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In Sanemi's opinion, Giyuu Tomioka was an uptight, smug, pretentious prick. He never said a word to the other Pillars after a meeting, rarely tried to greet their master, Oyakata, always left like he couldn't stand being amongst them — like they were inferior to him —, always tried to start a damn fight with him, Sanemi Shinazugawa —
So why did he have to work with the jerk?
"There's been an alarming amount of attacks, too many to determine if it's just one demon," the crow had informed them,but that did nothing but piss Sanemi off. He could handle more than one demon, especially with his blood, so there was no reason why Tomioka had to come along.
Sanemi scowled, gritting his teeth as he waited for Giyuu to emerge from the Butterfly Estate. The brat — something with an 'A' — handed something to Giyuu and wished them luck. The bastard merely grunted and walked away without even saying goodbye to her. Sanemi's mood worsened just by seeing the man.
"Hurry up," he barked, immediately turning on his heel and starting their trek to the mountains. He could hear Giyuu calmly walking behind him, and they were silent for hours straight. Nothing but the soft crunch of sticks snapping and quiet breaths could be heard between the duo.
Sanemi himself wasn’t much of a talker, but would it hurt to at least say something ? He certainly wasn’t going to strike up a conversation, but the Water Pillar didn’t even greet him before they left the Butterfly Estate.
"Annoying asshole," Sanemi thought, frowning. They stopped for the night, set up a camp surrounded by wisterias — probably what the kid gave Tomioka, and sat on opposite sides of the fire.
Giyuu looked blankly at the flames, watching it roast his food quietly. Sanemi gritted his teeth as he snatched his food from the fire, shoving it into his mouth despite the heat. Giyuu blinked at him.
Then, "Doesn't that burn?"
Sanemi stopped chewing halfway through, his eyes narrowed. "'course not, dumbass," he grumbled through his food, swallowing it immediately after. In truth, it did hurt — a lot, actually — but he just wanted to eat and sleep so he didn't have to see Tomioka's deadpan expression anymore.
Speaking of which, the Water Pillar was shoving his face into their mediocre dinner, eyes still on the flames. He didn't exactly exude the aura of a pompous asshat at the moment, but Sanemi couldn't help but grow irritated at the fact that he didn't bother wiping his face.
Lost in his screaming thoughts about how messy Tomioka was being, his brain didn't register the sudden staring contest they were having until Giyuu himself pointed it out.
Shit.
"I wasn't staring at you," he spat, opting to lay down on the ground and roll away from Tomioka. It was just his old habits coming into play — he used to help wipe his siblings' faces clean after meals, that's all. Tomioka stayed silent, but Sanemi could've sworn he felt two dark blue eyes burning holes into his back.
Sucking in a large breath, Sanemi focused on listening to the crackle of the fire between them and falling asleep.
—
He woke up to the sun beaming down on him, the fire that kept them warm last night already put out. Sanemi groggily rubbed at his eyes, adjusting to the sudden brightness, before scowling. His head cranked 90 degrees to his left, his neck popping with the motion as he glared at his co-worker. ( Not partner.)
His co-worker paid no mind to him, simply dusting off his haori and checking their supplies. Once he was done, he turned around and stared back at Sanemi with a dead look in his eyes. "Is something wro—?"
"You didn't wake me?" Shinazugawa growled out, highly annoyed. Usually if someone's on a mission with a partner out in the middle of a forest, they'd take turns with watchout duty throughout the night so they all got enough rest. They most definitely did not take turns watching out for demons last night.
"I swear, if you fell asleep during your turn—"
"I let you rest. You seemed like you needed it more than me," Tomioka explained, not even fazed by the Wind Pillar's shouts.
"...Oh."
That was… unexpected. The white haired man settled down, frowning and brooding as he realized what that meant.
In turn for his thoughtfulness, Sanemi was indebted to Tomioka Giyuu. The Water Pillar hasn't mentioned anything about owing him a favor yet, but a thousand different requests ran through Sanemi's imagination at once, sending him into a silent spiral — he'd keel over and die to avoid whatever the Water Pillar—
"Also, Kocho told me that the longer you go without sleep, the crankier you get — and you're cranky enough as it is."
A pause.
Sanemi felt a vein pop.
"Hah?"
Tomioka did not elaborate.
There it was again — the man seemed absolutely determined to start a fight with him. The Wind Pillar's blood boiled, but he bit back his rage and began collecting his things. He had no idea what time it was, and they had to get to the village soon to get enough time to gather information about the demons's whereabouts. The longer they sat on their asses and argued, the more victims the demons could collect.
Heaving a heavy, angry sigh, Sanemi stood and began walking, deciding that in order to keep himself sane, he'd ignore the other man for the rest of the day.
—
They finally managed to make it to their destination — a small, quiet village that welcomed those who managed to wander in with warm greetings. It's the places like these that made their jobs easier — the nicer the people, the less trouble they'd have shaking information off of them. Their mission would end quickly, then, and Sanemi would finally be able to shake Tomioka off.
"Apparently there's a wisteria house nearby," Tomioka stated the moment they walked into the village. Sanemi blinked, not expecting Tomioka to say anything. "Huh?" The man continued, "I'll leave our stuff there while you get information. I'll be back soon."
Sanemi grumbled to himself, but decided that the plan would be fine — if he thought about it, Tomioka's weak point was definitely information gathering, what with his dumbass statements. "Fine," he huffed, tossing his stuff at him. Tomioka casually caught them, barely batting an eye as he turned around and left Sanemi to his devices.
The Wind Pillar watched him trail off into the forest before scratching his head, frowning. Tomioka seemed… nicer than usual. It was off-putting and irritating at the same time.
Or maybe Tomioka left to the wisteria house so he could get away from someone less than him. Sanemi's frown deepened. That was probably it.
"Well, whatever," he thought. He didn't want to stay near Tomioka and his stupid pretty boy face, either.
Asshole.
—
True to his word, the Water Pillar came back and managed to find Sanemi in a restaurant talking to a waitress. He slid into a seat across from the Wind Pillar, nodding at the waitress.
Sanemi said his thanks and dismissed her, grabbing his chopsticks as Tomioka settled down. He waited until the lady was out of earshot, then began rattling off everything he gathered.
"There's been a merchant that passes by near sundown, apparently he sells sweets and other crap. Swings by the center of the village. Seems friendly enough. Might have something to do with the missing kids. There's been huge, human-like footprints found in the forest during searches. That's basically it."
Tomioka nodded, looking the other way as Sanemi ate his meal. His head dropped for a moment before he quickly sat straight up, blinking. Sanemi watched this repeat for a few minutes, taking his time with his meal (it was leagues better than the lackluster dinner from last night, at least).
Then, with a huff, he stood, finished. Their real work began now — the sun was setting. Tomioka followed his lead, quietly exiting the restaurant as Sanemi formulated a plan in his head.
—
Tomioka had to swap his uniform for something casual — something that wouldn't draw suspicion immediately. Because of that, his blade was also missing. There was no way he could hide that thing.
Sanemi, on the other hand, was fully dressed in his usual outfit, his beloved weapon still by his side.
"Ask him what sort of treat he recommends for kids — say you're a… uh, father. Or older sibling. Something like that." Is what Shinazugawa told him before they started staking out in the center of the village. When he asked specifically why he had to dress differently, Sanemi shot him an incredulous look and said, "You think someone's gonna trust someone who looks like me?" To which he replied, "You're a nice enough person, though."
Sanemi froze, then threatened to kick his ass if he didn't hurry up.
If he didn't raise any suspicion, then hopefully they'd get some more information — or meet the demons themselves.
There were a few children running around him, who merely leaned against a wall. His head was lowered, bangs covering his eyes as he crossed his arms. Sanemi was on the opposite end of the area, hiding. He'd follow the merchant the moment he left. Giyuu, on the other hand, was supposed to collect info and ensure the children's safety (if it came down to it, at least).
The plan was simple enough — if Sanemi ended up finding the demons, well, "I'll beat the shit out of them. Don't follow me." is what he growled at Giyuu, who simply nodded along. He wouldn't let Sanemi kill all of them by himself, obviously, but the Wind Pillar would've started yelling like a madman again if he mentioned that, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Soon enough, a man with a large bag thrown over his shoulders and a cheery voice arrived, bringing out toys and gadgets. The kids that remained in the area all grew curious and began moving towards him, but Giyuu didn't move an inch.
Sanemi waited two seconds before he scowled and chucked a rock straight at his head — Giyuu straightened up, blinking, then glanced Sanemi's way and headed towards the merchant. "Thanks" is what the look was supposed to mean, but Sanemi's scowl worsened as he gritted his teeth.
"Did that bastard just glare at me?"
—
The kids messed around with the toys and the merchant for a while, their joyous laughter and exclamations of awe filling the otherwise quiet night. Giyuu watched closely, idly playing with the ends of his shirt. When the merchant finally began packing his things, he made his move.
"What would make a good present for kids?" He deadpanned, standing right in front of the merchant. The man seemed startled by him, his eyes wide. "Ah… Why do you ask?" The man replied, shifting his feet. Giyuu stared at him blankly. Hiding behind a stack of boxes, Sanemi clicked his tongue. "Great acting."
"I have younger siblings. Brother and sister."
"Oh! Well, um… I have the perfect thing for presents, but they're at my house a ways back! If you'd like," he caught the attention of the kids again, "we can head back there and take a look! I have a few other cool things, too, but, ah… It's bit late, isn't it? Good kids should run off home now."
Sanemi's eyes narrowed. "Is he luring people somewhere?" He thought, listening closely. He pressed himself closer to the boxes, focused. Giyuu's face remained expressionless, but he nodded. "Yes, they should. However, it is my sister's birthday tomorrow. I would like to get her something new." A few kids left to go home after the merchant mentioned it, but a few stragglers remained. Giyuu kept a watchful eye on them, unbeknownst to any of the people present.
"Alrighty, well, follow me! It's not too far!" The merchant cheered, pumping his fist into the air as the stragglers grew excited. Sanemi felt a vein pop — the merchant was suspicious.
The group began to move, Giyuu following along in the back. He turned his head to Sanemi's position, sending a signal to him. Sanemi frowned at him and gestured for him to keep walking, shaking his head as he turned back around.
"What, does he think I'm gonna screw up?" He grumbled, slowly tailing the group.
—
The man's house was hidden in the woods, even further than the wisteria house. It was no wonder they hadn't stumbled upon it while traveling — it seemed to be a part of the very night itself.
Sanemi sat on a branch high up in a tree, frowning in distaste. "This is fucking boring," he thought, "where the hell are those demons?" He watched the merchant lead the group into his home, his grin slowly slipping off his lips as they walked through the door. Tomioka was the last to walk in, the dead look in his eyes still present.
Within a second, the door was shut and Sanemi could hear a few locks click. They were definitely on the right track — who the hell would have several locks?
He waited, quietly slinking over to lean against the door to listen in. Having the Water Pillar wander straight into the den was not part of the plan, nor was having actual kids to protect, but that was fine. Sanemi was flexible — literally and figuratively.
—
True to his word, the merchant did show some rather extravagant ornaments and gadgets. He presented them cheerfully, a wide grin on his lips as the kids and Giyuu watched.
Then he felt the air shift.
Something was there.
His lips curled into a small frown, but he waited. Whatever was there would make a move soon — and Giyuu would be prepared for it. His fingers trailed down to his sleeve, stopping at the reassuring form of a knife. Sanemi didn't know he slid one in, having thought he wouldn't even need a weapon ("Dumb move on his part," Giyuu had mumbled while he was getting dressed). He breathed.
The knife wouldn't be able to kill any demons, but it would be useful if he needed to defend himself — and, in this case, the kids, too. Thinking about how the missing children must've been lured to their deaths here made his blood boil, but he swallowed his emotions down.
They'd make him weak.
"Ah, I'm sorry! You kids must be hungry, huh?"
Giyuu's eyes shot up, focusing on the current situation. "Yes!" the children, naïve and innocent as ever, yelled, and they began heading towards (what he assumed was) the kitchen.
Focused on the task at hand, he didn't notice a young girl and a younger boy suddenly stay by his side until the girl tugged on his sleeve. He was startled for a minute, eyes quickly spotting the duo, who stared at him with teary eyes.
"Mister… I don't like this place," the girl whispered, her lips quivering as she held his sleeve in one hand and her brother's hand in her other. The boy nodded, sniffling. "I don't want to be here anymore…"
Giyuu stared at the hand gripping his sleeve for a moment before looking away. "...Don't worry. I'll protect you." He said, his frown more apparent. They must've felt the sudden bloodlust in the air.
The merchant led the kids inside the kitchen, opening the door. As soon as it swung open, a foul smell greeted them — the kids all reeled back in disgust, running back towards Giyuu. They didn't want to know what was making the foul smell, nor why the merchant was suddenly sporting a dark look in his eyes.
"Come inside."
The kids shook their heads, fear and confusion crashing over them like a wave as Giyuu stood in front of them. The merchant's face contorted into an ugly, desperate grin, his eyes wild.
"Now."
Just as he demanded they enter, a giant clawed hand ripped the door of its hinges, a deep growl flooding the hall. Giyuu's hands swiftly pulled out his weapon, his eyebrows furrowed as he prepared for a fight.
"Go!" He shouted, and the kids sprinted down the hall, screaming. The girl from earlier ran, but stopped when she realized he wasn't coming. "Mister!" she cried, but she was quickly dragged away by her brother and another girl.
"Mister!"
A large, grotesque beast crashed through the kitchen door, charging straight at Giyuu. He quickly dodged it, his skillful hands replicating the moves he burned into his mind. Without his nichirin blade, it wouldn't kill, but just landing blows would be enough to distract the demon from chasing after the children.
"Useless scum!" the demon snarled at the merchant, who was suddenly cowering in fear — was the demon using him to get his victims? "Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me—!"
The edge in Giyuu's eyes sharpened. This man knowingly led countless people to their deaths — led innocent children to their deaths. Whatever the reasoning was, that was unforgivable. This was not like Tanjiro and Nezuko's situation — the demon took countless lives.
"Outta my way!" the demon howled, slamming him into the wall.
Crack.
Giyuu grunted, managing to slip out of the monster's grasp and leapt back. His hands immediately moved to his injury as he grimaced in pain. This wasn't good — he was exhausted and only had a knife as a weapon. But that was fine — he couldn't back down now.
He breathed out, opting to ignore his broken ribs and continue the fight.
His breathing steady, he glared down at the two. "Disgusting. Unforgivable. Despicable. That is what you are — I will not let you get past me."
—
Screaming.
That's all he needed to hear before he began to move. "Step aside!" He barked, slamming his foot against the locked door. It flew off its hinges with a loud screech, the locks scattering across the ground. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light inside the house, spotting several children huddled together and wailing as a small demon the size of them hounded after them.
It screamed when it spotted him, teeth bared as it lunged towards one of the brats. The kids all shrieked as Sanemi hurled himself towards the demon, managing to slice its arm off before it leapt back. It let out a child-like wail, gripping its stump. From further in, Sanemi could hear a deep, hellish voice cry back.
Tomioka.
Was he fighting another one?
"Damn it!" Sanemi shouted, blood pumping as he leapt at the demon, who began running deeper into the house. "You're not getting away, you little shit!"
As he ran deeper and deeper into the hall, he could hear a boy cry out.
"Save him!"
He didn't need to hear that twice.
—
From Giyuu's position, he faintly heard another inhuman voice — another demon? "Damn it," he huffed, dodging another swing at him. What if that damn thing got one of the kids? He didn't know where it was, was it near the entrance? Or in the bedrooms they passed by?
His mind clicked the pieces together — Sanemi would've broken in by now. He just had to stall this demon and let the Wind Pillar save the kids.
The hulking figure before him heaved, eyes wild with rage and hunger as it screamed in response. It charged again, managing to tear off some skin from Giyuu's shoulder with its huge claws. He winced, but kept moving.
Just a bit longer.
He knocked the demon off balance, sending a powerful kick to its side. It growled again, and suddenly its muscles grew.
That was definitely not good.
Giyuu's eyes narrowed. He'd hold it off even if it buffed itself up — he had to. If he didn't, then—
"Giyuu!"
His head immediately snapped around to look behind him, but it was too late.
Sharp claws dug into his back, sending him to the floor. He let out a shout, pain rushing into him as he quickly threw the demon off his back. It crashed into the merchant, who began screaming as it bit into him, searching for more strength.
He coughed, kneeling down in pain as Sanemi finally appeared. "Damn it! Stay back!" the Wind Pillar snarled, rushing by him as swiftly as a gust of wind.
The merchant laid on the ground, guts and blood strewn across the wall and floor as the small demon stood, saliva dripping down its lips.
"I won't let you live!" Sanemi declared, dodging and weaving through the demons's combined attacks. Giyuu controlled his breathing, struggling to get back up. He couldn't lose.
He couldn't. Seeing Sanemi jump straight into the thick of battle gave him another surge of energy — his hands gripped his measly knife and he joined in.
"Sit this shit out, Giyuu!" Sanemi barked, blocking the larger demon's attack.
"No."
"The hell do you mean, 'no'?! Are you trying to get killed?!"
Giyuu slid under the smaller demons legs, managing to cut its legs deep enough to make it collapse. The Water Pillar was on his feet the minute it dropped, glaring at the other man.
"No, are you?"
"What?!"
Sanemi managed to leap off the wall, catching the fallen demon off guard. His blade easily sliced through its neck, its blood coating his weapon as he scowled at Giyuu.
It faded into ashes as the larger demon wailed, its attacks strengthening. Giyuu ran in front of Sanemi, annoyed, and Sanemi immediately leapt off his back, completely unaware that Giyuu had broken ribs and deep gashes across his back.
The Water Pillar groaned, falling to his knees as Shinazugawa dodged one final attack and sliced its neck. It let out another wail, one that sounded vaguely anguished. Its screams faded as it turned to ashes, cursing them.
The Wind Pillar huffed, running a hand through his disheveled hair as he took in the sight before him.
He nudged the merchant's corpse with his foot, scowling. "Serves him right," he spat, moving into the kitchen.
Giyuu sprawled out on the ground, entirely puckered out from the day's adventure and quietly suffering from the consequences of fighting a demon without a proper weapon.
Sanemi came back with a disgusted, troubled look on his face as he kicked the merchant's limp head. "Pig," he hissed, seething with rage. He turned back to Giyuu, only to see the man knocked out on the floor, knife still in his hands.
"..."
Confirming that Giyuu was, in actuality, breathing perfectly fine, he wandered off to see if the children were still nearby — if they left, hopefully they knew where they were going.
Much to his surprise, every child was there, sobbing and trembling in fear but waiting patiently for someone to come out.
They all gasped when they saw his scarred, bloody body clearly, then settled down. Scratching the back of his head, his frown turning into an awkward smile. Before he knew it, he crouched down.
"Everything's fine," he tried, hoping that would reassure them, "stay here. I'll be back." The kids nodded, but one of them clutched onto him like there was no tomorrow, so he had no choice but to walk back inside with a kid glued to his chest and bawling his eyes out.
Usually he'd throw any kid off of him if they dared to touch him, but he found himself just a bit nostalgic. Plus, it'd make him feel awful if he left a (very clearly) terrified child alone, despite the fact that other kids were around.
"Don't look," he grumbled as he looked at the carnage left by their battle, one hand supporting the child and one tossing Giyuu's slumbering body over his shoulder. He was careful with the knife in Giyuu's hands, not wanting to get stabbed or let the kid get stabbed.
He walked right back out of the house, letting the kid hugging him know that they were alright. He put the kid down, then scowled.
He'd have to carry Giyuu— Tomioka's — body back to the wisteria house and guide the kids back home.
Sanemi sighed, then told the kids to follow him.
It didn't take too long to get back to the village, since the kids wanted to get away from the place as fast as possible, but the sun had begun to slowly peer over the mountains by the time they arrived.
He stayed back from the village, knowing his and Giyuu's battered forms would look rather suspicious. The kids all ran home except for two — a girl and a boy.
The girl smiled up at him, sniffling as she held the boy close to her. "You're nice," she said, "thank you for saving us." The girl squeezed the boy's cheeks, urging him to thank him.
The boy, pouting, suddenly began to go off about how the "knife man" looked cool and told them he'd protect them. Sanemi sent him a blank stare, his tired body slowly giving out on him as the boy went on. Out of habit, Sanemi ruffled his hair, rolling his eyes. The girl giggled, beginning to walk away, holding her brother's hand tightly. "He means thanks! ... Right ?"
The boy nodded. "Thank you, misters!" he chirped, and they were gone.
Sanemi couldn't help but smile, remembering the days he spent with his siblings — before a soft snore shook him from his memories.
Right.
Giy— Tomioka.
"Shit," he sighed, shifting Tomioka over his back so that he was piggybacking him.
They'd go back to the house later, when they were not tired as all hell, and lay the bodies to rest.
Wandering off into the night, Sanemi cursed his partn— co-worker.
"Ah, shit, is he drooling on me?!"
—
When Giyuu awoke, his ribs hurt like hell, his back stung, and he was staring up at a ceiling, no foul scents around.
He blinked, then started to sit up — "Lay down."
…
Huh?
Sanemi leered at him, sitting down across the room, in pajamas and sharpening his blade. Giyuu blinked, then obeyed. He didn't know how he got back to the wisteria house — Sanemi wouldn't touch him even with a stick, so he couldn't have carried him back here.
...Could he?
Giyuu thought about it, frowning slightly. He came to a conclusion soon enough.
"You're a nice guy, Shinazugawa," he stated, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
He heard the sword clatter against the ground, Sanemi swear, then, "...shut up" before he went back to sleep.
Sanemi was definitely not flustered by the blunt compliment from a guy he hated. Or by the guy's smile.
Definitely not.
However… hearing all that Giyuu did to protect the kids and seeing all the (relatively) normal things he did made him realize something.
Giy— Tomioka, for fuck's sake — was not that bad of a guy.