Fatal Detour (Tanjiro x Kanao, Giyu x Shinobu non-canon Story)

Chapter 8 (End) - The Wisteria and The Butterfly

"Nobody is ever prepared for death, Giyu. But that's the beauty of human life. There will be a time for all humans to pass. But the story, the legacy, it lives on to eternity." He turned to him with a small smile painted on his face. 

"My friend, you have a bright future before you. And I see you as humanity's spark of hope. Giyu Tomioka, I can hear the crowd cheering right this very moment." Sabito added whilst he let out a soft chuckle before he sat up.

"What do you mean bright future?" Giyu asked, his head tilted in confusion. Sabito was his one true best friend but sometimes that guy was just an enigma to him.

"Your small spark of life. It's still there, Giyuu. You just have to grab it while you still can." Sabito spoke before a purple butterfly flew by. 

"Doesn't that remind you of a certain someone?" Sabito chuckled and patted his back as the butterfly landed on the back of Giyuu's hand.

"Shinobu..." Giyu whispered quietly before getting up slowly. "Sabito, I-... I have to go! I don't think I have much time left!"

Sabito let out a sigh of relief before pulling Giyu into a hug. "Then go! Follow the butterfly and grab your life back! The world needs you Giyu... I need you to carry on with the story, the Demon Slayer legacy. I believe you can do it, out of everyone, I'm putting my bet on you. This is not your time just yet, now go!" 

He pulled away from the hug, the warm calming smile still brushed across his face. Tomioka nodded with a similar look on his face, before running off into the forest of wisteria, following the purple butterfly.

Waking up once more, Tomioka found his vision to be blurred out, but he could tell exactly where he was. He spent too many hours in that room he would still know where he was even if he was blinded out. 

Feeling Shinobu's warm tear on the back of his palm, he could feel himself slowly gaining back his consciousness and senses.

Shinobu finally felt a pulse from Tomioka's wrist, which made her jump up in excitement. "T-Tomioka-san!" She exclaimed as she quickly stood up to check if it was all for real. 

Tomioka on the other hand still had trouble responding to her, but he was glad Shinobu got the hint. He felt her soft hand against his face, her thumb gently rubbing his cheek.

"You followed the light.." She spoke, her voice was still trembling from excitement mixed with all the sadness and everything in between. She wanted to pull him into a hug but she figured it wasn't the right time to do so as it would only hurt him even further. 

"Let's get you changed and all warmed up." Her usual smile was back as she stood up to grab him some fresh clothes and bandages.

After a few minutes of gaining back his consciousness and after a few syringes of Shinobu's handmade brew, Tomioka got control of his breathing and he finally could come up with a faint response. 

"Shinobu..." he whispered quietly, gaining a pause from the focused medic. Tapping his finger on Shinobu's hand, a weak smile was slowly painted across his pale face.

This all was a mystery to him, how he got a second chance at life and why he even deserved one. But out of all the mysteries yet to crack, there was one thing that was as clear as day. "I didn't follow the light... I followed you."