The hashira knew they weren't here just to see this only moment of the water hashira's life. Still though, what they had already seen drained them and made them question what else happened to him. They knew they were about to have their answers, but they feared just what those answers would be. "Does anyone have any questions before we continue on with this?"
Shinobu was the first to raise her hand, standing up to speak to the voice. "Just what would've happened to Tomioka-san if he was sent away to his family? We know they thought he was... ill, but wouldn't it have been better for him to go with his family? Even if they didn't believe him about the demons, he still wouldn't have been alone. They even ran their own hospital so they could've helped him through the trauma."
"I see none of you know of what happens to those who are labeled as the 'mentally disturbed' at hospitals." Everyone shook their heads saying they honestly didn't know, no one has ever tried to label them as crazy or send them away before. Sanemi was the only one that could be perceived as crazy, but once you heard him talk he at least sounded normal. "The hospitals meant to take care of the disturbed and crazy, were more so meant as a way to keep them away from the rest of society."
"It functions more as a containment facility, even within the hospitals, the sick are restricted. Tied to their beds or in chains to limit movement, constantly medicated to keep them as minimal threats. Some doctors even use electronic shocks as a way to reset the brain, or to jab the brain itself with metal prongs to remove or reconfigure the brain integrity. If Giyuu Tomioka did make it to his additional family, it is likely he would've died there. In a sick sense of fate, becoming a demon slayer was a better ending for him."
No one knew how to respond to this information, what was even a good way to feel about it? Sent to a place designed to help you rehabilitate only to drug you, tie you down and destroy your brain? Demon slaying as dangerous as the job may be, maybe it really did save Tomioka's life. Shinobu bit her lip in frustration and anger, this wasn't medicine, this was torture. She quickly held onto Tokito, the youngest and the most mentally degraded of their ranks. "Dont worry Tokito-san, I will not not anyone like that get near you."
"Now that you all have taken a momentary break from watching his past, are you all prepared for this next point in his life?" Everyone nodded in agreement, hoping that somehow this next moment wasn't as horrid as with what happened to his older sister. "As you all saw, he was saved by someone during that snowfall. The hunter was a friend of Sakonji Urokodaki, the former water pillar. Urokodaki had taken on Giyuu as an apprentice, but he was not alone."
"There was another boy training with him, named Sabito. He has a similar past to Giyuu, having lost his family due to the scourge of demons. I will be showing two moments of time of their friendship. He was a young man of exceptional skill and talent, Sabito was capable of putting many slayers during this time to shame, even potentially some in this room."
Everyone seemed tripped over the words that regarded Saito. Someone even younger than Tokito being seen at hashira level? Just how was it that this Sabito person not the water pillar? While they weren't going to complain at the effectiveness and skill Tomioka currently had, this was something else.
Pulled away from their thoughts, the projector had started up once again. The first scene that had started to play shown two boys, taking a break from training everyone assumed they got done with. One boy was obviously Tomioka from what they could see, except now we wore his sister's old haori. Next to him, they saw a boy with peach colored hair and a scar on his face, wearing a unique green and yellow pattern.
Shinobu noticed the pattern this Sabito boy wore, her eyes becoming wide as she silently stared at him. "That pattern... It's the left side of the one Giyuu has today. He also took up wearing his sister's clothes, as a way to keep her memory alive." She internaly said to herself, focusing on the boy next to Tomioka-san. She remembered that to make the full piece of clothing, two separate haoris had to be cut and stitched together. She suddenly felt the haori she inherited from her sister weigh down on her, as she felt realization of what's to come crash down on her.
"Oi Giyuu, everything alright? You seemed distracted during your counters, like you were just going through the motions. Usually your defense is better than mine. It's not manly to hold yourself back, talk to me." Giyuu knew he would bring it up eventually, he just wasn't sure how quick his friend would bring it up. "It's about Tsutako nee-san, I've been thinking about her again." Taking in a large breath of air, he let out a deep sigh as his head hung low. "Maybe it would've been better if I was the one to die that night."
"Kocho. Cover Tokitos ears, I'm saying this now so Himejima doesn't get mad im cursing in front of a kid." Kocho proceeded to cover the ears of the youngest of them, glancing at Mitsuri, she saw her cover her own ears as well. "Did this fucking loner idiot just say he wished he was the one to die?!" Sanemi yelled out angrily, bewildered at what kind of thinking was going through his head. Rengoku had stepped up, looking over to Shinazugawa. "Were you not the one though who said you didn't care how he died during young Kamado's trial though?" "I said I didn't care how he died, not that I wanted him dead!"
"It's just that when she died, it was the night before she was about to be married. The man was well off from what I remember, so she would've never had to worry another day in her life. She died, because she had to protect me. Even if it meant my death, I still wish she could've lived that happy life. She's dead... because of me." Giyuu lost all ability to keep his composure, tears began to run down his face as he was lost in grief.
Everyone watched on in complete silence, as shock overtook most of the pillars and their senses. At just thirteen years old, Giyuu Tomioka had wished he was the one that died. He wished that it was his life that was cut short, as long as it meant Tsutako had lived on. Tengen felt himself stiffen, his own memories flooding back. He stood over the bodies of his dead younger siblings. They were forced to fight by their father's demands, but that didn't change that he was the one that ended their lives. He was the older brother to most that died, he was meant to protect them. Only he did the opposite before he finally chose to stand up to his father.
Everyone intently watched the two friends wondering what would happen next, suddenly having their answer. Sabito had struck Giyuu, slapping him harshly across the face. While Giyuu had a face of shock and grief, Sabito wore one of anger and frustration. He walked up to his fallen friend, grabbing him by his clothes and staring him down, never letting the look of anger leave his face.
"Don't you dare say things would be better off if you were dead, ever again! If I ever hear those words come out of your mouth again, you and I are done! Our friendship is over!" Giyuu had gasped at his friend's sudden outburst, he remained silent so that Sabito could speak his mind. He thought to himself that this was probably for the best. Sabito had finally sighed, not being as angry as he was just a second ago.
"Your sister was supposed to get married that next day right? Despite that future ahead of her, she still chose to hide you from the demons and protect you. You can't die. Ever. That would only bring disrespect to the sacrifice your sister made. And don't you dare ever say you're alone dammit, you have her in your memories. She's still with you no matter what you idiot." Sabito finally helped his friend up, dusting him off and hugging him. "Sorry for slapping you, but if you talk stupid again you can count on me I'll do it again." Giyuu had laughed finally, wiping the tears from his face and hugging back. "Then I'll trust you to help keep me on track."
"It really is amazing Tomioka has such an amazing friend! His heart is truly ablaze to show how much he cares for him!" Rengoku smiled in joy, looking on as the friend's embraced each other. "Still though, I wonder what happened to him, Tomioka looks very lively here. Even after the loss of his sister, there is still light in his eyes." Shinobu already had the answer from her earlier finding. She couldn't find herself able to say the words out loud though, as if they were stuck in her throat.
They watched on as the two continued their training, they stood in front of two boulders with swords at the ready. The two boys had cut their own personal boulder in half, the hashira by this point were not sure what else there was that could surprise them. Before long, the entity had changed the scene, hinting this was the second moment that was referenced earlier.
"We have jumped a few months ahead of when you last saw them. This is at the start of their final selection. Be prepared for what you will see in this forest." All eyes were forward, as they saw Giyuu struggling to fight his first demons. He held them off as best he could, but his face was struck from a blind spot and he was soon covered in blood. He fell to the ground from the attack, slowly backing away from the group of demons. Almost on cue, Sabito had jumped into the fight, defending his friend and decapitating the group responsible.
"Giyuu you alright?!" He turned to face his friend, trying to clean the blood of his face. "Shit they got you good, we need to get you out of here. Hey! I need some help over here!" Sabito had yelled out to a group of slayers he had found and they quickly made their way to the pair. "I need you all to get him out of here, there's too much blood to tell how bad the wound is." Sabito pulled off his green and yellow haori and drapped it over his bleeding friend. "Give this back to me when we get out of here, there's still more people to save."
Giyuu was forced to watch with one eye as he was dragged away, and saw Sabito run further and further away from him. "Sabito we're a team! We're a pair dammit! We said we'd go through this together! Don't leave me behind! Please! Sabito!" Soon the shock had warn off and Giyuu had found himself fading from consciousness. The last thing he saw was the peach hair of his friend, barely able to focus his vision.
The scene had followed Sabito during the duration of final selection, slaying over 50 demons and saving every slayer he came across. The words of the entity spoke true, over the course of the week the young boy truly was worthy of standing with them. His natural talent and honed skill made him truly a scourge to demons. The question itched at them all more and more as they saw his potential, What was it that happened to this person? Where was this talent that could, in theory, help turn the tides of the war?
Sabito find himself face to face with a mutated demon, almost in a fearful awe of the creature made entirely of arms. The demon had laughed aloud, almost as if he was happy. "Joy oh joy! That bastard Urokodaki has sent another of his foxes to die!" Sabito looked to the demon in confusion, never removing his eyes from it. "How do you know Urokodaki-sensei? What do you mean he sent another to die?" The demon started to attack, its hands flying towards Sabito from separate directions. "That bastard is the person who imprisoned me here early on in his career, so I used my jail as my home for revenge. He has given every one of his students a fox mask, saying it was for protection. Only I used it as a way to distinguish them from other slayers and made it my goal to eat every last one of them!"
Everyone, Sabito included, looked at the demon with a pure fury in their eyes. This demon had spend decades hunting down the students of the man who put him there. It took a disgusting amount of happiness and glee at the idea of killing and devouring innocent children, all for the sake of it's petty revenge. They trusted the kid's abilities, they've seen how he's held his own this last week. They hoped this would be the last day the demon lived, for the sake of the children who lost their lives all because of a demon's pettiness.
Sabito had tried to keep his cool, but still felt his hatred boil his blood. This demon had been the reason Urokodaki-sensei suffered in silence, why he was so worried for them both, despite their skills being proven. Using the ninth form; Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent, he dodged between the arms as they tried to grab him. Quickly shifting to the third form, Flowing dance, he used the momentum of his speed to cut through whatever arms he escaped. Making it closer and closer to the demon's head with every step and sword swing.
The demon had felt fear run through his old body, questioning if this would be the day he would die. Sabito had jumped into the air, his sword coming down on what appeared to be the demons thick neck. Swinging down, he was already thinking of being reunited with his friend. What he did not expect, was his sword alignment was off due to his anger, and his sword had broken in two against the demon's skin. The demon looked on in freshly spawned glee as what appeared to be the demons neck, revealed itself to be another arm. It quickly shot towards the boy's head, it's fingers already surrounding it akin to a cage. The last thing Sabito remembered was his friend being carried away, now wearing his own green and yellow haori. "Sorry Giyuu, I guess it was my turn to save you."
The hashira all looked away from the sight, but were still forced to hear the sound of crunching bone and squelching meat. This death may have been faster than Tsutako's, but they were debating on if this was somehow worse. The death itself was near painless, but the intent of it made it much worse. They finally had their answer to what happened to his friend, now they wished they were as ignorant of the truth as before they first came to this room.They all refused to look at the screen until they heard the next scene transition, showing Giyuu at the end of final selection.
Slowly but surely, Giyuu was waking up. He felt a bandage wrapped around his head, happy he was able to just survive. The memories of the first night came back to him, as he scampered to find his friend. "Sabito! Come on man where are you? I need to give this back to you!" He found a group of other slayers and rushed to them, intent to have his answer. "Have you two seen my friend? He has bright peach colored hair and a scar on his face. Oh, and he has a fox mask as well." Giyuu grabbed the fox mask that rested on his hip and showed the group, knowing how distinct all of these things made him stand out.
"We tried looking for him. It's already past the week. The sisters in charge of this thing said all survivors had passed, since... Since every slayer except for one had survived." The boy had revealed something wrapped in cloth, placing it in front of Giyuu. "He saved us. He saved every single one of us and killed nearly every demon on that cursed mountain. He's a hero..." Giyuu refused to believe it, he refused that it happened again. He quickly unwrapped the item, only to find it was the mask Sabito was given, broken into pieces and covered in blood. Wrapping the mask back up, he rushed out of the room clutching the mask of his now dead friend tightly to his chest.
Giyuu had walked all the way back to Urokodaki-sensei's home in the mountains, refusing to take off Sabito's haori or let go of the shards of his mask. He had cried the entire walk, his eyes bloodshot and puffy from the strain of pushing out more and more tears to catch up with his sadness. Finally stopping in front of Urokodaki-sensei, he fell to his knees and continued to cry and speak only louder than a whisper.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough. We were supposed to be a team. I got hurt and I made him face it alone... I'm sorry Urokodaki-sensei... Please don't hate me." The former hashira could only break down alongside his student, tears running down his face and escaping from underneath the tengu mask he always wore. "I'm just glad one of you came back to me. I'm just so glad I didn't lose both of you." They continued in a tight embrace, letting out the tears of having to lose another student, and a cherished friend.
With one last scene change, they saw Tomioka once again. Only this time, he looked closer to how they saw him. "His eyes, they've gone dull. Like how they are now." Muichiro had said, being the first one to point out that this was when he became the Giyuu they knew. He continued to clutch his head, feeling more and more pain as the memories were being forced to come together. He was sure he could regain his memories from this, he just began to be annoyed at how painful the process was.
"That's not the only thing." Shinobu had pointed to Giyuu's haori, now having his signature split pattern. It was horrendous to learn that this was how he had come to be like this. No family left to his name, and his friend who helped him to remember the value of his life was gone as well. Just what ran through his mind anymore? What else contributed to the pain he was forced to live through, as if life itself was against him? "Now that you have witnessed his past, you will now be required to witness his present, to see truly who he has become. You all best continue to prepare yourselves."