Someone You Hate (A Giyushino Fanfic)

THREE - OPTIMISM

GIYUU's POV

I woke up to the sound of Kanroji breaking the door to the infirmary "KYAAAAAAAAA! IS SHINOBU CHAN OKAY?!! CAN I SEE HER?" Aoi answered with, "You broke the door to the room for the third time this month!" As I opened my eyes, I saw an angry Aoi staring at her while Mitsuri apologized profusely for the damage. That's when I processed her words. Wait, so the demon slayer in the critical condition that Aoi and the others were talking about was...Kochou? I wondered where she was when I first woke up but they refused to answer.

My own wounds were superficial, nothing too critical. However, Muichirou was in a slightly more concerning condition. The two of us were supposed to get better in three days according to Aoi. "You just need some rest", she had said. I stared at the ceiling wishing that it was me that had been injured rather than Muichirou. Again...again I had failed to protect someone I was with. I was useless. Once I got out of this place I would have to work harder.

I wondered if Kochou would be okay. I had thought she would be the first one to come and tease me for failing my mission. Maybe it was true, nobody liked me because I was so useless. I couldn't even protect my own sister. As I was immersing myself in self hate, Kanroji yelled again "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER! SHE WILL GET WELL WON'T SHE??" My ears perked up unconsciously and I heard Aoi whisper "We're hoping for the best. She coughed up a lot of blood throughout the night, and there's a lot of poison in her body that Gyutaro attacked her with,  she hasn't woken up this morning." Mitsuri let out a sigh and looked at the curtains around the bed closest to the windows. I turned my half closed eyes the other way and 'involuntarily' hoped that Kochou would get better soon. That's when I noticed Sanemi hovering near the door. He almost looked nervous. He had always been friendly with Kochou because we all knew that he used to have a soft spot for her elder sister, Kanae. Obviously he would be worried about Kochou and then be indignant about letting his feelings come in the way. He could be really dense.

I turned the other way and closed my eyes all the way. I should try to sleep since no one was going to let me go train anytime soon anyways. Muichirou Kun was fast asleep, he must be lucky to know what sleep felt like. I could hardly ever sleep, and even when I managed to, the nightmares would wake me up in the middle of the night. It was always the same one, Tsutako and Sabito were dying right in front of me and my limbs wouldn't move. It was like I was pinned at a place and they were being murdered ruthlessly to torment me. NO...Giyuu. Stop thinking too much. Clear your mind. Try to sleep.

The Next Day

"WHAT? IS SHE TALKING? SHE'S GOING TO BE FINE? THANK GOD!" Why did Mitsuri have to be so excited about everything? Not that I was sleeping...but the peace felt good. Besides since the last few minutes I had been more occupied with how Kochou was finally speaking. Aoi seemed really happy. She had managed to extract the demon poison from Kochou and it hadn't reached her bloodstream so she would live. I was kind of relieved myself too. After Rengoku, losing another pillar would be depressing. Besides, now that most of the lower ranked demon slayers had proved themselves to be mostly useless the hashira were having to face more demons than they usually did, and being in the best physical condition was necessary.

I turned to face the side of the room Kochou was in and Muichirou was awake. He looked relieved too, but his eyes were dreamy as usual. He was staring at the windows, probably wishing for the millionth time that he was floating with the clouds. "How are your wounds?" I asked. I almost had trouble recognizing my own voice. He looked startled for a while and then answered, "Fine. What about yours?" "I'm OK." We looked away. We were kind of similar really. He hated conversations, so did I. Both of us preferred to be left alone usually. Meanwhile Kanroji had managed to inform all the hashiras about how Kochou would survive and a few of them actually paid her a visit. I wondered how she felt about all this. She must be burning up having others look at her with pity and sadness. The fact that she couldn't defeat those demons must be really bugging her. Was she still smiling like she usually did? Not that it mattered to me anyways. We hated each other. However I would not want to lose a fellow hashira.

I felt a lot better myself. So I tried to sit up. It didn't hurt a bit. Aoi and the others were really good at this. I already felt like I could almost win against some lower demons now. The infirmary had cleared up too. Apart from the occasional groans, there was no other sound to be heard. I slipped my haori on and stepped outside. The sky was slightly cloudy and the moon was half hidden. But the garden in the Butterfly Mansion was one of the best for miles and the butterflies fluttering around in the night sky was a really pretty sight. I sat down on the steps and ran a finger over my forehead. The deep cut that Akaza had inflicted with his 'Cap Tip Slice' had almost healed. I wondered if I'd get a scar. Not that I wanted one, but it would be kind of cool if I did. I rested my head against the wooden panel of the door and closed my eyes. The cool air brushed against my face and for once I fell asleep in seconds.

A/N

XD I'm still laughing at how Giyuu calls Sanemi 'dense'. I mean...we all know who the dense one is here, right?