Chapter Text
Giyuu was a quiet person.
He wasn’t as outgoing as the other pillars and didn’t speak unless spoken to. He was very reserved and spent most of his time to himself. When not on a mission, he stayed inside his private or trained on his own. He never bothered building relationships with the other Hashira and focused on his work instead. The others just assumed he was being ignorant and surmised that he thought he was better than them.
But it was the complete opposite.
Giyuu despised himself greatly. He felt that he didn’t deserve to be the Water Pillar.
That it should have been Sabito.
He mourned and grieved in silence for weeks after his best friend had died saving his life. If it weren’t for Sabito, Giyuu wouldn’t have even survived the Final Selection. He could barely protect himself as Sabito saved almost everyone who took the test. Sabito was always stronger than him, more agile, more tactical, and always knew what to do when something went things turned for the worst. He always won their sparring matches and mastered Urokadaki’s training first. Giyuu was weak and frail, barely surviving. He had done nothing to deserve the position among the other Hashira. Sabito was supposed to be in his place. It was always supposed to be Sabito. His smile haunted Giyuu in his sleep, waking up almost screaming every night. Even though years have passed, he can’t recover from Sabito’s death. He wears half of Sabito’s haori as a way to remember him; to always have him with him on the battlefield.
As the years went on, his olive skin became pale and creamy like the moonlight, his eyes becoming like dull sapphires, his body and face thinning, transforming into a real-life porcelain doll. His face bore no emotion as he worked through the day, only allowing slivers of pain and anger to slip through. Every night he lies awake in his bed clutching his haori to his chest as tears stream down his, inky black hair with blue tips sprawled across his pillow. His dull nails stabbing into his wrists and arms, leaving behind clusters of bloody crescent moons. The others never took account of his self-induced injuries due to the fact that he always wore his haori and kimono, whether it be in battle or not. It took him hours to just pull himself out of bed to get dressed and longer to find the motivation to leave his room. He never spent the time to eat with anyone else and always went straight to training. Trained until he coughed up blood, trained until his hands were full of bruises and bloody blisters. His abdomen so slender and oh so pathetic that his skin stretched over his ribs.
No time to rest. No time to take breaks. No time to eat. Only train. He didn’t deserve rest, he didn’t deserve to be here.
It was always supposed to be Sabito.
He was suffering and slowly deteriorate in front of everyone's eyes.
They just didn’t realize it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giyuu hadn’t slept by the time he had to force himself out of bed.
He had returned to the corps after a week-long mission. He was sent with handfuls of newer demon slayers, a choice he didn’t understand but didn’t fight against. Unfortunately, there were multiple demons who sought them out and caused many complications. Over 50 demon slayers were injured and were currently being taken care of at the Butterfly Estate. Every room was filled to the brim with the injured and every doctor was hard at work. Giyuu was also injured greatly but felt no need to go get them treated due to the already large amount of people there. When he returned to his quarters, it was long past nightfall. He was exhausted and was barely able to step out of his clothing and into a white kimono he wore as nightwear. He sluggishly wrapped up his arms and ribs in cloth wraps to soak up the blood. He winced in pain as he laid on his bruised back, scrunching up his face in extreme discomfort.
As he lay awake in his futon and the hours went by, Giyuu began to feel worse and worse. His breath came out in pants and he was sweating profusely. His body began to cramp up and ache, pulsing painfully. His throat was suddenly dry and he kept coughing, each cough shaking his frame terribly. Every hack was like sandpaper scraping across his esophagus, tearing his throat apart agonizingly.
He lay in his own sweat for hours until he had to ‘wake up’. He ever so slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, gasping for air as he slumped over his knees. He sat unmoving as he breathed heavily through his mouth, eyes closed with the room still shrouded in darkness.
When he blinked, it was suddenly light outside. He numbly rubbed his eyes as he heard the familiar call of his crow. He grimaced as he pushed himself off of the floor and stumbled over to his sliding door, allowing the old crow entry. He sat back down on the floor as the crow landed on his shoulder, cringing as it screamed in his ear.
“There’s a pillar meeting evening! There’s a pillar meeting this evening! The meeting is in 1 hour! Please be there by then!” Giyuu grunted in understanding as the crow flew out the door, slamming it shut again as he leaned against his knees, coughing harshly.
It took a lot of effort, almost too much effort, but he managed to get ready in time for the meeting. Tying his hair back was a struggle, his arms burning in pain as he brought them up behind his head. He considered leaving it down, but he decided against it last minute and chose to just deal with the pain. He berated himself for leaving his haori on the ground earlier as he slid it over his usual kimono and onto his shoulders. He painfully slipped on his socks and shoes, almost falling as he stood up again. He hooked his sword onto his side as he left his room, wincing at the bright sun hitting his eyes. The walk was painfully slow as the sun beat down on him from above, making his clothing seem unusually hot and heaving compared to the day prior. It took slightly longer than he thought so he ended up being the last pillar to arrive at the meeting, but it thankfully hadn’t started yet.
As Giyuu dragged his feet to his usual spot, he could feel the eyes of the other Hashira on his form but he could hardly care. He nearly fell over as he sat on his knees, just barely regaining his sense of balance as he settled.
“Oh, Tomioka-san! You look terrible!” He could hear Shinobu further to his left, her being over one person in the line of Hashira. Giyuu could tell she was smiling as she said that, as he could never tell what she was feeling. He didn’t bother giving her a response. “So rude! I’m just looking out for your well being. You look like you had trouble with your previous mission, according to the number of casualties that had been counted in total.”
He didn’t bother saying anything, knowing that it would just satisfy her by knowing she was annoying him.
“Oh come on, Shinobu! Give him a little slack!” He heard the high pitched voice of Kanroji further down that way as well. “He did his best and that’s what matters!”
He stopped listening to her after that, instead choosing to focus on how hot he was becoming as he started to pant softly. Sweat was beginning to drip down his face so he wiped it off quickly. He felt a light tap on his shoulder as he jumped slightly, looking up to see a concerned Himejima. Giyuu didn’t understand why the larger man was concerned.
“Tomioka-san, are you feeling all right? You look pale.” Giyuu held his emotionless face as everything became quiet, the other pillars also waiting for a response.
“I’m not sure what you are implying. I feel fine” Giyuu looked straight ahead of him at the large wooden platform, missing the frown that appears on Himejima’s face. Before anything else could be said, footsteps were heard and all sounds came to a halt. Ubuyashiki-sensei appeared with his two twin daughters and stood before the pillars, a gentle smile gracing his features despite the rotting of the upper half of his face.
“Hello, children. I’m very happy to be able to see you all here this evening. I apologize for calling this sudden meeting, but there are some things I would like to discuss.” He smiled in Giyuu’s direction, somehow knowing he was there even without his sight.
“Due to the number of injuries sustained during a recent mission, there will be a temporary break period for everyone to rest and recover before being sent out again. The break period will last for at least a week unless plans are changed and the time is extended.”
After that, Giyuu stopped listening. His mind filled with fog and his eyes glazed over. It was a few minutes until he realized what had happened. A different topic was being discussed and he wasn’t sure what was going on. At that moment, his throat became irritated. He fought off the urge to cough but was too weak to do much about it. Ubuyashiki-sensei stopped talking as Giyuu coughed ruggedly, just the sound of his cough caused some of the other pillars to wince. He covered his mouth with his sleeve and shut his eyes momentarily before catching his breath.
“Tomioka-san, are you feeling unwell? That cough didn’t sound very good.” Giyuu forced down another cough as he looked up at the head of the Demon Slaying Corps. His unseeing eyes were focused on Giyu, worry somehow leaking through his gaze.
“Yes, I am fine Sensei. I apologize, I did not mean to-*cough cough*- to interrupt you. Please continue on with what you were saying.” He silently cursed at himself for letting another cough through as he was talking.
“If you are feeling unwell please rest. I had finished what I had to say, so please do not feel bad. It’s best for everyone to relax when given the time. This may also be a time to grow closer to one another.” His sensei smiled a caringly. “You should all try commuting with each other, know one another on a deep level. It may help you all if fighting together is your only option. Understand each other. Anyway, I apologize for my rambling, please continue on with your evening and take care of yourselves.” With that, Ubuyashiki-sensei walked away with his daughters.
After meetings, the Hashira tended to walk back together as a group before going off on their own. As the other pillars stood, Giyuu remained on the ground on his knees. He didn’t give off any signs of moving; it was like he was stuck there.
“Tomioka-san! We are leaving! Are you going to get up now” Rengoku’s loud way of talking snapped Giyuu out of his trance as he struggled to stand. Once he was on his feet, he began walking with the other Hashira. However, he was trailing behind by a significant amount, struggling to walk in a straight line. His vision was beginning to blur and his stomach was starting to hurt.
“Why are you walking so slow? You aren’t being very flamboyant!” Uzui’s voice sounded like it was miles away. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth and he couldn’t bring himself to reply. “Are you going to reply or not?”
Giyuu opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but it only came out as a guttered cough from deep in his chest. He stopped walking as he threw his hand over his mouth, hacking painfully with his eyes shut.
“Are you sure you are feeling well? Because I’m pretty sure you’re lying.” Iguro narrowed his eyes at Giyuu’s panting form.
Giyuu’s body began to open his mouth to say something until he started coughing again. He felt a hand grab his shoulder as he hunched over. He cracked one eye open to see Rengoku, the only difference was that he wasn’t smiling anymore. “Tomioka-san, maybe you should go rest in your room. That cough sounds very painful!”
He shook his head as he attempted to stand up straight, only to feel a sharp, agonizing pain in his side. He cried out in pain as he gripped his side, involuntarily falling. He would have hit the ground if he wasn’t caught by Rengoku, breaking out into another aggressive coughing fit. By now the other pillars were surrounding them in frantic voices but he couldn’t understand what they were saying, entrapped within his own pain. He felt some sort of liquid coat his fingers, it was slippery and warm, that same warm liquid spilling from his lips. Giyuu’s head slumped into something solid. Warmth began to envelop his body was his other senses began to fade in and out.
He jolted as he felt a pair of small hands pull up his face, all he could see were blurry purple splotches. So many colors were dances in his vision as if he were in a drug-induced state.
The last thing he registers is the feeling of being lifted by some force and the feeling of cool wind in his face. His body was limb and moved as he was carried to an unknown situation. If he was competent he would have fought back, or at least tried to figure out what was going on. But right now, he couldn’t care less, he was floating away and he was free.
His world faded to black.
~~~
When Giyuu shouted in pain, the pillars knew something was truly wrong. Initially, they thought that the Water Pillar had just been ill, but it turned out to be way more than that.
As he collapsed Rengoku quickly jumped in and caught him, the surprise was clear on his features. Giyuu never expressed any emotion, so seeing him in so much pain in an instant stunned them all.
His hands were desperately clutching onto his right side, blood visibly seeping through. “What the fuck happened to him?!” Shinazugawa’s eyes widened as Giyuu began to bleed from his mouth as he continued to cough. Shinobu quickly ran over to Giyuu and held his face in her hands.
“Tomioka-san, can you hear me? Do you know what’s wrong?” She didn’t receive a response from him, even though he was staring directly at her face.
“He’s not listening. Look at his eyes.” Muichiro crouched behind the Insect Pillar and pointed at Giyuu’s eyes. His normally sharp blue eyes were now unfocused and glazed over as he looked into an unknown direction.
“We can treat him back in his room. Would you mind carrying him over for us Rengoku-san?” Shinobu asked with her usual smile. “Oh, of course!” The Flame Pillar lifted Giyuu up with ease and began heading to Giyuu’s room, careful not to jostle him too much while moving swiftly. As the others were about to go back to their respective rooms, they remembered what Ubuyashiki-sensei said to them.
“You should all try commuting with each other, know one another on a deep level. It may help you all if fighting together is your only option. Understand each other.”
They all made the conscious decision to listen to their sensei and followed Rengoku to Giyuu’s room. At the pace they were traveling, it didn’t take them long to arrive at their destination. Nobody had been inside his room before, so this was a new experience.
They slid open the door and examined the room. It was very plain, there weren’t any personal items and belongings in the room. A plain futon lay in the middle of the room, and a small table off to the side.
The pillars removed their shoes as Rengoku gently placed Giyuu’s seemingly unconscious body on the futon, taking off his shoes as well.
Shinobu made her way to Giyuu’s side. Carefully open his haori and black kimono, she examined his wounds as the other pillars sat close by. His abdomen was hastily wrapped in cloth bandages, blood turning the cloth red.
“If he had such an injury, why would he not go to the Butterfly Estate to be taken care of?” Iguro leaned closer to look at the damage, wincing ever so slightly at the covered wounds on Giyuu’s body.
“Oh! I know!” Kanroji clapped her hands together, smiling as if she defeated Muzan herself. “The Butterfly Estate is really busy right now! He might have not wanted to be a bother!” Her smile weakened as she looked over at Giyuu’s unconscious form.
To put it simply, he looked horrible. His cheeks were flushed pink and he was sweating profusely. His breathing was heavy and uneven, his face scrunched up in discomfort. His hair was messier than usual and the bloody bandages only made him look worse.
Shinobu carefully unwrapped the bandages, breath catching in her throat.
Giyuu’s extremely thin torso was embedded with deep, jagged gashes as blood openly slid down his sides. Dark purple and blue bruises adored his abdomen and looked incredibly painful amongst his slim body, his ribs easily sticking out. His chest stuttered his harsh breaths, going from shallow to deep. His hastily wrapped bandages did nothing to help his injuries, only working as something to collect the blood. Shinobu was surprised that he was still walking with those injuries.
“Do you think there are some medical supplies in his room? I’d also need a needle and thread to treat Tomioka-san properly.” Shinobu smiled her empty smile as Muichiro and Rengoku want to look for supplies in the almost vacant room.
“There’s literally almost nothing here,” Muichiro uttered as he opened multiple cabinets and drawers, relieved to have found a needle and thread. “How does he even live here?”
“Ah, wait! I think I found some unused bandages!” Rengoku and Muichiro handed Shinobu the bandages and thread as she thanks them softly. “He doesn’t have much in his room, even though he lives here. How peculiar!”
With that, Shinobu threaded the needle and began working. At some point, Giyuu had to be restrained due to the fact that he wouldn’t sit still, even unconscious. He whimpered in pain and discomfort, hitting the pillars with a wave of sympathy. It was clear that, even if not conscious, he was feeling pain.
Thankfully, Shinobu moved quickly and efficiently as she rewrapped his torso and removed the clothing on his upper body. She folded his haori and kimono before setting them off to the side, pulled his blanket up to his chin. She felt his forehead and flushed cheeks, pulling back her hand at the intense heat.
“He’s running a very high fever. It doesn’t seem like he has any medicine in hand, and there will b none to spare at the Butterfly Estate. The most we can do is wait for him to wake up and make sure he’s fed. He is eminently willowy and needs something in his system.”
The room as quiet except for the heavy breathing from Giyuu. Even as one of the strongest hashira, at that moment, he looked incredibly weak. If there was a light breeze, he could easily be knocked over. It was unbelievable that he could even have fought in this current state.
Stuttered murmurs suddenly filled the room as the hashira snapped their heads in Giyuu’s direction. He was squirming and turning his head as if he was trying to get away from something with no success. His mouth was moving, but barely any sound came out. His eyes were shut tight and his mouth was compressed with a grimace.
To the Hashira’s surprise, tears began streaming down Giyuu’s face as his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong Tomioka-san?! Are you hurt?” Kanroji asked, but she didn’t get a reply. “Tomioka-san?”
“He can’t hear you Kanroji-san.” Himejima looked closer at Giyuu’s face. “He’s still sleeping.”
“Oh no! So he’s having a nightmare?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “That’s so sad!” More murmurs could be heard as Giyuu turned his head to the side, tears leaking into his pillow.
“What is he saying?” Kanroji moved her hair aside and leaned down, putting her ear close to his mouth.
His voice was almost silent, but she managed to understand what he was saying. “S-Sabito...I’m sorry...so sorry. Come back...please...don’t leave me alone…”
Kanroji’s eyes widened as she pulled her head back. “Well? What the fuck did he say?” Iguro narrowed his eyes at Shinazugawa’s words, but Kanjroji didn’t seem to care.
“He was talking about someone named Sabito? It sounded like something bad happened to him. He kept saying ‘don’t leave me’ and ‘come back’. Do you think he died?”
“That would make the most sense. Most demon slayers join the corps because a loved one had been murdered by them. Tomioka-san never spoke of his time before joining the demon slayers so it’s pretty logical to decide that’s what happened. How flamboyant!” Uzui placed his hand on his chin as he looked up towards the ceiling.
Kanroji frown and scooted over towards the futon on the floor, sitting by the side of Giyuu’s head. She began carding her hair through his sweaty black and blue hair, despite Iguro’s complaints. “Everyone isn’t perfect, Iguro. Even the strongest of us have our own inner demons! We just don’t share with others. Everyone has a tragic backstory, just like Tomioka-san. If anything, it might be our fault that he didn’t say anything. We haven’t been the nicest to Tomioka-san, and I think that should change as Ubuyashiki-sensei said earlier! Remember?” Giyuu’s muttering quieted as he returned to a peaceful sleep, sighing as Kanroji drags her hand through his hair softly. Iguro said nothing as he turned away from her, the faintest bit of guilt and shame sweeping over his features.
Kanroji hummed a soft tune as she pets Giyuu’s hair, enjoying the soft feeling of his slightly greasy hair. She didn’t mind it though, it wasn’t that bad and was barely noticeable. She studied Giyuu’s face as he lay sleeping. His face was unusually calm and relaxed, and it made him look more like a child without his harsh, cold aura. If you looked past the dark rings under his eyes, you could see how fragile he was. She assumed that he was just an introvert and that he wanted isolation, but that wasn’t the case. She reminded herself to apologize to him at some point after he had woken up.
They remained in their own positions as Giyuu slept, some talking quietly to one another and others lost in thought.
Time passed quickly in the Water Pillar’s estate as the sun began to set. None of the hashira made a move to leave the room, deciding to stay. Giyuu remained motionless throughout the day, only mumbling incoherent sentences as Kanroji stayed by his side.
It was dark out and the Hashira were having an almost inaudible conversation. They lit some nearby candles and lanterns to devour the darkness of the room. Suddenly, Giyuu began shifting under Kanroji’s hand as she paused, whispering his name softly. The other stopped talking and looked over at him. His eyes strained to open, his dilated pupils gazing across the room. He slowly sat up and flickered his eyes to the other Hashira in the room. The sleep quickly vanished from his deep blue eyes as they widened.
“W-what are you doing in my room?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giyuu winced as he stuttered over his words, his throat extremely dry. A glass was pressed up against his lips as he flinched slightly, looking at the deadpan face of Muichiro.
“Drink the water. You sound like you swallowed some gravel.” He hesitantly took the glass and drank slowly, still confused about what was occurring. He put the glass onto the floor and looked at the Hashira once more, confusion lacing his features.
“How are you feeling, Tomioka-san?” He looked over to Shinobu, who was smiling her usual smile.
“What is going on?” He didn’t bother to reply to her question, choosing to instead answer with his own.
The Insect Pillar sighed as she looked into his eyes. “You always have to cut to the chase Tomioka-san. Am I not allowed to be concerned for you?”
“Why would now be any different from another time? You have never been concerned for me.”
She seemed slightly surprised as he spoke to her. “I’ll ask again, What is going on?”
“You collapsed due to multiple injuries and exhaustion. You were bleeding a generous amount and needed medical attention. Due to the Butterfly Estate being busy, we took care of it ourselves. I think a thank you is in order.” Iguro crossed his arms as Kanroji shot him a look, but Giyuu wasn’t sure what she was implying.
“Why are you still here? If I’ve already been treated than why do you all remain here?”
“Again, we decided to take care of you and stay to make sure you were all right.” Iguro narrowed his eyes at Giyuu in annoyance.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because we wanted to.”
“I didn’t ask for your assistance.”
“Can’t you just say a simple thank you for potentially saving your life?”
“But I didn’t ask for your assistance. Why would I thank you for something I didn’t want.”
“Why can’t you just fucking SAY THANK YOU.”
“BECAUSE THERE IS NO REASON FOR ME TO THANK YOU.”
“WE COULD HAVE JUST LEFT YOU TO BLEED OUT AND DIE. THAN WHAT.”
“WHO SAID THAT I WOULD BE OPPOSED TO DYING!?”
Iguro froze, unable to reply to Giyuu. The PIllar’s eyes’ widened at the Water Pillar’s red face. His expression was scrunched up in anger as panic bled through his eyes. He turned his face away, clenching and unclenching his hands.
“What do you mean by that?” Kanroji hesitantly asked, unseen concern glimmering in her eyes. However, she didn’t receive a reply as Giyuu remain silent. “Tomioka-san...do you…”
“Do you want to die?”
He tensed at her question but refused to look at her. The other pillars didn’t know what to say to Giyuu. Iguro’s eyes were extremely wide, regret evident on his face.
“Tomioka-san, are you okay?” He still didn’t answer. She frowned deeply as she scooted closer to the futon, gently putting a hand on the raven’s shoulder. He flinched violently but she didn’t retract her hand.
“You can talk to us Tomioka-san. I’m really sorry we judged you and disrespected you. We had no right to do so when we’ve all been through something. We’ll try harder to be there for you.”
He looked into her green eyes as she smiled sweetly at him. His eyes widened and his mouth parted open as if he were trying to say something. He paused and closed his mouth, instead choosing to look down into his lap.
“Tomioka-san,” Shinobu’s soft voice echoed through the quiet room. “I wanted to apologize for the way I have been treating you. I shouldn’t have said such a thing when I didn’t bother getting to know you better.”
The Hashira started rattling off apologies for how they perceived and judged him, some more sincere than others.
“Stop.” Giyuu’s quiet voice cut through the talking of the other pillars. His eyes were covered by his hair and his nails were digging into his palms. “Just stop. Stop acting as if you care about me.”
“What are you going on about?” Shinazugawa squinted his eyes at Giyuu’s face.
“I said stop acting like you care about me!” Giyuu snapped back at him, yanking his head to meet the Wind Pillar’s face.
His face was contorted and twisted in anger. His eyes were wide with exasperation, the deep, sapphire blue of his eyes swirling with unresolved emotions. His mouth was strung into a tight grimace as he seethed in rage.
“Don’t apologize like you mean it! I know that you would rather be doing something else, and you know it too. Tell me the real reason why you bothered staying, because we all know it was not because of me specifically.”
Something along the lines of pity flashed through the eyes of the Pillars and it made Giyuu’s stomach churn.
He jumped as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, nearly falling over in the process. He couldn’t see their face but could recognize the bright pink hair in his line of sight.
“I’m so so sorry Tomioka-san. I know you don’t believe us but we really care about you. We were so wrong to assume you were okay. You don’t have to hide anything from us, and I promise you; we’ll try our best to be there for you. And if the others’ don’t, then I definitely will.” Kanroji’s voice was filled with pure emotion and determination. Giyuu pulled back slightly with wide eyes and looked at her face. She smiled back with a burning passion that Giyuu didn’t recognize. Her eyes gleamed with love and affection, something he hadn’t seen since…
“I know that you’re hurting. I know you miss someone.” She smiled sheepishly as she averted her eyes slightly. “You were talking in your sleep, but you mentioned someone leaving…”
“Their name was Sabito, right?”
Giyuu flinched at the name, eyes falling down. A pair of small, soft hands grabbed onto the side of his face and he was met with Kanronji’s eyes once more. “I’m really sorry that you lost them, but they would want you to keep moving forward. Be the strongest that you can be. If it isn’t for you, let it be for those who have passed on. Fight for them. Live for them.” She smiled sadly as she stroked his cheek.
“Love for them.”
Giyuu stared at her smiling face as his eyes became moist with unshed tears. She wiped under his eye as a single tear streamed down his face, hand soft and gentle; as if she weren’t even there.
More tears ran down his face as he choked back a sob. Kanroji pulled his face down into her cushioned chest, running her hands through his hair and down his back. She cooed at him quietly as he jerked in her arms.
“It’s okay, Tomioka-san. Just let it out. We’re here for you.”
A heart-clenching sob slipped through Giyuu’s teeth as he finally let go. His hands desperately grasping Kanroji’s haori as he openly cried, sobbing loudly as he was pulled in closer. His tears began to drench Kanroji’s clothes, but she clearly didn’t care.
He didn’t care if his wounds were becoming aggravated. He didn’t care that he was openly crying in front of the other Hashira.
He didn’t care about how weak he was at that moment.
He never felt so encompassed in warmth and safety. He’s never felt so at home before like maybe his life wasn’t falling apart.
Maybe he finally had someone to help pick up the pieces that fabricated Tomioka Giyuu, a lost child who finally experienced love.
Maybe he wasn't disliked by people.