Strength Reborn

The Frost Within

Shinobu's POV

Containing Giyu in a glass room seemed like the safest option. After discovering his true nature as a Yuki-onna, the ice spirit that haunted him was becoming more dominant, and we couldn't take the risk of him losing control. Not when his freezing touch could claim innocent lives.

The room was built quickly-glass walls reinforced with the strongest materials we had. Inside, the air was always cold, frost creeping up the walls, no matter how warm the day outside was. Giyu was placed inside for his own safety, but it was clear from the start that something was... off.

At times, he was just Giyu, cold and distant as always. But other times, something else emerged. We called that side of him Icy Giyu.

Icy Giyu seemed to have a strange fascination with Tanjiro, of all people. Whenever Tanjiro would visit, he would coo, making these soft, twittering sounds that echoed through the glass. And then, with a childlike focus, he would press his hands against the glass and draw animals out of frost-birds, rabbits, wolves. The strange part was, they moved. They danced and played across the cold surface like living creatures, almost mesmerizing.

But the most unsettling thing was his speech-or lack thereof. Icy Giyu couldn't talk well. He could only form sentences by repeating words, like he was learning to speak all over again. It made every interaction feel... off. Like he was trying to communicate but couldn't fully grasp how.

"Tan-ji-ro. Fire-child," he would say, his voice soft and full of curiosity. Then, suddenly, his body would jolt, and just like that, Giyu would return, the icy layer melting away as he tried to pull himself together.

Mitsuri's POV

It broke my heart to see him like this. Giyu had always been distant, but now, it felt like he was slipping away. Every time I visited him, I could see the strain in his eyes. He was fighting-fighting himself, and I didn't know how to help.

When Giyu was himself, he acted like everything was normal, stumbling towards the small slit that we used to pass him food. He would eat quietly, like any normal person. But when Icy Giyu took over... it was a different story.

I remember the first time I saw it-how he crawled on all fours, his movements animalistic, head lowered as he pushed his face toward the food, eating like a dog. It was disturbing, to say the least. His icy claws scraped against the ground as he tore at the food, frost forming around his mouth. And then, after a few minutes, he'd jolt again, and Giyu would return, shaking as he tried to regain control.

"He's not an animal," I whispered to myself, feeling tears prick at my eyes. But watching him like this... it was hard to believe it wasn't the ice spirit, this Icy Giyu, trying to take over completely.

Sanemi's POV

I didn't want to go along with this whole glass room idea. It felt like we were caging a beast, waiting for it to break free. But seeing Giyu like that-one moment himself, the next crawling on the floor like a damn dog-I was starting to think it was the right call.

Not that I liked it.

Icy Giyu was creepy as hell. Those weird sounds he made when Tanjiro was around, like he was trying to sing or something, sent shivers down my spine. And those frost animals he drew... they weren't natural. Nothing about this was natural.

"Tan-ji-ro. Fire-child," he'd repeat, over and over, like some broken record. I didn't understand it, and frankly, I didn't want to.

And then, there was the way he'd just snap back to normal. One second, he's clawing at the floor, then bam-he's Giyu again, stumbling like he's just woken up from a nightmare.

"He's losing it," I muttered to myself, watching from outside the glass. I hated that we were waiting, just watching this thing take him over. But what else could we do?

Tanjiro's POV

I don't know why Icy Giyu seemed so interested in me. Maybe it was because of the warmth I carried with me-the warmth of my fire breathing techniques. But every time I visited, the frost spirit would wake up, and Giyu would be gone.

"Tan-ji-ro. Fire-child." The way he said it, so soft and curious, made me feel uneasy. But I didn't stop visiting him. I couldn't.

Icy Giyu would press his face against the glass, watching me with those cold, icy blue eyes, and then he'd start drawing. I've never seen anything like it-animals made of frost, moving across the glass as if they were alive. They were beautiful, in a way, but also eerie.

I tried to talk to him, to figure out what was going on, but he couldn't communicate well. He only repeated words, like he was struggling to understand.

And then, just as suddenly as he appeared, Icy Giyu would vanish, and Giyu would return, looking confused and exhausted. He would clutch his side, trembling as though he was in pain.

Rengoku's POV

Containment was necessary-there was no denying that. But it was still unsettling to see Giyu like this, trapped behind glass, battling his own nature. I could feel the tension in the air every time I visited him. It was more than just the cold-there was something wrong.

Watching him switch between himself and Icy Giyu was like watching two different people. One moment he was Giyu, stoic and distant, and the next... he was this ice spirit, childlike and curious, fascinated by Tanjiro, of all people.

I stood back, observing. There was no point in getting too close when we didn't fully understand what was happening. But as I watched him crawl on all fours, eating like a beast, I knew we were running out of time.

If we didn't find a way to stop the Yuki-onna from taking over completely, we would lose Giyu.

And I wasn't sure if we could bring him back from that.

Shinobu's POV

We had to find a solution-quickly. Giyu's condition was worsening with each passing day, and the lines between himself and the Yuki-onna were blurring. We couldn't just keep him in that glass room forever.

But every time we tried to come up with a plan, we hit a wall. The ancient curse that bound him was too strong, and the frost spirit was growing more dominant. I could see it in his eyes, the way they flickered from blue to icy white, the way his body twitched, fighting the inevitable.

He was losing.

And unless we did something soon, Giyu would be gone, leaving only the cold behind.