Sabito Was Still Awake Too

Giyu's past was not actually complicated.

Simply put, he had lost both parents as a child and had depended on his older sister for years. But not long ago, the sister he had depended on had died a gruesome death at a demon's hands while protecting him, and he had withdrawn into himself completely.

He believed his own helplessness had caused his sister's death, and that someone as good as her should not have sacrificed herself for him.

Kanzaki Kumo already knew the broad outline from his memories of his previous life. He had merely learned more details from Makomo, while also confirming that he had not remembered anything incorrectly.

But Makomo had mixed quite a bit of her own emotion into the account this time, so telling it had taken about an hour in all.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Kumo. Thank you so much." Makomo pressed her palms together and thanked Kanzaki Kumo over and over.

"It's too early to thank me. I might not even come up with anything that works."

"Regardless, your willingness to help is already something to be grateful for. I won't keep you from resting, then. Good night."

"Yeah, good night."

After closing the door again, Kanzaki Kumo began to feel a headache coming on.

Actually, a case like Giyu's was not all that difficult to resolve, especially with memories of the original story to use as a reference.

The simplest and most effective way to make Giyu stop shutting himself away so much was to knock some sense into him.

But putting that method into practice had its difficulties. First, the person who struck him had to hold considerable weight in Giyu's heart, or it would have no effect at all. Second, the right words were needed to guide things toward a natural emotional breaking point, so that person could strike him naturally while also stirring Giyu's emotions, maximizing the "therapeutic effect" of this approach.

Having thought all this through, Kanzaki Kumo stood up, went outside, and headed toward Sabito's bedroom.

The reason was obvious: how could someone who had arrived less than a day ago possibly compare with Sabito, a senior fellow student who had already spent over a month with Giyu?

Moreover, Sabito had looked after Giyu as his senior fellow student soon after Giyu lost his sister. Surely Sabito already had a place in Giyu's heart.

Logically, Makomo, his senior fellow student, and Sakonji Urokodaki, his teacher, also carried considerable weight in Giyu's heart by now. But how could he leave something like this to a girl or an old man?

So, Sabito, I choose you!

Knock, knock, knock.

"Mm... who is it?"

Sabito got out of bed, still groggy.

"It's me, Kanzaki Kumo."

Sabito opened the door with bleary eyes and let Kanzaki Kumo inside first.

"What brings you here so late, Kanzaki?"

"It's about that junior fellow student of yours."

"Giyu? What happened to him?" The moment he heard it concerned his junior fellow student, Sabito perked up.

"Calm down. Nothing happened to him. What I'm about to tell you just has to do with him."

"Here's what happened. Makomo came to me earlier..."

Kanzaki Kumo briefly explained everything, from Makomo coming to him to the method he had thought up, along with his reasons for choosing Sabito as the best person to carry it out.

"That... might actually work." Sabito thought it over for a while and felt Kanzaki Kumo's method was feasible.

"But what would it take to make me unable to stop myself from hitting Giyu? My junior fellow student might act lifeless all day, but I'd still have a hard time bringing myself to hit him."

"That's what I need to worry about. And to make sure your emotions come out naturally enough, I won't tell you the specifics beforehand." Kanzaki Kumo shook his head.

"Then... why did you come to see me so late, Kanzaki?" Only then did Sabito realize that knowing Kanzaki Kumo's plan seemed entirely useless. Whether he was told about it or not would make no difference to what followed.

"Oh, that? Obviously, it was so I wouldn't be the only one staying up this late tonight," Kanzaki Kumo replied as though it were perfectly reasonable.

Kanzaki Kumo: utterly, invincibly self-righteous.jpg

Sabito: ???

"Kanzaki, I have an idea." Sabito lowered his head slightly, his voice a little dark.

"Hmm?"

"Before I beat up Giyu, can I practice on you?" When Sabito raised his head again, his gaze had turned somewhat dangerous as he eyed Kanzaki Kumo with ill intent.

"If you think you can manage it, go ahead and try." Kanzaki Kumo spread his hands.

"..."

"See yourself out. I hope you have nightmares tonight!"

Sabito pushed Kanzaki Kumo out of his bedroom. Kanzaki Kumo did not resist, and instead looked back and said, "I'm afraid that wish of yours won't come true. I sleep perfectly well. I rarely even dream, let alone have nightmares."

But Sabito no longer wanted to hear Kanzaki Kumo speak, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

I'm suddenly starting to understand Dongpo. Looking up at the stars filling the sky, Kanzaki Kumo made the joke to himself before returning to the guest room to sleep. He already had an idea for a specific plan, but naturally, he could not put it into action in the middle of the night. Everything would have to wait for the right moment.

That night, Kanzaki Kumo slept exceptionally well. Sure enough, what should you do when you could not sleep? Just drag a "sleepless" friend into a chat. Dongpo had not deceived him.

Sabito: (#｀皿´)

"Kanzaki, my boy, I'll demonstrate the Water Breathing sword techniques for you first. Memorize the movements, and then I'll slowly teach you their essential principles."

In the middle of the courtyard, Sakonji Urokodaki said this to Kanzaki Kumo, then began to move.

"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash."

"Second Form: Water Wheel."

"..."

"Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow."

"Tenth Form: Constant Flux."

Water Breathing truly deserved its reputation as the Breathing Style with the lowest barrier to entry. Because it had the most practitioners, it also had the most sword forms of any Breathing Style currently in the Demon Slayer Corps. Moreover, Water Breathing's sword techniques combined offense and defense, allowed both advance and retreat, and were balanced in every respect.

That was precisely what characterized Water Breathing.

As the final strike fell, Sakonji Urokodaki stood in place, breathing somewhat heavily. He was a little older than Jigoro Kuwajima, and now even performing the full set of Water Breathing sword forms in one go left him somewhat tired.

But although aging had greatly diminished his physical capabilities, decades of muscle memory allowed him to execute every movement with exact precision. Through his Super Vision, Kanzaki Kumo could clearly discern a difference between Urokodaki's swordsmanship and Makomo's.

It was the refinement of every instant of every movement, honed and worked out through battle after battle.

"Well, Kanzaki, my boy?"

"Very exquisite techniques. Every movement has been honed through one actual battle after another to suit you best, Master Urokodaki. Just what I'd expect of a former Water Hashira."

"How much did you learn?"

"Give me a moment."

Kanzaki Kumo took up the Wooden Sword and began going through the movements as well.