Chapter Text
It had been one of the most grueling months of his life. Not only did he have to face the Hashira after his very short notice of a year leave, which led to him being glared at by a certain Wind Hashira, but also this had been the longest he was away from the Water Domain. A month of not being able to sleep beside the small body of amber bright hair. A small body with the brightest pair of eyes that anyone had ever seen and the softest giggles.
Once he was done with this appointment, he’ll head straight there-
“Tomioka. Can you get your head out of the clouds for a moment?” Shinobu stared at him while giving him that ever sweetsickening smile. Giyuu felt more irritated by it than he’d like to admit.
“My apologies, Kocho.” He didn’t meet her gaze - opting for the window. Outside the Sakura were in bloom, the sun was bright and the birds flew. They ate their morning fill before seeking the comforts of the sky once more. The younger of the two seemed to follow his gaze before letting out a deep sigh.
“Mm. How are you feeling after your one month ‘ban’ from home?” He froze before turning to face her, "Unpleasant.”
The doctor chuckled before asking again, “Has anything unusual happened during the one month period?”
“The milk production slowed, my moods have been more on edge and I have no appetite…I have been told my pheromones have been stronger.” As he spoke, Shinobu wrote down everything he said.
“Have you been lactating, Tomioka-san?”
He gave a short nod. Shinobu continued, “I have noticed you have been talking more on joint missions.”
“That has been only with you.” Giyuu's eyes drifted to the purple headed alpha, “And only because you know.”
The alpha sensed his stare and their eyes met, her face seemed to tighten if only for a moment before she averted his gaze. “It would do you good to talk with the others as well.”
The thought made him laugh. He had learned a lot about what the others thought of him in the year he was away and from what he gathered; he wasn’t exactly well liked. Shinobu wasn’t an exception. He was only here because she was his doctor and the Master's concern for his wellbeing; if not - he would have sought assistance from a doctor of the Domain.
There was no real reason for him to leave his domain other than for missions and meetings because it had a village filled with generations of people who had been saved by past Water Hashiras and wanted to offer their gratitude. The area was well protected by the surrounding Wisteria in addition to protection from the reigning Water hashira. At the north side of the domain sat the Water Estate, an age-old piece of history, as old as the corps itself.
The village was decently sized but well advanced for its time alongside being self-reliant. It was by a nearby lake, had large farming land and livestock that surrounded the domain and the villagers all had unique skills.
While not all Hashiras have domains, most have estates. Giyuu, as always, was a unique case.
“And how has Tanjiro been? Any news of how he’s taken the separation including the lack of milk?” The Insect Hashira said, calling back his attention.
Giyuu loved talking about his precious pup but this time the question made him want to keep his usual silence up. But when the short woman gave him a glare of her own, clearly not backing down, he answered, “From what Koharu has informed me on, he has had trouble sleeping and won’t stop calling out for me. Oftentimes the nest is enough but each passing day the scent is slowly fading, and the more he notices it.”
He paused for a moment, “He has started rejecting the milk from the wet nurse.”
That seemed to catch the other off guard. Her pen stopping mid sentence as her own pheromones of medicinal herbs and wisteria escaping her tight hold, letting anyone near, like Giyuu, know she is nervous.
His glare never left her.
“See him out, Aoi.” Shinobu leaned over her desk, eyes scanning her clipboard as she refused to meet the omega's piercing gaze. Her mind is trying to wrap around what just transpired.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; she had been his doctor since her sister was killed and even before then, she would accompany her sister in his checkups. He was a natural phenomenon while defying everything she knew, or thought she knew, as a doctor. This man was an omega, she had known that after reading his files and years of thinking he was a beta, but in mourning which by all accounts should also mean he should be dead.
Omegas were by nature, social things with a heart far too big for their bodies. They feel more than alphas or betas which leads to them being frightened or cried easily by the smallest things. They were at the bottom of the social class but they still were given deep respect. They were the spiders that formed the webs of connections of a pack and no pack properly functions without them.
This was the same amongst the corps members even if they were all a little deviant by the social norms.
But a packless omega in mourning, was a dead omega.
‘Mourning is a grief response experienced by an omega after the loss or permanent separation of a significant individual, such as an offspring or mate, leading to psychological and physiological issues if left untreated.’ as her text books put it.
Essentially, the hurt is far too much for the omega that they close themself of: their pheromones become dull, they lack emotional responses, just to name a few symptoms, becoming husks of their former selves. Many omegas lose their life to mourning because their bodies start failing due to the lack of connection. While most omegas who have gone through it have healed thanks to their pack members who stay by their side during the difficult process.
They may not be the same after but are definitely better than while in mourning. One of the main reasons they are the protected and not the protector.
While it does not apply in the Demon Slayer Corps as it is common for the roles to be reversed, it still exists in the subconscious of others.
But as always,Tomioka was an exception because he has been in mourning for seven years. By the laws of nature and biology, he should be dead yet he still stands.
However it seems the gods have taken pity on him.
Just a year ago, he was as he had been for the past five years: A living husk. At least until a mission in a mountain far in the west where a demon had been lurking. A mother and son had been living there, the father died of illness shortly after the birth of his first born, as the town at the bottom of the mountain had informed him off.
“I was too late.” The omega before her was a stranger.
He was a mess - his hair neglected, dark circles formed under his eyes, sweat dripped down his face and neck as his usual stoic expression ripped off and was replaced by the worry in his eyes. Trembling lips as he looked down at the pup in his arms.
“She begged me to take him and I-I couldn’t deny her. Not when she looked at me like I was her last and only hope.”
His pheromones were too strong for an omega in mourning as it rolled off him and leaked into the walls of his estate. He was in heat - river water and sweetened white tea with a hint of Hinoki. The Hinoki was an odd mix, not of the Water hashira but rather from the amber haired pup.
Shinobu was a doctor, she knew what happened to the Water Hashira, what had happened between the birth mother of the pup, Tanjiro, and him. In her last moments she relinquished her bond with her pup by bonding him to Tomioka, an omega, as his parent. In biological terms, she consigned to Tomioka.