Strength Reborn

Unveiling the Frost

Shinobu's POV

We couldn't ignore it any longer. Whatever was happening to Giyu, it was escalating-growing more dangerous. So, as a group, we decided it was time to confront him. I admit, I felt a flicker of dread as we approached him. It wasn't often that we gathered like this, and Giyu... well, he wasn't the type to handle confrontation well.

We found him in a clearing, standing alone, the air around him crisp and biting, frost creeping along the ground. When we reached him, I could see the slight tremble in his shoulders. He wasn't just cold-he was struggling.

"Giyu," I said softly, though my voice held an edge of authority. "It's time you tell us what's happening."

His back remained turned to us, his breath visible in the frigid air. For a moment, I thought he might ignore us again, but then, slowly, he turned to face us. The cold was more intense than ever, seeping into my bones. And that's when I saw it-his eyes. One of them had shifted, the usual deep blue replaced with a chilling icy color that made my skin crawl.

"I told you..." His voice was low, almost pleading. "I'm trying to control it."

Sanemi's POV

Control it? Control what?

I've had enough of this cryptic bullshit. Giyu has been acting weird for weeks, and now, with that ice creeping up his arm and his eyes going all freaky, I knew something bad was coming. And I wasn't about to wait for it to strike first.

"Enough," I growled, stepping forward, my hand gripping my sword's hilt. "If you're cursed or some kind of monster, we'll end this right now. I'm not taking chances."

I didn't give him a chance to respond. I swung my sword at him, aiming to end whatever nightmare he was becoming. But then... something happened. Something I wasn't prepared for.

As my blade made contact, his left arm twisted, transforming into jagged, clawed ice. My sword, sharp and unyielding as it was, shattered like glass against his arm. I stumbled back, feeling the bite of the cold radiating from him, frost crawling up my sleeve. His entire left side was covered in an icy layer, frost clinging to his body, and his eye... that damn eye.

"Stay back," he hissed, his voice deeper, distorted-like two people were speaking at once.

Mitsuri's POV

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. The moment Sanemi's sword broke, the air around us grew even colder, and I could see the frost spreading from Giyu's feet, covering the ground like a creeping glacier.

"G-Giyu, please!" I shouted, stepping forward, desperate to reach him. "We don't want to hurt you, we just-"

But he didn't seem to hear me. His body was shaking, his icy arm twitching, claws gleaming in the pale light. And then... his voice. It wasn't Giyu anymore. It was something else.

"Fire child," he muttered, the two-toned voice sending chills down my spine. His eyes flickered towards Tanjiro, who had moved to step forward. "Stay back."

Tanjiro's POV

I couldn't stay back. Not with Giyu like this. I've seen strange things before, but this was... different. It was like the cold itself was alive, swirling around him, pushing us all away. His eyes-they weren't his eyes anymore. And that voice... there was someone else inside him.

"Giyu..." I called out, my heart racing. I didn't care if the others were afraid-Giyu was my friend, and I wasn't going to leave him like this. "Let me help you!"

But when I took a step forward, his gaze snapped to me, the icy blue in his eye flaring.

"Stay back, Fire Child." His voice wasn't his own. It was deeper, colder, filled with a warning I couldn't ignore.

Fire child? I didn't understand. But when I tried to take another step, the cold pressed against me, as though it was a living thing, forcing me away from him.

He clutched his side, doubling over, his breath coming out in sharp gasps. Frost spread from his hands to his chest, but after a few minutes of struggle, the ice slowly began to recede. His clawed arm shifted back to normal, his skin returning to its usual color. The icy layer that had covered half of his body shattered, falling away in chunks of frost.

Giyu looked exhausted. He sagged to his knees, the air around him slowly warming, though the tension in the air remained.

Sanemi's POV

"What the hell are you?" I snapped, glaring down at Giyu. I wanted answers-needed them. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't just Giyu anymore. And if he was some kind of monster...

"I... I'm a Yuki-onna," Giyu whispered, his voice hoarse, barely audible.

A Yuki-onna? That was a myth, a fairy tale. But as he knelt there, shivering, the frost still lingering in the air, I couldn't deny what I'd seen.

Rengoku's POV

A Yuki-onna... the ancient spirits of ice and snow, feared for their ability to drain life and freeze their victims with a single touch. The stories were old, passed down from generation to generation. But to think Giyu-someone we fought beside, trusted-was one of them?

It didn't make sense.

Still, the cold around him, the frost that had spread across his body, the way he had shattered Sanemi's sword... there was no denying it now.

"Giyu," I said, stepping forward cautiously, "if this is true, then why didn't you tell us?"

His gaze remained on the ground, his hands trembling slightly. "Because I thought I could control it," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. "But lately... it's becoming harder."

Shinobu's POV

I knew there was more to Giyu than met the eye, but I never imagined something like this. A Yuki-onna... an ice spirit. It explained the chill, the strange behavior, and the villagers' whispers. But it also meant Giyu was more dangerous than any of us had realized.

He was losing control.

And if he did, none of us would be safe.

"We'll have to find a way to deal with this," I said, my voice more clinical than I intended. "Before it gets worse."

Giyu didn't respond. He just sat there, his hand still clutching his side, eyes closed as though in pain. Whatever he was fighting, it wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.