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Giyu spent his thirteenth birthday with his sister, unaware that it’d be the last one he’d spend with her. He couldn’t remember everything they did, but he remembered it being one of the happiest days of his life.
Giyu spent his fourteenth birthday alone, the first of many in that fashion. He reminisced of his time with Sabito, training under Urokodaki. Whenever training became too much for him, he’d cheer himself up by reminding himself that soon he’d spend his first birthday with Sabito, and that they’d grow together. That incentive never came to be. Giyu continued growing, while Sabito’s corpse was forever immortalized as a young teen.
Giyu spent his fifteenth birthday hunting demons. He almost forgot it was his birthday, until a little voice reminded him as he laid down to go to sleep. He didn’t do anything to celebrate. He was exhausted, and it felt wrong to focus on himself when so many people close to him had succumbed to his incompetence. He would celebrate when the fear of losing a loved one could no longer come true.
Giyu spent his sixteenth birthday training. He hadn’t been deployed on a mission that day, the reason behind that decision was beyond him. He hadn’t told anyone about his birthday, maybe the master was just pitying him on a random day, coincidentally falling on his birthday.
Giyu spent his seventeenth birthday avoiding the other Hashira. Since it was his first birthday as a Hashira, the others insisted on celebrating. Shinobu must’ve tipped them off. Tengen said “it’s not flashy to be in such a gloomy mood on a day about you.” He just rolled his eyes and walked away. Like in previous years, he didn’t feel like celebrating. He hadn’t yet purged the fear of a demon taking a loved one again from the minds of those around him. Therefore in his mind, he still had no right to celebrate.
Giyu spent his eighteenth birthday avoiding the other Hashira even more than the previous year. Tengen tried to take him out drinking, since he was old enough. Thankfully Rengoku convinced him to back down, saying “if he doesn’t want to go out drinking, that’s fine. It is his birthday after all.” Although he’d never say it, he was thankful for Rengoku’s intervention. He almost broke a smile thinking about it. Almost.
Giyu spent his nineteenth birthday thinking about that kid in the forest he’d just seen, with the demon on his back. Why had he let him go? Why hadn’t he just killed the demon? The kid still could’ve gone to Urokodaki, he’d just have less to watch out for. Maybe he saw himself in that kid. From the looks of it, he wasn’t much older than Giyu was when his sister died. He’d always told himself he hunted demons so no one would have to go through what he did, but maybe part of that meant preserving what family those around him had left.
Giyu spent his twentieth birthday alone. Once again Tengen insisted on going out for drinks. This time Giyu actually spoke, with the excuse of “having a mission assigned for the following morning” and “not wanting to be hung over for that.” It wasn’t a lie, but Giyu didn’t feel like being social, or getting hammered, even though Tengen insisted it’d only be a shot or two. Before he let himself go to rest, a kasugai crow landed beside him, with a letter in its mouth from Urokodaki. Apparently that kid from the forest (whose name he found out was Tanjiro Kamado) was off to final selection. Giyu didn’t know what compelled him to, but he said a prayer. He prayed for safe travels, and that the young soul of Tanjiro Kamado would not face the same fate as Sabito.
Giyu spent his twenty-second birthday alone, not necessarily by choice this time. The fact of the matter was, there was hardly anyone to celebrate with. The demon slayer core had finally disbanded, now that the king of demons was in his long overdue grave. For years Giyu had been telling himself he’d celebrate when the world was clean of demons, when Muzan’s head bid farewell to his neck and there was no more fear of losing a loved one. The bitter irony is that all the people who had tried to celebrate with him were gone. The other Hashira, master Ubuyashiki, even the other slayers of the core were gone, all moved on to another phase of existence, or just another phase of life. Perhaps it was time Giyu moved on too. He didn’t have much time left, why change anything now? He won’t be around to savor the memories.
Giyu spent his twenty-third birthday with Tanjiro. Not by choice. In classic Tanjiro fashion, he’d come to Giyu’s house and banged on the door until he opened up. The pounding was less frequent, since Tanjiro only had one arm to knock with, yet somehow he had twice as much energy and persistence. He eventually opened the door, on the condition that Tanjiro stopped bugging him. Tanjiro made him sake daikon, his favorite dish. He didn’t know how Tanjiro knew that. Maybe Sanemi tipped him off. He couldn’t tell if the hothead was chill with Tanjiro now, given that he seemed to enjoy Nezuko’s company. He didn’t think Sanemi cared about him, though. Maybe Giyu told Tanjiro and he didn’t remember. It didn’t matter, because it was the best meal he’d had in a long time.
Giyu is twenty-four today. It’s his last birthday. He knew this. He remembered the words of Amane Ubuyashiki, warning of the curse the demon slayer mark brought with it. His last conversation with Amane warned him of his last breath. Giyu claimed this fate in one of his final fights as a demon slayer, against Akaza. Maybe unlocking the mark was pointless, given that beheading him isn’t what finally killed him. To this day Giyu wasn’t quite sure what killed Akaza, but he didn’t care because the demon was long dead. Giyu sat alone, same as he had in all the years prior. He reflected on all his birthdays, how they went from happy to solitary, until it finally sunk in that this was his last birthday. His last cycle of growth. He didn’t know what fate awaited him when he turned twenty-five. He didn’t know if he’d die before he reached that age or if he’d die a year from now. He didn’t wanna take any chances, because it was his last chance at living. He found a blank piece of paper and a pencil. When he finished scribbling his note, he whistled for his crow Kanzaburo, handing him the sealed letter. It still amazed him how this old crow had hung on for so many years. Maybe he knew Giyu needed someone to stay by his side through it all, even if that someone wasn’t human. The crow flew off, and Giyu got up, knowing it wouldn’t be long before Tengen got his letter. He left his home and made his way to the nearest bar, finally ready to celebrate his birthday with a drink.