Chapter Text
In the final battle and afterwards, all the Hashira died. Since they had walked this honorable path of hunting demons, each of them had been reincarnated centuries later. At first, none of them remembered anything, but as time passed, as they grew older and went to university, they found each other again. And surprisingly, the owner of the university they attended was none other than Oyakata-sama, whom they had once loved dearly and still continued to love.
Most of them had already gathered. Almost all the Hashira were there. Except for one—no one had ever seen the Water Hashira, Tomioka Giyuu. Not even Oyakata-sama. And he seemed to be very curious about him.
Even though Giyuu wasn’t around, Tanjiro and his group were going to the high school right next to the university. They seemed to remember everything too, since they had been greeting them from the very first day. It was strange and hard to get used to, but by now, they were fine.
“Classes are so boring… I want to eat.”
When Mitsuri’s whining voice filled the air, Obanai immediately pulled a few sandwiches from his bag, and no one was surprised. Those two really were a unique couple. Mitsuri instantly began eating happily, and she even handed one to the youngest, Muichirou. Muichirou was only a first-year student and looked just as they remembered him—only more talkative.
“If I skip class, Oyakata-sama will be very upset.”
When Shinobu spoke in her sweet yet pointed tone, Mitsuri shook her head quickly. Of course, no one wanted to upset Oyakata-sama.
“Shall we go sit at a café after school?”
With Tengen’s suggestion, Sanemi looked around at everyone. They all seemed to approve. Besides, Genya would be hanging out with the Kamado boy, so Sanemi didn’t have to go home early to cook for him. That was why he nodded as well.
“Let’s go. A new café has opened—I think it’s called Waterwheel.”
It was a strange name for a café, but it also felt familiar. Sanemi just couldn’t figure out why. Still, he didn’t dwell on it too much. After all, it was just an ordinary café, and if they didn’t like it, they could simply never go there again.
So the decision was made, and the group split up to attend their classes. At five in the evening, when all their lessons were done, they met up and went to the café Sanemi had mentioned. Even though it hadn’t been open long, it was already quite full. The interior and exterior décor were beautiful, decorated in shades of blue with wave motifs on the walls. Sanemi felt like he was inside the Water Estate, which he had only visited once.
“This place is beautiful.”
Muichirou, sitting beside Gyomei, spoke in awe, and the others agreed. It truly was beautiful and uplifting. Mitsuri, Tengen, and Rengoku immediately opened the menus, already looking ready to order a mountain of food.
“Hello, welcome to Waterwheel. I’m Sabito, and I’ll be taking care of you today.”
Sabito, with his peach-colored hair, was quite striking—and he had a lovely smile. The hungriest of the group had already begun ordering.
“Your café is wonderful, and the design is magnificent.”
When Gyomei spoke with his usual politeness, Sabito smiled and nodded, even while writing down their orders.
“Thank you. This place used to be a clothing store. With my father’s help, we transformed it and created Waterwheel. Now I run it with my best friend.”
The enthusiasm in his voice carried the pride of such an accomplishment. And that was only natural—building a place from scratch and bringing it to success was no easy feat.
“All right, I’ve got all your orders. I’ll be right back!”
As Sabito walked away, Sanemi looked around again. He was only now beginning to realize why those wave patterns on the walls felt so familiar.
“Don’t those designs look like Giyuu’s Water Breathing?”
At his question, the conversation stopped. Everyone first looked at Sanemi, then slowly turned their heads toward the waves on the walls. The murmurs of recognition around the group spoke volumes.
“Now that you mention it… yes, they do. Of course, it could just be a coincidence, but still—it’s strange.”
As Obanai scratched his cheek thoughtfully, a few murmurs of agreement followed. It was very possible that it was just a coincidence; after all, wave patterns weren’t rare. So the matter was brushed aside, and ten minutes later, Sabito returned with their food, and they continued chatting. The peaceful atmosphere and quality conversation kept them there until closing time without them even realizing it.
“This place is wonderful! Let’s come here often!”
Mitsuri waved cheerfully at Sabito as she walked out, which, of course, triggered Obanai’s jealousy—but thankfully, he managed to deal with it without any problems.
“Let’s stop by the market across the street. I need to buy ingredients for Genya’s onigiri.”
They all followed Sanemi, who was walking toward the market. Naturally, the shopping didn’t go quickly—after all, three food monsters were with them, and they filled the cart to the brim. By the time everything was scanned at the register, an hour had already passed. Sanemi silently cursed himself for suggesting the market, but oh well.
Just then, Waterwheel had closed for the night. The first person they saw was Sabito—hard to miss with that hair.
“Hey, Giyuu! Want to play some video games when we get home?”
At the familiar name, they all froze and turned straight toward the other boy standing in front of the café. He looked exactly the same: long jet-black hair, eyes of the most beautiful shade of blue, and pale white skin. The Tomioka Giyuu they had all been wondering about was standing right before them.
To Sabito’s question, Giyuu only gave a slight nod. The peach-haired boy smiled brightly and tugged him toward the car. Under the streetlamp, they could see him clearly.
Was Giyuu really this short and thin? In the past, Sanemi remembered him being nearly the same height as himself. And because of his haori, no one had ever really known his build—but looking now, he seemed shorter and slimmer. Maybe ten centimeters shorter than Sanemi. And he looked tired.
Sanemi gripped his shopping bag tightly as they watched the two of them get into the car and drive away.
“That was Giyuu!”
Mitsuri jumped excitedly in place, voicing the shock everyone else felt.
“The friend Sabito mentioned must be Tomioka. So he was this close all along.”
When Gyomei gave thanks to Buddha out of old habit, Sanemi let out a deep breath. He truly felt strange.
“I guess now we have a reason to come back here again.”
Tengen spoke softly, and this time, everyone nodded together. He was definitely right.
“We can come back, but we don’t know if he remembers us. We’ll have to be careful.”
Sanemi had a point. Otherwise, things could get complicated, and none of them wanted that.
“Then we’ll be careful. Tomorrow morning, first thing—we tell Oyakata-sama.”