Edited: 4/17/23. Chapters started out short, but as you move through the story, you will see them get longer. I am working on revising them all and editing them, so please be patient. Enjoy the reading lovelies. 

Sanemi grunted from his position on the ground. He noticed some of the other hashiras had similar reactions. The bastard is gone for eight days and suddenly it is a matter of life or death. As if. Sanemi had been on missions longer than a month before. Tomioka had been gone for eight days and the master decided to send another pillar after him. It infuriated Sanemi.

All the pillars had been gathered for a meeting, and when it became obvious that Tomioka wasn't going to show up, the master decided to send another pillar to find him, just to make sure he's still alive.

It was a pointless mission, in Sanemi's opinion.

He didn't understand why it was so important. Why he was kneeling on the floor whilst Tomioka was off doing whatever he wanted to do. Sanemi was almost entirely convinced that Tomioka simply hadn't wanted to come to the meeting. Maybe it's because he didn't have any friends among the pillars, or anyone in the corps for that matter. It wouldn't surprise Sanemi. Tomioka had skipped meetings before purely because he wasn't feeling up to it.

Sanemi scowled at the dirt ground, wondering why he was unable to stop thinking about the raven-haired man. 

"Rengoku, would you mind tracing Tomioka's footprints and trying to find him?" The master asked, his voice soft and polite. 

Rengoku didn't have any option other than to say yes. 

So that's what he did.

"Yes, I will find Tomioka and I will bring him back without fail!" He exclaimed loudly, causing Sanemi, who was sitting right next to him, to flinch and move away a little, much like Obanai on his other side.

Why is he so enthusiastic? He's literally going to rescue an emotionless loser, Sanemi thought, disgruntled.

Of course he didn't actually think of Tomioka as a loser.

Well, maybe he did just a little.

Who wouldn't?

In Sanemi's opinion, the man had no friends and refused to interact with anyone pretty much. He acted as if he was better than the other hashiras, and he refused to interact with any of them beyond the mandatory meetings.

The man was attractive, a secret Sanemi would take to the grave, and could probably have a wife already (or more, like Uzui) if he wasn't such a recluse. His personality was sure to put off other people. 

Sanemi held back the smile at the thought of the other man interacting with someone flirting with him, ignoring the uncomfortable churn in his stomach at the thought. 

Sanemi heard Ubuyashiki wishing Rengoku good luck on his journey and he heard the loud stomping sounds of Rengoku walking away.

He tuned out the rest of the meeting, only speaking when asked about his missions.

So far nobody had encountered one of the demon moons besides that Kamado boy, a while back and that was neither a good thing nor a bad thing.

When the meeting was dismissed, Sanemi stood up with cracking joints and started walking away.

He knew that Shinobu was following him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He assumed she would lose interest at one point if he made it obvious enough he wanted nothing to do with her. 

He continued walking until he left the estate and was making his way into the woods.

It was almost nightfall and he was hoping to blow some steam out on the poor demons who get in his way. His hand clutched his sword with morbid anticipation.

"Don't you think it's rude to ignore someone, Shinazugawa?" Shinobu called out in a sickeningly sweat tone, easily catching up to Sanemi and walked next to him.

He didn't acknowledge her and continued walking, his feet making loud crunching noises on the dead leaves littering the ground.

The best way to deal with Shinobu was to ignore her.

Something that Sanemi knew annoyed her, which is why he did it so much. He also found it amusing. 

He could practically feel the anger radiating off of her.

"Well that was rude," She said.

He ignored her once more.

He felt a pain going into his side and he grunted, grabbing his sword and glaring at Shinobu's elbow.

"Oh, are you going to cut my hand off because I elbowed you? Isn't that a little childish, Shinezugawa?" She said as she smiled, her eyes closed as she tilted her head sweetly. 

"Fuck off, Shinobu. I'm not in the mood." Sanemi said as he started walking again.

He heard her light footsteps following.

"Is it because your boyfriend is missing?" She said, her voice high-pitched. 

Sanemi started, turning around to glare at Shinobu, who had a wide shit-eating grin spread across her face, her teeth shining in the moonlight. 

"Tomioka, is not my boyfriend," he said, taking a breath between each word to make sure his point was able to be understood. 

She smiled, tilting her head to the side.

"Sure. Whatever you say," Shinobu said, her tone failing to hide her laughter.

Shinobu then walked by him and Sanemi assumed she was trying to bump him on the shoulder, but she couldn't quite reach his shoulder, and instead, bumped his arm.

Sanemi growled and walked past her.

They ended up competing for who could walk faster. They were steadily ignoring each other the entire time. 

It was a race to nowhere. Just two stubborn idiots trying to prove a point.

They had been racily each other rather pointlessly for twenty minutes by the time the moon was high in the sky. 

Shinobu had passed her patrol area, meaning she had to double back and go the opposite direction, which Sanemi counted as a win.

They both huffed as they began to separate.

As Sanemi started walking in the direction to his estate he heard his name get called.

"Sanemi," Shinobu said, looking at his direction, her signature smile nowhere to be seen.

His surprise at her sullen expression prompted his response. "What?" Sanemi responded, his tone curt as he looked down at her. 

"Do you think he's actually dead?" She asked, frowning. Shinobu looked uncharacteristically fragile. 

Sanemi stopped walking, the leaves under his feet crunching as he turned to face her completely. 

He knew exactly who she was talking about.

He never actually considered the possibility that Tomioka had actually died. He just assumed he either didn't want to go to the meetings or got lost on his way to the meetings. Every time. 

"No." Sanemi said through a clenched jaw, refusing to allow the thought to even cross his mind. 

He then jumped into the trees and started moving to his patrol location, his feet landing harshly on the tree branches as he moved through the woods.

As the wind moved his hair and stabbed at his face harshly, he kept thinking about what Shinobu said.

"Is it because your boyfriend is missing?"

Was she trying to be funny? Rude? Sarcastic?

With Shinobu there wasn't any way to tell. She was a master at hiding her true intentions, in any conversation. Everything she said could have multiple meanings. 

Sanemi highly doubted that she expected him to take it to heart and he was honestly surprised himself that he was thinking about it so much. And that he wasn't able to make the thought leave his mind. 

Him, dating the emotionally stunted recluse?

No way. It would never happen. Not in a million years.

So why couldn't Sanemi stop thinking about it?

◊◊◊

Two weeks passed without any word from Tomioka. Sanemi wasn't sure how he felt about it. 

Rengoku sent letters every now and then, talking about how he was getting closer, following trails that Tomioka had left behind.

Regardless, nothing was changing.

Sanemi continued to go on his patrols, he trained daily and ignored Genya's futile attempts at talking, and rekindling their relationship. 

It's for his own safety. Sanemi told himself.

He wanted to keep Genya as far away from the corps as possible. As far away from the blood thirsty demons that had destroyed their home. That had taken away their family. 

Then the idiot decided it would be smart to join the corps when he can't even use any breathing techniques.

It made Sanemi feel helpless. A weak, clammy feeling that he despised. He never wanted to feel helpless again.

So Sanemi started to distance himself even more from Genya. He ignored any attempts at conversation, he avoided Genya at every turn. If he even saw Genya, he would turn around and walk away, no matter how it hurt him. 

He figured that if demons could somehow figure out they were related, they could use it against the him and Genya could get hurt. Agin.

Shinobu was being slightly less annoying, probably because she had her hands full with the three demons in training who were now staying with her full time.

Sanemi frowned as he thought of Tanjiro.

It wasn't smart to let his sister live. She was liability, and so was Tanjiro, if his sister was allowed to live. There was no away to control her, or control him if something happened to her. 

Demons are cruel beings, and even if it appeared like she was in control now, she won't always be.

But there must have been something that made Tomioka vouch for her.

Sanemi just couldn't figure it out.

Tomioka was like a puzzle that Sanemi just couldn't seem to solve. No matter what he did, there was always a piece missing, and every time Sanemi tried to find it, it just moved further away. It frustrated Sanemi to no ends. What was it that made Tomioka the way he is? Tomioka himself was a question Sanemi refused to think about.

 It's not like Sanemi could just ask him. Not like he would, even if Tomioka was here. Sanemi would die before he asked Tomioka for anything. 

Sanemi felt leaves crunch under his feet as he moved through the woods. The crack of leaves was the only sound that filled the quiet, still air. 

He was on patrol currently and there was nothing interesting. He was bored out of his mind. He killed only one demon, the only one he saw, and it didn't even last a full minute against him when they fought. 

He scowled.

Sanemi was bored.

It was almost dawn, and he had been on an utterly useless patrol. It was a complete  waste of his time.

Sanemi was seriously considering going back to his house and just ditching the rest of his patrol for some much needed sleep. 

After all, what was going to change in the hour before sun came up?

Right at that moment, as if the world was challenging him, his crow flew up to him, with screeches so loud Sanemi's ears started to ring.

Sanemi needed to find a new crow. As soon as possible.

"Report to the Ubuyashiki residence immediately! Rengoku Kyojuro has found Tomioka Giyuu! Report to the Ubuyashiki residence immediately!"

What? Sanemi paused, staring at his crow in confusion.

Found? His eyebrows drew together as he frowned.

As in, he actually was lost? He hadn't just wandered away? Decided not to show up? 

Or did Rengoku just drag him here? Maybe he had simply decided to leave and Rengoku had found him at whatever house he owned, away from the demon slaying life.

Or, was Sanemi wrong and the man had gotten hurt? Had Tomioka been injured during a fight, and been unable to get help for the two weeks he had been missing? 

Was that possible? Was it possible that the entire time Tomioka had been harmed, waiting for someone to come help him, while he laid injured?

Sanemi turned around and started running at full speed towards the Ubuyashiki house. His breathing came out in harsh pants as he pushed himself to move faster than he had been all night, his thighs straining as he jumped from branch to bracnh. 

The scarred male leapt through the trees, and ignored the branches that snapped when hitting his arms, his chest, his face, and instead, focused on the adrenaline that was propelling him to where Tomioka was.

If he was at the house. Maybe he had been so injured he had to be moved immediately. 

He's probably at the house. The crow said he would be there, Sanemi told himself, pushing himself to move even faster.

Through the trees, he saw the house appear, peaking through the gaps between branches and he pushed himself to move even faster.

Only when he was able to see the front door to the house, did he allow himself to slow down, gulping in air as he tried to catch his breath. 

He jumped from the trees, land on the soft ground with an oomph, the dead leaves cracking under him. He wiped an arm across his brow, trying in vain to get rid of the sweat that clung to his forehead. 

He walked towards the gate, and right before he pushed it open, he heard rapidly approaching footsteps stop behind him, and the slight puff of air as someone tried to catch their breath, just as he had. 

He turned around and looked at Shinobu, whose hair was messy, falling out of its clip in chunks,  and had branches sticking out of it. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and she was breathing deeply, looking up at him between her lashes. 

Sanemi smirked down at her. 

"Were you that worried about him that you ran that fast to get here or was a demon chasing you? Tomioka might actually laugh when he hears that." Sanemi said, his lip curling as he bared his teeth down at her.

Shinobu glared at him, pursing her lips before she adopted a similar expression.

"You look the same, Shinazugawa. How many innocent trees did you murder on your rush to see your boyfriend?" She said, grinning at him, brushing her hair back as best as she could, whilst pulling out the various leaves that had gotten stuck in it. 

Sanemi scowled. How stupid we must look, he thought, snarling at each other in an empty forest. 

"I just happened to be in the area and finishing my patrol. So I just came here because I was bored." Not a complete lie, but not the truth.

Shinobu seemed to think the same thing, smiling as she walked past Sanemi and opened the gates. The gates opened with a loud creek. 

The both walked, a scowling Sanemi and a smiling Shinobu, his footsteps heavy and harsh, hers light and dainty. 

They walked into the main space where they have meetings, the trees hanging low with long shadows cast on the ground.

Sanemi stopped in his tracks when he saw the trail of blood along the floor. His heart rate increased as he followed the trail of blood, some of it in the shape of footprints, some of it just big splashes of red on the clean ground. 

He followed it all the way to where the master was sitting. 

Sanemi and Shinobu both drew their swords and ran to where their master was sitting, squinting as they tried to see through the little light available. 

They both stopped in their tracks when their eyes adjusted and they saw what was in front of them clearly.

Laying on the ground with his head on Ubuyashiki's lap, was a bloody and unconscious Tomioka.

His left ankle looked twisted painfully, laying at an unnatural angle and his pant leg was ripped up to his thigh, exposing a swollen knee and several cuts along his leg. He right leg had cuts and tears in the pants, blood soaking through the fabric. His shirt was completely ripped off, with several different burn marks and stab marks littering his abdomen. Sanemi assumed he had at least two broken ribs. 

His arms weren't in any better condition. His right arm had hand prints still on it, and his elbow looked dislocated. Two fingers were bent in ways that they shouldn't be, and his wrist was swollen. His left arm had bruises all over it, like the rest of his body, but these bruises looked thicker than anywhere else. His right collarbone was red and swollen.

Tomioka's eyes were clenched shut. His nose had dried blood under it and he had blood dripping from a cut on his face. His entire body was covered in various stages of black and blue, bruises littering the once unmarked pale skin.

The master was doing his best to press his hands harshly onto one of the deeper wounds on Tomioka's hip, blood coating the ground beneath them and the sleeves of Ubuyashiki's shirt. Even in the bare light, Sanemi was able to see the unnatural thinness of Tomioka, places where his bones were jutting out far too clearly against his skin. 

As Sanemi took in his disheveled form in disbelief, he swore he could hear Shinobu growling.

She cursed and then sat down beside Tomioka, reaching into a bag on her hip to take out some type of medication. Her hands were shaking as she pulled out a needle filled with a clear fluid and injected it into Tomioka's arm. 

Sanemi was vaguely aware of the other Hashiras filling the room, their gasps of shock and outrage the only sounds other than Shinobu's harsh breathing,  but he didn't acknowledge anyone.

He walked closer until he was right next to the raven, and he sat down silently, gazing at his still face the entire time. 

He grabbed Tomioka's small hand, noting how small it seemed in comparison to his own, how soft and fragile it appeared despite the years of holding a sword and wielding it during countless battles. 

He slowly brought the hand up to his face, ignoring the looks being thrown at him from the other Hashiras. Even Shinobu seemed to be confused and had stopped her first aid to cast him a curious look. 

Sanemi gently placed his lips in the palm of the hand he brought up, fuming. His head throbbed as he moved his gaze over Tomioka's broken body again. He was furious at himself for not going to look for Tomioka, for not realizing something was wrong, for believing his absence was just aloofness. 

His blood boiled as he took in the evident signs of torture. As he thought of all the ways you could break someones fingers, beat them, and reduce a person who seemed stronger than life itself to a small form on the ground, with small breathes rattling out. 

Sanemi hoped Rengoku hadn't killed the baster who harmed Tomioka yet. 

It was his job. And he planned to do it very thoroughly. 

Sanemi was going to enjoy ripping them to shreds.

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