Redemption: Giyushino Story

Suddenly back in time

Tomioka Point of View :

     It's been 4 years since the battle against Muzan, and despite that, I still remember it very clearly and every detail about it. Many lives were sacrificed that day... part of me hoped that I would die in that battle because I was never supposed to be here, but unfortunately for me, I didn't. So many valuable lives were lost, yet here I am, the most useless of them all.. still breathing.

    All the Hashira are now dead except me and Uzui-san... most of them died in the battle, but some of them died due to the awakening of the demon slayer mark. These marks were supposed to shorten one's life to the youthful age of 25, but... I'm currently 25 and still alive. I wanted to be dead, but fate was against me. I was peacefully waiting for my death at the butterfly mansion, but it never came. I was informed soon later, my body adapted to the condition much quicker than others. I was disappointed, to say the least. Here I am now... sitting alone peacefully inside my house.

    Mitsuri-san, obani-san, Himejima-san, and Muichiro-san all were killed in battle. I was never too close to them or bothered to try to get to know them as at the time I feared the loss of losing someone close if I got close to them. Even though I wasn't too bothered by their deaths... apart from I felt the guilt of not being able to protect them.

    Rengoku-san, I was never too close with either because I refused to approach any of them, but when his death was announced in his battle with upper moon 3, I felt bad. I wasn't too bothered by his deaths, but he brought that positivity to the hashira group and some of the younger players looked up to him, which included Tanjiro. His death impacted most of the group, even Sanemi was startled by it. Overall... he was a nice guy that tried to help people, I sometimes admired his positivity even though I never showed it.

    Shinazugawa-san.... hated me for some reason, it didn't bother me though. I tried offering him Ohagi one time, but it didn't go well as planned. He... died at the age of 25 due to the demon slayer mark he awakened, he shared a fate I desired... but life was denied. He was angry most of the time, some people called him a hothead. Sometimes I wanted to tell him "calm down" but I decided against it knowing it will just backfire.

     Uzui-san... retired before the battle, and he lives now peacefully with his wives. I never had a problem with him,  his common usage of "flamboyant" did annoy me... but I never showed it nor let him know, which was probably for the best.

    Then there was Kocho... her death... broke me the most out of all the pillars. I never wanted to get close to her, but we were frequently assigned to missions together and her frequent attempts to have a conversation with me brought me closer to her. I didn't want to get close to her... but something about her just.. caught my attention. Even though I never said it, I did enjoy her company and the conversations I had with her. There were times I had a "tingling" feeling in my heart that I never expressed to her. That "tingling" feeling I realized was love after her death, but by that time it was too late. After her death, I found out how she died, which only broke me further. I learned she was consuming poison for a long time and then during the battle, let upper moon 2 absorb her to kill him. I felt even more guilt when I found out she told all the hashira except me... my heart was shattered... once again... I couldn't protect someone close to me... sabito.. my sister... and now Kocho. She spent too much time with me to the point I couldn't ignore her, I got attached to the point I had to care about her.

"CAW, CAW, CAW, kocho shinobu dead !"

     Those words still haunt me to this day... I always knew she was hiding something behind that smile of hers. Inside... she was sad... angry.. and thirsted for revenge. If only... I knew sooner, I would have been able to stop her. I still regret to this day not knowing her true intentions.