A Slow Recovery - Sanegiyuu

4 - Haori

❗❗The haori part of this chapter is inspired by snapped by Giyu_Tomioka0208 credits to the person, her/his work is amazing so check it out :D

3rd person pov:

"What's wrong? Can't breathe?" Sanemi mocked. He pulled giyuu's head out of the water before dunking it back in.

"What a flashy idea shinazugawa!"

"This fucker is holding his breath" Iguro noticed. He slammed his foot into giyuu's back, twisting his foot so it gouged into his flesh. Giyuu screamed in pain, choking on the water as he lost his breath. He tried to use his other arm to push his head out of the water but sanemi snapped his arm back, almost dislocating his shoulder. Giyuu choked in the water, he needed to breath, he used all his strength to lift his head out of the water but sanemi pushed it deeper into the water. Sanemi pulled giyuu's head out of the water, letting giyuu breath for a second before dunking his head back in. Tengen kicked giyuu's sides, and iguro twisted giyuu's foot. Giyuu was defenceless, he could only close his eyes and wait for the beating to be over. Sanemi pulled giyuu out of the water and threw him against a tree. Pain shot up the brunette's back from the impact of being thrown around. The brunette coughed which soon turned into hacking as he tried to clear the water in his lungs. Sanemi continuously slammed giyuu's head into the trunk of the tree, the pain was too much for giyuu, he shut his eyes and counted to 100, blacking out as he reached 80.

...

When giyuu woke up, it was already night. His body was sore and his throat was hoarse. Giyuu's head was swelling and bleeding, splinters were stuck in his flesh and his ankle was swollen. Giyuu sighed, he used the tree a support to slowly stand up and limped his way home, wincing every once in a while from the pain.

The beating occured after every hashira meeting, he would be abused by the 3 hashiras while the rest simply ignored him. He didn't get it, why was he hated? Why did the other hashiras hate him so much? He wanted to be friends with his colleagues but they hated him. Would they miss him if he died? Would they be regretful for what they did? Would they apologize? Would the care for giyuu? Would they come to his funeral? Giyuu didn't know what to do. He didn't why he was hated. The brunette didn't retaliate, he gave up on stopping the beatings, he gave them his money, and kept quiet about the beatings. This went on for weeks, it felt like hell to giyuu and he desparately begged the gods every night that he would wake up one day, only to realize that everything was a nightmare. He longed for the peace he once had, he dreamt of running through a quiet field with no one around him, he dreamt of being free, he dreamt of being happy. He wanted his dreams to come true but life was cruel. It only laughed at the pillar's face and mocked him. The brunette could feel himself slowly losing the will the live. He just wanted to be happy.

...

The rest of the hashiras were having their usual post meeting lunch, eating and chatting happily together.

"Guys. I have an idea" shinobu spoke.

"Hm? What is it" tengen relied, stuffing his face with udon.

"How about we.." shinobu explained her idea in detail, smiling menacingly throughout the whole explanation.

"Kyaaaaaaaaa! Shinobu you're so smart! When are we going to do it?" Kanroji squealed. The rest of the hashiras set their utensils down, listening to shinobu's plan.

"How about we carry it out after the next pillar meeting?" Rengoku suggested.

"Sure, I'm in. Can't wait to see that fucktard's face" sanemi grinned.

Some of the hashiras agreeded with shinobu's plan while the rest didn't bother. It didn't concern them so they didn't need to fret over it. After their lunch, some of the hashiras went back home while the rest went to buy thier materials needed for the plan.

...

"Caw! Caw! Pillar....meeting.... oyakata...Sama...estate...now!" kanzaburo shouted.

"Alright" giyuu petted his crow, donning on his haori and headed for the master's estate.

...

"Good morning children"

"Good morning master. Its good to see you in good health" gyomei replied.

"Yes. It is nice to see you too. How were your missions?"

The hashiras reported their missions one by one in an orderly fashion. Giyuu, once again had nothing to report since oyakata-sama hasn't given him any missions recently. He only gave giyuu paper work to do, encouraging giyuu to rest and not overwork himself.

"I see. I'm happy you are working diligently. I'll send you your missions later so you should rest for now. You are dismissed" the master announced, the twin sisters helping oyakata-sama back into his room. Giyuu stood up, he made a beeline for the exit, trying his best to escape but once again, his attempt was futile. Sanemi slammed giyuu to the ground and dragged him out of the gates. He threw giyuu onto the ground and the usual beating begin. The rest of the hashiras laughed at the sight of giyuu's pathetic state. When the beatings finished, sanemi dragged giyuu by his hair to a secluded area. Tengen and iguro set up a fire and sanemi tore off giyuu's haori. Kanroji, muichirou, rengoku and shinobu stayed at the sidelines, silently munching on some snacks as they watched the scene unfold. Gyomei had returned to his estate, he didn't bother to watch his colleagues torment giyuu since he found it boring. Sanemi threw giyuu's haori to Iguro. The brunette saw Iguro walk towards the fire, holding his haori triumphantly up in the air. Giyuu's eyes widened when he realised what they were going to do. Giyuu dashed forward but sanemi knocked giyuu to the ground. He held giyuu in place, smirking as he watched Iguro threw giyuu's haori into the fire. Giyuu's squirmed, he used all the strength he could muster and attempted to escape sanemi's grasp. Sanemi held giyuu's neck in a death grip, pushing his head to the floor.

"N-n-oo..noooo..please...n-oooo..." Giyuu croaked out. Tears ran down giyuu's face, wetting the dirt beneath him. He watched as his haori caught on fire, the flames slowly burning his precious peace of cloth. Giyuu's heart broke, his haori which was the only items left by his loved ones was burning. His friend and sister both died protecting giyuu, their only possession that remained was their haoris. Giyuu sowed both sides of the haori together, he wore it everyday to remember them, and giyuu was watching it burn. The hashiras laughed at giyuu's pain, they enjoyed watching giyuu's face twist into an agonizing one when he saw his haori up in flames, they enjoyed seeing Giyuu's stoic face crumble as he cried. It was fun for them. The fire slowly died out and all that remained of giyuu's haori was a small piece of cloth. The edges were brunt and the cloth smelt of smoke. Sanemi got off of giyuu's back, kicking him one more time before heading off with the other hashiras. Giyuu got up and crawled towards the cloth, he gingerly picked it up, scared that it would fall apart in his hands. Giyuu stared at the cloth in a daze, the laughter of the group became faint as they walked away. Giyuu held the piece of cloth to his chest and cried, heart broken by the scene infront of him.

"I'm sorry nee-san, I'm sorry sabito. I'm sorry for being so weak. Im sorry, im sorry, I'm sorry... If only I was stronger, if only I wasn't as weak, the haori wouldn't have burned. I'm sorry.. im so so sorry... " Giyuu sobbed. He banged his head on the floor, hating himself for being so weak. If he was stronger, he could have prevent this. If he was stronger, he could have stopped the bullying. If he was stronger, he could have protected sabito. If he was stronger, his sister wouldn't have died. If he was stronger, he wouldn't be hated by the others. Everything would be different if Tomioka Giyuu was stronger.

Giyuu cried painfully, he didn't want to believe this precious haori was burned, he colleagues were too cruel, he hated them. He hated everyone, he hated everything, he hated his stupid eating disorder, he hated how weak he was, he hated how pathetic he was, he hated how cruel life was, he hated his own life.