A Split in The River of Time

Part 2: A sequence of unusual events

Water breathing technique, 11th form. Dead calm.

Giyuu began his 11th form but faced a large amount of difficulty deflecting every single oncoming blow due to it being hard to swing his sword as fast with only one arm. After a small amount of adjusting to the new feeling, every single incoming blow they threw was being deflected with ease and quick, sharp counter attacks were thrown. Eventually only jim and Kanao swung at each other, the two other slayers having been knocked away for the moment, unwilling to intervene in the interesting fight. The younger slayer swung at the man, the swords clanging together as she unleashed another flower form.

Water breathing technique, 3rd form: flowing dance.

Giyuu quickly advanced, throwing out quick slashes with the wooden blade. Some were blocked by her, but the overwhelming majority met their mark in which he felt quite bad for bruising the young girl. The surprisingly dedicated look on her face told him she was perfectly fine to continue. He heard movement behind him,

Water breathing technique, 9th form: Splashing water Flow, Turbulent.

Giyuu changed his foot placement mid swing, instead canceling his swing to swing his entire body 180 degrees to block the sun technique from Tanjiro who quickly dropped to the ground. Even swinging around a wooden sword with those techniques appeared to be extremely strenuous.  As they swung and swung, more bruises and injuries being accumulated on all three, the sun began to sink to the horizon. Shinobu walked back out to the courtyard to find her little sister, an armless hashira and Tanjiro still fighting, the two younger slayers barely keeping up as the older of them seemed to be occupied with something else mentally. Kanao lunged at Giyuu and Tanjiro swung at his waist and he moved to attack, but the three dropped any and all attacks the moment Shinobu spoke.
"I understand you are all very excited to be able to spar in a way like this since you have all been injured, however it has been three hours. It's starting to get cold and all three of you still have  very major injuries." her eyes narrowed on each of the three slayers, who all looked away from her quickly to avoid eye contact. The three looked around the courtyard, seeing several patches of grass and gravel torn up and the dirt revealed underneath as they had been jumping and stomping for hours. As the slayers reached to put their swords back on the racks, they realized that the wood was splintered in far too many places to be useful. They looked at the three other swords they had already broken, and instead of just leaving them Tanjiro gathered the wood to put where it actually belonged. After a dinner consisting of noodles, rice, soup, some chicken and lots of yelling from Inosuke and Zenitsu, along with a surprising amount of sleep, Giyuu was finally ushered towards his room. Shinobu walked slowly beside the man, who was now beginning to crumble after all the exercise.
"I don't think-" Giyuu exhaled. "I can. . . make it to the medical wing. . ." It was late at night, and his legs were giving out with absolutely nothing telling them otherwise. Shinobu sighed, and looked down the hallway. Her room, Kanao's room, Aoi's, The girls'.
"Come on. I don't think Kanao is sleeping in her room tonight, so you can sleep in there." she said, dragging him towards a door. She slid open the door, the dim candle light seeming to dance on the walls as the sudden movement caused them to flicker, and she waited for her eyes to adjust for a moment before she and Giyuu recognized Kanao was definitely sleeping in her room that night, just with a plus one in the form of Tanjiro. Shinobu's face lit up like a tomato seeing the boy and her sister sitting on the bed together. Although nothing was happening, she decided then and there that she would knock on Kanao's door from that point onwards. The door slammed shut and Shinobu ran towards her room, with Giyuu struggling to keep up. In an instant, she opened her door and closed it as he entered, before beginning.
"Alright. Ignoring what just happened, I'm going to step out to get changed, there's a futon rolled up over there that you can sleep on. Just set it up and crash for the night." He nodded, but he was barely conscious at this point, and as soon as she walked out of the room he was laying on her bed. So comfy. He thought, climbing under the covers. Shinobu re-entered the room and walked towards the bed, the room too dark to see the lump of raven black hair and Giyuu laying there. She did however notice his body lifting as he breathed, and she poked him on his cheek.
"Seriously Tomioka-san? Gunna make a lady sleep on the floor of her own room?" He merely mumbled in response, and she began to turn away to get the futon. To her surprise, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit on the bed, where the hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her to a warm chest.
"Tomioka!?" She whispered, mildly embarrassed by the display despite the fact that the two were alone.
"Sleepy." He merely muttered in response, and although she was hesitant at first, she listened. She curled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his as he hugged her waist tighter with the two quickly drifting off to a surprisingly peaceful sleep. Giyuu slept most of the next day thanks to his overexertion from training, and at the end of said day, Shinobu was greeted yet again by Tomioka passed out in her bed. Due to her stressful day, She found it more peaceful to sleep with Tomioka than to make a fuss with the futon. She had slept in the same bed as the girls before, but his heat and presence just made her feel different.

It's just the stress, she told herself.

The stress of these recent days is getting to me and I really just need to be close to somebody. That's it. She thought about this for a while, enjoying the feeling of Giyuu holding her, before she drifted off into another good night.

That wasn't it.