A cold sensation.
That was Giyu Tomioka's first perception upon regaining consciousness.
White waves... the feeling of throwing Zoro aside... then complete cold and darkness.
Then came memories from the past, from who knows how many years ago, flooding into his mind.
That day, his sister hid him away, allowing him to narrowly escape the demon's attack, but the final outcome was the loss of all his family members, including his sister.
And that night, during the final trial to join the Demon Slayer Corps at Mt. Fujikasane, he was merely protected by his companion Sabito, passing the trial without killing a single demon, only to receive news of Sabito's death in the end.
In the blink of an eye, the scene before him seemed to return to that dark night, reminiscent of Mt. Fujikasane back then.
"...Giyu?"
A gentle and familiar voice softly called his name.
Two figures emerged slowly from the sea of purple flower mist covering the mountains, their outlines gradually becoming clearer.
One was a boy wearing a fox mask with a scar painted at the corner of the mouth, carrying a sword at his waist. The other was a woman in a kimono, her eyes as gentle as water.
Giyu's pupils contracted slightly. Even across so many years, he could recognize them instantly.
"Sabito...? Sister Tsutako...?"
His voice was somewhat hoarse, carrying a tremble of disbelief. This wasn't reality, he knew that well.
Was it a dream? Or a hallucination before death?
"Long time no see, Giyu." Sabito's voice was as cheerful as ever. He lifted his hand and removed his mask, revealing a bright, sunny smile underneath. "How have you been lately?"
Tsutako Tomioka simply smiled gently, her gaze soft as she looked at him.
How had he been?
Giyu fell silent for a moment, countless images surging through his mind. Ultimately, the scenes of the fierce battles against Muzan Kibutsuji and the Upper Ranks in the Infinity Castle dominated his thoughts.
"Sister! Sabito!"
He spoke a bit faster, "I found... the most suitable person to be the Water Hashira. His name is Tanjiro Kamado."
Giyu paused, his tone becoming more solemn: "We went through the final battle against Muzan. In the end... it was him! He destroyed Muzan!"
"Oh! Muzan has been destroyed!" Sabito's eyes instantly lit up. He slapped his thigh excitedly, an exhilarated expression spreading across his face.
"That's wonderful! This is truly... wonderful! This means people in the world no longer need to fear demon attacks! That Tanjiro guy is really amazing!"
Tsutako also smiled contentedly, nodding gently.
But her gaze remained softly fixed on Giyu's face as she asked gently, "Yes, this is truly something worth celebrating. But Giyu, we were asking about you. How have you been yourself lately?"
Lately?
Giyu froze. The final battle against Muzan seemed to have happened some time ago. What about after that?
"I... lately," he organized his words, his brow unconsciously furrowing slightly, "for some reason, I ended up in a place I've never seen before. To find a way back... I boarded a pirate ship."
As if worried about something, he instinctively added: "But they probably aren't bad people. Although... they call themselves pirates."
"Pirates? Wow!"
Sabito showed an interested expression, stroking his chin. "That sounds pretty cool! I've never been to sea before! So you must have many powerful comrades now?"
Comrades...?
The word made Giyu pause for a moment. He shook his head slightly. "Comrades? I'm not their comrade. I'm just temporarily riding on their ship, searching for a way home."
Yet he found himself listing them one by one, his tone flat but unusually detailed:
"There's a captain named Luffy. He seems to have endless energy every day, always noisy but sometimes reliable."
"There's a swordsman who uses three swords named Zoro. He trains very hard every day, but... gets lost very easily."
"There's also a navigator named Nami. She's amazing, able to read the weather and command the voyage. Though she seems to prefer treasure more."
"And... a talkative Sea Warrior? Named Usopp. Plus a chef with excellent cooking skills named Sanji."
"These past few days, there's also a princess named Vivi temporarily on board. Her country is in crisis and she needs to return quickly. Oh, she also brought a very large duck."
He described them almost without stopping, only realizing how much he'd said when he finished.
Tsutako looked at him, her smile growing gentler, her eyes sparkling with understanding. "It sounds like you've met many interesting people on that ship. It seems you've been... having fun, Giyu."
Sabito also leaned in, grinning as he nudged him with his elbow. "Yeah, yeah! You said so much! Giyu, it's rare to see you talk about others like this!"
Having fun...?
Me?
A trace of confusion and self-doubt appeared on Giyu's face. He refuted almost instinctively: "I haven't..."
But those noisy fragments of memory from the ship were crashing against his heart. He paused, somewhat uncertainly correcting himself: "No... it seems... maybe a little..."
"What about today?"
Sabito sat cross-legged, placing his fox mask on his knees as he looked up at Giyu, his tone becoming slightly more serious. "What happened today?"
Today...
In that jungle, he made up his mind, slashed that agent, then watched as that white wave surged forward. He rushed out, threw Zoro to safety...
"I... seem to have already..." Giyu's voice lowered: "In today's battle..."
"Hey hey hey! Don't give me that discouraging talk!" Sabito jumped up, interrupting him with displeasure, a vein bulging on his forehead.
"You're the man who inherited the Water Hashira title! How could you be defeated so easily? You're now the swordsman who even defeated that Muzan Kibutsuji!"
"Water Hashira..."
Giyu lowered his head, avoiding Sabito's gaze, the familiar words slipping out: "I'm not. I'm just... a fake."
"What nonsense are you saying!!"
Sabito's voice rose with genuine anger as he rushed over and punched Giyu on the head.
"You are the Water Hashira! The one and only Water Hashira! You're the one who developed the Eleventh Form! You're the one who fought to the end! No one deserves that title more than you! Stand tall, Giyu Tomioka!"
Nearby, Tsutako watched as Sabito scolded Giyu, unable to resist raising a hand to cover her mouth as she chuckled softly.
Giyu held his head, staring blankly at the agitated Sabito: "How... how did you know..."
Just then.
Crackle...
A faint yet distinct shattering sound emerged—not from Mt. Fujikasane, but as if from an extremely distant place.
Simultaneously, a somewhat weak and startled cry could be heard.
Sabito and Tsutako's expressions shifted almost at the same moment. Without further explanation, their gazes turned in unison toward the space behind Giyu.
Giyu instinctively turned to look.
Behind them, a crack had somehow appeared in the air, from which a blinding white light poured out and began to rapidly expand.
Within that light, the faint outline of a white waxy surface could be seen, along with the face of a bespectacled man!
"Enough talk, Giyu!"
Sabito's expression turned stern as he shouted, "Your comrades! They're still in danger, aren't they?! This time, it's your turn to protect everyone!"
His sister Tsutako gazed at Giyu with gentle yet firm eyes and said, "Do your best, Giyu."
"You two..."
Before Giyu could finish, Sabito and Tsutako exchanged a smile, reached out together to grab his shoulders, turned him toward the rapidly widening crack of light, and without hesitation pushed him forward!
"Go!"
Stumbling, Giyu plunged into the white light!
.........
Deep blue eyes slowly opened as Giyu Tomioka became aware of Nami and Vivi beside him, all of them trapped atop a massive cake made of white wax liquid.
Then his cold gaze fell upon the bespectacled man before him, and he spoke slowly:
"Are you..."
"prepared..."
"to fall?"