July 23, 1913

"You still have barely learned a thing," Sabito reprimanded Nezuko as she fell to the ground again after a sparring match with him. "You're a bit further along than your brother when he first met me, but he set the bar pretty low."

"Why must you trash-talk my brother so much?" Nezuko wondered why he kept insulting him, in her mind at least.

"I'm not," Sabito replied. "I never said he still sucks. I'm just saying he used to suck." He then took off his mask and wiped his forehead of sweat. "Damn, is it hot out. Your brother came up here when it was colder out, so at least we weren't sweating like pigs when we first trained together. I always dreaded when summer came around and we had to work in 30 degree Celsius heat or higher."

"I see," Nezuko replied, blushing somewhat due to Sabito's physique. "Uh… I'll just go practice now."

"You should," he replied as she walked away.

As she did, Makomo walked up to him and told him, "It's way too fucking hot out. It's like an onsen in here without the water." She then took her mask off of her head and also wiped her forehead of sweat. "Wanna go for a dip in the water, babe?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Sabito replied as he smiled and turned to her. "We can enjoy some quality alone time and cool off."

Meanwhile, Nezuko practiced breathing techniques under the waterfall and upstream from Sabito and Makomo, letting the water cascade over her body as she closed her eyes and meditated, taking in the feeling and sound of the creek all around her, Any sort of sounds from the couple upstream were blocked by the waterfall falling on top of her. With every day, she gained more and more control over the Breath of Water, and after about ten or so minutes, she exited the water to get dressed in her clothes. She then picked her sword up once she was finished and took a deep breath. "Breath of Water," she said to herself. "Third Form… Flowing Dance!" As her sword swung in the air, she danced in a flowing pattern, slicing the air all around her. Had anyone been standing near her in any direction, they certainly would have been slashed.

"That was a perfect rendition," then suddenly replied Sakonji, startling Nezuko.

"Ah, Urokodaki-san!"

"Sorry if I startled you," he apologized with a chuckle. "Anyway, that was very good, but there are still many more forms to learn. I'm confident you'll be able to get enough down to where you'll be ready by September, however."

…

"The next Final Selection for the First District will be in September," Sakonji explained to Nezuko later in the evening outside. "Probably starting on the 6th, a Saturday. Until that day comes, you will train as hard and as long as you can every day."

"That soon, huh?" Nezuko was somewhat worried that she would not be ready by then. "I'm not sure…"

"Personally," Sakonji then offered to her. "I think you're further ahead than your brother was at this point. I think you'll be ready when September 6th comes, as long as you don't give up, Nezuko."

"I see," Nezuko replied, thinking to herself as she did, "I'm surprised he has so much faith in me. I'm not making much progress with Sabito-kun and Makomo-chan. Speaking of, should I ask him about them?" Deciding to be a bit daring, she asked her master, "Urokodaki-san, who were Sabito and Makomo?"

Those names immediately surprised Sakonji and sent a shiver down his spine. "You know their names, too… How do you and your brother know the names of those dead children?"

"Giyu-san told me about Sabito," Nezuko lied to him. "And my brother told me about Makomo, but I don't know where he heard about Makomo."

"Those two never met in life," Sakonji explained. "But they would have complimented each other well if they did. They were past pupils of mine who died in the Final Selections of years past. A demon I had captured kept murdering my pupils as revenge…" He then paused and sighed. "Until your brother came along and defeated him. The only reason Giyu survived was because he was knocked out during his Final Selection and carried out by Sabito, who was my last pupil before Tanjiro. He's been hurt by it since, and the reason you may see him be so off-putting and aloof around the other Pillars is because he feels like he doesn't deserve his spot. I've told him many times that he is more than deserving of it due to his post-Final Selection record in combat, but he won't believe me."

"That explains a lot," Nezuko replied. "Well, Urokodaki-san, I feel like sometimes, those two are still around, watching over us to this day."

"Sometimes I feel the same way," Sakonji replied as he took his mask off and smiled. "I may normally live up here by myself, but I never truly feel alone."

…

July 26, 1913

Today, Mitsuri and Obanai were gathered together at the Ubuyashiki Estate along with all of the pillars, with the exception of Muichiro, and Mitsuri's whole family. Today was the day the two had waited for ever since they announced their intent to marry each other. The weather was hot, but a gentle breeze helped everyone out as everyone waited for the bride and the groom to emerge. Susamaru whispered to James, "I wonder how they look."

"It's certainly different from the weddings where I'm from," James replied. "But I bet they look great, regardless."

Then, the couple emerged in traditional Japanese wedding ceremony outfits, with Obanai in a black kimono and Mitsuri in a white kimono. Obanai notably was not wearing his bandages around his face, allowing all to see the scars on his face in full. Ahead of them were two corps shrine maidens, who led them to an altar together to take their vows. Shinobu whispered to Giyu, "They look so beautiful, Tomioka-san. Mitsuri-chan looks so happy, as does Iguro-san."

Mitsuri's parents and siblings watched with pride as she took her traditional vows, with her father thinking to himself, "I've never seen her be happier than now, and that's saying something."

As a Shinto priest recited prayers for good luck to the couple, Obanai looked to Mitsuri and thought to himself, "She looks so beautiful in that shiro-muku. I truly am blessed to become her husband."

Mitsuri, meanwhile, thought to herself as the prayers concluded, "My dream is finally a reality. The only part left is to bear at least one child, and I have a feeling we're already part way there."

...

About 15 minutes after the vows were exchanged and the ceremonial drinking of sake took place, James was explaining to Susamaru how weddings happened in the West. "All weddins' pretty much convey the same message," he told her. "But have different ways of doin' so. When I was married, we did our's in a church. Julia wore a white dress, and I wore a black outfit." He then pulled a picture out he carried on him. "This was us at the weddin'."

Susamaru looked at the picture in awe. "Her dress looks so exotic to me. It's… Really pretty. That reminds me of something…" She then blushed as she asked him, "Um… What about us?" She thought to herself as she asked him, "I can feel my heart pounding with anticipation… What will he say?" Her heart raced inside her body as she awaited an answer.

"I had a feelin' you'd ask me that," he replied as he put the picture away. "Susamaru, I… I love you, and that won't change." He then took her by the hand and gently dragged her to a secluded area of the estate, making sure nobody else could find them or hear them.

"What's this about?"

"I'm makin' a commitment," James told her as he reached into his left pocket and pulled out a ring. "This is how they do this where I'm from." Upon presenting it to her, he got down on one knee and looked her directly in the eye. "Susamaru, thanks to you, I've learned how to love again, and even if our time together proves to be short, I want us to formalize our relationship. You saved me from a lifetime of loneliness, and for that, I will always be grateful. With all that outta the way… Susamaru, will you marry me?"

She immediately smiled, her heart practically jumping out of her in joy as she nodded, "Yes… Yes, I will!" The two then embraced and twirled around in joy before exchanging a kiss. Once they finished, James carefully slid the ring onto her left ring finger. "Is this another custom in your homeland?"

"Yes," James replied as he finished and held her hands. "It means that you're mine and only mine now." As he perched her chin on his left hand, he once again moved in for another kiss, which she accepted by wrapping her arms around him and closing her eyes.

…

July 29, 1913

"Wait, you want me to give you a… Haircut?"

"Yeah."

Shinobu was perplexed by the rather odd request from her comrade as they both stood outside of the Butterfly Estate. "Okay, but… Why me?"

"Well," Giyu began as he turned his face away from her. "If my hair needs improvement, which it clearly does… I feel like your standards would be best."

"My… Standards?" She then took a deep breath and tried to hold in a blush. "Tomioka-san, are you saying you like my hair?" After getting no response from him, she sighed. "You need to acknowledge my question, Tomioka-san. Just tell me if you like it or not." She thought to herself, "He's so hopeless sometimes, this time being one of them…"

"Yes," he whispered.

Not hearing him, she asked, "Pardon?"

"Yes," he finally told her out loud.

"Well I wouldn't mind doing that," Shinobu replied. "If you really think that, I'd love to. Let me just get some scissors from inside. How short do you want it?"

"I don't want anything past the bottom of the neck," Giyu replied to her.

…

A few minutes later, as Shinobu diligently styled and cut Giyu's hair, he asked her as he sat on a stool, "Tell me, how did you get so good at this?"

"Taking care of my younger sisters helped," Shinobu replied to him. "But I began with this once my parents died. Me and my sister had nobody but ourselves to do our hair. Obviously, Himejima-san can't exactly handle a pair of scissors on account of the whole being blind thing. Some of my favorite memories are of my sister cutting my hair. We weren't always perfect, but after a while, we got really good at it."

"I assume you cut his hair, too?"

"Himejima-san? Of course." As Shinobu continued, her feelings for him flooded her mind. "I'm so close to him physically," she thought. "And yet I still feel like there's a gulf between us. Maybe I should close the gap… Wait, what am I thinking?" She then told Giyu, "Well, Tomioka-san, you're all set."

"Do you think it looks weird?" Giyu was worried that the haircut came out wrong. "Be honest."

"I think you look very handsome, Tomioka-san," she replied, startling him and even her. She thought to herself, "What the fuck, Shinobu… Why did you tell him that?!"

"No way," Giyu thought to himself. "She… Complimented me?! She told me I was handsome?!" He then sighed and smiled. "You know, Kocho, hearing that from you is nice. It's not often I hear you complimenting me."

Shinobu's trademark smile was gone by now, replaced by a look of longing. "I… See…" She thought to herself, "My mind is telling me not to do this, but my heart can't take it anymore."

"I may not say it," Giyu continued. "But I really enjoy spending time with you. Honest. I promi-"

Shinobu immediately cut him off by bending down and closing her eyes, gently kissing his lips. Giyu, however, did not close his eyes in response. Instead, his eyes widened in shock. As she slowly opened her own eyes, she noticed this and recoiled. "Ah, Tomioka-san! Uh…" She quickly backed away, panic filling her mind as she feared that she violated his personal boundaries with the kiss. "I… I'm sorry, Tomioka-san!" After she bowed in apology, she quickly ran off. "You're welcome for the haircut!"

Giyu wanted to call out to her, but he was so stunned by the kiss he could not bring himself to do it. "She… She kissed me?"