Can't I See You One Last Time?

Chapter 23: Before Boarding

Two days filled with rest, planning, annoyance, and deprivation. Actually, the two days of, supposed, rest was filled with nothing but exhaustion. Giyuu had to go over the plan multiple times with Shinazugawa under the pretense of finding faults, but was actually Shinazugawa pounding the plan inside his head, multiple times. When he went to walk around, Rengoku would somehow find him, and talk about the mission. Giyuu didn't know how, but every time he walked out of his house, Rengoku would find him sooner or later. He was also receiving constant knocks on his door from a certain Insect Hashira for no clear reason. She would just knock, ask random question, or say 'hello', then walk away. Because of his crow persisting him to rest, he didn't have the time to see a certain red head. Not only was Giyuu exhausted, but his mood was a total wreck. Now he had to carry out a plan that was, literally, shoved into his head. At one point he thought of just letting Rengoku die, but then he remembered what Shinazugawa said about reality.

A few more hours before it was time to leave headquarters. Giyuu didn't want to get up. He had the best sleep he got in the past two days. There was no rambling Rengoku, Shinazugawa wasn't forcing the same plan into his head for the twentieth time, Shinobu wasn't knocking loudly on his door, and his crow wasn't in the room. It was a blissful night that only lasted for three seconds. After, it was ruined. His blissful awakening was completely trashed.

Unfortunately for Giyuu, there was a loud knock on the door. Thinking it was Shinobu, he pulled his blanket over his head blocking out the sound, or at least some of it. That blocked out some of the sound for a few seconds before the blanket was pulled off of Giyuu. That wasn't a pleasant awakening for him nor was the experience enjoyable for the person who pulled the blanket off.

As soon as the blanket was pulled off, Giyuu looked at the person with a straight face and an pissed off aura. Killing intent was also leaking out of Giyuu without him noticing. The person who pulled off the blanket just looked at him with a smile, not caring about the bloodlust pointing his way.
"Good Afternoon, Giyuu-san."
There was a whole change in attitude. When Giyuu's brain processed the fact that Tanjiro was the one that pulled the blanket off of him, his whole mood changed. The air holding anger disappeared, as if never there, and it was replaced with anxiousness overlapping guilt. Giyuu got up without a problem. He got up, stretched, and continued like it was a normal day.

Tanjiro helped Giyuu shorten his whole routine. He put away the futon, cleaned, and gave the older onigiri to ease any of the hunger he was feeling. Giyuu was surprised to be handed this as soon as they were going to walk out of the door.
"Since you just woke up, you must be hungry, so I decided to get this for you before coming here."
Giyuu gently took the wrapped up onigiri from Tanjiro's hand, his finger tips skimming the rough surface of Tanjiro's hands.
"Thank you."
From the act of using his manners, Giyuu received a smile filled with warmth. With his chest filled with a warm and bubbly feeling, Giyuu walked out of the door, no longer in a foul mood. Although, his guilt from glaring and pointing bloodlust at him still bubbled underneath.

Giyuu didn't enjoy going aboard a train. It was stuffy and filled with people. Having to sharing a seat with someone he didn't know, it made Giyuu anxious. One move from the person next to him causes his reflexes to react and his mind becomes wide awake, noticing every movement made by every passenger in the car. When Giyuu's reflexes take over, his hand always goes to the sword that isn't on his belt. That always makes Giyuu feel more defenseless than he already was. It was nice that that people were provided food to eat on the train, but when the train turned, the food would always fall out of Giyuu's hands. He would always think something like,
'There goes my well earned money. Straight onto the floor.'
All of these reasons for disliking trains never failed to happen. Although, tonight, it seemed that there was a positive reason for boarding a train. One that has never happened before.

Unlike Giyuu's first time participating in the train mission, he hadn't arrived first with Rengoku but with Tanjiro. He got to see what he couldn't see from looking outside a train window. The shine of curiosity in Tanjiro's eyes while looking at the train, his confused face, and cute expressions he made trying to figure out what the train was. He got to answer Tanjiro's prediction on what the new thing in front of him was.
"Giyuu-san, is this that guardian deity on these lands?"
It may had been an answer every person who lived in the mountains, and has never seen a train, would say. But, those words came from Tanjiro's mouth. Those words could've been said by any other person, but Tanjiro was the only one that could make Giyuu's heart flutter with a few, simple, words.

The air around Giyuu got all fluffy and flowerily because of Tanjiro. The red head was just so cute and his guess was so like him. In Giyuu's eyes, Tanjiro was the cutest thing existing. He was the only reason for existing.

"I can't watch. This is just too..."
Shinazugawa who had went to claim Tanjiro's friends from the station police office. It just so happens that when they were getting back to the train, they caught the sight of Tanjiro wondering what the train was, and Giyuu looking at him. The three of them watched from there. While watching, Zenitsu was sure that he saw sparks of love just flying back and forth between the two. It was nice that his friend was developing a love life, but also annoying. Watching the scene made Zenitsu so irritated.
I'm going to die, not only young but alone. I'M GOING TO DIE ALONE WHILE TANJIRO IS GETTING HIMSELF A STRONG LOVER! It may be a man, but still...HE'S NOT GOING TO DIE ALONE!
Zenitsu was jealous of the development happening in front of his face.

Inosuke didn't care about the lovey dovely situation happening in front of him. Actually, he was focused on the train. He might have been dragged away and told not to attack the train by a Hashira, but that still didn't stop his mind from wanting to challenge, what he called, the master of the land. The thing had a strong enough defense to come out uninjured by his, well practiced, headbutt. Inosuke wanted to win and become one of the strongest in this land. He had noticed Tanjiro in front of the train, but his focused was on how to defeat the train.

Shinazugawa was expecting to see something like this. He knew some lovey dovely scene was going to be in play when he arrived, but he wasn't ready for it. Shinazugawa thought he had mentally prepared himself for this unnatural situation, but that didn't help in the slightest. Seeing Giyuu with a different expression than his straight face. Then, there was that flowerily air around him. There were goosebumps all over his body from the unusual way Giyuu was acting. Shinazugawa felt like throwing up. He couldn't keep looking at the sweet scene, so he turned his head away while covering his mouth. He was so grateful that he let Tanjiro get Giyuu by himself. Seeing this sight, Shinazugawa could only imagine what happened while Tanjiro was in Giyuu's house.

Shinazugawa was indeed the person who told Tanjiro where Giyuu's house was. He also told the younger that he could just walk in if Giyuu didn't answer the door, and not to be afraid to wake Giyuu up in a rough way. Although, he didn't tell Tanjiro to buy onigiri or help Giyuu clean up. He only told him to wake up Giyuu by any means possible. The helping with cleaning was all on his part. That was just Tanjiro's personal kindness at work.

The play and it's audience was interrupted by a yell from Rengoku that was inside the train. Somehow he managed to get part of his head through the small window and yelled,
"THE TRAIN IS LEAVING SO GET ON ALREADY!"
All of the people on the platform looked up at Rengoku who's head was, somehow, out the window. The slayers didn't bother trying to understand how that was possible. Mostly because their minds were recovering from certain scenes, focused on something else, or filled with a, not so friendly, emotion. The demon slayers currently on working time, while looking up, all gave their own responses and boarded the train one after another, and the other disappeared behind a pillar.