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Chapter Text

A DEMONIC THREE

Giyuu ran, sword drawn, racing through the snow, heart beating frantically in his chest.

He could smell it.

The scent of thick, iron blood.

There had been reports of a demon in the area, but Giyuu hadn't expected it to strike in the day- but there was forest cover.

He continued to run, hair whipping behind him in the wind, speed ripping dead leaves off the brittle tree branches. He finally saw it. The hill. And the sea of red that was dripping down.

With no further ado, he continued to run up, changing his stance to that of combat. And he locked eyes with a bloodbath. And there it was, the demon, standing over a girl who was desperately crawling away to a boy who had seemingly been struck unconscious. The demon did not laugh. It did not speak. It did not smile.

It simply observed her.

He hasn't noticed me yet-

How wrong Giyuu was.

Suddenly, a whip of flesh and bone shot out, and he just barely managed to dodge it. The demon's eyes flicked to the left, looking Giyuu up and down. 

"Hashira."

Giyuu's blood ran cold.

This was no normal demon. An uppermoon, for sure.

Suddenly, it was as if an army of the whips appeared out of the demon's back, all targeting Giyuu. He managed to dodge them all, but only by a hair. It looked as if a vein was going to burst in the demon's forehead from anger. But Giyuu did not stop.

"-Water breathing, eleventh form, Lull!" He shouted, waiting as his heart dropped low and he cut away at the whips coming towards him.

But one made it through, past his inevitable guard.

It was on his side, and shot like a bullet into his hand, snaking it's way through Giyuu's skin and down through his palm. He inhaled sharply, and one-handedly cut through the whip.

But the damage was dealt- it was dripping rose red like everything else. 

Another attack was coming his way, and Giyuu was sure a few more were going to hit him. He couldn't use Lull again in such short time.

It was as if the universe knew that.

A body suddenly ran in front of the incoming onslaught, but as the attack hit it, the flesh knit back together.

A demon- It helped me!

He looked young, but the other demon's eyes suddenly widened.

His eyes narrowed.

And the boy exploded.

And did not regenerate.

"SHIGERU!" Another voice screamed. It was another boy, holding a hatchet. 

Another demon?!

The main demon just made him splatter all over the walls too. He almost regenerated, just enough to save his vocal cords.

"Save... them... They're alive-"

Giyuu's eyes widened.

Then he realized- the girl and the fallen boy. 

He couldn't defeat this monster. The blood coming off his hand was starting to take it's toll.

So Giyuu grabbed the girl over his shoulder and the boy under his arm.

They had to run.

ACT ONE

Chapter Text

Tanjiro's memory was now filled with horror, and feelings of swirling panic.

He was dreaming, and then he wasn't- Suddenly, he felt himself tumbling to the ground, and his eyes flew open, being faced with the bright glare of snow on sun, open sky above him.

Wait- NEZUKO-

He forced himself up, and saw here, lying in the snow. He lunged, checking her all over. Her legs were cut up horribly, blood spattered everywhere.

Who brought them here?

He looked around, and saw someone leaning against a tree, looking as if they were about to fall over. There was a path through the snow where Tanjiro had tumbled, but the majority led to the man.

His eyes locked with Tanjiro's. "...What do you remember?" He said in a serious voice, taking in deep, frantic breaths afterward.

Tanjiro's face paled.

"They're dead."

He said quietly.

Suddenly, the man lurched forward, and Tanjiro reached out a hand, but the man managed to steady himself. "The thing that killed your family was a demon-"

Tanjiro nodded, vigorously. "Yes, I- Do you know Saburo-san?"

The man looked confused. "No. My job is to exterminate them, but the one that attacked your family was... Different. One of the worst I've ever faced. I managed to get you two here, and there's no sign of it following us, and we also have the sun's cover. They burn in it. But we need to run." He said, gaze still serious.

He carried us both here? He looks exhausted.

Giyuu wanted to fall over and pass out.

His hand was wrapped with some bandages he had, but it had soaked through. Hell, there was a hole the size of his sword hilt in the middle of it.

But he couldn't go to the village. If the demon was still tailing them, it would massacre the town. It might have already been doing that, which made going there not an option.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes found it to Giyuu's hand. He took in a breath. "How did you- How did you carry us here with that injury?" Cold air rose from his mouth as he stared wide-eyed at Giyuu.

"...I'll tell you when I can. Right now, I sent a crow to alert someone of our arrival."

The boy looked a little relieved, but then thought of something. "Why can't we go to the village?"

"Because if we're being tailed, the demon will kill us and everyone there. He might be doing that right now, and neither of us is fit to fight. Now can you carry your sister?"

The boy nodded. Slowly, mouth still open with no words to say.

As he slung the girl over his shoulder, he turned to Giyuu one last time. "What's your name?"

"Tomioka."

The boy nodded. "I'm Tanjiro. This is Nezuko."

Tanjiro. So that's his name.

With that, Giyuu forced himself to tighten the wrappings on his hand, and stopped leaning on the tree. He turned to Tanjiro. "Keep up."

And with that, he sped through the snow as Tanjiro ran behind him.

To Tanjiro, it felt like hours. In reality, it had only been around half an hour.

But Giyuu just couldn't. His endurance was never this low.

The poison.

The siblings were resting on a nearby log, but Giyuu's vision started to fog, and his breath began to slow.

This seriously couldn't be happening. 

Urokodaki was the person closest to their location but even he probably wouldn't make it fast enough.

A flash of pain shot up Giyuu's arm, and he had no choice but to double over, clutching his left hand. 

And then blood started to trickle out of his lips.

What?...

He felt his chest rattle, and then realized.

The demon had narrowly slashed him in the side. But now that the cut was open and bleeding, it was contributing to his fatigue. And blood was climbing up his throat. There was nothing he could do but turn away and wretch blood into the snow.

Giyuu had never actively seeked death, but he told himself he wouldn't really mind if he died.

Oh, how wrong he was. The basic instinct of a human was to fear it.

And Giyuu had not yet achieved anything in his life. He still felt empty, as if his goals had not yet been fulfilled. He hadn't avenged anyone, he couldn't die now.

"Tomioka-san!" Tanjiro said.

Giyuu realized he had been kneeling beside him, waiting to do something. Anything. The desperation was evident in his eyes. Giyuu just shook his head. "I can make it."

His words were slurred and lips painted with blood.

Lies.

But Tanjiro didn't need to know that.

"Make sure your sister is alright. You bandaged her wounds, right?"

Tanjiro nodded. "I used all of the bandages up though, should I tear something up for you?!-" 

He was surprised when Giyuu shook his head. "I have some more I can use on myself."

But before he could get up, he felt blood rise in his throat again. He turned away so it wouldn't go all over Tanjiro. His chest was wracked with coughs, and he could barely breathe between coughing and vomiting as bile continued to rise up and mix around with the blood in his mouth. Every time he spat it out, there was just more to vomit out. 

Out of nowhere, he grabbed his sword out of it's scabbard. He unwrapped his hand, and Tanjiro watched in horror. It was purple all over, with his veins looking almost white against the intense, bruised violet. 

It was climbing up his arm, and his hand looked as if it was rotting.

There was no saving it.

And so, he grabbed his sword, swinging it in an arc before bringing it down.

Bone cracked, and a wide ring of rouge flew in the air.

His hand fell in the snow.

Tanjiro yelped, and Giyuu doubled over in pain, taking in sharp, painful breaths. Tanjiro shouted, hoping someone was around, Nezuko on his back, as he looked at Giyuu with eyes full of fear.

But he didn't question the act. Instead, he grabbed the bandages that had fallen out of Giyuu's pocket and rapidly bandaged the stump.

It was bleeding through, But Giyuu forced himself, to get up. He held his arm at a high angle so the blood would flow back down into his arm.

Crazy.

He had been called that plenty a time.

Maybe he really was?

He looked to Tanjiro.

"Go... NOW. That temple over there-"

He slammed his right hand on his chest, trying to quell the coughs, making his body wrack with pain, stump a fountain of red.

Tanjiro nodded, and then put his hand under Giyuu's arm. Giyuu looked up, bewildered. Tanjiro pulled him up, determination flaming in his eyes, fear burned away.

Sabito?

Giyuu flung that thought away, and used his sword as a walking stick while Tanjiro supported him, all while carrying Nezuko. He was strong for his age.

They trudged through the snow, knees slowly being freed from the white as they made it to a pathway. There was an abandoned temple ahead. Then, the sudden swing of a sword, sound echoing across the field.

Then Giyuu saw him.

Urokodaki.

A demon's head lay on the ground behind him, but Tanjiro soon shouted, and Urokodaki's eyes found the two of them.

And Giyuu stopped holding on.

He fell.

Into darkness.

Chapter Text

Urokodaki was greeted with the visage of his student, his son, almost corpse-like, with a missing hand and side bleeding flowing like a river. 

All Urokodaki had received was a crow, injured, begging for help.

But as he lay there bleeding, Urokodaki snapped into focus. He pulled out a box of matches, then a needle, and some thread. "Stitch up his wounds," He instructed to the boy. The boy snatched the supplies and got to work, hands surprisingly steady.

And so Urokodaki struck the match, slowly burning the stump of Giyuu's left arm. It took him three matches to fully cauterize it. Once he tossed aside the burnt matches, he looked towards the boy, gently taking the needle and thread from him, re-threading it after it had just fallen. It was half stitched already, and Urokodaki finished it with silent precision.

He hauled Giyuu onto his back and began to run home. The boy followed wordlessly.

It felt so disgusting. Giyuu was almost comatose, Urokodaki having to make sure he didn't fall off. Blood was everywhere, seeping into Urokodaki's hair and dripping from Giyuu's remaining fingertips. 

He gripped the door with strength he had not mustered in years and thrust it open, slamming it on it's wheels and shaking the engawa.

He trudged in, a wet, bloody body following him. He laid him on the bedding he used to sleep so peacefully on, staining it forever.

"Put her in the other room," Urokodaki said as he grabbed his medical supplies from a shelf.

The boy nodded, and took her away, grabbing some things from the basket to treat the girl.

As soon as Urokodaki kneeled down beside Giyuu, he grabbed Giyuu's shirt and haori, tossing them aside, taking in the full extent of his injuries. The sickly pale skin that made him look dead, the bruise-like purple spreading through his body, the white veins popping out of his injured arm.

Then he suddenly jerked, body starting to convulse, eyes rolling back in his head. Urokodaki grabbed his limbs, trying to steady him. He prayed, oh how he prayed, because what could he do?

For the first time in a long time, Urokodaki didn't know what to do.

.He was scared.

He hadn't even been this scared when he waited for Giyuu to come home.

He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He prayed. 

He prayed. 

He prayed. 

He prayed. 

Blood starting to spurt out of Giyuu's mouth, sticking to his face like spiderwebs. Urokodaki grabbed him, pushing his mouth down to the ground, grabbing a cup and shoving it under, catching all of the blood and bile and vomit seeping out.

A seizure could be caused by head trauma, but Giyuu hadn't been hurt when he fell, and didn't have a wound.

Suddenly, the boy burst through the door, painting. "Poison- the demon has poison, he cut off his hand to stop it, but I think it's spreading-"

He saw Giyuu.

He turned away for a moment, and Urokodaki heard the gulp of swallowed fear and puke.

Poison.

"Get the purple in the bottle in the shelf behind me, NOW!" 

The boy obeyed without a second thought, crashing through the living room and opening the cabinet so forcefully the hinges nearly snapped off. He snatched the bottle, stumbling on the floor, sending it through the air.

Urokodaki turned and caught the bottle, then looked back at Giyuu. He uncapped the bottle and forced him to drink it once the last of the bile was out.

It was a poison remedy mixed with wisteria, but it wouldn't be nearly enough. The purple of poison, not the wisteria, was creeping up the handless arm.

There wasn't enough time. He would die even if they got a doctor.

He checked his neck, collarbone, face, shoulder, and chest. Not poison.

There was one choice.

Take the gamble and fetch a corps doctor, or doctor, or anyone.

-Or do what was guaranteed to work right then are there.

"...Tanjiro.

Dig a hole in the yard."

Urokodaki grabbed the old sword he used for training. Not wood, but metal.

Cut off the source of the poison.

And save his son.

Chapter Text

Giyuu was floating through space, drinking in the nothingness, and then-

-He screamed.

It was swallowing him the black, he saw dead, people, he saw people who had died he was there he remember the blood they grabbed his hands they didn't let go they were ripping his limbs apart he was choking something was around his neck like a snake, coiling, coiling, COILING, TAKING, KILLING, HURTING-

He could not scream, he could not answer their hateful words, "Why didn't you save us," he could not BREATHE.

Suddenly, one ghost, without a face, an empty, expression without eyes or a nose or a mouth, just a checkered green and black hands, shook him, and then he was awake.

A boy stood over him... Tanjiro? With the checkered haori and deep red eyes.

He was gripping some sheets as if they had attempted murder.

Is that what was choking me?

The boy was breathing fast.

"I am so, so sorry."

And then he did something... Giyuu didn't know what, but he was back in the black.

Alone.

No angry spirits hanging around him, screaming so loud his ear drums popped.

He was... ok?

Urokodaki was busy cleaning a sword in boiling water from a nearby volcanic spring.

He left Tanjiro to take care of Giyuu.

Tanjiro didn't know what to do.

He didn't know what to do.

And he had just drugged a man, the man who saved him.

They were saving him so why did it feel like they were killing him?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Tanjiro had so many questions. Too many.

He smacked himself, leaving a bruise. He kept on smacking himself, hitting his legs, scratching his arms until they bled. He was breathing so hard it felt like his chest would explode.

He hated himself, he let his family died, their bodies were rotting and decaying.

Tanjiro wanted to scream.

But he cried instead.

Because in the end, the only way to save him was to-

...Tanjiro didn't want to think about that.

Chapter Text

Urokodaki returned with the sword.

He did not comments about the white wrapping around Tanjiro's arms like snakes. How the book's eyes were tearstained and his pants had blood soaking through the knee.

He felt guilty for this child. It was no one but the demon's fault.

And as Urokodaki stood over his son, his hands shook.

Because who wants to cut off their son's arm? Hurt them to save them? Watch them scream and cry and watch their arm fall limp?

"...Tanjiro.

Go."

He obeyed.

And so, it was one slash, one fast walk, one drop in the hole Tanjiro had dug.

One burial for someone who wasn't dead.

One agonizing scream with no one beside him because apart of him was having it's burial was happening just metres outside, in the dirt. 

❀    ❀    ❀

Ubuyashiki Residence

❀  ❀  ❀

It had been two months since Tomioka Giyuu had left for long missions after a particularly nasty fight at the last hashira meeting.

Everyone knew he was gone.

But they half expected him to show up anyways.

He never did.

Instead...

...Ubuyashiki Kagaya spoke.

"The water hashira is missing. And we believe he is dead."

No one spoke, not for a moment, then all hell broke loose, some erupting in fury, others in horror. Shinazugawa screamed hateful, disgusting things about how Giyuu was just faking it all for the attention.

Dead?

"It's been TWO MONTHS, for fuck's sake!" Sanemi shouted, while Uzui tried to push him back onto the floor.

"DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS!" He roared, shutting Sanemi up effectively. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! HE WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT IF YOUR ASS DIDN'T CALL HIM THE THINGS YOU DID!" He said, grabbing Sanemi's hair and yelling in his face.

Everyone had been fed up with him since Giyuu left.

He had been nothing but a horrible person.

After that, no one spoke.

They just sat in the silence.

Chapter Text

Giyuu felt like he was on fire. He was burning, being thrust into a raging fire.

He forced himself to wake up, push through the delirium.

...His left arm felt oddly numb. He was about to look when the boy was suddenly grabbing his face, not letting him look.

He looked sad. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and wanted to crawl into a hole.

Was Giyuu projecting?

No... The boy genuinely looked horrible.

(Giyuu hadn't seen himself yet.)

"ᴵᵗ'ˢ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ ᵃ ᶠᵉʷ ᵈᵃʸˢ."

The boy's voice was so quiet, so soft that Giyuu had to strain his ears to hear it. 

It sounded like rough wood, sandpaper.

Was he okay?

Giyuu felt oddly... light.

Suddenly, his mind came rushing back.

His face drained of blood. Becoming white like a ghost.

His arm wasn't numb. He had to cut off his hand.

Had the poison spread that far?

Tanjiro had let go. The moment it did, Giyuu forced himself up and tried to raise his arm-

It wasn't there.

Oh god, it wasn't there.

He started hyperventilating, breath trampling his throat.

But he tried to pull himself back. Ground himself. His job was to help others.

And Tanjiro looked...

Well, after Giyuu had started panicking, he looked as if he had just... disassociated. His face was blank, and his palms were open, covered in scratches that were clearly intentional.

Giyuu's eyes widened.

What has he been doing to himself?

Giyuu grunted, still shaking and horrified, but not losing himself.

The priority was the children. Giyuu had lived a longer life, so it was his job to make sure Tanjiro got to live longer than he did.

He reached forward with his right arm and pulled Tanjiro down to lie on his legs, which were covered in a thick blanket.

The boy's body slowly melted, eyes fluttering before they closed. He lay sprawled out head facing Giyuu, and finally, Giyuu noticed the rise and fall of his body. he was asleep.

Then the exhaustion hit Giyuu. His eyes fluttered close, and he sank into a deep sleep.

When Urokodaki found the, he just tended to both of their wounds.

He didn't move either of them.

Far away, a stone was engraved with his name, and the date he was declared missing. Shinobu stood there, feeling despicable.

She had teased him, thinking his airhead had perhaps taken it to heart but never acknowledging the possible consequences.

No one talked to each other. The hashiras were distant. After Tengen's sudden outburst at Sanemi (That quite frankly, voiced everything everyone had been to afraid or ashamed to say,) Sanemi had stopped talking. Then everyone else did too.

Little did they know Giyuu was hanging on.

They would soon, finally find out again.

Chapter Text

Shinobu stood in the rain, letting it soak her haori, dripping down her back, umbrella closed by her side, with faded purple patterns.

He was gone.

He was really gone.

The man she had chatted with and even laughed with once. There was no romance between them, she had just found him easy to talk to, since he never answered. He never questioned her.

She had only asked what troubled him once, but he hadn't answered. She prodded a bit but left it alone after she showed his discomfort.

Why didn't she just try? Now he thought of her as some kind of wicked, wretched woman who just made fun of him.

She walked away.

A tear going down her cheek.

She barely knew him.

So why did she cry?

Shinobu couldn't sleep that night. She wanted to visit his grave again. What else could she do?

She walked outside in a purple robe, carrying her sword tucked into a makeshift cloth belt, hair pinned up messily with the pin. Nobody would probably notice, even if they were out here late at night. 

She made her way through the graveyard, and to her surprise, someone was there.

A common slayer, uniform with shining silver buttons, with a lantern resting on the ground below the grave.

His knees were tucked into his chest, black hair ruffled by the night's breeze.

Then she heard them- quiet sobs. His whole body was racked with them, and she saw a tear land on the stone.

He finally noticed her, panickedly turning to face her.

She just gave him a small, small smile.

"How do you know him?" She asked, voice soft.

He looked down, they wiped the tears from his eyes, and dusted his pants as he got up.

"We were in the same final selection. I helped heal him after he was injured."

His eyes were too red for someone who was just "In the same final selection."

She waited for whatever he was going to say next. She could tell he was going to say something.

"...I helped him through some stuff. Someone he was close to died, so I just... I talked to him. He always listened. And when he finally spoke back, it just felt like we were closer than we really were."

He stood, staring at the grave, almost glaring at it, blinking tears out of his eyes.

Oh.

I never knew.

So if I had just asked more he would've told me?

"How did you know him?" He asked, turning to her.

"I'm the insect hashira. We often went on missions together."

He looked shocked. "...Ah..."

He didn't bow. Shinobu didn't particularly care. They were both grieving in their own ways.

"So your name is Kocho-san?"

She nodded. "What's yours?"

"...Murata."

She tilted her head, giving him a more sorrowful smile.

"It would be nice if we could talk about him. I never knew enough...."

She looked up at the sky, littered with stars. Was he up there?

"...But you were right. He did always listen."

Chapter Text

Urokodaki was going to take Tanjiro with him to the market, or go himself, but there were injured people that under no circumstances be left alone. So he sent Tanjiro out to buy the food and medicine, dropping a few extra coins in his hand.

By this point, he knew Nezuko's name and the fact that she was his sister.

"Buy her something or buy yourself something. You... You've worked hard."

Tanjiro looked empty.

Urokodaki wrapped him in his arms, the small form fading in the waves of his haori.

Then Tanjiro hugged back, sobbing, crying, shuddering until he finally felt... functioning again.

Urokdaki gave him a pat on the head, and he turned around, down the hill, and into the village.

Giyuu's crow, that had delivered one single message after years of Urokodaki's letters, was sitting on the roof. Cawing and shivering from the cold.

It said only Giyuu's name.

And it sounded sad.

So Urokodaki raised a hand, and the crow saw him, diving down to sit on it.

Urokodaki walked inside, and slowly cleaning the small injury he had found on Kanzaburo a week ago, when this whole mess had started. 

"...Giyuu... left... mission... two months ago... Okay?" The crow whispered.

Giyuu left for two months worth of missions? The corps probably thinks he's dead!

It had been a week and a few days too, was it already the ending of the second month or a third?

"Kanzaburo?"

The crow looked up at him.

"Go. Tell them he's alive."

The crow obeyed, black flying off into the bleak winter daylight.

Chapter Text

Oyakata-sama had called a meeting. After assigning missions, he had noticed sparse responses from people who usually gave at least a hello or farewell.

Everyone looked desolate. He felt sad for them.

He opened his mouth to speak.

And then a crow shot through the shoji paper on the doors, through the small square, and crash landed in the middle of the Master and all the hashira.

Shinobu stared at the crow.

"...Wait. That's his crow!" She said, voice rising from a whisper to a shout.

Instantly, Amane-sama carefully picked up the bird. "What happened?" She asked, eyes piercing the crow's. 

"...Alive.

Tomioka Giyuu is alive."

What?

Everyone sat in shock.

No way.

Shinobu rose up.

"Where is he?" She asked, before anyone else had the chance to ask.

"...Mount... Sagiri.... Sakonji Urokodaki..."

She bowed to the Master and Amane-sama. "I request to go and treat him instantly."

Her bangs fell in her face, and sweat dripped down her brow.

"Go. Take Tengen with you, his speed will be to your advantage."

Shinobu and Uzui locked eyes, each practically teleporting out of the room. Everyone sat shocked, sitting while the two raced to get as many medical supplies as possible.

Because he was alive.

And everyone had a chance to reconcile.

Chapter Text

They had been running for over three hours. Shinobu's stamina started to run out, even though Tengen was carrying all the bags and equipment.

She stopped for a moment, and he did too.

She suddenly turned her head up to face him. "Carry me. My stamina is running out."

He just nodded, no questions asked. She sat on his back and grabbed the briefcase and her bag of medical supplies, sharing some of the burden.

He ran so fast Shinobu felt raising her head meant it would blow off. Three more hours until they would reach the mountain.

A thought flickered in her mind.

Was he injured?

Or staying away?

Did he hate her? Hate any of them?

Shinobu ignored those thoughts. He would at least tell the Master. And he hadn't. So he was probably injured.

They ran down the path.

They would save him.

Giyuu was awake, and Urokodaki was re-stitching his side. He was doing considerably better. Well, obviously, since he had his poison filled arm chopped off.

How would he even fight?

His eyes looked dull, the realization of his reality sinking in.

Slowly, Urokodaki began to ask questions. Make quiet remarks as the minutes went by.

And Giyuu answered.

Because would he ever, honestly, genuinely have someone to listen to him while he answered again? Were these days his last?

Urokodaki was tying up Giyuu's hair for him, but Giyuu insisted he try himself. It was too hard.

"...What do you think about cutting your hair?" Urokodaki asked.

What an odd thing to say.

A few minutes later Giyuu was sitting in front of a mirror, and his hair was falling down.

He wouldn't be able to tie it up again.

And he just didn't know what to do.

So after a moment, he just said "Why not?"

Chapter Text

They had finally arrived. Or, at least, the crow had finally stopped to rest after one last caw, wing pointed towards a hill in the distance.

The village itself wasn't quiet and gloomy, which was quite normal. For some reason, they had almost been expecting a morbid type of place.

There were bright stalls selling sweets and fabrics all lined up to attract attention from either side of the street. But that was not their goal.

Shinobu, now standing on her own two feet, looked to Tengen. "We should follow the crow's direction to the hill."

A/N: Sorry this is so OOC usually my fics are better, and I haven't written this AU in a while so I'm a little lost. :/

And so they did, running up the hill, until they were met with a pristine cottage.

It was a small one, gray walls and morning mist surrounding it. 

There was also the unmistakable scent of blood. It was thick, like iron in the air, coating their throats. Shinobu's heart spiked, and Tengen felt it too. Without further notice, they rushed to the door, knocking after a single second of hesitation. They couldn't risk it, but at the same time, what if it was fine? Or they were too late?

A young boy answered the door, looking up at them. His placid, almost dead expression slowly lifted and two maroon eyes blinked back at them. 

"UROKODAKI-SAN!" He shouted, voice booming through the house and area around it. Tengen blinked as well, surprised at the sudden noise.

As if he was a demon summoned by Kibutsuji himself, an old man, Urokodaki, they presumed, was at the door, with a freakish tengu mask crooked on his face. As if he had been in a constant workload for the past few days.

"...For Giyuu?" He asked, voice gruff.

They nodded. "I am Insect Hashira Kochou Shinobu. This is Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui."

He simply gave them a curt nod in turn, and led them to a room. "He has a poison coursing through his blood, but I've managed to neutralize most of it with wisteria extract and some rather... drastic solutions."

Shinobu's heart raced.

Did they have to amputate?-

And then he opened the door.

He was almost unrecognizable. His hair was short, he wore simple clothes, and his skin was covered in a sickly pallor. Dried blood crusted all over him, and...

And...

They saw it. 

The absence of of an arm. "God..." Tengen whispered.

He turned away, after everyone looked at him. Gave Shinobu her bag, letting her finally set to work.

She had originally crafted the wisteria dosage for herself, so she could have it in "Safe" doses. 

But now he needed it, more than ever.

And so, she loaded up the syringe with the exact measurement to the dot. Gave him a shot into a vein so that the poison would go into his bloodstream and neutralize the demon's. 

Her hands shook. They never shook.

Was it because he was always so stoic? Confident? Never had to come for injuries at the mansion?

It was going to take a very, very long time before he could even hold a sword again.

Tengen had medical experience, higher than a normal corps member, sure, but it was so unsettling to look at his colleague like that. Nothing was worse than having your image of someone shattered... It was like meeting the father Kyojuro boasted about occasionally, but also nervously, and then finding out he was a bitch. There was no more fitting a word than that.

But Tomioka was injured. His arm was gone. If Tengen lost his arm, hell, even just his hand, he didn't know how bad he would feel to not fight. And sure, Iguro and Shinazugawa mocked him so, but Tengen knew a little more about everyone then he let on.

But Tomioka had never been this week, or injured, or anything. He had to have encountered, at the very least, Upper rank three. And Tomioka was capable too, even Shinazugawa of all people begrudgingly agreed. 

But no way in hell was it the demon king. No one survives that. 

Chapter Text

Giyuu lay there, motionless, for a while. Shinobu sat waiting.

He coughed, and she straightened, taking a closer look at him. Slowly, his eyes cracked open.

For a second, she almost expected them to be a different color.

But no, they were still the same vibrant blue as before.

He tried to sit up, but Shinobu put a hand on his chest. "Please. Don't."

Giyuu blinked. "...Kochou?..."

She nodded, wondering if he could even see her in the dark. "We found you. I was quite worried, you know that?" 

His gaze almost softened at the tease. "How long has it been?" He said, suddenly dropping the lax feeling that had been in the air.

"You've been missing for weeks. Two months, actually. Me and Uzui-san are the ones here."

He nodded, or tried to while he continued to lie down. "...I encountered a demon that was... It had no kanji in it's eye, but it was- It was definitely the most powerful demon I've ever encountered-" He coughed. "-And I mean that."

Shock riddled throughout her body. "No kanji?" She whispered.

"I could've been wrong, but all I managed to see was red. Blood red eyes, pale skin, black hair, whips of bone and flesh protruding from his body-" Another horrible cough racked through him, and Shinobu reluctantly helped him sit up this time, holding a handkerchief under him as blood dripped from his lips. For a horrible moment, she saw his mouth, and it looked like a demon's, stained with blood as if he had eaten his own flesh.

She froze.

Shinobu then acted as if nothing had happened. She was lucky that Giyuu thought it nothing but surprise.

"...The boy's name is Tanjiro. His sister may have seen more... She was there when we both arrived, but Tanjiro was knocked out." He finally managed to finish his sentence without being cut off.

"I don't know of her condition, though. She was injured when we got there, but Urokodaki-san should've been able to patch up her wounds himself."

She raised an eyebrow.

Alright, it seems we have a lead.

"Alright. I'll go speak with her and provide some assistance. Would you mind debriefing Uzui-san so he can send a crow?"

Giyuu nodded. "Mm."

Tengen was not pleased when he looked at Tomioka again.

"No kanji?"

What if it really was?-

He wanted to stop himself from coming up with that conclusion, but it seemed eerily true now.

Tomioka just hummed. Tengen sighed in turn.

"The kid- Tanjiro? Something's up with him."

Tomioka seemed to shrink, almost. "I know. I don't want to come to this conclusion, but-"

"-He's been scratching himself. Or something similar." Tengen said, quietly, no hint of mockery in his tone.

"I dragged him into this. And, his family's all dead, except for his sister, who's... Incapacitated." 

Tengen nodded grimly.

"Urokodaki' is also overwhelmed... By any chance, do you know him?"

Tomioka let out a long, shaky breath. "He trained me."

Tengen was surprised at that. Most hashira and kakushi- or, rather, corps members, knew that Tomioka was one of those members. Young joiners. Cultivator trained. His type actually made up most of the corps' personnel, horribly unsurprising. 

"You're part of the miracle selection, right?" Tengen asked softly. "Your mentor is admirable."

Tomioka's face twisted even further. "This is getting unrelated."

Oh.

I heard one person died, that's what made it a miracle.

Did he know him?...

Tengen exhaled. "I apologize. Back on topic, we're going to try and bring you to a wisteria house whenever you're ready, alright?"

"...Alright."