Chapter Text
Giyuu had been having a… rough day.
Night had already fallen, but he had just been meandering aimlessly for the better part of the day. It still felt like he was in flight or fight mode after today's events.
Two people nearly died.
Two kids nearly died.
All because of Giyuu.
He could have defended them, but he didn't. Instead, he sat there silently like a coward. Sure, logically, he knew that if he had tried to help them it would have only made the situation worse, but that doesn't change the fact that he was comfortable just sitting there and watching the scene unfold.
Shinazugawa had stabbed Nezuko. Poor, poor Nezuko who hadn't done a single thing wrong. She was innocent, couldn't they see that?
But, that again threw Giyuu for a loop.
Kamado Nezuko was a demon. Demons eat humans. Kamado Nezuko does not eat humans.
How was that possible?
If she was different, how many more demons are like that? How many more had Giyuu killed in cold blood? Innocent demons that hadn't and would never eat what was previously one of their kind. God, Giyuu didn't know what to think. What if there were more demons like her…?
Well, only time could tell.
He had been so, so scared today. He didn't know why. When had he grown so attached?
Giyuu didn't know, and that was scary.
Somehow, that wasn't even what rocked his world the most. It was just how quickly everyone was to turn on him. Obviously, he knew that Shinazugawa, Obanai, and Shinobu would most certainly not be on his side, but he couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed about the other Hashira not even giving him a chance to explain himself.
Giyuu knew that he wasn't friends with anyone. He knew that, he did. No one really liked him. Why? He wasn't sure. Apparently, they think that Giyuu thinks that he's better than them? He's not quite sure when he implied that to his colleagues, but at some point it happened.
It's not like Giyuu would ever allow them to get close, though. He wasn't risking that. The rest of the Hashira were so strong, so powerful, everything that Giyuu could never even hope to be. He didn't want to risk them ending up like Tsutako or Sabito. They both died protecting him, he didn't want the other Hashira having to die protecting him as well. Plus, he doubts they'd even like him once they get to know him, since they already hate him.
Anyways, he was just a bit surprised that Rengoku or Kanroji didn't stick up for the young siblings. Especially Kanroji. She usually has a heart of gold, one of the most empathetic people you will ever have the fortune of meeting. Maybe it was just because he saw his sister in her, but Giyuu had hoped that Kanroji wouldn't just let the poor kids be harmed. But, then again, she was a people pleaser. She wouldn't have dared making the others mad at her. Giyuu had no such thing to be scared of, yet he still did nothing. They would hate him either way.
Since he got confirmation that he was expendable, that the Corps would drop him in a matter of seconds, what was really the point in continuing? What was the point? He had done what needed to be done. He had made sure that the young Kamado siblings wouldn't be turned on by the Corps. Now what? There was nothing.
Before, Giyuu had at least one reason to keep going, but now? Now, he didn't have anything. Tanjiro and Nezuko would probably never spare him another thought, the Hashira all hate him, he had no reasons to keep living. So why should he? He might as well just get it over with now on his own terms over being brutally murdered by a demon.
Giyuu would at least make it quick.
So, with new resolve in mind, he made his way back to the water estate.
Huh, that would soon be someone else's, wouldn't it? That was a weird thought.
Shaking his head, he saw the quickly approaching shape of his house (could he really still call it his house?).
Giyuu didn't know if it was because of his future plans, or an external disturbance, but a sense of foreboding flooded through him as he got closer to the estate.
His feet were getting harder to pick up. What was happening? He didn't know.
Warily, he picked his hand up to open the large door in front of him. Giyuu grabbed the door knob. He tightened his grip. He pushed the door open as slowly as humanly possible.
He didn't even open it all the way before his breath caught in his throat.
What the…?
Standing in the middle of the hall, was a tall man with distinct half up half down long red hair.
Giyuu hadn't the faintest clue who this stranger was. He was facing away from him, so Giyuu couldn't see the man's face, but he would recognise hair like that if he had seen it before. Actually, it kind of resembles Tanjiro’s hair if it were longer. It was the exact same colour.
Giyuu didn't know if this figure was a human or a demon. God, why is this my life?
Tentatively, he spoke. “Hello…?” Giyuu asked hesitantly.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the red headed figure turned around and Giyuu was met with… six eyes. Two of which said Upper Moon One. Holy shit, Giyuu was dead. Fuckity fuck fuck. He was so fucking dead. Upper One!? Nuh-uh say bye-bye to the peaceful death he was so not getting. Upper One was going to slowly rip his ligaments off one by one and torture him until he collapsed and passed out, then heal him and wait for him to wake up again so the Upper Moon could repeat the process over and over again. Giyuu was royally screwed.
However, when Upper One was fully turned around, he was… bleeding? There was a huge wound in his side that if any normal human was wearing, they would have passed out by now.
It looked like some kind of bad stab wound. Why hadn't the Upper Moon regenerated yet? Why wasn't Giyuu dead yet?
For a moment, the demon slayer made eye contact with the demon. It was only a split second, yet so much seemed to happen.
Those eyes…
Giyuu couldn't explain it if he tried, but something about them was impossibly kind. Not quite like Tanjiro's, no, less of a burning warmth and more of a cool, natural warmth, but still kind nonetheless. Strangely enough, Giyuu has only ever seen that warmth in a few people before. Tsutako and Sabito. Their eyes held a peaceful warmth too, and for whatever reason, just like the demon standing right in front of him.
There was something about those six eyes that made Giyuu unable to even attempt to draw his sword.
“Help,” the demon croaked out. That was the only warning he got before the Upper Moon started wobbling. Against his better judgement, he ran forwards to catch the demon before he collapsed.
Oh God. A demon was unconscious in his arms. Upper Moon One to be precise. How the actual fuck did this happen?
Okay, okay, this is fine. You're fine. This is completely normal. Nothing wrong here! You're totally not breaking the Corps rules again after you just received a trial due to breaking them.
The only thing he could get out of his mouth to process the predicament he found himself in was a groan of complete and utter misery.
Giyuu should kill Upper Moon One.
For crying out loud, it was Upper Moon One.
And Giyuu could kill him right here, right now.
It would be so easy. It was quite literally a free kill. He could take out the strongest demon after Kibutsuji now. Maybe this could get him to earn the other Hashira's trust. There was nothing stopping him.
So why wasn't he even attempting to brandish his blade? God, this was stupid. So, so utterly stupid. What was he doing?
He, a demon slayer, should kill the demon.
But the way he had asked for help…
Those eyes…
They looked so kind, so soft, so unbelievably trusting. Maybe it was because his eyes held the same look the only two people who had ever cared, who ever loved him, maybe he had somehow developed some kind of form of Stockholm syndrome, he didn't know.
Giyuu had never been like this before. Slay the demon. Just kill him. Simple, a piece of cake, easy peasy lemon squeezy.
He let out a loud, long, frustrated groan, then, “what the hell has gotten into me!? This is so incredibly stupid,” He whisper-yelled, berating himself.
In conclusion, he should just get it over with and kill the upper rank.
So why does he now find himself carrying the demon to his bedroom? Ugh, he is so dead. He clearly doesn't have a brain. That has to be the only possible conclusion. He is simply incapable of thinking because he lacks a brain. And common sense. And a will to live.
Giyuu would be asking himself if he had a death wish, but the answer to that was pretty obvious.
For whatever reason, he finds himself inspecting the demon's gaping wound in his chest. It truly was a peculiar thing. It was beyond Giyuu why he wasn't regenerating. It made no sense. Demons always regenerate, albeit sometimes slowly, but this was an Upper Moon, he had to have impeccable regeneration speeds. Unless there were specific things that a demon couldn't regenerate from. But that would be stupid. If there was, how wouldn't the demon slayers have found it already? Plus, if a demon slayer did find something that stops demons from regenerating, they would have shared it with everyone else.
That also begs the question of who exactly did this. Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly a question that Giyuu could discover for himself.
He went to the bathroom and opened the draw where he kept his first aid kit. Lucky him, Giyuu was always stocked up when it came to medical supplies. He needed them far too often with his wrists.
Quickly, Giyuu made his way back to the demon passed out on his bed, and wow, that was a weird thought. A demon on his bed. Upper Moon One on his bed.
Shaking his head, he willed the thoughts to leave his head. He needed to focus.
Giyuu took out the scissors to cut the haori the demon donned. He really hoped that the demon didn't mind. Wincing at the thought of being mutilated, Giyuu reminded himself that he could always sew it back together, seeing as he had lots of experience in sewing. Well, it wouldn't really matter, seeing as he would be dead immediately when the Upper Moon woke up anyway.
After taking the bloodstained clothing off, Giyuu was able to get a proper look at the wound. The wound was a large gaping hole in the demon's stomach. Funnily enough, the wound was most certainly not regenerating, not even slowly. It was definitely very weird.
Blood was oozing out of what at first looked to be a stab wound from a katana, but now that he was closer, he could tell that it wasn't. No, it was much too wide for that. If anything, it looked closer to a spike wound. Interesting.
Giyuu cleaned the wound and stitched bandaged him up. It was thankfully not too long of a process, since he was mainly just using muscle memory.
Shinobu would be proud. Giyuu snorted at the thought. He had never been to the butterfly mansion for a singular injury, not wanting to inconvenience anyone and waste their precious resources on him. He only ever went to the yearly checkups.
Even back when Kanae was alive and he was a young teenager, he still hadn't gone for any injuries except for that one time after his demon slayer exam. Kanae was genuinely kind, not like Kocho who put on a mask.
He missed her.
She hadn't stopped trying to be his friend until the day she died. She died around the time Giyuu had actually started letting her in. It just goes to show that whenever someone got close to him, they would be killed.
Finishing up with the medical supplies, Giyuu cleaned up the blood after wrapping the Upper Moon's stomach in fresh white bandages. He stretched out his muscles after sitting hunched over for so long, hearing a satisfying pop in his back.
Tired after the days events, he sat down at the chair next to his desk. He looked at the demon laying in the bed right next to him. Giyuu's bed.
Stuck with his thoughts, he asked himself, ‘why did I help Upper Moon One?’
“Help.”
Well, Giyuu knew what it was like to seek out help but nobody ever even trying.