Years Ago

The forests were silent as a tall, feminine figure raced beneath the trees. Long black hair flowed elegantly behind her back, and a sword of Nichiren hung at her waist with a flower petal Gaurd. Her eyes were pink as primrose, and her haori was unmistakable—a sign of the newest hashira.

The reports said a nest would be here...

The flower hashira, Kanae Kocho, always wore her butterfly haori wherever she went.

If I hurry, I might find survivors.

Kanae took a deep breath as her footsteps picked up, kicking dirt in the air as she fluttered across the trees and trail of dead slayers. She knew all of them were dead already, the cast apart limbs and broken bones signaled that none of the lower ranking slayers had survived the encounter. She would have stopped to help them if one had, but it was impossible.

My first mission as a hashira...

Kanae couldn't see a single living slayer.

What a horrible start.

Kanae cursed herself for being too slow, her eyes sparing somber glances at the dead bodies in her path and hoping that the kakushi that were trailing miles behind her could give them proper burials. In return, she would slay the demons that rested in the center of the forest, the ones that had been reported to be terrorizing the nearest town over. They had already killed half a dozen villagers and what looked to be a dozen slayers, Kanae had to hurry.

Such tragic creatures...

Some of the demons could be killing their past families. Their past lovers and friends. It was a tragic cycle, and there was only one way to give them peace.

I will put you out of your misery.

It was to slay them.

Maybe one day, there can be a different solution.

Kanae sighed at the thought as she jumped towards a stray branch above, her eyes glinting as she saw a demon running from the forest's center. His demonic fingers were tinged with blood, and his face was tinged with fear, a desperation for survival.

"Flower Breathing"

A desperate plea that Kanae couldn't grant.

"Fourth Form"

Kanae shot forward gracefully and powerfully as her butterfly hair fluttered behind her. The sword in her hands twisted gracefully in a single blow as she watched the demon's eyes flash in sudden and stunned recognition—a realization.

"Crimson Hanagormo"

Its head had already left its shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Kanae murmured honestly as she watched the demon's head fade to ash. Its last gaze was as pitiful as its existence. Its final gasp of surprise was heart-wrenchingly painful, but she turned from the course and rushed into the dark forest. Only one question was on her mind as she continued to run into fleeing demon after fleeing demon—three in total.

What are they running from?

Kanae wasn't sure, but she saw their nest after slaying the third one, which had four fleeing demons if she counted the first one she encountered. It was a large field clearing in the forest with a large tree that grew near the center. There was an old cabin built next to the tree, most likely a fallen hunter's that the dead demons had used for a base, and atop its roof stood a line figure with a sword. He had shoulder-length, messy black hair, and his back was to her. He looked at the sky like he was talking to it, but she was sure she saw a strange, half-and-half haori he wore underneath the moonlight.

Ah...

He also had many clothes strewn across the forest floor beneath him, left behind by demons who had crossed his path.

That's who they were running from.

Kanae tilted her head curiously as she sheathed her sword and quickly counted the scattered clothes. The nest seemed to have been a medium to large one. The strange boy had killed eight demons, making it a 12-demon nest. The highest number any of the corps had encountered in recent days was a 20-demon nest that Gyomei eradicated effortlessly.

Who is he...

A twelve-person nest was an important discovery. Kanae needed to inform Oyakata-sama about it.

Why haven't I heard of him before?

Something told her getting the Mystery Slayer to follow her would be a problem. He seemed lost in self-contemplation, and before she could even think of a way to approach, she saw him sheathe his blue sword and fall effortlessly to the ground below.

Well...

It was now or never. It looked like he was ready to leave. He either hadn't noticed the demons that escaped or didn't care about them.

Can't judge a book by its cover.

Either way, she couldn't let him walk away.

"Hello!" Kanae chirped cheerily as she closed the distance in an instant and stood behind the boy. His shoulders flinched slightly at her presence, and she watched him turn around with a blank expression. His face was pale white, and the bags under his eyes were enough to carry a mountain of gold away.

"My name's Kanae."

He looked tired and had deep blue eyes now that she got a good look at him.

"What's your name?"

He also looked thinner than she expected him to.

"..."

He also seemed unwilling to converse with her, considering he didn't say a word and tilted his head. His bony face turned towards the path behind her. He spoke with a voice that sent shivers down Kanae's spine, "Sorry..."

He sounded dead. She could've found a croaking frog that sounded more alive than he did. His voice was raspy and parched, but his words were worse.

"Got distracted... forgot the others..."

They sounded like they were mustered on habit. As if he would have rather flopped over and died than say another word of it was possible.

"Thank you." The stranger said with a dull voice, stunning Kanae out of her stupor as she smiled in return, "No problem, I should be thanking you, actually. You handled most of the work." Kanae didn't notice the stranger's face twist ever so faintly in distaste before she had already barreled on to the next topic, "Do you need any medical assistance? I'm a doctor, you know? I can-"

"No, thank you."

"But I seriously-"

"No." The stranger said flatly, cutting Kanae's patience in half as he turned around to leave, and she reached out. Her fingers pinched his sleeve as she spoke with a smile that hid her slight annoyance. She knew he was injured. It wasn't hard to tell.

"If you can move my hand, I'll let you leave,"

His breath was heavy, and his eyes were droopy. He had scratches and bruises all over his body, and she wasn't sure if they were poisoned or not. She wanted to treat his injuries, and she could be persistent. A fact that seemed to cross his understanding as he looked back with a frown and weakly tried to move his arm from her grip, only to fail miserably.

"...okay," was all he settled on saying after a few failed attempts and a slightly adorable frown. It looked like Shinobu's when she got annoyed with Kanae's pampering but couldn't do anything about it. It was funny if she was being honest.

"Make it quick, please."

His following words were less so.

"I don't want to waste your time."

Kanae blinked in surprise, her face torn as she nodded and removed her hand. As the stranger sat down, she removed a few bandages from her haori and started dressing his wounds. Thankfully, there was no poison to speak of, but that was about all she could see on the positive side of things.

What has he been doing to himself...

When the stranger took off his haori and shirt so she could examine some deeper scratches, she could see that he had plenty to spare. Recent scratches and bruises from past injuries that he either didn't know about or didn't care about healing covered his body.

When's the last time he's eaten?

Given that she could see some of his ribs, she assumed it was the latter option.

"All done," Kanae said after she patched him up and addressed some of the old wounds that hadn't healed properly. She put her list of things she needed him to do on the back burner as she addressed the most pressing one. She stood up and spoke sternly while the man got his clothes back on: "You need to eat. The village nearby has good food. We should go."

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

"I'm fine with that, too," the stranger replied in what she could almost think of as a snippy comment if his voice hadn't stayed a constant octane. His dry glance into her eyes before he nodded in thanks and turned to walk away convinced her that he wouldn't do anything unless she used a little force.

"You're a part of the demon slayer corps, right?"

Kanae didn't want to, but she would if she had to.

"What rank are you?" Kanae asked, more like ordered, as she watched the stranger stop in his tracks and his mouth tilt in a frown. His voice coming out in an almost empty expression of his reluctance, "Mizunoto."

"That's impossible," Kanae said suspiciously as she looked around the trees. Her eyes quirked as she spotted her crow with its flower petal headdress above and no sign of the stranger's crow.

"Where's your crow?"

The stranger's crow should have been around somewhere. With the skill displayed by the stranger, his crow should have reported back to Ubayishiki's estate by now. His rank shouldn't be so low.

"Did it die in battle?"

"No. I didn't get one," the stranger replied flatly, his face void as he turned to the path she had walked down and filled in the gaps for her, "I didn't stick around after the final selection to be granted one. I left, and the only reason I have this sword is..."

The stranger's words stalled, his gaze lowering as if delving into a painful memory. She couldn't tell if shame or guilt tinged his eyes.

"My master gave it to me."

She could guess it was probably both.

"Master, huh," Kanae murmured as she played with the blue sword in her memory and tried to guess who his master would be. If it was blue and the stranger hadn't stuck around for the ore selection ceremony, then his master must have been a water breather—either an active member or a past one.

Should I ask him who his master is? Or was?

The problem was that it could be almost anyone. Over fifty percent of the corps practiced some form of offset of water breathing. His master could be any of them, and that wasn't even mentioning the few who had been lucky enough to retire. They were called trainers since they were the only ones in the corps besides Hashira, who was qualified to teach.

No... I should avoid it.

Anyone who lived long enough to retire was qualified to teach future generations.

He's already looking ready to bolt.

Kanae was curious, but she wasn't willing to give him another reason to leave by stepping on a landmine. Especially if this 'master' were dead, it would make what she was going to do next so much worse for the stranger if that was the case.

"Well, since you're a Mizunoto, you probably don't know all the ranks in the corps right now."

Even if she knew it was for his own good, she didn't like what she was about to do. It felt scummy.

"I am Kanae Kocho, the flower Hashira."

The idea of pulling rank on someone was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I am ordering you to come with me so we can eat and then report this incident to Oyakata-sama," Kanae ordered with an iron tone as she watched the stranger's lips curl down even more than they had previously been. His frown sent a stab of guilt into her chest as she buried it and watched the stranger nod reluctantly but slowly, "Alright..."

At the very least, he wasn't running.

"Lead the way," the stranger said as Kanae breathed a sigh of relief. Her smile and cheery expression returned to her face as she clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Let's go. I heard they have a good selection."

Kanae turned back towards town. Her ears tilted as she heard the stranger following behind her. His footsteps were flat as he observed, but she couldn't hear any intention of him running away. That alone made her relax and call back with a kind smile, "Anything I can call you?"

Kanae had found someone interesting.

"I won't order you to answer, but I'd love to get a name. Much better than 'mysterious' and 'gloomy' stranger."

It would be a shame if she failed to get at least a name out of him before they got to Oyakata-sama's. Unfortunately, it looked like that was precisely what would happen, as the following seconds turned to minutes without a single word from the stranger. She was about to give up and call him messy hair before she heard his voice.

"Giyuu..."

That was progress.

"Giyuu Tomioka."

Kanae would take progress any day.

"Well, Tomioka-san, do you have any preferences? I heard the town has a wide selection of food," Kanae chattered as she heard her new companion think for a solid minute. The idea of conversing with someone as silent as he was becoming appealing since the few words he spoke were that more valuable: "Salmon..."

It was funny...

"Salmon Daikon."

He actually reminded her of a tight-lipped, angry, and tragically scarred friend she knew.

Present Day

High up Mt. Sagiri, at the edge of a silent lake that bathed in silence and memories, a new hole was dug next to all the others. It didn't take long to dig one deep enough to keep Urokodaki's body safe from the elements once he expired, and the leftover dirt piled neatly next to the hole so Giyuu could bury his master once his life came to an end.

"I'm dying, Giyuu..."

An end that was coming all too soon.

"I wanted to see you one last time before then."

It was hard; it was so hard for Giyuu to convey the utter despair he felt knowing his master was dying. He felt like he would shatter at any moment, that the calm water he had made to drown his sorrows and pain would ripple, would break, and the calmness of mind his master had taught so he could perform Water Breathing would come crashing down.

"...Yes, Shisho."

So he buried his grief that went more deeply than the still lake. His expression was blank, and his eyes deepened, unable to do anything but breathe as he sat next to his master and watched the still lake's surface. Giyuu didn't dare say anything other than small agreements and quiet answers as his master asked him about what had happened since he'd last seen him years ago before the final selection.

"You haven't cut your hair, I see."

"...No, Shisho."

"Do you like it that way?"

"...Yes, Shisho."

"Hmph, it's very messy. Try to comb it once in a while, would you."

"...Yes, Shisho."

Urokodaki continued to ask his soft questions, and Giyuu gave his soft answers. The questions were never heavy, 'do you still like Salmon Dailon,' 'Yes, Shisho,' 'Did you like your new crow,' 'Yes, Shisho,' 'Do you clean your sword so it doesn't dull,' 'Yes, Shisho.' The seemingly innocent and endless conversation continued until Urokodaki's aged voice eventually became deathly quiet, and a rougher cough escaped his lips.

"It's almost time..."

"...Yes, Shisho."

"Giyuu," Urokodaki said, his tengu mask still masking his face as he tilted his head towards his son. Urokodaki's watchful gaze caught his son's deep blue eyes, too soaked in despair to risk brightening less they crack. Urokodaki stood to his feet with his old sword in hand. His eyes were weary yet firm from behind his tengu mask as he walked towards the edge of the lake, stepping into the shallow water as he tapped his foot. The moon above reflected in the water's clear and calm surface.

"Do this old man one last favor..."

Urokodaki's death would be a lucky one, to die for old age in a profession where the thirties were seen as a sign of good fortune. Urokodaki's old friends would have been so jealous to know he'd lived long enough to see his son become a hashira. One of his countless students had become the Water Pillar.

"Let me see how you've grown."

Still, Urokodaki would only be satisfied once he saw with his own eyes and smelled with his nose how far his son had gone in his absence.

"...Yes, Shisho."

Giyuu was too heavy-hearted to refuse.