Chapter Text
“Why don’t you become a demon, water hashira?”
Demon?! Him?! Giyu had been asked this before but it still baffled him the few times it happened. Giyu furrowed his brows in anger. He, honestly, just wanted to go home and tend to his wounds.
“I’m offended you would even ask me such a thing.” Giyu wanted to say that with more bite, but it came out as just a statement, as if commenting on the weather.
“I’m assuming that’s a no. I suppose you’ll just have to die out here then.” Kokushibo turned to walk away and dropped his sword from the slayer’s chin.
There was a beat of silence. The demon looked over his shoulder “Are you positive you don’t want to accept my offer?” “Yes. I’m not becoming a demon.” “…alright” the demon fully sheathed his sword and vanished.
Shortly after, Kanzaburo, Giyu’s dear crow, flew down into Giyu’s lap. Giyu lifted his companion and gave him orders “Kanzaburo, I need you to call over some kakushi and medical aid.” Kanzaburo crowed and flew up into the air.
Giyu took this alone time to meditate (while doing total concentration breathing to stop him from dying of blood loss). He should have gone into the village that was literally within sight, but if you’re reading this, I assume you already know what Giyu is like (doesn’t talk to people much, especially strangers. Plus I hc he doesn’t like asking for help).
Giyu figured he should think about what to report to the master. He found out pretty early into the fight that the demon, Kokushibo, was upper moon one which seemed like a report-worthy opponent. Let’s see what Giyu noted during the fight, shall we?:
1. This demon has a sword
2. This demon has six eyes
3. Said eyes read “upper moon one”
4. Upper moon one was, thankfully, not as chatty as other demons (this is a hc cuz I haven’t read the manga so idrk how kokushibo fights)
5. Besides the six eyes, the demon was pretty human looking
6. (Insert note abt his bda because, again, I haven’t read the manga)
7. Giyu’s opponent is pretty muscular. You read that right. Giyu was (wether he knew it or not) checking upper moon one out.
8. Upper moon one’s name was Kokushibo
“Thats it? I need to pay more attention.” Giyu thought to himself. Most of those notes weren’t even that noteworthy. Giyu felt the lack of sleep from the past few days catching up to him. One part of him feared he might not wake up if he were to sleep now. The other part of him…. didn’t really mind the idea of that. Wether he wanted to or not, his eyes started to feel droopy, and he eventually gave in to slumber.
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Giyu woke up in a white bed with the sun rays from the window going directly into his eyes. He let out a small groan and squeezed his eyes shut. He started to drift off. As he felt sleep pull him into its loving arms-
-SLAM
Giyu jolted at the sound of the door slamming open. At the doorway stood a very small, very furious purple butterfly. “I see you’ve finally decided to wake up.” Said Shinobu with a smile and veins popping out of her forehead.
Giyu sat up. “Good morning, Kocho” “No, Tomioka (you know it’s serious when she drops the formalities). You don’t get to say good morning to me after being so incredibly careless on your last mission.” She said as she walked to her desk to serve Giyu’s medicine.
Giyu looked at her confused. He didn’t really think he was being careless. Shinobu noticed his confusion and elaborated. “You knew I was busy with many clients. I said it on the meeting with the master. Yet, you still decided to be careless and get yourself hurt!”
“I wasn’t careless.” Said Giyu in self defense. “Oh please, Tomioka!” She hands him a concoction. “Drink this. Even you know, you hardly get injured on missions! Why is it that the time I was busiest you’ve managed to get hurt?”
Shinobu sits back down on her seat to write something down then turns to Giyu. “Alright, show me your wounds.”
*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*
Giyu was now all bandaged up and finally had some peace. He laid down and closed his eyes to finally get some rest. His breathing slowed, and his eyelids got heavy. He finally drifted int-
-CRASH
Giyu’s tired eyes widened at the sound.
“TOMIOKA-SAN” the door slammed open, and there stood his..student?, colleague?, reluctantly adopted child?, kid who follows him around everywhere? Whatever. It was Kamado.
Giyu reluctantly sat up and turned to the boy. “Yes?” The younger Kamado came running behind Tanjiro in her smallest form. Both children ran next to Giyu’s bed. “We’ve been so worried! Are you okay?” “Mhmm?” Giyu internally sighed. “I’m alright.” While he answered, the two kamados walked over to the side of his bed.
Nezuko hoisted herself up onto the bed and started feeling Giyu around as a way to check his wounds. “Do you need anything?” Asked Tanjiro “Any food, water, company?” Nezuko was now on Giyu’s back, checking his hair. “Some food would be nice.” Said Giyu while getting Nezuko off his hair and laying her on the bed. “OKAY! I’ll go get you some onigiri” Tanjiro then ran off to get the food. “You behave Nezuko!” “Hmm hmm”
Tanjiro was now gone. Giyu looked down at Nezuko who was laying in his lap. There was a moment of silence. Nezuko tapped her head expectantly. Giyu, in response, placed his hand on her forehead and combed his fingers through her hair. He continued the motion as Nezuko hummed in delight.
The combing must have really relaxed her because she curled up closer to Giyu and drifted off into slumber. Giyu continued looking at her, a hint of fondness in his eyes.
There was about a minute of silence before Tanjiro popped through the door with a plate in his hands and a wide grin on his face. Before Tanjiro could say anything, Giyu put a finger up to his mouth as a sign to be quiet. Tanjiro nodded in acknowledgement and speed-walked over to Giyu.
Once Tanjiro got next to Giyu, they began talking about Giyu’s mission. (Pretend they talk about his fight style n stuff. As you know, I couldn’t write a fight scene so just pretend)
“Have you ever had a demon ask you to become a demon?” Asked Giyu. “Yes actually! Upper 6 asked me that!”
Giyu reached for an onigiri. “Well towards the end of the mission, I was very injured and he said that I should become a demon because I’m ‘strong’ and I would heal my wounds if I did.” “What did you say!?” “Well I’m not currently a demon so…”
“Oh I guess your right, but…. What if you did say yes?”
Giyu looked up at Tanjiro.
“I wouldn’t.”
“Of course, Tomioka-San, but you said you were very injured. You could have died!” Tanjiro raised his voice on the last sentence, and Giyu had to shush him and remind him of the sleeping child on his lap.
“Oh sorry (^_^*)” said the the redhead in a whisper. “But anyway… death!” “Tanjiro, that’s just part of this job. Death is inevitable.” Tanjiro looked at Giyu with a simpathetic look. “I know that, but I care about you. You’re very important to me and I don’t want you to die.”
Giyu was surprised by this. He hadn’t ever really considered how important he might be to someone else. “Did you want me to be a demon?”
Tanjiro’s eyes widened in mild fear and embarrassment. “No! Of course not! It’s just… well… maybe nezuko isn’t the only exception?”
Now, as we know Giyu has a problem of saying things too literally and taking things too literally, so Giyu was struggling to see what the point of that comment was. “What do you mean?” Asked the hashira.
Tanjiro had forgotten how Giyu was. “Oh- well what I meant was that maybe you could have been like Nezuko if you accepted. Nezuko isn’t that special. NOT LIKE THAT!” Tanjiro panicked at his wording. Giyu shushed him and signaled to Nezuko, who was woken up by her brother.
“hmmm?” Nezuko sat up drowsy and confused. “Sorry Nezuko, you can go back to sleep.” Nezuko looked around, “hmmmm… MHM” then ran out of the room.
“Uhm.. okay. Anyway, what I meant was that Nezuko is just a strong willed girl. She isn’t supernatural. She isn’t the chosen one. She just has a strong enough will to fight the urge to eat humans. And if you’re a hashira then I’m positive that you would be able to!”
Giyu “knew” he was weak, but even he could acknowledge that he’s insanely loyal to the corps. It could very well be that if he were a demon he might resist the urge to eat humans in the name of the corps.
Nezuko ran back in the room and jumped on the bed. She opened her hands in front of Giyu, showing him two hair ribbons. “I think she wants you to do her hair, Tomioka-San.” Nezuko nodded in agreement.
“Oh.. okay” Giyu grabbed the ribbons and placed them aside. Nezuko turned around, so her hair could face Giyu.
Giyu ran his fingers through her hair to see how knotted it was. He was shocked to see that it was completely untangled even though she had been running around so much just now.
Giyu and Tanjiro continued talking while Giyu did Nezuko’s hair, but all Giyu could think about was what Tanjiro said earlier. He probably didn’t mean it, but could Giyu really be an exception? No, that’s ridiculous.
(Someone get me out of here I’m so tired)
Why did Tanjiro even bring that up, again?
“You’re very important to me and I don’t want you to die.” Right.
“But why?” Giyu wondered to himself. Why would someone care so much for him? Did even mean it? Maybe Tanjiro was just saying that to be nice.
Those were all things Giyu was contemplating while putting Nezuko’s hair in two buns. Well, it’s not like he contemplate for very long because he quickly finished putting her hair up.
They were a little floppy but Nezuko seemed to like them. She grew into her “default” size. And ran out the room to show the butterfly girls her new hair.
“Well, I guess I’ll be off with her.” Tanjiro offered Giyu a smile and left the room. That left Giyu all alone to think. And, boy, did he have a lot to think about.