His last words

Festival

Giyuu hummed as he finally stepped out of the sound estate. Hinatsuru had given him something to wear, that being a navy blue Yakuta and a small hairpin that held his hair in a simple fashion.

They girls and Uzui stepped out a few moments later. "Ready to go?" They nodded. They walked down the path as Tomioka hoped it wouldn't turn out like last time.

Instead of overthinking, he chose to put a small smile on his face and walked beside the people he now knew as his family. They made it there relatively quickly and made their way over to the games, each trying something different.

Makio played the ball throw, Suma played ballon pop, Hinatsuru played bean bag toss and Uzui and Giyuu were at the catch a goldfish stand.

Uzui was losing the game and his patience while Giyuu had already bagged five fish. He was grinning like a child as he finally walked away, gazing at his new pets. Uzui snorted.

"You seem to be having fun Tomioka-san." A woman's voice interrupted their moment. His smile dropped. They slowly turned to face Shinobu.

"Shinobu..." He mumbled. She wasn't smiling. Her eyes were on the heavy bandages around his neck and wrists. She sighed.

"Can we talk?" He glanced at Uzui. He nodded slightly and they all found a bench away from the crowded area.

"You seem happier now that you're away." Giyuu lowered his eyes.

"I'm happier because I have people who show that they care about me..." he mumbled quietly.

Shinobu lowered her head. "I'm sorry." She quickly stood and bowed. Giyuu looked up in shock as Uzui smiled and quietly retreated back to the festival.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel like that! I'm sorry for everytime I hurt you! I'm sorry that I made you feel like you couldn't be yourself!" She cried, tears falling down her face.

Giyuu stood quietly and hugged her. She broke down. "Why'd you have to leave us like that?" She asked between sobs. "If I'd known before I would've done anything to make you happier so that you wouldn't leave me!"

They slowly sat down. Shinobu's eyes peered at the bandages. "Is- Are those a-a part o-of why y-you left us?" He slowly nodded.

"Yeah... I'm getting better now." He gazed at Shinobu.

"You shouldn't cry " he smiled. Hey eyes widened. "You're pretty when you smile."

She slowly reached up and wiped her tears. "Thank you Tomioka-San. But...." He raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly happened that made you leave?" He hesitated. He knew those men were most likely already dead. They couldn't hurt him. He had nothing to fear now. He sighed and just gently tugged on the bandages, letting her take them off.

The sharp intake of breath told him she knew. The marks had partially faded away but they were still visible and the cuts were also still there.

Her fingers gingerly checked his wrists as well. He avoided her eyes until she hugged him tightly. She was quick to put the bandages back on his neck. But her fingers raced the scars on his wrists. He knew that they would always be visible.

"These were deep." She mentioned quietly. He agreed silently.

"I was in a bad place." She slowly replaced the bandages as Giyuu spotted someone heading right at them.

"Well shit." He said. Shinobu turned.

Obanai Iguro had spotted them. They quickly stood and ran. They merged with the crowd in an attempt to loose him. They passed by Uzui who tried to create a diversion but failed.

And now Sanemi had joined them. He looked pissed as fuck. They weaved between people and ducked behind stalls whenever they need to create more space between them and the angry hashira.

Then they split up, hoping one would follow Shinobu. Nope. Both were still on Giyuu's tail. And he was starting to slow down because he still wasn't all the way healed.

He picked up the pace and felt the bandages on his wrists come undone, as they weren't fixed properly. He began to feel very afraid. They were closing in on him.

He ducked into an alleyway and used the stairs connected to one of the buildings to climb. Footsteps got closer as he hopped from one building to another in desperation.

He began to breathe heavier as he ended up near a forest. He ran inside, forgetting about the danger of the night.

They were still closing in. He spotted Shinobu who seemed to have realized that they were both still following Giyuu and had doubled back around to catch up.

He ran through several clearings, scratching his arms and legs further in the process.

"Tomioka you bastard stop running!" Sanemi yelled, clearly enraged. He whimpered slightly and sped up, ducking under a branch.

He could sense demons all around by now, but they were providing a distraction for him. Avoiding attacking him and going after the other two instead.

It didn't help. They were cut down in seconds. Giyuu kept running as fast as possible until he made it to an old clearing with a large waterfall. He spotted a place to hide and ran behind the waterfall, into a hidden cave. He heard Obanai and Sanami arguing with Shinobu outside.

"We know you're in this clearing somewhere you bastard!" Obanai yelled and he flinched, retreating deeper into the cave.

"What's that behind the waterfall?" Sanemi suddenly asked. He heard Shinobu try and stop them but it was clear she was just pushed to the side.

A hand suddenly covered his mouth. "Stay quiet and I'll help you hide." A voice whispered over the roaring of the waterfall. Giyuu tried to make out a face but the darkness stopped him.

The hand dragged him into a more well hidden area and a few seconds later Sanemi and Obanai came into the cave. After an hour they left, not being able to find them.

The hand let him go and he heard them trying to spark a fire in one of the least damp spots.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Not a problem. Tomioka Giyuu." The fire lit and he found himself staring into plum red cat like eyes.

He jumped back in shock. Only one demon had eyes like that.

"M-muzan....?" He paled.