After some time, the two hashira had managed to calm down. Shinazugawa had finally managed to stop his tears and regulate his breathing. While he was finally appearing as fine as one could be after having a panic attack, it was obvious he was still shaken. Tokito on the other hand, almost seemed better than ever. Witnessing the actions of Giyuu, Tanjiro, and Nezuko seemed to have shocked his brain into recovery. His eyes actually had a light to them again, happy to finally remember who his comrades are.

"Tokito-san, while I'm happy you remember everything, we still need to make sure. Who are you, and who are we?" Shinobu examined the youngest of them the best she could in the situation, still in shock herself from the phenomenon. "I'm Muichiro Tokito, the mist hashira. You're Shinobu Kocho, the insect hashira. You helped me with my therapy in trying to get me to remember." Muichiro smiled for himself, happy he we finally feeling like himself again. Looking to his other comrades, he smiled to them as well. "Nice to meet you all, well nice to meet you all and remember it."

Gyomei's tears flowed with no stop in sight, smiling at his young comrade. "It fills my heart with great joy that your memories are back young Tokito. Even when we are required to experience great pain, we find silver lingings that make it worth the endavor. May those that watch over us bless your kind soul." Most other hashira walked over to Tokito, congratulating him. "Truly a flamboyant development Tokito, you'll definitely be more of a people person after this." "Aaahh your smile is so adorable! It's so amazing to see you soften up and act all warm and caring!" As everyone was celebrating Tokito-san gaining his memories, Shinobu looked over to Shinazugawa and made her way to him.

"How are you holding up Shinazugawa? How are you feeling?" Sanemi still felt his eyes stinging from earlier, but he looked at Kocho head on. "We are not discussing what you all saw here, it's not leaving this jail cell of a room. But, thanks for the checkup. I don't think I've cried like that in years." Sanemi rubbed the sides of his head, feeling a headache start to form from all the released emotion. "Tell Tokito congratulations from me, just let me be alone here for a bit."

Shinobu nodded, smiling at him as she stood up. "Just remember Shinazugawa, don't hoard up your emotions and how you feel. We're here because Tomioka-san did just that and I'd hate for us to come back here to see your secrets." Walking away from him, she made her way back to the group and passed the message along. A brief memory suddenly came to the forefront of her mind, and approached Uzui. "Uzui-san, I have a question for you. How was it you were able to determine that Tomioka-san had survivor's guilt?"

Tengen stiffened at the sudden questions, but knew he wouldn't get out of this easily. Conceding to his fate, he pulled Kocho to a different corner of the room. "I'll tell you since I don't want Shinazugawa being the only one having his trauma out in the open, but no one else will know this, except maybe Kyojuro. Undersood?" Shinobu nodded, already making such an agreement with Shinazugawa. "During my shinobi training, I had brothers and sisters. We all were training to become the best. Our father was ruthless with his standards, if they weren't met, we were "corrected and put back in line". And it was always another sibling who did the deed."

Shinobu only looked on with awe and disgust. Thinking back to the few memories she had of her father, he was a caring and compassionate man. To think of someone meant to be a father, ordering his children to brutalize each other made her feel more sick than any wisteria she consumed.

"Three of them died from the training he forced on us, two of them I killed myself. They were masked warriors and I couldn't see who they were, my gut was screaming at me something was wrong. Only I didn't learn why until it was too late. I was the older sibling to a lot of them, I was meant to protect them and yet they died while I couldn't do anything. The guilt of it all ate away at me. The only reason I think I didn't turn out more like Tomioka, is because I had my wives. He hasn't had anyone to help him though."

The reality of this still stung her deeply; Tomioka-san really was alone with only his pain to keep him company. He had willingly distanced himself from everyone, believing it was for the best. He genuinely thought to suffer alone and not risk the safety of others was better than to reach out to someone and risk being hurt again if anything happened. There had to be more to it though, he didn't just distance himself during work, but everywhere at every time. The voice said they'd finally have the truth, she was ready to see it with her own eyes.

"Hello there voice of higher existence? I believe we're ready now. The two of our ranks have finally calmed down and we all seem better now. You said you wanted to enlighten us, so we're ready for it." The projector finally started again, revealing Tanjiro and Giyuu sitting across from each other. "Remember everyone that this conversation has yet to happen. The future may or may not be written in stone, but you must question how durable is the stone if it can be so easily written on. You have the chance to learn from the future, to change the present."

Tanjiro sat across Giyuu, wearing a face of confusion and concern. "Eh? I can smell anger coming off of you Giyuu-san. What has you mad?" "I'm mad because you stopped trying to master the art of water breathing. You were meant to become the water pillar." Tanjiro felt slightly ashamed, scratching the back of his head. "I am genuinely sorry for that, but I even spoke with Urokodaki-sama about it as well. He said that it wasn't rare for people to change styles during their career, or to even create offshoot breathing techniques."

"That's not to what I was referring to. Someone must take up the position as soon as possible. The position of water pillar cannot be left vacant." Tanjiro only looked at Giyuu-san with a growing sense of confusion. For as long as he knew of him, Giyuu Tomioka was the water hashira. So why was he saying it was currently vacant? "What do you mean it's currently vacant? isn't that you Giyuu-san? "I'm not the water pillar. Please just leave me alone."

Everyone watching the scene was more confused than anything. Giyuu Tomioka was the only person to have the position of water hashira in the last years; he was there long before a few other hashira had earned their place. "Please tell me he's not the one having memory loss now." Muichiro made the joking comment, hearing Kanroji and Rengoku laughing at the ironic thought. Shinazugawa finally spoke again, having his eyes focused on Tomioka. "He can't be, he was able to recall the hard headed brat stopping his water breathing training for whatever it is he's currently doing. So what the hell is going on?"

They watched on as Tanjiro had followed after Tomioka for days, attempting to get him to talk and explain his thoughts. Eventually, Tomioka finally stopped trying to run away from the situation and spoke. "I never actually passed final selection." "Eh? You mean the week of attempting to survive the wisteria mountain with the captured demons?" Giyuu never turned to face Tanjiro, still only showing him his back. "Correct. Back then, I had gone with someone I had seen as my best friend, his name was Sabito."

"He was a kind soul with a strong sense of justice, and an even stronger affinity to the sword. Yet he was the only one to die that entire time. While he was able to single handily kill nearly every demon on that mountain, I was injured in my first fight and had to be rescued by him. When I finally regained consciousness, final selection was over, and I was approved for surviving the week. Can I say I even passed however? I, a human who could not even defeat a single demon and had to be bailed out? I am not worthy of becoming the water pillar."

"I am not worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the other pillars as equals. When I see them, all I ever see is what I do not have. Compassion, potential, drive, care, intelligence, freedom, zeal, determination. This is what I see when I look at each and every one of them, and yet when I look at myself, all I can think of is the word unworthy. I never should've had a place in the demon slayer corps, I shouldn't have even lived this long." Tanjiro felt his eyes begin to burn, as tears began to flow as he saw Giyuu slowly walk away. "Just go partake in the hashira training, that's what's best for you right now. Do not concern yourself with me anymore, it'll only be a waste of time."

"He never thought he was better than us..." "I'm different from you all, was just a way of saying I'm not as good as the rest of you.." Obani and Sanemi's entire reason to hate him, the image of him they created in their minds about him being an emotionless narcissist, was shattered. He was emotionally dead because he was afraid of connecting to someone again and then losing them. He called himself different because he didn't see himself as good enough to stand with the rest of them. Even with how much he didn't make it easy to like him, they still both felt guilt start to grow in the pits of their stomach.

Mitsuri and Kyojuro couldn't even say anything, both trapped inside their own thoughts. They both saw Tomioka-san as an amazing and strong comrade, even with how quiet and reserved he could be. He was always someone that spoke through action in their eyes, someone who was more than capable and deserving of being a pillar. "This is why he never spends time with us, he doesn't feel he deserves to be around us." Kyojuro finally said out loud, the usual excited smile from his face completely gone.

"This is also the explanation as to why the master was so adamant on us extending a hand out to him. It is possible the master knew of Tomioka's inner turmoil, and wanted us to reach out to him, to feel that he is accepted and welcome." Gyomei lowered his head, finding himself unable to even cry or pray. Learning just how lowly his comrade saw himself, made everything down to his soul weep. Prayers alone would not be enough to help Tomioka, action had to be made. "We must make amends for our actions and inaction, the voice had said we must learn from this future and change the present, that is exactly what we must do."

Everyone was pulled away from the paused scene, pulled away from their own thoughts, when they turned and saw Shinobu Kocho laughing. She looked to be on the verge of tears and throwing up, her eyes wide as she wrapped one arm around her stomach and used her other hand to cover her mouth. "Even after all we've done, he still sees the best in us. He still puts us on pedestals, while putting himself beneath the dirt. How many times did I tell him no one liked him? How many times did I point out he had no friends because of how he acted?! How many times did Shinazugawa and Iguro berate him for his lack of any joy or happiness or motivation!" Shinobu finally stopped laughing, her voice only filled with self hatred. "He felt this way for years, and all we've done is make him feel worse!"

Mitsuri and Sanemi were the first to rush by her side, helping to keep her up as she fell to her knees. "Shinobu-san no one could've known about this! Please you can't blame yourself like this." Mitsuri pleaded with her best friend, shocked at seeing the almost always smiling insect pillar acting in such a broken manner. "Kocho, come on, use that head of yours. No one knew of this. No one had an idea who Tomioka really was or what he thought, this was what he wanted. He wanted to be away from us." Sanemi tried to reason with Kocho, knowing there was a better chance for her to listen to reason.

"That doesn't make what we've done any better! Only four of us go out of our way to talk to him, and even then nothing worked. I can't say anything about myself because half of the time I was teasing him. Rengoku-san tries with minimal results, Gyomei-san tries but that's just from him checking in on everyone, and when Mitsuri tries to speak with him Iguro is giving him a death stare. You two hated him for so long, Tengen-san never associated with him because he found him too boring to be around, and Tokito-san has confused him for a statue."

Mitsuri looked around at her comrades, seeing some wearing the looks of shame. She frowned, noticing that Shinobu-san was speaking the truth. Looking to Iguro-san, she walked over him to try and seek some truth from his own words. "Iguro-san. Why did you hate him? Why did you hate Tomioka-san and why did you hate him talking to me? What does Shinobu mean?"

Obani felt shame wash over him as Kanroji looked at him expectedly. First Sanemi accidentally made mention of his past, and now here he was being asked to do the same. He would refuse these questions to anyone else, but he just couldn't do it now since they were coming from her. He swallowed his pride and looked at her with his one good eye.

"I hated him because he just never looked happy no matter what happened. Hashira meetings, attempts to invite him out with us, nothing brought so much as one side of his face to a smile. He always wore that face of not just unhappiness, but contempt. It... It reminded me too much of my youth. During a time where I felt no happiness, no joy, I did not live, I merely existed. Every time I saw his face, it reminded me of the exact same face I wore, and it brings me nothing but rage. The only time I started having good memories is when Kyojuro's father had found me."

Feeling almost lighter from saying his history out loud, he remembered that there was still more to be said. Lowering his head, he couldn't face her the rest of his confession. "And I had hating him for talking to you, because I did not wish to lose you. Since my saving, you were the only good thing I had going for me Kanroji. The only person I felt unconditional care from, you made me feel safe. Every time I saw you with someone else, a part of my mind panicked, that if things been you and them progressed, that I would lose you and end up alone again. In doing so and talking about it openly, I realize all I've done is doom someone else to the same fate I escaped from. I'm sorry, Mitsuri."

Mitsuri felt many different emotions run through her mind, but couldn't stick to a single one. She felt happy that she meant so much to Iguro-san, angry that he hated Tomioka-san just for existing around him, uneasy that it felt he was controlling who she could talk to after realizing it. She placed both her hands on his shoulders and finally spoke. "It's not me who you need forgiveness from Obani. Tomioka is hurting. You know what it felt like, and you finally left that place right? Now we have to help Tomioka-san."

Mitsuri stood beside Himejima-san, staring at the other hashira. "Himejima-san is right about what he said earlier. We need to make things right. We can't let Tomioka-san be alone anymore. We can't take back all that we haven't done in the past, but we can still at least do something to change the present!" Mitsuri looked on at the others with determination in her eyes. Kyojuro smiled widely at this display. "Your heart is truly ablaze my former apprentice! Your love shall bring great warmth to this world!" "Such a flamboyant idea and a flashy way to show it off. There's no way I can't go with it." One by one, each hashira agreed to the idea with determination to make things right.

"Attention, Uh, voice person? Now that we've learned everything you've brought us here to, we want to go back! We know what we have to do now! And we won't let this opportunity go! We won't let Tomioka-san suffer by himself any longer!" Everyone had nodded in agreement, knowing while this wasn't going to be easy, it would be a worthy endavor. "I am glad to know I did not bring you all here for nothing. As painful as it was to witness everything, it seemed to have been worth it. I trust you all to keep your word on this. Goodluck, hashira."