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“This class is for your own benefit and I fully trust you to make the right decision and partake in it.”
These words still echoed in Sanemi’s mind and when he closed his eyes, he could even see his master’s calm smile while looking down at him from his elevated seat. Of course, Ubuyashiki Kagaya knew fairly well that Sanemi was not able to resist his orders, even if they had been spoken as softly and vague as this one. If there was one person Sanemi could not refuse, it was his master. And thus, he had begrudgingly nodded and signed his soul over to whatever figurative demon Kagaya planned to unleash on him. As it turned out, this demon was indeed one of the worse kind and once Sanemi had caught word of a certain person leading the class, he knew he was doomed. Over the past few days, he had regularly contemplated whether this issue was worth fleeing and starting his life over somewhere far away. But then he thought of how disappointed his master would be and even though he told himself Kagaya would get over it, he did not have the heart to do it.
However, since that conversation enough time had passed that Sanemi slowly started hoping that nothing would come from it. Perhaps Kagaya had gotten ahead of himself, maybe he had changed his mind in the meantime. That thought made Sanemi’s heart feel a bit less heavy and accordingly, his next strike came down on his opponent with even more force than before.
“Ouch,” the young demon slayer yelped when he let go of his katana, holding his wrist. He barely had enough time to look up and jump aside with a startled scream when Sanemi’s katana came crashing down on him again. “What was that for?” he screamed, his shock and outrage mirrored in the faces of the other trainees around them.
Sanemi shrugged and felt a grin tugging at his mouth’s edges. “You see, dropping your weapon presents a wonderful opportunity for your enemy to kill you.”
The young man’s eyes widened and he carefully took two steps back. “You tried to kill me to teach me that lesson?” he shouted, his voice shrill with disbelief.
Sanemi furrowed an eyebrow and stared at him, barely registering the fear in the faces of those surrounding them. “Well,” he said slowly, “you seem pretty alive to me. And even if not, that’s life. Either you learn or you die, it’s as simple as that.”
The demon slayer stared at him for a moment, his eyes wide as saucers. Then, he slowly started shaking his head, his lower lip trembling. “Fuck that, I’m out of here,” he choked out, his voice quivering. And without another word, he turned around and stormed off, leaving his katana in the dust at Sanemi’s feet. The other trainees speechlessly watched him go before one of them set in motion and followed him, shouting for him to wait and think about it.
“Oi, Shinazugawa,” a voice behind Sanemi said and the other trainees quickly scurried to a different part of the training ground, one of them grabbing the forlorn sword while fearfully keeping an eye on Sanemi and especially his katana. Sanemi only barely resisted the urge to growl at the boy, even if just to scare him to death right then and there.
Instead, he reluctantly tore his gaze off the boy and turned around. As usual, the bandage covering Obanai’s mouth also veiled his grin but Sanemi knew him well enough to notice the amused sparkle in his uneven eyes. “Scaring off new candidates again?” Obanai asked. “The corps is gonna die out if you keep doing that.”
Sanemi shrugged again and slid his own katana back into its sheath. If it was anyone else, he might have tried to deny it but with Obanai, he did not bother to do so. “They’re going to die anyways, if they don’t learn how to hold their ground. I’m doing them a favor by teaching them that before they get ripped to shreds by a demon.”
Obanai raised an eyebrow and gave a pointed look to the gate of the training ground where the cloud of dust Sanemi’s victim had left still hovered in the air. “Yeah, sure. A favor,” Obanai repeated and if Sanemi had not known better, he would have thought that even Kaburamaru raised an eyebrow at him. For someone without eyebrows, the snake did a pretty good job at mirroring Obanai’s expression.
“Fine,” Sanemi sighed, shifting his weight to his other leg. “Maybe I just wanted to have some fun.”
This time, he could see Obanai’s grin even behind the bandage. “You scared that poor guy to death and half of the others with him.” He paused before he added, “It was hilarious, I’ll give you that.”
Sanemi laughed and for a moment, the world felt okay. But then he noticed Obanai growing serious again and a pit formed in his stomach. He quickly shot a glance at where his trainee had vanished but as if Obanai had guessed his thoughts, he swiftly moved himself between Sanemi and his escape route. Kaburamaru hissed and the expression in his ruby eyes almost looked as if he pitied Sanemi for what was to come.
Sanemi clenched his jaw and of course, this was the exact moment Kagaya’s kind smile popped back into his mind. His promise echoed through his mind and he heaved another sigh, surrendering to the inevitable. “So, what brings you here today?” he asked, fully aware that Obanai could sense his reluctance.
Obanai tilted his head slightly and stared at Sanemi so intensely that Sanemi felt his skin starting to crawl. “I think you already know, don’t you?”
“You’re probably here for some sparring, right?” Sanemi asked, trying to sound oblivious. He avoided Obanai’s – and Kaburamaru’s – gaze and instead stared into the air somewhere above Obanai’s head.
“I’ll give you five minutes to freshen up, then we’ll leave” Obanai said in a voice that did not allow any resistance. He paused for a moment and as if he had read Sanemi’s mind, he added, “If you try to bolt, I’ll send Tengen after you. So, either you come with me peacefully or you let yourself be gagged and tied up by Uzui. The result will be the same either way. Your choice.”
For a split second, Sanemi felt hysterical laughter bubbling up in his throat but it quickly subsided when he remembered that Tengen had indeed done this before when another Hashira had tried to dodge a meeting. Against his will, the mental image of Tengen kidnapping and dragging him to the class popped up in his mind and he shuddered. He was strong but he would not put it past Tengen to subdue him in this scenario. After all, the Sound Hashira developed some strange, incomprehensible power whenever he felt like another Hashira was not complying with their shared activities.
“Fine,” Sanemi grumbled, his hair still standing on end. “No need to get Uzui.”
“Thought so,” Obanai said and Sanemi shot him a nasty glance, only to be met with a malicious grin. “And now go, get ready.”
*
The whole way to the butterfly mansion felt like wading through quick sand. While Obanai did not overtly keep an eye on Sanemi, Kaburamaru sure did. His ruby eyes were fixed on Sanemi, never looking away, never blinking. After a while, it felt like the snake’s gaze burned holes into Sanemi and he uncomfortably shifted his weight from one leg to the other. When he saw the butterfly mansion appearing at the end of the street, he slowed down and swallowed hard. “Do we really have to go?” he asked before he could stop himself and immediately hated himself for how pleading he sounded.
Obanai turned to face him and for a split second, sympathy flickered through his eyes. Then, he regained control of his features and looked at Sanemi entirely unfazed. “Yes, we do,” he said sternly and motioned for Sanemi to get going again. “Move, Shinazugawa. It’s not getting any better if you stall.”
And with a feeling of walking right into his demise, Sanemi let Obanai usher him towards the butterfly mansion. When they came closer, the leaf door seemed to loom over them and even though Sanemi had been carried through this very door more than once, usually with injuries so devastating that he was barely conscious, the door had never looked more threatening than now. And as if he had gotten trapped in a nightmare, the door slowly started to open, revealing a path into unfathomable horrors.
“Shinazugawa?” Obanai’s voice protruded the hazy veil Sanemi had lost himself in. “Are you coming or will you suffer a stroke right here and now?”
Sanemi glared at him and asked himself when exactly Obanai had turned into this sassy bastard. “If you keep annoying me, I probably will,” he growled, more to himself than to Obanai who just raised an eyebrow and stepped aside. Even though everything in him protested against it, Sanemi clenched his fists and took the unthinkable first step over the threshold.
Inside, his mood dropped even more at the realization that he had only imagined the darkness about to swallow him. Instead, the entrance hall of the mansion was bathed in light as it always was. The evening sun even sent a golden glow through the windows, making the hall look like it belonged to a fairy realm. And this impression only grew when another door at his left opened, only to reveal a petite figure dancing towards him, her haori whirling through the air like the wings of a butterfly.
When Shinobu saw them, her eyes widened but only a second later, she had regained control of her face and put on her usual calm expression. “You’re here, that’s great,” she greeted them with a smile and exchanged a meaningful glance with Obanai.
Sanemi scrunched up his nose and shot Obanai a look. “Traitor,” he mouthed and Obanai just shrugged. Kaburamaru hissed quietly and with his tongue flicking, it almost looked like he wanted to mock Sanemi. He had to resist the urge to pull a face at either the snake with scales or the snake that called himself Sanemi’s friend and turned to face Shinobu. “Yeah, I’m here,” he said curtly.
Shinobu did not even flinch at his gruff tone and instead nodded with a smile. She waved for them to follow her before floating through the hall and down a hallway, the butterfly clip in her hair moving up and down in an almost hypnotic way. For a moment, Sanemi stood frozen in place but then he felt Obanai’s presence behind him getting closer and decided to start moving before Obanai ran into him. Gnashing his teeth, he followed Shinobu, leaving the entrance hall behind only to get swallowed by the mansion.
Shinobu led them through a surprising number of narrow hallways until Sanemi asked himself whether they were still in the same mansion or if she had lured them into some elaborate prison he would never be able to escape again. But before he could ponder on that thought, he heard faint voices from somewhere behind a corner. His body tensed up when he recognized quite a few familiar voices – more than he had expected. And even though he dreaded turning the corner, Obanai and Kaburamaru blocked his way out, leaving him no choice but to venture further.
“There we are,” Shinobu said and gently pushed a door open. Immediately, the voices grew louder and Sanemi could not help pulling a face when several pairs of eyes set upon him. Sanemi barely had enough time to register that he looked into a half open room opening into a beautiful garden before someone planted himself before him, blocking his view.
“Shinazugawa,” a voice boomed from above him and Sanemi involuntarily took a step back, bumping into Obanai who did not move a single inch, now standing uncomfortably close to Sanemi. “Didn’t think you’d show up, ya little gremlin.”
Sanemi froze and tried to process what he had heard. “What the fuck did you just call me?” he asked very calmly, a vein twitching in his cheek.
“That’s you to a tee, always ready to bash some heads in,” Tengen said, his roaring laughter making Sanemi’s ears ring. But before he had the chance to either reply or go for Tengen’s throat, Shinobu gracefully moved between them and gently ushered Tengen away.
“Sit down over there, will you?” she asked Sanemi and motioned for the spot the furthest away from where Tengen sat down, still grinning at Sanemi.
For a moment, he contemplated sprinting across the room and shoving Tengen his own words into his throat in a rather unkind way, but Shinobu still stood before him, looking up at him with this strangely calm gaze that did not entirely conceal the steel in her eyes. And thus, he left it at clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms. He wordlessly followed Obanai to the open half of the room and sat down on one of the mats placed on the outer side of the terrace, right next to some flowerbeds. While he felt Obanai’s and Kaburamaru’s eyes on him, Sanemi eyed the other Hashira that had also taken a seat on mats in various sizes and colors. At the far end of the terrace right next to the door they had come from, Tengen lounged on the ground, casually whispering something to Kyoujurou who sat right next to him. Mitsuri had chosen a mat very close to the small pedestal which Shinobu now walked towards. Next to her, Sanemi spotted a slouched figure that he first mistook for Muichiro. But when he raised his head, revealing an all too familiar face, Sanemi scowled. He would have recognized that frown everywhere and even just the sight of it made his stomach bubble with rage. Giyuu, however, did not take notice of him and instead blankly stared at Shinobu who now elegantly sank down onto her mat, crossing her legs.
“Welcome,” Shinobu said with a smile and immediately, the chattering stopped and all heads turned towards her. “I am really glad that you have chosen to be here today.”
“As if Shinazugawa had much of a choice,” Sanemi heard Tengen whisper at the other end of the terrace. “He looks like he’d rather drop dead than be here.”
Sanemi shot Tengen a glance that would have killed him immediately and Tengen looked up just in time to catch his glare. He tilted his head cockily and winked at Sanemi, almost causing him to choke on his rage.
“At first, I’d like to talk to you about what anger is,” Shinobu continued talking, taking no notice of Tengen’s shenanigans. “While anger itself is entirely natural, it is most important that we do not let ourselves be consumed by it. Therefore, we will start this lesson by exploring the roots of our anger.”
While she talked, Sanemi zoned out and stared at the flowers next to him, trying to calm his heartbeat that angrily thundered in his chest. He focused on a single red flower, red like blood when he punched Tengen’s nose in, red like … no, perhaps rather the yellow flower next to it.
Only when Obanai poked his leg did Sanemi turn his attention back to Shinobu who now let her gaze wander over them. “Next, we will try to identify our triggers. Would anyone like to start?”
“Well, I’m pretty chill, but maybe you should ask Shinazugawa,” Tengen replied with a grin. “He gets triggered by his own breathing, so maybe start with him. Or, even better, just leave him be before he blows his top over nothing again.”
This time, Obanai’s nudge came a bit too late. “What the fuck is your problem, Uzui?” Sanemi hissed, his eyes narrowing. Only Shinobu’s stern gaze kept him on his mat, his legs twitching as they itched to jump and kick Tengen’s teeth in.
“This is a good example,” Shinobu said earnestly. “Would you like to explain what made you angry in this situation, Sanemi?”
Sanemi stared at her incredulously. “Uh, Uzui being a shithead, maybe?” he scoffed and Shinobu shook her head.
“It seems like Shinazugawa-san is easily irritable,” a quiet voice piped up from somewhere between Sanemi and Tengen. “Perhaps he is triggered by Uzui-san implying that he has a short fuse. Which, in my opinion, only proves my point.”
A faint smile appeared on Shinobu’s face and she nodded approvingly. “Well done,” she said and Sanemi stared at her, blood rushing in his ears. “That is a good start. Please take a moment to think about these words, Sanemi. And later, you can tell us how they made you feel.”
Instantly, Sanemi asked himself what Shinobu would say if he told her that ‘these words’ made him want to choke someone, preferably until the life left their eyes. He desperately bit the inner sides of his cheeks, trying to keep himself from screaming out loud. The whole situation felt like a fever dream and if Tengen made one more stupid comment, Sanemi did not know how to hold himself back anymore. He fixed his gaze on Giyuu’s dark hair, burning holes into the back of his head. That guy had some nerve trying to psychoanalyze Sanemi while he himself walked around like a scarecrow that had been shit on by a murder of crows.
“For now, let’s move on to the next part of the lesson,” Shinobu said, ignoring Sanemi’s face at those words. “I think now is the perfect time to practice some techniques that will help you stay calm even in aggravating situations.”
Elegantly, Shinobu laid down on her back and motioned for them to follow her example. Sanemi had to force his body to copy her movement and when he lay on his mat, stiff like a marble sculpture, he felt like he did not get enough air anymore. On Shinobu’s command, he forced his eyes shut and tried to take a deep breath. It felt like he was breathing against a resistance and even he heard the rattle his lungs made.
“See, he’s such a rage gnome that he can’t even breathe properly. It’s a wonder he can even fight with a breathing style,” he distinctly heard someone whisper from the other end of the open space and he almost choked on his next breath.
But before he could react, Shinobu raised her voice and continued leading them through the breathing exercise, drowning out the chuckle that followed the whisper. “It is important to recognize the physical components of anger,” Shinobu explained while they kept following her previous instructions, Sanemi still struggling to take deep breaths. “Strong indicators you can look out for are your heartbeat and breathing. Both increase in frequency when you get angry. Breathing techniques like this one can help you calm these physiological effects down which in turn may also help reduce your irritation.”
Without actually intending to do so, Sanemi listened to his own heartbeat and frowned when he noticed that it was indeed very quick, matching his shallow breathing. He huffed when Shinobu continued, telling them that a high body tension was also a common indicator. If his body grew any more tense, Sanemi might turn into a marble statue after all.
“Just relax,” Obanai whispered next to him and Sanemi turned his head around to give him a stern look. Obanai just shrugged and closed his eyes, breathing as calmly and steadily as if he was fast asleep.
“You seem to be having some trouble, Sanemi,” Shinobu said from way closer and Sanemi turned to face her so quick that his neck crackled. “Would you like to take a look at how Giyuu is doing it?”
“I’d rather not,” Sanemi said before he could stop himself. Shinobu’s expression turned into a slightly disappointed one.
“As you wish,” she said after a moment and floated away to check how the others were doing.
Sanemi closed his eyes and tried to regain control of his breathing but all that happened was elaborate images of him beating up Tengen appearing before his inner eye. And to his surprise, this actually did have a calming effect on him. He opened one eye and glanced at Obanai but he was not looking at him. Sanemi closed his eye again and gave in to the fantasy. While he pictured the look on Tengen’s face, his breathing slowly started to calm down. One by one, his muscles relaxed and after a while Sanemi noticed that he was not imagining Tengen anymore. Instead, his opponent had turned into a less obnoxious and yet even more infuriating person.
“Giyuu, you are doing absolutely wonderful,” Shinobu said as if she had read Sanemi’s mind. “Would you like to share with us how you achieved this state of calm?”
When Sanemi heard Obanai move next to him, he reluctantly opened his eyes again and sat up, looking at Shinobu who now smiled down at Giyuu. From where he was seated, Sanemi could not see Giyuu’s face but he sure could see his careless shrug. “I just don’t feel anything,” Giyuu replied and for a moment, Shinobu just stared at him.
Then, she nodded and said, “Well, in any case, you should all follow Giyuu’s example. He’s the epitome of calm.”
Sanemi rolled his eyes so far that he expected to see the inside of his head at any moment now. “The epitome of depressed as fuck is more like it,” he grumbled and heard Obanai snort behind him, the sound quickly muffled by what sounded like him pressing his sleeve against his mouth.
Shinobu shot him a stern look and for a moment he saw a vein twitching on her forehead. Her smile seemed a bit more forced than before when she turned back to the group and said, “Now that you have learned a technique how to calm yourself down, we should get to practicing it. Get together in pairs, please.”
Sanemi sighed and already turned around to Obanai when Shinobu planted herself in front of him. “You can forget that,” she said sharply before giving him a sickly sweet smile. “I think you’d profit more by working together with …” She trailed off and even before she looked back at him, Sanemi knew that he would not like what was coming next. “How about Giyuu? Obanai, please switch mats with him.”
Sanemi froze. This had to be a nightmare, one of those that start off weird and get worse by the minute until you feel like you’re being dragged down into a marsh, feeling the surface close above your head. And utterly paralyzed, he watched as Obanai wordlessly stood up and followed Shinobu’s order, taking no notice of Sanemi’s bewilderment at this betrayal. Only Kaburamaru shot him a quick look, his tongue flicking commiseratively.
Sanemi’s body felt heavy as he watched his dark-haired nemesis come closer, silent as always, a blank expression on his face. He sank down on the mat that Obanai had left behind, staring at Sanemi unwaveringly.
“What?” Sanemi hissed as Giyuu did not look away for a single second. When he did not receive an answer, he felt his heart beating faster again, his fingers digging into the edges of his own mat. Giyuu looked down at Sanemi’s hands and, provocatively slow, back up at his face again before he just shrugged.
Sanemi clenched his teeth and turned away, facing Shinobu who now started explaining their next exercise. However, from the corner of his eye he could see that Giyuu did not avert his gaze for even a split second. It almost looked like he did not even blink, his blue eyes as deep and cold as the abyss. A shiver ran down Sanemi’s spine and he fought the urge to move away from Giyuu as far as possible.
“Now, you will turn to your partner and calmly explain something to them that aggravates you. Keep the breathing technique we practiced in mind,” Shinobu explained and smiled at them encouragingly.
Sanemi shot her a pleading look, still hoping that she would revise her decision and spare him from a confrontation with Giyuu. When Shinobu met his eyes, his hopes shot up and he held his breath when she came closer, stopping next to them. “So, why don’t you explain to Giyuu how Tengen’s comment made you feel earlier?” she asked, and Sanemi’s heart sank.
“I don’t give a flying fuck about what Uzui says,” Sanemi mumbled, more to himself. Shinobu’s smile was unrelenting when she pointed to Giyuu.
“Tell him, not me,” she said and Sanemi took a deep breath before slowly turning to face Giyuu. Shinobu nodded approvingly and walked over to the next pair, leaving Sanemi alone with that psychopath who was still staring him down.
For a while, they both stayed quiet. Sanemi did not move a muscle when he stared right back at Giyuu, determined to show him that he would not back down. However, that proved to be rather difficult. Something about Giyuu’s blank face made his skin crawl and after a while of not blinking, his eyes started to feel uncomfortably dry. He forced himself to hold out as long as he could but after another, very unpleasant minute, he finally had to give in. His skin started feeling hot as he glared at Giyuu who still had not closed his eyes even once. Another few seconds passed and with each moment, Sanemi felt his composure crumbling at bit more. And after another minute, he could not hold back any longer. “Will you fucking blink now?” Sanemi blurted out, his voice quivering with rage. “What are you, a damn reptile?”
Giyuu very slowly tilted his head and stared at Sanemi for another moment before he blinked so obscenely slow as if he wanted to mock him. “I am not,” he said after such a long pause that Sanemi had already forgotten what Giyuu was replying to.
“Not right in the head if you ask me,” he muttered under his breath before he could stop himself.
Giyuu, however, did not even bat an eyebrow. Instead, he looked at Sanemi as if he was a mildly interesting plant or animal he had stumbled upon. “You sure are unkind,” Giyuu said rather matter-of-factly, as if he was stating something obvious. “Is that a consequence of your temper?”
Sanemi opened his mouth and closed it again, taken aback. Of course, Obanai and sometimes even Muichiro joked about his tendency to get mad at others, but no one had ever called him unkind to his face before. “I am not … unkind,” Sanemi spat out and cursed Giyuu silently when even he himself heard that his tone did in fact sound very unkind. “I’m just …”
“Short-fused? Hot-tempered? Prone to overreactions?” Giyuu jumped in, his head still tilted to the side.
Sanemi’s fist itched and he quickly shoved it beneath his leg as he was fairly sure that Shinobu’s training did not include beating the living shit out of someone. “I am not,” he growled, his face feeling so hot as if he was about to explode in flames at any moment now.
Giyuu raised an eyebrow and studied him. “You’re not very self-aware, are you?” he asked, his voice still calm as always. “Or are you lying to yourself so that you don’t have to think about it?”
Sanemi’s mouth opened and closed again as he tried to think of an answer that consisted of words instead of violence. But before he could come up with something, Giyuu spoke up again. “Remember the breathing technique,” he said quietly. “Follow my lead. Breathe in, breathe out.”
For a tiny, wonderful moment Sanemi envisioned his hands around Giyuu’s neck. Then, he shoved the thought aside and closed his eyes, fighting down the red hot rage consuming his body. He focused on his breathing, battling his constricted throat for every breath.
“You’re doing great,” a soft voice beside him said and Sanemi shuddered when he realized that his own breathing had indeed matched Giyuu’s slow and steady breathing. He immediately tried to change his own rhythm but somehow, his body did not allow it. “Don’t fight it, just keep breathing.”
“Shut up,” Sanemi growled and to his surprise, Giyuu indeed fell silent. And somehow, this silence was easier to endure with his eyes closed, even though it made him feel attackable. After a while, the blood rushing through Sanemi’s ears quieted down and he started to hear other, new sounds. He heard the soft tapping of Shinobu’s footsteps as she walked from one pair to the other. To his left, he heard the buzz of a bee, and a bit farther away even the quiet gurgling of a small creek. And all the while, he heard Giyuu’s soft and steady breathing that somehow fit perfectly into the scenery.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Giyuu said after a while and for once, Sanemi did not feel the urge to immediately strange him for opening his mouth. Reluctantly, he opened one eye, glancing at Giyuu whose blue eyes now looked like a calm lake when he rested his gaze on Sanemi.
“I guess so,” he grumbled, quickly turning away before Giyuu had the chance to react. He opened his other eye - and froze when he saw half a dozen faces staring at him, their eyes wide as saucers, mouths agape.
“It’s a miracle,” Tengen whispered from across the room and this time, even he sounded like he was not sure whether he was joking or not. “Who would’ve thought that Tomioka is the key to calming Shinazugawa down?”
Sanemi’s heart skipped a beat and he heard a weird crackling sound as his brain tried to make sense of what Tengen had just said. He stared back at them with widened eyes, a feeling of dread creeping up his gut. Obanai looked entirely bewildered and even Kaburamaru’s ruby eyes shone with surprise. Mitsuri and Shinobu exchanged a quick glance and both started to smile knowingly at the same time, sending a shiver down Sanemi’s spine. He jumped up, almost slipping on his mat. He took one step back, then another one. To his dismay, Giyuu was now also in his field of vision and he desperately tried to ignore the faint blush on Giyuu’s cheeks.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Sanemi squeezed out, his hands trembling. Shinobu came closer, reaching for him, but quickly he took another step back.
“I can’t believe it,” Tengen said, incredulously staring first at Sanemi, then at Giyuu, “Tomioka tamed Shinazugawa.”
Sanemi’s heart hammered in his chest as he violently shook his head. “Shut the fuck up, Uzui. You’re talking nonsense.”
But when he looked around, searching for any hint of amusement or mockery in the other Hashiras’ faces, he was only met with the same astounded expression. His breath came quickly as he retreated further into the garden, his hands trembling. This was all a dream, a bizarre, terrifying dream that he would wake up from at any moment now. But then, his gaze fell upon Giyuu and his heart skipped another beat. His blue eyes looked like the sky when he met Sanemi’s gaze. And for a moment, Sanemi felt calm again. Then, the silence was shattered by the Hashira all starting to talk at once.
Without a word, Sanemi whirled around and bolted. He sprinted through the garden, towards the wall lining the property. And when he climbed it with one jump, the last thing he heard was Shinobu’s voice. “Well, that certainly was a first step towards anger management.”