Chapter 29: This Person is Beyond Saving
The plan was a brutal form of shock therapy. First, use a forceful demeanor and cutting words to shatter the listless shell encasing Tomioka Giyuu's heart, thoroughly igniting his dormant emotions. Then, with a display of absolute power, plunge him into an even deeper abyss of self-doubt and despair. Finally, at the very moment his spirit was most vulnerable, allow someone he deeply cared for to reach in and reawaken his true self.
This was Kanzaki Akira's strategy: simple, crude, and dangerous. A single misstep could have completely broken the talented young swordsman. Yet, the probability of success was far from low. After all, if Giyuu were a man so easily defeated, he never would have become the Water Hashira in the wake of Sabito's death, let alone be considered one of the strongest to ever hold that title in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps.
As Urokodaki Sakonji turned to leave, the final glance he cast toward Akira was heavy with a mix of emotions, but the most prominent was a deep shock at the boy's unnerving maturity.
Akira took one last look at Giyuu's condition, confirming that the dead, vacant look had finally vanished from his eyes. Satisfied, he turned and rejoined the others in their sword training. His original purpose for coming here, after all, was simply to learn Water Breathing.
Time bled away, and soon the sun began its descent, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. The day's training came to a halt.
Makomo was still in the kitchen, helping Urokodaki prepare their dinner. Outside, Akira and Sabito sat in the cooling air, a silent understanding between them. Their gazes were fixed on each other, yet both kept a watchful eye on Giyuu, who remained seated in the yard, staring blankly at the fading sunset.
"Honestly," Sabito finally broke the silence, his voice calm now that the heat of the day had passed. "Did you really come up with that entire plan in just one night?"
He had been replaying Akira's actions in his mind. The more he considered the psychological depth and the calculated risks, the less it seemed like a strategy a boy younger than himself could possibly devise, especially on such short notice.
"To be precise, it took about an hour," Akira replied with a slight shrug. His tone was casual, but a flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes. "After Makomo told me about Giyuu's past yesterday, I had a rough idea. It took its final shape after I left your room."
"Little Akira finally looks like a teenager," a gentle voice remarked. Makomo had finished her duties and joined them, a warm smile on her face.
"Hmm?" Akira looked at her, a hint of confusion in his expression.
"Just now in the kitchen," she explained, "even Master Urokodaki said that what you did today… it was completely unlike someone your age."
"It's just that I've seen and experienced a bit more, that's all," Akira said, shaking his head with an air of indifference.
His words caused Makomo to fall silent. She had heard fragments of his past before—how his adoptive grandfather had passed away when he was only seven, and how he had wandered alone before a temple took him in. She didn't know how long that period of solitude had lasted or what horrors he had faced, but judging by the quiet weight he carried, it must have been an incredibly difficult time.
Thinking of this, the look she gave him softened, now laced with a deep, aching sympathy.
In a way, Makomo's assumptions weren't entirely wrong. That experience of struggling alone was very real, but most of it belonged to his previous life. In this world, after his grandfather's death, Akira hadn't wandered for very long. He hadn't even awakened his past-life memories yet. If a child had truly been left to fend for himself for an extended period in this harsh world, he likely would have been reincarnated a second time by now.
But Akira wouldn't explain that. He simply let the silence hang between them.
Just as the atmosphere grew heavy, Giyuu, who had been a statue against the sunset, suddenly moved. He rose to his feet, took a single, deep breath, and turned to walk towards them.
"Kanzaki-san. Sabito-senpai. Makomo-senpai. Thank you."
Though his face remained as stoic as ever, with only the faintest upward twitch at the corner of his mouth, his eyes were transformed. Those deep blue pools, once frozen over with grief, had finally thawed. A deep calm remained, but they were no longer devoid of life.
"No need to thank me," Akira replied, waving a dismissive hand. "Just as long as you don't hold it against me for bringing up your sister."
"Thank you." Giyuu paused for a moment, processing Akira's words, before repeating his gratitude with the same earnest solemnity.
A complex, silent process was unfolding behind those placid features. 'He refused my thanks. He thinks bringing up my sister's memory will make me angry. He believes I haven't forgiven him and that I'm petty. But I don't resent him. I must make him accept my gratitude. I will thank him again.'
"Hmm?" Akira was genuinely bewildered by the repeated thanks. Beside him, Sabito and Makomo exchanged equally confused glances.
"Thank you," Giyuu said again, seeing that Akira still hadn't offered an explicit acceptance.
"Alright, alright, I accept your gratitude," Akira conceded, deciding it was best to just go along with whatever strange logic was currently churning in Giyuu's mind.
As predicted, the moment Akira accepted, Giyuu fell silent, his mission apparently accomplished.
Akira looked from Sabito to Makomo, only to find them just as lost as he was. He could already see the early signs of the socially inept Hashira he knew from the future beginning to bloom. He decided to offer a piece of advice.
"Giyuu, since you've managed to step out from the shadows of your past, you should learn how to speak properly and make friends, in addition to practicing your Breathing Technique."
Giyuu's internal monologue immediately kicked into gear. 'Kanzaki-san wants me to learn to speak and make friends. He thinks I can't express myself and am reclusive. Perhaps he is right. I need to learn. I need to find someone to teach me. Kanzaki-san seems suitable. I must ask for his consent.'
After a brief, stunned pause, Giyuu, his face still a perfect mask of neutrality, asked, "Kanzaki-san, do you think you're good at speaking?"
A silent question mark slowly materialized over Akira's head.
Sabito and Makomo's eyes widened in alarm.
Before anyone could process the first question, Giyuu immediately followed up. "Do you think you're good at making friends?"
'This person,'Akira thought, a sense of deep defeat washing over him,'is beyond saving.'
"I'm so sorry! Giyuu just isn't good at expressing himself, he absolutely didn't mean to offend you, Kanzaki-san…"
"Yes, yes! Akira, please calm down! We'll definitely help Giyuu practice his communication skills…"
Before Akira could even react, Sabito and Makomo had each grabbed one of his arms, apologizing profusely and trying to placate him with a flurry of soothing words.
Giyuu, meanwhile, stared blankly at the chaotic scene, his brain rapidly processing the new data.
'My senpai are apologizing for me. They think my words just now offended Kanzaki-san. This means Kanzaki-san is unwilling to teach me how to express myself and make friends.'
After this burst of internal analysis, Giyuu spoke again, his tone flat. "If not, then never mind. I was just asking."
All three of them—Akira included—froze in place.
"Heh."
A dry, humorless chuckle escaped Akira's lips. He now understood what it felt like to laugh out of sheer speechlessness.
Sabito and Makomo tacitly released his arms. They knew that if Akira truly got angry, they would both get beaten along with the instigator. Since they couldn't stop the inevitable, it was only natural for the culprit to bear the full consequences of his actions.
After a moment of contemplation, Akira spoke slowly, his voice measured. "Giyuu, if you keep talking like that, you might get disliked."
Giyuu's gaze drifted from Makomo, to Sabito, to Urokodaki who had just stepped out of the kitchen, and finally back to Akira—the very person who had just pulled him from his inner turmoil. He then delivered the most classic line in his repertoire.
"I am not disliked."
Hearing those infamous words, a wave of relief washed over Akira, and he let out a genuine laugh.
What else was there to say? That was Giyuu, through and through. Why even bother arguing with him?
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]