—START—

-3rd Person POV-

Thing went wrong, things went horribly wrong for their plan.

They were supposed to despair under the weight of their most deep feelings grabbing a hold of them, only to be crushed by the tragedies once more and more.

But none of that happened.

Creature had to force itself into stasis by a brat before the memories could devour most, the only activation they could manage at that moment was of the Snake and Water Hashira and even then it had been a complete failure too.

One ran away, their own power working as a link for the two realms.

The other one was a far worse case in their opinion.

That human was so desensitized to his own nightmares that they pointed the error in the construction of it, a decision made so the body was more recognizable for a worse experience.

And yet noting came out of him, no cry, no scream.

It was like a void of emotions of which none could escape, the man was suffering from it, they could tell, but if there was no expression of such feelings then the erosion wouldn't begin.

Him and that brat, they were by far the most dangerous people here, and as long as that woman doesn't realize what is going on than they would be their only problem.

They needed a way to break them, even if it slows their recovery rate or forces their focus on them, it would be best to exterminate this plague before it spreads more.

It all happened just as he predicted it.

Slowing his heartrate and breathing had been key in speeding up the situation, as there would be no action less he fell asleep.

Or at the very least it appeared like that was the case.

A Kunai reflected the moonlight entering from the window of his room and his assailant was ready to strike.

But so was he.

The moment the blade accelerated to pierce him he turned, rolling on the futon, and stretching out his hand to catch the arm that was going down on his throat.

"You need a bit more practice with stealth Mei-chan" Tengen smiled sadly as the teary eyes of his sister widened in surprise. (A child not yet tempered to the duties of a shinobi tasked with their brother's assassination...it is you who takes my role now huh?)

"T-Tengen?! B…but how?" She panicked once her attempt was completely stopped, her breathing pausing as her eyes ran all across the room looking for an escape.

One that she'd never take under the grip of the elder Uzui.

"It was obvious sadly, once I saw my own task I knew father would try and give some of you a grueling one" While it was a correct way to see the events it was also a lie, he simply knew that as the weakest she was given the worst one. "And if we can't exactly leave then going after someone stronger was the only real answer"

It was a lie logical enough to convince his sister, and the way her eyes widened and her breathing caught on once more and just kept going faster was a good indicator that he had succeeded on that front.

"T-then why?!" Allowing her to stay knowing that was an attempt to assassinate him, her mind couldn't point as to why he'd allow her in like that. "If you knew then-!"

Two strong hands were placed on her shoulders, a warmth unusually found in this house came from his brother's voice. "Mei…Breathe, I have no intentions to do anything about this" It was a way to say he held no ill will towards her. "I understand that it was what you had to do, I just simply couldn't let myself die"

His words reached the girl, her expression falling into sorrow as the full weight of her actions fell upon her.

(She was never ready to be a Shinobi) training, learning, test, it was all things she had done and passed, always by a hair and as the last one of them all and Tengen knew Meiyami was not properly prepared mentally to be a ninja.

Talent necessarily doesn't equate on hoe good she might be after all, being good requires a mindset and the patience to polish those skills.

And what Meiyami lacked was the coldhearted mindset of a shinobi. (Mei isn't a killer)

Unlike himself.

"I-I I don't want to die either" her voice was meager and low, she had gotten a small grip on herself but that didn't mean she was well at all, it just showed she'd given up on this quest, acknowledging she had failed.

Killing Tengen was only possible for her if he didn't know he was the target.

And it was killing him the only way she'd be able to live another day.

"What can I do?" Only one question, that completely encompassed all the will the girl had.

"…" sadly, even her older brother didn't have an answer to her plea to live, there was a complete awareness in his eyes to what happened to those who failed, to those who could not keep up with the standard set by the patriarch.

As someone who'd seen the result of failure, even if in his eyes he still believed to be a dream a very believable dream, he knew there was little he could do.

(Running away now could be an option…maybe take some of the others too) He'd probably manage it if he tried, hell he could have left the first day after having that dream.

But Uzui Tengen was still here for a reason, a very specific reason.

His wives…His mind fixated on them, he knew they were real and had seen them here somewhere before and even if they didn't love him and were strangers to him.

Tengen didn't want to give up what it could be, so he wasn't leaving without them

"We'll figure something out Mei, Father doesn't need to know what's happened yet" At the very least he'd extend her time for as long as he can, so he can try and save her too.

As her older brother, it is the least he should be doing.

The village was nothing more than a dot in their eyes now.

The trio has spent the last few hours walking, Giyuu was apparently guiding them somewhere away.

In his own words. "It's better we're out of there before anyone finds us" Their pace was much better than their last walking trip too, without having to carry Tokito they'd been able to make a more accelerate trip.

It took at least four hours to get as far as they had at the moment.

"I still say it doesn't matter, we can be brought back in a second" After Giyuu's insistence to leave fast came Tokito's warning on how little space mattered in here.

A simple path could be turned into a loop of walking forever if they didn't pay enough attention to their surroundings.

"If we stayed they'd have found us"

Obanai bristled with anger at the same response they'd been given ever since Muichiro had told them of the behavior of this place. "Who Tomioka!? Will you bother to explain already?!" The man had given him nothing but deflective answers ever since they saw that mutilated body. (narcissistic bastard you can't just brush us off)

Then answer he received was no what he expected. "Can I ask who that demon was then?" Instead of ignoring him he had asked back a question.

"Just another demon, nothing important" It was a blatant lie, one so stupidly obvious Tokito felt he had to intervene.

Even if it was to stop whatever Tomioka said into turning Iguro into a murderer and he the victim. "Lie, we can't afford that right now, we don't even know how to get out of here so talk both of you"

"…"

"…"

Neither of them wanted to speak, one because they felt their own struggles weren't worth the trouble of sharing and simply wanted to keep his distance, the other didn't want to share it with specifically the person in front of him.

"If you don't want to talk then we follow his lead, he knows best what might be trouble around here"

It was quite easily for them to piece together that whatever this place was then it begun with their pasts even if things changed in it, that whoever created this was trying to bring them down using their own trauma.

Thus, if the person who's past this is tells you to leave somewhere then there isn't much room for discussing why, it's probably for the best.

Their path continued in silence, both adults in children bodies were keeping distance from one another while the only actual child in the group contemplated the sky, wondering how the hell they'd survive if these two idiots couldn't work together.

(Being weak is a pain) With his normal strength this would have been faster to do.

Eventually the three needed to stop, to take a break to drink and eat.

Not out of necessity but the feeling of starvation and thirst would be horrid and constant if they didn't do so, beside their legs wouldn't handle much more walking.

Of course, this was all done in absolute silence.

That didn't mean there wasn't any internal turmoil. (We can't keep going like this, I'd only impede our progress and chances to survive this)

It felt dividing, his duty to his comrades or his own personal feelings…but when put like that he could actually make up his mind about it, the mission was always what should take priority.

With that in mind, he waited for all of them to finish eating before speaking.

"The corpse was my sister, Tsutako" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "She died hiding me from a new born demon, who burned on accident not long after" In the end, it was luck that actually guaranteed his survival, not even the sacrifice of his sister.

"We left because…The villagers would have taken us…" At any point in his little story did Giyuu turned to look at any of them rather nervous of the face he would be making while speaking of this.

And while he hated speaking of what had happened to him it was essential intel for survival in this place, and there would probably be times when they'd be separated which would leave only him knowing what was next a bad idea.

"If we had stayed…" His words stopped, considering if he really wanted to say this, regardless, what he wanted didn't matter at the moment. "They would have claimed we were insane if we told them of demons, and label us as the murderers in any other scenario" Oh how It hurt to remember these things. "That's how it went down originally"

Suffice to say, none of the two were expecting Tomioka to begin talking about it not long after vehemently refusing to explain in any way.

Tokito processed the information fast, his surprise not lasting pretty long as while unexpected it mattered not in the grand scheme of things. "You were arrested for it?"

"Not arrested…"

"Giyuu, please take these" Pills, it was what the woman had offered him, the kind smile on her face contrasting with her actions.

"come child, you're scheduled session is up" It was a different person every day, each time a different employee of this facility run by a family member.

"It appears the brain might be suffering from some variation of hallucinogenic conditions"

"He cannot be allowed to return to the outside until we fix him, who knows how many he'd kill"

"I'll take him home with me and deal with it there, he's family after all"

"Giyuu wait?!"

"Rehabilitated would be the words they'd use" that was the answer of the water Hashira.

"hummm, was it bad?" Ever since he'd been found by Amane Tokito always got medical consults with Kocho, his knowledge on how most medical facilities were was skewed.

Specially with how terrible mental institutions tend to be.

He wanted to say it was, that he hated that place, but he couldn't. "They weren't bad…but they are people who think that if they don't understand it then it's a bad thing"

They were people just doing their job, trying to find a problem that did not exists, that was the reality there and why his stay had been so traumatic for him.

It was just every possible solution under the sun that they tried on him and nothing worked, because there was never anything wrong.

At heart, he couldn't exactly blame them for how things went.

That of course didn't apply for the other patients he'd met there. (I do wonder how some of them are today) Tomioka shook his head, avoiding getting distracted while carefully trying to grasp the reactions of his companions to the story.

Which Obanai apparently was still doing…or maybe he'd say nothing of it.

As no one said anything else Muichiro had to be the one to ask again. "Where are we going then?" They had to have known where and why.

"If this is our pasts, then maybe the only way to leave is to find the end, the present" It was an unproven theory to be sure, but it was the only lead they had. "We're going to my master's home"

"We're following your story" It wasn't a question, rather, it was a statement from the Snake Hashira, who'd finally decided to speak with them. "After trying so hard to not say anything, why speak now?" It irritated him how fickle he had been, that he simply decided to speak now.

It was completely irrational of him.

Tomioka looked at him, the same empty stare he always gave when anyone spoke to him. "surviving is more important" and yet he answered this time around too.

And for Giyuu, that was the end of that conversation, he had said enough, getting up and beginning to pack what they had used while resting, ready to go out again. "Huh-" Iguro was not satisfied with what he said though.

But before he could say anything he was stopped by Muichiro.

The kid was fed up with the constant struggle that was being in the same place as these two. "Can you not? He's done what you wanted" At least Tomioka just didn't want to talk to anyone, Iguro simply looked as if he was looking to dig at the man. "We're not in a situation where we can allow our personal feelings to stop us"

"we both understand that, do you?"

The boy followed the other one soon after with packing, the rest was over.

Leaving only Iguro there, wondering what the hell had that been. (The kid…he seems much more lucid than usual, none of his usual distractions are getting his attention nor he spends times failing to remember things said moments ago) Was this another effect of being trapped here? had he solved his amnesia problem?

So many questions were raised when he heard him speak to him, maybe all in an attempt to not acknowledge the truth of what had been said.

But he was right, his personal problems with Tomioka got in the way of freeing themselves and maybe the others, it was a failure as a Hashira for him to allow that to happen.

So he'd put up with Tomioka, hell there was a good chance for him to find out what his problem was.

Whatever the case might be, it was not something to deal with at the moment.

Reluctantly he began to pack too.

The strange sight was one when they had crossed unto a frozen land, a line drawn that separated both the sun of the other side and the near blizzard that had been growing on the other.

It was a completely unnatural phenomenon that could only be attributed to this strange place.

Not only the climate had been affected by this supernatural phenomenon however, but Tomioka and their location was as well.

The shift was clear, from what looked like very long plains that spanned a long while turned into the skirt of a mountain, a very cold one.

While Tomioka's clothes changed completely, the color of the haori he'd been wearing now red, pretty similar to one of his usual half.

He was taller too, probably older as well and with his hair looking rowdier.

There were bandages around one of his eyes, most likely the result of a wound, one that meant nothing to the two other Hashira, but one Giyuu knew very well where it came from. (We're…this much forward)

Yet what caught the gaze of the other two was a sword, a real Nichirin blade that Tomioka now held in his belt.

While it had been a surprise the moment it had happened it changed nothing in their plans, it simply gave them some relief that they now held unto a weapon, one that actually worked at that.

Probably some more questions too, but they already had wasted enough time with that.

And if anything, having him with a stronger body despite looking rather pale for a child his age was a benefit if they were to ever had troubles along the journey.

(Up until now we hadn't found any serious trouble outside of Orochi…I have a bad feeling about things) It wasn't that it had all been smooth sailing, the environment was a large impediment and an incredibly harsh one at that.

The cold burned against the uncovered parts of their bodies, it made them feel sick and just want to stop moving at all.

It weighted on them and wore their strengths down little by little.

But even then they had methods to combat that or just the strength of character to push through it.

It wouldn't be the same if they were to encounter a demon with their current strengths.

"We're here" Giyuu's words took him out of his thoughts, and by the looks of it the same went for Tokito, both of them lifting their gaze to look towards a small shack in the mountain.

It was a very small place, where a supposed retired Hashira lived. "He lives here?" With how much they could ask when being paid, it said something of the man if he lived enough to retire and chose to live like this.

"How strong is he?" Was the other concern they could have with the old man, this whole place was a hostile environment after all, everyone and anyone that wasn't them could be turned against them.

"…He's slightly stronger than Kocho…" The man had deteriorated over time, but that did not mean his strength was completely gone.

One does not survive as long as him being weak, and he was one of the most exceptional Hashira's recorded since the Sengoku era.

Bad news for them. "Damn it, we better hope he's friendly" Iguro had hope at the very least, even if it was abysmal.

The people they had met didn't really act all that differently from the ones they knew, so it was a possibility.

"Just go" the mist Hashira was getting tired of all of the waiting around outside of the door.

Giyuu had to take a moment to breathe in, this would be the first time he was seeing his master in a long time, ever since he returned from final selection.

As fake as this world is, the pain it's already caused him while exploring his worst days was not.

"Sensei" He knocked, not willing to just open the door by himself.

But there was no response.

The old man leaving his little house wasn't a rare occurrence during the night, despite being retired he still held some habit of looking around at night for demons.

However, despite the snowing the sun still shone somewhat through the clouds, no demons would gamble by going out at this hour. (He isn't home…there shouldn't be any other place where he could have gone save…)

The memorial rock.

"Sensei won't return in some time, make yourselves comfortable for now" he ended up entering despite not being invited, they had walked a long while to reach this place and had finally reached their destination.

Leaving their luggage on the floor, the three of them sat facing one another, despite how uncomfortable their interactions were, it was a necessity to discuss their course of action from now on.

They were all arranged around the little fire and pot that sat in the middle of the room, recovering their bodily temperature.

The most important thing to figure out was…

"How do we get out of here?" Iguro began, not willing to waste any more time, more so after having been considering Tokito's words for a while.

And he was right, he had been petty when he couldn't afford too. "That's we need to find out"

He didn't get an immediate response, his companions deep in their thoughts, at least until Tomioka decided to speak. "Maybe we need to reach the present"

It was an idea born from the sudden shift in the world, as if stages passed by on it when they crossed a fictional line.

Not only that, but with little to no clue as to what this place actually was, it was one of the few options they had.

"And the others?" Lazily asked Muichiro, who now was lying backwards on the floor.

The rest of the Hashira, that was another issue they needed to find a solution too.

"Who do you think is already doing something?" Obanai answered with a question of his own. "Shinazugawa and Kocho-san surely, maybe Tengen and Himejima-san too"

"The pink girl and yellow man wouldn't I agree" They lacked a certain something, a paranoia that'd make them find this place to be a false creation.

"Kocho, Tengen and Sanemi wouldn't notice" Contrary to the other two Giyuu doubted they would recollect themselves. "if we assume we're all back before anything related to demons moved us to become slayers…"

"Kocho would have Kanae, and she'd blindly would follow her words no matter what she says" It was how desperate the insect Hashira had been for her sister in her life after she was lost.

"Kanae? Who is that" For a moment Giyuu realized that neither of them had met the former flower Hashira, as he didn't bring her up in conversation other than with Gyomei or Tengen this had never been an issue.

"She was Kocho's sister…and the previous flower Hashira" A friend who'd been lost to a powerful demon, maybe even an Uppermoon, nobody knew.

While feeling bad for the medic in the group Iguro didn't waste any time with it, he had not known her and it would be insulting to mourn someone who he knew nothing about. "What of Shinazugawa or Tengen then?"

"They're too…direct" Rather than look at everything with a degree of suspicion they were people who took what was said to them at face value, not caring for any double meaning.

One because he simply didn't care while the other purposefully avoided seeing the world that way as it was how he had to do so as a shinobi in the past and preferred his freedom.

Blinking was the response he got from such an answer. "you…know a lot" For someone who apparently cared for no one Tomioka knew a great deal of things.

"I pay attention?" He didn't understand where the confusion came from, it was a perfectly normal thing to note if one paid attention to the other's behavior.

(…this guy…) Iguro had his doubts before, when he forced him to speak of his past a few hours ago, but now it was clear that whatever impression he had of Tomioka wasn't as clear cut as he believed.

Had he been misunderstanding his words the whole time?

He sighed, now was not the time for this.

Instead he posed another interesting question. "How would we even reach them? We need to keep to what we know we can do" They had reached his, whatever he was in, at some point, didn't that mean they could reach any of the others. "What did you do to arrive where I was?"

Giyuu pondered his answer, a similar idea to what Obanai tried to present in his mind. "I tried to wake myself up by falling, so I jumped in a lake" Replicating what he did would be a good way to try and find the others.

And as was proven, it was an actual two way street.

"maybe it's just water" it was a bit of a tossup, but one with actual possibilities from their experience making it viable to try.

And something they could just prove right about now thanks to Tomioka's insight. "There is a river nearby"

"We should try then, escaping-" Iguro was quick to insist on trying it out then and there, getting everyone on the same page would be his sentence was stopped however.

The door had been opened, someone had reached and they all rattled, grabbing anything as a weapon, ready for action.

There an old man with a Tengu mask was standing in the umbral between the inside and outside of the house, having opened the door to fin three people in his home, completely still.

And yet his gaze could only focus on one of them.

He had expected no one would return to him this time around either being so that five days had passed since the end of selection and they hadn't come back yet.

But someone had returned.

The air shifted the second he moved, the calmness being overtaken by a tense silence with a single whisper echoing. "…Giyuu…" The man was fast, he went and hugged his student the moment he felt his own body react.

Tomioka knew, he had expected a reaction similar to this one when his whole outfit had shifted and a new weight had been added unto a pouch he carried on his belt.

This was the day he returned from final selection.

He hugged back, real or not he never did this for the real one and this was the least he could have done.

In fact, he had never actually returned here, too ashamed to face him with Sabito's death on his shoulders. "I'm back sensei" the faltering on the man's breathing was audible, incredibly glad that his student had returned.

Crying was short of a breath away. "…You are…" and he sounded so happy when saying that, it felt suffocating to see his master so emotional.

It was never something he had actually seen, but a possibility he was fully aware off.

Muichiro and Iguro looked at each other and relaxed, it was clear the man was not against them which was a relief and at the same time pretty uncomfortable considering what they were seeing.

Tomioka's face was completely overshadowed by a guilty expression of all things, pain actually visible in his face.

Then Urokodaki asked the question. "And Sabito?" It was only now that the old man noticed completely who was around him.

And didn't recognize any of the other two.

"Giyuu" Realization began to set in his soul.

One not denied by his student. "He didn't make it"

Any kind of happiness the man felt was bombarded with as much sorrow in equal amounts.

Having one of his students surviving for the first time in so long had been a joy that was crushed by the death of the second.

And when he spoke of it, the dead eyes the other two had seen when facing the corpse of his sister were back on his face, that look of plain nothingness that was nothing like his usual indifference.

Any kind of pain gone from his face as if masked under layers and layers with no end.

His gaze lost in air, not willing to look at his sensei in the eyes, ashamed of whatever it had happened that transpired.

(Like a sin carried forever) Understanding crossed Obanai's eyes when the so called Sabito was mentioned, the way Tomioka instantly recoiled into himself, shameful felt familiar.

Very familiar.

"I-I…see" Urokodaki on the other hand was quick to recover, his trembling hands retreating from the embrace. "I am glad that at least you returned Giyuu…that the succession of the Water Hashira title is in safe hands"

"…" It was the same line, the same feelings being transmitted back to him.

Tomioka Giyuu was not prepared for such a thing, more so with how sudden it was. "I don't think I would be a good water Hashira" making it so he simply spoke the first thing that his brain told him to.

A sentence that saddened the old man, but with a sad understanding that after what happened his student didn't feel ready.

One the other hand, the two guest who were actually aware of the man's current title just snapped to look at him, bewildered by his words and opinion on the matter.

Before any of the two could say anything thought Urokodaki had turned to address them instead.

"And…who are they?" There was no malice nor anger in his voice, he wasn't annoyed that two strangers were here considering it was obvious Giyuu had brought them here.

Making them guests.

"Muichiro and Iguro are…friends in need of a place to stay" Clumsily explained the raven haired boy, not finding a better way to explain. "Until the Nichirin arrives"

A perfectly valid excuse that could buy them some time.

"Hmm" Sakonji recomposed himself, not willing to show any more weakness in front of strangers.

He'd mourn Sabito's death at it's appropriate moment and make his grave while doing so.

For now he'll be glad that Giyuu returned.

Six days went by without anything of note.

No news, no changes.

Just life how she remembered it was before anything related to demon slaying reached her ears.

Any kind of intel of them or anyone related to it had vanished completely from the face of the earth.

It was all a dream after all.

Her parents seemed worried about her, whatever had been consuming her mind had clearly impacted her and made her sad.

So they organized a trip, the three of them together going to the hot springs.

What could go wrong?

—END—

-Mystic-