The Dancing Star
Chapter 28
12Thirtypain03
WARNING: This story is rated M for mature-rated content. If some acts of violence, blood, or anything easily triggering make you uncomfortable, please leave and do not read. Any change to a character, when introduced, killed, changed into a demon/human, or more will be labeled in the chapter of occurrence. If a character has died in a chapter, that chapter will give a cause of death to that character.
Tanjirou and Nezuko
It took around a day for Nezuko to wake up, and through that time, Tanjirou would have to be the one to reveal everything to her.
But during the day between Nezuko sleeping and waking up, Tanjirou was left alone to remedy the true extent of the massacre that occurred in Urokodaki's house. It took Tanjirou around four hours total to completely clean the house. He wasn't the type to enjoy cleaning based on its actions, but it did act as a bit of a treatment for Tanjirou's stress.
Even if the blood of Urokodaki was splattered, Tanjirou made sure to clean it incredibly neatly. Tanjirou wiped the blood stains off of the floor and walls, whilst throwing out what was broken, and despite his advanced smell wanting to bring his body to its primal instincts, he held firm, which only made him try and clean the blood away quicker.
The house looked much emptier than what he had remembered.
And the reason was simple.
"This house was no longer our home…" Tanjirou looked down. It was exactly what happened when his family died. The same.
They couldn't ever go back to their house.
However, now it was for two completely different reasons, caused by the same catalyst. The first reason why Tanjirou cannot return to his original house with his parents is because of the horrendous treatment he would receive, and now he has no longer to remain.
As for the next house, Urokodaki's, Tanjirou couldn't go back for he would miss the good times he spent there. It was a sad reminder of what Tanjirou lost. He sighed, as he carried Nezuko with him.
He knew of the risk of someone from the demon slayer corps coming to the scene to see what happened. The last thing Tanjirou needed was to be exposed to a demon slayer during their bout of mourning. And so, once Tanjirou finished, he waited as soon as the night had drawn, and carrying Nezuko, he began to head back towards the mansion.
Thankfully, the mansion itself was rather close to the cabin of Urokodaki. It wasn't a walk away, but if Tanjirou jogged the entire time, he could make it within six hours.
And it was when he made it back to the mansion, he looked around. It seemed that despite many of the contents of the rooms being spilled from Kyogai's blood demon art, the room itself was back in its original place.
In addition, Tanjirou could smell the scents of some demon slayers that had seemingly been in the mansion. This immediately confused Tanjirou as to why they would have been here so soon after Tanjirou and Nezuko dealt with the issue of Kyogai.
However, that was before Tanjirou realized there was more than just one demon residing in the mansion. "Right, around three demons were fighting for the marechi… All Nezuko and I did was rid of the most threatening of them all, and then rescue the boy…"
With that, Tanjirou shrugged and made his way inside. He tried his best to ignore the scent he was smelling, but the scents of these demon slayers were very similar.
"That's odd, one smells like the Wisteria and Butterfly girl, the other smells very wild, and the other, whatever…" Tanjirou didn't want to think about it. His mind was currently at a loss, still from the death of Urokodaki.
He gently placed Nezuko on a bed of the abandoned mansion, as soon as he found a bedroom for his sister to sleep on.
As Tanjirou continued and looked around the mansion, he noted the residues of blood. Most definitely from the battle the demon slayers must have had with the demons remaining in the mansion.
"A shame I couldn't have done more to help, but alas, at least the strongest demon in the entire mansion was defeated… No demon slayer seemed to have died, so I guess it all worked out in the end." Tanjirou thought as he walked around and explored the mansion like a normal individual.
It was truly a large one, and it was abandoned. Tanjirou too decided he would sleep, for he was tired from everything that happened today.
His mind was concerned for Giyu, and through it all, was hoping he was coping with it all. "Perhaps he has people to help him, I don't know… Judging by the pure desperation Giyu had, I would assume he doesn't…"
And so, as Tanjirou looked to his side, on the bed, with Nezuko, making sure she was sound asleep, Tanjirou noted the sounds of flapping.
Eventually, it was Tanjirou's crow who decided to caw and tell Tanjirou what information he needed to know.
"A new mission?" Tanjirou thought before the crow spoke.
"Caw! Message from Oyakata-sama!" The crow called, and here Tanjirou got the message, in the form of a written paper.
It was here did Tanjirou read the contents.
"Tanjirou, I appreciate you for taking the matter into your own hands. As tragic as it is, I'm happy that you are looking out for one of my children. Regardless of the circumstances, I would have given Giyu the time to recuperate from the trauma he had undergone. The same will go for the two of you. I hope that within the time, you both train to become stronger and become more resilient. I've read the reports of your mission, and you both are reliable demon slayers. I'm glad Giyu saved the two of you, for the progress you've made was astounding. In addition, your actions resulted in you saving the life of one of our very own, Kanae Kocho.
As for the future, I will be upgrading your ranks to further fit the skill of demons you could fight. I will inform Giyu of your current whereabouts. If there is anything you need from me, please continue sending a message to me and Tomioka.
Finally, one more thing. I would like for the two of you to explain the circumstances and environment of the house that was left after the massacre. Considering Urokodaki Sakonji was a talented water-breathing user, a former Hashira, it makes me believe this was the work of an Upper Moon. Please inform me of the specifics.
Take care, Kagaya Ubuyashiki."
Tanjirou looked and sighed in relief, as he looked at the message.
As Tanjirou looked over at the second message, he was shocked to see the rank both he and Nezuko were promoted.
"Huh?" Tanjirou asked. "We're Kanoto?" Tanjirou mumbled to himself as if he were shocked that they had gone over that as quickly as they did.
In only a month, the two of them were able to become a higher rank. However, Tanjirou knew he wasn't anything phenomenal. He was just a demon who chose to fight with his morals and for his sister. Throughout his time, Tanjirou reflected on the month he had spent.
He did technically have more experience since he had spent the extra year for their test. It was only after they came back from the Final Selection did, they get to become demon slayers. All in all, it was quite the portfolio the two of them had.
The best part was that with each mission they completed, the more believable their story of being good demons who don't harm nor eat humans became. The more demons they slayed, the more proof there was to back up their claim. Tanjirou knew he had to back up his statements with evidence, and this was it. Oyakata-sama already believed in them, and with every mission they did, the more he was proven right.
Tanjirou would continue with this job, for it was the only way for both he and Nezuko to become humans, and to eliminate the individual who had destroyed countless families, including their own.
While Tanjirou was thinking next on what to do, eyeing his very own blade, he decided to write down more of a letter to Kagaya, with the hope that perhaps they could take some time and continue training.
Especially with sparring, for this could give Tanjirou more time to master the total concentration breathing constant he had been unable to properly do, at least in the event of a fight. Once again, and even right now, Tanjirou was easily able to breathe like so, but when the body was strained, it instinctively wanted to hasten the breathing to take in more air. This disrupts the breathing enough to stop the beneficial effects of the advanced breathing technique.
Tanjirou pretty much had to stop the involuntary method of his body and replace it with a more stable breathing style.
Needless to say, it was taking him quite a time. Even if he had a year to do it, he hadn't taken it seriously since he was usually able to usually, it with no difficulty, slay the demon. Of course, as Tanjirou's mission becomes more and more difficult, even with Nezuko, Tanjirou knew that mastering the advanced breathing technique would be more important.
"Perhaps now I use this time to eventually master it by sparring with Nezuko." Tanjiro processed to himself, as he deciphered what should be done for the next couple of days and weeks.
Eventually, Tanjirou heard the sounds of groaning coming from the room he placed Nezuko in. Ironically, this was around the same time Tanjirou himself had fallen asleep. He woke up to the sounds of Nezuko seemingly waking up.
Tanjirou immediately ran over and saw his sister awake.
Nezuko smiled immediately upon seeing Tanjirou.
"Hey, brother." Nezuko gave a smile, before she looked around, before being confused, "What happened?"
Tanjirou sighed, clearly not knowing what to do here.
In short, he would have to tell Nezuko about the fate of Urokodaki, and the poor event Giyu was going through.
It was a tough situation that Tanjirou wished he couldn't tell Nezuko, but in the end, he did. He had to. He wished this didn't even happen, but it's something that ultimately occurred.
After Tanjirou finished informing Nezuko about everything that occurred, Nezuko only looked shocked, before looking out. "So, Urokodaki's… He's dead…?"
Tanjirou nodded. "Yes, sadly… A demon attacked him while everyone was out… It must've been an incredibly strong demon…" Tanjirou explained.
"I see… So we cannot go and see him anymore…?" Nezuko asked, clearly unsure how to react. She seemed to be shedding quite an amount of tears, and Tanjirou wished he could have done more. He wished he could have done much more than just this pity hug. All this time, he remained silent, trying to calm Nezuko's cries down. It took around a couple of minutes for Nezuko to finish crying before they calmed down.
"So, what do we do now?" Nezuko asked, clearly looking towards her brother.
"Well, we have around a month given of a break to allow us to mourn and recuperate. The same goes for Tomioka." Tanjirou explained to Nezuko, as the two sighed. "But for now, what we can do is train and spar so that we can be stronger…"
"I see," Nezuko mumbled.
"Also, we may start to encounter more difficult demons afterward, so it would be best to train," Tanjirou warned his sister.
"Wait, why is that?" Nezuko asked.
"Oh right, we got promoted to Kanoto for the number of demons we've killed," Tanjirou explained.
"Is that so? I guess that is something to be proud of, but if that's the case, what do you plan we do to become stronger?" Nezuko asked.
"Well, training and sparing would probably be in our best interests. Both for performing new forms and even new techniques." Tanjirou explained. "I've managed to inform Oyakata-sama about our whereabouts and the like, so don't worry."
"Ah, I see… So we are just allowed to relax in this mansion and spar?" Nezuko asked.
"I mean, we could, but perhaps the risks of being spotted could hurt? Especially if the people around the area knew what happened to the family." Tanjirou hypothesized.
Nezuko for her part looked down, "I mean, if nobody is going to live in this mansion, we might as well get it back to livable conditions so that the next family that uses this can live comfortably." Nezuko proposed.
"Nezuko… But I already cleaned up Urokodaki's cabin, from the blood and the damaged properties…" Tanjirou began to complain, only for Nezuko to flick him on the forehead.
"Idiot, do you want to live in this condition for the next month?" Nezuko asked.
As Tanjirou looked around, he realized Nezuko had a point. "You make a strong point…"
"Exactly, I'll do most of the work, but I do want some help from you," Nezuko explained, to which Tanjirou nodded.
"Of course, Nezuko, of course, I'll help you." Tanjirou gave his sister a small smile, as the two eventually decided to try and clean up the mansion from the sites of demon fights, demon-to-human fights, and more so.
All the while, Tanjirou decided to look over some stuff. As Nezuko eyed the areas that needed cleaning, Tanjirou was the one who did much of the labor-intensive stuff, which he found a bit off.
"Don't you have the demonic strength?" Tanjirou asked.
Nezuko nodded, and it wasn't until Tanjirou saw she was moving some stuff around did Tanjirou realized Nezuko had given Tanjirou the easy end of the stick.
For some reason, Tanjirou felt a bit unsure about this, especially since he was used to always doing the hard work for the family. He was always the one who had the biggest stick to chew off.
As the two continued to look around, the two also decided to clean up their masks, and even try and create new ones. It was rather difficult, considering Urokodaki was the one to make their masks for them.
Of course, this happened after the two finished cleaning everything up. Tanjirou was willing to go down to get the appropriate resources, however not being able to go out during the day was a major problem for the two. It meant Tanjirou had to go out during the night only.
Alas, the two made use of the situation, as they eventually started to focus on making more of their masks, since both of their current ones were not in an ideal condition. To specifically try and perfect the masks and qualities that Urokodaki would always perform.
Thankfully, Nezuko seemed to have done a decent job regarding her visual abilities. Tanjirou wasn't far behind, as the two were incredibly determined to keep what Urokodaki gave them was incredibly important for them, and so they wanted to keep it as close to the source material as possible.
Of course, the first result was a complete disaster, but Tanjirou and Nezuko, being the determined individuals they were, were willing to work for it. The result was that they were eventually able to create pretty decent masks. It obviously wouldn't be as good as Urokodaki's but it was no slouch. With both of them assisting, they were able to fix and replenish the masks Urokodaki made for them.
It was respectable, and perhaps changing it would be in their best interests, so that they wouldn't be easily described by other demon slayers that may discover them.
"There we go… Now we can at least go back and slay demons without worrying about being spotted." Tanjirou explained as he patted Nezuko on her head as a way of showing how proud he was of her.
Tanjirou and Nezuko then continued with their life, with Tanjirou specifically conversing with the master, both with their progress and current standings in everything.
Of course, that wasn't to say they had very little to do. They had a lot, especially with Urokodaki gone, they had to make sure they had everything appropriate. Which included equipment for sparring. The risk of using actual nichirin swords was something Tanjirou didn't want to use against Nezuko, so he was very adamant about getting wooden swords like the ones Urokodaki had.
Unfortunately, they had to find them elsewhere, and when it was eventually learned that Urokodaki probably made them, the two eventually decided to use them anyway.
Especially for Tanjirou, this was somewhat of a problem if they risked wanting to adapt and get stronger and more adapted towards demons, but also wanting to not hurt each other when taking the sparring seriously.
And so, for a bit, they tried to spar each other, hoping this would be enough to help them improve.
He looked back into the mansion he was staying in. The same one they killed Kyogai in. It was once again a relatively hospitable mansion, especially after it was cleaned up relatively nicely. The dust that shrouded the mansion was now gone, and it no longer had the creepy attire that was originally accustomed to the mansion.
Many of the children didn't want to come into the mansion, most definitely because the others would warn the others not to come. Regardless of the situation, it made it easier for both Tanjirou and Nezuko to be around without the worry of running into humans or demon slayers. Especially since other demon slayers were leaving, having defeated the remaining demons, Tanjirou and Nezuko felt no pressure in where they were.
"So, Nezuko." Tanjirou started, "Because we both are demons, it makes sense as to why we should always be careful whenever we are around here."
"Huh?" Nezuko turned her head to her brother in confusion. He did abruptly speak up.
"I'm saying we cannot afford to be spotted by any human, demon, or demon slayer. So, don't go unless you have your mask on. We don't need you running into more demon slayers than we did."
"Hey, I only ran into two demon slayers, that's more than how much you ran into." Nezuko countered back, clearly trying to also make sure Tanjirou followed his own rules.
Tanjirou sighed at that, "You make a fair point, Nezuko…"
"Exactly, besides the boar head, I only ran into an overdramatic, and over-flirtatious yellow-haired idiot," Nezuko explained. "Who did you run into?" She asked, a bit smug as if trying to run into the least amount of demon slayers was a playful challenge the two had.
Tanjirou sighed, "Around three or four…" Tanjirou counted. "The boar head, the guy who can eat demons, and the two girls with the butterfly clips."
"Exactly, so I beat you in that department." Nezuko playfully stuck her tongue out, a victorious smirk on her face.
Tanjirou only smiled at his sister's antics. She was a bright light to be around. "You always beat me in everything we do…"
Having forgotten that Nezuko could interrupt Tanjirou's internal mind, she immediately frowned. "Brother, how many times did I tell you to stop playing yourself down?!" Nezuko yelled as she ran to Tanjirou, an angry look on her face.
Tanjirou scratched his head, "I don't know."
"Exactly! Countless times! Stop doing that! Nobody who cares for you would want to hear you bring yourself down like that!" Nezuko pleaded as if she was hitting a fine line with that.
Tanjirou looked to the side, "You're the only one who cares for me Nezuko, and the only one who did…"
The sad tone from Tanjirou calmed Nezuko down, almost worrying her. "Brother, you alright?" Tanjirou asked.
He merely nodded. "But did that yellow-haired bastard try and make a move on you?" Tanjirou asked, switching the tone to be more serious. Nezuko got the message.
"Oh, brother, he didn't do anything. Besides, I should eventually find a lover." Nezuko commented, causing Tanjirou to choke on his spit.
He hacked and coughed violently at the comment Nezuko made, as he leaned himself over to try and cough out his spit choking him. Nezuko looked on in concern, unaware her comment just now was what caused him to be in that predicament in the first place.
Tanjirou eventually sighed, breathing deeply trying to get the large amount of air back into his system.
"Like hell, I'll make you get one so soon, you are only thirteen years old." Tanjirou sternly told his sister. Nezuko, however, wasn't budging.
"What? Why not brother? Shouldn't I be worrying for you? I meant Mother did say there were a lot of choices for you back at the village." Nezuko commented nonchalantly as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Tanjirou's face got red at the thought, especially from thinking of any possible choices in the village. The truth was he was too busy with his state of mind to even think about the possibilities of that. However, he did know that his mother was trying to get him to marry a girl within the village soon.
However, Tanjirou eventually tried to think and incorporate everything that he knew, and he immediately assumed what he thought because of how his parents treated him.
"Yeah, knowing Mother, she did that just to sell me off the family or something…" Tanjirou mumbled, with a bit of bitterness, as he still held back his opinions of his parents.
And there was some merit to this. He only remembered his parents for useless training they weren't even good at, and for hurting and ostracizing him beyond his mental and physical state. The abuse he sustained was too much for him, for any child, and he didn't see it in himself to forgive them, especially after taking off his shirt, to see the multitude of scars he was forced to see.
Plus, he had heard instances of his father talking down and bad about him. The words cut deep in Tanjirou, and even the words Muzan had told him when he was near death held to him deeply. As much as they hurt him, it was what kept him from seeking revenge, and from trying to find a purpose and use in this world. It kept him from thinking he was completely useless.
However, Tanjirou knew that regardless, it was futile. He would always be useless regardless of everything he thought. Not when the entire world thought he was.
However, that did cause Tanjirou to think. Why did Muzan know his family? The little talk and remembering everything now make it apparent that Muzan knew something about him and his family. And he wanted to so desperately find out.
But why? Why did they both talk badly about Tanjirou specifically? Why did his father hate and look down on his eldest son so suddenly?
Regardless, Tanjirou was in no mood for forgiveness, and that extended to his mother, who also participated in the conditions that made Tanjirou live in fear. The threat of no food, abuse, or even insomnia was enough to make Tanjirou scarred mentally from this.
The marks on his skin, and the annual tradition, which was almost weekly, of throwing Tanjirou out the house, sometimes in the middle of a blizzard, it was times like those was Tanjirou came close to dying, and when he almost became desensitized to death, had it not been for Muzan, torturing him before his supposed death.
But through that, Tanjirou felt that through fate, he was resurrected. He was reborn, because of a little decision he made. He turned into a demon and was now seeking vengeance on Muzan.
"Brother, I don't think Mom thought so badly of you… She was cruel sometimes, but she always made sure we survived…" Nezuko tried to justify her mother's actions, which Tanjirou caught onto.
"Don't try to justify the treatment we received under our parents. You had it easier because you were the darling of the family…" Tanjirou mumbled, showing a surprising amount of hate and jealousy, which Nezuko noticed.
But she smiled sadly at that, clearly trying to cheer her brother up, "Well, I did have a protective and amazing elder brother who always protected and provided for his siblings." She gently placed a hand on Tanjirou's shoulder.
"I didn't. I failed because you all still got hurt, and I couldn't even provide for the family, because we went back into poverty after my father passed… I failed all of you. Why do you think we're demons, and the rest of the family's dead?" Tanjirou asked.
Nezuko only sighed. That was always what Nezuko would hear whenever she tried to cheer Tanjirou up. He would just call himself a failure because the results were so unachievable for one person to handle.
"Don't worry brother, if it wasn't for you, we would be in a worse position. I understand you suffered more pain than needed, in part for protecting us… But now it's my turn to repay the favor, and I'll do it by finding you a lover!" Nezuko exclaimed.
Tanjiro raised a hand to his face to hide his embarrassment, "One, if this is your way to eventually be able to find a lover yourself, I'm not allowing it, and two, with the lifestyle we live at the moment, a lover or that kind of life is not meant for us right now." Tanjirou told his sister.
"Who knows, even as a demon, I think you could maybe pull some of the female demon slayers' eyes," Nezuko commented, only for Tanjirou to shake his head.
"Nezuko, no. That is the last thing we need to do. We must focus on becoming human, not worrying about a love life." Tanjirou explained rather sternly, of course causing Nezuko to pout.
"You have a point, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop finding you a suitable girl!" Nezuko exclaimed, a bit excited, despite Tanjirou sighing in tiredness.
"Stop, please, I know Mother did this to get rid of me for being useless…" Tanjirou mumbled.
"Brother! I don't think mother nor father thought you were useless! You always did so much for the family, even Mother acknowledged that! I'm sure father would as well…" Nezuko exclaimed.
"Highly unlikely." Tanjirou sighed, "Our parents were cruel to me. And I heard my father talking with someone about how useless and worthless I was…"
"Perhaps it's from you wanting to protect us from the abusive conditions we suddenly went in…" Nezuko sighed, as he looked down. "But I think we can still find one."
"Nezuko, please. I think many of the demon slayer girls would be more terrified by me being a demon than whatever qualities I have that girls would like." Tanjirou mumbled.
To try and switch up the topic, Nezuko looked up and decided to get Tanjirou to focus on training.
"Should we continue training?" Nezuko suddenly asked after a bit of silence.
Tanjirou nodded. "Let's."
And that was what did proceeded to do for a while. Until a couple of days had passed.
"This isn't working…" Tanjirou told his sister.
"I know." Nezuko mumbled, "Perhaps it's because we can't go full-on because of our nichirin weapons risking to hurt us?"
"Yes." Tanjirou sighed, "We need someone from the demon slayer corps to help us… Otherwise, we won't improve."
"We could try pursuing demons on our own?" Nezuko asked.
"We could, but we almost lost to that former lower moon, and even if we managed to easily cut other demons in the future, we won't be able to grow at a sustainable rate," Tanjirou explained.
"What about Tomioka? Should we ask him?" Nezuko asked.
Tanjirou looked down, a bit unsure of what to say. "I don't know, Nezuko. He's been very isolated ever since Urokodaki's death…" Tanjirou sighed, "And it's not like we can go see him. We're demons, so if we go to a place where the strongest demon slayers reside, we're no doubt going to die."
"True… perhaps message Oyakata-sama can directly send a message to him? We send our crow to him?" Nezuko asked, clearly proposing.
"That's a good idea, I guess we can try, for it's our only option that I can see at this point…" Tanjirou sighed.
"Well then let's do it, let's get Tomioka here!" Nezuko exclaimed, a bit excited to get some more confidence.
Giyu's POV
Giyu was once again on his estate, doing nothing. Besides the occasional training, he did and refused to talk to many of the other pillars. It was something he would do as long as he could.
Well, that was, until someone continued to come inside and notice him.
Shinobu Kocho. She was being given a key by Kagaya to help barge into Giyu's state.
Shinobu remembered the actual monologue that happened, after a day of Giyu remaining inside his estate.
"I worry for him, and I'm glad he has at least someone stubborn enough to get close to him." Ubuyashiki smiled.
"Hey, someone needs to look after him," Shinobu explained. Perhaps it was her duty as a doctor and professional, but Giyu was an exception and oddity in his hesitance and apparent disdain towards medical personnel.
"Is that so?" Kagaya asked, causing Shinobu to remain silent, which he knew, "Is there any other reason why you are helping him?"
Shinobu struggled to get her words connected, "I'm not so sure myself. At first, it was only because Kanae forced me to see him at the time, however, considering I was always around him, at least with friendly banter, I guess seeing him suffer brought me to realize him in a different light…"
"I see, but I think Giyu is among the most misunderstood of all the Hashira here. This is why I'm content someone is trying to learn more about Giyu than what we see portrayed." Kagaya smiled at Shinobu, "Please Shinobu, please be there for Giyu. I would hate to see one of my children go down such a terrible path due to misunderstandings and isolation."
Shinobu smiled, "Of course, Okayata-sama."
What was someone ironically, at the same time Giyu was in his mansion, two other individuals tried to get inside, clearly worried for Giyu as well.
"Tomioka!" Mitsuri exclaimed, knocking on the door.
It was something Giyu was going to ignore, but the constant knocking kept Giyu up before he eventually conceded. This made Mitsuri happy, as she dragged both Giyu and Obanai inside.
"Come! Iguro too wants to be here!" Mitsuri smiled as she explored around Giyu's estate, "Your mansion seems very neat…"
Giyu remained silent, as he just watched the rest of the Hashira coming in, clearly trying to get Giyu out of his comfort zone.
"What? No, I-" Obanai tried to cut in, but she merely left the two together as she quickly went to talk to Rengoku, and just now entered Shinobu, who too was shocked about everything.
As Giyu was left alone with Obanai, Giyu tried not to look at the shorter man, for he was always the type to give him such hateful glares. Something Giyu didn't want to deal with it.
Alas, he tried not to say much as he just left the Hashira to do their own thing in his estate. He would try to clean it up after the whole last-minute party.
In the end, the two of them remained on the sidelines, while there were obvious groups that were talking. Shinobu remained close with Kanae who was talking to Rengoku, Mitsuri, and Sanemi.
Obanai was the only other one who chose to remain on the sidelines, as he was merely uncomfortable with others, or at least that was what Giyu assumed.
In the meantime, Giyu looked along as he was intrigued by Obanai, "Is he somewhat introverted, or liking to stick to himself, like me?" Giyu asked himself, as he was thinking.
Eventually, he tried to speak, "Seems your girlfriend just forced the two of us together…" Giyu sighed, as he looked up.
Obanai seemingly did not pay any attention to Giyu, until he spoke. "It seems so." Obanai muttered after a bit, "Don't get on my nerves. And for the record, make sure you treat yourself better. Just because I dislike you doesn't mean I want to see you suffer like this."
Despite Giyu wanting to ask the question of why Obanai hates him, he started to notice something strange moving from his figure.
A long slithery figure that was coming off from Obanai's neck.
It was Kaburamaru. The snake of Obanai, that he always had around his neck. Giyu noticed that the snake that was once on Obanai's neck was no longer there, and was moving away from him.
Giyu immediately noticed this, and this wasn't because he was afraid of snakes, he didn't care, however knowing how close Obanai and Kaburamaru were, he ultimately knew that Obanai could freak out.
"Um.. excuse me?" Giyu mumbled, however, he only sighed when Obanai seemed to be ignoring him. "Of course, I have to speak to someone who hates me…" Giyu thought to himself.
However, Obanai was someone who rarely spoke in general, with the exception being to Kagaya and Mitsuri. Giyu wasn't sure why for the former, but for Mitsuri it was obvious.
Regardless of this, Giyu noticed Kaburamaru slithering further away from Obanai.
"Wait, don't snakes require warmth in the environment they're in? Wouldn't they get cold?" Giyu thought to himself before he eyed Obanai. "Iguro."
The snake pillar ignored him.
"Iguro." Giyu started again, trying to get the snake pillar's attention, only to yet again be ignored.
Giyu sighed, as he realized Obanai was too busy staring in the direction of many of the other Pillars, seemingly eyeing what was happening. Regardless, Giyu sighed in a bit of frustration that the snake pillar was ignoring him.
Calmly, and gently picking up Kaburamaru, who surprisingly, and almost immediately went across his neck, he heard the snake slither as if thanking him for the warmth. He considered the fact that Kaburamaru wasn't choking him something of a positive.
"Iguro, Kaburamaru slithered off and onto my neck," Giyu told the snake pillar. The mention of Obanai's snake seemed to have caught his attention.
He merely scoffed, "Don't be so dramatic, Kaburamaru is on my neck." Obanai responded, seemingly adamant before he calmly felt his neck.
Giyu remained calm, as he continued to feel Kaburamaru slither, as if to inform the snake pillar of where they were.
As soon as Obanai did not feel the characteristic snake across his neck, he frantically turned his head to face Giyu, and true enough, Kaburamaru had embedded itself in Giyu's neck.
For once, Obanai's eyes widened before he mumbled, "Oh shoot, sorry Tomioka…"
With that, Giyu gently brought Kaburamaru off and gave the snake back to Obanai, with Obanai looking a bit embarrassed before taking Kaburamaru from Giyu.
"Thanks…" Obanai thanked the water pillar, who merely nodded.
While awkward, it was also notable. Giyu could have let Kaburamaru remain on his neck, but he chose to tell Obanai about his snake.
As Obanai eventually gained the courage to talk to some of the Pillars, Giyu was once again alone but gave Shinobu the time to converse with him.
"Ara ara, Tomioka, all alone again, huh?" Shinobu asked, her expression remaining serious.
"I guess, not that I care. They did barge into my estate uninvited." Giyu commented.
"Does that make me uninvited?" Shinobu asked, turning her head to face Giyu.
"Of course, you do enter my estate whenever," Giyu commented, earning himself a tick mark forming on Shinobu's forehead, which Giyu noticed, and proceeded to touch Shinobu's forehead.
"You are getting a wrinkle already?" Giyu asked as Shinobu grabbed his arm, clearly forcing a smile as she was trying to hide her blush from her face.
"Shut up, Tomioka." Giyu remained quiet, and eventually, Shinobu spoke again.
"Well regardless, look at that, even if you mostly remained silent, you at least had everyone in your estate." Shinobu smiled, "Progress is progress, don't you think~?"
Giyu remained silent, unsure of what to say.
"Ara, you should seriously learn to speak more," Shinobu explained after a bit, half teasing Giyu.
"I don't know what to say," Giyu confirmed as he continued to walk forward. As he seemingly went into his room, to escape the distraction of the rest, he was followed by Shinobu.
"You running away from everyone, again?" Shinobu asked.
"Ye-, wait, again?" Giyu seemed very confused after this, "What do you mean, again?"
"Ara, you don't get the message. It's simple, you keep running away, especially when someone tries to talk to you." Shinobu explained, her face, uncharacteristically turning to one of concern. "Are you sure, you're alright?"
At this, Giyu clammed up, clearly surprised by the sudden tone Shinobu was now showing. For a second, it was almost like Shinobu was acting a bit like her elder sister.
It somewhat shocked Giyu.
In truth, ever since Urokodaki passed, Giyu had been noticing Shinobu's been trying to get Giyu out of his estate. Of course, when he refused to, not wanting to go out for the past three days, she went inside and ensured he was alright.
For Giyu, this was incredible considering the experience he underwent. The last time he was placed under the care of a doctor, he was neglected and isolated for what appeared to be just over 2 years. Meaning, he spent a significant portion of his life being lost in a dark room because of a doctor.
"Please take care of your cousin, he keeps talking about superficial beings"
"These, demons, what he called them?"
He remembered the comments many would complain to the doctor before Giyu found himself stuck in an asylum. Labeled just another lost cause. A mentally scarred and rehabilitated individual.
Throughout his time when he was stuck with a doctor, he was highly neglected, traumatized prolonged, and denied social interaction. He was isolated and neglected. All because nobody believed him and instead went with their narrative of him being mentally deranged.
However, if Shinobu was destined to come over to the field of a doctor, then why was she coming over? She was being different, in actually caring for him. Giyu was confused by Shinobu's intentions.
She was the complete opposite of the other doctors he ran into. She was always at his side, making sure he was alright. However, this was clouding with Giyu's thoughts about what a doctor should be.
The way Shinobu tried and cared for him, even trying to cook him different meals was always unique, and almost like something else. Needless to say, Giyu started to not see Shinobu as a doctor. Instead, he began to see Shinobu as a mosquito. It was ironically the other spectrum of annoying, but at least this had an endearing quality to it.
Likewise, Shinobu started to see Giyu differently than the rest of the others. Sure, she originally thought Giyu was just an introvert who constantly needed a push to keep going, the unfortunate passing of his mentor made Shinobu realize, that perhaps Giyu was an individual deeply traumatized by his past and losses.
After all, it made sense. Why else would he be quiet and always trying to isolate himself? Shinobu couldn't just ask Giyu what was wrong, she had to take this accordingly. Especially after the recent panic attack, Giyu had during his other check-up.
And so, when everyone finally left, Shinobu decided to remain behind. Even if Giyu didn't speak much about it, she knew it would be difficult for a lone individual to clean up the mess of a large number of individuals.
And so, despite Giyu never asking to, Shinobu chose to remain back to help Giyu clean his estate.
"Why are you helping me?" Giyu asked as he was cleaning out his stuff.
"Because I want to? Is there any other reason I need to help you?" Shinobu asked, a determined look present on her face.
Giyu for his part looked to the side, unsure how to answer that question.
"Sometimes people, if they are nice enough will merely help because it's in their nature," Shinobu explained. "You would know this if you had friends."
At this, Giyu raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure it's not because you are a doctor?"
Shinobu deadpanned but was also apprehensive to bring that up. She did realize that Giyu did see her quite a bit differently because she was a doctor for the Pillars.
"What is with me being a doctor the reason for my actions? Sometimes you need to separate the people from their jobs and the likes." Shinobu explained, "I wanted to help you, because I wanted to, not because it's in my job to help people."
"Is that so…?" Giyu scratched his head in confusion. "Sorry, I just don't trust doctors and the like all that much."
"And why is that? I've helped you countless times when it comes to helping get your injuries healed. Why wouldn't you trust me?" Shinobu asked, clearly a bit offended that Giyu specifically was pointing out her job.
"I don't want to explain it to you, nor anyone," Giyu emphasized where he said anyone, in case Shinobu thought she was being targeted yet again.
As the two continued to clean up everything, which included the rooms that were tampered with, Shinobu seemed to have been calmly organizing the books that Giyu had on him.
All in all, Shinobu noticed the amount of literature Giyu seemed to like reading. Of course, this was something Shinobu knew, for she had been around and during the times she was bored she would just read the multitude of books Giyu had on him.
As for the significance, however, she did notice that there was a rather large book in the middle of it.
"What is this" Shinobu asked herself in her mind, as she picked it up.
When she opened the book, she was surprised that it was the handwriting of Giyu himself.
"Why is he writing stuff in a book?" Shinobu asked herself, "A journal of some sort? Didn't know Tomioka was the kind of person to write in a book."
As she eyed it, she quickly turned her head, undoubtedly her curiosity getting the better of her. However, she quickly closed it up in the end once Giyu's figure approached her.
"Oh, is that my journal? Thanks." Giyu merely asked nonchalantly before he took it from her hands and placed it in his pocket.
Shinobu only eyed him at how adamant he was to take it. His voice was calm, but his actions showed he was highly possessive over the journal he had.
And so, now Shinobu had just learned something new about Giyu, just like that. It was something she was unaware of, but considering everything that she was trying to learn about him, it was rather significant.
"You have a journal?" Shinobu asked, clearly surprised that he would have one.
"Yes, I do. I forgot where I placed it, so thanks." Giyu thanked Shinobu, who immediately felt guilty after she had tried to look at it.
"Man, why is it so hard to keep myself from wanting to see that journal…" Shinobu thought… "Sometimes the right decisions are the most boring."
With that, she decided that perhaps the next time she ran into it, she'd take a look at it. Who knows, it might help her understand Giyu more.
As for Giyu, he merely looked around, clearly content that his estate was clean after the event the pillars pulled.
"Thanks for the help, Kocho." Giyu bowed a bit to Shinobu, who was a bit surprised by the gesture.
"A bit too formal, but I guess it works." Shinobu thought as in the end tried to give a small smile. "Well, no problem, Tomioka, you should try and talk to people more."
Giyu remained silent at that, causing Shinobu to sigh. "Some day, I'll get to know you a bit better."
As Giyu decided to go out on his front porch, Shinobu followed him.
"Are you going to head out soon?" Giyu asked at last.
"Perhaps in a bit, sometimes it's nice to be out for a bit, in the calamity," Shinobu answered for Giyu.
"And how so? Wouldn't your older sister be wondering where you are?" Giyu asked.
"Ara, you think I cannot take care of myself?" Shinobu smirked, clearly trying to get on Giyu's nerves.
Giyu flinched a bit at the sarcasm Shinobu showed in her voice. "No, I did-"
"Well then if you are that worried for me, then you can walk me back to the Butterfly estate whenever you are ready." Shinobu smiled, as Giyu stared at Shinobu with a face that asked if she was serious.
The two stared at each other for around 2 minutes before Giyu broke it by merely walking inside his estate. Of course, Shinobu stuck to him like the mosquito he claimed she was.
"Are you serious?" Giyu asked at last, and Shinobu nodded her head.
"If I say I'll stay over for the night, will I show that I'm serious?" Shinobu retorted, causing Giyu to sigh.
"Fine." Was all he said, "Let's go."
"Heh?" Shinobu made a noise of confusion.
"I'm dropping you off right now? Isn't that what you wanted? Let's go." Giyu motioned, but Shinobu shook her head.
"I'm too tired from the little party. Maybe later." Shinobu explained.
Giyu sighed at that, knowing she had to deal with her just a bit more.
As Shinobu continued to ponder, she was allowed to stay back quite a bit after the whole ordeal, and she continued her best to continue and try to talk to him. To her credit, she was careful to not overwhelm Giyu but to stay just a distance to perhaps encourage Giyu to continue the conversation.
But that was something Giyu was terrible at.
In the end, their walk back to the butterfly estate was as eventful as they anticipated. Giyu remained quiet whilst Shinobu peppered him with seemingly meaningless questions. For Shinobu however, she could see that Giyu was fine with talking to people when it was incredibly casual. Almost like he was meant to talk to people.
However, with the added knowledge, Shinobu realized Giyu might have a reason for not wanting to speak to others.
After all, the small conversations she saw Giyu had with the Snake Pillar, Shinobu witnessed that Giyu could be helped.
He just needed a push.
As Shinobu was about to leave, she noticed a crow of a demon slayer circling over Giyu's figure.
Shinobu eyed the crow with intrigue and was more confused when she couldn't hear what the crow and Giyu were talking about.
As for Giyu, when he realized the crow, he immediately noticed.
"Caw! Message for Giyu Tomioka!" The crow explained as Giyu noticed the letter on the crow's handles.
"So both Tanjirou and Nezuko both want to see me?" Giyu asked himself, clearly a bit unsure. "Seems I'll have to talk to Oyakata-sama about this. But why do they wish to see me?"
The crow cawed as if informing Giyu to turn the paper. Giyu did so and immediately recoiled.
"Oversee training by me?" That surprised Giyu. He never in his life expected someone to want to be trained by him, out of all people.
Almost every other Hashira had quirks to them that made them all unique. Misturi, Rengoku, Shinobu, and even Obanai and Sanemi had quirks that made them all unique. Hell, Kanao was a tsugako of Kanae, and Genya was a tsugako of Gyomei.
Giyu sighed, not knowing what to do.
All through this, Shinobu looked at the Water pillar, confused and intrigued by the message he was getting. It seemed that Shinobu was seemingly interested in the kind of life Giyu was living beyond just the demon slayers.
"Then talk to Oyakata-sama! We're not flying back and forth!" The crow squawked, and Giyu sighed.
As Giyu was about to head out, Shinobu confronted him.
"What was that about?" Shinobu asked.
"Didn't you go inside?" Giyu was a bit surprised at Shinobu's sudden appearance but sighed when he realized she was eavesdropping.
"Whatever, it's a matter for me and Oyakata-sama," Giyu explained, once again, adding that emphasis.
"Why can't I know about it?" Shinobu asked, clearly a bit angered, although she was smiling at Giyu somewhat deadly, "You don't see me as a close friend?"
Giyu chose not to answer that before he instead referred to the first part. "Perhaps with time, I'll tell you."
With that, Giyu left and remembered the close connections the Kochos had to two demons. If the worst came to light, a simple blackmail could be used on Giyu's side to help him in the event Shinobu does find out.
Shinobu likewise looked confused, but eventually sighed, perhaps hoping it wasn't a big deal.
All the while Giyu made it toward the Master's estate, he continued to ponder why Tanjirou and Nezuko had personally requested help from him.
Eventually, once he got to the estate, he looked at the individual he was waiting for. Seems the crow had already informed him.
"My apologies for the sudden meeting so late." Giyu started, bowing.
"Raise your head, my child." Kagaya smiled, "You are allowed to speak to me as many times as you want. Now is there anything you need help with?"
"Yes." Giyu nodded, as he took his time to get his question into words, "I've been called by a crow belonging to Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado, to assist them in more demon slayer training." Giyu started. "It's come to my attention the risk of training demons, that too strongly, may become disastrous."
Kagaya smiled, "Understandable reason to be hesitant, however, I feel they have managed to succeed and pass their test, and thus I think it's time for them to head to their next stage of becoming a demon slayer."
"And what is that?" Giyu asked.
"In a month, they have already managed to complete every one of their missions, slaying the demons, and any other within the area. They seem to be heavily committed to their actions, and thus the pileup of evidence of demons they've killed, I've had to raise their ranks." Kayaga explained, "In addition, I think I'll allow them to interact with the demon allies."
"Demon allies?" Giyu asked Kagaya questioningly, "I see, what are we anticipating, then?"
"The demon allies have a strong connection through the Kochos, especially in medicine." Kagaya explained, "However, regarding the presence of both Nezuko and Tanjirou, I've already allowed them into the corps, and they are, just like that." Kagaya explained.
"So…" Giyu motioned forward.
"It is fine to train them." Kagaya smiled.
This seemingly made Giyu unsure, "Are you sure?"
"I understand the risks involved, they show remarkable humanity, more so than even the demon allies."
"I don't want a tsuguko, however, especially with the risk of other demon slayers and Hashira's trying to kill them."
"Perhaps a compromise then. "Kagaya smiled, "You can go and train them however you want, for I have trust that they will be able to control their demonic instincts."
"Are you sure?" Giyu asked Kagaya carefully.
"Absolutely, not just through my instincts, but I feel those demons are truly human-like and truthful. If we've encountered demons like this before, then anything is possible."
Giyu thought for a bit, before he sighed, "Very well, I will go and train them. Perhaps not like my tsuguko, however, I will train them to become stronger, for they may be significant in our fight with demons."
Kagaya nodded, "That is good, now, let's hope they are what potential they show."
"Indeed." Giyu nodded. He decided to have both Kagaya include a handwritten letter inside of the letter, before attaching it towards the crow. The crow cawed before it made it out.
As Giyu began to pack up and decide to find the place where Tanjirou and Nezuko were residing, the crow came back after three hours.
"I see…" Giyu nodded, "Thank you. Let them know I will be there."
As Giyu prepared, Tanjirou and Nezuko, while carefully sparing with each other, they eventually got the crow.
"Caw! Giyu Tomioka will come by, and with the permission of the master himself, will train both Tanjirou and Nezuko!" The crow told the demon siblings, who merely smiled. Likewise, the two knew they had to wait and prepare.
Once the figure of Giyu Tomioka appeared, both Tanjirou and Nezuko immediately ran and hugged Giyu.
"How've you been?" Tanjirou asked, and Giyu scratched his head.
"I've been… alright," Giyu responded. "A bit annoyed and pressured by the other Pillars trying to be around me, but other than that, I think I'm fine."
Once the introductions were set in stone, Giyu then turned to both Tanjirou and Nezuko.
"Now." Giyu started, "You both have asked me to train you beyond that of basic demon slayer training.
Both Nezuko and Tanjirou nodded.
"Well if that's the case, then be prepared for a tiring workout," Giyu confirmed, which immediately caused both Tanjirou and Nezuko to become nervous. Regardless, they had to get through this, if they wanted to kill Muzan and become human once again.
And so, Giyu immediately started what was to be their training.
"One of the first things both of you need to excel at is properly use total concentration breathing, constant," Giyu explained.
"Wait, what?" Tanjirou asked, "Don't you mean for twenty-four hours?"
"Correct." Giyu nodded, "Despite you, Tanjirou knowing the advanced breathing technique for quite some time, I've noticed that during your sparring, you sometimes deviate away from it."
Tanjirou understood what Giyu was saying, "I'll continue to try."
As both Tanjirou and Nezuko began that training, Tanjirou focused on polishing the total concentration breathing constant for 24 hours. Giyu made sure to stop and smack Tanjirou whenever he spotted Tanjirou no longer using it.
Nezuko was continuing her breathing techniques, with Giyu bringing wooden equipment, allowing for both Kamado siblings to be able to spar without holding back. Most of Giyu's time for this was him looking at Nezuko to also see if she at least knew how to concentrate on her breathing.
Tanjirou focused and blew and broke into more gourds, and Giyu was surprised that Tanjirou was able to break the gourds relatively easily.
As they continued, Tanjirou decided to ask Giyu some questions.
"Tomioka, how are the other pillars interacting with you?" Tanjirou asked Giyu.
"Usually leaving me alone. Unfortunately, with Urokodaki's death, they seemed to be paying more attention to me." Giyu answered.
"That isn't necessarily bad, they may be trying to cheer you up," Tanjirou responded to Giyu's skepticism.
"Perhaps, but I don't think I should be talking to them," Giyu mumbled. Tanjirou heard this.
"And why is that?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"I don't…" Giyu started, "deserve to be around them, plus I don't want to suffer more when they eventually die." Giyu revealed.
"Oh…" Tanjirou mumbled, not knowing what to do about Giyu's situation, "But being able to speak to others, and enjoy your life is what makes life so impactful."
This made Giyu raise his eyes, "What do you mean about that?"
Tanjirou began to explain, "I'd like to think that if death did not exist, then people would not be willing to do stuff and actions for a reason. If we didn't have death, we wouldn't be motivated to do what we have with the limited time we have."
"Like, yeah, the prospects of death makes me want to defend Nezuko or anyone else who was alive. I found myself knowing I would die because it would have been worth giving Nezuko the extra chance of life was what made me want to protect her."
Giyu began to look down, not knowing what to say.
"Is this why Sabito, sister, Makmomo, and Urokodaki did what they did? They all did this because they saw the motivation of their actions?" Giyu asked himself, "They saw the value in life, that they sacrificed themselves to give me the chance to live?"
"Life becomes important once you give it a limited time. If you made something unlimited, we wouldn't see the values and priorities of that."
Giyu continued to think closely, clearly having his dilemma, "Why… Why didn't they see the value in their life?" Both Tanjirou and Nezuko were sure to now Giyu felt guilt for their own
"Tomioka, it's not that those you cared for don't see the value in life, but rather, they see the value in you. They see the value and potential you bear, even when you were vulnerable." Tanjirou explained, "Even when people think they are worthless at their lowest point, you never know how far one can go."
Tanjirou then looked down, clearly hesitant to reveal next, alas, he sighed, "I remember how my father would always tell me how useless and worthless I was… But even with that, I became something, and it was all because of you… Because of you and Urokodaki, I was able to become stronger, and even save that Hashira from an Upper Moon… Even if I was too weak to defeat him, I was at least able to save someone… Even if you feel weak or worthless, there is always strength and worth in everyone, even if they feel that is not the case…"
"Tanjirou…" Giyu mumbled, his eyes shocked and widened. Despite Tanjirou being a demon, what he was saying was very human, and very empathetic.
"Tell Tomioka this, brother," Nezuko told her brother through their minds.
Tanjirou nodded, "Nezuko says, that life is like food."
"What?" Giyu questioned, clearly confused.
"Sometimes, food becomes very valuable, and you want to find the perfect time to value it, or you lose it, you become sad when you cannot value it."
Tanjirou was speaking based on Nezuko's statement, "But that doesn't mean you cannot find new values. You may lose that rice ball, whether through your fault or none, but that doesn't mean you can't go out and find more food to find the value again. With life, even if it feels you lost the value of life, you can sometimes find it again." Tanjirou explained.
Before Tanjirou and Nezuko could continue, Giyu unexpectedly hugged the two of them, bringing them all into a group hug.
While shocked, especially with the silent sobbing Giyu was emitting from his voice, Both Tanjirou and Nezuko hugged Giyu sadly, sharing the loss of Urokodaki, and sharing the same tragedies.
As Giyu continued to sob, he also suddenly developed a sudden care for the two demons. Almost like a new family, almost like he was finding new people to connect to, new people to protect. And that was something he was beginning to think and was willing to die for.
This time, if Nezuko or Tanjirou died, then Giyu too would die. He would not let another person close to him die again, he doesn't know if he had the mental capacity to handle that.
"I promise, sister, Sabito, Makomo, and Urokodaki that I won't let anyone I care about, die for me." Giyu said with a new sense of determination, "I won't fail anyone, ever again."
Once the conversation was complete, Giyu decided to continue the training of the two demons. Whilst he originally was going to just keep them at total concentration breathing, he was going to train them for different stuff.
All the while, Tanjirou was going to train more on his own, and Giyu decided to instead take Nezuko out.
Nezuko tilted her head, clearly asking why she was out here with Giyu.
"It's simple. While Tanjirou himself seems to prioritize his Hinokami Kagura, you seem to be promising when it comes to water breathing. If you remember what I taught you, the 11th form, dead calm, I want to see you do it again." Giyu explained, "The more you can calm yourself, the stronger you can be, and the stronger attacks you will be able to deflect."
"Wow…" Nezuko mumbled, clearly surprised by the amount of stuff she was learning.
"So, while Tanjirou continues to learn his Hinokami Kagura, you will train with me for water breathing, with every form being polished to the max," Giyu explained, nodding seeing Nezuko's energetic tone.
She was making progress at an above-average rate compared to the other demon slayers. For the most part, she was becoming stronger and stronger with time. Whereas Tanjirou got stronger through better adapting his body to the Hinokami Kagura, Nezuko was getting advice through Giyu's advice.
But that wasn't all.
Originally after that, he was going to call it at that, but with proper thinking, he decided to train them on more stuff and breathing techniques to make it much easier for the two of them.
He would have to train the two harsher, but he would make sure they would do it in a way that makes them feel safe and comfortable.
He knew a bit more of Tanjirou and Nezuko's past. With Tanjirou revealing the self-demoralizing statements he was subject to, it was clear to Giyu that both were the victims of parental abuse, with Tanjirou suffering trauma from both the abuse and the transformation into a demon.
As for Nezuko, she too probably felt useless and weak. He knew Nezuko felt somewhat insecure about being on par with her elder brother. He knew she wanted to protect her brother, just like how Tanjirou always protected his siblings whenever their parents found it appropriate to punish them accordingly.
And so, Giyu wanted the two to feel content with themselves, even if the road to that would be difficult.
With that, Giyu started the training for the two. Not that he was teaching them, but rather showing them ways to strengthen themselves.
The first was training with stamina. Giyu would test their endurance and stamina for as long as they could. While stamina was mainly based on the Sound Hashira, Tengen, and Giyu had decided to incorporate endurance inside the training, to make sure the two were capable of taking damage.
It didn't matter if they could regenerate if their plan tolerance wasn't high enough.
The next thing he did was flexibility training. He wasn't the best when it came to that, for that title went to the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, Giyu himself wasn't terrible at that. If the two showed progress in being flexible, especially as demons for their flesh manipulation, in doing so, both Tanjirou and Nezuko would be able to be unpredictable demon slayers.
Following flexibility, came quick movement training, usually coming from the Mist Hashira, Muichiro. In doing so, Tanjirou and Nezuko would be able to properly attack and catch up to demons.
Even if they were demons themselves, they would face off against faster demons. In this sense, mobility was crucial for the two, and in doing so, this could be crucial. There was no point if they could not catch up to their demon foe.
Sword skill revision training was specific for Obanai to teach. Giyu was once again fine with this since he knew a degree of sword revision, especially since Obanai's fighting style deviated from Giyu's own.
Tanjirou and Nezuko both struggled with this for a bit, as they were already accustomed to the current way they were holding a sword.
This perhaps took the most time for the two demon siblings to properly be able to do, and since the two performed two different breathing styles, Giyu knew that Nezuko would be more accustomed to the one he did, whilst, for Tanjirou, he would have to learn his way through experience and experimentation.
Once the sword skill revision was complete, Giyu then taught them infinite pounding training. Once again, another Hashira taught this, Sanemi. Giyu would be for the two of them. The more Giyu thought about it, Sanemi would perhaps be the worst contender out of all the Hashira for the demon siblings to meet, for he would probably kill them upon sight.
Therefore, Giyu finally taught them the training in his way.
Once completed, Giyu made sure the last was the most crucial for the two. And that was muscle reinforcement training.
This shows that it was usually trained and taught by the Stone Pillar, Gyomei. Any individual could probably teach this, but Gyomei and his sheer physical strength made it almost impossible for any other demon slayer to perform.
Therefore, Giyu was the most stringent on this training, as Gyomei's requirements were incredibly strict for them to complete the training.
Giyu himself was more in the middle. He was usually able to know and observe all the training, especially with the other Hashira's teaching the training methods. Gyomei and Kanae were the most prevalent due to them having tsugukos.
The way Giyu saw this, it wasn't just a way to train Tanjirou and Nezuko, but also to show them there was always room to improve on their technique, even if they felt like they were at a peak.
Giyu hoped that what he was doing, would all be worth it in the end.
He hoped that in the end, he wouldn't lose any more people, something he sadly knew was not guaranteed no matter the training and preparation. The second was that these demons would be worth it, and perhaps even crucial for defeating Muzan.
Giyu felt hope for the first time in a while, and it was more directed toward the two demon siblings, Tanjirou Kamado and Nezuko Kamado.
It took around two months for Giyu to properly train the two. Because Tanjirou and Nezuko were demons, the fatigue they felt regenerated incredibly quickly, allowing them to continue with their training, even in the basement of the mansion, allowing them to continue even with the daytime sun making it incapable of the demons being outside.
Regardless, Giyu did have to send a message to Kagaya asking for another month of training with the demon siblings. When asked if Giyu would like to have one of them as a tsuguko or the two of them, Giyu shook his head, for now.
Eventually, Giyu nodded, "Seems I've managed to train everything I've managed to."
"Is that so?" Tanjirou asked, clearly unsure.
"Well, not really. Your journey as demon slayers is never over. Even when you feel the most and at your peak, there is always something to learn as demon slayers." Giyu informed the two demons.
While Giyu didn't feel like a particularly strong trainer, rarely training anyone, he knew, he would let Tanjirou and Nezuko be unique and different, and yet strong in their respective areas.
Unlike Giyu himself, who deemed himself the most basic of all the Hashira, and the fakest of them, he did admit that he found a place to reside when he was around Tanjirou and Nezuko.
Even if they were demons, they were incredibly open to him, even admiring him for saving their lives.
Through it all, Giyu hoped Tanjirou and Nezuko would give him some form of relief after the death of Urokodaki.
Now he had to return to the estate and inform Kagaya of his progress, before being annoyed by an insect. Perhaps if he snuck back into his water estate, then it would be worth it.
A.N / Not much else to say here with Chapter 28, other than this is the start of the next major plot for both Tanjirou and Nezuko. With 2 chapters of mourning for Urokodaki, we'll continue to see how Giyu is coping with the loss, and especially the slow bond that he and Shinobu are developing, albeit a bit. We will see Tanjirou and Nezuko take on their hardest challenge, and perhaps their first loss. However, this loss will accompany them with their next major allies, especially since Giyu is training them personally.
That doesn't make them sukkos exactly, but they are making progress on this. We will also consider what is happening with the other slayers, specifically Kanae, for her mission and confusion, so we have a lot of small subplots that should be tackled, as Tanjirou and Nezuko continue onward with their mission.
I do have a setting stone for the next couple of chapters, especially with every character involved. This will eventually culminate in the Hashira meeting, or when Tanjirou and Nezuko are discovered by the Hashira. Anyway, enough of that, see you next time.
Again, apologies for the late update, school was busy and painful, and I didn't even do as well as I used to. It's still fine, but it's a step-down. But anyways here's chapter 28.
Character Profile:
Tanjirou Kamado: Male, 14 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'5" (165cm)
Weight: 140Ibs
Nezuko Kamado: Female, 13 years old
Status: Alive, Demon
Height: 5'2" (157cm)
Weight: 124Ibs
Giyu Tomioka: Male, 20 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'10" (178cm)
Weight: 158Ibs
Shinobu Kocho: Female, 17 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'0" (152cm)
Weight: 92Ibs
Gyomei Himejima: Male, 26 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 7'3" (222cm)
Weight: 290Ibs
Obanai Iguro: Male, 20 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'4" (163cm)
Weight: 118Ibs
Muichiro Tokito: Male, 14 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'3" (160cm)
Weight: 124Ibs
Mitsuri Kanroji: Female, 19 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'6" (167cm)
Weight: 128Ibs
Sanemi Shinazugawa: Male, 20 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'11" (180cm)
Weight: 170Ibs
Kanae Kocho: Female, 19 years old
Status: Alive, Human
Height: 5'7" (170cm)
Weight: 132Ibs
Abilities:
No new abilities were introduced.