Giyuu and Yae had stayed with Lady Mizuki throughout their time in the village. Much to Yae's conflicted feelings, Giyuu had decided her equipment would be made first. While she argued he was the more capable fighter and thus would need his sword made, he argued the village had surplus non commissioned swords. He could find a weapon he could use with little time, but her tools were much more niche, and needed attention. She had agreed to it eventually and they began their work. Given her items did not need as much time dedicated to their craft, she was thankful it only took a week.

Yae already had experience with making her own tools, most of which had parts from animals she had hunted in the past. Bone for handles, wool and fur pelts for clothing, even doing what she was now and processing metal for blades or bullets. When she was younger, she had questioned why her father made her carry molds for the actual projectiles. She was now thankful for the concept of being over prepared. She looked at the craftsmanship of the Lady, and it was extraordinary. The shine and polish of the blades, the wrapping of the handles, even the guards themselves were works of art to her. She could only hope to be able to one day have the quality she was capable of.

Looking back to Giyuu, it was odd to see him so still, tranquil even. He was actually more quiet than when she first met him. He was simply staring into the fire with Lady Mizuki on standby. Her knives and solid nichirin iron bullets were easy to make, the ingots of material were already existent and just needed to be reshaped for her purposes. Giyuu however started from the raw ore itself, she didn't want to question his methods. "Yae." She actually found herself jumping from hearing his voice after so much silence. "You don't always need to be nearby or expecting to work. There's a hot spring in walking distance that all slayers use when they visit for recovery. Enjoy some time to just relax."

Giyuu almost felt two holes boring through his head as his eyes focused on the metal resting in the fire. "We've been here a week and you only now tell me there's hot spring?" "...Now." Giyuu spoke as Lady Mizuki pulled the billet out of the fire, with the two folding the metal over itself. "Don't be so hard on him Yae, your work came above your relaxation. If anything were to happen to you outside of these walls, you'd be defenseless without your new knives and ammunition. I still must work on your bayonet." Yae stayed silent as she had to she stood up. "Alright, that's fair. I'm gonna go try it out. I'll ask around to see if anyone can guide me to it so I don't pull you two away from your work." Yae stood as she left the workshop, leaving he two to continue their forging.

"The pieces of the heart sang this time when I struck them. Last time when I made your sword, it sounded muted. Now though, the vibrations almost seemed to harmonize." Mizuki spoke as she and Giyuu continued their process of heating, cutting, and folding. "The blade matches its wielder, meant to be a reflection of them." Mizuki laughed as she placed the materials back in the fire. "Just what happened to you little wave? I understand that there was change, but what spurred it?" Giyuu looked on as the material glowed, taking on the color of the fire around it. "Now." Mizuki pulled it out once again as they continued their repetitive actions. "When you spend a full month bouncing between life and death, spirits of your past will tell you what you need to hear. Tell you things are not your fault, tell you let go of your sadness. The dead will speak to you on how to live."

"The memories of the past telling you how to live for a better future, my oh my such an entertaining thought!" Mizuki couldn't help but laugh slightly. "It does make sense though, you always have been a haunted one my little wave. It's fitting the past was also what set you free. Help me with the outer jacket, so it may be wrapped around the heart of the sword." Giyuu had placed the outer jacket of material and placed it into the fire, desiring it to be just as hot. "Who were they if you don't mind me asking?" "My elder sister, my childhood best friend, and the former Flower Hashira who was my best friend as well. I blamed myself for their deaths, but they had never blamed me." Mizuki had pulled out the outer jacket and placed it into a divot, allowing Giyuu to strike it into a U-shape.

"Many slayers feel guilt of their past driving their actions in their careers. It's understandable, but it is also foolish." Mizuki grabbed the heart material, placing it into the jacket. "To allow the past to control you, stop you for thinking what is best for you now, for the future. You focus so much on what's behind, you lose sight of in front of you." Giyuu himself laughed, nodding his head. "It only took the risk of dying to learn that, remind me to try and move at a faster pace next time I am in need of a lesson." Mizuki took her mask off as she smiled. "Go relax with your friend, enjoy the present. I am your swordsmith, I can take care of this until you're back."

Yae couldn't help but melt in bliss as she sat in the water of the springs. This wasn't her first time in a natural spring, but every time felt like a treasure. She was warned it was a mixed spring, but by this point into her life she couldn't care. After everything that had happened, she didn't find much to care about. She almost wondered if this was how Giyuu had felt, trying to find something to keep going for. There was her defending humanity and trying to save people, but she hoped eventually she'd find a more intimate or personal reason to keep moving forward. "Yae, I hope you don't mind me joining you?" She turned around to see Giyuu standing in a kimono and his new mask, she assumed he kept it on to remain hidden in plain sight from the Love Hashira.

"Come on in, I'm guessing Lady Mizuki sent you off to relax too?" She looked away as he took his clothes off and stepped into the water. "Exactly, live in the present and such." She understood the answer, believing they were both choosing to do so in the moment. She stared down at his body now that he was in, actually paying attention to it for the first time in a while. He was riddled in scars, far more than just what she found him with. It was clear they were years old, some professionally treated, while others almost neglected. Her eyes slowly drifted to the stump. His arm was already gone by the time she had found him, but she still felt a tinge of guilt for some reason. Almost as if she found him sooner, she could've helped save it. "I never said it before until now, but I'm sorry about the arm."

Giyuu stuck his hand out, gesturing for her to give him her hand. She hesitantly stuck her hand out, as he grabbed it and placed it against the remains of his arm. "I was the one that tore it off, I do not exaggerate when i say it was pulverized and no longer usable. If I didn't remove it, you would've done so yourself. Don't blame yourself for this Yae, remember that without you I would have died. You saved me, never underestimate the value that already has." She smiled, rubbing her hand against the stump. She did save him, she took care of him for an entire month after he was unconscious, she did need to remember to give herself credit for that. "You've been a good friend Giyuu, never change." "Change is how I became the person who I am now, if I never changed then I'd still be the person who you first met." The two closed their eyes as they leaned against the rocks, taking in the peace of the hot waters.

The peace did not last for long though, as Giyuu quickly recognized a certain someone's voice. "Hello there! I didn't expect to find other people here at the hot springs. Oh wait, everyone enjoys the hot springs when their here. But I'm so glad I got to meet others here!" Giyuu and Yae had looked upon a woman in front of them with vibrant pink and green hair. Giyuu felt himself petrified as he was thankful for his mask. "H-Hello there. I take it you're the Love Hashira?" Yae questioned as she slowly moved in front of Giyuu, noting he wanting to stay hidden. "How did you know? Did you hear about me through the smiths?" Yae had padded Giyuu on his good arm, telling him to get out.

"Uh, Lady Mizuki had informed us of your presence. I'm sorry if I'm not acting respectful enough, you just caught us off guard." Giyuu watched as Mitsuri calmed down, almost saddened. "Lady Mizuki, she was Tomioka-san's smith..." She started to cry. A part of him wanted to leave as the opportunity was there, but he was honestly shocked to see she cared still about his death. He acted before he could think. He placed a hand on her head, rubbing it softly as she looked confused. "Don't worry about Giyuu Tomioka, he's doing better right now than you could think. His body may be gone, but his memory isn't. I promise you." Giyuu felt guilty as he was lying directly to Mitsuri, but he didn't want to see her this upset.

Mitsuri blushed at the sudden physical attention, backing away as she relaxed back in the water. "We lost Tomioka-san to an Upper moon attack, we hurt him and we didn't even get to say sorry or goodbye to him. It affected the entirety of the Pillars... I just hope Rengoku-san and Tomioka-san are alright together." She started to cry again, trying to hide her face so they don't see her cry. Yae looked up to Giyuu with a stern expression. 'Tell her the truth, she's guilt ridden.' Giyuu nodded, sighing as he knew this was going to be a mess. "Mitsuri." Mitsuri yelped as she was called by her first name by a complete stranger. Turning around, she saw the man's face finally. Even in this heat, her blood ran cold. "Long time no see Mitsuri, it was nice to see you and Obanai make progress."

She didn't know what to do, what to say. They had thought Tomioka-san was dead, they saw the grave. Shinobu had been the one to find his arm and sword. "Tomioka-san..." She placed a hand against him, he was warm, he had a heartbeat. "I'm sorry I was gone. I needed to fix myself, become stronger, make sure I was in a condition to come back." He looked down to her as she was trembling and her eyes were tearing up. Before he could react, he was pulled into a hug that would've crushed him before the mark. "Waaaaah! Tomioka-saaaaan! We're so sorry! We've all been sad, and trying super super hard to be better, and and waaaah you're a meanie for making us think you were gone all this time!!" Giyuu felt horrifically awkward, as Mitsuri had forgotten they were in a hot bath as she was holding onto him. He'd allow it though, she needed time to process.

Mitsuri sat with them as placed herself next to Giyuu, he couldn't help but think back to Kanzaburou when he would watch him and Yae train. "I was going to come back and reveal myself after Yae and I had gotten our equipment. I woke up the day of Kyojuro's death, and have essentially been in rehabilitation training ever since." Mitsuri was still pouting, seemingly still not happy with him. "You could've sent a crow still! We mourned you, Shinobu hasn't smiled in months!" Giyuu frowned as he rubbed his face, looking up to the stars. "Kanzaburou learned I was alive from my visit to my mentor, but it's not like I could have him relay anything. None of you would believe I was alive. Everyone would've chocked it up to senile crow going insane from grief, you had to see the proof in flesh and blood. Besides, I learned of something. Something I needed to get stronger for and I've finally done it. I know I'm more than enough now and I can finally return."

Mitsuri stared at him, seemingly accepting the answer better now. Looking back to Yae, her annoyance was replaced with curiosity. "So who are you? Tomioka's girlfriend?" This caused the duo to almost spaz out, looking at her confusingly. "Me and Giyuu aren't together!" "She's only a friend!" Yae quickly stood between the two again, her eyes darting back and forth between Giyuu and Mitsuri. "My name is Yae. I was the one that saved him when he was on death's door. After he woke up, we traveled together and trained with his mentor ever since. I decided to join the slayers after he and Urokodaki-sensei convinced me. I can promise you he was truthful, we really were planning to reveal ourselves once our business here was done."

Mitsuri smiled as she learned of the girl, she gently pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for taking care of him! I can't tell you how happy and grateful the other Hashira are going to be when they learn he's alive! I just know he master will love you!" Giyuu smiled as he stood up again, quickly throwing his clothes and mask back on as he looked back to the girls. "We are currently staying with Lady Mizuki, our weapons are almost finished." Yae looked at him disapprovingly. "Are you really going to leave me like this?" She gestured to herself being essentially trapped in the arms of someone far stronger than they had a right to be. "Remember what I told you about her though? She's the most pure hearted woman I know. She's a delight to be around so you'll be fine." Mitsuri was utterly shocked to see this was the same Tomioka-san they knew of. As he walked away, she held onto Yae's shoulders and stared at her intently. "I need answers, now!"

Giyuu was walking down from the springs, once again feeling better. He hadn't desired to see her until his return, but this felt good. Almost like closure. As he continued down, he spotted an all too familiar pattern. Tanjiro was walking up to experience the spring water, Giyuu assumed this was his first time in the village and was directly told of this place. "I'd watch out when you go up there, Mitsuri Kanroji and another woman are up there. I'd recommend yelling your arrival before you get in the water." He patted his shoulder as he walked past him. "Ah thank y-" Tanjiro was caught off by a scent, one he thought he would never be able to find again.

"Giyuu-san." Tanjiro ran back to the man as he held onto his kimono. "Giyuu-san, I know that's you. I never forget a scent even when it's weak!" He heard the man laugh as he turned back to him, Tanjiro now noticed the man was wearing a mask clearly made by Urokodaki-sensei. "Nothing ever does get past your nose does it Tanjiro?" Giyuu moved his mask to the side to reveal himself, finally confirming for the boy he was alive. "Thanks for checking on me when you visited the mountain." Just as Mitsuri had done, Tanjiro had jumped towards him and hugged him closely. "Where have you been?! We all thought you were dead! Lady Kocho showed me your arm!" Giyuu just smiled at the boy, wondering how many times he'd have this conversation. "Follow me to my swordsmith, I'll tell you everything there."

Tanjiro seemed to accept his explanation of events, his nose never picking up any scent of lies or deceit by how quick he moved past it. Nezuko though still had that child like wonder of hers, so even when she was happy to see him alive, she was angry with him he didn't come back sooner. However still in her anger, she decided to use him as a seat to make sure he was nearby. All watched on as Lady Mizuki finished the final shaping of the sword, the final stages of the material were nearing. "It looks amazing Lady Mizuki! I can't wait to see it once it's all done for Giyuu-san! Oh, do you happen to know where Mr. Haganezuka is? He's my swordsmith and even the chief said he's missing."

"Oh, that's because he's gone off into the mountains somewhere to train himself. Something about needing to reforge himself before he can forge another sword. He plans to craft something that rivals that of the village secret creation." This caught the attention of the two sword users, now desiring to learn more of this supposed creation. "Lady Mizuki, just what is this creation that makes Mr. Haganezuka push himself so hard?" Tanjiro needed to know what this tool was, his smith was missing to rival something with such a quality. "Tomorrow look for a boy named Kotestsu, he's a harsh little boy. He's the one who is in ownership of the treasure."

The next day, Giyuu and Tanjiro sought out the boy named Kotetsu. They were told he has long black hair, and is not afraid to act hostile. Tanjiro had wanted to start at the outskirt of the village and work inwards, and Giyuu had agreed to the idea. As they walked through the forest under the afternoon sun, they heard what sounded like an argument. "Ask all you want, I'm not giving it to you!" They quickened their pace, desperate to find the source. "I don't have time to argue with you. I came here for it and I'm not leaving here without it." Giyuu had soon found the source of the voices, his eyes going wide as he saw Muichiro here as well. How many Hashira was he going to run into during his visit?

"Tanjiro, I found Muichiro!" Giyuu had walked out of the treeline, he was caught off guard to see some strange creation with six arms. "Give me the key." "In your dreams! My ancestors made this and its precious to me! I'm not giving it to you!" He saw Muichiro about to strike the child, leaving Giyuu little room to not interfere. Catching his hand, he looked between the two. "Muichiro, there isn't a need to strike at someone just because you don't like them." Muichiro looked up to the strange man. He was strong to stop him with a single arm, he appeared to be missing the other. "Take your hands off of me." Muichiro went to pull his arm away from the man, much to his surprise he was stuck in the man's grasp.

"You're quite strong." Muichiro was so distracted to see someone could overpower him, he failed to realize the boy escaped. Looking back to his other hand he saw only the red jacket the boy was wearing. Tanjiro was attempting to comfort the boy, even if he was stubborn to accepting help. "I'm not giving the key to anyone! Not even if you torture me! If I do you'll only break it!" Giyuu focused back on the machination, seeing that it was actually designed to resemble a person. "Relax kid, no one is going to interrogate or torture you." He sighed as he heard Muichiro begin to speak. "He would never last though, he is exceedingly stupid."

"So what if it breaks? Make another. How many people do you think die because you would rather focus on trival nonsense?" The boy and Tanjiro let out short gasps as they focused on the younger Hashira. "That's what it means to keep a Hashira away from his duty, you are actively stopping me from practicing, and therefore more capable. My time is much more valuable than yours, whether you like it or not, that is simply the reality. Let me spell it out for you. Swordsmiths cannot fight, you are not able to save lives, your purpose is to make our weapons." He stuck his hand out expectantly towards the masked boy. "You should know your place in life and act accordingly, you're not a baby anymore."

Tanjiro couldn't help but boiling in frustration at the supposed Hashira. He had no tact, no sense of compassion, and worst, he didn't even talk with any scent of malice! He slapped his hand away and before he could speak, he saw Giyuu raise his hand. "Muichiro, smiths cannot fight because they are not ALLOWED to fight. They create our weapons so that we may fight in their stead. We cannot save lives without the swords they create, they are just as important as any slayer, even Hashira." Giyuu focused on his younger comrade, but still could see his eyes were glossed over. "My apologies, but I don't have time to waste listening to your speech. You must understand."

Giyuu found Muichiro attempting to strike him again, and once again having to defend himself from his own comrade. He would rather not risk hurting him, so he decided to only dodge. After several minutes, he heard the angry child from before yelling out. "Stop!" Muichiro actually listened, Giyuu looked towards him only to see he was holding the key outwards. "Just take it! I don't want you two fighting and someone getting hurt." Muichiro walked up and grabbed the key before moving to the strange creation and vanishing before all eyes. Giyuu walked up to the child who was already bowing. "You tried to help me, even when I'm just a complete stranger. You have my thanks."

"Just what was that thing Muichiro took? It's obvious it's not anything living." "It's a mechanical doll, that key is to help make it move. It's meant to be used for combat training." The boy squirmed as he was sat down, looking towards the box. "It has the strength to overpower a human, and is capable of over a hundred moves." Giyuu stared at the boy, almost feeling himself develop a headache. "You mean you are in defense of a training tool never to be used, even though it has the capacity to fight better than most humans? It was already damaged before so why stop its use if it means people can become stronger from it?"

Everyone heard the scream of metal clashing against one another, all eyes pointing to one direction. "Don't tell me he already turned it on!" Everyone had rushed into the direction, finding Muichiro already sparring with the doll. Giyuu knew that Muichiro's breathing style was around evasion and movement, staying out of an opponent's sight to attack at blind spots. It was interesting to see him having to fight someone who could defend from those blind spots. Man against machine, and both had moved with such graceful lethality. "It's amazing, to see a man made object move with such smoothness." "That's the battle type mechanical doll built by my ancestors: Yoriichi Type Zero." Tanjiro was awe struck by the display, utterly dumbfounded that a thing like this could exist.

"Why does he have six arms though? Surely the man it's modeled after couldn't have been born that way." The boy shook his head, keeping his eyes forward. "According to my father, the only way to come close to replicating his moves was to give it those six arms. Not much was known on the man himself though, he was born back in the Sengoku period." Tanjiro and Giyuu looked down to the boy in awe, not sure how to process this information. Giyuu looked back to the machine, not sure if he could believe something of this caliber should even exist. "My father died recently, and I'm an only child. I'm not even good with swords, let alone with dolls or machinery..." "That's why you're protective of it. If anything were to happen to it, you'd have no way to fix it."

Giyuu momentarily remembered he and Tanjiro's original mission. Connecting the information they've learned, he felt the need to ask. "Boy, would your name happen to be Kotetsu by any chance?" The boy stood still in place, looking up to Giyuu. "Yes, I'm Kotetsu. Who are you two even?" "This is Tanjiro Kamado, and I am Giyuu Tomioka." Giyuu had felt himself develop another headache as he heard a familar crow. "Preposterous! Simply Preposterous! The Water Hashira was killed by the Upper two demon over six months ago! All that remained of him was his arm!" Giyuu rubbed his head as he looked to the female crow. "Hello to you too Ginko..." Giyuu stuck out his stump to the bird to give it a good look. "I think you mean only an arm was found rather than left." The bird didn't seem to believe him with his mask on. This was fine, just a deeper headache he didn't need to experience quite yet.

Everyone heard the sound of something breaking, Muichiro had landed multiple clean hits against the training doll. It's armor had broken apart in a splintered mess, its arms didn't seem to be fairing much better. Kotetsu hated to see something in his family be treated with such disregard and ran off. He broke away from the group and ran deeper into the forest, refusing to witness any of this any longer. Tanjiro followed after him, leaving Giyuu to watch Muichiro fight the automaton. He would admit he had never seen Muichiro fight, he lived up to his breathing technique if he were honest. Even with the doll having six arms it failed to land so much as a scratch against the boy, his uniform refused to be marked with so much as a cut or tear from the blades.

For minutes he watched on in silence, equating the fight almost to that of a dance with how the two moved. Where one challenged, the other answered with a move of their own. No progress was really made, but it was still better than to risk an attack that lead to consequence. Muichiro dodged to his left to avoid two thrust attacks committed by the right arms, but finally saw the last right arm coming down with a slash. Muichiro dodged back to his right before twisting back, bringing an upwards slash against the last arm. Something unexpected had happened though, as the arm had shattered, so too did Muichiro's sword. The doll was sent back from the attack as the boy looked to the broken blade.

"Ah well, I'm pretty sure almost all of us have broken our weapons before don't worry." Giyuu walked up only to see Muichiro steal a sword from the doll. "This will be serviceable until my smith is complete. Dispose of this for me." As Muichiro began to walk away, the sound of thunder roared through the sky. Both looked upwards to see dark clouds begin to cover the sun, leaving the lands in a soft darkness. Muichiro felt as if he was petrified as the first drop of rain hit his face. The gentle rain soon became a harsh downpour, leaving him stuck as anxiety flooded his mind. He didn't know as to why he felt his way, but this weather always left him a mess. He hated to feel this way and not even remember as to why, this was the only time he could never find peace. The sound of lightning cracked through the air, Muichiro curled into a ball from it. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, doing whatever he could to be away from it.

Since his eyes were closed, he couldn't see when he was covered by something and picked up. Red, green, and yellow, that was all he could see when he opened his eyes. It covered him from the rain, protected him from seeing the dark crying skies. He lifted his arm to pull the fabric away just enough to see the fox man. There was itching in his mind, something was telling him he knew this man from before. He looked to the skies as darkness and flashes of white were all that surrounded him. The imagery haunted him, but something finally broke through. He remembered something. A blue betterfly had said something about him, a quiet man helping people in the rain. Wasn't this man supposed to be dead though? He brought up his arm and reached for the mask, taking it away to see who was underneath.

"Quiet man, the one in the rain." Muichiro looked up to the man, this surely had to be him. As much as he hated it, he was thankful to the rain this one time for helping him remember something. "Preposterous! The Water Hashira is alive! Where have you even been?! Did you willingly decide to slack off on your duties?!" Giyuu ignored the flapping headache and focused on Muichiro in his arm. "Muichiro? Since when have you been able to remember anything?" Giyuu continued walking as the boy in his arm. "Cover yourself back up, it's still raining. I couldn't leave you in that position so I'm taking you back to the village." Muichiro silently did as he was told, going back underneath the fabric. As Giyuu walked, he ran into Tanjiro and Kotetsu. He was happy to see the younger boy seeming to be in a better mood. "The doll is back there, it's missing an arm, I'm taking Muichiro back to the village, he had a panic attack from the weather."

The two looked at them in confusion before turning focus to the doll. Muichiro spoke from under the cloth. "How are you not dead? Where do you plan to take me?" He couldn't help but ask, this was the first time he could remember anything. He would ask any question he could if it meant to remember more. "I was never dead Muichiro. I was saved by someone that had found me before the slayers could. I've been alive this entire time. I'm taking you to my swordsmith, at least until this rain stops." Muichiro nodded under the cloth, taking time to inspect the mask. "This is pretty, do you wear it for training?" Giyuu chuckled as he continued walking. "I wore the masks my sensei gave me whenever I thought there was more I could learn, that I still could be better. I meant to keep my identity a secret until my official return, but my hand has been forced several times." Muichiro focused on the first words the quiet man said before putting the mask on himself. "More to learn, can still be better."

The next day, Giyuu had returned to where Kotetsu and Tanjiro had been. Apparently Kotetsu had forced him into training against the doll so that he could hope to embarrass Muichiro. At least the boy was smart to replace the swords with training sticks. Apparently Tanjiro had trained himself extensively after Giyuu's "death" and Kyojuro's actual death. He was holding himself fairly well, but still, something in his movements felt stiff. "Tanjiro." Giyuu moved between him and the doll, performing a spin kick aimed at the doll to force it to retreat. "I can tell you're still trying to think of your moves, but it's during that time to think you're getting hit. At some point you must stop thinking and simply act, let your instincts guide you."

Tanjiro found it hard to not think, but believed Giyuu-san was onto something. "So what am I meant to do then? How am I meant to not think?" Giyuu sat down with the boy, hoping to explain in a better way. "Picture it like this if you would. While you're being attacked by the doll, you think as to what to do next. However during that time you're thinking, the doll has landed a clean strike on you. You would already be dead before you could even plan how to counter attack. You think, you hesitate, you die. The doll does not think, it only acts. By the time you have already blocked it's first attack, the second is coming because it has spotted a new window you have given it. It may be a machine, but it's instincts are capable to rival and destroy most slayers. You however, are not most slayers. Someday this advice will make sense, and everything will click together." Giyuu got up and walked away from Tanjiro to leave him to train alone. He could give him as much advice as he could want or watch him train forever, but only Tanjiro is capable of pushing himself forward.

After a week of watching him progress, Tanjiro had finally been able to best the doll with a strike to the neck. It had appeared things had finally clicked for him in a way that worked. It was quite peculiar though, a sword from the Sengoku period was hiding within the core of the doll. Even Kotetsu was unaware of its existence. Tanjiro's swordsmith had been eavesdropping or watching over Tanjiro in secret if Giyuu had to guess. As soon as the sword was discovered, he appeared from the tree line and wished to take the sword with him. After that conversation, Giyuu had spared another look to the doll with a curious thought. "Kotetsu, may I ask a favor?"

Back at the workshop, Giyuu and Yae were happy to recieve everything left that they needed. Yae had inspected her bayonet for her rifle, curious over a detail she didn't expect. "Why is the kanji for huntress of demons on the bayonet?" Lady Mizuki didn't look back to her, working on something before her she wasn't use to. "All slayers have kanji etched into their blade. Everyone under the rank of Hashira has only "Slay" on their blades, Giyuu and the other Hashira have "Destroyer of demons" on theirs. You have a background of matagi, trained with Giyuu and Urokodaki, and did not even go through final selection before deciding to take part in this war of ours. I deemed it fitting to give you something worthy of you." Yae smiled at the woman, finding the gesture rather considerate. "Giyuu, what even is final selection anyways?"

"Spend a week in a forest where countless starving demons are trapped inside and you need to focus on being strong enough to survive until you are signaled to escape. Out of several dozen students, only a handful normally escape to become official slayers." "Charming, sounds like a hunt before during or after winter when animals are desperate for food and look to where humans are. It's why humans randomly are eaten by wolves, bears, and boars in their own villages. Animals don't like to get near humans, they fear us more than you would think. They only seek out our spaces in complete desperation." Lady Mizuki laughed as she finished her work, finding the lack of tact humorous. "It has been quite fun having you both here. Please do not hesitate to visit, I will cherish it every time I see either of you again." The two agreed as Lady Mizuki held still. "Giyuu, your sword and this extra request is done."

Giyuu went to his sword first, finally feeling more complete how that he held a blade in his hand. The handle was wrapped with white rayskin, and the ito wrap on top was a vibrant red cotton. The pommel, guard, and blade collar were all carved from silver and shined with a polish, the pommel even having a ring as if to attach items to it. The guard was actually carved in such a way where it looked as if it were a whirpool with teeth around the edges, almost as if it were an open maw. The nichirin finally changed color, with its refined metal turning into a blue as deep as the ocean. With the hamon pattern being that as waves, Giyuu almost believed he held the fury of Ryūjin himself. "Lady Mizuki, this isn't just a sword, this is art itself. I can't use this." Mizuki grabbed the scabbard of the sword and hit him on the head, it itself was pitch black as if designed to contain the wrath of the dragon god. "I have mastered the art of smithing and crafting, you have mastered the art of slaying monsters. I believe with this creation of mine shall be a bridge between them."

Giyuu held the blade in his hand, happy to feel something of his back. "And the emergency request?" "It was unusual to work with, I did not expect him to allow you to take it." Giyuu handing his sword to Yae, took his haori off and helped Mizuki with the straps across his chest. "It was no longer needed, so Kotetsu didn't seem to mind." Yae couldn't help but smile as she saw it be attached, it was cathartic in its own right. It was a prosthetic arm taken from a giant doll that was too broken to need it anymore. He couldn't control it like a normal hand, but it did have one design feature he didn't need to control. Getting up to help, Yae attached the lock and slide rail in the arm to the pommel and helped the fingers wrap around the grip. With this addition, the sword could slide up and down through his hand as he tried to strike with it. "Almost like you never lost it, almost. Look at the bright side though, you got the better looking equipment."

Yae was next to recieve a bonk to her head, with Lady Mizuki sitting down back in front of her forge. "Worry not Yae, once I find proper schematics of how to work with firearms, you shall recieve tools worthy of Hasinaw-uk-kamuy herself. Besides I had thought you would worry more of utility, but I do not mind making things more ornate for you." The trio were quickly pulled from their thoughts as their heard bells and screaming throughout the village. "The village is under attack! Demons have discovered our location! Protect the village!" Giyuu and Yae quickly adorned their masks and equipment before Lady Mizuki held them back. "Be safe you two, never let them know what safety is." The two nodded as they scattered across the village. Yae finding the nearest tower to keep an eye on all, Giyuu remaining on the ground running through the screaming crowds. They had arrived to forge new tools against the plague of demons, and now the demons shall be help them test their mettle.