Work Text:
Sanemi just couldn’t stop staring.
Who- who the fuck even was that?! A green-patterned haori, wide scar stretching over his cheek, aiding a snarky smile and peach hair tied the same way as their resident Water Hashira, whom he was standing next to near the edge of the courtyard. The buttons on his uniform signified his rank shouldn’t allow him to even be at the Ubuyashiki Mansion during the Hashira Meeting, which would commence in about ten minutes.
“Who is that?” Obanai sneered. “And why would he willingly stay around Tomioka?”
“He also isn’t a hashira.” Muichirou noted.
“Ara, it’s still nice to see someone willing to poke at Tomioka-san as well!” Shinobu smiled. “Nice to know I’m not alone.”
“He thinks he’s better than us, bringing a non-hashira in here and breaking the rules?” Sanemi cracked his knuckles. “He ain’t allowed to break the rules! It’s hashira-only for Hashira Meetings, unless specified by the Oyakata-sama.”
“He could have permission.” Gyomei defended. “We should simply ask instead of gossip.”
“Other guy looks flamboyant, though!” Tengen striked a pose. “If he was a hashira.”
“Well- maybe we shouldn’t be mean!” Mitsuri fidgeted. “There could be a story!”
“The only story we need is that he is not a hashira, and present during a hashira meeting!” Kyojuro exclaimed. “Mitsuri, you may be the newest hashira, but there is almost no excuse for that rule!”
“Didn’t you break that rule too, Rengoku?” Sanemi spat.
“It was one time!” Kyojuro grinned. “Then I became a hashira myself!”
“Yes, but Tomioka-san is also present.” Shinobu reminded.
“I’m not letting it happen, I’m not letting it happen.” Obanai shook his finger, Kaburamaru nodding along.
“Oh, hello everyone.” Sanemi looked over as the duo they were gossiping about walked over.
“Who are you?” Muichirou tilted his head.
“I am Tomioka Giyuu, the Water Hashira.” Giyuu reintroduced. “This is my friend Sabito.”
There was a collective silence as the information went through the other hashira’s brains, before exploding into a flurry of shouts and pestering questions. Shinobu’s little teasing, Tengen’s loud surprise, Kyojuro’s joyful slap on the back, Mitsuri’s excited squeals, and Obanai and Sanemi’s shocked yelling.
After some time of Giyuu trying to cater to all the other hashira, and Sabito’s loud chatting, Gyomei had enough. The most powerful Demon Slayers of the generation all jumped as the strongest of them all clapped his hands together and almost physically shook the ground. “Namu-amida-butsu.” He apologized. “What are you doing here, Sabito?”
“Oh, Giyuu can’t attend the meeting.” Sabito leaned on Giyuu’s shoulder, despite being shorter. “Some whispers of an Uppermoon at the southern ports, so he’s gonna run for it before the opportunity can slip away.”
Sanemi’s eye twitched for some reason as Giyuu kept holding Sabito’s weight. The others also looked dumbfounded at the use of their coworker’s bottom name. Just how close were the two? If they really were close, then why did none of the others seem to know about them?
“I’m… sorry, Sabito, but what is your relationship with Tomioka-san?” Shinobu asked. “I wasn’t aware you two were in acquaintance.”
“I’m his ex.” Sabito shrugged, answering instantly. Giyuu’s normally monotone face turned into a slightly tired glare towards his pink-haired friend, who winked playfully back at the memory of a single week when they were thirteen. Sanemi broke the porcelain cup he was holding in his hand.
“I’d better get going…” Giyuu shrugged Sabito off of him, who complained about not having an armrest. “You’re my armrest, Sabito.”
The other eight hashira simply watched the interaction, the strange slayer daring to defy a hashira and Giyuu shooting right back, speaking more words than he did in all of his Hashira Meetings combined.
“I seriously have to go now.” After another couple minutes, Giyuu was attempting to kick Sabito off his leg, to which the slayer was hanging onto. “Remember to-”
“Light the wisteria incense, lock all the doors, water the plants, check on the kids, and write down anything important in the meeting.” Sabito rehearsed dully, listing it all off on his fingers. “Got it.”
“I’ll send a crow, okay?” A small smile decorated the Water Hashira’s pretty face as Sabito unwillingly and slowly let go, letting the hashira fix his uniform. “Don’t forget about the plants.”
“Got it, got it.” Sabito hefted himself up. “Don’t die.”
Giyuu laughed for a second. “Which one of us is the hashira here?”
“Stop rubbing it in my face,” whined Sabito, “you’re already taller than me, what more do you want?”
Giyuu just grinned cheekily in response. Several faces heated up, and even more jaws dropped to the ground. “See you, Sabito.”
“I- I’ll be waiting!” Sabito enthusiastically waved goodbye with his entire hand, watching until Giyuu shut the gate and walked away after a small hand movement back to his friend. Sabito turned around to see the hashira frozen in that position.
“You okay?” Sabito raised an eyebrow.
“Um… who the fuck are you?” Tengen whispered huskily, pointing a shaky finger at the man.
“I’m… Sabito?” He repeated. “Giyuu’s friend?”
“Oh, so he does have friends!” Shinobu attempted to lighten the mood. “He never says anything.”
“Anything at all.” Mitsuri nodded.
“We are often concerned that he is lonely!” Kyojuro added. Iguro slapped his forehead.
“Oh, more decorative dolls.” Muichirou mumbled.
“You’re friends with that pretentious fucker?!” Sanemi growled.
“Okay, so maybe throwing a party with a thousand people invited is a bit pretentious but-” Sabito started.
The other hashira started screaming about that whole mess, and Sanemi choked on his own spit.
“What else has he done?!” Tengen demanded. “He never talks about himself!”
“Uh, okay, we… almost went on the titanic?” Sabito shrugged. “We flew to Britain, and got a tour, but didn’t actually sail on it.”
All of their jaws dropped, though Iguro had the sense to ask. “You got flown to a foreign country?!”
“What?” Sabito’s smile went lopsided. “No, Giyuu flew us there.”
They didn’t feel it physically possible to make their jaws drop further, but they somehow did. Next, Kyojuro confirmed it. “He can fly an airplane?”
“Uh, yeah?” Sabito shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s never told you?”
“No!” Mitsuri gasped. “Is that your normal Tomioka-san?!”
“What’s your normal Giyuu?” Sabito countered.
There were faint mutterings around, which Sanemi could pick up as ‘loser’ or ‘loner’ from what he could tell. Others included ‘unsociable’ or ‘quiet’ and around those types of words. It was Sabito’s turn to be shocked. “Dude, what? Giyuu’s always the absolute life of the party. I was shocked I had to do so much talking here today.”
“He is definitely not the conversation starter here.” Gyomei decided to say.
“I mean, he always said he didn’t mix his work and personal life, but this is…” Sabito exhaled deeply. “Damn. You’ve all just thought he’s a loser?”
They all took turns being slightly ashamed, before Sabito chuckled. “I’d sell my soul to see Giyuu let people make fun of him! One time, this yakuza tried to rob him when he didn’t have his sword, knives and everything, but Giyuu just beat all seventeen of them up with his bare hands! He really lets you poke at him like that?! He must really like all of you.”
Some of them sported more guilty looks as Sabito wiped tears from his eyes, clutching his stomach.
“So you’ve been friends long?” Muichirou questioned.
“Oh, since kids.” Sabito nodded. “He really was a lil cutie. Too bad he grew up to be smoking hot.”
Sanemi grinded his teeth angrily. “Don’t you think you should give hashira a bit more respect?”
Sabito groaned, leaning onto the Wind Hashira’s shoulder instead of Giyuu’s. The other hashira started to slowly back away as if Sanemi was a time bomb, just based off of the foaming from the mouth. “We’re basically equals in power, he just got to hashira level first by chance.”
“It’s clearly not chance if he’s the hashira.” Shinobu pointed out. “He defeated a kizuki first?”
“Basically,” Sabito agreed, “but we both did, in the span of a week. He just made a new form for Water Breathing and got promoted.”
They all took a collective backtrack. “Tomioka made a new form for Water Breathing?” Kyojuro wondered aloud.
“Huh? You didn’t know?” Sabito pushed his weight off of the white-haired hashira. “Yeah. Only five Water Breathers can use it, including me and him.”
“An Eleventh Form…” Iguro mused. “Huh.”
“Oyakata-sama…” two almost identical voices interfered with the hashira’s shocked revelation about Giyuu. “... has arrived.”
Oyakata-sama slowly got led out of the door by the two girls who’d called out to them, taking small steps to the edge of the engawa as all nine of them bowed deeply. A serene smile made its way onto his face as he took a breath, sighing loudly and lifting his face upwards. “Good morning, everyone. The weather is amazingly good today.”
He gave a serene smile. “I would suppose that you have all acquainted yourselves with Sabito, who will be taking over Giyuu’s position for this meeting.”