En had flown for hours, feeling her wings and beak ached. The mask of Water Hashira was heavy, and her wings were exerted for too long without rest, but she had to report this to her master. She was appointed to watch over him by Lady Shinobu, spending the week looking over the man as he struggled. She does not know if leaving him alone was her best decision, even if she left to call for aid. She left him to die alone, not even being about to find what remained of him yet. This was the least she could do now, to let his death be known. She continued flying on, wanting to do something right.
Shinobu continued her work at her home turned hospital, ranging from the creation of new poisons and medical reports of any slayers that had stayed. Young Kamado and his friends were still recovering from their mission on Mt. Natagumo. She assumed they would still be here for the next month or two, given the one named Agatsuma still had his limbs growing back to their original proportions. Even with all the people that came and went to the Butterfly estate, her mind had only been able to focus on someone who wasn't there. Who wasn't even at his home, who was in no area that was held with control or security of the current Hashira, but owned by a father of found children.
It's not as if this had been the longest time she had gone without contact of Tomioka, but the context of their distance apart now only continued to feed her fears. They had even gone out to try and find him, only to be denied by the apparent spirits of their shared teacher. All they could see of him was him resorting to meditation to try and calm his mind. Nearly everyone had spoke their peace to his unresponsive form, all except one. Everyone agreeing Tomioka and Tokito-san couldn't have any negative relationship, on account one of them having amnesia and was never meaning to be malicious. With everyone speaking their mind, it left Shinobu to think about what it was she had said, ALL of what she had said.
Whether through desperation for him to stay or seeing it as her last chance, Shinobu partially admitted to how she felt. He always appeared to be steadfast, strong, capable of anything, everything she wanted to be. Her body was physically underdeveloped, only creating her poisons and unique breathing style because of her limitations she was forced to live with. Her focus on her limitations blinded her with anger, causing her to lash out at those around her, even to her own family. With the contrast that was her sister being the nicest person anyone could know, it caused every boy around them to gravitate towards her. Never being able to gain the attention of others on top of never feeling inadequate enough with her own body left her to exist in a near constant state of anger and frustration.
Shinobu never really knew how lonely Tomioka was, only discovering the extent after she herself became a Hashira and began missions with him. Kanae occasionally spoke of him, but now she understood why it wasn't more often. She hated herself now looking back, admiring him with her thoughts while berating him with her words. It made sense why he would go to Kanae as well, she practically made the choice for him. All she did was word her concerns and feelings in a way that hurt him or disregard him. Laying her head on her desk, she sighed as she could only get more tense. "I deserved what happened, and now I'm questioning if I deserve that second chance with Giyuu. Please can I just get one sign?"
She heard clanking noises, like that of wood being hit together. She wouldn't call that a sign from the universe, but was still curious nonetheless. Getting up and moving to the window, she was surprised to see En flying home. Catching the bird in her hands, she pulled the thing her mouth away before giving the bird some time to relax. "En are you alright? You look exhausted. Weren't you supposed to stay with Tomioka until he returned?" Shinobu placed the bird on her desk before inspecting the item. She felt herself become cold as she noticed that this was Giyuu's mask. It was completely split down the middle, only the back string keeping the entire thing together. "En did something happen to Tomioka? Is that way you flew back?!"
En finally stood up on the desk, lowering her head. "Water Hashira Giyuu Tomioka... Has fallen by the hands of Upper moon 2.." En walked closer to Shinobu, placing her head against her chest. "I left him and wanted to come get help, but you told me to watch over him. I couldn't find anything but that... Please don't be mad I left him Lady Shinobu." Shinobu felt all time stop, the words barely able to be processed in her mind. Giyuu was dead, by the same monster that took her sister... No. No no no no, no! No this had to be wrong! She would find him, he'd be hurt but he'd be alive! "En what direction did you come from?! Where?!"
"From north, it's a village the Hashira traveled through to reach Mt. Sagiri. You won't be able to miss it... It's not much of a village anymore though..." Shinobu left her bird behind as she rushed through her office door. She couldn't go after him alone, she knew she had to bring two people. Rushing through her house, she saw Kanao sitting in the backyard with Tanjiro through the window. Rushing through the door, she saw as Tanjiro had flipped her coin into the air. "Kanao! I need you with me something happened to Giyuu!" Her sister and Tanjiro looked at her with concern and dread, looking at her with mouth's agape. "G-Giyuu?" Kanao shot up and ran into the home, leaving Tanjiro behind.
"Something happened with Tomioka?! Please Ms. Kocho, let me go with you!" Shinobu shook her head, not liking having to deny him because of his connection. "No, We'll be moving at out maximum speed. It'll only keep you in rehabilitation even longer, you could very well risk getting hurt hurt from the journey." Tanjiro frowned as she explained, knowing she was telling the truth. Before he could say anything else, he saw Kanao return with Aoi. "Lady Shinobu, come on! If Giyuu is hurt he's going to need medical!" The eldest of the butterfly girls ran away, leaving Tanjiro alone to finally catch the coin. "Heads..."
The trio continued to move at speeds only imagined by most of the Corps. Shinobu knew Kanao would be capable of keeping up with her, but was surprised to see Aoi doing just fine. She concluded this had to be from personal training they did because of their years being close. They had been moving for hours, the afternoon sun would slowly turn to evening. No one spoke as they moved, but that only made them more on edge. Shinobu knew of which village En referred to, it was the only one that they needed to stay in on the way to the mountain. They were close by now, she had remembered the entire journey to the mountain and back.
The trio had finally arrived to the village location, only to see that En was correct. There was hardly anything recognizable, the entire area was covered in thick snow and massive pieces of ice that were still attempting to melt. "Lady Shinobu... Nee-san, what was it that was believed to happen to Giyuu?" Aoi stood in fear of the area, trying to imagine just what caused the destruction of a complete village. "...En had said Giyuu Tomioka had died in a conflict with Upper moon 2." Aoi and Kanao both stared intently at Shinobu, both recognizing the weight of the sentence. The younger sisters quickly rushed in to the remains of the area, while Shinobu was stuck in her thoughts.
'We already lost our big sister, we can't lose you too Giyuu. Please, there's too many people that need you here.' Shinobu shook her head from the negative thoughts, and begun to help in the search. The entire area had been covered in snow and ice, with hardly anything being able to be identified from the last time she was here. This was far more destruction than when she had found Kanae. While the village that she fought in was still covered in ice and snow, it was still at least intact and maintained structure. Here however, the only structures that stood taller than them was the larger pieces of ice. Had the demon become even stronger than when Kanae fought him? Or had Giyuu forced it to use this much power to fight him? Shinobu prayed he would have the answers for them.
For over an hour, the trio had looked through what they could. With Shinobu and Aoi searching through the destroyed buildings, and Kanao attempting to look through the snow covered ground. More of the ice had melted which gave hope that it was simply blocking something, but they all knew they could not be here forever. This was the last confirmed location of an Upper demon, there was no reason to believe it wouldn't return to the area. Kanao continued tredging through the snow, until feeling as if she had stepped on thin metal. Her attention was quickly caught before looking in the direction of her sisters. "Here!"
Shinobu and Aoi quickly rushed over, with Shinobu hugging Kanao and kissing her forehead. "Well done Kanao! What did you find?" "I think I'm standing on his sword, Giyuu-san may be underneath the snow." With this new branch of hope, the girls fell to their knees and began to dig. Their hands were freezing and almost felt they were digging through needles on their bare flesh, but they could only imagine what he was feeling underneath the snow. "Don't worry Giyuu! We'll have you out in a... second?" The girls only looked in horror, as pure white snow had turned crimson. Shinobu desperately continued to dig, finally seeing what was causing the blood red snow.
They had found Giyuu's broken sword, as well as his dismembered right arm. Almost the entire length of his arm looked as if it had been torn off, ending half way up his bicep. The girls stared at it intently, unable to say anything as they couldn't even feel themselves able to breathe. "No... No no no no no! Quick, keep digging around! It's only an arm, he still has his clothing to try and stop his bleeding! With the cold, his body would focus on keeping the chest and vitals warm!" Shinobu continued to desperately dig around the idea, hoping to find anything of him. "Nee-san..." Aoi started to tear up as she stood over her sisters. "Look at where the sun is already, the fight would've had to have ended at minimum twelve hours ago. Who knows even when in the fight he lost his arm. Giyuu... He may really be-"
"Dont you dare finish that sentence Aoi! He isn't dead! Giyuu is stronger than to have just died like this! It's only an arm he has to be alive!" Shinobu choked out her begging as she continued to dig through the immediate area, only still finding blood red snow. "Please no, I'm only now trying to be honest with how I feel and I can't say anything if you're dead." Kanao quickly hugged her sister from behind, holding her arms down as she buried her face in Shinobu's back. "Nee-san." Shinobu struggled to break free, one again hating how physically weak she was born to be. "Kanao let me go. He could still be under there... I need to keep looking for him." Shinobu began to cry as her vision soon became blurry. "What if he's cold under there? He's gonna need us to watch over him as he learns to use his other arm. We need to be there for him. I promised I'd be there for him..." The sisters pulled each other together into an embrace, still finding out if they were acknowledging or denying the newest source of their pain.
Shinobu had chosen to carry his arm and his sword, wanting to do this because of what she was guilty of. This was the least she could do to atone for what she'd done. She didn't want to ask Aoi or Kanao to do this, on account of how close the two had been to him. "If you two want to move into the Water estate, I won't stop either of you. You two were closer to him than I could've hoped to be, it would make sense." Shinobu kept her eyes low, only looking at the ground as they returned home. Aoi and Kanao both placed a hand on her back, giving a sympathetic look. "We can't leave you to grieve by yourself Lady Shinobu. We would have each other, but who would have you?" "You are our sister, you come before all else."
Shinobu let out a small laugh, smiling once again at the two. "Thank you both, honestly." She let out a sigh as she looked down at the items. The arm had been wrapped in her black uniform top, and held the sword by the handle. "We... May need to bury him at our estate, the Water estate will need to be cleared of his belongings. The estate will need to be ready in case someone moves in." Everyone frowned at these words, they knew it would have to be done logically, but they were still allowed to be upset. It was his home, the memories of his loved ones were being held there as well. Aoi shook her head at the idea, not wanting to think of the negative.
"We'll bring his stuff to the estate! It's not like there isn't room for it. The boxes, the haori, anything that could've meant something to him." She huffed as she continued walking, looking up to the sky. Shinobu smiled as she looked at her. "Aoi, never hide how you really feel. Never hide it from anyone, and be honest and clear with your words. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did." Looking to Kanao, she repeated herself. "You as well Kanao, I hope one of these days your heart can truly open. Please you two, find love, and never let go of it. Embrace it, even if because of our work it may end in loss... Try to enjoy it before it's lost to you." Shinobu bit her lip as she tried to keep a strong face for her sisters, desperate to try and not cry in front of them again.
The sisters had finally stood before their estate, feeling much more tired than they noticed before. The physical toll of their travel and mental toll of the loss, it drained them. There was still one thing left to do though, one person to still honor the memory of. Shinobu walked through the front door, only to hear footsteps rapidly approaching. Shinobu eventually saw Tanjiro before her, a look of concern on his face. "Lady Kocho I smell Tomioka and Blood! Is everything alright?!" Shinobu couldn't give any verbal answer, only hanging her head and focusing on the floor. "This is all of him we found." Tanjiro looked towards the object wrapped in Shinobu's uniform, before taking a smell of the air.
His eyes shot open, feeling himself begin to shake and lose strength in his legs. "No... Tomioka..." Tanjiro collapsed to his knees as he slammed his fist against the ground. "Why? Why must everyone around me die? Who am I meant to lose next?" Tanjiro started to cry as he couldn't help but scream. This drew the attention of the other residence of the house. Nezuko soon approached her brother in concern, before noticing the smell of blood hanging in the air. She turned to see Shinobu holding something in her hands. Her eyes wide as she walked closer to it. "Nezuko?"
Nezuko could smell him, smell his scent. But he wasn't all here, where was the rest of him? Why couldn't she see him? Walking up to the purple butterfly lady, she tugged on her pants worryingly. "I'm sorry Nezuko... Giyuu is gone. This was all we could find of him. We tried to keep looking, but there was just so much blood everywhere..." Nezuko felt her head start to hurt, a throbbing pain that caused her to grip her head. Images started to flash in her mind. Blood everywhere, bodies scattered across the ground before her. Her family was killed, almost every one of them slaughtered by a monster. She thought she was having a family again, she made a new brother! He was taken away from her too by the monsters!
Nezuko rushed into Shinobu's leg, almost throwing her off balance. "Nezuko?!" Shinobu looked down to see the girl crying as she shook her head over and over. "Nezuko.." Shinobu watched while the girl continued to mourn, before she quickly ran away with tears running down her face. Tanjiro stood up and chased after his sister, hoping to try and comfort her somehow. Shinobu sighed as she looked down at the arm once again. 'You had a lot of people that cared about you Giyuu, I'm sorry none of us said it enough.' Shinobu continued to the backyard, picking a spot that was just in front of the flower garden to start digging.
The flowers were both new and old, but all were planted by the sisters of the estate. It had started with Kanae, having planted all colors of bara besides yellow. Shinobu had decided instead of flowers, to plant a wisteria tree. It was only a few years old, but she still felt pride in it. Aoi had planted nemophilia, Kanao planted ajisai, even the little caterpillars had planted their own ajisai as well. Perhaps they could find something for Giyuu to plant for him. Grabbing a shovel, Shinobu started to dig a hole deep enough for the arm. After a hole big enough was dug, she grabbed the arm, even with her own arms shaking through fear. The last time she let him go, was the last time she saw him alive. She was afraid this would truly be the last time she'd see him.
Shinobu saw Aoi and Kanao place their hands on the arm as well, all eyes focused on it. The girls slowly lowered the arm into the ground, before covering it into a fresh mound of dirt. "Aoi, can you get the Kamado's for me? They deserve to be here as well." She quickly ran off, leaving Kanao and Shinobu alone. Kanao squirmed lightly, looking back to the door to the house. Eventually the Kamado siblings finally stood over the grave, watching as Shinobu marked it with Giyuu's broken sword. "Lady Kocho, just what happened? What was even strong enough to... What monster did this?"
Shinobu was still going through grief of what happened, but her mind rushed to thinking of that monster. The disgusting abomination that was part of an even bigger problem that plagued humanity. For over the last month, her constant anger was replaced with fear over Giyuu. With her fear gone, her anger returned with new found fuel to burn hotter than ever. She's always hated demoms, beings that existed with no other purpose but to cause suffering. They took away so many people, friends, family members, loved ones. They didn't care, all they did was take and take and take! "It was an Upper moon demon, one of the most powerful beings to exist. They serve directly under The Demon King, and their ranks haven't changed in the last hundred years! The same one that killed Giyuu... Is the same one that killed my sister."
Tanjiro was afraid at just what he could see and smell, Shinobu was engulfed in her rage. Her face was wearing the expression that of an oni mask of old times, his immediate desire was to run away from the absolute hatred he was feeling from her. He couldn't though, the girls needed the chance to let out their grief. "We'll put a stop to the demons, Muzan, the moons, all of them. For Tomioka, for your sister, and everyone else they've taken." Tanjiro remembered back to his family, discovering it was Muzan himself to slaughter them and transform his sister. All demons that caused suffering were permitted to exist because of this one monster. Tanjiro was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard laughing.
Shinobu was honestly laughing, even now after what today forced her to live through. Waving a hand, she looked up to him. "I appreciate the thought Tanjiro, honestly. I just hope your words are not just air. My apologies for my pessimistic behavior, it's just after today, hope isn't something I have much belief in at the moment." Shinobu finally stood up, gesturing for Kanao to follow her. Tanjiro stopped the girls quickly before pulling something out of his pocket. "Kanao you left before I could give this back to you earlier. It landed on heads just like I said it would! I can't wait to finally see how you follow your own heart!" He smiled as Kanao was shook and stared at the coin intently. "How did you know it would land on heads though?" She suddenly remembered to the events of earlier today. "Oh that's easy, I would've just kept flipping it until it landed on heads."
Kanao felt petrified where she stood as her face suddenly became hot. Looking down at her coin, she grabbed it from Tanjiro's hand and quickly ran inside the estate. He looked in her direction in confusion. "Please don't worry about that for now Tanjiro, go ahead and have a moment with Giyuu. I'll go talk with her." Shinobu quickly chased after her sister to leave the siblings a moment to post respects. She eventually found Kanao sitting on the floor, still holding her coin as her face was flush. Laughing softly, she sat next to her. "Is it him Kanao?" Her little sister could only blush as she looked away. "Do you remember what I said earlier before we arrived?" Finally looking towards Shinobu, she nodded softly. "Don't worry, I approve." Shinobu placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her sister.
Kanao hid her face in her knees, feeling her face only become hotter. Her sister was giving her permission to chase over romantic interests. This was a new feeling to her, she couldn't describe what it was going through her mind. "Nee-san? How is it you feel about Giyuu-san?" Shinobu now saw it was her turn to confront her feelings with someone. Looking up to the ceiling, she found herself drained. She no longer held the desire or will to hold back anymore. "I admired him, his strength, his talent, his potential. He was the very first slayer outside of this home to actually commend me for my technique and intelligence. What did I do even when he was giving me this positive reinforcement? I drove him away. When he said he wasn't worthy, I'll admit it upset me. Because while I thought I was never enough, here he was thinking the same of himself. He thought so highly of us, I thought so highly of him, but neither of us saw ourselves as much of anything..."
"I don't have an answer Kanao. I don't know if what I'm feeling is romantic desire, platonic admiration, or if this is just my guilt for everything making me feel this way. I just know he deserved better." Shinobu now matched the position of her sister, attempting to hide herself. "Nee-san, if it does help, sister Kanae and Giyuu-san were never romantic. They enjoyed time with one another, but from what I saw they never desired romantic development." Kanao finally said as she saw her sister was still hurting. Shinobu somehow felt lighter after hearing that noise, letting it a small sigh of relief. "At least I don't have to worry about the guilt of me reminding him of a dead love interest."
Aoi finally revealed herself, looking down at her sisters. "That's it you two, get up. Come on, up." Aoi grabbed them by their hands, struggling as they finally stood. "Aoi?" "Nope, come on." Aoi continued to drag her sisters to one of the larger spare rooms. Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho were apparently already waiting on them. They were half awake as they were all wrapped in their own blankets. "Hello there big sisters." "Group sleep can finally... start." "Yaaaay... Back to bed." The girls all yawned as they struggled to stay awake. Shinobu and Kanao looked on in confusion as Aoi pulled them both into the multiple beds pushed together. Everyone had converged around Shinobu as she was the oldest, turning into a group pile.
"Aoi? Just what was the point of this exactly?" Shinobu was more curious than ever as she looked to Aoi laying on her right side. "We use this as our chance to grieve in peace, and for us to support each other. Two of us were close to Giyuu, and you're filled with regret about not being closer to him. We need this." Aoi said as she hid her face in Shinobu's side. Shinobu could only smile as the girls all started to tear up. "When did you get so smart Aoi?" "My big sister is a Hashira and my other sister is strong enough to be her successor, I needed something to be able to catch up." Kanao Flicked Aoi's head, looking at her disapprovingly. "You said you would stop talking about feeling inferior." "She asked a question!" Shinobu laughed as she pulled her sisters closer. The butterflies softly cried themselves to sleep, as the little caterpillars each held onto one to help ease the pain life had made them live through.
The next day after dawn, the butterfly trio had returned to the Water estate. They had felt better after their group crying session last night, but still felt as if there was no energy between them. Standing in front of it, it helped to set in the reality of situation. They were coming to collect the items of the dead. Shinobu opened the front door, but stood still as she was deep in thought. 'This feels wrong. Not just from we're cleaning out the estate, why does this feel like it's still his?' Placing her hand on the doorway, she slowly forced herself inside the estate. "Come on girls, there shouldn't be much in here to take. Shinobu still walked uneasy, but saw the girls were completely fine.
Shinobu had grabbed her sister's box, while Kanao grabbed the others, and Aoi folded the haori in her arms. Aoi realized that there was something else to bring, putting the haori into Shinobu's arms. "There's something else!" She quickly ran off, leaving a confused Shinobu. Not having to wait long, Shinobu saw something that caused her heart to skip a beat. Aoi returned holding a little wisteria bonsai tree, its purple leaves as vibrant as ever. "How.. How did I never know it was here?" "It was in Giyuu's room, I only imagine you never knew because you never wanted to invade that private part of his life." Shinobu felt her lip quiver as she smiled, fighting back tears once again. "You want to carry it don't you Lady Shinobu?" She nodded eagerly as Aoi put it down to take the items away from her.
With everything of importance gone, the girls made their way back to the Butterfly estate. Shinobu carried the bonsai tree happily, resting her nose against the top leaves to take in the familiar smell. "I ordered something as well, it should be there by the time we're back. Aoi, when we return, tell Tanjiro to send word of the news to Urokodaki-sama. Kanao, you send word to the master." The girls agreed to the orders as they continued on their way home. "I think, I have an idea for you two as well." It was now Aoi and Kanao's time to be confused, wondering what was even meant to be for them.
As they returned to the estate, a kakushi was waiting for them at the front door. "Oh, Lady Kocho, the item you have requested has arrived. Its quality is as you specified and there were no errors in the inscriptions. Once you confirm it yourself, I shall take my leave should there be nothing else of me." Shinobu nodded as everyone followed her inside. Shinobu quickly ran to her room to put the tree down, as her sisters placed the boxes in the main hall. They were thankful to have an empty bookshelf to have the memorials on proper display once again. The living could only hope the dead did not mind sharing shelves. As Shinobu returned, the kakushi had opened the package for her. It was a box much like the ones that held the memories of those close to Giyuu, but this one was made with Japanese red maple wood. Quick peaking inside, she looked to see that everything was in fact correct.
"Thank you for this, truly, you may leave now. Please, enjoy this day." The kakushi bowed and quickly left. "Nee-san? Is that?" Kanao looked at the box almost in awe, before Shinobu placed it next to Tsutako's box. "A simple grave in the backyard didn't seem worthy enough, so I thought this would help." Shinobu returned to her room with, grabbing Giyuu's broken mask. Returning to the newly created memorial stand, she opened the box and placed it gently inside. Aoi had finally returned from speaking with Tanjiro, only to see what was in front of her.
Here lies Giyuu Tomioka, Water Hashira of the demon slayer Corps. Steadfast and stoic swordsman. Cold appearing man with a warm caring heart. Slain by the monster known as Upper moon two. Giyuu was someone who suffered in silence, fighting battles in his heart and mind almost none knew of. He was cared for by many, but was never told it enough. May his next life be brought the same joy he brought others in this one.
As Aoi and Kanao focused on the box, Shinobu quickly unfolded the mirrored haori and draped it over her shoulders. "Huh what?" Aoi saw what was now on her and felt herself heat up. "Nee-san I'm not supposed-" "You said it yourself, after Kanae died you two were never as close to Giyuu as before. Now you'll always have a part of him with you, take care of it Aoi." Shinobu hugged her softly, as she heard her sister start to cry. "Yes nee-san." Aoi said as she cried in her sister's chest. Kanao smiled at seeing the interaction, now curious herself what she would get. "Kanao, follow me please." Shinobu said as she turned around, still getting hugged by Aoi from behind even as they walked.
The trio stood before his grave once again, with Shinobu focusing on the sword. "Please, no one strike me down?" Shinobu half joked as she grabbed the sword from when it was stabbed through the dirt. Taking the guard off before putting the rest back and handing it to Kanao. "Flower breathing is closer to Water than Insect is. I assume he helped with your training in secrecy?" Kanao with a hint of shame nodded. "Use this, and carry him into battle with you wherever you go. He'd be proud of how far you've come." Kanao went wide eyed as she started to tear up as well. Remembering it was identical to when Giyuu-san told her sister Kanae would be proud, Kanao also eagerly hugged her elder sister.
Shinobu wrapped an arm around each sister, her smile dropping as they couldn't focus on her face anymore. 'There will be no place you'll be safe from me you bastard. You've taken my sister, and now you've taken someone else. My life, for your death. I will not let you take anyone else away from me.' Shinobu smiled at her sisters again before patting them softly. "Let's get this place ready for today girls, I imagine the others may try to visit today after hearing the news..." The girls agreed, knowing the others need their moment to grieve for the fallen as well, especially with what they had planned for when Giyuu was meant to return. None really had any desire to think of who would've been the first of the current Hashira to die, but now they feared who was the potential next victim. Death was an inevitably, it was only a matter of time before it came for those around them.