As a kid, Tanjiro remembers being someone who imagined a lot; who dreamed a lot.
His dreams had no particular order; they jumped from one moment to the other without apparent meaning.
Most of them had the same premise. He was with Nezuko; he carried her inside a strange wooden box as she seemed to be sick somehow; they both traveled together and he always carried a heavy katana with him.
There were also other people. He couldn't hear their voices, much less even see their faces, but he knew for sure that they were important people, people he wanted to protect and people he was fond of.
It was hot in those dreams, at all hours he seemed to be surrounded by embers that emanated a desperate and suffocating heat. Like a constant and latent threat that paralyzed his legs.
Tanjiro ended up crying every time he woke up from those dreams. He would call out for his mother, almost screaming for her in the dark hallway outside his room. It was overwhelming and those few minutes it took for Kie to appear and reach him seemed like forever.
She would comfort him by telling him that none of it was real. They were just nightmares. Nightmares in which monsters appeared and chased him at night. Cold, bloodthirsty monsters that, for a child, were among the worst things he could experience.
There was one in particular that made him feel a lot of pain. It would make him lose himself in a shattered, seething, dark city, and then it would eat him. No matter how hard he tried to defend himself with the katana, the result was always the same.
Kie kept telling him that it wasn't real and that it could never happen to him. Monsters don't exist and would never hurt him. But the six-year-old Tanjiro didn't believe it. He simply could not conceive the idea that they were just a fantasy because, yes, they were fragmented and incoherent dreams, but they seemed real; he felt them real.
And so it went until he was eight years old and the dreams stopped happening.
If he's honest, he doesn't remember most of them now other than just the small details. Of that tormented life he dreamed of and, until now, it hadn't crossed his mind, much less in the last few months with the whole temple thing and his role in it.
Or so it was until one morning he woke up in the body of a stranger.
The dreams had returned, but this time different. They were more specific and although they still seemed like poorly edited, blurry scenes on a homemade recording, to Tanjiro they had become understandable somehow. Bearable.
There are no more monsters. It's no longer hot. There are only routine scenes revolving around... something or someone perhaps?
He doesn't know, and he doesn't want to delve too deeply into it either, but what is clear to Tanjiro is that such dreams envelop him with a pleasant, candid feeling. Like warm water sliding on his skin, completely opposite to the suffocating terror he felt as a child.
And now, every time he wakes up after those dreams, he sees himself trapped in Giyu Tomioka's body.
I'm beginning to understand what's going on.
Giyu is a 21-year-old guy studying at university in Tokyo.
Waking up as Giyu is overwhelming on many levels. A different body; the face, the hair, the clothes. Everything is very different and the first few days Tanjiro had nervous grimaces on his face when he opened his eyes and realized where he was.
The falls off the bed as he was not used to it were constant and he just hoped it would not take its toll on Giyu's back.
And of course, he couldn't forget how embarrassing it was to go to the bathroom either!
In Tokyo the nights are busy. Buildings are slow to turn off their lights and the traffic lights on the streets never stop. With the arrival of morning the windows flash almost annoyingly from the sun reflecting on them and cars invade the streets.
Tokyo is just something else. It was clear to Tanjiro from day one, but as time went by he realized how exhausting it is to live there if you don't know how to handle it.
The train station is not that far from Giyu's apartment, so it only takes a quick jog on foot to get there, but what is stressful is figuring out which train line to take. On more than one occasion, Tanjiro found himself pacing around outside the station, his gaze varying between the phone screen with the routes and the rest of the world around him.
Then, when he was finally on the train, praying he hadn't gotten on the wrong line, he would find himself trapped in a crowd of people pushing him until he was almost crushed against the glass doors.
Yeah, Tokyo is too much.
Two or three times a week I switch places with Tanjiro, who lives in some town.
Tomioka had a routine and was more than satisfied with the boring life he led. He would get up, shower, eat breakfast, go spend the rest of the day stressing at the University and then go back to the apartment for some dinner if he remembered.
Sometimes Tsutako would call him to ask how he was doing, changing the monotony a bit, but that was the only thing.
Never in his wildest nightmares would he have imagined something like this would happen.
And he was an idiot for underestimating the tricks of fate.
Giyu remained in denial at first, because c' mon, was he really to be expected to believe that he was switching bodies with a teenager he didn't know?
But, to his surprise, when he woke up he discovered that in his diary there were more entries he definitely didn't write about how that day he walked to the train station with Sabito made him blush again.
Sleep triggers it.
The station changes. The clouds slide into the sky and paint themselves with the end of the day. The Tori still stands motionless on the temple steps welcoming all who pass beneath it and the trees whisper the unfamiliar song of Itomori.
To Giyu, the village where Tanjiro lives looks like something out of a fairy tale; a tranquil style with traditional and cozy houses. The view is spectacular; he has never been too keen on the idea of being in such a country setting, but he must admit that he has stopped more than once to admire how the lake water seems to shine like polished silver under the sun's rays.
Every morning he walks with Tanjiro's sister Nezuko to school. She is talkative, cheeky and affectionate. She fills the conversation all the way until they meet their other friends and doesn't seem to notice the obvious difference in her brother's personality.
He likes her; she's similar to Tsutako in many ways and perhaps that's the main reason he didn't have a hard time bonding with her in the end.
Classes are regular; it's an extreme change to what he experiences in college, but somehow he has managed to handle it.
Giyu has always had a habit of playing with the longer strands of his hair when he is bored, but now, considering he is not in his body, he must resign himself to looking out the window towards the lake beyond the school grounds.
The cause is a mystery
Tomioka has developed a perpetual state of anticipation and anxiety at not knowing when the fuck he is going to wake up in Tanjiro's body. It is never concrete when it might happen and being random and irregular, he can only go to sleep and hope for the best or the worst.
He hoped he wasn't the only one feeling this way.
Giyu ended up scribbling his confusion in the other' s notebook on more than one occasion with the intention of getting Tanjiro to respond. The first few times they switched bodies they tried to give it a rational explanation, or as rational as possible at least, but they couldn't and resignation won out in the end.
It was easier to ignore the rational than to torture themselves with questions of why or how?
The memories of the switch are hazy after we wake up, but we are definitely switching places.
There were several times when he was confused when his friends or teachers would tell him that he had done something when Tanjiro clearly did not remember. Many would laugh at his confusion and others, like Zenitsu, would scold him or look at him suspiciously.
At first he wanted to let it go and not get too upset about it. To go back to that monotony that repeated itself every day that he was so used to. That friendly atmosphere that enveloped him with the nagging about punctuality and the whining about how annoying it was to have to get up early from his friends.
He tried, but his patience reached a limit when one morning he woke up with one of his cheeks swollen and scratched under a bandage. He went down to breakfast to ask his sister what had happened to him, but she just huffed between indignant and worried; scolding him and saying he had gotten into a fight to defend her from some idiots who were friends with the girls who always picked on her.
Then Urokodaki scolded him even more for dropping a crystal glass at the surprise and the pit that formed in his stomach.
It's obvious from the reactions of the people around us, so....
So we lay down some rules to protect each other's lifestyle.
Tengen would hardly leave him alone at the university. Giyu had to take many deep breaths in order to avoid sending his dear friend to fuck off for his characteristic teasing.
His hair and Sabito were recurring topics because, in Uzui's eyes, they were something Tomioka was quite tactful and careful with, but now, thanks to Tanjiro, he wasn't anymore.
Things to watch out during the exchange and a list of "don'ts"
Tanjiro had to download the same app that Giyu had on his phone to make it easier to communicate with him when they switched. His entries were green and he had taken his time to write his rules for Tomioka, and from what he can guess, so had Giyu.
He doesn't know how long he sat on his futon, his hair matted, a dismayed frown on his forehead, and flicking his fingers across the screen.
There were roughly six or seven rules marked in bold by both of them. They were simple and, just in case, they had a reminder with an annoying alarm that went off at a specific time each day. They didn't know when the switch would occur, so they couldn't risk it.
We also agreed to leave reports on our phones.
Tanjiro took advantage of the dead time during the train ride between places to write on the phone everything, absolutely everything that had happened during the day at Giyu's request.
He didn't care much if the people around him peeked in to read what he was writing because, for the most part, they were mostly people sleeping or focused on reading a book or on their own phones.
Giyu, for his part, had to be more careful as Tanjiro's friends didn't move away from him in Any. Fucking. Moment.
They were still loud and dramatic when they weren't at school and it took Tomioka a while to get used to hanging out with them. He reluctantly learned their names and to write reports on Tanjiro's phone he had to wait until he was alone. He usually stopped at the caution fences by the railroad tracks, as no one walked there when evening fell.
To work together to tide over this mysterious phenomenon.
They could do it, the rules they had to follow were simple, basic and for the good of both of them.
But...
But...
But that doesn't stop them from ignoring them monumentally from time to time.
What's wrong with this guy!
What's wrong with this guy!
The first to complain was Tanjiro. The first time his friends and sister mentioned to him that he hadn't put on his earrings he felt a choking panic in his chest, then he understood that it was Giyu who had taken them off and relaxed at the thought that he should just tell him to keep them on. But, to his misfortune, Giyu still didn't put them on and he knew he had enough when it was his grandfather who had mentioned it.
Don't ever take the earrings off!
They're too heavy and annoying!
Just don't do it!
Then Giyu left a note on his phone when he had enough of Tengen telling him that he looked and acted cuter when his hair was down and unbrushed.
Tie your hair before you go out!
It's too long!
That's the way I like it!
For Giyu the hardest part had been faking in front of Tanjiro's grandfather. The man was imposing and, deep down, it seemed as if he knew that, whoever was there, was not really his grandson.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that Tomioka was more than a little surprised when he first saw him without his mask at breakfast or because he is a complete disgrace to the muradai. Whatever it is, he feels immense respect for some reason and also an almost giddy familiarity that he hasn't delved too deeply into.
But that didn't stop him from complaining to Tanjiro about how complicated it was for him to braid the strings and how Nezuko seemed very confused when they worked in the workshop at night and he struggled not to make a mess.
Braided cords…I can't do this!
Tanjiro found himself scolding Giyu many times as he realized the peculiar lifestyle he led. The only food he could find in the kitchen were packages of instant noodles stored in the cabinet and energy drinks in the fridge.
When he asked why he didn't buy anything else, Tomioka only replied that he didn't know how to cook and didn't have the time to do so.
Tanjiro didn't put up with it for long and took it upon himself to buy decent food one day, completely ignoring the rule that stood out a bit among the others on the phone of not spending too much money.
And it didn't help much that every now and then a text message would come from Sabito reminding him that he has to have dinner when he's home in the evenings.
If he's honest, even he wouldn't feel like eating if he only had cheap ramen to fill his stomach, so Tanjiro started cooking for him when he got home from the university, because Giyu might be a stubborn and almost frivolous jerk, but he would feel guilty if he found out he had gotten sick from not taking care of himself when he could have done something about it.
He always left little notes letting him know that there was food, stuck where they could be easily seen, like the fridge or the desk.
Tomioka told him not to do it, but he shut up after another scolding and a plate of salmon with daikon left for him by Tanjiro. Somehow he guessed that it was his favorite food since he doesn't remember telling him at any point.
You're going to get sick if you keep skipping meals!
Tomioka had to figure out how to keep his own classes out of conflict because of the switch. His grades mattered, so he had no choice but to push forward some work that stood out in the academic syllabus. It was a lot of sleepless nights, but all so Tanjiro didn't have to do anything but show up for class.
Tanjiro found out about Giyu's lack of sleep thanks to the fact that, in one of the swaps, Sabito told him, between concern and mocking, that his dead face with dark circles under his eyes the size of a cookie was no longer as bad as it looked.
He scolded him again and Giyu's excuse was that he was doing it for him. Tanjiro would be lying if he said he didn't blush when he read that.
You study too much!
It's so you don't have to worry!
Just keep quiet in class.
Despite everything, they managed to handle it somehow.
Giyu later learned that it wasn't so bad to be in Tanjiro's shoes. The people he shared with were warm and he could understand the friendship that existed with Inosuke and Zenitsu.
Once he got over the initial shock of meeting them, he found that they were really nice in their own way and even went so far as to steal Inosuke's bicycle. He chased him and Zenitsu as they tried to escape through the streets of the village and Giyu couldn't contain the laughter he let out at his yelling and banal fighting provocations.
Tanjiro, for his part, was having fun as the day ended and headed to the train station with Tengen. The sunsets over the parks were beautiful, not as beautiful as in Itomori, but there was something about them. Uzui's warm hugs on his shoulders made him happy, though he never got used to the closeness and the lack of embarrassment that made him blush sometimes.
Sabito was someone nice. He liked the way he smiled and his personality was so tenacious and kind. He cared a lot about Giyu and Tanjiro could quickly understand why he liked him so much.
What was curious to him was that even though those two had known each other for a long time, Giyu seemed reluctant to do anything about his feelings. He asked him a couple of times in the diary, but they were the only messages that went unanswered.
It didn't seem fair to Tanjiro, who has always been a firm believer in listening to the heart no matter what.
Maybe that's why the decision he made was hasty and intrusive, but Tanjiro ignored it as he typed on Giyu's phone, with a goofy little smile tugging at his lips and wiggling his feet, which were dangling off the arm of the uncomfortable armchair in the apartment, like a kid.
Grabbed coffee with Sabito-kun today. You two have a good thing going!
Giyu only squeezed the phone more than usual when he was on the train and read that, apparently, the previous afternoon he had gone to a coffee shop with Sabito and they had sat in front of the windows of the shop to share the view together and talk for hours.
It was bad enough having two strangers on either side pressing up against him due to the cramped space, but the blatant message Tanjiro had left him only made it worse.
Tomioka had stressed to him a thousand times not to interfere with the people around him-apart from Tengen, of course, who was already a hopeless case-but he'd ignored it again like the many other rules he'd turned a blind eye to.
Giyu clenched his jaw and teeth in annoyance and felt his eyelid flutter a couple of times before writing a hasty reply.
Tanjiro, stop changing my relationships!
Tomioka then found a way to take revenge.
Giyu, why is a girl in love with me!?
For Tanjiro that morning everything was going normal, too normal even. He and Tomioka hadn't talked much because of what happened with Sabito, but that didn't seem so strange to Tanjiro.
It was in the afternoon, when he was returning home with Inosuke and Zenitsu, that a group of three girls approached him to talk to him. The middle one was the one who spoke and handed him an envelope with a small heart-shaped seal.
It took him a couple of seconds to understand that she was confessing her feelings to him. His cheeks flared then and the tips of his ears burned.
What she told him further was what made him understand that this was Giyu's doing. This happened the day before and was happening again because Tanjiro had supposedly asked the poor girl to do it, promising that he would have an answer for her.
Zenitsu pulled him by the hair and yelled at him that he was an idiot for rejecting her while Inosuke just laughed all the way home after that.
You are more popular when I'm you.
Giyu had discovered that, apparently, after his little scene with the garbage cans and the fight he had with some assholes - for which Tanjiro had scolded him a lot even if it was just shoving, he's not that violent for God's sake - he had started to look attractive to several people, something he doesn't understand at all.
Teenagers, he supposed.
He knew from the others, that Tanjiro in and of himself was already someone known and caught people's attention at school because of the way he was, but the change in personality on the days when they switched was much more striking.
He hadn't noticed it at first and it hadn't crossed his mind either as he was perhaps more concerned with praying that Tanjiro wouldn't do anything idiotic again.
It was Zenitsu who said something to that effect, though it was more of a loud reproach of jealousy than a simple comment.
He was able to verify this when one of the same girls who used to tease Nezuko called him behind one of the classrooms to "talk".
When he arrived, he found her trembling with nervousness before receiving an envelope with her confession of love inside.
He told her that he needed her to repeat the confession the next day so he could think about it and give her his answer, though in reality Giyu was going to let Tanjiro deal with it.
He didn't bother to warn him, of course, he would let him suffer a little embarrassment too.
How can I be!
You don't even smile so don't be so full of yourself!
Not like YOU have a partner!
When Giyu woke up in his body after another swap, he found only red marker scratches on the skin of his left arm. He could almost imagine Tanjiro complaining and writing by himself with a flushed face.
What he said hit him hard in the pride and he responded on his phone the same way, sending the fact that he was the mature adult there to shit, thus sparking a fight between the two of them that lasted for the next few exchanges.
You don't have anyone either!
They forgot about the notes on their phones and both decided to blurt out what they wanted to say as erasable ink messages on their skins.
They found themselves with vague, weightless insults like "fool" or "idiot" written on their cheeks as they woke up, which they probably wrote while looking in the mirror, as if they were actually replying to the other in person out loud.
I…
I…
Yeah, it had been a pretty long month.
I'm single because I want to be!
I'm single because I want to be!
.
.
.
Tomioka grunts as he hears the alarm sound too close to his head. His face sinks into the pillow and a few seconds after waking up he can recognize the smell on it and why his head feels cooler and lighter than usual.
He is in Tanjiro's body.
The weight of his body is pushed by his arms after the alarm finishes ringing. Giyu blinks a couple of times until he gets used to the morning light coming through the closed shoji doors and recognizes the place that greets him.
It's the same room, but it seems to be earlier than usual.
He lets out a surrendered sigh and feels the earrings on the sides of his face flutter with the gentle movement of his head. His hand reflexively reaches up to take them off, but stops halfway remembering what Tanjiro told him.
A small pout forms on his lips, thinking that he won't do it for his sake.
Tomioka turns as the door opens and Nezuko's image appears. She's smiling as usual, the only difference being that she's wearing her long hair in a high ponytail.
"It's time to go!" she exclaims as she does every morning "Hurry up brother!"
Giyu doesn't answer because she has already disappeared down the hallway. He stands up, stretches and slouches backwards to finish waking up.
Tanjiro's winter uniform is not hanging on the wall in front of him as usual, so he has to look for it in the closet. Perhaps he has forgotten to leave it ready as he always does.
It doesn't take him long to get dressed and brush his teeth; then he heads for the stairs to meet Tanjiro's family for breakfast.
"In the last few days the comet Tiamat has been visible, moving in the same direction as the sun from east to west from our perspective."
The clock reads 7:26 a.m.; as he approaches the dining room, he can hear the television on, filling the silence and accompanying the scent of freshly brewed tea.
The room is cool. The change of season is beginning to show, but it is not yet so drastic. Giyu doesn't pay too much attention to what the girls are saying on the program and pauses in the doorframe.
Urokodaki's mask rests on the table. Nezuko and he have steaming glasses of tea in their hands and turn their faces at the same time as they feel him appear.
"Why the uniform?" asks Nezuko between amused and quizzical.
Giyu just makes a little "huh?" and cocks his head in confusion.
.
.
.
The water of the creek beside the trail carries with it the fallen leaves from the trees downstream along the mountain. They have changed color with autumn and their texture is rough. They crunch as they pass over those on the ground and their sound is the only thing Giyu has heard in the last half hour, besides the chirping of birds hidden among the trees.
He is wearing sportswear just like Nezuko. And maybe it took him longer than it should have to stumble up the stairs back to the room after being told it's Saturday and they're going to the mountain.
But it's not his fault if Tanjiro didn't leave a note on his phone to let him know. Or maybe he did, Giyu hasn't checked it yet.
"Grandpa..." Nezuko sounds tired beside him. Like Tomioka, she's carrying a backpack with food and has stopped a couple of times to settle its weight on her shoulders. "Why is the body of our shrine's god so far away?".
Urokodaki takes the lead. He carries his staff in one of his hands and his gait is steady and synchronized with his feet. He wears his mask and its paint gleams in the sun's rays, which are filtering through the branches despite the wear and tear and years of use. His long, dull hair is tied back with a red cord and Tomioka thinks for a second that he should get one of those when he returns to Tokyo.
"By Haganezuka, I really don't know." he answers her with an almost joking tone without turning to look at them.
"Who's that?" Giyu turns to look at his side without knowing who he is talking about.
Nezuko looks at him puzzled and obvious before speaking and seeing him raise his shoulders "What? He's famous!".
From the left side of the road the open landscape of Lake Itomori can be seen. A few wires, pylons and trees get in the way, obscuring even the town houses from view in the distance, but somehow that just makes the composition of the panorama more pleasing.
A while passes in which there is only silence between them. The soft October wind and the familiar comfort of belonging. It's strange. Giyu has never been one to interact with people and since he was little he had a habit of hiding behind Tsutako when talking to new people.
Now, being with these people he met over a month ago under the strangest of circumstances, he doesn't feel uncomfortable or the nagging need to avoid them. On the contrary, he finds it eerily warm and familiar, as if he really had spent a lifetime together with them.
"Tanjiro, Nezuko," Urokodaki calls. Both he and Nezuko return the gaze that was fixed on the scenery to the front upon hearing him, but Tomioka takes a second longer to do so as he remembers that he is also addressing him. The man hasn't turned around or stopped, but his voice comes out from under the mask again "Do you know what Musubi means?"
"Musubi?" Tomioka repeats, still not used to the more jovial tone in his voice. He watches as Nezuko quickens her pace to her grandfather's level and reflexively does the same, standing on the opposite side of him from her.
"Musubi it's the old way of calling the local guardian god, the creator of the dance." he explains, this time turning a little, pointing the nose of his mask towards him first and then towards his granddaughter.
Giyu doesn't quite understand the traditions of this family. In the rules he has with Tanjiro there is one concerning the temple:
If my grandfather mentions something about the temple, just nod and don't say anything.
He hasn't had any problem following it, having never been someone religious, but after realizing the importance of the temple and its customs with these people, Tomioka couldn't help but get curious in his head. Therefore, Urokodaki's words capture his full attention. His voice is calm, husky and with a hint of eloquence.
"This word has profound meaning."
Soon the mountain scenery changes as they climb. Orange is replaced by green that remains untouched all year round. Tall, leafy trees, almost completely blocking out the sun's path, but not so much as to leave the site in gloom. Rather, they are ethereal, quiet shadows in the shimenawa belts that hug the tree trunks.
«Tying threads is Musubi. Connecting people is Musubi. The flow of time is Musubi. These are all the god's power»
Urokodaki speaks and Giyu listens. He does so with the same attention as Nezuko, without stopping his gait.
He remembers the threads. That complicated art he struggled with several times; its colors and patterns. The order of the weaving and the contrast. Their texture and the sound of pulling them tight. Even the aroma of the workshop where they work. Everything is special, has a meaning, a reason, and Giyu can't help the sharp sense of understanding the more he listens.
«So the braided cords we make are the god's art and represent the flow of time itself and lives of the past, present and future»
Tomioka begins to feel that his gait is now mechanical. The backpack is suddenly heavier and the sweat from the physical exertion on the T-shirt he is wearing is more annoying.
And then his mind is far away. Far away from there.
The lives of the past? As in, having been someone before?
Tomioka has come to understand that fate can run amok in finding no other explanation for what is happening to him with Tanjiro, but he had never thought of anything like that.
Previous lives. He remembers listening to some girls in college talking about regression and the whole world of hypnosis. He also remembers ignoring them and thinking they were the stuff of occult fanatics like Inosuke.
«They converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, then connect again. Musubi -knotting. That's time.»
But now, hearing Tanjiro's grandfather speak so confidently, as if it's not the first time he's said those words; as if it's a rehearsed story, makes a strange feeling settle in his chest. Almost like an unknown longing for something he has never experienced. A nostalgia that seeps under his skin and entangles, squeezing hard, very hard.
For a second and for some reason he doesn't understand, the dreams he's had in the last few weeks come back to him. Like flashes from an old movie that pass in the blink of an eye and leave the painful drag of twinges in his temple.
Perhaps the heat is getting to him.
They stop after walking for a long while, when his legs threaten to cramp and his breathing is more erratic.
The spot is a small rock ledge on the mountain covered by a tree. It is shady enough for them to rest and have lunch around noon. With the blue sky and forest all around.
Urokodaki pours black tea and hands it to Giyu. He thanks before taking it and bringing it to his lips. The liquid passes in one mouthful, cooling his throat and quenching the almost desperate thirst he suddenly feels.
"I want some too!" exclaims Nezuko towards him with an exhausted half-smile, but before he can hand her the small cup, they both hear Grandpa's low chuckle coming out somewhat muffled from under the mask.
"That's also Musubi." he says, picking up on the previous theme. Tomioka doesn't notice the moment when Urokodaki takes the small cup from his hands to pour more tea and give it to Nezuko.
«Whether it be water, rice or sake, when a person consumes something, and it joins their soul, that's Musubi. So today's offering is an important costum that connects the god, and people. »
Giyu can't help but be surprised at the sudden reality of the weight of what they are doing now. His eyebrows threaten to form a pinch from the pit beginning to form in his stomach, but he manages to suppress it and concentrates on eating from the bento now in his hands.
He shouldn't be doing this.
.
.
.
The forest scenery has disappeared and as they approach the top of the mountain they are surrounded by moss-covered rocks and grass on the ground covering the earth.
Tomioka has turned around several times and the scenery makes his breath catch each time. A blanket of clouds stretching into the distance, broken only by the mountain peaks rising to reach the perpetual blue of the sky.
" Hey, I see it!" Nezuko has stepped forward on the path and exclaims with a combination of relief and excitement as she continues walking.
Giyu stops at the same spot where she was and takes a big breath of air puffing out his chest. The earrings flutter in the wind, tingling on his neck and he stands for a few seconds unable to move from his spot.
He couldn't say what he imagined the place they were going was going look like because he didn't ask any more than necessary so as not to cause suspicion, but it definitely wasn't anything like this. The top of the mountain is a huge crater; the plain formed in the center is painted by green grass and small streams, thin or thick, scattered in a chaotic and messy way.
And in the center of it all, a single tree with a somewhat ancient appearance despite its vibrant green color and all the leaves on its branches.
"That's the body of Kamado Shrine's god?" Tomioka blurts out, almost out of breath.
They carefully descend to the grass and continue. It crunches with each step of their shoes and the sound of running water becomes more present the closer they get to the stream that separates the body from them. The distance separating them from the tree seems shorter than it really is.
"Beyond this point is Kakuriyo" Urokodaki says in a serene voice. The tip of his staff makes a dull thud as it touches a rock at the water's edge. "It means the underworld"
The three of them cross over the rocks with small jumps and reach the tree. Nearby, the body begins to take shape. A huge stone that Tomioka had not noticed lies motionless next to the tree. As they walk in front of it, they see the entrance to a small dark cave below.
Urokodaki rummages through Nezuko's backpack and pulls out a pair of white porcelain bottles, sealed and decorated with red strings forming a bow.
"In exchange for returning to this world, you must leave behind what is most important to you" Urokodaki approaches and hands one of them to Giyu. For some reason, Tomioka knows he is looking at him in the eyes as he says it even though the mask interrupts him. "The Kuchikamisake"
The porcelain is cold to the touch, unlike the string. It feels heavy in his hands and Tomoka finds it hard to swallow saliva.
The feeling of being an intruder grows stronger, squeezing his chest uncomfortably. It's not right for him to be here.
He just woke up convinced it would be just another day in the life of an 18-year-old boy and never expected to be part of an activity at the temple the boy tells him to be so careful with.
Tanjiro is the one who should be doing this. He should be here, with his family being part of something so important, but fate seems to be obsessed with saying sike! and now it is Giyu who is here, uncomfortable with just breathing near the god's body.
The bottle burns in his hands and the earrings are heavier than usual in his ears.
"You'll offer it inside the god's body. It's half of you." he finally explains to both of them.
He feels Nezuko move first and disappears under the rock. It takes Giyu a little more willpower, but in the end he just breathes and looks intently at the sake one last time.
And then, an almost mellifluous thought comes to him that calms his anxiety and softens his heart.
"Half of Tanjiro…"
.
.
.
The sky is painted in colors. The sun casts its last rays, reflecting on the clouds drifting in the afternoon wind. The way back is easier and lighter than the way up and the forest is quiet at that hour. The atmosphere around them is pleasant and Giyu feels more relaxed than before.
They are about to leave the mountain and Tomioka feels the tiredness creeping up on him more and more, but none of the three of them stop until they are on a ledge towards the village and cause a flock of birds to startle and fly away from them.
Tomioka looks ahead to where the birds have disappeared, to the water of Lake Itomori shimmering under the trees and reflecting the lights of the village that begin to turn on welcoming the night. The smoke from the chimneys also catches the eye, contrasting with the naturalness of the landscape.
"It's the magic hour!" says Nezuko with an excited smile, shielding the sunset light with one of her hands before looking up at the sky above her.
"Magic hour?" asks Giyu curiously looking in her direction once he is at her side.
She seems to ignore him, more focused on looking for something specific among the clouds in the sky before speaking again. "Maybe we'll see the comet!"
"Comet?"
Urokodaki gasps and exclaims suddenly, somewhat curious and surprised behind his back and asks him something that makes him turn around, almost urgently.
Giyu, for some reason, is able to see himself from Urokodaki's perspective. His jet hair, long and messy falling over his shoulders. His slanted eyes and pale skin. As if he saw himself in a mirror and then felt himself falling into a dark void.
"Tanjiro... you're dreaming right now, aren't you?"
A void in which he hears, with total clarity, voices speaking to each other with a melancholy and pain that makes his heart clench and his throat close.
P̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶e̶…?̶ ̶
.
.
.
̶I̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶e̶