The bamboo stretching into the heavens made a pleasant sound each time the wind breezed through the grove. In the middle of their sparring, the sky visible in the gaps between the green stalks seemed impossibly high.
“How about we take a break?”
“Okay.”
The ancient bamboo grove was the site for Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka’s training. Tanjiro was currently the only one who had reached this endpoint of the Hashira training that began with the former Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui. That said, he had only arrived a few hours earlier. He’d spent about half of that time unconscious after being punched in the jaw and knocked flying by the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa while he was sparring with Tomioka.
Shinazugawa was super angry.
Now Tanjiro was further away than ever from mediating a reconciliation between Genya and his brother. He slumped for-ward, dejected, and a bamboo container appeared before his eyes.
“Thank you.” He drank the chilled spring water from the canister Tomioka held out wordlessly. The cool liquid soothed his throat.
When he finally felt like a human being again, he spoke to Tomioka sitting beside him. “Do you think Shinazugawa likes smooth bean paste in his ohagi? Or chunky bean paste?”
The old Tomioka would have let this question slide without responding, but he had an answer now. “I like smooth bean paste, but I feel like Shinazugawa would like chunky.”
“Oh, I get that.” Tanjiro nodded in agreement. “My grandma used smooth in her ohagi, so I’m also in the smooth bean paste camp. But I feel like Shinazugawa would prefer chunky.”
“Just in case, when I see Shinazugawa,” Tomioka said, “I’ll make sure to have both in my pocket.”
“Oh! Then you’re safe either way!”
“How about we have ohagi tonight?”
“I’ll make it!”
The pair got carried away talking about Shinazugawa and ohagi.
Giyu seems like he’s gotten a whole lot happier. While Tanjiro never knew what the older Demon Slayer was thinking, he felt like he was more cheerful lately. He spoke more often too.
Maybe he opened up after the soba-eating contest? I hope so. That’d make me happy. They could have a dumpling-eating contest next. Or would an udon contest be better?
While Tanjiro absently considered foods to compete over, Tomioka asked him, “How has your Hashira training been so far? Difficult?”
“Yes.” Tanjiro’s eyes shone. “But it’s been amazing. And so much fun. Everyone’s so cool, and they go so hard during training. They’re just like grr grr grr, bam! Wham! Slam! Whuk! Crash!”
“And you’re prohibited from contact with Shinazugawa?” For some reason, Tomioka had an extremely faraway look in his eyes as he abruptly changed the subject.
“Oh. That.” Tanjiro shrugged. “I made Shinazugawa angry, and we got into this fight. We dragged in Zenitsu and the other Demon Slayers. I feel bad about it.”
“I often make Shinazugawa angry too,” Tomioka said. “Basically, Shinazugawa’s angry in most situations.”
“Has he always been like that?” Tanjiro asked.
Tomioka nodded. “Now that I’m thinking about it,” he said, his face expressionless, “I too was once ordered to have no contact with Shinazugawa.”
“Huh? You were too, Giyu? Why? Did you have a fight?” Tanjiro was nervous, knowing the history here. He and Shinazugawa alone had done so much damage. And he’d seen the two Hashira sparring earlier. What would happen if they fought for real? It was too terrifying to even imagine.
“W-was everything okay?” he stammered. “I mean, like the house? The people … the town?”
“No.” Tomioka shook his head. “It wasn’t a fight. Shinazugawa got mad at me all on his own. And it wasn’t just him. Everyone was acting strangely that day.”
Completely ignoring Tanjiro’s concern, Tomioka didn’t look into the bamboo grove before him, but stared at some empty point in space.. The wind blew up his distinctive bangs, and his eyes narrowed like he was looking at the sun.
“It was when …”
“What is all this, Himejima?” a gruff voice demanded, obviously annoyed and very out of place in the room that looked onto the beautiful garden of the Ubuyashiki mansion. “I mean, calling us here when there’s no Hashira meeting or anything. You’ve got some explaining to do.”
“It’s an urgent matter.” Himejima didn’t so much as flinch under Shinazugawa’s glare.
Given his massive physique, even a bear would run from him. It went without saying that the Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima was the strongest person in the Demon Slayer Corps. In addition to his unparalleled strength, he had also been in the Demon Slayer Corps the longest. Because he was the oldest of the current Hashira, he often took on the role of pulling the whole group together.
“I didn’t ask you here on personal business,” he said in a short tone. “It was the desire of Master Ubuyashiki.”
Shinazugawa clicked his tongue and walked away from his colleague. Once the master’s name came up, he couldn’t gripe any further. He was extraordinarily loyal to Ubuyashiki.
Of course, the same could be said of everyone gathered there, Shinobu Kocho thought to herself. She frowned. There was a Hashira missing.
“Himejima,” she said. “It seems that Tomioka is not to be seen?”
“Is not to be seen? Don’t be so long-winded, Kocho. He’s not here. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he had no intention of coming.” It wasn’t Himejima who replied to Shinobu’s question, but Obanai Iguro. Who exactly was the long-winded one here? Iguro was his usual nagging self.
“I mean, the only thing he cares about is himself. He was probably all, ‘Do what you want. It’s nothing to do with me.’”
“What? That jerk!” Shinazugawa flared in anger at Tomioka, taking Iguro’s supposition as fact.
“Shinazugawa. Iguro was simply imagining a possible situation,” Shinobu interjected gently. It was unfortunate that her colleague could get angry at even idle speculation.
“I told Tomioka to come later,” Himejima finally replied to Shinobu’s question.
“Why would you do that?” she asked curiously.
“What? You mean we’re going to put him on trial in absentia?” Uzui joked lazily. “Makes sense. We’re finally cutting loose the uncooperative Water Hashira?”
“Mm. We can’t do that!” Kyojuro Rengoku shot back immediately, arms crossed. “We can’t go sneaking around in the shadows! If we’re going to do it, we have to stand tall and tell him our complaints! Right, Tokito?”
“I don’t care either way,” Muichiro replied absently when the conversation was suddenly lobbed his way. His glassy eyes were staring at a small bird playing in the garden on the other side of the open shoji doors. “I don’t really understand Tomioka. And I’ll forget soon anyway.”
“I’m with Uzui. We don’t tell him he’s out. We just beat him up right here and now,” Shinazugawa said, cracking his knuckles, and Iguro followed suit.