Giyuu wipes sweat off her forehead.
She reaches out to help Tanjiro off the ground.
The morning sun breaks through the cover of trees and dapples the training ground in a faint light. The surroundings are quiet aside from the silent hum of cicadas.
"Thank you for your lesson, Giyuu-san!" Tanjiro says once he's on his feet. Sand clinging to his black uniform. "I will be sure to remember everything you have taught me!"
Her face doesn't betray the fondness that makes space besides the heavy fog in her chest. She has taught a fair share of demon slayers; none have become as fond to her as Tanjiro.
"Well done today, Tanjiro." Her voice is monotonous, yet he beams.
She is sparse with her praise. However, if she does praise someone, they deserve it.
The additional training Giyuu has forced upon Tanjiro, has made him noticeably stronger. His breathing style, while unique, has distinct water style woven into it.
His technique improves with every lesson.
That aptitude for learning paired with his adaptability to every situation makes him even more noteworthy.
Giyuu knows it does.
She sees it every time he interacts with his peers. Despite his friendly and easygoing nature, their gazes are filled with respect. Whether it's for him as a person or a swordsman, it's all the same in the end.
If you have a someone's respect, you have it.
Most of the Hashira have taken a liking to him as well. That knowledge makes her guilty and relieved.
Guilty because she's occupying the position that's obviously his. While she was submerged in doubt about her position before, she's certain now.
She should've never become the water Hashira.
Relieved because she can now pass her position on to him, saving her colleagues the burden of having a parasite in their midst. It was like a weight lifted from her shoulders the day she realized that Tanjiro could set her retirement plan in motion.
A retirement plan only in name.
With war on the horizon, no one is spared. The training program for demon slayers and pillars alike prepares their troops for the upcoming battle. Many believe that if they train hard enough, the upcoming battle will be the demon slayer's final battle. That they will stand victorious.
Giyuu knows that's wrong.
For those with a kind and just heart, their strength is a comfort and heavy responsibility. They're confident in their ability to protect themselves, yet they are not the only ones who matter.
For those who endanger themselves to save the weak, their strength becomes a stone tied around their waist. Ready to pull them into the depths of the ocean. As a result, the stronger and kinder you are, the more likely you are to drown.
"Do you have anywhere you need to be?" Giyuu asks, as Tanjiro wipes sweat off his forehead.
"I've promised to meet Muichiro-san for practice, but I'm getting breakfast with Zenitsu and Inosuke first." He says, smiling. "Did you have anything in mind, Giyuu-san?"
She shakes her head saying: "I was only curious," and begins walking towards the exit of the training ground.
"Oh okay, do you want to come with and join us for breakfast?" Tanjiro prods as he falls in step beside her.
"No, thank you. I have something I need to do first."
"Really?" He hums, "I haven't seen you in the food hall for a long time."
"I usually eat when most have left." She replies smoothly.
On the days when she has no appetite, all she wants to do is stay locked inside her estate while time continues passing without her.
She doesn't, but she wants to.
Giyuu keeps her gaze down and distracts herself by listening to Tanjiro's occasional commentary until they reach a fork in the road. With a polite goodbye they part ways and Giyuu walks towards the water Hashira estate.
She refuses to acknowledge it for what it's supposed to be. A home.
The truth is that a cabin by the roadside would feel more like a home than that estate does. Sure, it provides her with every need. That being a place to rest and train.
However, it is also the physical manifestation of her position in the corps.
Her- a Hashira.
Besides that, it's too spacious. The large rooms are empty from any form of mindless decoration. Only the necessary inventory decors the inside.
Giyuu kept it that way on purpose. She never had the intention of staying on the estate for as long as she has.
No one greets her as she enters. Giyuu has no right to miss the presence of the estate's attendees.
Their relationship in the beginning was strictly professional with minimal conversation, however after years of sharing the same space people tend to grow closer. That's exactly what happened between them.
However, due to the influx of demon slayers staying at the Ubuyashiki estate, they required more workers. Giyuu was the first to offer her attendees for the job.
Partially due to the lack of work at the water estate, mostly because of her plan to leave.
They still drop by and tend to her estate, often catching her up on their lives.
Sometimes they let it slip how much they miss working only at the water estate. Giyuu doesn't let it show, but that makes her happy.
She walks into the estate and heads straight for her sorry excuse of a kitchen.
The morning sun has risen higher in the sky, lighting the room in a pleasant glow.
With the tea brewing she walks over to the low table in the middle of the floor. Paper scrolls lay strewn about on top of it, depicting several hand-drawn maps.
Long ago, she began noting down every safehouse she came across on her missions, as well as town-activity she found suspicious.
That was before. Now her information comes only through Ubuyashiki's scouts, and by the sound of it, Muzan is growing bolder.
Giyuu grabs her tea after a while and sits down by the table again.