Ice Breathing/氷の呼吸 (A Demon Slayer Kanzaki Aoi Fanfiction)

XII

Tomioka Giyuu was a quiet hashira.

Whenever he did speak, he didn't choose his words carefully and often ended up involuntarily offending someone.

He annoyed people because of this.

Well, most people.

The Kamado siblings appreciated Giyuu ever since he literally helped in keeping Nezuko alive. He had hope in the two of them too; that somehow Nezuko could turn back into a human and Muzan would be defeated in their generation of demon slayers.

It was a very tiny hope that faltered with the death of the powerful flame hashira but grew again after the defeat of an upper moon.

There was also Kocho Shinobu who had gotten used to his bluntness and enjoyed being the one to annoy him instead with teasing.

Still, he liked her company and she probably liked his too which was why they didn't mind going on a few missions together.

She was the first one to witness his reaction to his favorite dish. Her statements annoyed him sometimes but her voice was always a pleasant sound.

He knew Kanae before Shinobu and was one of the few who remembered that Shinobu wasn't always the way she was now. She wasn't as gentle as she seemed to be. Her attitude was more like Aoi's then.

Speaking of Aoi, she was the only one who would quickly accept his decisions. His former tsuguko who always knew what he was thinking. Aoi who had become a hashira already; helping Uzui in defeating an upper moon and making her own breathing style.

He wanted her to perfect water breathing and take his place but there was always Tanjiro who could do that instead.

Giyuu believed that Aoi had already surpassed him while Aoi believed the talent of the hashiras were out of reach.

They were very alike.

They both thought they were only alive just because of luck and the people around them saving them.

Giyuu felt guilt whenever he remembered Sabito. He didn't even get to see how his friend died.

It was probably heroic. He died saving everyone that night, after all.

If he had lived instead of me, he would've been ten times stronger than I am now.

Before he could start blaming himself again, he saw Aoi leaving the Butterfly mansion with Inosuke.

Rushing into another mission without any orders.

He did that sometimes too because he felt it was all he could do. Protect the weak.

Save as many people as you can because they could become stronger than you and stand a chance against Muzan.

Aoi looked like she had gotten used to the reckless beast that was Inosuke. She was smiling more often which was something he didn't expect an idiot like Inosuke would cause. Giyuu didn't dislike the boar. There was just this awkward voice telling him to separate the two. Sort of like seeing your daughter with her first lover and her lover turns out to be a troublemaker. Giyuu wouldn't know this, of course, he didn't have any children. He wasn't used to these thoughts so he just let them be.

Giyuu watched the two disappear in the distance and began to wonder why he was here again.

To see Shinobu.

Why did he want to see Shinobu? Recently, something strange stirred inside his throat whenever he thought about her.

Not a "good strange" like when he was embraced and told that he was foolish for promising to commit seppuku had Nezuko attacked a human.