The Water Tsuguko

Chapter 3

Takeo didn’t think it was even six in the morning when he heard shuffling next to him. He cursed himself for being such a light sleeper, and opened his eyes to see a tall man with deep blue eyes staring at him.

Caught off guard, Takeo let out a little squeak of surprise. He sat up, now fully awake. If it weren’t for Giyuu’s quick reaction time, he would have headbutted the man- which wouldn’t hurt Takeo, but would leave a lasting mark on Giyuu due to the hard, Kamado forehead.

“We have to leave now,” Giyuu said, standing up to pull his mismatched haori on. “We will make it to the Water Estate by noon if we get a move on.”

Takeo nodded, getting changed into his yukata and hakama pants that he wore since the day he discovered his family, and wrapped the light teal and black checkered scarf around his neck before wrapping his ax around his waist with a rope, signaling to Giyuu that he was ready to go- though his aching legs disagreed with him.

The two were off and- to Takeo’s relief- most of the morning was only a light jog. It was only when the sun became higher in the sky where Giyuu took off into a sprint, to which Takeo let out a sigh as he ran as fast as his short legs would let him.

By the time they finally reached the Water Estate, Takeo’s legs felt like jelly and could barely support his own weight. He sat down on the floor, taking a breather before looking at the home of the Water Hashira. It was a nicely built home- seemingly ten times the size of the house he grew up in- but it seemed empty. There was no sign that anyone lived there. The Butterfly Mansion that housed the Insect Hashira seemed very lively, and he assumed that Giyuu’s home would be too.

“Tomorrow, your official training will start,” the Water Hashira said, snapping the boy out of his train of thought. “Today, I’ll show you around the estate and get you used to it, and help you set up your room.”

“Okay,” Takeo said, standing up slowly, not surprised that his legs were still like jello.

Inside was even more plain than the outside of the estate. The walls were bare of any decoration. Just the walls and the floors. Takeo couldn’t imagine how the man could live in such a lifeless place. That would be one of the boy’s top priorities when he wasn’t training. Decorating the estate to make it more lively and less depressing.

Takeo was shown his room, and he could assume that Giyuu’s room was just as plain as his own. Takeo frowned a bit at the emptiness, and thought of what his sisters and mother would do. They would take even the most empty space and make it their own. Suddenly, images appeared in his mind of his little sister telling him to add an insane amount of pink- which was Hanako’s favorite color- and he chuckled a bit.

“Why are you laughing,” Giyuu questioned him, bringing him out of his memories.

“Just thinking of my family,” Takeo shrugged and walked into the room, trying to picture how he would like the space to be organized.

Giyuu let the ten-year-old be while he went off into the kitchen to make them something to eat. Takeo continued thinking about how his room should look when he heard the soft chirping of a crow. He opened his window, and the crow he recognized as Giyuu’s crow from the night before came flying in with a piece of paper in his beak.

He dropped the paper on the floor in front of Takeo. “Letter from Tanjiro Kamado,” the crow said, his voice shaky from old age.

Takeo’s eyes widened at the talking crow, not expecting it to be able to speak japanese. “T-Thank you,” Takeo stuttered as the crow left the room, most likely trying to find its owner.

Takeo picked up the letter and opened it, relieved to see his brother’s familiar and neat handwriting. He began to read;

Takeo,