Chapter Text
Kanae’s POV:
“Flower Breathing, Seventh Form: Cherry Blossom Blizzard.”
This was it.
My final attempt.
The last swing I had left before my body gave out completely.
The world blurred into drifting petals as I vanished from Doma’s sight, reappearing behind him with every ounce of speed and precision I could still force from my exhausted limbs. My nichirin blade flashed forward in a silver arc aimed directly for his neck.
I had to kill him.
I had to go home.
Kanao was waiting for me.
Shinobu was waiting for me.
I couldn’t die here.
For a fraction of a second, I thought I had him.
Then Doma casually pivoted.
Like he was dancing.
Like my desperation amused him.
His rainbow eyes widened in mock delight as he slipped around the strike, and suddenly his right arm and fan whipped upward toward my exposed chest.
Too fast.
My breath caught.
I twisted my blade desperately, trying to redirect—
“Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel.”
A surge of blue cut between us.
Steel collided against frozen fan ribs with a violent crash that shook the ground beneath my feet. Water spiraled through the moonlight, severing Doma’s arm clean off before his strike could reach me.
Doma’s eyes widened.
Then he smiled.
“Oh?”
The detached arm hit the ground, already dissolving as flesh regenerated from the stump almost instantly.
He turned, amusement blooming across his face.
“The Water Hashira?”
I stared.
Giyu Tomioka stood between me and Upper Rank Two with his sword raised, expression unreadable as ever.
Silent.
Calm.
As though interrupting a battle with an Upper Moon was routine.
He didn’t look at me once.
Didn’t ask if I was hurt.
Didn’t say my name.
He simply stepped forward.
His blade flowed like a river unleashed, striking toward Doma’s neck again and again with relentless precision. Doma laughed softly as he blocked with both fans, sparks and frost bursting into the night with every collision.
“How wonderful,” Doma mused, sliding sideways beside him. “Two Hashira at once.”
Giyu remained silent.
Doma’s grin widened.
“Oh, you really are the quiet type.”
The Upper Rank suddenly pressed both fans downward.
“Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses.”
Frozen lotus petals exploded outward.
Giyu leapt back instantly, half and half haori snapping sharply behind him as the ice shredded through the ground where he’d stood moments before.
I could barely breathe.
Not from injury.
From shock.
At Hashira meetings, Giyu always stood apart from everyone else. Silent. Detached. Difficult to approach. I barely knew him beyond his name and title.
And yet here he was.
Saving me without hesitation.
Risking himself against Upper Rank Two because he arrived a few seconds before my death.
And I was frozen.
Useless.
No.
I tightened my grip on my sword.
I wasn’t dead yet.
I surged forward beside him.
“Flower Breathing, Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!”
My blade spiraled toward Doma’s arms in overlapping crimson arcs. Doma opened both fans to catch the strike—
“Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin.”
Giyu’s sword crashed downward like a collapsing waterfall.
Doma released my blade instantly and darted backward with a laugh, his feet skimming across the rooftops as he retreated into the night.
Giyu pursued immediately.
I followed.
Cold spread across my nichirin blade.
Across my hands.
Across the air itself.
Doma’s ice.
Even breathing near it burned my lungs.
My stomach tightened.
Giyu couldn’t afford a prolonged fight against this demon.
No one could.
Upper Rank Two was monstrous.
If this continued—
He would die.
And I couldn’t allow someone else to save me only to perish in my place.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Giyu’s POV:
The Upper Rank leapt high into the air.
“Blood Demon Art: Wintry Icicles.”
The night erupted.
Hundreds of razor-sharp icicles rained downward like a blizzard given form, each one aimed to kill.
I moved before thinking.
Step.
Turn.
Deflect.
Dodge.
The rhythm of Water Breathing carried my body forward as shards of ice shattered around me. Rooftops splintered beneath the barrage.
The moment Doma landed, I closed the distance again.
Strike after strike aimed for his neck.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
Only pressure.
I was angry.
I had arrived late.
Another few seconds and I would’ve witnessed a Hashira die right in front of me.
Again.
Images flashed through my mind uninvited.
Broken swords.
Blood-covered uniforms.
Dead eyes staring into nothing.
Too many.
Far too many.
I refused to watch another one disappear.
“What polished swordsmanship!” Doma exclaimed cheerfully while blocking another slash. “I couldn’t even break that blade if I tried!”
His fans screeched against my nichirin sword.
“You’re magnificent! Much stronger and faster than the Flower Pillar! We should exchange contacts!”
“Blood Demon Art: Freezing Clouds.”
Mist-like frost spread instantly through the air.
I leapt onto a rooftop before the frozen vapor could reach my lungs.
Dawn was close.
I could sense it.
Not long now.
“I don’t exchange information with demons,” I said coldly. “And I hate talking. So don’t talk to me.”
Doma blinked.
Then laughed.
“How unfortunate! I think we’d get along wonderfully!”
He appeared beside me in an instant.
“Blood Demon Art: Wintry Icicles.”
Another barrage exploded toward me point-blank.
“Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm.”
Everything stilled.
The world became silent water.
Every icicle shattered before touching me.
Doma’s smile widened with genuine fascination.
“That’s new! The last Water Hashira I fought a century ago never used that!”
He tilted his head.
“You invented it yourself, didn’t you? How impressive.”
A sudden burst of petals swept in from the side.
“Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum.”
Kanae rejoined the battle.
Her movements were slower now.
Subtly.
But enough for me to notice.
Doma noticed too.
He slipped around her strike effortlessly and moved to decapitate her immediately.
Too fast.
I stepped in.
“Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust.”
I surged forward in a single piercing strike—
And hit nothing.
The rooftop ahead was empty.
Doma had vanished.
For a moment, only the wind answered us.
Then I felt it.
The horizon.
The faintest trace of sunlight approaching.
He fled because dawn was near.
The tension in my body loosened slightly.
Behind me, I heard soft footsteps.
“Giyu…”
I turned toward Kanae Kocho.
“Yes?”
For a moment she said nothing.
Her sword slid quietly back into its sheath.
Then she stepped closer.
Before I could react, gentle arms wrapped around me.
I froze.
Her forehead pressed lightly against my shoulder as her body trembled with exhaustion and delayed fear.
Warm tears soaked into my haori.
“Thank you,” she whispered shakily. “Thank you for saving me today.”
I didn’t know what to say.
So I remained still.
But for once, silence didn’t feel empty.
Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps approaching from the corridor outside.
Fast.
Uneven.
Someone running without caring if they fell.
Then frantic panting echoed through the street before a small figure nearly slipped across the ground.
“Nee-san!”
The girl from the mansion.
The one always following Kanae around whenever I visited for treatment.
Her younger sister.
Shinobu Kocho.
“Kanae!”
Kanae immediately let go of me as Shinobu crashed into her arms.
“Nee-san!!”
Her voice broke apart completely as she buried her face into Kanae’s shoulders. Her hands clutched desperately at the back of Kanae’s haori as if confirming she was truly alive.
Kanae winced slightly from her injuries but still wrapped both arms around her gently.
“Shinobu…” she whispered softly.
The relief in her voice was quiet.
Exhausted.
Almost disbelieving herself.
“I’m okay.”
Shinobu shook against her, nodding repeatedly into her chest.
“The crows said— they said an Upper Rank—”
“I did face one,” Kanae admitted carefully. “Upper Rank Two.”
I saw Shinobu’s body tense instantly.
Fear.
Pure fear.
Even among Hashira, Upper Ranks were nightmares spoken about in lowered voices.
“But I survived thanks to help.”
Shinobu finally lifted her head.
Her violet eyes, wet with tears, shifted toward me for the first time.
And widened dramatically.
“EH?! Water Pillar-sama?!”
I froze.
The words instinctively caught in my throat.
I’m not the Water Hashira.
The response almost came automatically.
Like always.
Like every other time someone looked at me with expectation I didn’t deserve.
Because Sabito should have lived.
Sabito was stronger.
Sabito was kinder.
Sabito would have saved everyone.
Not me.
The familiar guilt rose immediately—
—and then stopped.
My thoughts faltered.
Because Kanae was alive.
The realization hit me strangely hard.
Alive.
Upper Rank Two had almost killed her.
And yet she was standing here holding her sister.
Breathing.
Talking.
Crying.
Because I made it in time.
A memory flashed violently through my mind.
Sabito pushing me away.
Blood.
Rain.
His broken nichirin blade.
Bodies covering the mountain.
I remembered waking up helplessly afterward, unable to save anyone.
Unable to protect even the person who protected me.
That helplessness had followed me ever since.
Every mission.
Every battle.
Every title people forced onto me.
A fraud wearing the place of someone better.
But now—
Shinobu was crying tears of relief instead of grief.
Kanae was alive instead of cold.
Someone had been protected.
By me.
The realization came so suddenly it almost left me dizzy.
Not Sabito.
Me.
I had done it.
I had actually saved someone.
An actual Hashira from an Upper Rank no less.
The thought felt foreign.
Heavy.
Almost frightening.
But for once, the voice in my head insisting I was worthless felt… quieter.
Just for a moment.
“Yes,” I heard myself answer.
My voice sounded distant to my own ears.
“I arrived in time to save her.”
The words felt strange on my tongue.
Unfamiliar.
But not wrong.
A painful tightness formed in my chest.
Would this count for something?
If Sabito had lived, he probably could have done the same.
No.
He definitely could have.
But even knowing that—
I was still the one who stood here now.
I was the one who reached Kanae before she died.
I was the one Shinobu was thanking with trembling relief in her eyes.
And some small part of me, buried underneath years of guilt, quietly wondered if maybe that mattered.
“Wait,” Shinobu said suddenly, sniffling as she looked between us. “How did you even arrive in time?”
I blinked once.
“Kanzaburo told me.”
My crow had nearly screamed himself hoarse guiding me there.
Beside her, Kanae suddenly giggled softly.
Weakly.
But genuinely.
“Tomioka-san is very fast and reliable.”
I stiffened slightly at the unexpected praise.
Shinobu stepped away from Kanae and immediately bowed deeply toward me.
“Thank you very much, Tomioka-sama, for saving my elder sister. I…”
Her voice cracked.
Fresh tears spilled down her face despite her attempt to remain composed.
Not tears of mourning.
Not despair.
Relief.
Overwhelming relief.
Because her sister came home alive.
And standing there watching her cry, something inside me shifted quietly.
Maybe protecting someone wouldn’t erase the past.
Sabito was still gone.
Nothing would ever change that.
But for the first time since that day on the mountain, I felt something other than guilt when someone looked at me.
Not shame.
Not inadequacy.
Just… certainty.
I had saved someone.
And this time, I wasn’t too late.
We walked away from the village in silence.
The remains of the battle faded behind us as rising dawn slowly came into full daylight. The cold air carried traces of blood, frost, and burned wood.
Kanae was no longer able to walk properly.
That part made sense.
She was exhausted to the point of collapse, injured badly enough that even standing seemed difficult, and the poison-like chill left behind by Upper Rank Two still lingered in her breathing.
What didn’t make sense—
was that I was carrying her.
On my back.
Her arms rested loosely around my neck while I walked down the street toward the nearest Wisteria House.
Her breathing was soft.
Warm.
Steady against the back of my shoulder.
Every now and then her grip unconsciously tightened slightly whenever the path became uneven, before relaxing again.
Shizume, Kanae’s crow, had informed us the Kakushi would meet us there and escort her safely back to the Butterfly Estate for treatment.
That was reasonable.
Expected.
What was less expected—
was that Kanae had fallen asleep on me.
Completely asleep.
As if she trusted me enough to lower her guard entirely.
The realization kept replaying strangely in my head.
An Upper Rank had nearly killed her.
Yet now she was sleeping peacefully while I carried her through the woods.
Because I had arrived in time.
My thoughts kept circling back to that.
Over and over.
I saved her.
I wasn’t too late.
For once, someone lived.
“…Tomioka-sama?”
I blinked.
Beside me, Shinobu was walking with her hands behind her back, occasionally glancing between me and her sleeping sister.
She seemed unusually focused on me.
Curious.
Which wasn’t surprising.
I rarely spoke at the Butterfly Estate whenever I visited for injuries, and a fourteen-year-old girl would naturally be interested in the person who had saved her sister from an Upper Rank.
Still—
her persistence was unexpected.
Because she wasn’t asking about the battle.
Or Water Breathing.
Or even Upper Rank Two.
She seemed interested in… me.
As a person.
“So, Tomioka-sama,” she began, tilting her head slightly, “we’ve never really spoken much before, have we?”
I nodded once.
“I haven’t been injured severely enough to require treatment from you.”
Shinobu narrowed her eyes slightly at the answer.
Not annoyed.
Analyzing.
“So what are you actually like?”
I blinked.
“…What?”
“You’re around the same age as Kanae-nee and Sanemi-san, right?”
I thought about it briefly.
“Yes.”
“Yet you became a Hashira before both of them.”
I blinked again.
The statement settled strangely in my head.
Before both of them.
The passage of time suddenly felt… odd.
Had it really been that long already?
I quietly realized she was right.
I had served longer than most of my current peers.
Normally I would’ve instinctively rejected any implication hidden inside that fact. Rejected the idea that it meant something.
That I deserved the title because of experience.
Because strength.
But this time—
I couldn’t summon the usual resistance.
Why?
The answer came almost immediately.
Because Kanae was alive.
Because I had protected someone.
Because for once my title as Hashira felt connected to something real instead of stolen from Sabito.
“I have,” I answered quietly.
Shinobu stared at me for a few seconds longer.
“You speak very little.”
I glanced at her.
“…Do I?”
“Yes.”
She pointed directly at me.
“You seem too composed all the time.”
I blinked once.
“How so?”
“You spent almost an entire minute thinking before answering whether you served longer than Kanae-nee.”
Ah.
Right.
“I was realizing that I did, in fact, serve longer than your sister.”
Shinobu’s eyes narrowed further.
“…Is being quiet your whole personality?”
I slowly looked at her.
“Excuse me?”
She didn’t back down.
“You barely talk. Most demon slayers ramble constantly. Even Himejima-san speaks more than you do.”
“I—”
I paused.
Because she was right.
“…I don’t have much to say.”
“Why not?”
I considered that seriously.
“…Lack of interesting subjects.”
Shinobu stared blankly at me for two full seconds.
Then sighed.
“Okay, fine. We’ll do this another way.”
I felt immediate concern.
“What?”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“…Salmon daikon.”
“Favorite game?”
“Tsume shogi.”
“What does your haori represent?”
My steps slowed slightly.
For a brief moment, I nearly stopped walking altogether.
My fingers unconsciously tightened against Kanae’s legs to keep her secure on my back.
Half red.
Half patterned.
Fragments of the past stitched together.
“It represents people I lost to demons.”
Shinobu’s expression softened immediately.
Understanding flickered across her face.
For the first time since the conversation started, she became quiet.
“…I see.”
The forest path fell silent again except for our footsteps.
Kanae shifted slightly in her sleep against my back, her cheek brushing lightly against my shoulder.
Warm.
Alive.
Safe.
Shinobu glanced between us before speaking again, much softer this time.
“You still answer almost everything in one or two sentences.”
I thought about replying.
But honestly—
I was distracted.
Distracted by the unfamiliar weight resting against my back.
Distracted by the steady breathing near my ear.
Distracted by the realization that someone who almost died was currently asleep because she felt safe enough to rest while I carried her.
It was difficult to think clearly through that.
Eventually, the Wisteria House came into view through the open street.
Lantern light glowed softly from inside.
The moment we entered, attendants hurried forward in alarm at Kanae’s condition.
Carefully, I lowered her from my back.
Even asleep, Kanae’s hand lightly caught the fabric of my sleeve for a second before slipping away.
Then I gently laid her onto the bed prepared for her treatment.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
It was strange being ordered to rest.
Even stranger being forced to obey it.
After returning from the mission, Kagaya Ubuyashiki personally instructed both Kanae and I to remain in confinement for several days.
The Master’s voice had been gentle as always, but absolute.
“Surviving an encounter with an Upper Rank is nearly unheard of,” he had said. “The fact that both of you returned alive is a blessing. Please take this opportunity to recover fully.”
Recover fully.
I wasn’t used to that concept.
Usually injuries were treated only enough to return to the next mission.
Yet now I was effectively trapped inside the Butterfly Mansion with strict instructions not to leave.
The Kakushi apparently took those instructions very seriously.
Every time I attempted to leave for training, someone stopped me.
Politely.
Firmly.
Repeatedly.
So instead, I found myself sitting beside Kanae Kocho while she rested.
Though “sitting peacefully” was not entirely accurate.
Because I was currently being surrounded.
By children.
More specifically, the three younger girls Kanae had taken in.
Sumi.
Naho.
And Kiyo.
Unlike Shinobu, who approached me with sharp curiosity and endless questions, those three seemed to have decided almost immediately that I was someone to fuss over.
Which was deeply confusing.
“Pleaseeeeee?” Sumi begged dramatically.
“It would look so nice!” Naho added.
“We already found the perfect clip!” Kiyo insisted.
I stared at them silently.
They had been asking for approximately five minutes now.
Maybe longer.
All because they wanted to braid my hair.
I still wasn’t entirely sure how the conversation even reached this point.
“…Why?”
The three exchanged glances as though the answer was obvious.
“Because your hair is pretty!” Kiyo answered immediately.
“And really long!” Naho added.
“And Kanae-nee always says long hair should be taken care of properly!” Sumi declared proudly.
I blinked once.
Then looked down at the object in Kiyo’s hands.
A circular blue hair clip decorated with wave-like patterns.
Water motifs.
Aesthetically… fitting.
Suspiciously fitting.
“…Where did you even find that?”
“We’ve had it forever!” Sumi chirped.
“It matches you perfectly, Giyu-san,” Naho said confidently.
I had already told them not to call me “Hashira” or “Tomioka-sama.”
Hearing children address me that formally felt uncomfortable.
“Please?” all three asked together.
I stared at them for another long moment.
Then exhaled quietly.
“…Fine.”
The room immediately erupted in celebration.
“YAY!”
Before I could reconsider, small hands carefully removed my hair tie.
My hair fell loose around my shoulders instantly.
The girls collectively froze.
“…Whoa,” Kiyo whispered in awe.
“Your hair is really long, Giyu-san,” Naho murmured.
“It’s so smooth!” Sumi added while gently combing through it with her fingers.
I sat there stiffly while the three moved around me with surprising seriousness.
Apparently this had become an important mission.
One brushed out tangles carefully.
Another separated strands.
The third held the wave-patterned clip like sacred treasure.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to react.
No one had fussed over me like this in years.
Possibly ever.
The atmosphere was… warm.
Loud.
Busy.
Alive.
It felt foreign.
Eventually, footsteps approached from the hallway.
Shinobu stepped into the room carrying folded bandages before stopping abruptly.
Then she burst out laughing.
“Oh?”
She covered her mouth poorly while staring directly at me.
“Tomioka-sama, I didn’t realize you indulged my little sisters’ antics.”
I took a slow breath.
“There’s no harm in it.”
“No,” Shinobu admitted, still smiling brightly, “but you certainly look funny.”
The girls protested immediately.
“He looks nice!”
“It suits him!”
“Don’t bully Giyu-san!”
I remained motionless while they continued tying my hair back together into a cleaner ponytail before fastening the circular clip in place.
Shinobu walked closer, still clearly amused.
Over the past several days, she had spoken to me constantly.
Far more than anyone else usually did.
Sometimes out of curiosity.
Sometimes simply because she apparently enjoyed observing me struggle socially.
Other times because she genuinely needed help around the estate.
Which happened more often than expected.
I had originally intended to spend most of my confinement training.
The Upper Rank’s speed remained burned into my memory.
“Polished swordsmanship.”
That was how Doma described my blade.
Praise from an Upper Rank wasn’t reassuring.
If anything, it only reminded me how close the battle truly was.
How close Kanae came to dying.
So I trained relentlessly whenever possible.
Trying to become faster.
Sharper.
Stronger.
But somehow, I kept getting interrupted.
Shinobu would suddenly drag me into helping carry medicine or assist injured slayers.
The girls would appear asking me to play games with them.
The Kakushi repeatedly caught me attempting intense training and immediately scolded me for overexerting myself.
Even Kanae—
when awake—
would gently ask me to sit down and rest instead of disappearing outside.
It was… strange.
People usually left me alone.
Most Hashira tolerated me at best.
But here—
everywhere I turned, someone was speaking to me.
Handing me tea.
Checking my injuries.
Calling my name.
Wanting my attention.
And somehow, despite how unfamiliar it all felt—
I found myself staying.
The girls finally stepped back proudly.
“All done!”
Kiyo handed me a small mirror.
I stared silently at my reflection.
My hair had been tied neatly behind my head with the blue wave-patterned clip resting above the ponytail.
The style looked surprisingly… normal.
Shinobu immediately laughed again.
“It actually suits you.”
“…I see.”
Sumi puffed out her cheeks.
“That’s all you have to say?!”
I blinked.
“…Thank you.”
The three girls lit up instantly like they had just received the greatest praise imaginable.
And from the nearby bed, I heard a soft sleepy laugh.
Kanae had woken up at some point during the commotion.
Her tired violet eyes rested on me warmly.
“You look lovely, Tomioka-san.”
For some reason, hearing that made it significantly harder to maintain eye contact.