Can't I See You One Last Time?

Chapter 18: Emotions Float in the Air

From a glance, you could tell that there were many different emotions filling Shinazugawa's heart. Confusion, anger, fear, happiness.
Confusion for why he was brought back.
Anger for being forced to live his difficult life again.
Fear for not knowing what was going on.
And happiness for being given the chance to change somethings in his life.

"I asked if you had died."
Giyuu made complete and unmoving eye contact with silence. Shinazugawa's feelings started leaning towards anger the longer the silence lasted. Giyuu could see the angry tick mark forming on Shinazugawa's face but continued to press on.
"So, did you-"
"Can't you see that I'm still standing in front of you? Do you think I'm a fucking ghost?"
His voice got louder as he continued speak, and Giyuu wasn't bothered by it in the least.
"Did you lose a few brain cells on that spider mountain? OR MAYBE YOU'VE FINALLY LOST YOUR HEAD?!"
Giyuu narrowed his eyes and sharpened his gaze. In turn, Shinazugawa narrowed his eyes as well.
"You've got somethin to say, you insane moron?"

In Shinazugawa's head, he was thinking that Giyuu was anger because of the sharpened gaze, but he was wrong. Shinazugawa was completely off the mark. In fact, Giyuu wasn't giving any thought to the insults he received. Giyuu's mind was focused on a completely different matter, and that would be Kamado Tanjiro. The guy was in bed with multiple injuries, and Giyuu wanted be by his bedside. Plus, Giyuu wanted to change the way Tanjiro called him Tomioka-san rather than Giyuu-san. Usually, Giyuu wouldn't care if someone called him by his last name rather than his given first name. But as soon as Tanjiro addressed him by his last name again-
Hold on. Again?
Giyuu's eyes widened.
I was so focused by the fact that I was given another chance that I didn't notice.
The difference between his first try and his second. It was so small that Giyuu hadn't noticed it. When Giyuu started his second try, Tanjiro called Giyuu by his first name without being asked to, but in the first, Tanjiro called Giyuu by his last name.

It's nice that Giyuu was figuring all of that out, but he forgot the thing that was standing in front of him. That thing would be the angry Shinazugawa.
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? HEY, TOMIOKA!"
He was, in fact, not listening to the yell of insults. Giyuu had completely forgot about Shinazugawa even though his eyes were right on him. The man was too busy in his own head.
What could that-
Wait, I feel like I'm forgetting something...
That's right!
Giyuu pulled himself out of his own head and actually looked at Shinazugawa. Like he'd never got lost in his own head, Giyuu continued the conversation.
"But, you died, right? I heard a rumor that you had committed suicide."
Shinazugawa froze with his widened eyes.
"I thought you died because you were depressed without your brother. That makes since seeing as you two had just-"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
He was shaking. The slayer with the strongest will had started shaking. Shinazugawa had clenched his fist,
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU STILL HAD THAT OPTIMISTIC RED HAIRED IDIOT!"
Giyuu clenched his own fists,
"Tanjiro died around a week after you did. He actually cut his own head with his own blade."

Heavy. The air had gotten heavier. The strong motions of the two top slayers were leaking out of their bodies. People couldn't seen them, but when walking close to their location, a bad feeling overcame their bodies. Instincts turned the people around to another area. Even the crows had avoided the area.

"You mean the stubborn and optimistic kid cut his own head...?"
Shinazugawa was confused. That kid was so stubborn when coming to the things he wanted, and he seemed liked he wanted to live his his friends for as long as possible. Now the question was,
Why the hell did he commit then?

Giyuu unclenched his hands and made a cutting head motion, his face showing no emotion.
"Right in front of my face."
Shinazugawa looked at him with a face that showed surprise.
"Shit! Seriously?"
Giyuu dipped his head,
"Yeah, I had just got up enough courage to confess-"
"HOLD THE FUCK UP! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
Giyuu looked at Shinazugawa with confusion and started wondering if the Wind Hashira was going deaf.
"I had just gathered enough courage to confess...?"
Shinazugawa looked at Giyuu like he really was insane. He point  at the other with a shaking index finger.
"Y-you mean to t-tell me that...AN EMOTIONLESS BASTARD LIKE YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH THAT RED HAIRED MORON?!"
Giyuu's glare narrowed in anger and annoyance.
"Tanjiro is not a moron, and his hair's really soft."
Shinazugawa touch the pads of his fingers of the side of his face. He had the full face of confusion.
"I can't fucking believe it..."

Their words and actions showed that they were fine. The air around them was different. It was still filled with the true feelings of the two slayers. They tried to run away from the dark feelings piled up deep in their hearts, but both slayers knew that they had to confront those feelings. Now was the perfect moment to do so. Shinazgawa was the once to open the conversation again.
"So, you were brought back to...the past, I mean."
Giyuu shook his head. He was brought back, but the place they were right now wasn't the past they had experienced before. The fact that Shinazugawa didn't know where they were right now proved that they hadn't met.
"I have been brought back, but your getting something wrong."
"You seem to know more than me, so tell me everything you know, Tomioka."
Giyuu nodded and told Shinazugawa everything he knew. Everything the being told him before giving him another life to live.

After telling him everything, Giyuu was giving Shinazugawa a full ninety degree bow with full sincerity.
"Because of my wish you have been pulled out of your peaceful sleep. I deeply apologize."
Shinazugawa looked at Giyuu with a serious face before sighing. All of his face muscles relaxed,
"Don't worry about it. Besides, this gives me another chance, but lets grant your wish before someone who doesn't want to be waked gets pulled out of their sleep."
The air around the two lost the weight of the two slayers dark emotions. Giyuu looked up than straighter his back.
"Shinazugawa, you're actually a nice guy."
A tick mark formed of the slayer's forehead,
"Shut up, you idiot."