You mumbled, "Huh?" You let go of your master and backed up. You asked, "He's resigning?" Ubuyashiki looked away from you, "Well, yes. He came to me not too long ago and asked what I thought about him resigning. I figured I should let you know, because this is a very big responsibility." That's why he looked worried when you were about to leave him. It's not that he was worried about you, he was worried about himself. You were the person he was going to dump all of his responsibilities on. You nodded, "Yes, I get that.. But I don't get why he's leaving. He's dreamed of being in this position ever since we were young." Ubuyashiki added, "It's not just that he's resigning. Him and I-" He paused. "He and the other pillars have gotten into countless conflicts. His attitude towards his position isn't admissible. If he doesn't want to be here, I don't see the point in him staying, especially if we have another water pillar that can easily take his place."
You wanted to argue with him, but you couldn't. You nodded, "I understand sir. May I go speak with him?" He replied, "Oh sure, it'll be a bit before he leaves. Maybe a day or two.." You smiled, "It was lovely talking to you, "Mr. Ubuyashiki." He started to walk down the steps on your porch while holding his daughters hands. "Yes. I'll be going now." You waved, "Bye Mr. Ubuyashiki. And goodbye Nichika, and Hinaki." The girls spoke in unison, "Goodbye." You watched them walk away until they were out of earshot.
Immediately, you burst inside. You wanted answers. You shouted, "Giyuu!" You shuffled to his room door and twisted the doorknob. You didn't bother knocking, because you didn't care about his privacy at the moment. The door was locked. You continued to twist the doorknob, and started to knock aggressively. "Open the door!" You we're about to yell again, but you heard him shout through the door. "Goddamn you. What the fuck are you yelling for?!" He opened the door, and you almost fell. You pushed him really hard. "Are you insane? Did you lose your fucking mind!?"
Pushing Giyuu while drunk wasn't smart. He fell back on his bed still sitting up as you asked, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you screaming at me?" You stepped closer to him, "You're-" You noticed yourself yelling again. You tried to stay calm. "You're resigning?" He looked away from you. "Yeah. Sorry." You rolled your eyes, "Sorry for what? Leaving me again just like you left me 4 years ago?" He didn't say anything. You asked, "You couldn't have thought to tell me this sooner? I'm not even qualified to be your apprentice, let alone be the only water pillar. You are-"
He stood up from his bed and interrupted you, "Remember the final selection, y/n?" You remembered the final selection vividly. You nodded, "Yeah, I do." He continued, "You killed a lot of demons in there." What is he even talking about? You looked at him with a look of disappointment, "I wasn't questioning my ability to kill demons.. And what happened in the final selection is irrelevant. 15 year old me has nothing to do with the person I am today. If I were the strongest out of us you would be in my position and I'd be in yours."
He said, "I have nothing else to tell you." Well, since he's leaving, might as well ask him the question you've been wanting to ask. You waited a few moments before questioning, "Did you ever think about me in the four years we were apart?" He stared at the floor for a good while before giving you and answer. He shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe when I was sixteen or seventeen. After that I assumed you quit or retired." He paused, "You know, after Sabito I didn't really think you were strong enough to continue on with your career." That was pretty spot on actually. After Sabito and Makomo's death, you really didn't believe in yourself all that much. Truthfully, believing in yourself didn't get you very far. The only reason you hadn't quit is because you felt this job was your only purpose, and you felt it was your responsibility to avenge your family.
You murmured, "Oh." He retorted, "Did you?" You asked, "Did I what?" He replied, "Did you think about me at all?" You thought for a minute. "A little. But I never assumed you were the water pillar." Silence. He didn't really seem interested in the conversation. But before he left, you wanted to tell him something else that you've realized just now. You spoke, "I need to admit something to you." He responded, "Go ahead." You took a deep breath. "Giyuu I-" You tried again, "Before you go, I just wanted to tell you that I really missed you. I didn't think of you a lot when we weren't together, but being with you now has made me realize how important you are to me."
Your voice got high pitched and wobbly. "And, there's no one else that makes me feel as safe and comfortable as you do." You whispered, "I love you." He froze for a couple of seconds, but he eventually muttered, "I- love you too.." Did he really just say it back? He loves you back?
Mitsuri unknowingly came bursting through Tomioka's bedroom door. She stuttered, "Y/n, uhm- I was just coming in here to tell you, uhh.. what Obanai did for me." She startled both you and Tomioka. Was she lying or something? Why was she muttering and fumbling up her words?You saw she was holding a box in her hand, and a small piece of paper in the other. You questioned, "Oh? What is it?" She smiled slightly as she told, "He got me sushi, and then he left a love letter on the counter." You smiled back, "What does the note say?" She read, "Dear Mitsuri, I'm very sorry I don't tell you this enough, but I love you. Sometimes I find it hard to speak around you because you're so beautiful. Just a box of sushi is not enough to thank you for making me so happy, so I want to take you out tomorrow. Be ready at 6, please. Love Iguro."
Before you could comment, Tomioka nodded, "Oh wow.. That was kind of him." You agreed, "Yeah, it really was. You are really lucky to have someone like him. I'm really happy for you." Yours and Tomioka's crows soared in through a window in his bedroom. "A young boy named Kōji in Shinjō, Okayama city has been reported missing! Go quickly!" You looked at the crow, then back at Mitsuri. "I'm so sorry, we have to go." You grabbed your katana off the katana rack and slipped it into your belt. You and Tomioka made your way to the front door. He mumbled, "Bye Kanroji." She shouted, "Bye Tomi-" But the door shut before she could finish her sentence.
Demon Slayers get to where they need to go by running. Even though Okayama was your neighboring city, running there would take some stamina. Urokodaki liked to call it cardiovascular endurance. You started to jog at a steady pace, "I haven't had to run this far in a long time." Giyuu jogged alongside you and murmured with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Me neither." You then started to pick up the pace to more of a sprint. Tomioka stayed with you, and you were secretly smirking at the fact this felt quite easy for you.
The Shinjō village had a very big welcome sign for being such a small city. But as the welcome sign appeared in view your feet felt like they were set on fire, and it felt like you had 10 pound ankle weights on. You were disgustingly sweaty, and your legs were wobbly and aching more then they ever have before. You were resisting the urge to stop running and puke in the grass beside you. Your face felt like it does when you get too close to the fireplace, and your breaths were loud and shaky. Giyuu didn't look to be doing any better.
At all.
He fell to his knees at the sign, and started to uncontrollably vomit. He yelled through tears and gags, "Y/n, go! Go-" He puked up something else. He spoke quietly, "Go find the boy." This was annoying. You felt like being on the ground right now too, but you weren't. You shook your head and panted, "No," You paused. "I'm in pain too, you know that? Get up Giyuu." That sounded rude. You mumbled, "Please." He wiped his mouth and nodded, "Okay." He slowly stood up and groaned loudly. You demanded, "Come on, quickly please." You turned to look at the slight run down village.
You screamed, "Kōji!" But it sounded like more of a cry. Giyuu yelled out, "Kōji! Make noise so I can find you! Please!" You and Tomioka both went quiet. You were about to scream again, but you heard rustling tree branches above you. You drew your balde without hesitation and pointed it above your head. You shouted, "Kōji?!" A small quiet voice replied, "Yes Mrs.. I-I'm up here.." You couldn't see well in the dark at all. Giyuu told, "Oh good. Can you get down from there?" He replied, "No.. I'm scared." You smiled at him even though he couldn't see you. You looked at the tree, and back at Tomioka. "I haven't climbed a tree in forever." You glared at the tree again, "I'll do it." He said, "Don't fall."
You gripped a branch that you could reach by putting your arm up. You swung your legs over it and stood up on it carefully. You were 6 feet up in the air at this point, and Kōji at least had to be 10 more feet up. You grabbed onto a branch that was about another 6 feet up, and pulled yourself up. You struggled a bit. You needed to work your upper body a bit more. As you stood up, your right foot slipped from underneath you. Giyuu screamed, "Y/n!" You we're free falling for a good millisecond, but caught yourself with your legs. You were hanging upside down by your damn legs 12 feet in the air. Giyuu exhaled, "Don't do that ever again."
You took a deep breath and asked, "How in the world did you even get all the way up there, Kōji?" It took him a bit to reply, but he eventually stammered, "I-I don't know. I'm sorry.." You replied while pulling yourself back up, "Your fine, but I'm hoping you learned your lesson. Please don't go climbing trees anymore." He responded with shame, "Yes, of course ma'am." You stood up successfully this time, and stepped onto the branch Kōji was balled up on with great caution. The last thing you wanted was for the kid to fall. You sat down beside him because it was hard to keep your balance when standing up. He looked you in the eye, "Ma'am, I'm really sorry. I-" You pointed to your back, "We can't talk up here. Get on my back."
He stared at you for a few seconds before nodding hesitantly. He mumbled, "Okay.." He slowly wrapped his legs around your waist, and his arms around your shoulders. You told, "Hold me tightly, okay? I won't be able to hold onto your legs when I'm climbing down." He nodded into the crook of your neck. You asked, "Ready?" He nodded again. Tomioka suddenly screamed, "Shit!" You screamed back out of fear, "What?!" You heard a slashing noise, and then the wetness of blood. Then there was silence. You said, "Giyuu?" He replied, "Uh, yeah?" You sighed, "I thought you died there for a second. Was that a demon?" He responded, "Just a real ugly fast one.. It scared the hell out of me."
You started to climb down the tree. Tomioka asked, "Kōji, is that why you climbed the tree?" He answered, "Uhm, yes sir." You reassured him, "You shouldn't have to do that. Tomioka and I should've arrived earlier. We're both sorry." This small kid was quite heavy. As you jumped down from the last branch, the boy let go of your back. You turned around to face him and knelt down. You asked, "That was the only demon you saw, correct?"He nodded and wrapped his arms around you for a hug. You were a bit taken aback at first. That was the first time someone had hugged you first in a long time.
He mumbled, "Thank you Mrs." You gently hugged him back. "It's no problem. Do you know where your house is?" He let go of you and pointed, "Right there." His house was about 20 yards away, and it seemed there were people inside. You told, "Come on, your family is probably worried sick." You took him by his wrist and started walking towards the house. Once you arrived at his doorstep, you knocked twice. The door flung open instantly. A woman screamed, "Do you have my boy?!" She looked down at him. She fell to her knees and pulled him into her arms, "Kōji! My goodness. Where were you?!"
The kid didn't reply. She shouted again, "Where the hell we're you Kōji?!" You interrupted politely, "Ma'am, I'm sorry but your son is just a bit shaken up right now. There's no need to yell at him." She stood up while taking her sons wrist and pulling him inside. She yelled "Excuse me? I haven't seen my son in over 3 hours! Now I'm evil for wanting to know where he was?" You backtracked, "No no, I'm sorry. I don't think your evil at all. I was just saying there was no reason to be yelling.." She spoke through her teeth, "Since you know so much about my son, where was he for 3 hours?" You told, "A demon attacked him, and he climbed a tree that he couldn't get down from. Im just asking your comfort your son for the time-"
She scoffed, "You believe in those stupid demon things?! You maniac! I should've know by the way you dress.. Your haori looks like something a clown would wear to a birthday party!" You opened your mouth to speak but nothing came out. Tomioka said, "Goodbye Kōji." He was about to close the door for them, but the lady slammed it shut before he could do so.