Years Ago

It was usually quiet on Mt. Sagiri.

Dammit...

At least it used to be before the rookie showed up. The boy with short black hair, blue eyes, and a red haori he never took off, now sleeping not soundly on a tatami mat between her and Sabito in the only guest room in Urokodaki's house: Aka, the place where she and Sabito used to sleep.

I'm never going to get any sleep now.

Makamo huffed as she stared up at the ceiling of the wooden hut. The crisp night air trickled through the walls, and the cold air of the wooden shack filled her lungs. Her face was flat as a stray whimper echoed through the room, and she began counting the planks of wood above her. It was all she could do.

Stupid nightmares...

She wasn't the comforting type.

How long did I used to have them?

Makamo did a quick mental breakdown and realized it would probably be a few weeks before the new boy, Giyuu Tomioka, stopped whimpering in his sleep. That's how long it took for her nightmares to stop after she got here. Same with Sabito. The boy would probably be the same. Maybe even worse.

I wonder what his deal is...

Makamo didn't know what had happened to the new boy; all she knew was that he was quiet and shy, too.

I wonder who he lost.

He was too shy. This boy was practically mute, and even Sabito's annoyingly 'manly' charisma struggled to get more than a sentence out of him. Whatever demon had ruined his life must have made him scared of speaking, too. It was the worst.

Demons...

Demons were just the worst.

It's always demons.

Makamo gritted her teeth slightly before she heard a whisper from over the boy, dreaming of harsh truths. Her green eyes glanced past the whimpering boy's shoulder. She saw Sabito's peach fuzz hair peek over, and he silently mouthed to her: "Can't sleep?"

"What do you think?" Makomo silently responded, rolling her eyes for effect as she tilted her head at the slumbering boy and whispered, "He's louder asleep than he is awake. The irony."

"Don't be mean," Sabito quietly defended his new friend as he huffed. His grey eyes turned to their new roommate as he spoke with a soft smirk. "He's just shy. I'll get him to man up soon."

"If you could get him to shut up so I can sleep, that would be more appreciated, although considering how scared he is of talking, I doubt you'll be able to do that any time soon," Makomo whispered dryly as Sabito disregarded her grumbles. His eyes quirked in amusement as he jested, "Wanna bet?"

"Really? You're going to bet me?" Makomo asked haughtily as she rested her cheek on her hand and gave a sly smirk, "Remember how that went last time? How you boasted it wouldn't be fair to fight me because it 'wouldn't be manly to hit a woman.'"

"Okay, one, I still stand by that, and two, how was I supposed to know you're going to the final selection next month." Sabito grumbled defiantly as he clicked his tongue in memory of the bet Makomo had goaded him into, "If I knew you were that strong, I wouldn't have bet that I could beat you in a spar."

"Appearances can be deceiving, dumb junior of mine. You should be praising me for imparting such a valuable lesson to you," Makomo teased as she watched Sabito flush in response before he huffed and shook his head quietly. "Whatever. So, you in or not?"

"Sure. Not like I'm going to get any sleep any time soon." Makomo shrugged as she yawned, casually held her hand out, and murmured, "I'll give you a week, no two, to try and become friends with him. Otherwise, you have to steal Shisho's sweets."

"Are you insane?" Sabito whispered horrifiedly, idly glancing at the kitchen and the cookie jar hidden beneath the floorboards.

"You know It'll never work. He'll smell me."

"Yeah, but while he's punishing you, I'll try and sneak a few. It'll be a good going away present before I become a demon slayer," Makomo bragged as she watched Sabito's eyes twitch in irritation, only to tilt smugly as he reached out and shook her hand, "Fine. When I win, you have to go on a date with me."

"Done," Makomo replied before she could actually process what was spoken. Her eyes widened a second later as her cheeks flushed, and she asked with a hint of confusion, "Uh... what?"

"A date. You know what a date is, right?"

"Of course I do! I'm wondering why you asked me!" Makomo hissed quietly. She ensured not to startle their third wheel awake and watched Sabito shrug. "Because it's you."

Funny, Makomo forgot she was dealing with Sabito.

"Why else would I do it?"

He could be surprisingly honest at times.

"You're impossible," Makomo murmured defeatedly, sighed, and turned her back. Her face was red, and she murmured with a slight frown, "You know most people don't bother dating in the corps."

Makomo had to remember she was a full year older than Sabito. He wasn't thinking things through.

"No point when everyone dies young."

She wasn't nearly as naive.

"So you shouldn't get your hopes up," Makomo murmured as she closed her eyes and listened to the silent air. Her brows were furrowed as she heard the whimpers from their slumbering friend die down suddenly, and she looked back in confusion as Sabito's warm voice echoed through the air.

"I disagree, Makomo."

Makomo blinked in surprise as she saw Sabito hugging their slumbering friend. His grey eyes peered at her over Giyuu's shoulder.

"One day, I'm going to be strong enough that we won't have to worry about dying young. No one will. Since I'll be strong enough to save them."

Giyuu had stopped trembling. His nightmares seemed to be kept at bay with a friend's comfort and a kind boy's presence.

"Even you."

A kind boy with peach fuzz hair and unimaginable strength.

"If there's someone you can't beat, it'll be fine because I'll protect you." Sabito finished with a soft smile as he watched Makomo blush. Her green eyes flickered away as she turned and whispered, "I wouldn't need your help. Idiot."

Makomo couldn't afford to waste time now, not with such an important event coming up.

"I'm going to sleep, and you still need to make him your friend after he wakes up. If you somehow manage to do that, then..."

In the future, though...

"After I pass the final selection, we can have a stupid date."

Maybe she could dream of something naive.

Present Day

Giyuu hadn't slept in days.

It can't be...

He had run till his feet screamed in protest and kept running afterward.

He can't be.

He ran through night and day, straight from his patrol zone to the mountain he was trained on. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him until he saw the distant mountain. Mt. Sagiri, the grand hill carving into the foggy skies, with old trees and streams littering the grassy mountainside where old memories hung around every corner and hid under every waterfall. The night sky with grey clouds and a full moon illuminated the grand landscape like a slumbering giant.

He can't be dying...

Giyuu ran to the mountainside fast enough that most of the animals on the side of the long dirt road didn't notice him until he passed them. Even in his hurried state, his footsteps were light and quiet, just like his master had taught him to do. The only signs of exhaustion on his stoic face were the stray beads of sweat that dripped from his nose and the slight sting that littered his muscles. Even after days of running, his breath wasn't labored, not in the slightest.

Please...

He had his master to thank for that.

Please don't die...

He had so much to thank his master for...

I still...

He had so much...

I still have to apologize.

He had so much to apologize for because his master gave him everything, and he let him down. He was too weak to do anything in the final selection. Nothing except panic and fainting; how could he apologize for that? How could he say he failed to use a single thing he was taught? He just froze. How would he be able to tell him that?

I don't know how to tell you how much I failed you.

Giyuu didn't know, but once he climbed up the quiet forest and saw the small wood hut, he knew he would have to try. He sprinted the last bit of the trail, getting to the door in a blur of speed, his hand outstretched only for it to stop. His breath finally shivered as he tried to swim past the memories that littered this little door. The irony is that this little door would scare him more than any demon.

What am I going to say...

He hadn't been to this little hut since the final selection.

How am I going to-

"Come in, Giyuu."

An old and aged voice, seemingly with a tint of amusement in its gravelly tone, echoed from the other side of the door. Giyuu's eyes widened imperceptibly before he calmed his breath and plastered a blank and comfortable expression on his face. Opening the door with a slow and steady hand before walking inside, his steps halting as he saw Urokodaki sitting on a tatami mat in the center of the room, his Tengu mask covering his face.

"Hello Giyuu..."

Urokodaki's voice was just as roughly gentle as he remembered.

"You've grown."

Urokodaki spoke with a slight tremor, a sign of struggle, as he watched his son stall in his thoughts. Giyuu's blank expression couldn't hide his warring emotions from his master, who saw the turmoil and despair hidden deep in his son's deep blue eyes.

He's grown weary...

It was clear as day to Urokodaki's eyes; to his nose, it smelled like his son had been alone for a long time. It smelled of a cold lake an inch from freezing. It was as if the lake was filled with gallons of guilt and sorrow so deep it would be impossible to reach the bottom. It was a tragic smell, but Urokodaki couldn't thaw that icy water for his son; he didn't have the life left in him to do anything other than die.

What a failure I am.

Urokodaki would give his son a final lesson before he died. After that, he could only hope that someone else could help heal the scars his ineptitude as a teacher had brought.

"Let's go, Giyuu..."

Urokodaki's movements were slow but steady, a hand reaching for the old notebook and pocketing it while the other gripped his sword. Urokodaki's hands were aged and wrinkled, yet he held them still as he got to his feet. Urokodaki held his body together by will and his breathing, moving with a steady step and a stern hand as he tapped Giyuu's shoulder with the butt of his sword.

"I want to show you something before I die."

Urokodaki saw his student's eyes widen by a fraction of an inch, the words seemingly burying themselves in Giyuu's mind as Urokodaki walked past his stock-still student and into the open air. The smell of the forest and mountain was always his favorite; it smelled of rain and grass, trees and birds, nature and streams. Unlike the loneliness hidden in his son's voice, they smelled of beautiful solitude.

"...Yes, Shisho."

It saddened Urokodaki to know that to his son, all these forests smelled of was death.