He's going to work.
Go find that damn quack doctor, and then, with your own hands, twist his head off.
This should have been an epic prelude to a campaign, filled with tragedy and determination.
However, reality always seems to deliver a harsh, life-affirming slap in the face at the most inopportune moment.
"Stop right there!"
A crisp, yet furious roar came from behind him.
Giyu Tomioka stopped in his tracks.
He slowly turned around.
The Sabito on the bed, who had just been hiding her face under the covers, looking utterly ashamed, was now staring at him with an extremely grief-stricken and indignant gaze.
She struggled to sit up in bed, her delicate hands gripping the sheets tightly, the veins on the back of her hands bulging.
However, this completely unfamiliar body, belonging to a young girl, was clearly not yet adapted to her wild soul, which belonged to the Water Hashira.
With just a slight exertion, she felt a dizzying sensation, her limbs went weak, and she uncontrollably fell towards the edge of the bed.
"Careful!"
Almost instinctively, Giyu Tomioka rushed forward and reached out to help her.
"Don't touch me!!"
The Sabito let out a shriek and used all its strength to dodge to the side.
Then...
"Bang!"
She landed squarely on the tatami mat with a perfectly executed face-first fall.
The room fell into a deathly silence once again.
Shinobu Kocho's shoulders began to tremble violently and uncontrollably again.
Kanae Kocho's smile grew even gentler and more serene.
Giyu Tomioka's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, his face showing utter innocence and bewilderment.
"I... I'm fine..."
Sabito lay on the ground, struggling, propping herself up with her elbows. Her beautiful peach-colored short hair was disheveled and stuck to her cheeks, which were flushed red with humiliation.
She raised her head, her beautiful eyes already brimming with tears of humiliation.
But her eyes remained stubborn, like a lone wolf that refused to submit.
"Giyu! Listen up!"
She gritted her teeth and said, word by word,
"That bastard! That quack! I'm the one who ran into him! I must settle this score with my own hands!"
"So! You're not going anywhere! Stay right here!"
"Wait for me... wait for me to adjust a little... then I'll go and kill him myself!"
Giyu Tomioka frowned slightly as he looked at her, who was clearly too weak to even stand up, yet still stubbornly insisted that she could take on Muzan.
You can't do it.
"... ha?"
I said, you can't do it.
Giyu Tomioka repeated it, his eyes filled with utmost seriousness.
"In your current state, let alone facing an Upper Rank fighter, even against an ordinary A-Rank fighter, your chances of winning wouldn't exceed 30%."
"So,"
"You idiot who can't tell the difference in strength between us and the enemy, then stay here obediently and start training again."
"Don't go out, you'll only cause trouble."
Giyu Tomioka felt that what he said made perfect sense and was very logical.
He pointed out the objective fact that the opponent's current strength was insufficient, and also gave the reasonable suggestion of "retraining".
Finally, he also expressed his deep and great friendship, showing that he wanted to bear everything alone and was unwilling to let his friend be in danger.
He is simply the most considerate and reliable friend in the world!
He had even begun to imagine how Sabito would be moved to tears after hearing his wise and caring "sharp tongue," and then obediently stay here to recover from its injuries.
However~
Reality, once again, delivered an even louder... slap in the face.
After hearing his words, Sabito was completely stunned.
"... What did you say?"
Her voice was trembling.
Seeing Giyu Tomioka so devastated appearance, a hint of doubt flashed through his mind.
Haven't I made myself clear enough?
So, based on the noble principle of "friends for life, whoever dies first is a dog," he decided to add one more sentence.
What I mean is, you're very weak right now.
"Boom!!"
The last straw that broke the camel's back has fallen.
"Tomioka Giyu!"
A scream powerful enough to lift a roof, filled with boundless rage, exploded with a deafening roar!
From somewhere unknown, a terrifying, primordial power erupted from Sabito's originally limp and powerless body!
She sprang up from the ground with a "whoosh," like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and whose fur had completely bristled. She pointed at Giyu Tomioka's nose and started cursing!
"You bastard! You ungrateful wretch!"
Are you mocking me?! Huh?!
Are you mocking me for looking like this?!
"Do you think that just because I've become a woman, I'm useless?! That I'll only cause you trouble?!?!"
"Let me tell you! Even if I turned into a woman, I'd still be a hundred times, a thousand times, better than you, that expressionless guy who can only pretend to be cool!"
She was trembling with anger, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
Giyu Tomioka was completely dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the "girl" in front of him, who was crying and cursing and whose fighting power was comparable to Godzilla. Once again, his brain was buzzing with unbearable stress.
Wait a minute...
That's not how the script was written...
I just wanted her to recover properly, why did it turn into me mocking her for becoming a woman?
Is there any necessary, logical connection between these two things?
"Ara, ara, Sabito... Senior Sister? Don't be so angry. Girls get wrinkles when they're angry."
Just as the atmosphere in the room was about to turn into a scene of "close friends turning against each other and bloodshed on the spot," never to return.
A voice, as gentle as heavenly music, so tender it could melt water, rang out.
Kanae Kocho smiled, walked over to Sabito who was so angry she was about to explode, and gently patted her back to calm her down.
Then, she looked up at her with eyes full of understanding and care, and said softly:
"Mr. Giyu is just not very good at talking, don't take it to heart."
"Actually, I don't think being a girl is a bad thing."
Her words were like a clear spring, temporarily extinguishing Sabito's soaring rage.
"Look,"
Kanae took her slender hand, her face displaying a gentle, persuasive smile.
"Your body is now more supple and lighter than before."
"The sweeping, powerful sword techniques of Water Breathing are indeed no longer suitable for you."
"But isn't this also a perfect opportunity for you to try a completely new Breathing Style that's better suited to your current body?"
Sabito was stunned; she seemed to think that Kanae's words made some sense.
Seeing her thoughtful expression, Kanae's smile grew even brighter and warmer.
Then, in a seductively sweet voice, she delivered her final, truly "divine" piece of advice...
"For example, our Flower Breathing."
"Look, the sword techniques of Flower Breathing are light, elegant, and full of beauty. They perfectly bring out the flexibility of your body to its fullest potential."
"If you'd like, I can teach you personally, step by step, for free, Sabito- chan~"
"..."
The Sabito's body froze.
The expression on her face froze.
She slowly lowered her head, looked at her flat chest, and then slowly raised her head, looking at Kanae's astonishingly large and magnificent bosom.
Then, an image uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.
She herself was dressed in a pink team uniform with a bow, exuding a girlish charm, and held a Nichirin Blade decorated with flowers in her hand.
On the battlefield, he spun around in circles, chanting "Flower Breathing - Fifth Form - Peonies of Futility"...
"Puff--!"
A mouthful of old blood—no, a mouthful of a young girl's blood—sprayed out of her mouth in a violent gushing motion.
"Sabito--!"
"Oh no! She's so angry she's vomited blood!"
"Quick! Shinobu! Get the first-aid kit!"
The room erupted into chaos in an instant.
Outside the door.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki listened quietly to the vibrant noise in the room. Finally, a relieved, faint smile appeared on his face, which had been etched with worry.
"Just being alive is good enough."
He said softly.
Then, he turned to Giyu Tomioka, who had been silent since the beginning, and gave the final instruction in his gentle yet authoritative voice.
"Giyu."
"Yes."
"The task of hunting down Upper Rank Seven is now entirely entrusted to you."
"All of the Demon Slayer Corps' resources will be directed towards you. The rest of the team will provide full support to your rear."
"Go, my child."
"Don't disappoint me."
"Yes!"
Giyu Tomioka accepted this heavy mission.
Then, he stood up, glanced at the room that was now in complete chaos, and without the slightest hesitation, turned around, transformed into a blue afterimage, and instantly disappeared into the forest.
If he didn't leave soon, he was afraid he would get so angry that he would vomit blood.