Wait.

Don't Move.

A/N: If you didn't read the description, This will be an AU where Sabito comes back to life somehow. I didn't think this through TwT. It is a one-shot and Sabigiyuu. I made it because it was something I wanted to read it and nobody else had made it yet. Enjoy, if possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tomioka Giyu POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giyu Tomioka had been sent on a mission.

This was not a surprise. The hashira had to be sent on missions as much as possible, assignments usually ended earlier and with a lower death toll that way. 

What he didn't understand was how he hadn't caught or at least seen this demon yet.

It wasn't a uppermoon, it wasn't even a lowermoon, but many slayers had been sent after it and they hadn't returned.

It was after losing many fellow slayers had they decided to send a hashira.

But he had been chasing the scent for weeks, not resting or eating much, but still not finding the demon. He was really sleep-deprived and hungry now. He just wanted this mission to be over so that he could return back, and possibly have some simmered salmon with daikon. It was the end of the second week now, sustaining himself only through short naps and small lunches. He had also caught another human scent a few days earlier, but he decided it was not worth worrying about. After all, they could already be dead. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

  This is why Sabito would have been better. He reminded himself glumly. Sabito had been the type to try and save any life, even at the cost of his own. The thought of Sabito drew darker, more painful memories from the back of his mind. His death, His sacrifice, the genuine smile he would give after training-

The slayer took another shaky breath in. He had to focus. Although Sabito would have been the best option for the empty Water Pillar seat, he was dead. He would just have to reserve it for Tanjiro, who he was sure would become powerful enough to entirely eclipse Giyu. Tomioka would then be free from the pressure of being a false hashira.

It was nighttime. Giyu moved swiftly through the trees, legs aching but finally getting closer to the scent of the demon after so many fruitless efforts before. He cautiously closed in on the shadow on the ground, ripping through the tree branches onto the mossy floor with sword drawn-

It was dead.

The demon was dead.

Standing on the not yet dissolved body was the shadow of a slayer. Something was slightly familiar about him. The set of his shoulders, the way he stood and sheathed his sword-

Giyu took a startled breath in.

The salmon pink hair and the haori they shared.

Surprised by the noise, the slayer turned around, ready to draw his sword again, only for his hand to fall limply by his side, eyes wide and staring in disbelief as he looked at Giyu. There was no denying it now.

It was Sabito.

But it wasn't. It couldn't have been. It's the demon blood art, Tomioka told himself. You have to kill it. Anger flared inside of him. You must kill it for dishonoring Sabito. He pushed himself forward, blade ready to slash across its neck-

"Giyu?"

The blade point stopped right underneath Sabito's chin. With the smallest flex of his fingers, Tomioka could draw blood. He took a breath in. His hand was shaking.