Chapter Text
"It's been a busy night." - said to himself one of the kakushi established on the porch of one of the houses in the area of the headquarters of the demon slayer corps.
"Hey rookie!" - he suddenly heard a familiar female voice calling him.
"Masaki-senpai." - he said, turning to the owner of the voice and noticing the slightly older girl he had been working with last night.
"You did pretty well yesterday." - she complimented as she sat next to him.
"Thank you." - he blushed slightly hearing praise from a companion more experienced than him.
"By the way, what's your name?" - she asked about what she missed at the last meeting due to the amount of work they had to do. Cleaning up after the pillars was not an easy task, especially after the flame pillar. She felt sorry for the man sitting next to her that he had to do this on his first day on the job.
"Well my name is Makoto Suzu-"
"What are you doing here?" - Makoto's reply was suddenly interrupted by a sullen male voice coming from the roof of the building they were sitting by. They both quickly got up from the porch to see who was talking to them. They noticed a rather tall young man. He wore a corps uniform and a blue haori with a wave pattern. On the left side of his belt was a sword with a black and maroon tsuba in the shape of a hexagon. He had long, black, messy hair pulled into a single ponytail. However, they could not see his face as it was effectively hidden behind a white fox mask.
"TOMIOKA-SAMA?!" - Masaki exclaimed in horror, bowing as soon as she recognized the teenager standing on the roof - "We were just resting after the last mission." - she said then surreptitiously looked at the confused Makoto and nudged him lightly giving him a signal to bow too, which he immediately did.
"Who is this guy?" - Makoto whispered in a slightly stressed tone.
"It's Tomioka Giyuu..." - Masaki replied in a whisper - "...he’s a kinoe rank slayer and a former water pillar apprentice. Moreover, he is very close to reaching this rank himself." - she explained to her younger friend.
"WOW." - was the only thing Makoto could say right now. He was amazed that he had the honor of meeting someone of such high rank.
"Better watch out, you don't want to mess with him." - Makoto flinched at Masaki's words - "I don't know what he did but he is hated by most of the corps." - he just gulped loudly hearing this.
Giyuu quickly jumped down to the ground standing next to the two kakushi pretending he didn't hear their little conversation - "You're resting, huh?" - Masaki and Makoto stood frozen, expecting a reprimand from the young man, but they did not expect what was about to come - "Can I join you?" - they heard him ask in a slightly more cheerful and calmer tone. They looked at each other not knowing what to say, but finally nodded their heads, and then the three of them sat on the porch, admiring the small garden that was in front of them.
They sat like that for about 2 hours savoring this moment. Even though Makoto and Masaki were very nervous at first because Giyuu didn't say a single word, they got used to this silence over time and even found it pleasant and calming. However, someone had to break the silence - "I feel a little bad about this." - it was Makoto, in whose mind began to collect disturbing thoughts.
"What do you mean?" - Masaki asked confused.
"I mean that the corps' duty is to fight demons and protect the innocent..." - he began to explain his point - "...and the fact that we just sit here and relax while people suffer from demons makes me feel uneasy." - he ended his speech with a note of bitterness in his voice.
"You're new here, right?" - Giyuu's question shocked both kakushi.
"Right, Tomioka-sama." - Makoto replied unsteadily.
"Then let me tell you something." - Giyu began his argument - "Times where you can rest are the best you can experience as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps." - he explained to the amazement of the two sitting next to him - "It more or less means that we are not needed, and therefore that we are fulfilling our duty well by getting rid of demons that could threaten people, at least that's what I think so. So enjoy every moment of rest because it means that both the slayers and the kakushi are doing well." His words cheered the two Kakushi up and made them enjoy the moment of rest again.
"Oi, Giyuu!" - but it didn't last too long, because they were interrupted by a loud male voice belonging to a boy around Giyuu's age. He wore a corps uniform, a sword on his left hip, and a green-and-yellow square-patterned haori. Like Giyuu's, his hair was long and disheveled, but it differed in color as his hair was an unusual shade of pink. He had blue eyes and a scar on his right cheek.
"Sabito!" - Giyuu exclaimed happily seeing his best friend - "You came back quickly." - he said, getting up from the porch, leaving two Kakushi on it.
"Yes, it wasn't a difficult mission." - he said in a proud voice - "As soon as I entered the house, Tsutako told me to find you and tell that dinner is ready." - he said, coming closer to his friend, giving Masaki and Makoto chance to see that Giyuu is a few centimeters taller than Sabito.
"What else could you expect?" - Giyuu chuckled slightly under his mask, which made Sabito look askance at him.
"Are you still wearing that mask?" - Sabito asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"It's a gift from the master." - the black-haired boy quickly justified his actions - "Besides, they were supposed to protect us from demons." - he added, remembering Urokodaki's words when he handed them the masks before the final selection.
"Yeah, I know, I wear mine on missions too..." - the pink haired teen spoke with growing annoyance - "...but it's the middle of the day and we're at HQ, you might as well take it off here." - he said trying to get Giyuu to take off his mask.
"You're actually right." - Giyuu mumbled taking off his mask and letting Sabito and Kakushi see his face, which was characterized by his pale complexion, ocean blue eyes and his tiny smile that almost never disappeared from his face.
"It's better now, now come on, you don't want Makomo and Tsutako to eat everything." - Pink haired said urging his friend and heading towards their house.
"I'm coming." - the raven-haired boy answered quickly and then turned to the Kakushi sitting behind him - "Makoto, Masaki, hold on." - he said, waving goodbye to them and turning to his friend - "Oh and don't forget what I told you!" - he looked at them over his shoulder and gave them a small but warm smile.
"Yes sir. Goodbye Tomioka-sama!" - they both said, waving at him and wondering why most of the corps members hate him.