Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 42: I can fix him

We were currently at the house the village had prepared for us. Since we were the ones who saved them from the demons, they were very hospitable and even provided us with a whole house where we could stay.

"...I understand." but I still don\'t like him.

My dislike for him did not have a very concrete reason at all. I just didn\'t like his character and what he did to Nezuko in the anime.

But it was also nothing serious. It\'s not like I won\'t talk to him or ignore him if he needs help. The level of dislike was only comparable to my dislike for certain foods, like ginger.

"What I don\'t understand though is why you are telling me this," I said and crossed my arms.

"Sanemi is my friend and I don\'t want you to have the wrong impression just because of one encounter. He is actually very kind at heart."

My face scrunched up in doubt, "I don\'t think you are."

"What?" he asked and blinked once, twice. "You don\'t think Sanemi is my friend?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I know he hates you."

"What?!" Giyu exclaimed as if I just told him he was pregnant. He slammed his hand on the tea table and leaned forward.

"But he didn\'t say anything to me."

"Dude, why would he come up to your face and say he hates you?"

"Are you sure? How do you know this?"

"My eyes." I said pointing at my eyes, "I told you before, I am very good at reading people."

Plus, it was clearly shown in the anime that Sanemi and Obanai could not tolerate Giyu at all. It was even stated in the data book of the manga.

He slumped back down on the floor as a gloomy aura surrounded him. "I thought we made progress after we sparred the other day," he murmured in a voice only he could hear but I saw it.

"Who cares if he dislikes you? Me and a lot of people like you." I said trying to console him.

"It seems I will have to work on it again. Next time, I will make friends with him for sure." he said and I could see the flash of determination in his eyes.

Pftt, it\'s kind of funny seeing him so secretly eager to make friends.

"If you want to make more friends, why not start with someone easier? Like Kanae or Tengen." I asked.

"Well...Tenegn is a bit older than me and Kanae is a girl. I wouldn\'t know what to say to them." he said and scratched his cheeks.

"As if you\'d know what to say to Sanami either."

"I do know what to say to him." he defended himself.

"What else have you said to him other than correcting him on his technique or breathing forms?" I asked, it was a guess.

"...."

And I was correct.

"Right. I hope you know that you might only come across as condescending rather than being friendly when you did that."

"What?....I didn\'t know that." said the clueless Water Hashira.

I shook my head with a slight smile on my face.

At least he was comfortable enough to discuss these things with me. Our age gap was nearly three years but our mental maturity seemed to be of the same age so we quickly became good friends in the span of a week.

I watched as he took the biscuit from the table and nibbled on it while deep in thought. He looked stoic and calm to everyone else but I was able to read the tiniest hints of his features.

"So, what are we going to do now that we completed the mission?" I asked. He stopped eating his biscuit to contemplate my words before his eyebrows fell, and so did the mood.

I could see the change in his emotion.

"Normally, we should return to our individual missions but I was thinking of taking a break for a few more days so that you can master Water Breathing to perfection."

"Oh." I blinked in surprise.

"You are....truly looking forward to seeing me master Water Breathing, aren\'t you? Why is that?" I finally asked.

Since the time he saw that I had an immense affinity for Water Breathing and was able to catch the concept almost instantly, he has been very committed to training me and making sure I mastered it. I had an idea on why he was doing so, but I wanted to confirm it.

"Isn\'t that obvious? The Demon Slayer Corp is still missing a Water Hashira, someone has to assume the mantle and I suppose I hope it would be you."

...

...

Shit, that\'s exactly what I expected.

I could feel a sudden change in the air as Giyu\'s face took a depressed turn. I could see hints of shame on his visage.

"But you are the Water Hashira."

"I am not the Water Hashira." he declared with absolute seriousness in his voice.

Oh god. Shouldn\'t this take place in the third season, which was still around 6 years or something?

I could not stress this enough but I was absolutely horrible in these types of emotional things. I was literally running away from my own traumas and waiting for time to heal me, how the fuck should I help someone else with thier trauma?

Isn\'t this where the main character comes in? Tanjiro! Please kindly get your ass over here!!

"...."

"...."

I should say something shouldn\'t I?

"What do you mean, you are not the Water Hashira?"

"...."

"I never did pass the final selection Seiji." he said and clenched his fist. "I am just...an imposter who is acting as a substitute until the real Water Hashira emerges."

Said the greatest Water Breathing user to have ever existed. Yeah right. Actually, I am also an imposter who acts as Seiji Shigan until the real one eventually wakes up.

Ridiculous.

"I\'m sorry, but please excuse me." saying so, Giyu got up and went out of the room.

I released a dramatic sigh and flopped on the ground. I looked at the ceiling, searching for god between the moulding wood and tiles.

\'Please help me\'

..

..

..

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(The next day)

The next morning, Giyu woke me up like usual and we headed out to train like we usually do. But this time, I had a different plan.

I had a lot of time to think about it yesterday and I have decided to fix Giyu and help him resolve whatever issues he had. He was no longer a stranger to me so I wouldn\'t let him suffer 6 more years of self-torture just because I didn\'t like dealing with emotional stuff.

\'I can fix him.\'

We headed to an open space where we could train but when we reached there, I refused to start to train with him.

"No."

We were in a small clearing with a patch of grass and a small pond on the side. The forest trees surrounded us to create a natural barrier.

The morning sun rose on the horizon, its yellow light reflected on the droplets of dew on the leaves creating magical glitters that were feast to the eyes. The chilly morning air clashed with the earliest warmth of the sun on my skin , creating a pleasant sensation.

"What do you mean no?"

"I don\'t wanna practice water breathing anymore. I\'ve learned enough. I think I should practice another breathing style instead." I said and crossed my arms.

"Stop messing around Seiji." Giyu narrowed his eyes.

We engaged in a staring contest for some time but my eerie purple eyes easily won the match.

He sighed, "Is this because of what I said yesterday?"

"Absolutely." I said, brutally honest.

"What do you want?"

"Context please, so that I can fix whatever is wrong with you," I replied.

"There is nothing wrong with me." he said and then muttered in a low voice, "...its fine, I think you are ready anyways."

"Huh?"

*Fwoosh!!*

!!!

Giyu was suddenly in front of me and even though I saw him, I only noticed him when it was nearly too late.

He was not fast by any means, Sanemi or Jigoro was leagues above the speed Giyu had just displayed but he nearly got me.

How?

It was due to his technique. He had approached me in a perfectly linear path so my eyes didn\'t notice that he was getting closer.

When something is moving towards you in a perfect linear/straight path, the increase in size is so gradual that your eyes often miss it.

Why do cars have red lights on thier back? It was so that you wouldn\'t crash into it when the car suddenly stopped. Because when you drive on a straight road and the car in front of you suddenly stops, it\'s extremely difficult to see that it stopped or that you were getting closer and closer to crashing it since you were driving towards it in a linear path.

The same principle applies here. Giyu ran up to me in a perfectly linear line so my unprepared eyes nearly missed him.

"Water Breathing : First Form!!"

"Water Surface Slash!"

My eyes saw no hesitation in his muscles as he exploded into action. His sword swung at me with the finesse of a painter. His blade left a trail of water in its path and I felt a cold shiver wash over me.

He was serious.

I moved away quickly and Giyu cut the giant tree behind me. The tree fell to the ground, sending tremors into the earth. My eyes looked at the stump of the tree and noticed its crystal smooth top. That was a show of how clean his cuts were.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and I was forced to take a stance.

What the actual fuck?

"If you don\'t want to train fine."

He was going at his own pace and I was abandoned to pick up the pieces to make sense of what was going on. Why did he suddenly attack?

"This is a test Seiji, don\'t fail me." saying so, Giyu blurred and rushed at me.

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