Many Years Later
Her hand grazed over the brush, dipping it into the ink and proceeding to write on paper made out of bamboo.
"My dearest Daichi and Atsushi," she wrote in beautiful calligraphy,
"Yesterday was my nineteenth birthday. That day, I was approached by Oyakata-sama at the heart of the Demon Slayer Headquarters, where I was supposed to be relaying information about Kibutsuji to him,"
She continued her writing, "He had asked me to become the Light Hashira. He had no doubt that I had become a powerful swordswoman, and he mentioned he regretted not bestowing the Hashira title to me the same time as Tomioka-san. I didn't care — I was overjoyed. It was the best present I could have asked for, really. Even though you weren't here to see it.
As the light pillar, I promise to protect humanity. I know I couldn't protect you two, and mother and father. But, I hope you're proud of me.
And no, Giyū and I haven't been on the greatest terms. I told you two I would fix it a few months ago, but he's always on some kind of mission. His nineteenth birthday was just before mine, too, and I want to give him something. A late birthday present, perhaps?
I digress. I hope to see you two and mother and father again.
I bet heaven looks really pretty. One day, I hope to meet you all there after my time here is over.
My everlasting love for you remains.
Your big sister,
Airi."
The young woman left the quill pen in it's ink, and blew out the candle on her desk, leaving the letter for her lost younger brother's to dry. Every year, Hanata Airi writes to her younger brothers, in hopes that they would somehow read them. She keeps every letter in a special journal; sometimes for herself to read her own handwriting.
The ravenette left the room, wandering in her small condo in the Demon Slayer Headquarters. Her small home was surprisingly gorgeous, and most people found it aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.
The walls were a simple ivory and there were always fresh candles lit by Airi's hand. On the walls were framed artworks that she had commissioned from small town Japanese artists. Some artworks were of feudal landscapes, others were Japanese characters that spelt out phrases. Succulents and native plants were scattered in decorative pots all over the home, and she had a extremely large cherry blossom tree in her front yard. The size of her home had nothing on the Butterfly Estate, and Airi was perfectly fine with that.
Overall, Airi's home was beautiful, even if she was never home to begin with. What was particularly important to Hanata Airi: hospitality.
She always had a guest room or two open for anyone to stay. Most days, she always had a guest. Although, her good friend, Rengoku Kyojuro, would always crash in one of her guest bedrooms uninvited. She didn't mind, though.
She remembered the day she saw the Flame Hashira in their Final Selection together, yapping about how he wanted to immediately become a hashira. Well, he certainly did it quicker than most. At seventeen, Rengoku had been passed down the title of the flame pillar from his father in only four years. He was only a year younger than Airi, and yet he surpassed her immediately.
However, Airi started to catch up to the fire boy the past year. After discovering the true Breath of Light from a dusty book in an ancient library in Tokyo, Airi taught herself each of the ten forms. It took many years of mental and physical discipline, but Hanata mastered it. She knew water and light breathing, but she was much stronger with light. Rengoku and Hanata kept running into each other, with Airi tagging along with Tomioka Giyū. The flame breath user immediately grew fond of the double breath user, and not so much the Water Hashira. Airi and Kyojuro became really good friends after many missions together, and the two were always successful.
But, after Kyojuro and Airi became good friends, Giyū started to drift away from his childhood friend. Airi could not receive a reason from him. It was either a "I'm just busy" or "It's nothing" from the Water Hashira. After many years, the childhood duo drifted apart, and barely talked.
Being apart from Giyū only destroyed her to her core.
Airi walked into her small kitchen, preparing herself some herbal tea before her nightly meditation. The young woman had just finished a mission, so she was particularly fatigued. However, meditation was extremely valuable to her.
She unbraided her dark front hairs and let it fully down loose, her raven waves linking with the breeze that surrounded her home from an open window. Finishing up her tea and sitting down crosslegged on a woven blanket in the living room, Airi felt calm. She inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet lavender fumes of her burning candles.
She meditated for a long time, healing her mental and physical wounds from the many years of being a Demon Slayer. Sometimes, the painful memories would rush back to her, but meditation would transform those harsh memories into beautiful ones.
Airi's white house cat, Hikaru, meowed and rubbed its fluffy head on her wrist as she meditated. Airi smiled, feeling distracted by her lovable cat as she breathed deeply in and out before hearing a knock on her door. She opened the door, seeing an all-too-familiar face.
"Hello, Kyojuro. Here to crash on my guest futon again?" She snickered at herself.
"No, just here to see if you're alright. Although, I might crash here anyway. Also, never laugh at yourself like that again." Rengoku shot her his infamous smile.
She gestured the eighteen year old to come in. He smiled at her and entered the home.
"Sorry I'm not quite dressed. I wasn't really expecting anyone this late." Airi commented, for she was only wearing a comfortable white kimono with a cherry blossom pattern and white socks. She liked to slide with her socks on her mahogany wooden floors.
"Eh, I don't really mind. It's your home, anyway." Kyojuro responded. The white cat had already snuggled in the flame pillar's lap. Airi was quite jealous that the cat preferred him over her.
Airi offered the young man some leftover tea, to which he gladly accepted. The two sat together on the blanket that Airi was meditating on.
"Have you seen Tomioka-san recently?" Kyojuro asked the petite girl, petting the thick haired cat with his open hand.
"No, did something happen?" The girl responded, her heart immediately jumping at the question. She dismissed her feelings quickly, cursing her heart.
"Not at all. I just saw him return from a mission. He's resting at his place at the moment. I know you've wanted to see him for awhile now, Airi. I can sense it." He adjusted his haori. Airi gazed at his haori, admitting that his was far cooler than hers, with his resembling passionate flames at the bottom and all. He really had a cool fashion sense.
"I'll probably visit him tonight, then. I don't even know if he'll be off on another mission in the morning." She replied, a twist of relief laced in her voice.
"Have you been...okay, recently?" His sunset orbs shot to her, reflecting her eyes.
Airi grew silent for a moment. The cat meowed extremely loud unexpectedly, and the two pillars had a short laugh together.
"I've been worried about him, Kyojuro. I've known him for years, and he's never avoided me this much before. I'm scared, really scared." She poured out some of her feelings toward the young man. He put down his tea and proceeded to comfort her with his hands on her shoulders.
"If anyone can get him to open up, it's you. I've never really been fond of him, but I know I am fond of you. Airi, you know where he stands." Kyojuro encouraged her kindly. Airi questioned what she would do if he wasn't there to guide her. She should be the one to guide the Flame Hashira, but here she is getting advice from him.
The girl thanked her close friend. The two chatted for a few more moments, before Kyojuro excused himself to leave, placing the cat on the floor.
"I'll be checking back in a few days or so." He hugged the Light Hashira to her surprise at her front door.
She hugged back silently, her head lying on his toned chest. He was younger than her, not by much, but she was still surprised that he was so tall and muscular compared to her. She admired Rengoku, a lot.
He ran his hand through her long jet black waves, "Don't die on me either if you go on a mission, okay?"
Airi nodded in response, picking her head up and giving him a kind smile. Kyojuro put his hands on both of her cheeks gently and kissed her forehead. The young girl blushed immediately after that, her cheeks growing more flushed after each moment passed by.
'That was unexpected, but nice,' the young woman thought to herself.
The Flame Hashira waved goodbye as he walked down the path from her house to his own. She smiled and sent her goodbyes with him.
Rengoku wished that he could kiss her like that all the time.
After they exchanged goodbyes, Airi changed out of her cherry blossom kimono into a black long sleeve and a long black skirt that faded into golden colors at the bottom. She tied a golden ribbon on her waist and threw on her infamous white haori with golden vines on. She always had an attraction to gold, anyway.
The light pillar swiftly ran across the roofs of each building in the Demon Slayer Headquarters, holding a gift in her porcelain hands. Her steps were featherlight as she tried to not wake anyone in the area.
At long last, the girl elegantly landed in front of where Tomioka Giyū lived. His home was about the same size as hers, only more plain and monochrome. She still admired how well kept his plants were and the pond that was in his front yard.
She approached the pond and looked at her reflection in the water, seeing her face from the moonlight. She spoke quietly to herself, "What a mess. You look like a trash panda, Hanata. Can't you wear a little makeup?"
"You don't need any." A deep, masculine voice responded to her antics.
The girl jumped, nearly dropping her gift into the cold pond water. She almost concluded that the koi fish thriving in the pond would enjoy her gift more than Giyū himself.
"Shit, Tomioka. How'd you know I was here?" She asked quietly.
"I have my ways." He answered abruptly.
The two stared at each other in silence. The silence was not comfortable for either of them; nothing like how it used to be for them. They both preferred not to talk, only when necessary. Or, in Airi's opinion, only with friends or authority.
Even so, their eyes seem to mix together in perfect harmony, like a golden sunset on the vast, open seas.
Airi interrupted the quiet, "I-I've been waiting for your arrival for months. And, I have a late birthday gift. If you want it, I-I mean."
Airi didn't know why she was stuttering so much, but she tried to pull herself together. She concluded that it was just because of how tired she was.
"Didn't you just come back from a mission? And now you're here trying to give me a 'late birthday gift'? You must be exhausted, Airi." Giyū told her calmly.
"I guess I'll get going then. My rest is more important, anyway." She responded as she leapt away as quickly as she could.
'How embarrassing.' She thought.
Before she got far, she heard his voice, calling her back.
Giyū opened the door for her, offering to let her inside his home. She thanked him, whispering an apology to him while she entered. She knew he heard her.
Airi noticed his house was prettier than she initially expected. It was simple, but there was some decor.
Airi complimented him, "Your home is very beautiful."
Giyū hummed in response.
"So," he started, "What's in the box?"
"Oh," Airi responded softly, "I knew your birthday was earlier this month. I've had this gift for awhile, and I could never give it to you because you were always somewhere. I'm sorry."
The young woman handed him the box. The box was simple, with brown paper wrapping and a navy blue bow, with a letter addressed to him attached to the top.
Before he opened the envelope, Airi addressed to him, "Open the letter in your own time."
Giyū nodded, unwrapping the gift. Airi swore he could hear a slight gasp escape his lips, but she dismissed the thought. He held the gift in his gentle hands and placed the rest down on a small wooden table.
There were two gifts in that box. The first one was a framed photo of himself, Sabito, and Airi, laughing together. Urokodaki had run into a traveling photographer that day, and begged for a photo of his favorite students. The photographer was kind enough to give him a discount.
The photo was originally black and white, so Airi personally colorized it. It looked very realistic, like it happened yesterday.
The second gift was a bamboo plant, potted in a clay pot that was painted blue with waves crashing in a vast navy ocean. The bamboo had just begun to grow into a beautiful shade of green.
The man stood there for many moments in awe of the photo that she had given him. Airi grew worried, his expression never changed, but he still stared at her gift.
"Do you not like it?" She asked in a hushed tone.
Before she knew it, he threw the girl into an embrace.
Airi heard the man attempting to sob quietly into her hair. She looked up at him, his navy blue orbs were surrounded by red, filling up with tears. She had never seen her friend this way. It was her that would cry, not him.
Airi used her delicate thumbs to wipe away tears that streamed down his face. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him again. Giyū could not stop the tears from flowing down as he cried into her shoulders and neck.
She knew he missed their lost friend a lot. Sometimes, she could feel Sabito's passion and strength still with her, like he was watching over them somehow. The two stood together, mourning their lost friend.
After many moments of being in each other's company, Giyū proposed that Airi could stay at his place for the night. It was about two o'clock in the morning judging by the stars and where the moon lie in the sky.
Airi couldn't say no, the man was so fragile as it is. She knew that, even if he said he didn't need it, he needed her company the most.
The two sat together in the main room, in a comfortable silence that they once knew.
Airi broke the silence, "Tomioka-san, I—"
"Giyū. Just call me Giyū." He responded, interrupting her. She shot him a giddy smile.
"Listen," she continued, "I hope we can become good friends again. Like our childhood."
The man looked down, and then he looked at his haori that she had knitted together for him when they were younger.
"Yes," he said after many seconds, "I would like that. At least someone here likes me."
"I know most people don't here. But I know Kanae, Mitsuri, and I do."
"Kanae and Mitsuri don't count," He replied, "Those girls are kind to everyone."
"So you're saying I'm the only one who admits to liking you?" Airi grinned.
The man poked her leg in embarrassment. He obviously didn't know for sure how she felt about him. He was so distant from everyone, so he would always assume Airi felt the same after running off with Kyojuro. He felt that the flame pillar pissed him off all the time.
"Just so you know," Airi spoke again after giggling at him, "I've never not liked you. You've been super special to me all these years. That hasn't changed."
"I know," Giyū replied.
The Water Hashira noticed the same geometric yellow and green print as one-half of his haori on the girl's wrist.
"I didn't know you had his pattern on your wrist." Giyū commented, to which Airi smiled warmly in response.
"Of course. I can feel him still with us, somehow. If you have him on your haori, that yours truly made, then he has to be somewhere with me, too." She shot the man a soft smile.
"Man, Sabito was one hell of a guy." Airi commented before giggling, remembering the memories with him.
"Yes, he really was." Giyū replied.
He was like nobody else.
——•——
Author's Note:
I bet you all saw this coming. Of course, I THINK Giyū will be Airi's official love interest. So, stay tuned for that, or if I choose someone else for her. I would say Kyojuro but, if I'm staying on the path of the canon story...
xo, sugarboba