I saw a post once that entertained the idea of Tsutako being in the background of Sanemi’s hometown in the anime, and it got me thinking about a sanegiyuu childhood meet cute.
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- When Giyuu was 13, he took a trip with Tsutako to a neighboring city where her fiancé had come from
- Though Giyuu was a much friendlier person as a child, he was still quiet, reserved and nervous. As a result, being in a bigger city was overwhelming and he struggled to keep up with Tsutako as they walked
- Before they could reach her fiancé’s home, Giyuu was separated from her in a crowd
- Without any people skills to speak of or the confidence to ask for help, Giyuu let the crowd swallow him up until he found a small spot he could cower in
- He ended up hiding under the stairs of a shrine where nobody could see him. He cried so quietly, nobody could possibly hear him either, but a boy did miraculously find him
- The boy was strikingly beautiful with stark white hair and piercing eyes. His presence made Giyuu stop crying almost immediately, but only because he was mesmerized.
- When the boy spoke, he was blunt and sort of rude but Giyuu hung onto every word he said as if he was a kind spirit come to save him
- “You cry like my little siblings,” he observed. It was a simple, random sort of thing to say but it perplexed Giyuu so much that he didn’t cry any longer
- Giyuu learned that this particular shrine is where the boy would find one of his brothers hiding, so when he saw Giyuu curled up, he thought something might’ve happened to him
- Giyuu reluctantly explained he was separated from Tsutako while visiting. In truth, he wasn’t sure if he should trust a stranger but they were clearly of a similar age and that put him at ease compared to an adult
- The boy gave Giyuu a small canteen of water before they could continue because the crying had obviously overwhelmed him. He then asked for the fiancé’s name, which he scowled upon hearing, surprisingly knowing the person
- “Is that bad?” Giyuu nervously asked
- “He’s one of the sons of our landlord,” the boy explained, “He’s fine. His family’s a buncha dicks.”
- Profanities aside, Giyuu asked if he could lead him there, and the boy agreed
- “What did his family do?” Giyuu asked on the way
- “Their kid brother said some shit about my family bein’ too big and my brother got into a fight with him about it.”
- “How big is your family?”
- “Nine of us. I have six siblings.”
- Giyuu learned that his mother had just given birth, which prompted the rude comment from their landlord’s son. He also had a father who he didn’t want to talk about on account of him angering some violent people
- Though the boy didn’t seem terribly interested in prying into Giyuu’s life, he still asked, “What about you?”
- “I just have my sister. My parents died when I was young.”
- “Lucky you have a sister.”
- “Yes… I’m Giyuu, by the way.”
- For a moment, the boy looked hesitant to give anymore details about himself, but must’ve decided he doesn’t have much to lose.
- “Sanemi.”
- On the way to the landlord’s home, it began to rain so Sanemi pulled Giyuu aside near a food stall to wait it out.
- Giyuu, as luck would have it, did have a small amount of money on him and suggested they share a meal.
- Sanemi agreed, not letting on that he rarely has enough money to ever eat out. However, Giyuu became curious when Sanemi awkwardly held his food at his side and wouldn’t take a bite.
- He didnt want to admit it, but his plan was to pocket whatever Giyuu bought him to bring home to his family. He wasn’t going to tell Giyuu, but the boy’s earnest, honest face pulled it out of him
- In response, Giyuu bought him another and asked that he feed himself as well
- When Sanemi finally did eat, Giyuu smiled for the first time. It flustered Sanemi, who quickly learned he couldn’t handle a pretty face
- When the rain ended, people came flooding to the streets in overwhelming numbers that scared Giyuu again
- To reassure him, Sanemi grabbed his hand and returned his earlier smile, promising he’ll be okay as long as they stick together
- Giyuu took to Sanemi with awe. The crowd was still scary, but Giyuu grounded himself in the feeling of his companion’s hand and trusted his word.
- Eventually they did find themselves at the landlord’s house. Most of the family was out looking for Giyuu, but luckily Tsutako stayed and was there to greet him.
- This was also a relief to Sanemi, who wasn’t sure he would be able to resist driving his fist into the face of the boy who fought with Genya
- Sanemi intended to leave with no commotion, just an odd empty feeling at the notion of leaving his new acquaintance, but Giyuu stopped him
- “Thank you for helping me,” he said with much more confidence than the first time he spoke. “You’re very kind, Sanemi.”
- Sanemi, flustered, shrugged and promised it was no problem. “Couldn’t just leave ya there…”
- “Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
- When Giyuu said this, he held onto the hope that because Tsutako new husband had close ties to Sanemi’s, they would surely meet again one day
- It was hard to explain but Giyuu felt drawn to Sanemi, like he was a special person he was meant to meet
- Of course, he couldn’t predict the tragedy that would befall both of them
- Years later, long after Tsutako and the Shinazugawa family were murdered, Sanemi was welcomed into the Hashira and finally met Giyuu again
- Only this time, he was quiet and cold. He didn’t give any indication that he remembered Sanemi and didn’t have any of the kindness he was full of as a child. Sanemi decided that he must’ve turned into a conceited ass with no time for the little people, he probably didn’t even remember him.
- But it was impossible for Giyuu to forget who Sanemi was. Even under all the scars and curses, he was still the boy who saved him that day. But Giyuu knew they had fundamentally changed as people, and clearly Sanemi wanted nothing to do with him any longer
- Unfortunately for them, the draw remains there no matter how far apart they try to drift.
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