A/N: The dude just gets bullied so much, he deserves a big break lmao.
"Your broke your sword?" Urokodaki asked in surprise as Giyuu nodded in embarrassment. "This is not like you at all, I expected better." his master huffed.
"I'm sorry."
"I suppose I can get someone to take this to the swordsmith village." Urokodaki inspected the broken blade. Giyuu sighed, but his hopes of being lended by a backup nichirin blade was shot down as a punishment.
"This is a lesson for you, Tomioka Giyuu. It is shameful for someone at your level of skill to clumsily snap his own sword. I will not lend you a nichirin blade, come back here in 5 days to collect your own once I have someone to repair it." he sternly told his old student. To which he replied politely before taking his leave.
On his way home, he panicked '5 days..? There is a Pillar meeting 4 days from now..! I can't show up without a... I can't let them find out! Master might get worried and... And the others will...'
What good is a demon slayer without his weapon? Their brief traditional jujutsu (hand to hand combat) training won't be enough to kill demons, they are only effective against other humans.
As a swordsman, he feels like he was naked. He doesn't even have his scabbard with him. He just looks like a plain, regular man with a mismatched haori walking down the mountain. Sighing, he recalled how he made the blunder from the first place.
He successfully decapitated a demon terrorizing a small town south from his shack in the woods, but he lost focus because the citizens were unfriendly to him prior, treating him like he is some kind of nut who has a sword with him. Giyuu knew he shouldnt care, he was there to save them and exterminate the demon, not to make friends. Still, a little public adoration wouldn't hurt. Maybe Kochou was right, people do hate him.
.
Tanjiro doesn't count because the kid likes everyone, even his enemies.
His low self esteem resulted in him wanting to vacate and give his position as a Pillar to Tanjiro, so he can die and be with the people that died protecting him.
Right now, he just hopes he doesn't need to fight a demon any time soon.
Reaching his home, lots of thoughts encircled his mind as he meditated. About the Kamado siblings' fate in the future, about Muzan, about his overall blunders.
He heard a faint voice
"Be a man!"
Giyuu opened his eyes and looked around, he was supposed to be alone in the woods. Maybe some hunters or campers strayed to his vicinity? But no one is out there.
"I must be hearing things." he said before resuming his meditation.
"Giyuu. You moron."
Its him! Its Sabito's voice!
Giyuu maintained his focus and controlled his breathing.
"What are these thoughts? Ending your life once you passed your position to the kid?"
Giyuu remained silent.
"You keep thinking you aren't fit for your job, but if you aren't, they would have kicked you out long ago!"
He remained silent, one of the voices he longed to hear for a long time, is scolding him.
"Your sister and I didn't die just so you can throw your life away."
A tear fell from one of his closed eyes.
"Live your life. And do what we did to you, to those who need it. We believe in you, Giyuu."
"Wait! I-" he pleaded.
"Be a man! We won't forgive you if you caused your own demise, you dumbass! We're with you!"
He lost focus again, tears fell to his lap as he stared at the floor. Curling his fists, he tried to make sense of his old friend's words. "What have I done..?" he mumbled. They sacrifice their lives just so he can survive, how dare he put it all in vain by giving up?
With his resolve steeled, he made a promise to himself that he will never lose again. And he will never let another soul suffer from Muzan's evil as long as he can help it. He's going to be the strongest man he can be. 'Tanjiro... Nezuko.. I'll make sure to be there when Muzan meets his doom.'
He decided to train his body, just to maintain his strength until he can use his sword again.
100 pushups
100 squats
100 situps
and a 10km jog.
He decided to add 100 pullups as to make this simple routine a bit more difficult, as it is a breeze compared to Pillar Training. He'll decide to stick with this until he can get his sword back. So he did it every morning.
On the third day however, a demon attacked.
As he watered his plants, his old crow announced the attack. He internally prayed that there is another pillar close enough to handle it.
"AAAACK! THERE'S NO OTHER PILLAR CLOSE ENOUGH TO HANDLE IT!"
Gulping as his worst fears have been realized, he tried to ignore the bird. Giyuu knows he wasn't equipped to deal with this. His blade was still under repair, and what's left of his pride won't allow him to let his colleagues know of his failure.
"SQUACK! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!"
He tossed away the bucket and decided to run towards the trouble anyway. Every second wasted could potentially mean a casualty. Giyuu may be suicidal, but he sure as hell won't allow others to die.
As he reached the village, he saw every house had their entrances shut as the winged bat looking demon was trying to search for prey.
It was dead silent.
'Of course, he's a bat. He relies on hearing.' Giyuu thought as he decided to plan how to defeat the demon.
He plans on luring it away and fight until sunrise. Its going to be a long night however since evening just started.
Seeing a branch, he stepped on it to see how it would react. Upon hearing the crackle, the bat zoomed towards him. Giyuu knows he outclassed this low level demon when it comes to speed, but he knew he wasn't this fast. He was immediately behind it.
Upon closer inspection, it has humanoid features, like opposable thumbs and a face and neck.
Giyuu normally wouldn't throw caution in to the wind unless its neccessary, he was a cerebral fighter, something that comes with his maturity and experience when it comes to battle. But the sooner he can remove this bat from the village, the better.
Using his limited knowledge of martial arts, he grabbed the demon's arm and twisted it in to a hammerlock in an attempt to pin it. The demon's flexible shoulder joint however allowed it to scratch Giyuu's face with its free arm.
"GET OFF ME!"
It was weaker than he thought, and he was sure the attack connected on his face. He broke the arm that he was holding, and tripped the demon to lie face first on to the ground, restraining it by making it bear his entire weight.
Giyuu touched his face.
But there is no wound. Confused, he grabbed the bat demon's functioning arm to see if its claws are sharp.
"What do you think you're doing?! Get off me, you freak!"
Giyuu pressed the index claw with his thumb, but his finger would not bleed. He pressed it so hard that he broke the demon's finger by accident, causing it to shriek.
Even more confused, Giyuu grabbed a rather thick branch on his left and tried to see if it was sharp at all. Removing one of his knees from the demon to allow it some room to move, he used the branch to block the attack, and it was sliced like hot knife on butter.
Giyuu was shocked, he absentmindedly let go of the demon as he stared at his palms in confusion.
"Big mistake, you mute weirdo! DIE!" the demon, with fully regenerated limbs, decided to attack Giyuu with his strongest attack.
Giyuu's focus returned, he guarded the swipe with his left forearm, tearing his sleeve but not his skin, he threw a punch out of instinct.
And the demon in front of him exploded in contact. The wind around him blew hard and it shook the trees next to him.
His shock was immeasurable as the innards and giblets of what was left of the bat in front of him dissolved like it was cut by a nichirin blade.
'What's happening?' he thought, still amazed at what just happened. He knew he was physically strong, they had to be. But he knew his limits. He's quite sure that not even Himejima can make a demon, regardless if it's low tier, explode with a half assed punch.
"I SEE! YOU KILLED YAMATO!"
He turned to the voice and saw a demon with six eyes with a muscular build wielding a small mace.
Giyuu thought that he'd wonder about it later, there is still another threat imbound. He put his guard up and let the demon advance toward him.
He knew it wasn't a bright idea to risk his limb just to see if the previous attacks he received that did not hurt him was a fluke.
The demon swung his mace predictably to Giyuu's right. The Pillar prepared to block with his forearms once more, but suddenly the course of the attack changed to a vertical one due to its flexible wrist.
Giyuu's eyes widened as the mace went down on his forehead in high speeds.
However, the edge of the mace exploded in contact once it hit his face.
Giyuu's mouth fell as he didnt feel any damage whatsoever.
The mace demon was surprised as well as they both stared at his broken weapon.
"... It hit you, right?" the demon asked. "Yeah it did." Giyuu answered unsurely. "Then why... It didnt even scratch you! I put all my power on that!" The demon whined. Giyuu, confused and still in disbelief, snapped "I'm just as surprised as you are! I have no idea what's happening!"
The mace demon frowned and looked at the ground as if he just got scolded by his mom.
"I-Is the monster gone?" A resident asked timidly as he tried to exit his home to check, causing the surviving demon to smile.
"W-Wait! Stay inside your house!" Giyuu yelled.
The demon dashed towards the villager "If I can't eat you then I'll just eat this guy!"
"Stop!" Giyuu ran and closed in on the demon, who reached the steps of the cowering resident's house.
Giyuu punched it with his left.
It exploded in gore, with its guts splattering everywhere. However the house behind the villager exploded as well, woods splintered to the surrounding area, and the trees behind the house got uprooted from sheer force.
Giyuu (with his fist still up) and the resident stared at the aftermath, gobsmacked. Soon after, other villagers gathered around the battleground in silence.
With alot of eyes on him, Giyuu awkwardly avoided everyone's eye contact, realizing his fist just stopped smoking.
"I... I'm sorry about your-"
"NO! Sir! Please do not apologize!"
Talks about him being a deity immediately made its way to the crowd.
"It only makes sense! If there are demons, then there must be God!"
"This man is probably sent from the heavens to be our savior!"
"Please let me court you!"
"He's probably an angel!"
Giyuu, not used to the attention politely tried to tell them that he must take his leave. But the town wanted to celebrate his overwhelming victory.
'Come on, think..!' He gasped as an idea popped in his mind. Clearing his throat, the resident he saved shouted "EVERYBODY SHUT UP, THE ANGEL HAS SOMETHING TO SAY!"
"I..." Giyuu started "Need to save the other villages suffering the same demon infestation. Please excuse me."
The crowd nodded, before cheering "GOODLUCK, MISTER!"
"KICK THEIR ASS!"
"PLEASE VISIT US AGAIN!"
Giyuu leapt away from all the attention as he made his way to his home deep in the forest.
As he reached his house, alot of thoughts entered his head.
Giyuu was a bit air headed, Shinobu once compared him to Muichiro, but alot less likeable than the younger pillar. But Giyuu knows how to rationalize things. It may have something to do with Sabito's visit. No, that doesn't make any sense, if so then Tanjiro would also receive this power, as he mentioned he was haunted by Sabito and Makoto during his time with Urokodaki.
He tried to recollect what he did in the past days since he broke his sword. He cleaned his home, went to town to buy some food and supplies, water his plants, exercised...
'That's it!' Giyuu thought.
He went outside to inspect his plants. It must have something to do with this. It was imported from China after all.
A bonsai tree.
"There might be something mysterious about this plant." he made a note to visit a library in the morning.
The next morning
There is a small library in the Butterfly Estate that is often overlooked by visitors, which made sense since it was only available for Shinobu and her girls.
Its where Shinobu sometimes get her reference when she was concocting poison or if she forgot what a body part is called.
Giyuu planned on simply walking by and ask Shinobu politely to borrow some botanical books but he remembered that she might notice his lack of sword.
And Shinobu is definitely the last person that should find out.
Giyuu opted on sneaking in.
On the way to the mansion, he cut through the village south of him. He already heard talks about an angel being sent down to destroy the forces of evil as he walked by.
'News travel fast... I need to figure out what's happening soon.' he went off road in to the forest for a shortcut.
"WHAT WAS THAT LAST NIGHT." his crow asked. Giyuu just shrugged and stared at his old crow, inviting it to rest on his shoulder to which it did.
Giyuu decided to test whatever it is happening to him right now. Crouching down, he picked up a small rock. Squeezing it hard enough to break it. Not a big deal, even that boar child can handle it.
He saw a large boulder near a small cave. Gulping as he walked towards it. The crow stared at him in confusion as Giyuu stuck his pinky out.
The man braced himself and stabbed the boulder with his pinky, and sure enough it went through it without breaking his finger.
Giyuu looked at his crow in bewilderment but the crow just shrugged.
A few moments later, he was still in disbelief as he actually made a crow statue just by carving out a large boulder.
'This... Is not like Master Urokodaki's training where it requires skill and breathing to slice through a boulder... I just used brute force..! And I didn't even break a sweat...' Giyuu thought.
He still thinks its the work of his bonsai tree.
The crow squacked as it got darker. Giyuu looked up to see clouds.
. . .
"Tanjiro! Come on inside, your foot is still broken! And its going to rain!" Zenitsu called out.
"Just a minute! I've got a few more counts left!" Tanjiro said before pulling the rope attacked to a couple of rocks.
Raindrops started to fall.
"Man, so gloomy..!" Zenitsu whined as rain proceeded to occupy the sky.
The clouds suddenly shifted away and it was sunny again in the blink of an eye.
"H-Huh?! HUUUUH?!" Zenitsu freaked out. "Oh wow! That was quick!" Tanjiro smiled.
"THAT'S NOT NORMAL AT ALL!" the blond boy screamed.
. . .
"YOU JUST STOPPED A RAIN AND REMOVED THE CLOUDS!"
"SHHH!" Giyuu tried to shush his crow, who was shocked at his feat.
Giyuu just punched up to the sky and the sheer force of it drove the rain away. Who wouldn't be awestruck?
"Did I just... Do that?" Giyuu asked himself, before closing his fist. 'I can do it... I can defeat Muzan with this power.'
He continued his journey, at first he was questioning why was he the one chosen to have this overwhelming amount of power. But as Sabito's word echoes through his head, he saw it as a chance to not only end Muzan, but to save others from feeling his despair.
Reaching the estate, he went in the back by scaling the wall.
Overhearing the Shinobu was somewhere in town buying supplies, he sighed in relief. 'This is going to be easier without her.'
"KENTARO! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A PILLOW FIGHT!"
"WILL YOU PLEASE RETURN THOSE PILLOWS!" Aoi screamed from the other side.
Realizing that Tanjiro is in the vicinity, he gulped.
'This is going to be difficult with him around.'
He knows the layout like the back of his hand, making his way through the library without getting spotted, he lighted a candle and carefully searched through the books about botany.
Grabbing the only book about plants he found, he was disappointed to see that there is nothing special about the description of the bonsai tree aside from being something aesthetically pleasing to look at.
He handed the candle to a helping hand before scouring the pages "There has to be something about the bonsai tree..." Giyuu muttered to himself.
"Have you tried this book, Giyuu-san?"
Giyuu grabbed the book and said thanks absent mindedly, before realizing that there is another person in the room with him.
He jolted up in shock to see Tanjiro holding the candle
"Hi Gi-"
Giyuu immediately shushed him and whispered "How did you find me?"
"Your scent is around and I followed it." Tanjiro replied in a whisper as well. Giyuu rolled his eyes, he should have known.
"What are you looking for, Giyuu-san?"
Giyuu came up with a half assed excuse that he was tending his garden and would like to know more about the bonsai tree.
"Oh I wish I could help, I only see those trees from illustrations, can we visit you sometime? I think Nezuko would like it." Tanjiro replied with a smile.
"Sure." Giyuu answered. "How's your foot?" he asked as an attempt at small talk.
"Its getting better. I just lost focus during a fight is all."
'You too?' Giyuu thought.
"On another note, its a bit strange seeing you here. Shinobu-san told me that you guys have a Pillar Meeting today."
Giyuu slammed his book shut at the realization. He totally forgot. Tanjiro sensed it and wasted no time helping Giyuu return the books.
"Don't tell Kochou I was here." Giyuu told him.
"Of course!"
"Also... Tanjiro. Can I borrow your sword?"
"Sure, where is your sword though, Giyuu-san?" Tanjiro said as they walked towards the laundry room where their gear were. "Its... I forgot it at home. And I think it was too late to go back for it." Giyuu said, he felt bad lying, specially to Tanjiro.
"Oh! You can take my sword and then I can go to your house to retrieve it and we'll swap it after the meeting-"
"NO! N-No. There's no need. I won't be long." Giyuu said, somewhat embarrased.
"Oh... Sorry. Take care anyways, Giyuu-san!"
. . .
Giyuu sighed in relief, he wasn't late. He was early in fact. The other pillars are there.
"Ahh, Tomioka-san! You made it!" Shinobu started.
'Oh no.' Giyuu frowned, he began to tune out her voice, something he developed upon hours and hours of teasing.
"Did you know? There was a talk about some angel near Tomioka-san's patrol route!" Kanroji gossiped.
"Probably just townsfolk uninformed of us, I had been praised for being a flamboyant savior once." Uzui proudly replied. "They said that the savior punched two demons and destroyed a house in a single punch. What utter horseshit." Sanemi huffed. "Well, you know how townsfolk like to exaggerate things." Obanai answered.
"Wow, Tomioka-san! Have you ever heard of this?" Shinobu chuckled. Giyuu just shrugged, he had no plans of telling them. He wasn't ready and will never be for the attention he would receive.
"You probably haven't because you don't have aaaaanyone to talk to!" Shinobu teased.
Giyuu was a firm believer that good deeds don't deserve praise, he will continue to do good despite receiving no recognition for it. Giyuu guessed that's what he ultimately feels, and with that, he came in to terms with being "disliked by people." as Shinobu said.
His train of thoughts were derailed as Ubuyashiki arrived. They knelt down as they greeted him.
Ubuyashiki was aware of the news. Concluding that some other unknown entity was fighting the demons. The other pillars were a bit skeptical, as there are a lack of evidence that it wasn't from the corps. But Ubuyashiki said that they need all the help they can get, and asked Giyuu to investigate about it, as he was the closest to where the "angel" was last spotted, so he can confirm or debunk the brewing legend.
The pillars stared at Giyuu silently as he nodded.
And as the others were assigned in to missions, Giyuu was lucky enough to only receive patrol duty, whilst investigating the angel.
The meeting was dismissed. As the others chat for a moment, Giyuu was already ready to leave. However, he guessed his luck would run out sooner or later.
Giyuu just wished it was later.
"Tomioka-san, why is Tanjiro's sword with you?" Shinobu asked.
It was an innocent question, but for him it was piercing as the others stopped their chatter to wait for his answer.
'Oh no... Please come up with something quick.' Giyuu's brain worked thousands of calculations a second to cook up the best bullshit he could ever muster.
"We swapped swords." He replied without turning around to face her.
"Huh? Why?" Shinobu presses on.
"Because... As my successor, he inquired on studying my blade." Giyuu inwardly smiled, he was getting better at lying. He was unsure however if that was something to be proud of.
"Huh, that makes sense. Kamado does Water Breathing after all." Rengoku said.
'Yes, thank you..!' Giyuu thought, hoping that Kyojuro's comment lets him off the hook.
"That kid is weird as usual." Sanemi muttered.
"Ahh is that so? Then lets walk back to the Butterfly Estate together, Tomioka-san!" Shinobu chirped.
'... Fuck!' Giyuu cussed internally. He has to come up with something, one last time. If they both reach the mansion, his stories are conflicting, he would hurt Tanjiro because he lied to him and Shinobu would verbally kick his ass.
'Its all or nothing. I have to get there before she can.' Giyuu mustered up and steeled his resolve, turning to Shinobu, he said "Race you there."
Shinobu's eyes widened before smiling "Feeling confident today, Tomioka-san?"
Giyuu ignored her and jogged to the exit.
"Hey, what do you think you're-" Shinobu said. "Ha! He went for a headstart!" Rengoku chuckled.
"Why is he jogging though, is he stupid?" Obanai asked.
Giyuu jogged because he doesn't want to underestimate his newfound abilities and accidentally leave craters, leading to problems he doesn't want to face and desecrating Master Ubuyashiki's backyard was the last thing on his mind.
Once he got out of the gate, he went full throttle and ran.
Before he could even blink, he was already at the yard.
"GYAAAAAHH! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" Zenitsu screamed. "Giyuu-san! You're back!" Tanjiro greets.
Giyuu returned his sword and told him without missing a beat "Kochou saw that I was holding your sword, I told her that you wanted to study my blade so we swapped, please tell her something that would match my excuse."
"Giyuu-san, are you telling me to... Lie?"
"Please, do it for me. Its a huge favor. Just this once..!"
Tanjiro thought about it "... Alright, but I should tell you that I'm bad at lying. I'll do what I can!"
Giyuu nodded and patted his shoulder as a sign of gratefulness, before leaving in a haste.
. . .
As Giyuu thought about it, if he can kill demons with just his body, was his blade useless? It seems more efficient punching them than using his breathing.
He would still pick it up tomorrow so his cover won't be blown.
Giyuu doubted that he was strong enough to just punch the Upper Moons or even Muzan for that matter... But remembering that he literally punched the rain away, he atleast thought he stands a fighting chance.
As he entered the south village that he used as a shortcut on his way home, he saw an old woman crying being comforted by fellow residents.
Her daughter had gone missing, and the village was bandit free for 30 years. Giyuu already concluded that it was a demon.
As the sun starts to set. He introduced himself to one of the more influential and well liked elder villager named Kisho that he was a member of the demon slaying corps in an attempt to extract information as quickly as he can.
The villager told Giyuu that young, attractive women are abducted from villages around the mountain. "I figured it was only a matter of time before that monster visited us."
Giyuu looked around and saw two attractive young ladies. "Then you better hide those two. There's a chance that the demon would return for them."
The pillar informed the villager that he would watch from the shadows in an attempt to ambush the demon responsible.
As he went home, he wrote a letter to his master.
"Master, there is a demon lingering south of my home. I won't be able to collect the sword until after I dealt with the threat."
Giyuu told his crow to deliver it as fast as he can.
And so, his night patrol began.
. . .
"I uhh, I learned that... His blade is sharp!" Tanjiro said nervously. Shinobu smiled but she was angry "Oh would you cut it out, I know you're lying."
"Please! Giyuu-san told me to do it as a favor!" Tanjiro finally broke.
"See? The truth will set you free." Shinobu gave him his sword back. She wondered however, is Giyuu really that fast or has she gotten slower? And what reason does he have to borrow Tanjiro's sword?
Was it even her concern to ask? Yes, yes it is. She chuckled to herself. Maybe she'll give him a visit one of these days.
. . .
Night 1
It was midnight, for some reason it felt chilly. More than usual.
Giyuu did not know where the demon might appear.
The feeling of anticipating a fight without a weapon is making Giyuu anxious, but he kept reminding himself to trust his new abilities.
End result: Nothing.
. . .
The next day Giyuu's crow returned with a letter.
"Don't be a fool! What makes you think you can take on a demon without a nichirin blade? Unless you have another weapon I'm not aware of, you better come here and take it or I'll march up there to give it to you myself."
Giyuu stared at it blankly and decided to write.
"CAN I GET A BREAK?" his crow asked.
"Yeah, sure. Please send this to him next hour." Giyuu said.
"Please do not worry yourself, I am borrowing Tanjiro's sword while he recovers. I can't afford to leave my post. I promise to be there the moment I defeated the demon."
As he roamed to the north, he was greeted by the villagers.
"THE ANGEL HAS RETURNED!"
'Oh no.'
They are immediately planning a feast at the heat of the moment but Giyuu declined politely.
"No, please. I'm only here to ask questions about potential abductions."
Good thing he had the entire village's attention.
"So far nothing happened. The village from the south however, had someone missing. The person in question does not leave the house."
Giyuu thought about it before announcing "Listen, I-"
"HEY EVERYBODY LISTEN, THE ANGEL HAS SOMETHING TO SAY!"
"WE ARE LISTENING, YOU OAF!"
Giyuu waited as the two argued, but the man Giyuu saved defused the fight and smiled at Giyuu, giving him the cue that he can speak now.
"The demon in question has been targetting young, adolescent women. If anyone see any signs of suspicious activity..." Giyuu turned to search for something, and saw some fireworks.
"Please use these as a signal, as I live nearby." he announced.
"THE ANGEL LIVES NEAR US?!"
"GUARDIAN ANGEL!"
"I FEEL SAFER ALREADY!"
The man Giyuu saved, Kimura, told Giyuu that he owned the fireworks and offered some as a token of gratitude.
Giyuu took some so he can distribute it to the south village to use as their signal. 'Why didn't I think of this before..?'
. . .
Night 2
After briefing the villagers from the south he thought he needed to come up with something about the angel thing to report to Master Ubuyashiki.
But he wasn't imaginative enough to come up with something. Not to mention he was still curious if the bonsai tree really did gave him powers.
He heard a knock on his door.
"Inosuke, you'll break Tomioka-san's door!"
"Shut up, Monitsu!"
As he opened the door, he saw the tree. "Ahh, Giyuu-san! Hi!" Tanjiro greets.
"Woah! So this is a bonsai tree!?" Zenitsu stared in awe at the small plant. "... Is it edible?" Inosuke asked.
"Hey, don't touch it." Giyuu sternly said.
Tanjiro apologized and said he tried his best, but Shinobu saw right through him. Giyuu was about to apologize to him as well for using Tanjiro in another lie to Urokodaki but he stopped himself.
Tanjiro offhandedly commented that Shinobu would visit Giyuu one of these days as he and his sister oggled the small tree.
"... What? Why?" Giyuu asked. "Idunno." Tanjiro shrugged.
End result: Still nothing.
. . .
The next day, another letter.
"Tomioka Giyuu, how low can your pride sink? Using your successor's sword? Fine, let us discuss this once your duty is over. You might have something to say that you can't quite articulate properly. Take care."
Giyuu sighed in relief, he guessed that would be the end of it. Last night, he told Tanjiro to punch a tree. Nothing happened. Maybe it takes time before the powers manifest? Zenitsu kept asking why and what the purpose is as he really doesn't want to break his hand, Inosuke headbutted a tree and almost knocked himself out.
Giyuu then came with the conclusion that if bonsai trees do give people incredible powers like that then Chinese gardeners would have ruled the world, so he gave up on suspecting the plant.
He tested if he still has it. Finding a somewhat wide space for him to do a vertical. He jumped.
He didn't even put much effort to it, he just imagined that he'd jump up to reach the clouds and he left a giant crater on the forest ground near his home.
He panicked as he was high enough to see half of Japan itself. He frantically panted as he fell down. He phased through the clouds, it was intangible.
The ground was like a painting he was staring closely at and then suddenly taken away from him so he can see the bigger picture. It terrified him.
'Ah, what- I, what's happening!? How- why?' his mind almost shuts down, as he plummeted.
He remembered Urokodaki's words about regaining his focus. 'That's right... My sword snapped because I lost my focus...'
Focusing his breathing, he managed to land softly and gracefully at his front porch without destroying the floor. Giyuu did not know the limits of his power as he still wasn't going all out. He figured having great control over it would prevent him from potentially harming others.
Night 3
It was evening. A light crackled on the sky.
Giyuu zoomed past the trees as the north village sounded their fireworks.
"THE ANGEL, HE IS HERE!"
'This better not be a false alarm...' Giyuu sighed.
It wasn't, which is worse.
A woman was missing. Named Tomoko, there was a blood trail however, and it was leading to where Giyuu came from.
"It stops just short at the forest entrance." Kimura said. "No, maybe she was standing there but she got dragged towards the village." his friend argued.
. . .
"Ah? Please tell me more about this angel." Shinobu said as she ate a piece of her dango.
"Well, the northeners said he was a handsome man who had long hair, piercing blue eyes and a mismatched haori." the vendor described.
Shinobu laughed 'That sounds alot like Tomioka-san! My, he's getting popular.' she apologized at the vendor for laughing "That's not an angel, that's just my friend, Tomioka Giyuu. You see, we're part of the demon slayer corps."
"O-Oh! Then please, any purchase you buy is on the house!" the vendor bowed.
"H-Hey, no need for that." Shinobu declined.
"Ahh, I know that haori from somewhere."
Shinobu's blood ran cold from the voice, she turned to see the thing she swore to destroy.
Upper Moon, Rank 2.
D̶̡̙̙̫̣̈́̇̅̀͋̓̌͒O̸̢̭̦̗̙̓̈͋͗́̂M̶̨̹͉̝̜̝̘̤̩̬̰͔͂̔̋͂̐̎̈́͐͛̎̎͆͆͝À̷̧̢̖̝͇͓͈̘͍̺̦̙͖͍̳̋́̆
'Shit! I was unprepared for this!' Shinobu cussed as she drew her sword. She knew that the Wisteria poison on her person won't be strong enough to even make this demon gag.
With the description of Kanae, Shinobu engrained to her brain on what he would look like. And there is no mistaking it that this is Upper Moon Rank 2.
"You must be Shinobu-chan. Your sister held you in high regard when she faced me. Wanna be friends?" Doma smiled.
"Fuck you!" she growled as she glared at him. If looks can kill, she would have won.
"Don't be like that, why doesn't anybody want to get to know me. I'm a nice guy." he pouted, still treating the situation as a joke.
"You're repulsive. Go to hell..!" she seethed as she drew her sword. The townsfolk were alarmed but as Doma's blood demon art was used. They were terrorized by his cryokinesis preventing them from activating the signal.
Doma told Shinobu that he wanted to test her out to see if she can hold up to her sister's performance. Shinobu snarled at the insensitive comment, but she was hesitant to attack due to being unprepared.
'Think..! I gotta send a message.' Shinobu motioned her crow, En, to call for Giyuu as this place is near his home. Hoping Giyuu would alert the others.
'Tomioka-san. I hope you're near.'
As the crow soared, Doma stared at it with amusement before sending some ice dust towards it, to which Shinobu defended. The message must come through.
.
.
.
He toyed with her.
It wasn't too long before she was overwhelmed. Coughing out blood as she fell on her knees, her sword bouncing besides her.
His tricky blood demon art, his battle fans, and his overwhelming durabilty.
And he looked like he was still treating this as a joke.
"Aw man, I guess this is going to be a quick one. Na, Shinobu-chan?" Doma asked haphazardly.
Shinobu gritted her teeth. She knows she would die fighting this monster, but not like this.
"Come on, do something! Is that all?" Doma asked, like a child demanding to be entertained. He intentionally did not lethally wound her just to see if she can do more.
That thought alone pisses her off.
Controlling her breathing, she managed to stop her body from getting damaged further.
She had it all planned out, she would poison Upper Moon 2, and have Kanao finish him off. To avenger her sister, and to ensure Kanao's growth.
But now, she hates it because she is going to die for nothing. Her eyes widened however, as she saw Giyuu standing besides Doma with a blank look on his face. He looked at her pitiful state with concern.
"T-To-" she coughed once more. Shinobu wanted to warn him about the ice particles but no words would leave her mouth.
"Woah! Since when did you get here?" Doma asked, completely bewildered that he didn't even sense Giyuu beside him until now.
"Just now." Giyuu bluntly replied. Shinobu coughed blood once more because that made her chuckle.
'Wait, he doesn't have a sword with him?!' Shinobu noticed.
"Tomioka-san..." Shinobu heaved "You don't have a sword... You..."
Giyuu realized it and his face changed in to fear briefly 'Oh no, she noticed!'
Now that she thought about it, did he come here ALONE?
"Ahh well, that is interesting. So what are you gonna do now, Tomioka-san, was it?" Doma asked, amused and genuinely curious. Giyuu slowly brought up his right fist.
"Ohh, that's a big fist you got! Are you actually gonna punch me?" Doma giggled, entertained.
Shinobu was delirious, she can't believe Giyuu is this stupid. He is facing the third deadliest demon in close proximity, WITHOUT his sword, WITHOUT calling for backup, and his solution is to punch Upper Moon 2.
'No, maybe this is a diversion, maybe the others were lining up and that the fist was his signal.' she is giving him too much credit.
Giyuu reared his fist back nonchalantly.
'I GAVE HIM TOO MUCH CREDIT!' Shinobu angrily winced as she held her stomach.
With one punch, Upper Moon 2's lower body got disintegrated and his torso fell to the floor.
"Wow, ouch- AAAAA!" Doma tried to play it off but real pain sets in as he can't regenerate for some reason.
Shinobu blinked in disbelief. Did that just happen?
Giyuu sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness, I thought you're going to die."
"Wait, say what now..?" Doma asked quietly.
'... What?! Finish him off, you dumbass!' Shinobu raged as she tried to pick herself up but lacking the strength to do so.
"Kochou... I'm sorry. But I guess I'll be the one who is going to kill Upper Moon 2." Giyuu told her.
"Why... Are you... Telling me this now..? Finish him off..!" Shinobu breathed out. "Hm? Not yet, we need to ask-" Giyuu was cut off as Doma's eyes went alive.
"T-Tomioka-san! Look out!"
Frozen Lotus.
Barren Hanging Garden.
Wintry Icicles.
Giyuu just looked at Doma as if he was Inosuke in Mt. Natagumo as the attacks bounced off him. 'My haori is getting ripped, maybe just standing here wasn't such a great idea.'
Shinobu can only look in disbelief as she watched Giyuu tanked Doma's barrage of attacks.
Doma cloned himself, one of the techniques that gave Shinobu the most trouble. Giyuu just swatted them all off without even blinking.
Upper Moon 2 was starting to lose his composure as the thought of a lowly human like this is able to overpower him disgusts Doma to no end "Hey now... What are you exactly?"
Giyuu just shrugged "The same as her, I guess."
"Lies! She can't even... None of the others can even..! Even Akaza can't-" Doma gasped as Giyuu snatched one of his fan away.
Giyuu inspected it and tried to see if battle fans can be used as actual fans.
"What are you even doing right now?!" Doma asked, his composure destroyed.
"I just wanted to see if they can actually work as fans. But I guess this one is too frozen to be of any use." Giyuu said before destroying it with his grip. "Why are you even here? Where is Muzan?" he asked.
"... Heh. I guess I just wanted to finish what I started. Shinobu-chan is taking too long to visit so I sought her out myself." Doma grinned.
"You... Didn't expect to get beaten up like this, did you?" Giyuu bluntly asked. "You're asking way too many questions. You're annoying me." Doma said in a monotonous tone.
"Oh, sorry." Giyuu apologized sincerely.
Shinobu was silent, watching this bizarre interaction. If she can pull her hair right now out of frustration, she would be bald.
"I guess I'll just have to force the information out of you, hm?" Giyuu asked, crouching besides Doma's torso.
"Better not underestimate m-" before Doma can attack, Giyuu poked and gouged one of his eyes out, much to his and Shinobu's shock.
"AaaaaAAAH! My eye!" Doma whined, that actually hurts alot.
"You are going to die either way, but you can choose whether you die quick or a slow death." Giyuu threatened.
"... Death doesn't scare m-"
Giyuu grabbed one of his teeth. He plucked it out.
"OWOWOWOWOW! OKAY OKAY! Give me a chance to speak!"
Doma told him about the Infinity Castle.
"Where are you going now?"
Giyuu wordlessly got up and noticing that Shinobu about to pass out from exhaustion, tried to wake her up by shaking her shoulder. "... What?!" she snapped in a somewhat raspy voice.
"Kochou, its only right that your blade will be the one to end him, for what he did to Kanae-san." Giyuu said, in a weird yet kind honorable gesture.
'Why does sis get a san from him..?' she wondered pettily, she was too exhausted to reply but she nodded nonetheless.
By any means, she saw Doma on the receiving end of being toyed at, getting his confidence destroyed, and utterly crushed at the mercy of a human. She's satisfied with that.
Shinobu watched as Giyuu walked towards Doma's torso, who was trying to reason with Giyuu.
"H-Hey, come on. I told you where he is right? Why can't we be friends?" he asked. "I thought you aren't afraid of death, demon?" Giyuu asked, pointing the swordtip to his throat.
"I'm not! i just can't believe this is it." Doma said defiantly.
"Huh. Alright, any last words?" Giyuu asked.
"W-" Doma didn't get to finish his sentence as Giyuu thrusted it deep on his throat.
"For all the lives you claimed up until now, I won't even grant you the satisfaction of a dignified death." he coldly said as Doma disintegrated.
Shinobu smiled one last time 'Tomioka-san... When did you get so cool..?' finally passing out."Kochou!"
End result: Upper Moon 2, slain.