Giyuu was tired, and he had a guess as to why. After arriving to headquarters, he told the butterfly sisters to not worry as he would go to Ubayashiki and give him the mission report. When he went, the Master wasn't disappointed that Uppermoon 2 escaped and was just relieved that none of the Hashiras died. Ubayashiki thanked Giyuu for his hard work and told him to take some days of for rest. Giyuu would normally disagree, but given his current situation he was more than happy to take some time off. However before he left the residence, Ubayashiki said something that made Giyuu freeze.
"Tomioka, I can see that there are a lot of things on your mind. I won't force you to say, but just know that I'm always here for my children if they ever need anything."
Giyuu didn't know how the Master realized something was up. But then again, the Master was always considerate of the other Hashiras, and as such, must have noticed a shift in Giyuu's actions during their last meeting. As Giyuu entered his residence he started thinking on what to do.
Sanemi was still unconscious, so until he wakes up they won't be able to discuss what happens next. However, before Giyuu could even think anymore, he crashes on his futon and starts sleeping. The next day, he wakes up with messy hair and his uniform still on. He soon gets up to make breakfast whist wondering how he slept for a whole day. 'hmmm, I must have been more exhausted that I thought...'
After eating breakfast and drinking water, he goes back to his room to clean his futon. However, before he could do that, he spaces out and stares at the futon. Before he knew it, he went back to the futon and slept through the whole day.
When he woke up the next day, he once again ate a heavy breakfast and had some water. As he went back to clean his futon, he could feel the drowsiness come to him. At least this time, he was able to change into his pajamas before once again falling asleep...
The next day, he wakes up to the sound of heavy knocking on his door. he reluctantly gets out of his futon and goes to the door and opens it. What appears is the sight of the Wind Hashira with hospital garments and a shocked face.
"Ah, Shinazugawa... I was expecting you... I take that your injuries have recovered?"
Before Giyuu could yawn, Sanemi beat him with a response.
"Did... did you just wake up?!"
After letting Sanemi in, Giyuu brewed some green tea for the both of them. They then sat near the table and began sipping the tea. Neither of them spoke a word, leading to an awkward silence occasionally interrupted by someone sipping their drink. Finally, Sanemi let out a grunt, seemingly having enough of the silence, and spoke out.
"So you just been asleep these past days!"
Giyuu took a long sip of his tea. His drowsiness had dissipated and now he was back to his calm and stoic nature. "Yes... it seems I been asleep as long as you have..."
Sanemi felt a vein pop out in his forehead. However, he managed to remain calm and answer.
"I was unconscious from my battle with that damn Uppermoon. Why were you asleep for these four days huh?!"
Giyuu also wondered why he's been asleep these past days. It was seriously unlike him, and fit more with Muichiro's behavior than his own. After a minute of hesitation, he finally came up with an inference.
"Perhaps... my exhaustion... and possible your exhaustion too... came from our sudden predicament... of being in the past..."
Sanemi stayed quiet and pondered the statement. There definitely was some logic in that theory. Both of them immediately showed up in the past, and their first actions were to partake in battle and change the past. It is possible that the energy spent from jumping to the past, along with the physical and mental exhaustion of their actions led them to be out of commission for a couple of days. In fact, it seemed quite impressive that they weren't passed out for more than a week.
Sanemi tried to recall how he got here. How this was even possible in the first place. But all he could recall was a blank dream. He couldn't remember what was in it, only a voice that he couldn't remember how it sounded or what it said. Undenounced to Sanemi, Giyuu was also trying to recall his dream, only to come with the same conclusion.
Sanemi let out a sigh before finally breaking the silence. "Do you know how we got here?"
"... no"
"I see." Sanemi looked down, his face filled with tension. "Regardless, we're in the past, and we must use this opportunity to its fullest."
Giyuu stared at Sanemi, a hint of determination found in his eyes and a slight smile forming. "Agreed... lets start with what we know"
And so they talked. Talked about every event that happened in the original timeline. Kanae's death. Shinobu's promotion to Hashira. Shinjuro's retirement. Kyojuro's ascension as the Flame Hashira. During these events, both the Hashiras talked about potential changes and how they would tackle them. Finally, the issue that was haunting Giyuu finally came up.
"Two years from now, you meet with Kamado right?"
Giyuu took a deep breath before replying, "... yes"
Sanemi's hand tightened around his tea cup. "And that's also when Muzan appears and the Kamado girl turns into a demon..."
"... yes".
Giyuu thought long and hard, and he honestly thought he would be more unsure of his decision. However, the more he contemplated it, the more confident he became behind the decision.
"I... I believe we should save the Kamado family..."
It didn't matter if there would be consequences. Giyuu knew that he needed to save the family. To make sure Tanjiro and Nezuko had a family once again. To make sure he wouldn't have to live in guilt for not arriving in time. To make sure those innocent lives weren't brutally lost. Even if it potentially meant that Tanjiro wouldn't be a slayer who would help them defeat Muzan. His decision has been clear ever since he spoke those words to the Butterfly Sisters when they were walking back to headquarters.
Sanemi hesitated before looking down, a shadow of guilt covering his eyes. "Tomioka... I'm sorry, but I disagree with you."
Giyuu looked at Sanemi, a drop of shock appearing in his doll-like face. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean... that we can't change that event. The consequences would be too dire"
"How could you say that?" Giyuu's voice slightly raised as he could feel emotions whirling within him.
"Look, I don't want the family to die too, but we got to think this rationally. The siblings were a necessary help towards Muzan's defeat. Without Tanjiro's breathing and Nezuko's blood, we won't be able to defeat Muzan at all!"
Perhaps before, Sanemi would have denied any contribution a demon girl and a hard-headed brat would have made. But this Sanemi has experienced war and cannot deny the usefulness of the siblings.
"So what, they're just pawns for the long run? They're suppose to lose their family and live the dangerous life of a slayer for 'the greater good'?" Giyuu's face was slowly leaking agitation.
"I'm just saying that we need them! If the brat doesn't become a slayer and the girl doesn't become a demon, then we can't defeat Muzan!"
Giyuu gave a hard stare at Sanemi before finally responding. "... I thought you of all people would understand me Shinazugawa... Especially after Genya..."
Sanemi hand crushed the tea cup. It was a low blow, especially from Giyuu, but he didn't care. Sanemi's face contorted to one of murder, and he was seconds away from reaching over the table to grab Giyuu's head and bash it. However at the last second, he remained his calm and took a deep breath. Once again, the year spent after the final battle has done tremendous progress towards Sanemi's anger issues! Besides, Giyuu had a point.
Despite his reasoning, Sanemi hated his decision. He too, lost his whole family to a demon, leaving only his younger brother and himself. And then he lost his brother and it was just himself... After the war and seeing Nezuko and Tanjiro smile happily without worry, Sanemi could only look at their bond with compassion, envy, and longing. Longing that in another life, his mom never became a demon and Sanemi never became a slayer. That in another life, it was just him and his siblings...
Sanemi let out a deep sigh before finally responding. "Tomioka... I hate it too. I never want to see another family go through what I went too. But if this doesn't happen, then it would all be for nothing. All the sacrifices our comrades made. Our will as demon slayers. It will all get blown away, and then we would have to live in a future where more families are broken apart. That's why we must do whatever we can to eradicate all demons..." Sanemi looked straight at Giyuu as his eyes regained a sense of resolve. "By any means necessary."
Giyuu's face finally softened as he bent his head to look at his intact tea cup. He couldn't blame Sanemi for thinking that way. He also thought that way before, even if it was for a slight moment. He also can argue with the feeling that what Sanemi is saying is right. That he is correct and that he is being rational. Feelings mess up the brain and in some cases, lead to bad decisions. Yet Giyuu cannot ignore the feeling in his heart. The feeling of desire to protect them. How would he even live, if he had to look at Tanjiro and Nezuko knowing he could have actually saved their family...
In the end, the conflict between the two Hashira boils down to the motivation of the Demon Slayer Corps. One is following the purpose of 'saving humans', while the other is following the purpose of 'slaying demons'. Both are correct in equal ways, yet in this circumstance these two ideals that generally pair each other are clashing. This leads to a split between the two members as they twirl under the clash of these two ideals , suffocating under its hurricane.
Both slayers sat in silence again. Finally, Giyuu spoke up, his quiet voice barely being heard yet understandable. "... I still stand by my decision... so what are we suppose to do..."
"... I don't know" It was three words that are usually not found in Sanemi's dictionary. This feeling of helplessness is an old feeling that he hasn't felt in a long time.
Giyuu too was feeling the same thing. They were suppose to be Hashiras. The cream of the crop, and yet they were lost. They didn't know what to do, or how to even proceed. In times like these, it would be Ubayashiki who would always reveal words that make the world much clearer.
Giyuu's mind traced back to a conversation he had a couple days ago. Suddenly, his posture shot up, as if the answer to the question just came to him. This action didn't go unnoticed by Sanemi, who looked up and asked, "Oi, did you figure out something?"
Giyuu's eyes remained slightly widened as his brain ran mental calculations for the answer he just thought. Once he deduced that there couldn't be any major consequences, his lips coiled into a slight smile. "Perhaps... we should tell Ubayashiki-san... of our predicament"
Sanemi's eyes widen as his brain tried to wrap around what Giyuu just said, giving only a response of, "what?"
"Think about it... there's no official rule... stating we can't tell others... we time travelled."
Sanemi hesitated as he thought about it. What Giyuu was saying... made sense. The issue of the Kamado family could be solved by none other than the head of the organization, and they could even have Ubayashiki plan out the future depending on the knowledge they had. Basically, the idea had no flaws and only bore potential.
Sanemi stood up and led out a hand for Giyuu, who took it and stood up. "Well what are we waiting for?! Lets tell the master right now!"
"Wait... before we go... there is something we must do..."
Sanemi looked at Giyuu. Was there another thing to discuss? Was he perhaps missing something? Maybe they should plan on how to reveal the information to Ubayashiki? Or maybe there was another variable that was into play?
"We must... clean up this mess first..."
Sanemi blinked a couple times before looking down, where the shattered remains of a tea cup remained on the floor.
"... right. Sorry about that."