it did. With deadly speed that surprised even the water Hashira, the demonic creature stabbed forwards with its pincer, the deadly yellow tip flying towards his face. Giyuu responded immediately, jumping directly upwards and forwards to avoid the attack.
And now! Water breathing, first form! Water surface slash!
Mid air, he flipped his body forwards and prepared his sword before slicing downwards, a stream of water once again trailing his blade. Although the tail gave much more resistance than the wolf or the bear, the ninchirin blade tore through the creature's tail with deadly speed.
The creature stumbled backwards, howling in pain. Giyuu quickly took the opportunity that he had to finish off the creature, landing on the ground a decent distance away from the scorpion demon before employing water breathing technique to close the distance between him and the creature.
Ninth form: Splashing water flow!
The ninth form of water breathing was one that was fairly underused in combat in his opinion. While it was less... orthrodox compared to simply slicing off a demon's head, the technique was certainly useful, and he had found himself using it quite often in more drawn out fights and fights where he was clearly outnumbered.
Running speed and mobility made a huge difference.
Quickly closing the distance between the demon and himself, Giyuu jumped, ending the breathing technique as he landed on the beast's body. Usually I would aim for the neck, but considering this particular breed of monsters don't seem to require decapitation, I think an easier way to kill it would be to simply stab it in a vital area.
Once again pushing himself upwards with a jump and a flip, the water Hashira found himself staring down directly at the middle of the scorpion's head. Flourishing his sword once more, he aimed downwards.
Water breathing, eighth form! Waterfall basin!
Water trailing the ninchirin blade one last time, Giyuu drove his ninchirin blade vertically down into the scorpion beast's head, the blade of the sword cutting through the armor and directly into the head. Immediately afterwards, the creature's head blew apart with an explosion of water, killing it instantly.
The demon slayer sheathed his blade as the monster dissipated. That was when he noticed a new figure, hiding in the trees. Is that... A person?
He gripped his sword, preparing to attack or defend at any given moment. These monsters were generally easier to dispatch than high level demons. But people? A humanoid shape indicated a demon demon, the type of demon he was almost intimately familiar with by now.
The figure emerged from the trees slowly but steadily, and Giyuu didn't take his hand off of his sword.
And then, the figure came into view completely, his arms raised.
"Might wanna put down the sword, kid. There's really no need to be angry, we're all fighting grimm around these parts, right?" said the man. The man who didn't look like a demon at all. In fact, he looked more like an ordinary person, albeit a bit overly lanky. Also, grimm? Are those the monsters that I found?
Giyuu didn't release his grip. He eyed the man carefully, trying to look for any slip-ups. It's not possible that demons can imitate actual humans inside their arts, right? Can they?
The uncertainty was more frustrating than ever.
"How do I know that you aren't a demon in disguise?" Giyuu carefully asked. The man looked at him with a curious expression.
"Demons? Like the monsters that your mom tells you about in fairy tales? They aren't real, kid. Only the grimm are." said the man. "Or is that what you call them in Mistral? Never been 'round that part of the world for too long just yet, so I dunno about the names and language there."
"Mistral?" Giyuu asked, before carefully proceeding with a, "How do I get out of this place? Are you trapped in here as well?"
"H- huh?"
"My name is... Sanju Takahashi," he lied, deciding to conceal his name just in case, "I am a... I am a mizunoto from the demon slayer corps. Considering your age, how long have you been trapped in this place?"
The man looked frustrated. "Look kid," he said, "I have no clue what the fuck you're talking about. My name's Qrow Branwen, I'm a huntsman from Vale, I came here on an assignment and found you passing by. I'm not trapped anywhere, and neither are you for that matter."
Giyuu narrowed his eyes.
"Then get me out of here," he ordered. "Tell me how to release myself from this demon art."
There was a high chance he was being led into a trap, but at the moment he had no spare options, and this was his best lead forward. He didn't like it, but he didn't see any other option. This man was the only person- possibly Demon- that was capable of speaking to him, after all.
The man sighed.
"All right then. You're weird and annoying as shit, but I'll lead you to the bullheads." said the man before he turned around and started walking onwards. He's showing his back to me? Could that be a sign that he's actually a human being? Or is he simply trying to get me to let my guard down?
He noticed the strange contraption stuck to the man's belt. It almost looked like a weapon, except it didn't seem to follow any conventional rule for a weapon at all. It didn't look like a sword, axe, bow, or anything for that matter. But it had bladed edges and a handle which Giyuu assumed was for gripping.
The two travelled in silence for a brief while, the man occasionally taking a drink out of a flask full of what Giyuu assumed was water.
Or at least, he hoped it was water.
A demon slayer drinking alcohol in the middle of a mission? Him especially?
It was pure insanity.
"Hey kid," Branwen called out, interrupting his thoughts. "We're here. Get into one of these bullheads and it'll take you to Patch. I don't have the time to deal with you right now, so look for a blonde guy that looks stupid."
Stepping out of the clearing, Giyuu saw... things that he couldn't quite understand. The "bullheads" that Branwen had talked about were clearly gigantic, metallic things, perched on the smooth grass. But why? Giyuu didn't quite understand the purpose of having such huge chunks of metal. Are they like... train carts? Is that how I can get out of this? I suppose that could work... metaphorically...
Sighing, he finally pushed down his paranoia to the best of his ability before stepping towards the giant metal carriage. Look for a dumb looking blonde man? That's... not really descriptive at all. What does a stupid man look like? What does a stupid blonde man look like...? What does this even have to do with getting out of here? Is this some kind of trap?
As he approached the carriage, the door opened automatically, making him stop in surprise. Gee, he thought, all this new technology stuff really is impressive. Maybe I should actually listen to Shinobu about all of this stuff, it could actually be pretty helpful... as irritating as she may be sometimes.
Inside the carriage were cushioned seats. Giyuu sat himself down in one, feeling rather awkward inside the carriage. Though how would it move? I don't see any train tracks anywhere, maybe it's hidden?
"Alright, we're taking off to Patch!" announced a voice from the front, making him jump in surprise. Alright, definitely talking to Shinobu. Aren't I supposed to be young or something? I should really probably keep up with this stuff...
And then, the carriage lifted upwards.
Giyuu snapped his eyes wide open, gazing out of the window as the ground and the surface became smaller and smaller. Flight? People can make machines that fly now? Since when? Surely an invention like this would be something that everyone should be aware of if it exists and is used like this, right?
Right?
But even stranger than the fact that he was flying inside a machine, which was something hard enough to beat on its own, was the sight that he was getting from inside of it. From the higher perspective he now had, he could very clearly see both the forest that he had woke up in, along with... everything else.
A city. A city with almost futuristic looking buildings, filled with people, and surrounded by tall walls that Giyuu suspected were built to keep out whatever monsters he had encountered in the forest. Grimm. That was what Branwen had called them. Grimm, not demons.
And to the left was the strangest sight of all. A tall, majestic looking full on castle. One that stood tall and clean and proud like a beacon of hope and pride inside the city.
Giyuu sunk into his seat, a sinking feeling inside his stomach.
He had the oddest, most terrifying thought that he wasn't in Japan anymore.
And even worse, he was now fairly sure that he wasn't inside a demon art either.
Notes
Another plot bunny that I needed to write down. This one is a KnY RWBY crossover where Giyuu gets unceremoniously dropkicked into Remnant shortly after being made a Hashira.
Why Giyuu and not say, Tanjiro? Because honestly? Giyuu feels like a character that would bring out more fun(ny) interactions. I'm trying my best right now to write Giyuu as a realistic 16 year old version of himself. So obviously he isn't as calm and collected and Giyuu-ish as the Giyuu we see in the show, but the core personality traits are the same. He's an aloof, quiet guy who's dedicated to his duty and serious when it comes down to it.
Please leave a review if you enjoyed this or have any criticisms. I would appreciate it a ton!
