2nd Chances

Part 13

The dreaded day had come to pass.

Giyuu ran and ran, there was nothing he could do to save them. He spent two whole years thinking about how or if he could save them but there was nothing he could do. It had to be this way. The King of all demons was there when they were killed, if Giyuu dared interfere he would simply die an unceremonious death for nothing.

The snow fell from the sky like a shower of rain in the summer, his breath was visible as he exhaled due to the low temperature, the snow under his feet crunched with each step.

He finally spotted a boy running as fast as he could, sibling hanging limp and bloodied on his back.

Giyuu shadowed them the whole way. He made dam sure that no matter what, their first encounter would be as identical as possible.

Don't be as rough with him, brace for the blow nezuko gave him, make sure not to slice too close to Tanjiro's head, dodge the axe faster. All small things he reminded himself to do before he moved in.

The events of their first meeting playing out nearly identical to what he remembered many years ago.

"Go to Mount Sagiri as soon as possible." It was the least he could do for the young man who he viewed like a little brother.

It pained Giyuu knowing that there wasn't anything he could do to help save the Kamado family.

Giyuu watched as the boy got up and began to thank him.

"When you get there, tell him, Tomioka Giyuu sent you." He told the boy before disappearing from sight.

As Giyuu ran back to report on his mission's failure he could only think of one thing.

"I'm still too weak, I couldn't save them then, I couldn't save them now." He thought to himself as he clenched his fist tight at his failure to save the Kamado family.

The only way he could repay Tanjiro for all he's done now is to save his sister. He told him it was impossible to cure her to test his willpower, and yet, he still pulled through, he still fought on for his only family he had left.

Even though it was possible, it wouldn't be another couple of years before the cure Nezuko needed would be made by lady Tamayo.

The clock was ticking, Tanjiro in a little over 2 years time would get captured and tried for his violation of the Corp's rules at that fateful hashira meeting.

(1 day later)

It had been 2 months since he moved in.

With the addition of an extra pillar, the Butterfly estate was easily the third most protected location in the entire Demon Slayer Corps, outside of the Ubuyashiki estate and the Swords Smith's village.

It housed 3 hashira and all the essential medical staff the Corps employed, which made it a valuable asset for the slayers.

He tried his best not to think about what happened the day prior. The memory a constant reminder of his shortcomings.

"Giyuu, are you alright?" Shinobu asked noticing how distracted he looked.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Well I hope it wasn't too bad." She said with a giggle as she continued playing with the three girls.

Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho, those were their names, or so Shinobu told him.

Giyuu sat on the backyard steps as he watched Shinobu play with the girls.

He smiled as he watched the girls play with Shinobu. They appeared to be playing some children's game he'd never seen or heard of before.