We'll protect each other (SabiGiyuu)

13

Sorry for not updating yesterday!
I hope everyone reading is doing well, physically and mentally!
If you're not, I hope it gets better for you soon ☺️

Sabito's POV (time skip to the day Tanjiro is sent to cut through his boulder)
I followed the pair silently as they walked through the forest. I knew what day it was. Urokodaki-san had done the same thing for Giyuu, Makomo and I so many years ago. The boy, Tanjiro Kamado, was taking his final test to determine whether or not he would be sent to final selection.

Leaping onto the next tree branch, I grasped the wood momentarily before jumping to the next one, a bit lower than before. The two had stopped, and I glanced at the large, spherical boulder in the center of the small clearing.

That thing is huge! Bigger than any of the ones I've seen in the past.

Would he think of using breathing techniques? I decided to just watch him as he took a swing at the solid rock. Not a scratch. I chuckled quietly.

Whatever he lacked in strength or stamina, Kamado made up for it in determination. He was extremely motivated and eager to become a demon slayer, to the point it was almost scary.

Urokodaki disappeared into the dense fog, and I settled down in my perch to keep an eye on the little slayer. As he swung uselessly over and over again at the boulder, I recalled the year my friends and I had spent doing the exact same thing.

That's when I confessed to Yuu, right? Yeah, I showed up on his birthday and gave him a kiss. My body heated up a bit despite the cold weather. Damn, I miss him.

A fierce clang drew my attention back to Tanjiro. He'd charged and taken a running leap at the boulder, instantly regretting it when the impact made his arms ache.

I kind of feel like a ghost, I thought. I'm like a spirit that's haunting this mountain. I sniggered lightly at the idea. I bet if I had died, I'd be doing the exact same thing i'm doing now.

It was a dreary day, all the cloud cover was making it dark out. Maybe even dark enough for demons. As if to prove that statement, I saw in the corner of my eye, a demon making it's way through the trees, staying in the shadows as much as possible.

I sighed, standing up and launching myself down at the entity. I drew my sword, and with one clean swipe, took the demon's head off. The sudden scent of blood must have alarmed the Kamado boy, because he started walking cautiously in my direction. Before he could see me, I returned to the treetops and got out of his line of sight.

He eyed the disintegrating corpse with a look of confusion, clearly wondering who or what disposed of the creature.

Over the course of six months, Tanjiro trained almost nonstop, while I used the free time to get stronger and faster than I was before. Half a year, spent entirely on honing the skills I had learned while training with Urokodaki, as well as perfecting every last water breathing form I knew. I practiced on the low level demons in the area, as well as chopping down bamboo and trees on the opposite side of the mountain.

While I got stronger, Tanjiro made little progress, both in cutting his boulder, and getting any more than a bit better than he already was. The boy had talent, and knew all the training exercises by heart, but he was failing at teaching his body to memorize the movements and water breathing style.

On the battlefield, any time a person has to think should be spent on strategy and planning, not remembering how to breathe correctly. That was the kind of mistake that could lead to death or mutilation.

For the first two months, it was merely sad to watch, him spending so much time training, yet not making any progress, but after that, it was downright frustrating. If he couldn't master the skills by final selection, he'd end up like me, or worse. That mutated demon was probably still out there, and it was not going to go down to a weak slayer.

Each day, I wanted to go down and help him, but if I also wanted him to figure it out on his own. It was really none of my business.

———————

The pine needles scratched at the sides of my face as I ran through the treetops, just barely touching the branches I landed on. Warm evening sunlight streamed through the boughs, turning the gloomy forest into a sight worthy of admiring. I remembered the years I spent with Giyuu and Makomo, plating carelessly among the wild twists and turns of nature. We fed the trout that swam in the rivers, chased birds and squirrels through the trees, often falling back to the ground and needing to be patched up with a few bandages. Urokodaki-san's rare, gentle laugh that greeted us when we got into a ridiculous situation, like showing up at home after a much-too-friendly-deer decided to take a dump on a sleeping Giyuu.

A fond smile crossed my face, sparked by the memory of his face when he woke up and smelled the mess smeared on his clothes. I miss his cute smile. My feet touched down on a thin branch, and I stood there for a moment, looking up at the sky. I wonder if you still smile as much as you did before, Giyuu.

Fillllleeerrrrr chaaappppptttteeeeerrrrrr
I hope you get enough sleep tonight!
Byeeeeee

(Also sorry for the short chapter. I've lost a tad bit of motivation for this story 😅)