4 Years [SaneGiyuu]

8

Giyuu knocked faintly on the door, waiting patiently for the 'okay' to enter, or to be told to come back another time. Inside him, a quiet voice growled that he wasn't wanted there, but he quashed it.

A faint thud sounded in the room, then several thumps as if someone was running up to the door. It creaked open, and a boar mask peered through the gap. He and Inosuke stared at each other for a second before the younger one turned back inside. "Tankiro, it's half-n-half-haori guy!"

It's Giyuu, the water pillar thought, but he didn't say anything. He was pretty sure he'd never get him to pronounce his name correctly.

"Tomioka-san? Inosuke, let him in, please."

Inosuke grumbled, but he moved out of the way and returned to the bed, sliding himself underneath it. Tanjiro smiled up at Giyuu as he stepped inside.

"Hello! "How are you, Tomioka-san? Is your arm feeling okay?"

Giyuu sat down beside Tanjiro's bed and nodded, fiddling absently with the red sleeve of his haori. "I'm fine," he said quietly. "How're you feeling?"

"Great! The doctor said I could be discharged soon. Nezuko and I want to go back to our family's house once that happens."

"And me and Moneechu are going too!!" Inosuke announced from under the bed.

"That sounds nice." Giyuu glanced down at the floor.

Seeming to finally notice the haori the hashira was wearing, Tanjiro let out a tiny gasp. "Your haori, did they finally fix it? I haven't seen you wear it in forever."

"Shinazugawa-san did." A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Tanjiro looked perplexed, but then slowly nodded as if he understood something Giyuu didn't. "That's nice of him!"

A short silence followed, and Giyuu frantically tried to come up with something to keep the conversation going. He'd never been good at talking. "He told me before that he's glad I'm not dead.. Do you think he means it?" Or am I just being hopeful?

Tanjiro had to think about that one. "I think he does," he hummed eventually.

"But he also told me to get out of his sight, and I'm sure he doesn't want to see me after we part ways." Giyuu paused, remembering the other kind things Sanemi had done. "He hugged me, though, and he hasn't been that angry since I gave him ohagi. At least- I think so.." He trailed off, getting lost in a spiraling maze of positive and negative thoughts.

Tanjiro looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "What do you think about him?"

What did he think about the wind pillar? He and I are the last hashira left, aside from Uzui. Shinazugawa isn't all bad; he can be really sweet sometimes. I guess I want to be his friend, but I don't think that's going to happen. He probably still hates me. He's just being like this because Aoi threatened him or something.

"Tomioka-san?"

"Sorry. I um- I think he's okay."

"He's definitely softer than he lets on," Tanjiro agreed. "You should try talking to him!"

"I did," Giyuu muttered, "but he walked away."

"Have you gone to his room?"

"Once. He didn't want me there."

"Was that before or after he hugged you?"

"..Before."

Tanjiro grinned. "Maybe he's warmed up to you since then!"

"I'm not good at talking to people," Giyuu assured him. "He'd get annoyed with me."

"Just talk to him the same way you do with me. Find something he wants to talk about and let him do most of the work. It's easier to get tongue-tied if you try too hard." A small laugh escaped him.

"Thanks. I'll.. try that." Giyuu's mind was already buzzing, coming up with things he could say. He spent another hour or two with Tanjiro and Inosuke, eventually being joined by Zenitsu. They talked about what they would do after leaving, and how they could keep in touch. These three are nice to be around. Inosuke's intense, and Zenitsu's a bit dramatic, but they're a good group.

Having received a confidence boost from spending time with the three young demonslayers, Giyuu left with the goal of talking to Sanemi for at least a little bit the next day.

———————

Meanwhile, the wind hashira was in his room, trying and failing to collect his thoughts.

What kind of demon possessed me to make me want to hug him?? He pressed the heel of his palm to his head in frustration.

I've always hated him and his face, so what's different now? Nothing's changed! I'm still me, and Tomioka's still a self-centered, egotistical bitch who thinks he's above everyone else. Sanemi paused, staring down at his hands. None of those descriptors felt right anymore. If he's not all those, then what is he?

Sad. Maybe depressed. He thought back to his conversation with Aoi, when she'd told him she couldn't heal depression in the same way she could mend cuts and bruises.

He's awkward. When they'd talked briefly in the garden, it had felt like Tomioka was struggling with his words.

Childish. The way he hugged himself and covered his head with blankets.

He pictured the water pillar with his hair down, his sapphire blue eyes narrowed slightly with some unreadable emotion. Fucking pretty.

God DAMMIT.

He let himself slip forward off the headboard of his bed frame, resting on his back as he cursed himself for thinking such a thing. Yet he didn't contradict himself, or correct what he'd thought. After a long minute of dancing around the idea in his head, he sighed. I hope I made him happy by fixing his dumb haori.

———————

Thank you, @GiyuTomioka235 for renewing my motivation to finish this chapter. Idk when I'll get around to writing the next one, but I hope this is enough for now ^^

As always, I apologize for any mistakes I made or any bad writing you may have caught