Chapter Text
Tomioka was running, sometimes he didn't know if his feet were touching the ground, he was just moving while his mind raced a thousand miles an hour.
What on earth was a Upper moon doing in that place?
Why didn't Rengoku call for reinforcements immediately?
Furthermore, why did he order Tanjiro and his companions not to interfere?
He could find answers to some of his own questions, but with his mind in that state, he couldn't think straight. He wanted to reach Rengoku, to see where he was being treated. He knew Rengoku had been injured, but somehow, incredibly, he had survived. The demon escaped as soon as he saw the sunlight. His injuries made it impossible for him to follow, though no one died, and the only one seriously wounded was the Flame Hashira.
As soon as he saw Shinobu's mansion, he felt as if some of his blood was returning to his body; he had to get inside as quickly as possible.
If it weren't for Aoi coming out, he might have broken down the door, although he did push the younger girl a little, who didn't complain. He wasn't the first Hashira to be rude to her today; they had all come running, ignoring everyone else to see Rengoku, although none of them went beyond the waiting room. Rengoku's condition was still undefined; he was still undergoing treatment, and for the moment, his chances of surviving were less than his chances of dying.
Half of his bones were broken, and these were crushing his organs and tearing his muscles. He had massive internal bleeding, and there was also a possibility that he would lose an eye. He needed a miracle plus enormous willpower to save him.
***
Upon arriving and seeing all the Hashira’s, he felt his stomach churn. There wasn't a single person in the entire room who wanted to be near him, so he had no one to ask about Rengoku's current condition.
“Tomioka-san!” Tanjiro's shout pulled him from whatever thoughts he had. The boy was walking with some difficulty; he had been stabbed, fought against a lower moon, and used up his last bit of strength in the battle.
"Tanjiro..." he whispered before going to him to help him stand up. "How are you feeling? What happened on that train? How are they?" He tried not to sound too harsh.
Tanjiro had done everything to help Rengoku, and besides, he was sure all the Hashiras had bombarded him with questions. He wouldn't be surprised if Tanjiro told him that Sanemi had tried to hit him for taking so long to answer.
"I... I'm sorry... I didn't... know what to do... And I... I'm sorry." At that moment, Tanjiro began to cry.
He was frustrated with how little time he had known Rengoku. He had grown fond of him; he was an impressive, brave, and strong person, someone spectacular. But now he was being cared for by Shinobu, who faked a smile the few times she came out to give updates on the Hashira's condition. He could smell the lies about her optimistic expectations of the situation. Even so, he remained silent. He didn't want to break down and scare everyone, but he could no longer hide his pain. He was afraid.
Tomioka hugged Tanjiro, not knowing what to say or do in that situation, he was also at his limit, he was afraid, he wanted to enter that room, see Rengoku even if it was for a moment, even though that could hinder the activities of the doctors.
At that moment, when the flame Hashira was fighting for his life, he accepted it, that which he wanted to keep deep in his soul, he gave himself thousands of reasons not to say anything, although now all of those seemed like nonsense next to the truth.
He was hopelessly in love with Rengoku Kyōjurō.
He loved his strong voice.
That permanent smile.
As always, he would talk to him even when Tomioka didn't know what to say.
His commitment to saving people.
He always saw the good in life.
He loved every part of that man, but always thought it wasn't enough to be with someone like him. Now, on the verge of losing him, he felt the regret of never saying anything. He wanted to be in his arms, bury his face in his strong chest, forget everything, and hear that kind voice comforting him, assuring her that he was okay, that these were just scratches, and that a good meal would make him feel better.
But now was not the time for such ridiculous fantasies; he needed to be strong, something he never was, because Tanjiro needed him, the man who helped him become a demon slayer needed to say something to him, a small comfort. Tomioka should be that image Tanjiro had of him, a person with all the answers, when he wasn't like that.
He had been through the worst, and right now he was terrified of the possibility of losing another good person.
“Tanjiro…” Zenitzu's voice made Tomioka look up; he was coming with Inosuke.
They too witnessed the entire fight, fought with all their might to save the people on the train, now they were exhausted, injured and heartbroken.
"Everything will be alright," Tomioka said, his voice louder than usual, drawing the attention of Tanjiro and his friends. "He... He's a strong, determined man. If he forced himself to come all the way here to be treated, it's because he wasn't going to die," he assured him, stroking Tanjiro's hair.
His sister did that all the time when he came home crying because a dog had bitten him.
"He would never let you bear the burden of his death if he believed he could prevent it... Did he say anything to you before he lost consciousness?" he asked, still staring at some point on the wall, his way of keeping from bursting into tears.
"He apologized… “ He said he was sorry for leaving us with everything, that next time he'd help us clean up the mess the demons left behind..." Zenitzu replied. To him, it sounded like a goodbye.
"You shouldn't worry. If he'd thought he was going to die, he would have said something about his family and how you had to work hard to become a Hashira someday. He'll fight to wake up..." he tried to sound confident. He had no evidence to back up his theory, beyond how he knew the Flame Hashira. Perhaps it wasn't even that; maybe it was his love playing tricks on his reason.
Before he could come up with a counter-argument to what he had said, the door opened.
Shinobu collapsed as soon as she saw her companions; she had been in that surgery room for hours, taking care of the anesthesia, monitoring the doses of medication, creating everything to ensure Rengoku's life while the doctors looked for even the slightest hemorrhage.
"He is out of danger..." she said softly, but in the silence of the room you could hear a pin drop.
The moment those words left her mouth, it was as if the whole world could breathe again.
"You can't go in to see him yet, but he's out of danger and needs to rest," she added, though her words sounded so distant to Tomioka.
He stuck to the first thing she said. Rengoku was fine; the rest was irrelevant.
“I have a second chance…” he thought happily, he would fix everything, win over the flame Hashira no matter what.