Dear Kanroji-san,
While I am not sure what you meant when you spoke of Koucho-san flirting with me, I am thankful for your concern.
-Giyu Tomioka
Mitsuri Kanroji, the love pillar, stared at the letter in disbelief. She was in disbelief for two reasons. First of all, the letter was incredibly short and to the point. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that writing even this much in a letter was probably a lot by Giyu's standards. The other reason that she was in disbelief was the fact that Giyu Tomioka, who was notorious among the pillars (unbeknownst to him) for not going out of his way to talk to anyone.
Actually, a little while ago, Mitsuri was even more surprised than she was now. She received a letter from her close friend and fellow pillar Shinobu, detailing how a patient has been behaving over the past month or so. She talked about how Giyu Tomioka, the coldest, most stoic person she had ever met, had bloomed. Shinobu talked about how Giyu had, to an extent, opened up to her. He had even sent Shinobu a letter without receiving one first.
Shinobu was a girl, and Mitsuri was a girl. Because of this, they understood each other on a level that didn't need to be spoken. Just as Shinobu could tell certain things about the "friendship" between Mitsuri and Iguro, Mitsuri could tell certain things about the "friendship" between Shinobu and Giyu. At least, her understanding made up for Giyu's lack of understanding. She read a sentence from the letter. "I hope that he's able to open up to me more and more. I talk to him so that he'll talk to me…" she read to herself. "Yeah, she's definitely flirting with him…"
However aware of Shinobu's flirting Giyu may be, he was not currently in the proper state of mind to acknowledge these. Giyu was, in short, depressed. While he was polite enough to exchange letters with those he was not particularly irritated with, he did not go beyond this in terms of contacting people. He actually cut off his contacts; he stopped responding to people, even Urokodaki and Kanroji. Even when Shinobu sent him a letter, asking how he's been and trying her best to prod him into socializing or at least responding, he would just let the letters pile up.
Tomioka-san,
I do not know if I've done something to upset you, but I find it awfully irritating that you do not reply to my letters. Even though you would probably write something painfully short or offensive, it would make me feel like my efforts have not been wasted if you wrote back. If you do not, I'm afraid you will have become even less likeable of a person than you were before I helped you. I know you are too dense to tell, but the pillars are worried about you.
Please write back,
Shinobu Koucho
Shinobu sat in her room with her brush, her hand shaking and the blood vessels in her forehead bulging. "How come you stopped coming by, Tomioka-san?... How come you haven't talked to any of the other pillars?... How come you've stopped talking to me?..." the Insect Pillar thought while shaking. She felt tears slowly leak out of her eyes, landing on her shaking hands. She had just stopped herself from writing something else. "I'm also worried about you…" she had stopped herself from writing.
Shinobu had her messenger crow deliver the message to Giyu, even though she was certain he would not write back. She grabbed a sparring sword and went to see Kanao, so they could both train together. Ever since the night Giyu had left, she had continued to try to master and hone her skills with the intention of creating a new breathing form. Initially, she tried to do this because she felt like it had the potential to be a very useful and deadly move. However, her reason was not set in stone. Because Giyu left so abruptly that night, Shinobu could tell something was amiss. She figured that she would not see him in person for a while, which she turned out to be completely correct about. Her reason to practice the move had completely switched; now she felt like doing this was how she could still feel connected to Giyu, despite his absence and coldness.Kanao was an excellent training partner, or she is becoming one. Because Shinobu is a pillar, there is a gap between her and her tsuguko, but her skills had been improving. Shinobu never wanted to hurt her student and adopted sister, so she used a wooden sword. Additionally, because Kanao had become so skilled, she had to use a wooden sword in order to not accidentally injure her master. With her wooden sword, Shinobu would practice her future breathing form, training Kanao on her ability to dodge and deflect the attacks. Because they trained together, however, they both got better together at around the same rate. That is to say, the gap between them did not close at all.
Kanao's training was rigorous. She was given a head start to hide in the woods, where after ten minutes, Shinobu would come in to try and hunt her down. Kanao's objective was to successfully ambush her master. If she was struck, it would not be painful enough for her to need to stop, so their assaults on each other would last twenty solid minutes at the very least.
One day late into the week, Shinobu walked deep into the woods, searching for her tsuguko. Because Kanao was given the opportunity to hide, Shinobu was only able to find Kanao first around half of the time. This was not one of the times.
Traps had been set all around the woods in the times they trained together. However, these only served as obstacles. Shinobu was able to detect every single one of them; she just had to be wary not to fall for them while running so quickly or jumping so quickly through the trees. This time in particular, there did not seem to be any new traps. Conscious of this, Shinobu figured there would not be enough space in the forest for them to fight if any more traps were set. "That, or she's got something clever in mind…" Shinobu thought, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to spot her tsuguko.
However hard Shinobu looked, she could not spot Kanao. She seemed to be the one trying to avoid an attack, rather than Shinobu. This idea rested in Shinobu's head for a moment until she realized that she had to defend herself. Out of a tiger pit, Kanao lunged at Shinobu, swinging her sword several times in a second. Of course, none of the attacks landed on Shinobu, given her new skills. Shinobu managed to land a blow on Kanao, who retreated back into the tiger pit. "She's cornering herself?" Shinobu thought as she gave chase. However, Kanao did not appear to be in the tiger pit that she landed in. Shinobu's eyes widened in surprise. At the bottom of the tiger pit was a tunnel. "When did she…"
Shinobu's thoughts were interrupted by another barrage of attacks by Kanao, coming from right behind her. For the first time since they began training together, Shinobu felt on edge. Kanao seemed to be approaching from every single direction. Shinobu had still managed to deflect every single attack that Kanao dished out, but she was, for once, unable to land a blow in retaliation.
Memories of a day just over a week ago flashed in Shinobu's mind. "A mantis is an inanimate object, like a flower petal or leaf, until something approaches it. No matter where its prey approaches from, the mantis is facing it. That is to say, by the time it is no longer a flower petal or a leaf, it's too late for its prey." Giyu had told her this, trying to dispense some of the wisdom that inspired him to tell her about this move. She wondered at the time if he had rehearsed these lines, since he was saying it without any trouble. "It lies in wait, and even if something sneaks up on it, the mantis has the upper hand. Even though it hardly moves, the mantis is not prey."
Shinobu felt all of the muscles in her body tense up. She felt her body let in more air than usual, as if she was preparing to use one of her breathing forms. Her eyes shut, and time seemed to slow a little.
Kanao was lunging at her. She had successfully pushed Shinobu to the edge, managing to make this attack come from behind, which was unprecedented. Shinobu had never before been susceptible to her ambushes, but right now, to Kanao, she looked haggard, tired, and vulnerable. The distance closed between Kanao and her sister, with Kanao ready to finally deal the first successful blow on her. However, Shinobu seemed to become blurry for less than a millisecond. When Kanao's eyes adjusted, Shinobu was facing directly towards her, blood vessels prominent all over her face and hands. "Oh no." Kanao thought as she began to try and deflect her sister's thrusts. This time, however, on the first dual thrust, Kanao's wooden sword shattered, leaving her completely defenseless.
Shinobu, realizing a change in the battle as fast as Giyu would have, immediately stopped her attack so that she wouldn't injure Kanao. She looked down at her hands, seeing the blood vessels that webbed over them, stretching to her fingertips and filling every muscle, ligament, and tendon in her body with an unprecedented agility. Her breathing steadied and her blood vessels receded. "I did it…" she thought as she set down her wooden sword. She went to check on Kanao, who was catching her breath. Together, the ladies went back to the Butterfly Estate. Aoi and the caterpillars whipped up some food for the ladies, who they could tell were both exhausted.A few weeks later, filled with going on missions and helping Tanjiro and his friends heal (they had gotten into battles with some Upper Moons as of recently), there was a Pillar Meeting. Shinobu wanted to see Giyu again, so that she could annoy him into telling her why he'd been ignoring her letters. She was angry and sad with him, but if he actually had a reason, she would forgive him. After all, she was the one trying to talk to him, not vice versa. He was not obligated to reply to her letters. Shinobu also wanted to tell him about how she had successfully made her new move come to fruition, the move which Giyu was the one to conceptualize.
At the Pillar Meeting, Mitsuri Kanroji wondered if Giyu would try and socialize with the other pillars, since he had made brilliant progress with talking to people. Shinobu told her all about his progress from a while ago, and he had even replied to her letter for the first time recently. However, she felt like she would be disappointed. Despite all of the apparent progress he had made, he had, according to Shinobu, seemingly disappeared, and he stopped replying to all of the letters he had been receiving. "Hello, Tomioka-san." Mitsuri politely said as she saw him take his place. Giyu did not say anything in reply. Mitsuri sighed, but she did not try to prod him into talking.
Someone who would, though, showed up less than a minute later and began harassing Giyu. "Tomioka-san… I think it is rather rude to ignore my letters, and even more so to ignore me in person." Shinobu said, poking Giyu in the arm. Her voice sounded bubbly, like she was excited to see Giyu, but the veins in her forehead betrayed her smile and tone. "Please do not keep doing this, I put a lot of effort into making you more likeable, but you are nothing of the sort right now."
For the first time in a month, Giyu Tomioka spoke out loud. "...Stop poking me." he said. To any of the other pillars, this was very standard Tomioka behavior, but Shinobu and Mitsuri could tell that something was bothering him. Before Shinobu could make her increasing annoyance known, Amane Ubayashiki showed up.
The Pillar Meeting was brief. Amane Ubayashiki, in Kagaya's stead, was the head of the meeting. It was decided that the pillars would begin to train the other Demon Slayers, with the hopes that less people would die in an upcoming battle, which was ascertained by the appearance of the demon who conquered the Sun, as well as the complete lack of demon activity. Additionally, as it was observed on Kyojuro Rengoku (during his battle with Akaza) and Muichiro Tokito (during his battle with Gyokko), people who battled alongside Tanjiro Kamado gained a Mark that granted them incredible power. So, the aforementioned training was also intended to expose as many Demon Slayers to this Mark.
It was entirely up to the Pillars to decide how to organize the training, as Kagaya Ubayashiki was too ill, and Amane was unqualified. The general consensus was that every Pillar was to aid the Demon Slayers. However, as soon as the meeting officially ended, Giyu Tomioka made it clear that he would not participate in the training. Shinobu was shocked at his words. "I'm not like you guys." Giyu said plainly, as if that made his immediate departure alright. "Something is definitely wrong with him…" Shinobu thought nervously. In the end, Shinobu was not able to talk with Giyu. He had left less than a minute after the other pillars began to protest his declaration that he would not participate.
While Shinobu was pissed, she was also worried about Giyu. A little while ago, if someone asked Shinobu what her relationship with Giyu was, she probably would pretend that she doesn't know him. Now, she would verbally admit that he is a friend, albeit a troublesome one. Additionally, what she would not admit aloud went further than simple friendship. Seeing her friend act so cold, especially since she had become used to making light conversion with him, hurt her.
A day had gone by since the Pillar Meeting. The Pillars immediately got to work, beginning to train the Demon Slayers. It started with Uzui Tengen, who helped set the mood of the training, then Mitsuri Kanroji helped with the flexibility, then Muichiro Tokito helped with reflexes, then Iguro Obanai helped with sword skills, then Sanemi Shinazugawa helped with martial arts, then Kyojuro Rengoku helped with speed (as well as improving morale), and finally, Gyoumei Himejima helped reinforce muscles. There was a noticeable absence of Shinobu Koucho and Giyu Tomioka.
Shinobu was preoccupied with her studies, as well as trying to teach Kanao how to avenge her if she dies fighting a certain demon. However, her mind would sometimes wander to the other absentee, who she was unable to make talk. She was still bothered that he had so quickly switched from being likeable and sociable to being cold and distant. So, as soon as she was free from work for the day, she sent him a letter, even knowing that he would likely not read it.
Tomioka-san,
I do not know why you continue to avoid your duties as a Pillar, or why you avoid the other Pillars. I am going to pay you a visit soon, invited and welcome or not. I would like to speak with you, and I hope you will be so likeable as to actually participate in the conversation.
-Shinobu Koucho
The letter, unopened, sat in a pile of unopened letters in Giyu's house, all only from Shinobu, Mitsuri, Tanjiro, Rengoku, and Urokodaki. Giyu sat in his living room, brooding. If there was a word to describe what he was doing other than that, it would be meditating. He was deep in thought, angry, and sad all at once. However, despite being home alone, he could not bring himself to frown, cry, or make any sort of expression.
Giyu did not want to be the Water Pillar any longer. He not only never felt qualified because of his past with Sabito, but he also planned on quitting very soon. That is planned; things did not go according to his plan, since the Demon Slayer he originally wanted to replace him as the Water Pillar began to train with another breathing technique. Now, Giyu was essentially trapped in the Demon Slayer Corps through obligation. He did not, however, want to hurt anyone else in the Corps by becoming too close to him.
How he would even manage to hurt anyone was simple- Giyu did not plan on living very much longer. Giyu ceased to find a purpose in his life other than slaying demons, which was already something he no longer wanted to do. If Tanjiro was suitable to replace him as the Water Pillar, Giyu's stomach would be sliced open by now. Now, he would just have to wait until the upcoming battle was over…
"Tomioka-san?" a soft voice asked, snapping Giyu out of his daze, almost making him jump. "When did she get in here?…" Giyu thought as he saw Shinobu Koucho's face round a corner. He saw the look on her face and a bead of sweat formed on Giyu's Temple. "This is such a hassle…"
"Tomioka san, what are you doing?" the Insect Pillar asked with wide eyes and a nervous voice. Giyu knew what it looked like, and he could not blame her for the worry. In front of Giyu was a small, sheathed Tanto blade. He was also sitting on a red zabuton. However, the aforementioned worry was exactly what Giyu was hoping to avoid by avoiding all of the other slayers and ignoring all of the letters. He did not want anyone to know his intentions and think that the Water Pillar would not be participating in the upcoming battle. Giyu imagined that this would be the main source of panic and worry, not the actual realization that he planned on committing suicide.
Because Giyu had put so much effort into not replying to anything Shinobu had been saying, he was unsure whether he should explain himself. He waited for a moment, considering this, but he ultimately decided that he should say something. "...I am meditating…" he said, as if this was a reasonable answer. It held a certain truth to it, but Shinobu did not seem to accept this response.
"Tomioka-san… please, talk to me." Shinobu said in a pained voice. She moved to sit in front of him, in a seiza. "Please, tell me what is troubling you. Please don't… do this…"
The tone in her voice stung Giyu a little. "...I will still battle Muzan Kibutsuji. Don't worry about that." he replied, trying to reassure her of this, as if it were the issue at hand.
Shinobu's fists clenched. "Tomioka-san, you really are as dense as you've always been." she began, her voice shaking with emotion. "Do you think I'm concerned whether or not you will fight Kibutsuji? I certainly hope that you do, but that is not what worries me. I don't want you to die, Tomioka-san. Please… Do not do this…"
Giyu stared at the blade resting on the floor in front of him. "I am a Demon Slayer." he said, not hesitating. He felt himself opening up, him subconsciously reacting to the nearly palpable emotion in the room. "After we defeat Muzan, demons will no longer remain to be slain. I will be nothing."
Shinobu's expression turned from concern to sharp anger. "You're wrong." Shinobu said after steadying her voice. "You will be a human, living in a peaceful world without demons. You will be someone who has become likeable. You will be Giyu Tomioka."
Giyu waited for a moment, still staring at the Tanto. He then looked up at Shinobu. "Why is she crying?..." he thought as his own fists began to clench. Giyu hated seeing people cry, since it was usually someone groveling for a relative, friend, or lover turned into a demon to be spared. However, right now, he was looking at someone cry from anger, furious at him for expressing a desire to end it all. "Why does this feel familiar?..." Giyu thought as he looked back down at the Tanto. His face drooped a little, a small frown tugging his mouth downward.
"Tomioka-san, please say something." Shinobu said, now more irritated than worried. Giyu was relieved that she was not so worried any more, but he still felt like he had to reassure her. After all, she bothered coming to check on him in person…
Giyu picked up the Tanto and walked outside. Shinobu got up to chase after him, terrified of what he might be doing. However, as soon as she got outside, Giyu was standing over a mound of dirt. He had buried the knife. After noticing Shinobu come outside, Giyu looked over to her. "I apologize, Koucho-san." he said, seeing her terrified expression. "I would like to talk to you."Giyu led her inside, where they both sat across a table with some tea in front of them both. Giyu began to speak, talking about his past with Sabito, and his displeasure with his position as a Pillar. He told her how he was avoiding everyone because he did not want to worry them. "I had been hoping that you, in particular, did not find out." Giyu began. "If the only person who did not dislike me found out what I was doing, then they would probably give me a reason to live again. And so you have."
Shinobu's eyes widened. "You mean you really won't…" she began, not wanting to complete the statement. Giyu hummed while sipping tea, confirming what she said without her having to finish.
"On that note, I would not like to dwell on this topic any longer." Giyu said, a little sad. "I apologize, but we will have to talk about it at a later point. You came to see me, was there something you wanted to talk with me about?"
Shinobu nodded. "I have plenty that I've wanted to talk with you about." she said, her forehead showing her anger as it often would. She steadied her voice, trying to calm down, since she knew his avoidance of everyone was justified, and right now was likely a sensitive time. "Simply put, I was worried about you. I wanted to know why you had gone from talkative- by your standards- to not being so kind as to even reply to my letters."
Giyu seemed to shrink a little, in response to her words. "However," she began, noticing this. "I know your reasons, and I would like to help you. I know, for a very long time, I must have annoyed you. I have always been saying rude things to you, and I still do. I realize that you must not have a high opinion of me as a result. However, despite the teasing that I have and will put you through, I care about you, Tomioka-san. It is embarrassing to say, but you are… my friend…"
Giyu's eyes widened a little. He took a moment to process Shinobu's words. "Koucho-san…" he began after organizing his thoughts. "You are wrong. I do have a high opinion of you."
Now it was Shinobu's turn to widen her eyes. "Out of everything I said, this is what he replied to?" she thought, a little more embarrassed. However, feeling the mood shift, she felt like it was an opportune time to tease him. "How strange, Tomioka-san actually has a high opinion of something other than salmon daikon." she said cheekily. "Perhaps I would be able to tell that you have a high opinion of me if you were to even be able to look me in the eyes."
Giyu realized that he had been staring into his cup most of this conversation. He looked up at Shinobu and stared into her eyes, his deep blue eyes piercing into her violet ones. However, she saw that although his expression was stoic, upon making eye contact with Shinobu, his eyes at the very least seemed to become… nicer.
After a little bit more talking, Shinobu left. She was a little sad that she was not able to convince him to train with the other Pillars, but she was relieved that she stopped another problem at its root. She reminisced on his words and felt a blush rise on her face. "Koucho-san… You are wrong. I do have a high opinion of you." he had said. "What a… likeable thing for you to say, Tomioka-san…" she thought as a small smile tugged at her cheeks. Her eyes widened a little and the smile faded. "Oh… I completely forgot to tell him that I perfected my... our move…"