𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 | Ｄｅｍｏｎ！ Ｔｏｍｉｏｋａ

Put You in Your Grave

Giyu turned towards the voice, snarling.

The voice belonged to a kid, looking to be around the age of 16 with wide, shocked eyes and fuzzy red hair. His eyes were a soft maroon, and he had a dark red mark on his forehead.
He was also wearing a Demon Slayer uniform.

"How do you know my name?" Tomioka challenged, walking away from the girl. The girls instantly leapt into each other's arms, crying and asking about the other's wellbeing.

"W-What—"
"Tanjiro." a sweet, yet hard voice said. "This is no longer Tomioka-san."

Giyu watched as a butterfly-themed woman walked into the moonlight, smiling darkly.

The butterfly girl's eyes darkened, and she partially unsheathed her katana. "This is a demon."

Tomioka snarled, leaping towards the Demon Slayers. Both managed to dodge, the butterfly girl having incredible agility.

"Hm?" Giyu pondered, dodging a well-aimed blow from the butterfly-haori girl. "A hashira? Within my territory?" he asked himself softly, catching the attention of the butterfly woman.

"I am Kocho Shinobu, the Insect Hashira." she confirmed, her posture suddenly upright. "And I will be the one to put you in your grave."

Kocho darted forwards, fast as light, Giyu barely managing to dodge.

"You aren't aiming for my head," he noted. "You must be the poison-wielder some of the lower-ranked demons were whining about."

Tomioka dashed forwards, cutting the Insect Hashira's haori and lower back. Kocho's eyes steeled, hiding any signs of weakness.

"Kocho!"

Another slayer..?

Giyu shrieked in surprise as he was sent flying into the water by an incredibly strong force. He crashed into the depths, red clouds bubbling to the surface. Turning instantly into his water form, he searched the bridge for his attacker.

It was a young woman with bright pink-and-green hair in braids and, obviously, an official Corps uniform, despite it showing more skin then the others'.

Blood Demon Art: Exploding Tides.

The slayers gasped in shock as Tomioka burst from the depths, a tidal wave of water in pursuit. Giyu looked down at his clawed hands, noting the glowing of the marks around them.

Slowly, he pointed at the demon slayers, whispering one word; 津波.  *tsunami

The waves converged onto the slayers in the forms of spears and arrows, and the slayers struggled to avoid them. The pink-haired girl was cut in two places, whereas the boy and Kocho earned several wounds.

"Tell me," Tomioka asked. "What are your names?"
The boy blinked sadly before giving his reply. "Tanjiro Kamado."
"Mitsuri Kanroji," the other girl stammered. "The Love Hashira!"

Giyu's eyes widened, surprised. "Two hashira have come?"

Kocho snorted, nose scrunched up. "You're an Upper-Rank Kizuki; Master Kagaya wasn't taking any chances."

"Well, I suppose that will earn me more of Master's favour." the red-haired boy, Tanjiro, flinched when he mentioned 'master'. Odd. "Killing two hashira will please him very much."

"K-Keep trying then!" the Love Hashira stammered. And the fight was back on.

The slayers were fast and quick-witted, teaming up and managing to cut roughly thirty wounds into Giyu's skin, as well as chop off an entire arm. Giyu retaliated, landing a well-aimed blow at the youngest slayer's chest and another shot at the Insect Hashira's leg.

The two seemed the weakest out of the three, so Tomioka reasoned he'd deal with them first.

The fight raged for another hour, the slayers managing a surprising deal of damage on the Upper-Rank.

Useless. he spat at himself, shooting more water-formed weapons at the speedy demon hunters.

Tomioka's gaze darkened, and the water below the bridge rumbled. The two girls (Who could have ran away AGES ago, by the way. Begging to be killed, Giyu thinks.) began to squeal and scramble closer together for comfort.

Tomioka felt his muscles shake as the levitated all of the water, making the demon hunters' faces pale.

Blood Demon Art: Puncture.

The water formed multiple types of weapons, and all at once, launched at the humans.
A gargled scream could be heard from the two girls in the corner as a spear punctured straight through the taller girl's head, killing her instantly.

Tomioka felt himself get punctured on several occasions, a dagger even getting stuck in his foot. He picked it out with ease, trying to ignore the burning feeling it left behind.

He watched with morbid fascination as the three slayers scrambled away from one attack, only to be struck by another.

By the time the weapons stopped, all of the water was scattered, leaving the slayers bloody and bruised.

Luckily for the demon slayers, however, Tomioka had been forced to return to his normal form, the water having gone away.

Giyu walked over to the demon slayers, almost feeling sorry for them as they pitifully scrambled away.

"You were excellent Hashira," Giyu acknowledged, finally using the name as if it were a title and not a burden. "Your skills were beyond what I imagined. It's a shame you had to live such pitiful, short lives."

As his eyes swept over the bloodied group, he frowned. Were there always just two of them?

"Where's—"

Giyu choked on his words, feeling a sharp, thin object puncture his throat. He could feel his own blood dripping down into his stomach as he turned to face the shaking Kamado boy.

Those eyes... Giyu thought, wondering if his head was always this light. Where have I seen them before..?

Finally, he felt the sword fully cut through his neck, his body slumping to the ground. His head rolled away from his body, and he was filled with the sense of impending doom.

Not even a month! a voice in his head spat, and he instantly recognised it to be Kibutsuji's voice. You are the worst Upper-Rank demon I've ever made! I wish I'd throttled you when I'd had the chance—

"Tomioka-san," the boy said, his hands clasped together in prayer. "May you be reborn in your next life, not as a demon, but as a human with a good life."

The boy began to sob, making Tomioka upset.

Don't cry over my pitiful death. I am no hero,

He saw flashes of a demon slayer with fire-like hair and a big smile, helping a little girl.

I am not a soldier of good,

He saw an image of a young, peach-haired boy with a scar on his cheek rushing towards a hand-covered demon.

I am not a mother, or a husband, or a hard-working family member,

He saw a flash of a beautiful woman who closely resembled him, wearing a warm smile and reaching out a hand to him. 

I am just weak. Pitiful, even.

Tomioka felt tears fill his eyes as it all flooded back.
The grief, the tears, the joy, the sorrow, the fondness, the hatred, all of it.

"Tan.. ji.. ro..."
Tanjiro gasped, looking at Tomioka's half-disintegrated head.

"Be strong... for... me.."

Then, what small part of Tomioka Giyu remained was blown into the wind.