[~Chapter 3: Mundanity~]
Three days. He had been sitting in the same spot, with the same string tied to his wrists and ankles for three whole days. Sleeping, eating, and sitting in repeat for three long, arduous, boring, painful days. To say that Giyuu was far from happy was an understatement.
But then again, he brought this upon himself, now hadn't he? He had accepted the mission given to him by his master, and he had been the one to come to Mt. Kumitori.
At the very least he was able to keep an eye on the three Demons patrolling around the house. And he had to admit, he had been a little bit shocked to see what it was they did. He had expected the Demons to act like what he knew them to be: Murderous, cantankerous monsters who feasted upon the flesh of the living, and slaughtering the innocent.
He had half expected the other two humans to become food for the three Demons living within the house. He had also expected to be killed and eaten alongside them.
But, much to his disbelief, none of that happened.
For starters, they all ate at the same table, and they ate cooked food—usually venison with baked carrots or whatever vegetable they could find, and rice.
Each member of the house had a responsibility to uphold. Dream—his attacker—was in charge of leading that Demon Girl out on hunting missions to gather food for the household, and Tanjiro, one of the humans, was in charge of making and selling coal for other goods like medicine, seeds, and whatever he could find in town.
The one with pink skin seemed to be in charge, telling the others what to do. The de facto leader, as it were. And he was really good at his job. Everyone seemed to respect him, or at the very least tolerate him. He had a commanding, yet gentle voice, and his imposing figure was just that: imposing.
Finally, it came down to the smallest child, Hanako.
Hanako was responsible for taking care of him—feeding him, giving him water, and also taking him out back to use the bathroom when he needed to in a hastily built outhouse.
When he wasn't using the bathroom, he was sitting in the house by the ever-burning fireplace, which he found to be bizarre. How could a fire burn eternal without some sort of kindling? Or at least being tended to. And, to make things even stranger, the heat coming off of the fireplace wasn't all that hot.
Oh, sure, he would sweat, but it didn't feel hot. He had even accidentally placed his hand in the fire, and not once did he burn. As a matter of fact, all it did was heat up Giyuu's hand.
It was strange. Very strange.
But not as strange as what he'd repeatedly see throughout the day when it came to Pink Skin.
During the day, he'd watch the pink-skinned Demon walk into the sunlight and not burn at all. It shocked Giyuu at first because it shouldn't have been possible. The excuse he came up with for that Dream individual was that he was always dressed head-to-toe in clothing, so he couldn't burn in the sun because his skin was never exposed to the air.
But Pink Skin? He had no excuse. He simply sat in the sun, even basking in it like he hadn't seen it in a long time. He would disappear for hours at a time, claiming to have been working on a project. The humans and the other two Demons seemed pretty excited for the project to be finished.
He even once heard that Tanjiro boy offered to help, only for Pink Skin to decline, saying for him to conserve his energy for his coal-making and selling runs.
Although Giyuu would never admit it, a part of him was glad to witness such a cohesive familial unit, even if it was makeshift and slapdash. But, in the back of his mind, he knew that one day it would all fall apart. He knew that the Demons would eventually kill and eat the two humans.
It was just in their nature.
Demons and humans could never coexist. It would never happen.
But that was beside the point. All Giyuu knew was that he didn't want to be there when it happened. Or, perhaps, he would be the first. Once the façade shattered, Pink Skin would break, and slaughter everyone.
But that wasn't for today. For now, he was busy basking in the sun, standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips. His long pink hair flowed down his back and ended in a slight curl near the end. His white blouse and black pants were a little dirty, meaning they hadn't been cleaned in a while. The same went for the boots.
Pink Skin looked over his shoulder, saw Giyuu, and sighed. He walked over to him and knelt at his level. His crimson eyes bore holes in his own as the two stared down one another. They stayed like this for a while, before he did something Giyuu didn't expect.
He began to untie him.
"What are you doing?" Giyuu asked as Pink Skin glanced at him.
"Putting you to work. You're going to be here for a while until we feel like we can trust you to leave, so I'm making you work. Can't have you sitting on your ass all day, can we?" Pink Skin replied as Giyuu shrivelled his nose at him.
"What makes you think I'm going to listen to you?" Giyuu spat as Pink Skin shrugged, his expression nonchalant.
"Then we won't feed you. And you'll piss and shit yourself where you sit. Simply as that," Pink Skin retorted as he finished unbinding his wrists and began to work on his ankles. "That, and I'll melt down your sword and re-engineer it to make copies. Can't be that hard, can it?"
Giyuu's eyes widened, anger dwelling just beneath his pupils as he gnashed his teeth together. That sword was special to him, damnit. He'd be damned if it got destroyed. "You wouldn't dare!" Giyuu snarled as Pink Skin smirked.
"Hit a nerve?" Pink Skin asked, chuckling to himself, only further making Giyuu mad. "Well, it won't happen if you help me with something. Deal?"
"You piece of shit!" Giyuu spat as Pink Skin rolled his eyes.
"Call me whatever you want. It won't have an effect on me. Now…" Pink Skin stepped back, and grabbed Giyuu by the wrist, before pulling him to his feet. Giyuu was given a second to stabilize himself before Pink Skin continued. "Follow me."
Giyuu watched as Pink Skin walked out the door, looking over to the stairwell. Tanjiro, was out selling coal while the older Demon Girl, Nezuko, he learned, was out hunting wild game with her younger sister and Dream.
He was left all alone with Pink Skin, but without his sword, he was going to do nothing against him. He was in a lose-lose situation, and there was nothing that he could do about it. So, he might as well go along with what Pink Skin wanted.
Giyuu exited the house and turned left, watching as Pink Skin was building something standing atop a ladder. It seemed like a dome of sorts, made of misty-white glass. He had already put the frame down, so now he was putting in the glass. Giyuu had seen something like this before at The Insect Hashira's estate. He was building a greenhouse.
"Good, you followed," Pink Skin said, hopping off of the ladder and walking toward him. He put several panes of glass in his hand and pointed his thumb to the half-constructed dome. "You're gonna help me finish building this. And then, I'll take you to the lake so you can bathe. It's just a thirty-minute walk away from here."
Giyuu blinked, staring at the panes in his hands, then back to Pink Skin, who was walking back to the ladder, drawing out more materials from out of thin air. If this was all he wanted him to do…
The Water Hashira sighed, walked over to the ladder and began to climb up it. He might as well help out. It wasn't like there was anything he could do. Well, he could make a run for it, but with the others in the forest, there was a chance that they would find him and recapture him.
So, he wasn't going to risk it. Instead, he got to work. He noticed that whenever he placed a glass pane down, it just… stuck. It didn't fall out, it just remained there. Even when there was no glue to keep it in place. It just… stayed there.
Maybe it was the Demon's Blood Demon Art? If that was the case, then it was kind of bizarre. Just what else could it do? Honestly, Giyuu didn't care. All he cared about was getting out of this place and reporting what he found to Oyakata-sama.
Demons, living with humans, and living a regular life. It made no sense to him. It went against everything that he was taught by his master and by his in-person experiences.
Demons, by their very nature, were monsters. They ate other people and showed no remorse. He had seen it more times than he could count. There was no such thing as mercy when it came to these creatures. They were unrelenting, flesh-eating, horrific entities that cared only for themselves.
So… for a group of Demons to be living in the forest with humans, not so much as doing anything but scolding them when they did something stupid… it felt wrong.
There was something he wasn't getting. He would figure it out, no matter how long it took.
"So… you're a guy, right?" Pink Skin randomly spoke up, the sun passing overhead. It looked like it was about to set in a few hours if the sky changed colour from a brilliant blue to a shade of light blue with pink and yellowish hues off in the distance didn't clue him in.
"Yes, I am," Giyuu stated plainly as Pink Skin raised an eyebrow.
"Okay… I'm just trying to understand. Because, to me, you smell like a woman. You know, uh… as creepy as it sounds, pheromones and all that jazz. Demons can just naturally smell that stuff," Pink Skin said as he placed in the final pane on his side. Giyuu still had a few more on his end to patch up.
Giyuu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "I don't understand how it's hard for you to understand. I am a man. I was just—"
"Born in the wrong body. I know, Dream said something like that a few days ago when we interrogated you. But… I've lived for a long time. At least 5,000 years, and I've seen and met people like you before. But I've never understood it," Pink skin interrupted as Giyuu stared at him flatly.
"Then you understand why I am a man then. So why are you asking?" Giyuu said as Pink Skin shrugged.
"It's just… when I take you to the lake, do you want me to be there or to be gone? Most people I met who were like you told me to leave, so I don't know how comfortable you are with someone else being there. I gotta get clean too, so…" Pink Skin said as Giyuu shrugged.
"I've bathed with others before, though only with those I trust. But seeing as I'm not really being given much of a choice, I don't see the problem. Just don't ask stupid questions and we should be fine," Giyuu stated plainly as Pink Skin nodded.
"Got it," Pink Skin replied, hopping off of his ladder before picking it up, and making it disappear in the blink of an eye. Giyuu had to do a double-take when he saw it but ultimately didn't question it. Again, it must've been something to do with his Blood Demon Art.
Pink Skin went back into the house and came back with two sets of clothes. He passed a set to Giyuu, who looked at it. A roll of bandages—he assumed were for those horrible lumps he had on his chest—a white blouse and some black leather pants.
"If they're too big, let me know and I'll re-tailor them to fit you. The bandages, I figure, are for… uh… well, ya know. I found them in your Haori when you were asleep. My apologies for rummaging. I was checking for extra weapons," Pink Skin stated as Giyuu sighed.
"Don't do it again. But… thank you for getting them for me," Giyuu said, feeling the hint of a small unwanted smile creeping up on his face. He quickly shook it away, frowning. Pink Skin, on the other hand, smirked, then scoffed.
"You shouldn't hide your smile when you're happy or proud about something," Pink Skin stated as Giyuu frowned sharply, staring at the Demon with a hint of hatred. Hatred that he seemed to notice and shrug off. "Suit yourself, I guess. Come on, let's go. We have a bit of a trek to get to the lake."
With tired eyes and even more tired bones, Giyuu followed the Demon into the woods, much to his mind's dismay, his inner voice telling him to run for the hills while he could. And while tempting as it was, he'd rather not risk his life just because his gut was telling him to flee.
He quite liked to remain breathing, thank you very much.
He didn't know if he could ever trust this… thing. Especially given the circumstances he had been afforded. But it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter. It was either this or continue to reek of sweat and dirt. Something he'd much rather avoid if possible.
Although, one thing was for sure: Pink Skin was right about this being a bit of a trek. The snow and ice didn't help much. He had almost slipped and fallen face-first into the snow, only to be helped by Pink Skin.
It was only then did he notice that Pink Skin's body radiated heat like that of a furnace. His skin, while not scolding to the touch, was wicked hot. It was almost like an aura of heat surrounded him at every given moment.
It made him wonder just how this Demon could be slain. Would his Nichiren blade melt if it got too close? No, because if that were the case, it would've melted when Pink Skin presumably took it from his unconscious body. Either way, it was something else to add to the list of oddities that surrounded the Demon.
First, he never showed an ounce of predatory behaviour around the two humans he lived with. Second of all, whatever he built or had a hand in building, magically stayed in place as if it was already glued together. And finally, his body radiated an almost unreal amount of heat.
Just how many more unnatural and bizarre things would he learn about this Demon? He knew Demons were beyond human understanding—one good look at any of the Abnormals and that was more than clear as day—but still! There had to be a line in the sand somewhere.
When they finally arrived at the lake, he noticed the amount of light surrounding it. Lamps hung off of sticks wedged into the ground, and steam was rising off of the lake like a natural hot spring. Rock barriers were separating the lake into two, and there was a waterfall coming from above another cliff.
Plopped about the strange lake were lily pads, leaves, and whatever else you could find in nature. And, most bizarrely of all, surrounding the pool were red spider lilies. A symbol of death and mourning. Why would this lake be associated with such things?
Unless…
"What is with the spider lilies?" Giyuu questioned Pink Skin as the Demon shrugged.
"Thought they looked cool, so I planted them. The reason they bloomed so quickly was because of the bonemeal I used—crushed-up animal bones with growth hormones infused, to clarify, just in case that sounds like something that would throw you off," Pink Skin explained as he placed his clothing down on what appeared to be a bench made of stone.
When he did, the Demon immediately began to take off his clothing. Giyuu couldn't help but look as if it was the only other thing he had to really look at; and what he saw shocked him.
Aside from what he knew to be true, that being that the Demon was exceptionally well-built—it wasn't a stretch to say that his muscles had muscles, because that almost looked to be the case—but he was also littered head-to-toe with scars.
Demons, from what he was aware, shouldn't have scars. Any and all wounds should have healed. Even after Demonification, all wounds and prior scars either changed into markings or simply healed over.
There was one particular scar that stuck out the most, though. And it was the scar that was around his neck. It looked like he had been decapitated before.
That sent shivers down Giyuu's spine.
He had been decapitated before and lived.
Now, of course, he reasoned that it wasn't with a Nichirin blade, but even so. Someone had gotten close enough to cut off his head—someone who bled and struggled to put this Demon to his death, and divorced his head from his shoulders, only for it to end up futile.
"Just what are you?" Giyuu thought as he watched Pink Skin enter the hot water, sighing with a relaxed tone as he sank underneath the watery depths, keeping his nose above water whilst he closed his eyes.
When Pink Skin did that, and when he knew that Pink Skin wasn't looking, he began to take off his clothing. His Haori fell to the ground against the snowy ground. He then unbuttoned his uniform and stripped down to his undergarments. They soon fell to the wayside, leaving behind the bandages around his chest.
He stared at them for a second, a frown taking up his face as he slowly began to unravel them, careful to not tear the bandages. By the time he was done, there was a small pile atop his dirty clothing, and his… chest was in full view.
He hated it.
He hated it beyond anything else in his cursed body.
But there was no sense in lingering on it. It was big, and it was a disturbance to his very being. The fat sacs on his chest would be gone one day. He knew they would be. He just had to find the right doctor, and they'd be gone.
If… if he could find the right doctor. He should've corrected that. His colleague, Shinobu Kocho, for as good of a medicinal doctor she was, was not a surgeon. If she was, he would've asked her to do this for him when he truly got to know her.
And that was assuming any doctor would do it for him. And then there was… well. His other problem. He lacked the thing that most men were supposed to have.
It would make his very existence whole, and yet, he lacked it.
He wished he had it. He wanted it. He needed it. No matter how hard he knew in his mind he was a man, his body did not replicate that feeling—that existence. It was as if whatever God was out there was openly mocking him for giving him the body that he had.
He hated his body. With a passion.
He wished he was never born in the body he was in.
Maybe… someday in the future, he could look forward to the body he had always wanted to have. But that day wasn't going to be today, or the next, or the day after that.
But it would happen one day. He was sure of it.
"One day…" Giyuu thought, before walking into the water and submerging himself completely with the exception of his neck, mouth, nose and eyes.
The water was warm, much to his shock. One would think that a lake in the snowy mountain-tops wouldn't be warm, and yet here he was, sitting in a warm lake in the middle of winter, surrounded by snow, with a chill breeze blowing through the trees and through his hair.
"Heat vents," Pink Skin spoke up, catching Giyuu off guard, looking over at the Demon, who now had his arms resting against the rock barrier of the lake. "If you put magma-rock underwater, and do so in such a way where it is evenly spaced out, it will heat up the water just enough so it's bearable. It's also hot enough to get rid of any bacteria on or off a person's body, and keeps the water drinkable."
Giyuu pursed his lips, looking down at the water. It wasn't completely see-through because of the steam, but he had to assume what Pink Skin was saying was right.
But even so…
"That doesn't make sense. Magma-rock makes this boiling and inhospitable. Yet, I don't feel a thing…" Giyuu muttered to himself as Pink Skin snorted.
"That's if you dump it in carelessly," Pink Skin said, looking up into the sky. "It's almost like you don't pay attention to what others say."
Giyuu frowned, narrowing his eyes at Pink Skin. "I did. I'm just saying it doesn't make sense. It breaks the laws of nature," The Water Hashira stated as Pink Skin sighed.
"No, it doesn't. You just don't have a clear enough grasp on it. There are always loopholes in laws, and I know quite a few loopholes. I used one to make this lake what it is now. I spent a whole day and night on this project. This is technically a test run, and so far so good if you ask me," Pink Skin replied as Giyuu blinked.
He… did what? "Y-you… made this!? All of this!? The waterfall, the lake, the heat vents—all of it?!" Giyuu exclaimed, recoiling in shock as Pink Skin shrugged.
"What can I say? I like terraforming. Again, another thing I picked up from a friend of mine. And when you're given as much free time as I am… well, you get good at being very, very quick at it. 'Sides, this was just a small project. And I plan to expand on it a little bit more. This is just the start. I quite like this area, so I might just remove some trees and build some lodgings. Maybe rent out some houses for some money to families who want to get away from the city—the whole shebang," Pink Skin explained as Giyuu stared in awe.
That… that was insane. This Demon… this Demon was insane—more insane than any Demon he had met thus far. From the sounds of it, it almost sounded like he was… he was making a… making a farm of humans to eat.
It was a long plan. A plan that would take forever to accomplish. But if he succeeded….
"So that's your plan…" Giyuu rumbled, glaring at Pink Skin, who raised an eyebrow.
"What? You don't approve? I mean, c'mon! It's easy economics! Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'd have power over people, but I would be able to give them affordable lodging. I mean, think about it. You clearly hiked up this mountain to get to Kamado's home, right? You looked pretty beat when Dream dragged you here, so I kinda got the idea from you," Pink Skin said, a relaxed expression on his face as Giyuu sneered.
"Don't play coy with me, Demon!" Giyuu spat, standing up in the water, his body dripping wet from soaking in the warm lake as Pink Skin stared at him with an unamused expression. "I knew it! I knew you lied! I don't know why I trusted you for even a moment! You had something to do with those villagers disappearing! And I bet you have them somewhere locked up here, don't you? I bet they're in that basement! Just how many people have you killed and eaten!"
It was at that moment, whether Giyuu knew it or not, that he had stepped on a nerve. And he saw it rather quickly, too. With how Pink Skin's nose shrivelled, and how his lips curled back to reveal a row of sharp, angular teeth.
How in that moment, his life flashed before his eyes.
Pink Skin was on him in seconds, The Demon's body atop his own, slamming him into the ground and back into the water, doing so in such a way that the center of his back met a flat stone, causing pain to fly through his body.
The Demon's massive sword appeared in his hand faster than The Water Hashira could blink, its blackened blade not too dissimilar to a Nichirin sword shimmering in the light of the retreating sun.
Giyuu was unarmed and had nothing to protect himself with as the sword's tip slammed into the ground mere inches away from his head.
He felt a small amount of blood from his cheek trickle down his face, the cut burning as if it had been set aflame, his eyes wide with fright.
Fear…
He had never feared a Demon in such a long time. The last time had been… God, it had been the many-handed freak. The one who killed Sabito and Makomo…
And now, he felt that same fear with Pink Skin, and it had caused his heart to pound against his chest. He could feel his blood pump faster, but not because of Total Concentration Breathing, but rather because of adrenaline.
His breathing was erratic, and the way his body clammed up at being so close to the Demon… his muscles refused to move. It was like he had been paralyzed with fear.
Then… then there was the frenzied, wild look in Pink Skin's eyes. It was like staring into a pit. A pit of nothing but violence, bloodshed, and hatred. As if he was staring at Death itself given physical form. He could see the litres and litres of blood that stained the foul beast's hands.
And yet… he could also see regret. Regret for his actions, and sympathy for all of his victims—as if they had been unintended. He could see the pain, the horrors that the Demon no-doubt witnessed, and the cruelty of the world.
This Demon had lived a long, eventful life. Longer than Giyuu could probably count up to.
For such a powerful Demon to be this close to him, his hot breath beating down on his face, and his expression brought into a snarl, eyes boring holes into his own…. No wonder he felt fear.
It was like he had been bathing with Muzan Kibutsuji himself, but far, far worse.
And then, the Demon spoke.
"I have killed countless people… but never once have I feast upon my victim's flesh. Thou'st should recant thine claims before thou'st finds thine self deceased," the Demon rumbled, speaking in a language that Giyuu found hard to understand, nor could he understand. But with how angry he sounded… Giyuu did not want to upset it any more than he had already made it.
He could feel his body writhe in pain… he felt tears clawing down his face, escaping his eyes by sheer force. He was so, so goddamn scared. His heart had picked up pace, even more so than it had before.
He was crying…. He was crying in front of a Demon. And all he could muster was a sad, pathetic, and quiet "sorry". That was all he had managed to choke out. It was all his mind would let him say.
And just like that. Just by uttering that one, seemingly useless word, Pink Skin snaked himself away, his sword disappearing, but the glare not going away. At least, for a time.
Giyuu, however, did not move. His body did not shift from that spot for another minute, hot tears still streaming down his face as he choked back sob after sob. It was utterly pathetic, how fast he had been turned into a snivelling mess.
He, the coldest of the Hashira, was reduced into nothing but a snivelling, sorrowful mess.
And all it took was a snarl, a stare, and a threat he could not understand even remotely.
The next ten minutes passed off in a blur. He remembered being dragged out of the lake by Pink Skin, his body being dried by Pink Skin, his bandages applied over his chest to compress his unwanted breasts and hide them away from sight, along with his new clothes being put on for him.
He had been in a near catatonic state the entire time. He didn't flinch, he didn't move. He just stared at the ground. That was all there was to it. Giyuu was then dragged to the home of the Kamados, and instead of being re-tied up, he was taken upstairs and into a room labelled "guest."
He was shoved onto the bed, and the door was closed, all topped off with one final glare from Pink Skin before he was left to sit and essentially rot.
A chilling thought came to the forefront of his mind.
He was never leaving here, was he?
He was going to be stuck in this place until he was either killed, or he died by his own hands, wasn't he?
Without his blade, he could do nothing. His techniques were meaningless without it, as was his training.
He was stripped of everything now, even his uniform.
Only then did the horror of the situation he was in come to the forefront of his mind.
He was their prisoner. He hadn't realized his position in this dynamic just yet, until now. He had thought that he had some modicum of power over them, but it wasn't until now that he realized that he did not have that.
His status as The Water Hashira meant nothing without that blade. And he had just pissed off the person who had it.
His only hope now was if someone from the Corps found him. Because otherwise… he might end up as food….
He was back to being the same old, useless, pathetic, Giyuu Tomioka.
It was just as his father had told him… he was a burden.
Giyuu collapsed into his unwanted bed, closed his eyes, tucked himself into a ball, and pitifully cried himself to sleep, knowing that whatever life he had was going to be wasted here and that there was nothing he could do….
-To Be Continued-
