Chapter Text
Shinobu Kocho’s life was boring, lonely, and meaningless.
Other than slaying demons, she couldn’t figure out what to do with herself. Her life had many great people in it, like her lovely older sister and the other hashira. And yet, she still just felt so… empty.
Sure she had fun at times, but when she was laying in her bed, staring at that dry ceiling past midnight, did it really matter? The laughter, the birds, the light, it’s all gone. Vanished, waiting to return at sunrise. The only thing thriving at night are the demons, cowardly killing and eating their helpless victims that never even stood a fraction of a chance against them.
All the lives she couldn’t save, all the casualties. They were all gone and she couldn’t do anything about it.
She remembered the days where she got full nights of sleep, before she started slaying demons. Now the horrible memories played on repeat every time she closed her eyes.
How many? How many families have been ripped apart? How many lives have been lost, all because I couldn’t protect them?
Shinobu saw the sun rising through her bedroom window and grudgingly got up to start the day. She got dressed and headed for the kitchen where Kanae was already making breakfast. The typical spread of steamed rice and grilled fish was waiting for her.
“Hungry?” Kanae asked with a warm smile.
“Yes, very.” Shinobu said flatly, sitting down at her designated spot at the table.
“So how did you sleep?” Kanae asked, carrying an even amount of rice and fish on each plate, setting one down for Shinobu and seating herself.
Gathering her chopsticks and picking some rice up, she softly blew on the steaming food and popped it into her mouth. “Good, how about you?” She lied.
Kanae saw right through her sister, in fact she almost brought up her lie, but bit her tongue. “Not bad myself,” there was an awkward silence.
After the long pause, Shinobu asked, “So, are there any big events happening today?”
“Apparently there’ll be a Hashira meeting tonight, word of a new pillar has been floating around lately,” Kanae took another bite of her food.
Shinobu stopped and swallowed her food quickly, “A new hashira?” She asked.
“Yeah, the meeting is at six. Other than that, no one knows much about them, except Rengoku, as he personally trained her himself.” Kanae said, finishing her food and setting her bowl in the dish washing area for later.
Shinobu finished her bowl as well. “Her?”
“Yeah. Another woman in the Hashira would be nice to have.” Kanae said, Shinobu nodded in agreement.
She glanced at the small clock set up on the table, displaying the time as 8:20.
Shit! Giyuu!
“Dammit! I promised Giyuu I’d practice with him at eight!” Shinobu exclaimed, scrambling for her things and rushing out the shoji doors.
“What? You’re leaving right now?!”
“Yes! You know how he is! He’s going to think that I forgot about him!” Which she did.
Kanae let out a deep sigh, “I guess it will be fine for the time being, but be back by four!”
Shinobu rushed out the front door and checked her pocket watch which read 8:25. Dammit! 25 minutes late!
She was running now, heading towards Tomioka’s estate which was about a 30 minute walk from the butterfly mansion, but she could make it in 15 if she ran.
As she swiftly made her way towards his house, she didn’t pause to appreciate the scenery and nature like she usually did. Normally she stopped to peer into the calming gray waters of the quiet stream, blotted with black and white koi fish, watching the way one always seems to swim away from the other. But she just didn’t have the time right now.
Shinobu eventually arrived at Giyuu’s, already sweating. She took a little breather before knocking on the door
No answer.
She knocked again.
No answer.
Maybe he’s still sleeping? She slid back the shoji screen and let herself in, wandering around the estate aimlessly. “Giyuu?” She called and entered his room, which was a complete and total disaster. She stepped over the numerous clothes and blankets that were strewn all over his room. Almost too many for one person. She stood beside his bed, and looked down, it was an empty husk along with his home.
She decided to head to the training grounds anyway since that would be the most likely place she’d find him. It was another long walk to the training area, which was uphill. There were steep stone steps all the way up, and she figured that she would walk to preserve her strength for actual training if he was up there.
Once she was approaching the designated area, she heard clacking of wood on wood. She picked her feet up and ran quickly to see Giyuu and…Sanemi?
They were sparring. Together.
They hit fast and hard. Shinobu could keep up with them pretty easily, and it looked like the wind hashira was winning. Giyuu slowly lost Sanemi and couldn’t keep up with his fast and complex movements. If Giyuu just so happened to blink, the fight would instantly be over. Soon enough he was hit in the gut marking the end of the duel. Giyuu was wheezing and looked like he got the wind knocked out of him, he now lay curled up on the ground.
Shinobu annoyed, yelled, “Giyuu!”
Sanemi walked over to the nearby stream, exhausted. He soaked a rag in the cold water and sat down. Looking up and putting it on his forehead, listening to what Shinobu had to say.
Once Giyuu recovered he replied calmly, “Yes?”
“You’re telling me that I rushed out the door this morning, worried that I was going to be late, searched your entire house looking for you, and the whole time you were sparring with your little boyfriend?” Shinobu said furiously.
“Yeah pretty much– boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.” Giyuu said with a tilt to his head.
“Nevermind that! How long have you been out here for?” Shinobu said impatiently.
“Uhm…” Giyuu had lost track at this point, “Shinazugawa?”
“About an hour,” he replied, removing the rag from his forehead and wringing it out of the water and sweat, throwing it on the ground beside him.
“Ugh!” She took a deep breath trying to calm down, “So you completely forgot that we were going to train?”
Giyuu, still on the ground, wouldn’t look Shinobu in the eyes after she spoke. He started fidgeting with a small rock he found in the dirt, “Well to pass the time until you got here, I sparred with Shinazugawa and lost track of time.”
The two were startled by Sanemi’s sudden intrusion, “Hey swimmer! If we aren’t going to fight, I’m going home,” he got up, leaving his soaked rag lying there on the ground.
Shinobu let him leave, “Now should we finally start?” she asked, walking over to the rack of numerous wooden training swords and picking up the smallest one. She wasn’t going to hold back against him this time.
Giyuu gulped, “Y-yeah,” he got up, a little worn down from his fights with Sanemi, and took a defensive position.
Shinobu dashed at him with such speed, Giyuu couldn’t react, and within a few seconds, her sword struck first, knocking him on his back. “Get up,” she said, walking back over to her side.
Giyuu couldn’t believe it, when did she get so much faster than me? She had always been faster, but he could usually keep up and, because of her lack of physical strength, usually won.
“Ready?” Shinobu said with a small grin spreading across her face.
Giyuu paused, shaking slightly then nodded.
He jumped at her first this time, and she swiftly dodged out of the way. Shinobu responded with a counter attack, but he blocked it. Got her!
She left herself open and Giyuu took advantage of that. He swung, it didn’t hit. Shinobu left herself open on purpose, predicting Giyuu would try to land a hit, then dodging it. Before Giyuu even realized the attack didn’t land, Shinobu was already behind him. She dead legged him and swung at his right arm, knocking his sword out of his hand. She brought her wooden sword up against the side of his neck.
“You’re dead,” she said coldly.
“When did you get so…fast?” Giyuu questioned helplessly, still kneeling on the ground.
“When did you get so slow?” Shinobu said. For some reason she felt alive, like she just got a massive boost of speed and energy. She finally backed off allowing Giyu to recover, “I think I’m actually having fun.”
This went on— with the occasional breaks that they needed—up until noon. Giyu not winning a single time. They decide to sit down on the stone stairs of the path. Exhausted and left with no more determination, Giyuu finally apologized, “By the way, I’m sorry about today. With Sanemi.” He glanced at the rag that the wind pillar left behind.
“It’s fine, just don’t let it happen again,” she said, following his eyes and looking at the rag as well. “He’s so inconsiderate. Does he not know he left his dirty rag here?” she stood up going to go get it.
“I’ll return it to him the next time I see him,” Giyuu said, stopping Shinobu, and getting up to retrieve the rag himself. He picked it up and stared at it, thinking about how Sanemi left so suddenly with no warning. He put it in his back pocket and walked back over to Shinobu.
“Did you hear there’s going to be a new hashira?” Shinobu asked Giyuu, whose mind was still fixed on the rag in his pocket.
“Yes I did. I hear they use Love Breathing.”
“A love breather?” Shinobu quirked an eyebrow, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a love breather before.”
“Me neither.” Giyuu stated. “What time is it?” He asked, getting up from the stone steps they had been sitting on.
“It looks like it’s around one,” Shinobu guessed, judging by the position of the sun.
“I should be going now,” he said, stepping down the steps of the path.
“Oh, well alright then. See you soon.” Shinobu couldn’t help but feel bad for Giyuu. He didn’t win against Sanemi, or herself once.
She rested for a bit longer and then left. She traveled down the stone stairs, and looked at the orange and reddish leaves on the ground and in the trees. Autumn already? The overcast of gray clouds hinted at rain but she couldn’t be too certain.
When she got to the base of the hill, she saw the familiar stream. The rush of the water was fitting for the season. She traveled for a bit more then checked the time, 1:30. With the extra time she had, she decided to go sit by the water like she always did. Besides, she didn’t have to be home until four.
Shinobu had always been fairly fond of nature. She sat on a cozy rock right beside the stream and took in her surroundings. The birds singing their songs, the small fish jumping in and out of the water, the insects buzzing all around her.
Just then she felt a small burning pain on her neck. She went up to touch it, and felt a small itchy bump. Damn mosquitoes. Today was a perfect day for them to be out, judging by the weather and the area. She hated mosquitos, who didn’t? They always came at the worst times. When her mind was finally at ease. When she finally got to rest for a bit. Why can’t all evil in this world just disappear?
She suddenly remembered something her sister said a few years ago, “Without evil, there would be no good, and without good, there would be no evil.”
A drop of water hitting her skin ripped her out of her reverie. It was raining, how fitting. She got up and headed home before the rain could get any worse. Once she got home she found Kanae bathing Kanao.
“Welcome home Shinobu!” Kanae said her smile as cheery as always. She looked up while still applying shampoo to Kanao’s hair.
“Hey,” she greeted, kicking off her muddy shoes and walking over to the two, “Is she still not talking?” Shinobu asked, looking at Kanao.
“Yeah still nothing,” Kanae replied with a slight frown on her face, but still hopeful.
“What happened to her was horrible, I hope we can help her.” Shinobu paused hesitating for a second. “Hey Kanae?”
“What is it?”
“Do you think demons and humans could ever co-exist with one another?” Shinobu bit the inside of her cheek waiting for her sister's answer.
Kanae thought for a second, “No, not ever.” Shinobu let this answer sink in, and she knew her sister's words were true.
“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” Kanao looked up at Shinobu, mouth slightly open. “I’m going off to my studies now.”
“Alright, I’ll be in here if you need me,” Kanae shouted as Shinobu walked down the hall and into her study.
Shinobu was tired and did not want to do anything, but she did it nonetheless. After about an hour she could barely keep her eyes open anymore and decided to go lay down.
–
Kanae softly woke her sister up, “Shinobu wake up. It’s time to go.”
“Where?” Shinobu said half asleep brushing Kanae off.
“The Hashira meeting, remember?” she answered. Shinobu got up, and looked outside to see it was still raining.
“Oh yeah,” she stood up and felt how one usually feels after a long nap, lost. She basically just followed Kanae out the door and to the meeting. She got herself together on the way.
When they got there they saw the usual pillars, Giyuu, Sanemi, Kyojuro, Tengen, Obanai, and Gyomei. No sign of a new hashira. They were all sitting on the floor in rows, with Giyuu, Sanemi, Kyojuro, and Tengen in the front, and Obanai and Gyomei in the back. Kanae sat down and Shinobu beside her.
“About time you two got here,” Tengen said looking back at them.
“We’re here dimwit,” Shinobu said, gritting her teeth.
Kanae looked at Shinobu, “Be respectful,” she whispered quietly but still carrying the strict tone her words needed.
When Master Ubuyashki came in, anyone who was talking stopped, and they all gave a low bow before sitting up straight again.
“It’s nice to see you in good health, master!” Kyojuro said with his usual cheery tone.
“Thank you Kyojuro, you as well.” His voice was so calming to everyone in the room, “as you may all know, a new hashira joins us today. I want you to treat her with the same respect you treat everyone else. Come on in.” A girl around the same age as Shinobu slid open the doors, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
“It’s nice to finally meet everybody!” The green and pink haired girl stood in front of everyone and gave a small bow before standing beside the master, “I’ve heard a lot about you all!”
Shinobu stared and her heart skipped a beat. What just happened? She tried to tell herself it was a coincidence. A stupid coincidence.
The master looked from the girl to the rest of the Hashira, “This is Mitsuri Konroji, the love breather.”