Chapter Text
"Tsutako!"
There's a childlike voice that comes with nothing more than pure adoration and love from the inside of the house.
Tsutako smiles, saying goodbye to her fiancé, and with slow movements she shakes her kimono to get any dirt of the town off,
with the only purpose of extending her both arms as she walks closer to the entrance of the house, from which a small kid who looks identical to her comes out.
He runs towards her with the biggest smile she has ever seen.
A total lie, her little brother always smiles at her like this, like she's the only thing he has in his life.
Which, she is, and she knows that the moment she catches him and picks him up, twirling them both in a hug.
"Hello Giyuu!" she says, now carrying him to face him
"did you miss me?"
"Yes! A lot!" little Giyuu says. "I've been waiting for you... and made salmon daikon!"
"Oh my! really? did you make it for me?"
"yes!" he smiles and giggles at her. But then he makes a bashful, shy face. "well... I tried to, but I don't think it's as good as yours.. maybe I overcooked something..."
Tsutako stares at him and smiles cheerfully.
"Aw, Giyuu! don't worry! As long as we eat it together, it will taste delicious. Don't you think? " she says, getting close enough to be nose-to-nose with Giyuu.
"Okay!" he says, now excited.
"let's go then! we can't let the food cool down, can we?"
Giyuu looks at his sister completely fascinated. She wears a white shiromuku, her bridal kimono.
Because she will get married tomorrow.
And she's very excited, and so is Giyuu. He is happy that his sister found love.
"Giyuu, how do Ilook?" Giyuu can barely speak, the sparkle in his eyes shines more than ever as he watches his sister spin around to show him his kimono.
"You look so beautiful! i- i-"
Tsutako giggles and walks towards him and gets down to his level, to look him in the eye.
"thank you, Giyuu."
Emotion comes to her little brother, and before she knows tears fall from his eyes and he tries to cover them with his hands.
"You look so pretty," he says, choking with sobs "I'm sorry, you look so pretty and I-"
"I'm so happy for you..."
And he sobs more.
Tsutako knows he's scared she'll leave him now she'll get married, she knows he is afraid of being abandoned on his own, that he is afraid to be alone.
"Giyuu..." she says, wrapping her arms around him to pull him into her chest in a hug.
"Hey, it's okay... I will not leave you alone, Giyuu."
The kid keeps sobing, getting his sister's shoulder wet with tears. Now he's worried of ruining her dress.
"It's okay, i'm here. I will always stay here for you. No matter what, wherever I go, I will bring you with me, okay?"
she says, breaking away from the hug to hold him by his arms. She wipes away his tears with her thumbs and kissing his forehead.
"I may get married tomorrow, but you will live with me, baby. I will never leave you here. You and I will be always together, okay?"
"Tsutako..." he sobs
"I know, come here."
And she opens her arms again, embracing her little brother.
"can I... can I sleep with you tonight?"
She smiles. They stopped sleeping together because Giyuu said he wanted to be a big boy (one who doesn't sleep being cuddled by his older sister)
"Of course you can, let's go"
Giyuu sleeps like never before, his sister told him a story so he could fall asleep, and they both chatted about how life will be after tomorrow.
Giyuu was happily adding details of what to do, like him helping her and her fiancé to cook, and whatever he can be useful for.
Tsutako agreeded to everything.
But then, after barely one hour of sleep, he gets awakened by Tsutako.
"Tsutako...?"
"Shh" she shushes, putting a finger on his lips to tell him to be quiet.
He nods, and sits on the bed as his sister walks alertly to the kitchen.
He doesn't hear anything and suddenly Tsutako is back, with her face all pale, and a tense expression on her face.
She starts taking clothes out of the closet, throwing them to the bed.
"Big sister, what's going on?" he whispers, walking towards her.
Tsutako smiles kindly, but the fear in her eyes is still there. She tells him to be quiet again, and when she sees there's a considerable space on the closet,
and where Giyuu had the fleeting thought that she would get in,
she grabs his arms and pull his close to her.
"nee-san..?" he says, confused.
Tsutako hugs him thightly, the strongest grip he has ever experimented from her.
She sobs.
"Tsutako-"
"shh"
Giyuu is terrfied now, he doesn't know what's going on.
"nee-san, please, what's going on?"
"Giyuu,"
she says,
and then she looks at him the same way she did earlier.
"I love you, i love you more than anything in this world, ok?" she kisses his cheeks, then his forehead.
"I know, but-"
Next thing he knows, his sister lift him up and put him into the closet.
"I love you, Giyuu. I will always be with you."
"nee-san, what are you-"
"Quiet. Don't speak, don't talk, okay?" she takes his hands between hers and places them to cover his mouth.
"Whatever you hear, don't scream, don't make any sound, okay? I will be around here, so don't worry. I will protect you, no matter what it costs." she says, placing a hand on his cheek,
she looks at him, fear, sadness, love Giyuu can see in her eyes.
"And," she says, stacking the clothes she threw in fornt of him, to cover him under them.
"whatever it takes, don't come out of the closet. Until i say so...or, until you hear someone anyone you know, okay?"
"what about you?" he says under the palms of his hands.
"i will be fine."
Before Giyuu can reply, they hear a noise coming out of the kitchen
Tsutako became alarmed and placed the rest of the clothes, covering him.
"You must live, Giyuu. I love you more than anything."
And that's the last time he sees his sister.
He hears her walking to the kitchen with slow steps.
Suspense runs in Giyuu's veins.
Tsutako screams,
with the most bloodcurdling scream he has ever heard.
Then she screams the word 'demon' again and again
He presses his hands harder onto his mouth, as tears of profound fear roll over his face one after another.
He hears more noise, screams, broken glass.
Wood breaking.
His sister stops screaming.
And he wants to come out and see if she's still there as she promised.
But he's terrified.
He doesn't know what happened.
She said it was a demon
did demons exist?
Her sister mentioned years ago, as a story, nothing more.
What happened to his sister?
what did it do to her?
He's trembling like he was freezing, and the darkness of the closet doesn't help at all.
He starts to hiperventilate due to the preassure of his hands on his mouth to stop any type of sob he know he will let go if he takes his hands away.
Giyuu can only think about his sister.
All the moments they spent together, all the times she comforted him.
The times she would tell him a story to sleep.
The moment she would cook for him.
The moments thet ate salmon daikon, together.
His sister.
her warm arms.
Her heartfelt hugs.
Her bautiful hair.
Her bautiful eyes.
Her.
"Tsutako nee-san..." he cries in the quietest sob.
Giyuu stays in the closet all night.
He doesn't even dare to open his eyes.
It's when he hears some voices outside that he opens them. He sees a flash light coming from the corner of the wood in the closet.
It's daytime.
He hears some gasps and cries of people he assumes they're on the kitchen, or the backyard.
He still doesn't dare to come out of his hiding place.
Deep down, he waits for Tsutako to open the closet's door and tell him everything's fine. That she is safe.
But that's not gonna happen. He knows.
A voice he recognizes is screaming in the kitchen.
His sister's fiancé.
He hears him curse, scream, cry. Like his whole life has just crumbled.
And Giyuu cries, because if that man is crying all out of him, it only means one thing.
His sister is gone,
gone away.
Giyuu cries like he never has.
Looks like he was loud enough to be heard, because the voice of the one who was crying went silence and then,
sunlight hits Giyuus face,
the closet's doors wide opened, showing a man in fron ot him with a terrified expression.
Giyuu looks at him, fearful of the man hating him for surviving instead of his sister.
Her beautiful sister.
Who was going to get married today.
The man grabs him by his arms and pulls him out of the closet.
Giyuu braces himself to receive a blow, a shout, to be shaken by the arms and be asked why he's alive and his sister is not.
But that doesn't happen. A pair of arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug.
Giyuu stares at the window in front of him.
This man, who just lost his future wife, must be heartbroken.
Yet he is, hugging Giyuu instead of demanding why he didn't protect his sister.
He cries so hard,
that Giyuu believes he doesn't deserve to.
He doesn't deserve to cry a single tear for his sister.
Because she's dead
and it's his fault.
If she didn't have to protect him, she would be getting herself ready to start her new life.
She would be happy.
Giyuu ignores the way the man tries to keep him away to see the scene,
and there she is, her pink hair-ribbon, at the foot of the door.
Except that it's red now.
He also sees a piece of her kimono ripped apart.
Giyuu closes his eyes so thightly it hurts.
And he doesn't open them for a while.
Though his eyes are open now, he doesn't know what happened, but now he's sitting on a bench,
all the grown-ups on the living room, judging by where their voices come from.
"What do we do with him? he must be devastated."
"I heard they had family on the other town"
"but can we just give him to them?"
"#######, stay out of this, please"
"He's my fiancé's little brother! i can't just-"
"Enough! didn't you hear what he said? he said it was a demon!"
"and so what?"
"If that kid is saying such a thing, he must be mentally unstable! what if it is a family thing? That woman must have been the same!"
"Don't talk about her like that! She was the sweeteast, kindest- person in this world...and-"
The man had another breakdown.
"See? My son, she was not good for you, so isn't this kid. He needs mental help, and i heard his family were all doctors! They'll know what to do with him"
The man didn't answer anymore.
Instead, the other people did.
"Who knows who wanted to take revenge on them"
"whatever that family is!"
"The kid must be a reflection of them!"
"A demon? he's crazy! Imagine how the sister was!"
Crazy.
Mentally unstable.
How in the world did he and his sister became that in everyone's sight in one night?
His sister only protected him, cared about him.
She was an angel, killed by a demon.
But no one believed the truth.
Giyuu allowed himself to speak to them, to try and tell them they were wrong,
that his sister was an innocent, at least, to try and keep her image as it was before,
of a sweet girl,
a careful girl,
a lovely girl,
a loving girl.
but none of them believed it.
Not even his family full of doctors.
The moment they saw him, they started asking dumb questions of how his sister was behaving,
of what she had done to anyone to get killed,
of how she influenced him.
"Giyuu, dear. Let's go, we are going home now so you'll get better, sane".
Giyuu looks back at the people of his town.
His sister's fiancé is there, #######
For a reason, he doesn't remember what his name is.
Tsutako told him, he talked to him before.
But his name feels wrong now.
He looks at him with pity. And Giyuu can also see hatred in his eyes,
blaming him.
Blaming him for surviving.
For ruining his sister's image,
for ruining his life,
for being weak.
As he walks alongside his family, he can hear peoople talking.
Abou his sister.
The girl who got killed by a supposed revenge seeker.
About the little boy,
who went crazy.
In just one night.
His family speaks.
"Don't worry, you'll be normal again, so you can forget everything about your bad sister. She will no longer influence you."
Giyuu stops walking.
As a result, the hand that was holding his is pulled back due to his lack of movement.
Giyuu doesn't want to go.
He won't forget his sister.
That's the last thing he will do.
"Giyuu, what's wrong?"
"...no" he says, feeling he's already starting to cry.
"I don't want to go"
"what? why not? you can leave this behin-"
"I don't want to!" he shouts at them.
Both his family and the people around stare at him, surprised the shocked boy raised his voice.
"Giyuu." they say.
"My sister was not crazy at all! She was not!" he cries.
"Giyuu, enough. She was what she was. Let's go" they say, pulling his hand.
"No! i don't want to!" he says, pulling back.
"I don't want to leave, not her!"
Suddenly, his family slaps him. The sound of a hand hitting the skin surprises everyone around.
"That is so enough of you, young boy! You will be coming with us, you want it or not! We will not let you go on this state! Look at what she has done to you!"
They say, shaking him by his shoulders.
The tears don't stop and Giyuu places a hand where he was beaten.
"You have to understand it! you're just a crazy impolite young man!" they shake him harder.
"but-"
"No!" and then he gets pulled by his arms again. "Now let's go!"
Giyuu tries to resist, pulling back from the grip on his tiny hand.
Tsutako's grip on his hand was never like this.
Her was kind,
loving,
and soft touch, making him walk by her side with a bright smile.
The little boy can't help but to cry harder, trying with all his strenght to free himself of this infernal situation.
"No! i don't want to go! please! i promise! i promise i'll be good! please..." he keeps crying, his arm already aching by the hard pull to force him to walk.
"please! Tsutako, someone, please!"
But no one ever heard.
So, in a last resource, he kicks his family's knee, causing they let go of his arm to try to help the pain.
In that moment, Giyuu starts to run.
The wind hit his face, drying his tears.
He runs, like he never had ran.
He can see people staring, with horror in their eyes.
'poor crazy little boy'
they must be thinking.
He runs, and runs.
He turns the corner of the street and collides with someone and falls to the ground.
This person seems to be a child, of his age if he sees correctly.
He has white hair and big long eyes, with a little absence of eyebrows.
Giyuu stares at him from the ground, still crying, and the other boy looks confused.
Before he can notice, there's someone calling his name, so he stands up and starts running again.
So much pity in everyone's look.
He hated the feeling.
After what it felt like ages of running, he finally reaches his house, his home.
Was it always this dark?
He enters the house.
Was it always this cold?
Was it just his sister, that made this building feel like home?
He falls to the ground, criying because of that thought.
She was his whole world, and she was gone.
He finds her kimono, with the absense of his sister in it.
It's washed, he notices, it must have been washed by a neighbor to leave it here as a signal of respect.
He hesitates, but grabs the kimono between his hands and looks at him.
It was just as he saw it yesterday, but his sister was wearing it.
He hugs the fabric close to his chest, forcing himself not to cry,
only afraid of his tears to burn the last memory he has of his sister.
"He must be here! he wouldn't get so far!" he hears, near the house.
And, before he knows it, he takes the kimono and starts running away again.
He runs so fast, afraid of them taking him far away from his sister's memory, to forcing him to forget her.
It's snowing, which makes it more difficult to escape.
It also makes it difficult to see through the rainforest, Giyuu only runs in a straight line, wishing the snow is good enough to hide his steps.
And he runs,
and runs,
and runs,
and runs.
He lost the count of how much time he's ran now, but it's getting dark,
and if he doesn't find a place to spend the night, he will die.
He runs more.
Until his legs can't move,
until his lungs can no longer breathe,
until he's far enough to die by himself,
until he-
he trips over a stone,
and he falls down the hill.
He holds the red kimono into his chest to protect it.
The snow that hits his skin burns, more than ever,
but he tries to protect himsefl anyway.
Was this going to be his ending?
By the end of the hill, there's a big tree, which he collides with.
He lets out a gasp because of the pain on his back now, his eyes start to feel heavy and blurry.
He only wishes to see his sister's face again.
He wants her to tell him he will be okay.
The next time he opens his eyes, there's a roof above his head.
At first, he doesn't understand. But fear comes to him when he realizes that surely his family foun him.
He violently sits, wrinkling his face on pain of the sudden movement, and looks frantically around him.
He looks down at his hands,
he lost Tsutako's kimono.
Horror comes to Giyuu's face.
He starts panting, feeling like he failed his sister.
"Hey, hey, easy boy" someone says beside him.
Giyuu looks at an old man with a red mask and a big, big nose. The look on the mask is scary, and instinctively backs away.
The man looks impassive, and Giyuu cannot see how he opens his mouth to speak.
"you're okay, no one's gonna hurt you here."
Giyuu looks at his lap again, still fearful.
"Are you looking for the red kimono you had on you?"
Giyuu lifts his head to look at the old man with his big and surprised eyes.
"it's right there," he says looking at the wall next to Giyuu.
Giyuu feels relief coming to his body, and before he knows it, a sob escapes from his throat.
It's safe.
His sister's memory is safe.
More tears come down to his face.
The man approaches him, placing a hand on his back. He doesn't say anything, he just lets Giyuu cry before he actually wrap his arms around him, giving him enough space to back off i he wants to.
"Shhh, it's okay. It's fine. You're fine now." he says, rubbing his back in small circles.
Just like his sister did before to comfort him.
Giyuu hears there's someone else in what appears to be a small house, but he doesn't mind it and keeps crying.
He feels ashamed of crying in front of this man which he doesn't know at all.
But the man doesn't seem to care. His only presence bring comfort to Giyuu.
As time went trough, and his sobs became quieter, the unknown man brings him a plate of food.
"Eat, it's for your recovery."
Giyuu nods, still wondering what has happened to him.
"what's your name, boy?"
Giyuu waits and takes his time to answer.
"...Giyuu. Tomioka Giyuu." he says, bringing the first spoonful of food to his mouth.
"Tomioka Giyuu... that's a nice name."
He looks at him, surprise in his eyes. The old man looks back at him and lets a small laugh come out of his mouth.
"My name is Urokodaki. Sakonji Urokodaki. Nice to meet you, Giyuu."
Giyuu nods, "...nice to meet you"
"Giyuu, would you tell me what you were doing on the rainforest all by yourself, holding a kimono in your hands?"
.
.
.
.
.
.
When Giyuu speaks, he tells him every detail, except the reason why his sister is dead. He tells him he doesn't know what happened.
The man stays in silent for a moment.
"Giyuu, i think your sister was attacked by a demon."
Giyuu feels like he falls into the abyss.
"Demons are night creatures that eat human people to become stronger, as you can guess-"
But Giyuu's not listening. His brething rises a level he never thought it was possible.
"...i- i- you believe that?"
He asks, desperately.
"Yes, i do."
For the umpteenth time on this day, Giyuu starts crying again.
"...thank god... thank you so much- i knew- i knew it was a demon-! my sister, she-"
"Hey, i know. it's okay"
"no it's not!," he cries. "E-everyone said i was crazy.. and then- and then they said those horrible things about her- but no one believed me-"
"I believe you." the man says. And Giyuu looks at him, totally shocked before starting to cry again.
"Th-thank you so much-" he says, drowning in his own tears.
"I'm sure your sister is proud of how strong you have been."
Giyuu covers his face with both of his hands, hiding himself.
"Now it's your turn to fight for her." Urokodaki says, pointing Giyuu's heart with his finger. "Will yo do it? will you become strong enough to live for her?"
'You must live, Giyuu. I love you more than anything.'
Suddenly, Giyuu's body feels warm, not because of temperature, but because Tsutako's love.
Her, holding his hand and smiling at him.
"I-i will! i promise! i will, i... i will become strong enough to make her proud, i promise i will!"
He says, wiping his tears away.
"Very well then. If you are willing to it, i will help you."
Giyuu sniffes one last time.
"I will train you, and you will go to the final selection. If you are strong enough to be a demon slayer, then you will be able to avenge your sister. How does that sounds to you?"
"...i will do whatever it takes, i swear i will, sir. Thank you for believing on me..."
The man nods. Then, looks at the door next to him.
"Sabito. You can come out now. I know you're there."
An Ugh can be heard, and then, the door opens, revealing a long-haired boy around Giyuu's age.
He has a scar on his face, Giyuu notices. And his eyes are fully violet. He looks mature, though.
"Hello!" He says, with a bright smile.
He almost reminds him of Tsutako.
He walks towards Giyuu and extends his hand to him to shake it.
"Name's Sabito, i'm an orphan too- Ow!" He complains at the old man, who just boked his head.
"How am i supposed to be friendly at him then? i don't know what to say! 'hi, i'm sorry i was curious about you'?"
Giyuu smiles and a small laugh comes out of him, surprising Urokodaki and Sabito.
Then, Giyuu reaches Sabito's hand and shake it with his.
"I'm Tomioka Giyuu."
The boy smiles with a confidence Giyuu never saw before. He has a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you, Giyuu! Hope we become strong enough together!"
Giyuu wakes up with a jump in the middle of the night.
He's sweating, he notices, as he looks towards the windows of his house.
The always empty, Water Estate.
He feels very sleepy, with his thoughts full of Sabito and his sister.
He rubs his face, not thinking he can go to sleep again.
Should he go to patrol before dawn?
Kanzaburo, his crow, flies at his lap, which Giyuu finds it's a way of comforting him.
He thanks the crow, caressing him as he stares at the wall in front of him.
This place is so empty, so cold.
Just like his home after Tsutako's death.
Just after-
"Caw! Mission! mission! you have a mission with the Wind Pillar!"
His thoughts are interrumpted by his crow.
A mission with Shinazugawa? Giyuu will end up dead.
The man seems to enjoy Giyuu's suffering.
In any case, he yawns and stands up, preparing himself to the mission.
.
.
.
As he walks out of his place, he looks at the moon.
It must be the same hour of that one night.
The moment Tsutako woke him up.
The day he lost everything.
Suddenly, a voice coming from the road is heard.
"Yo! What are you doing standing up there like an idiot? We got a mission!"
Giyuu wonders if today, he can save someone just like he'd wished to be both he and his sister saved.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Giyuu wishes he can do it. So he can prove himself that his sister didn't die for nothing.
That she was not wrong,
that she was being so sweet,
and she was not stupid to place his life before hers.
Which, he knows, he will never believe. He doesn't think he deserves to live. To be a Hashira. To even think about her.
"You bitch! What's your problem?" Shinazugawa says, grabbing him by the collar of his uniform.
"Good morning, Shinazugawa." Giyuu says in response.
"Good morning my ass! were you even listening?! You think you're so much better than me?!"
"i hope we can finish this mission together," he says, grabing Shinazugawa's wrist, in an attemp to make him let go.
"Oh i truly hope i can beat your dumb ass!"
"Sure, but please, let's go. There are life's to save." Giyuu says, starting to walk to where the crows said it was the correct direction.
"One day i will end your life." Shinazugawa says. "What the heck you mean 'sure'? huh? is that a fucking dare?"
Giyuu looks at him.
"Answer when i'm talking to you?!"
Then Giyuu looks away.
Then Sanemi pulls his hair.
"Ow-"
"You're not so unflappable anymore, are you?"
"Shinazugawa."
"WHAT"
"Let me go."
"Ha! beg for it you asshole! do you think-"
"please."
"Huh?"
"Please, let me go"
Shinazugawa looks into Giyuu's eyes, inexpressive as a rock. As always.
His face is closer than he thought, with an expression that shows only a hint of discomfort.
"Ugh. Whatever." Shinazugawa says, letting go of his hair.
"Thanks"
"Stop talking."
"Okay."
"I said stop talking."
"Whatever you say."
"Shut up."
"Sorry."
"Stop apologizing!"
"Sorry."
"I'm gonna kill you."
"Sorry."
Shinazugawa stares at him, as Giyuu is focused on the road.
"Fucking bitch."
"Do you think it's too far away?"
"Hah? i don't know, why?"
"Just in case we get there too late."
"That's not gonna happen."
"You don't know that,"
"And you do?! are you a fucking sage-"
Giyuu really hopes he doesn't get there too late.
As late as the person who whas supossed to kill the demon who ruined his life.
as late as he himself, when he couldn't save Tanjiro's family.
Like this, Shinazugawa reminds him of someone, but he doesn't know who.
"What are you looking at?"
"nothing."
"I will beat your ass if you don't stop fucking up with me!"
"Okay."
"Ugh."
"Okay"
What will they find in their destination?