Days had come and gone. The two pillars, plus Tori, traveled along an endless, dry dirt road. They did stop for breaks along the way. They also stopped to sleep as well. Today Tori wasn't at her best. They were nearing headquarters, so this time they were not stopping. The previous night, Tori couldn't sleep and now she was tired. Her legs ached as they continued to walk a long distance non-stop. The scorching sun beat down on her with burning rays. She never knew the sun could get so hot, but then she realized that she had been living on a mountain for too long. On the mountain, the sun was only warm. It was rather pleasant. Still, even in the short springs and summers they had to cover up to keep from getting burned. She continued to take heavy steps as she felt her body weakening. She felt like she was being chained down with every step she took. Finally, she collapsed unable to go any further than she had gone. Rengoku heard a thud behind him and he turned around and his eyes went wide with shock. He saw Tori was on the ground and unable to move.

"Obanai-san!" Rengoku called, "Come help!"

The snake pillar, whom was still walking when Tori collapsed, turned around when he heard Rengoku call his name. He turned around and saw Tori had collapsed. His eyes widening in shock, he ran towards her.

His thoughts raced throughout his mind, Oh crap! Tori's collapsed! She better not die! She hasn't even

started her training, yet and she still collapses. Well I did say that we weren't stopping until we get to

headquarters. Did she not tell Rengoku that she was getting tired?! Geez! She's so stubborn!

Kneeling down to help examine the situation, Iguro was really concerned for Tori. He saw that she was still breathing, but she was panting. It was obvious that she was exhausted. He didn't want to stop because they were very close to arriving at the demon slayer headquarters, but Tori needed to rest. He noticed that she had a hard time falling asleep last night. He occasionally glanced back and saw that she was keeping up just fine. Now she finally collapsed and couldn't go any farther.

"Is she going to be okay?! She better not die on us right now!" Iguro said, "She hasn't even started

training yet! And still, she collapses here of all places?!"

"She's going to be fine Iguro-san, but it looks like she's really tired and exhausted. And with her living

on the mountains her whole life, I doubt she's used to more constant sunlight." Rengoku replied, "I

wish she had told me that she was getting tired. Looks like I'll have to carry her again. I don't mind

doing it, though. She's not really strong enough to travel long distances."

Rengoku bent over and picked her up and cradled her in his arms. But as he was doing this, she let out a groan and she gritted her teeth as a wave of pain surged through her. Rengoku and Iguro looked at her with worried expressions on their faces. They wondered if she had signs of muscle fatigue. Then Rengoku looked at Iguro.

"Maybe we should have Kocho-sama look at her. Just to make sure she's okay." Rengoku suggested,

"We don't want her to aggravate any injuries she might have."

"Agreed. She needs to be at her best for the pillar meeting." Iguro concurred, "There can be no room

for injury."

They then started running towards headquarters. When they arrived, they went straight to the Butterfly Mansion. Kanae Kocho was sitting outside with her sister Shinobu having some sister bonding time. Then Rengoku and Iguro came running up to them. Kanae and Shinobu were surprised to see them and they walked up to meet the two pillars. Then they saw the young girl in Rengoku's arms. They gasped in shock when they saw her.

"Is she a victim of demons?! Tell me what happened to her?!" Shinobu demanded, "Tell me!"

"Well she was attacked by a demon, but that's not why we're here." Rengoku admitted, "She collapsed

on the road when we were on our way to headquarters. We want to make sure she doesn't have

anything serious. She's going to be meeting the master soon. We need her in tiptop shape."

"Oh is this the girl you've been talking about, Tori Kamado? The girl that fought two demons to save

her family?" Kanae inquired, "We'd be happy to have a look at her. We'll make sure she's at a hundred

percent for the Pillar meeting."

They took Tori into the mansion and they first gave her a check-up. Kanae looked at Tori and found that she hadn't been getting enough sleep. She also noticed that she was very pale. This concerned her. Then she tested Tori's reflexes. But when she struck Tori's knee, Tori groaned as pain flowed through her like water. Kanae knew she had muscle fatigue. She also concluded that Tori might be dehydrated. After finishing up the check-up, she then told Tori to wait in here for her. Tori did as she was told and Kanae went out to report to Rengoku and Iguro.

"How is she, Kanae-sama? Is she okay to go to the meeting today?" Rengoku asked, "She needs to

meet the master as soon as possible."

"Unfortunately, Tori-san cannot go to the meeting today. She's suffering muscle fatigue and she might

be dehydrated. She's also very pale and that concerns me. I looked at a good portion of her scars. They

appear to be infected and there's a potential chance for poison. The fact that she didn't sleep well last

night might be contributing to these factors. I'm afraid she'll have to stay here until she regains her

strength. I think most of these problems are mental. She seems to have a lot on her mind. Tell the

master that Tori cannot come today, but she is here." Kanae explained, "We'll do our best to make sure

she's back to her full strength."

"Guess we don't really have much choice. We'll leave Tori in your hands." Iguro sighed, "But don't let

her die on us. The master expects great things from her."

"She's not going to die. Once we start treating her, she'll be back to normal in no time at all." Shinobu

confirmed, "Just wait and see she'll be back on her feet in no time."

They then went into the room where Tori was. Kanae sat down and she told Tori about her condition. Kanae proceeded to explain that Tori would stay with them until she was fully healed. Kanae asked Shinobu to help her take Tori to her room. Shinobu agreed without hesitation. They helped Tori to her room and they helped her into bed. Kanae then ran off somewhere. She came back into the room with the necessary supplies for Tori's treatment. She asked Shinobu to leave and start cooking food for Tori. Shinobu nodded and left the room, but not before glancing at Tori one last time with a worried expression on her her face. Kanae then explained to Tori that she was going to treat her scars for infection. Tori understanding what Kanae was doing took off her clothes, so Kanae could get to the scars. Kanae saw the scars and was horrified at how many she had. She only saw the scars on her arm, but she did suspect that she had more. She didn't expect them to be as bad as they were. Bringing herself into focus, Kanae started treating the scars. Tori flinched every time the scars were touched. Kanae used imported cotton and a type of alcohol to clean the scars and to destroy bacteria that were on the surface of the wounds.

As Kanae continued to treat the scars, Tori was doing her best to try not to scream. She continued to breathe in and out. She was trying to ignore the pain, but it was so sharp that it was nearly impossible to ignore. After a few minutes, which seemed like hours, Kanae finished cleaning the wounds. She then put an ointment on the scars. Taking a bandage, she wrapped up every scar so no germs would get in the wounds. Then she helped Tori get her clothes back on. Tori lied down was she was in a lot of pain. Kanae gently stroked her to try and comfort her. Then she told Tori that she would treat her for poison as a precaution. Tori nodded in understanding. Kanae took the needle and she stuck it into the young girl's arm. She pushed in the vaccine and she pulled the needle out. She rubbed Tori's arm then she put a small band-aid to cover the area where she put the vaccine in. She reached over to a bag of pills. She pulled out one pill and brought over a cup of water. Tori sat up and took the medicine. After she finished, she lied back down and rested. Kanae couldn't believe how strong Tori was to bear such wounds. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Kocho-sama, it's us. Rengoku and Iguro. We came back to check on Tori-sama. We brought Tomioka-

san to visit with her." Rengoku said, "May we come in?"

"Please do, come in! She's already done with her treatment." Kanae announced, "You might just be

able to keep her company."

Rengoku, Iguro, and young Giyu Tomioka entered the room. They saw Tori on the bed. She had a pained expression on her face. She was panting and sweating. Kanae was wiping the sweat off of her face with a cloth. Worried expressions cross all faces.

"Is she going to be okay, Kanae-san? She's not looking so good." Rengoku stated, "She looks worse

than when we brought her in."

"The treatment went well, although I miss calculated on how many scars she had." Kanae explained, "I

was able to treat them, but she's in a lot of pain right now. It may take her a few weeks to get better.

The scars were pretty bad. They're not bothering her enough that she can't move her right arm, but

touching them is another story. She might end up sore in those areas for a few days. She'll need to rest

here until her wounds heal properly. She won't be able to perform in front of the master if they don't. I

don't want her scars to open up again."

"If that's what Tori-san needs, then I won't object to it. We need Tori in perfect health." Iguro

concurred, "We can't have her in a weakened state."

"So this is the girl you two have been going on about?! I gotta admit, she's kind of cute." Giyu

responded, "I'll bet that she'll be really strong too."

Everyone looked at Giyu with confused expressions on their faces. Tori, however, didn't hear what Giyu said because she was too focused on her pain. Giyu was a new arrival to the pillars. Everyone knew him to be the guy who didn't talk much, or say anything nice to anyone. They found him to be rather stoic. He didn't show any emotions for anyone, until today. Giyu paid a new girl a complement. Something that was completely alien to them. Giyu looked up at everyone and saw their confused looks.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Giyu asked, "What did I do?"

"Forgive us for staring, Tomioka-san, but you just complemented the new girl." Kanae answered.

"Well yeah, of course I did. Is that a bad thing? What's the big deal about it?" Giyu questioned, "I

really don't see what the big deal is."

"No, no, no, no. We're not saying that it's a bad thing. It's just… You've never complemented anyone

before." Rengoku added, "You've never really talked to anyone since you've been here, except during

the pillar meetings."

"We're not saying you can't be nice, Giyu. I'm sure that you can be nice and right now is an example

for it. But we've just never heard you do it before, so this is new to us." Iguro stated, "I'm you have

complemented someone before, but we've never heard you do it. It's just something we're not used to

that's all"

Giyu, now understanding why they looked at him the way they did, realized he did something that was way out of his comfort zone. But when he saw Tori, something just told him to speak. Giyu had only just rose to the position of pillar. He had suffered the loss of his friend, Sabito. He didn't feel worthy of the position. He never slayed a single demon on the mountain during final selection. Why was he chosen to be a pillar? He constantly asked this to himself over and over. Giyu didn't really like to talk to anyone because he didn't want to share any information about his past. He felt that no one would care about his past or would sympathize with him and try to console him. Tori finally was more calm and she saw Giyu, whom was seemingly beating himself up about something. Concerned, she asked Kanae if she could speak to Giyu privately. Kanae agreed and she guided Rengoku and Iguro out of the room.

By the time Giyu looked up, everyone was already out of the room. He looked around for them, but couldn't find them. Thought about leaving and going back to his home, but other thoughts raced through his head. He tried to block them out, but couldn't. Out of nowhere, a sweet and soft voice cut through his thoughts and snapped him out of it.

"Hey are you okay? You seem to be upset about something and I don't think it's related to me." Tori

said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Giyu looked at Tori with wide eyes. He couldn't help, but admire her beauty. Her long, burgundy hair draped over her shoulders. Her pink eyes gazed at Giyu with kindness and the gaze itself was very gentle. For some reason Giyu felt the need to cry, but he didn't. Giyu's heart was pounding with every second that went by. His head spun around as he was confused about what was happening with him. Finally, he managed to gather the strength to talk to her. But what he thought he was going to say, was the exact opposite of what came out of his mouth.

"Sure. I guess I could talk about it a little." Giyu agreed, "It would be nice to actually talk to someone."

In his thoughts Giyu said, What is going on!? That's not what I wanted to say at all! Why am I saying

the opposite of what I want to say?! Although now that I'm thinking about it more, I feel like I can trust

her. Just from the sound of her voice. That voice. So soft, warm, and gentle. It makes me want to cry

just hearing it. And just looking at her. She seems so kind. I just want to get to know her more.

"Come sit. Let's talk about what's troubling you." Tori beckoned. "I'm willing to listen to anything that

you have to say."

"Well let's just say, I've been having doubts about my position as the water pillar." Giyu admitted, "I

just don't think I'm worthy of such a position."

Unannounced to them, the other pillars were listening in on the conversation. Kanae, Rengoku, and Iguro were shocked to hear that Giyu was doubting himself and that he felt on worthy to be a pillar. They were also shocked that he opened up to Tori so fast. He was telling her everything right off the bat. They woundered if he actually liked her romantically. They continued to listen carefully to Giyu's story.

"Doubts? Would you mind elaborating on them? Why are you doubting yourself in the first place?"

Tori inquired, "Why do you feel unworthy of being a pillar?"

"Well it starts with my final selection. I never really passed my final selection." Giyu explained, "I

didn't slay a single demon on that mountain. I was fading in and out due to an injury I sustained from a

demon. I was about to be attack when my friend Sabito appeared. He pretty much took out all what

seemed like all of the demons on that mountain. He entrusted my life in the hands of another while he

fought in my place. When the final selection was over, I didn't see Sabito. I was made a demon slayer

just for surviving the seven days. Can I really say I passed after being pulled out?! I'm not like the

other pillars. I can't be treated as an equal to them. I'm not as strong as they are! I can't protect anyone!

I'm the one who's always protected!"

Kanae and the other two pillars were completely shocked hearing Giyu's story. They couldn't believe

how much Giyu was blaming himself for the loss of his friend. While they couldn't exactly sympathize with them, they did know how painful it is to lose someone. They listened to what Tori was going to say.

"Tomioka-san, you need to stop this. Stop living and dwelling on the past! Constantly looking back on

the past, asking about what you could've done, and just sulking will get you nowhere!" Tori scolded,

"Look, I know you're upset. You lost someone you cared about and that's hard for anyone to deal with.

You feel that it's your fault somehow, but I can assure you that it isn't. We can never know what we

could've done. Now what we will do, is another matter entirely. You need to look to the future. Move

forward in life. Life doesn't always stay the same. It changes like the weather. It comes at you

unexpectedly. When it strikes and you're left with devastation, the only thing you can do is move

forward. You're alive and that's all that matters now. You're where you need to be. Sabito would've

wanted you to be the water pillar and I'm willing to bet that he's very proud of you. So don't give up

on your life so easily. Life is the most precious gift we can ever receive. Don't waste that gift you've

been given."

Tori had put her hands on Giyu's hands. Giyu was stunned by Tori's response to the story he told. She immediately gave him advice to move forward in his life. He now understood why he was so confident with telling her this story which was hard for him to talk about in general. She reminded him a lot of Sabito and he felt a strange attraction towards her. He found her to be rather wiser than she should be. But Giyu still had doubts that he could live up to the expectations of a pillar.

"But I'm not strong enough to be a pillar! I don't have enough strength to protect people!" Giyu cried,

"There's no way I can live up to the expectations of a pillar!"

"Yes you can! Keep working hard at growing stronger! You won't be able to save everyone, but save as

many people as you possibly can!" Tori encouraged, "Don't ever say 'You're not good enough' because

you are good enough! Out of all of the people, whom had potential to be a pillar in your place, they

chose you. Your a pillar now, so act like one and start training to get stronger. If these doubts ever come

back, you can always talk to someone about them. Talking to people can really help with this. I know it

may be difficult, but you will feel a lot better if you talk to someone. Take it from me. Just talking with

you has helped me out a little as well."

Giyu thought it over and found she was right. He shouldn't be just sitting and sulking. He needed to train and get stronger. He couldn't save everyone, but he could try and save as many people as he possibly could. He couldn't let these doubts bring him down. He would look to the future and become stronger than he was. He would do the best that he could to help people. To make sure they didn't go through the same thing he did.

"Thank you, Tori-sama. I really needed to hear that. I will come and talk to you when I'm having

doubts again." Giyu said, "I really enjoy talking with you. I do feel a lot better now."

"I'm glad that I was able to help you. Don't keep beating yourself up over the past. The past is in the

past. Learn what you can from it and let it go. There's always room to grow, Tomioka-san. Never forget

that." Tori replied, "Keep fighting and working hard to get stronger."

"I will. My name is Giyu by the way. I'd prefer it if you called me Giyu." He responded, "I'll never

forget what you told me."

Tori nodded and fell asleep. She was very tired, but for once she had no trouble falling asleep. Talking with Giyu really helped to keep her mind off of her regrets. Giyu stayed by her side not really wanting to leave her, but he left her to rest so he could start training. The other pillars pretended that they hadn't heard Giyu's story. They all agreed to treat him fairly and give him encouragement when he needed it. Kanae continued looking after Tori. Tori was strong and very wise. She knew she would be a great demon slayer, but first she needed to make a full recovery.

Author's Note:

So I know everyone ships Giyu with Shinobu, but since she dies during her fight against Doma. The ship is basically ruined. I'm not going to let anyone die in this story, however, I'm going to have Shinobu fall in love with Rengoku. No one has to agree with the ship. But just to make fans happy. Giyu will approach Shinobu first, but she'll reject him and Giyu will pursue Tori sometime afterwards.