2nd Chances

Part 17

A mysterious knocking finally arrived.

"Tanjiro, get the door!" Urokodaki ordered the boy.

"Yes!" He shouted in response as he quickly scrambled to his feet.

Tanjiro opened the door only to be faced with a very familiar person.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh, ummm, yes." Tanjiro said quietly as he realized who was standing in front of him.

"Giyuu." His gruff older voice called out to him.

"It's good to see you again."

Giyuu nodded to his former Sensei as he stepped inside.

"I received your letter." Urokodaki said as he lead the two into the other room.

"She's been doing fine, I put her to sleep, she's not woken since." He explained while pointing to the futon in the corner.

A clearly sleeping Nezuko rested soundly inside.

"How long ago did you manage that?" Giyuu asked.

"About a year and a half ago. She's been resting since the day the boy brought her in."

"That's good to hear."

"Tanjiro go get us some tea." He ordered.

"Yes!" He replied loudly before darting off into another room.

The two older men sat down around the decently sized table in the middle of the room.

Neither said anything initially until his former sensei decided to break the silence.

"Giyuu, I'm going to be frank with you. What did you see in that boy?"

"I'll tell you one day, for now, you're the only person I can trust to help him."

It was a vague answer but it would have to do.

"Alright.... How long will you be staying for?" He said quickly changing the subject.

"A few hours."

"I see.... I presume you came to see the boy's progress."

"No, I came here to help train him."

Although his mask covered his face completely, Giyuu could tell his former sensei was left stunned by his oddly long silence.

A brief but earnest laugh came from the elder man, he had never seen his student be so honest before.

"So you have changed." The man said smiling.

"I have." Giyuu said thinking back onto some past memories.

"Do you wish to take him as your tsuguko?" He said seriously.

"No, I believe he will become a pillar in his own right."

"I'm surprised, what makes you so confident in him."

"A feeling." Giyuu said dancing around the topic.

"Giyuu..... He still hasn't cut the boulder. I won't send him to the final selection until I know he's ready." He said very seriously not wanting to lose another student.

"That's why I'm here. I want to.... Help him along."

Giyuu knew that Tanjiro would have to be strong, not only to protect his sister in the future, but to fight Muzan. It was best to give him a head start now while he could. Even if Tanjiro wouldn't use water breathing for long, it was still a solid foundation to give him. A base he could always fall back on if the going got tough, that's what training was for.