Strength Reborn

The Fire Within

Rengoku's POV

I woke up to a dull ache in my hand, a strange, lingering sensation from what had happened in the glass room. When I opened my eyes, I was still surrounded by the other Hashira. Tanjiro sat beside me, his worried expression softening when he saw me awake.

But something was different. My right hand-where the frost had touched me-felt heavy, and when I lifted it, I saw the small, sharp claws that Icy Giyu had left behind. They gleamed faintly in the light, reminding me of the chill that had momentarily taken over my body.

"What... happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"You... he spoke through you," Tanjiro said gently. "But it wasn't Giyu. It was the Yuki-onna inside him."

I nodded slowly, the memories flooding back. The cold, the frost... Icy Giyu had tried to communicate, but in doing so, he had left his mark on me. My hand still stung from the frost, and when I tried to summon my flame breathing, the pain was nearly unbearable.

But I had to try. I needed to see if I could burn away whatever mark the Yuki-onna had left on me.

I gritted my teeth and focused, calling on my fire breathing technique. My hand flared with heat, the claws sizzling as the flames engulfed them. The pain was sharp, intense, but I pushed through it, forcing the fire to do its work.

Slowly, the frost began to melt. The claws retracted, my hand returning to its normal state, but the pain lingered, a reminder of how close the frost had come to consuming me.

Shinobu's POV

We watched in silence as Rengoku melted the frost from his hand. The moment was tense, the room heavy with the aftermath of Icy Giyu's brief control. But when Rengoku finally managed to return his hand to normal, there was a collective sigh of relief.

However, the moment didn't last long. Rengoku seemed to want to test something-perhaps see how Icy Giyu would react to heat, to flame. He drew his sword, its sharp edge gleaming in the light.

The moment the blade was unsheathed, Icy Giyu reacted violently.

A scream erupted from inside the glass room, shrill and full of fear. Icy Giyu recoiled, backing away from the sword as though it was burning him, even though the blade hadn't touched the glass. He curled into himself, covering his body with frost, desperately trying to shield himself.

But the sword... it was melting the frost.

"Rengoku, put it away," I said quickly, stepping forward. "You're scaring him."

Rengoku sheathed his sword, the heat of it still radiating in the air. The frost on the glass stopped melting, but Icy Giyu remained curled up, trembling as he tried to gather more frost around himself. It was clear now that the Yuki-onna inside him feared fire-maybe more than we realized.

Obanai's POV

While Rengoku and the others focused on Icy Giyu's reaction, I approached with something more practical. I had gone through our records and found several books that mentioned Yuki-onna, hoping they would give us some clue as to how to help Giyu.

I brought the stack of books over, placing them on the table. As soon as I entered the room, Icy Giyu perked up, his frosty eyes darting towards the books. He scrambled to the glass, pressing his hands against it, his claws lightly tapping on the surface.

Then, to our surprise, he began gesturing frantically. His eyes locked onto a specific book in the pile-an old, blue-covered one. He pointed at it, his frosted hand forming the number 25 on the glass.

Curious, I flipped to page 25 in the blue book. Sure enough, it was the start of a chapter about Yuki-onna. It described their abilities, their connection to the cold, and their tragic existence as beings who were cursed to live in isolation.

But before I could ask any questions, Icy Giyu made another number out of frost on the glass-35.

I turned to page 35, and my breath caught. The text explained that Yuki-onna were forever trapped in a childlike state, no matter how powerful or old they became. Their minds and spirits were frozen, just like their bodies.

Tanjiro's POV

The realization hit all of us at once. Icy Giyu-the Yuki-onna inside him-was forever a child. That explained so much. His curiosity, his strange attachment to me, the way he spoke in fragmented sentences. He wasn't just some malevolent spirit trying to take over Giyu-he was scared, confused, and lonely.

"We... we didn't know," I whispered, stepping closer to the glass. "We didn't know you were just... a child."

Icy Giyu nodded slowly, his frosty eyes filled with sadness. He pressed his hand against the glass again, but this time, it wasn't to communicate. It was a plea, a quiet request for understanding.

"Rengoku," I said softly, turning to him. "We have to help him. Both of them."

Rengoku, his hand still aching from the frost earlier, nodded. "We will," he promised, his voice warm and firm. "We'll find a way to help them both."

But as the frost melted from the glass, and Giyu's unconscious form slumped further into the corner, I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out. The Yuki-onna inside Giyu wasn't just a spirit to be feared-it was a child trapped in a never-ending cycle of cold and loneliness.

And if we didn't find a way to break that cycle soon, Giyu might be lost forever.