#alive sabito au

[xxlady-lunaxx]

I LOVE THEM (im so happy w how sabito turned out :3 i dont draw him a lot but i managed this w/o reference hehe)

[applepie-enthusiast]

Sabito: you ever wanna talk about feelings, Shinazugawa?

Sanemi: No.

Giyuu: I do.

Sabito: I know, Giyuu.

Giyuu: I'm sad.

Sabito: I know, Giyuu.

[octoooo]

More silly sabibun doodles

I’m trying to use my older crankier laptop for art

Ibis paint was..fine? Barely. Maybe it’s my laptop or canvas size that makes it lag a little, also there’s ads

Flip a Clip is good for animating in my experience, but not being able to use the buttons on my drawing tablet really slows down the process for me.

[nerosdayinanime]

One in a million

"TANJIRO!" screamed at the top of his lungs, the dark haired boy whipped around to look at him.

"YOU HAVE TO!-" cut off against his will as he watched the world fly sideways- Tanjiro's horrified eyes meeting his through the spray of blood. The indescribable feeling of the top half of his head hitting the dirt and rubble below- broken registering of his body following suit, collapsing to the ground. The world blurred with red and fading screams, input to cells that don't have the capacity to decipher.

Fade to nothing.

He shot up with a choked gasp, phantom memories of his head sliced in half by that fucking monster- Green. Grass. Dirt, twigs, bugs- sound. The quiet rustle of the leaves- shifting fabric and- something behind him.

"Giyuu?" questioned so softly, with so much reverence. He whipped around- pink hair and wisteria eyes staring into his.

He breathed, "Sabito-" time slowed as he couldn't throw himself into the other's arms fast enough, mutual need to hold eachother tight so the dream wouldn't fade and take him with it. Giyuu breathed, mind reeling from the too-sudden shift of everything-

so, it shut off.

He breathed.

He felt the chest against his rise and fall in tune with the breath puffing against his neck, as they sat, on their knees, holding eachother so tightly it made his arms ache. The phantom tang of blood stuck in his nose, drowned out by the subtle scent of mint and grass, the feel of hair tickling his nose as he breathed.

The world's too-bright colors and too-sharp definition dimmed and faded to something that didn't melt his eyes, he shifted and dropped his head to sabito's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" rasped quietly into his hair, hands fisted in the back of his haori relaxing to run in soothing circles along his back.

His throat felt raw, "I could ask the same of you."

A short huff, "Well.. it was slow this time. Always the worst."

He hummed in agreement as Sabito continued, "Fought Akaza, at the Mugen Train. I had an idea that didn't work out… Rengoku and the kids were fine but- …not like i can do anything more for them now." He could feel the regret dripping from his words, trailing quieter until he was the only person who could've heard.

He wracked his brain for a quick glimpse at the carnage before he woke- remembering brought dread as he realized what he'd done.

"I doomed them." thought leaving his lips without his permission, "Tanjiro didn't learn from akaza!- I didn't- wasn't thinking!- tried to tell him!" he rushed, stumbling over his own tongue as he shook.

Sabito pulled back, "Hey!- hey, hey." pushing giyuu back to hold his face. "Breathe.. let it slide over. Stop trying to stand. You can rest now." Giyuu stared into his firm gaze, letting Sabito's voice be the loudest thing in his own head. Rough palms cupping his cheeks, the warmth that emanates from them, the thrum of blood where its supposed to be. He stared as the regret and guilt and self-hatred rushed over him like an avalanche, crashing with fury uncontained before it ebbed to aching desolation, surrendered to simply pool around him. Years, and years, and years, and years of it flooding his little clearing, saturating the earth, dirt long turned to mud at the bottom of a lifeless stagnant pond. He floats, among the debris stirred from the latest break of the dam. Flipped from floating face down, breathing the mucky water, drowning in his own failure- instead a tender hold keeping his head above the surface.

He breathes.

Hot tears track down his face, gently wiped away with the pad of a thumb, soothing nothings muttered between their foreheads pressed together. It hurts, so so much, the warmth and wet forming clouds before his very eyes. Hes so relieved, so distraught, so confused. Sabito doesn't let go of him, and he knows he wont until the water's settled again, until he can stand on his own again.

[kozmicmizuu]

a thought just like- popped into my head rn

so like- alive makomo and sabito right?? banger au and all that

one thing that is very common in the aus is that if giyuu was like, being berated and teased by anyone, sabito would usually be the first to be like “leave him alone” or something. even though giyuu is more than capable of defending himself, he’s just a sassy guy who does NOT give a fuck

but, i feel like makomo would be the one to immediately defend giyuu.

she’s already done that before in canon when the hand demon insulted and laughed at urokodaki and the previous students (that did get her killed tho)

she would be so ready to jump someone for her best buddy giyuu (sabito would join dw)

- - - - -

giyuu, ranting about how obanai called him ‘rat faced’: yeahhh, it didn’t hurt that badly, not that i care about it much

sabito: giyuu, you really need to stand up for yourself more often—

makomo: where does he live.

giyuu and sabito: no

- - - - -

i’m so normal about them

[mariuniverses]

Okay but hunger games au where District 7 Giyuu is reaped when he’s 13. Not only that but he’s reaped with his older sister Tsutako, who was 17. A tragedy to send two siblings, but the capital eats up those tragedies. Tsutako vows to take care of Giyuu in the arena.

The arena is basically an island in the middle of the ocean. Luckily they grew up near a lake so they know how to swim and fish fairly well, not as good as the kids from district 4, but they’re better off those from the landlocked districts. They get far into the games by staying hidden, but that never last long. As the days go by and the tributes drop the island sinks slowly into the ocean. With not much land to hide in they get attacked. They manage to make it into top 3. Tsutako knows there could only be one person who gets out there alive, so she drags the other surviving tribute down with her into the ocean.

Giyuu comes out of the games obviously very traumatized. He’s the first victor of the district, meaning he’ll be mentoring the next tribute alone at the mere age of 14. It’s a kid his age, Sabito. He honestly doesn’t know how to help the kid, he only scraped by because of his sister, but Sabito is strong, he’s capable. They become quite close in those 3 days. Sabito tells him to not beat himself up over his sister’s death. She sacrificed herself for him to live, it was a message to the capital. That they wouldn’t break her and force her to kill her own brother. He says he has no intention of dying in that arena, nor becoming a puppet for the capital.

Giyuu believes him. Sabito survives for a while, he gains a lot of sponsors like medicine and food. He makes it to the top 2, against a boy from 1. Sabito is quick, but the boy from 1 is stronger. He crushes Sabito’a skull with his bare hands. Giyuu watches in horror. He tries his best to stay together, that next year he’ll get his tribute out of the games to train them better. But each year it’s repeat, it slowly chips away at him. Each year he gains more blood on his hands as his tributes die. They’re always so close but are taken out at the very last second. He becomes quite a shell of a man, he tries his best to suppress his feelings about the games, all his guilt, all his sadness, all his rage. He doesn’t want to show the capital that it affected him. He also didn’t want to show the tributes who he was supposed to take care of any weakness either. He tries his best to not care for them, never getting close. It makes tributes think that he doesn’t care about them, until they receive so many sponsors in the arena. Because as much as he tries not to care, he’s not going to just let them die.

5 years after he wins his game, he’s 17. This years tribute is a tiny girl, who was 15. Shinobu, who volunteered for her older sister Kanae who was 17. He didn’t believe it when it happened, he’s convinced this girl is crazy. He tries not to feel hopeful, a girl with this drive could surely get through the games if it was just mental, but she’s tiny, small, and weak. She wouldn’t survive.

She hates his attitude. She’s scared for her life too, but the games weren’t all about brute strength. She shows high intelligence. She knows herbs and plants very well. She knows which are poisonous, which are safe to eat, and some that can even relieve pain and heal wounds. She makes it to the top 3. Giyuu tries not to have expectations. He’s been there before. She’s a favorite, but not the one most people bet on winning. She’s cornered by a boy from district one, Douma, a cruel boy who took pleasure in the games. He has her pinned to a wall, chocking her with his hands. She’s close to passing out when she manages to reach for the knife she tucked in her boot and stabs him in the stomach. He flinches, it doesn’t kill him as it’s a tiny dagger, as he’s laughing at her he starts spewing out blood. His grip weakens and she’s able to catch her breath. She reveals she had coated the knife with a poison that kills when entered into your bloodstream.

She becomes the first female victor of 7. Giyuu is awed. They get closer as they mentor more tributes, and lose tributes. She learns about his story, she shares how she volunteered because it her sister’s last year to be eligible for reaping. Her sister was the best person she knew, she would do anything for her. They both hate the capital run by president Muzan, she’s especially more loud about it. She only dials it back when Muzan kills her sister. He obviously makes it look like an accident and as a warning to her as she has other sisters. It makes her blood boil, but she likes Giyuu learns to mask it. She’s smart woman, the time isn’t right yet.

That is until the day Nezuko is reaped. And her brother Tanjiro volunteers so he can help his sister. He vows that he will get both of them out.

Okay I need to stop😭

[silverynight]

This is basically just a bunch of yapping about my rewrite kny au.

Nezuko and Tanjirou are twins to like parallel them with the Tsugikuni twins. Tanjirou is much closer with Giyuu and Urokodaki than in canon

Nezuko talks and she learned water breathing, she wears the corps uniform with her kimono and haori over it. She doesn't talk alot but she always talks rather clearly and maturely. She still doesn't remember her family's deaths, so she thought everyone was her family. For the hashira, she views them like this (Kie=Shinobu, Tanjuro=Rengoku, Sanemi=Takeo, Mitsuri=Hanako, Obanai=Rokuta). Also, thought of the idea where the kamado family all had enhanced senses. So far I thought of, Tanjiro=Smell, Takeo=Touch, Shigeru=Taste, Hanako=Sight, and Rokuta=Hearing. Meaning, she'd probably see alot of her family in the Kamaboko squad.

Tanjirou is the same, but he's more so visibly suffering. He is pretty much denying his family's deaths until Mugen train, and damn did he get angry at Enmu. He takes a while to forgive the hashira for wanting his sister dead, he knows it's their job. But honestly, hearing people describe ways to brutally murder the only living relative you have, will tick people off.

Tanjirou loses it during swordsmith village arc when Nezuko seemingly dies, seriously like Rip Hantengu. He's really kind but he's done with everyone's shit. Patience of a saint? Not anymore. Probably kicked Sanemi in the ribs for what he did to Genya.

He sees ghosts more like seriously. He sees Kanae, Masachika wondering around sometimes, Sabito, Makomo, HIS FAMILY. the ghosts of his family is more or less why he thought they were alive. He's Kinds crazy, but in a good way? Basically, he is kind, he is like Canon but more or less with shorter patience and a tendency to go full on feral when pushed enough.

He does sympathize with demons, but he kills them before letting them go with their sob story. He truly pities Uppermoon demons most of all. He'd probably save them all if he could, expect Hantengu and Gyokko.

The endings still the same, but he retains some of demon characteristics like sharp fangs, and his demon slayer mark is permanent. He has slightly pointed ears too they're cute.

Thanks for sharing this idea.

[pinklover07]

My demon giyuu au

Plus alive!sabito and alive!kanae?

While on a mission when he was sixteen and alone he fought with uppermoon 1, being him who turned him into a demon after seeing his potencial.

Giyu tried offing himself before death but he turned into a demon anyway.

After waking he stayed in a lake, hiding on the day and just watching the sky in the night. He passed the next 1 year and half eating alive fish and sometimes wil animals if they were to close, But he never tempted to taste human blood.

During his second year as a demon he was found by tamayo who got curious on how giyuu hadn't lost himself to the demon insticts, she took him with her like a stray cat.

Yushiro at first wasn't happy at all when he arrive, but after sometime he stopped disliking him and got a tiny bit of affection to him.

Here tanjiro follows the canon but he is found by sabito, not giyuu.

Also kanae doesn't die because giyuu accidentally got involved into her fight.

[eternally-tired-muffin]

First off, I absolutely love the Hashira surplus AU. I see lots of somebody lived/everyone survived AUs since I have an Ao3 addiction, but none really go in the direction you’ve chosen. I think the idea of twin pillars is nice to think about, but unless they work best together and are messes without their other half it wouldn’t really make sense to just count them as one if they’re perfectly fine independently. Kind of like how Daki and Gyuutaro work in canon, I suppose. So if Sabito lived, he would undoubtedly become the Water Hashira first and end up leaving Giyuu at Kinoe despite him eventually catching up in strength and qualifications. Same with Shinobu, if Kanae survived then she wouldn’t have room to become a Hashira with the 9 max rule. All in all, I really like what you’ve done with it and how you’ve built off canon. I don’t have any direct questions, but definitely wouldn’t mind to read about anything you haven’t got a chance to share or small details you havent been able to fit anywhere! Have a good day/night and sorry for rambling lol-

AHHHHH THIS IS THE SWEETEST THING OMG T^T

I'm glad that you think this take on everyone lives makes sense! I tried to change 1 thing at the start and have the ripple effect come across naturally.

In terms of things to share, thank you so much for asking! This au is my baby so I'm thrilled to yap haha. I have a lot of projects I'm passionate about, so the actual drawings will come out very slowly, though I will answer asks and plot questions as they come. I'm currently working on the comic where Kanae meets Nezuko, so have a sneaky WIP page :P

The recent arc has also got me thinking about how the infinity castle arc changes.

MANGA SPOILERS FROM HERE!

I've decided to commit to saving everyone, as the core principle of this au, so the upper moon fights are going to go down differently. At the moment, I haven't fully decided, but my initial idea is this:

Instead of Giyuu, Sabito joins Tanjiro in fighting UM3. In canon, Giyuu acts as a parallel to Rengoku, with themes about weakness/strength and duty (who 'should' live). In this AU, Giyuu doesn't have the same survivor's guilt, and Rengoku doesn't die. As a result, it isn't thematically important for Giyuu to go up against Akaza. However, Sabito was present in the mugen train arc, and he narrowly survived the encounter. I think it makes sense for him to go up against Akaza with Tanjiro (who was stuck as a witness last time) and get to see how they've both grown - Tanjiro getting stronger and Sabito getting smarter. Maybe he learns Giyuu's defensive form?

Since Giyuu is free, I think he'd join in the UM1 fight. Having a defensive fighter could influence the battle. I have to be honest, I haven't reread this arc in a minute (so it is fresh when I watch the movie) so I can't quite remember how the fight goes down, but I think Giyuu would be there from the start. They just manage to keep themselves together as more allies join and overwhelm UM1.

I haven't used Rengoku here - I haven't decided his status after the mugen train arc. He lives, but I don't know if he is fit for battle. He may join Uzui and his father in protecting Nezuko. Perhaps he rallies the kakushi and the medical team with his large presence and still well above average physical abilities.

UM2 is a bit more complicated. Shinobu's drive for revenge is a key part of her character, but in this AU, Kanae survives. This is another thing not set in stone and may change. At the moment, I think in this AU, Douma has a habit of eating his victims alive. He taunted Kanae, managing to bite off her ear, so while Kanae manages to survive, she is truly affected by this fight. Shinobu despises him like in canon. In terms of the UM2 infinity castle fight, I'm not sure how to administer Shinobu's poison. It could be that Douma eats an arm or leg, but Kanae arrives in time to help. I'm also currently thinking that Aoi* might join Kanao.

*I haven't committed to her role yet (in addition to knowing basic medicine). She could be a poisons using demon slayer (like Shinobu) or someone who blended the role of demon slayer and kakushi - this is worth its own post though.

All of the speculation around the inifnity castle is just a draft, though! I would absolutely love to hear any suggestions/ ideas, so please feel free to reply/ reblog/ send an ask :D

AU masterpost

[yuki2sksksk]

Roleswap AU

-` 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘫𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! ´-

An AU where Tanjirou is the demon and Nezuko is the slayer. In my version, Tanjirou and Nezuko went down the mountain together to sell charcoals and handmade herb medicine that the Kamado family began to produce for a while. Tanjirou had sold all of his charcoals so Nezuko told him to return home first while she went to finish her items. Reluctantly, her older brother did so. Now it was already late, and Nezuko had to crash in Saburo's house for the night.

You guys know the drill; she came home to find only Tanjirou alive and had to drag him down to the town when he transformed into a demon. The Kamado siblings then found themselves facing a slayer goes by the name ��𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘰.

Later on, after being given the chance to prove Tanjirou being a good demon, Nezuko set off on an adventure to find cure for her brother.

Kanao and Kaigaku become Nezuko's friends and they became life time trio

Tanjirou grown attached to Kanao, making the young girl rather flustered at such doting

Nezuko possesses very strong kicks! Her first fight with Kaigaku was resolved with her slamming her foot up to his body part where the sun does not rise.

Kaigaku might not be able to have children, rip.

Tanjirou's Blood Demon Art is Fire Manipulation. He can breath fire and heal people too. His berserk form has a horn pops out of his left part of the forehead where his scar is, and there are flame marks on his body.

Hakuji stabbed Tanjirou to see if the demon would attack him -- never happened.

Muichiro and Yuichiro are alive as the youngest kakushi, Mui being a kind but quiet twin while Yuichiro is the loud but anxious one.

The twin have potential to even become Hashiras but Yui keep refusing, only becoming Kakushi because feels indebted to Mitchikatsu who saved them before.

Muichiro wants to become a slayer but doesn't have the courage to say it to his twin.

" Follow your heart! " Nezuko said to Muichiro, resulting the boy to fall for her.

Tanjirou once headbutt Yuichiro for his foul language and harsh treatment to Nezuko

Muzan is still an asshole but he's a tsundere that secretly worries for his slayers

Kagaya is also still gentle and soft spoken but he's very manipulative to his Uppermoons

Giyuu is dead lol, he was the ghost boy that helped Nezuko trained

Sabito and Makomo are both Water Hashiras

Gyomei is Uppermoon One, but there's an Uppermoon Zero, which is Yoriichi.

Yoriichi looks like a porcelain doll with 3 pair of arms.

I might do some changing, but these are what I could come up with so far.

[giggly-squiggily]

squiggily my love how are you, i feel like it's been forever since i crashed in your ask box 🖤 i hope the universe gives you the queen treatment you deserve and i will just humbly leave my present in your courtroom and then show myself out to watch from my evil tower of evilness how you open the box and find *drumroooooll* a kny modern au scenario because i'm BACK BABY (moderately so i still need to write job applications but i'm back that's the point)

so anyway the scenario. and it needs to be modern au because. people are alive there.

i've been having some sabito brainrot and he would just be SUCH a horrifying ler, i know it. he knows exactly what teases get to his victim, he knows all their spots, he's agile enough to dodge attacks and strong enough to pin people down, he just has the full package. taking him down is literally impossible.

giyuu tries it. epic fail abort mission the absolute worst day of his life and he's had many of those so you know it's bad.

tanjiro tries it. EPIC fail, sabito is a substitute coach in urokodaki's dojo after all and he knows ALL of tanjiro's moves, it's hopeless.

nezuko tries it. failfailfail because yeah she's cute and dangerous but sabito is a teacher, he knows of the danger that comes from small people and once you see where kids stick their hands you become kinda immune to any kind of cuteness.

giyuu ropes his friends into it. some of them only need a little nudge ("i've been wanting to kill that guy for years" - "SANEMI"), some of them need extra encouragement ("and what's in it for me?" - "fun? exercise? come on kyo..." - "listen if you want this to happen you better treat me to some quality burgers because i won't risk my life for nothing") but in the end they do indeed end up trying their luck. emphasis on trying.

kanae and kyojuro fail spectacularly and publicly because they thought it was a smart idea to ambush sabito on campus. tengen and mitsuri fail embarrassingly because they have all this strength and at the end of the day it really does nothing. sanemi and obanai refuse to talk about it and akaza isn't sure whether he should be absolutely fuming at the defeat or ecstatic that he actually found someone whose martial art skills are on par with his own.

(shinobu and gyomei are smart enough to stay out of the mess and honestly good for them)

except there is one person who can actually take sabito down and that person is makomo. and getting the intel from her was always out of giyuu's pay league (she's EXPENSIVE) but now that sabito has humiliated all of his friends, tengen and his disgusting off-shore untaxed bank account are happy to chip in. and the trick is really just that sabito has one really weird spot but once you get that the rest of his spots sort of unlock like bonus levels and then it's bad. if you're just one person, getting the spot might be hard but well. they're eight now.

that's it i don't have any details after it i just wanted to share the setup. have the most lovliest wonderfullest day and stay hydrated, i will now go rewatch sk8 as i yearn for the ova they announced 🖤🖤

REY! 💖💖💖💖 Hello my love! It’s always a bright day when you come by! I wouldn’t say the universe is treating me very luxurious right now (shark week started and I’m hurting baaaaad 😭) I can’t wait to devour this delightful present! *opens it and gets smacked like a giant boxing glove full of modernAU goodies* YIPPIE! 🥰🥰🥰

SABITO HELP WHZHWJDJSJSJS He’s that one guy you just don’t expect to be so deadly in tickle wars? First glances are deceiving; with his sweet smiles and charming nature you’d think he’d be such an easy lee…BUT THEN- oh as you said; he is DIABOLICAL! Endless knowledge of everyone’s tickle spots combined with his endless agility and strength and there’s no one who can defeat him!

JANZJANZNSNNS SANEMI WHHSB 🤣🤣🤣 He’s so ready to kill good lord! And Rengoku is a MOOD! He’s not going down without proper compensation and I love him for it whsbbsbbsnsbs (Akaza reluctantly impressed is GOLD QJZNANZNSNND 🤣🤣🤣🤣🥰🥰🥰🥰) They all just kinda shuffle back defeated and Giyu’s genuinely concerned there’s no way to defeat Sabito

Makomo knows her worth like a true girlboss and I love her for it whsnwnsnwn TENGEN ABXBNWHSJS He’s not ashamed- Sabito took his built like a building down so fast whsnnwnsns I love the idea of Sabito having such a unknown spot qjsnnsnsns (I don’t know why- I’m thinking elbows; like- just above the joint if you squeeze it with the right pressure it’s like an on switch) He gets all giggly and then shocked cause “Wait that wasn’t supposed to happen” and now everyone’s looking at him like 👀👀👀😈😈😈 and he’s RUNNING!

It goes down in history as the greatest fox hunt of all time- Shinobu took pictures and everything (she needs blackmail for future endeavors) and now Sabito has to get even more creative with his tickly attacks to avoid said antics 🤣🤣🤣 God this AU is so GREAT!

Thank you for sharing Rey! This made my kinda iffy morning a lot better 🥰🥰🥰

[xxlady-lunaxx]

i'm so bad at endings please dont talk about that also i only read through this once word count: aprox. 3.8k! cw: spoilers(?), character death.. alive sabito AU !,, sabigiyuu

title;; Us Against the World

Urokodaki had always said that one of the worst liabilities someone could have in battle was having someone the demons could threaten, causing their overall decisions to be made recklessly, costing them precious time. Of course, never yet experiencing this before, neither Sabito nor Giyuu took him as seriously as they should've. But they still made a promise to each other, just in case it did happen. They planned to always stick together after passing Final Selection. It was always going to be them against the world, they swore.

"If you get kidnapped, or me, the other person has to ignore the instinct to save the other and the first other has to..." Giyuu paused, frowning. "No, that's confusing."

Sabito laughed. "If I get captured, you can't try to save me unless it's your only choice. Same thing the other way around," he added.

Giyuu nodded. "Yeah. Or if one of us turns into a demon, we have to kill the demon. I mean us. Whoever's the demon," he clarified.

Despite the lightness of their tones, Urokodaki watched with a frown behind his mask. He knew, from personal experience, that this was not anything to be smiling about. He hoped dearly they never came across either of the situations, wanting the best for the two.

Shortly after, about a week, from their conversation, they managed to cut their own respective boulders and Urokodaki reluctantly sent them off to Final Selection, pronouncing them ready for the test. Despite the many injuries acquired and the long, dreary week in the Wisteria cage, the two made it out in relatively one piece. They had managed, although admittedly it had been primarily Sabito, to kill nearly every demon there except one with many hands, which had retreated to the shelter of the trees when the sun peeked through into the clearing.

Back at their mentor's hut, they were cuddled up in bed, their futon's pushed close together. They were antsy with the excitement of passing and, because they had slept during the day after arriving from the Selection, they were unable to sleep. Giyuu rolled onto his back, lifting his left arm. Sabito lifted his right and their hands intertwined. They stared up at the silhouette of their hands for a long while—until Giyuu claimed his arm was tired and they dropped them down to the sliver of floor between their beds.

"Sabito?" Giyuu asked, after a long moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"You promise to stay with me 'till the end?"

Sabito shifted to look at Giyuu. Vaguely, in the dim light of the moon that filtered through the curtain over the window, Giyuu saw a gentle smile forming on his best friend's face.

"Of course. Us against the world, right?"

Giyuu smiled back. "Yeah. Us against the world," he echoed, his voice a soft murmur in the night.

Years passed. Sabito seemed always to be a step ahead of Giyuu, which only fueled him on. They were given their own katana's and Kasugai, sent on mission after mission. Considering that Urokodaki's hut was too high in the mountains and far from their mission places, they only visited him from time to time, usually residing temporarily in Wisteria Houses. Urokodaki had always encouraged them to find ways to still relatively find ways to live 'normally,' despite the circumstances. Several times, both Giyuu and Sabito found boyfriends (though Sabito wasn't completely exclusive to women, he found himself having a preference towards men). Somehow, none of their relationships worked out. Especially since their partners seemed to see something between Sabito and Giyuu, though the two themselves had yet to register it.

Most of their missions were duo ones and they had the luxury to constantly have someone at their back. Of course, they had many solo missions as well, which made it a bit trickier, but they developed rendezvous points where they would meet after their missions (they could've had their crows guide them to each other, but Giyuu was dubious of Kanzaburou's ability to do much more than totter around at this point).

On one of Giyuu's birthdays, when he turned 16, Sabito asked him out. It had been cold that night—of course, it was winter. Sabito had only just remembered in the evening that it was Giyuu's birthday and, as his mind raced for something he could give him, Giyuu entered the room. They were in a Wisteria House once again, that had been nearby their last mission. The woman who owned the house had let them bathe quickly before giving them supper and two beds.

Sabito watched as Giyuu settled into the borrowed futon, pulling the covers over himself. Their futons were close together as they had been back at their old mentor's house. Hesitantly, Sabito reached his left arm out. For a moment, there was only the shifting of blankets as Giyuu moved to a more comfortable position. Sabito considered pulling his arm back in, then he felt Giyuu's hand intertwine with his own. The owner of the house was turning off the lanterns now. She poked her head in the room, murmured a quick goodnight, and defused the light. They were plunged into darkness and it took Sabito a moment to adjust, blinking quickly. He turned to face Giyuu, their hands still locked together.

"Giyuu?"

A moment of silence. "Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

Sabito rolled his eyes. "Something else, besides this?"

"Okay." A smile could be heard distinctly through Giyuu's voice.

"Hypothetically, if I liked you, would you date me?" Sabito asked. He wasn't sure what Giyuu would say, if he saw him as a brother or just a friend. So he tread carefully, trying to adjust his tone to not sound so hopeful.

"Hypothetically?" Giyuu paused. In the darkness, Sabito could barely make out Giyuu's form turning to look at him.

"Yeah."

"Hm." Another beat. "I guess, yeah. Hypothetically, right?"

Sabito turned to face the ceiling, hiding the smile that crept up his face. "Right. What about... really dating me? If I asked you to be my boyfriend now, would you still say yes?"

Giyuu propped himself up on his elbow, breaking their hand bridge as he gazed at Sabito. "Are you asking me out, Sabito?" His voice was teasing but there was a slight quiver to it—nervousness? Anticipation?

"Maybe." Sabito sat up, mimicking Giyuu's recline. "Are you accepting? Or no?"

In response, Giyuu scoot out of the comfort of his futon, moving to kneel in front of Sabito. Carefully, leaving extra room for rejection, he pressed his lips to Sabito's. When he pulled away, a dark blush had spread across his face. Sabito was sure he looked the same.

"Then... yes?" Sabito mumbled, unable to see clearly enough to search Giyuu's eyes for an answer.

"Are you an idiot?" Giyuu huffed, his change of mood so sudden that Sabito nearly laughed. "Yes!"

Sabito grinned, shifting to one side of his futon and lifting his blanket. Giyuu settled in next to Sabito. Between them, their hands met, closing around each other. As sleep began to overtake their minds, Sabito murmured: "By the way, Giyuu. Happy birthday."

"Is it already...?"

"Yeah."

"I love you, Sabito."

Sabito leaned closer to Giyuu, wrapping an arm around him. "I love you, too..."

Their relationship lasted until the end of Sabito's life. Which meant about a year... and a half.

Both Demon Slayer's strength had increased beautifully in the last months and they were being sent on more back-to-back missions. Giyuu, who'd gotten injured in one of the last ones, was given a break to recover. Sabito, however, had only acquired a few scratches here and there and was sent on some solo missions. After returning from one and getting only an hour or two's worth of sleep, Sabito joined Giyuu on their following mission. They had both been sent on this one; reports of a stronger demon making their way to the ranks higher than the Mizunoto—which was the lowest. Despite being wracked with fatigue, Sabito told Giyuu that they should split up and cover more ground. Since they were in the middle of a village, it would be better this way. If they'd been in a forest, perhaps sticking together would've been better. But here, the streets could be weaved around more easily and therefore they should use it to their advantage the best they could.

They split up. As Giyuu searched the hauntingly empty streets, he realized that not a single light was on—which, despite it being night time, was strange. Besides that, the village looked relatively unused, at least there couldn't have been any residents here recently. Every here and there, a house had a window or a door that had been broken in. Uneasy, Giyuu peeked into one and found the whole room in disarray, as if there had been a fight here. He glanced at the window sill and found a thin layer of dust beginning to collect. It looked new.

He frowned. Turning, he kept one hand on the hilt of his katana handle, making his way through the streets again. There was something else about this place. It was quiet. Not nighttime quiet. Deathly quiet. Not even a bird dared to chirp, nor a tree to rustle. He couldn't even hear his own breathing. This was peculiar on its own, demon or not. Even the sounds of screaming might comfort Giyuu. Then—a snap of a branch. It was loud, like a flash of thunder in the muffled silence. He flinched, turning towards the sound. Nothing. Another noise. He glimpsed, briefly, peach colored hair. Sabito!

He raced towards the color and—

Crashed into a world of sound. It disoriented him and he felt like it was all pounding against his head like a giant hammer. He clutched his ears, trying to block out the noise. It would've been normal, distant, background sounds before. But after the silence, it made him dizzy. He nearly fell until he heard a familiar shout. His head snapped up and he was met with what looked like makeshift wooden cages. So, so many of them. In them, there were hundreds of people. Yet he pinpointed on one.

"Sabito."

He tried darting forward but a demon intercepted his path. It was taller than Giyuu, symbols that could've been their own language framing its body. Its eyes were different than the average demon. In one of them, the number 3 was scrawled into it. It smirked at Giyuu, teeth glinting.

"You and that boy together?" it slurred. Its voice sounded loud, much too loud. It wasn't just Giyuu's state. It was confusing him, changing the sound level up and down, creating a dizzying effect. "Both of you have swords. Even have matching fox masks." It barked a laugh. "Brothers? No, you don't look alike. Friends, then? Acquaintances? Something more?"

Giyuu unsheathed his katana as the demon spoke, clutching the handle tightly. It wasn't that he was new to this—he'd been fighting demons for years now! It wasn't that Sabito wasn't by his side either; he'd faced demons alone, as well. It was that Sabito had been caught. His lack of sleep was part to blame, of course, but if Sabito got captured? Then what? Was Giyuu even a match to this demon?

The demon grinned gleefully in the tremor of Giyuu's hands. "Scared, are we? What are you to this boy? I've been stock piling all these people," it said, waving flippantly at what Giyuu was supposed were the villagers, "but I'll let you take them in exchange for your...?"

It was prompting him. Urging an answer from Giyuu. He didn't care, really. He just needed Sabito safe. "Boyfriend," he mumbled. "He's my boyfriend."

The demon raised an eyebrow. "Even better. Your fear is delightful," it said with what was probably supposed to be an alluring tone—except Giyuu's full attention was on the people behind it.

Now that he looked closer, he realized that all the villagers were actually in one large cage. He supposed that Sabito would be transferred to that cage too, in a bit. Maybe if he just waited a moment... Then he could cut the whole thing off and set them all free. Except—it looked as if it was made of wood. If so, Sabito could've easily cut it. There seemed just enough room inside there for him to move. He was sure some of the women in the other cages could've used their pins and hacked away at the wood until it broke. So why...? Unless it was enchanted, in some way.

The demon snapped its finger impatiently, regaining his attention. "Okay, lover boy. No more spacing out. Back to me. Of course, feeding on humans is more ideal, but emotions are great all the same. I can hear your anxiety for your pretty little boyfriend there, it's almost delectable. But I need more. So! You have two options: I let go of Peach and get to eat the rest of the people and watch you deal with his disappointment, or I let go of the others—and you should be glad I'm in a good mood today, I did take a couple days to round these all up—but kill your boyfriend. Either way, I get a nice feast of tears," it concluded, humming gleefully.

Giyuu's stomach churned. Fuck. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't get the rest of the people killed—the demon was right, Sabito would be more than disappointed—but if he saved them and Sabito died...?

He glanced up at all of them, keeping as steady of a hold on his katana as he could. He could practically hear their pleading through their stares. Even if they were too terrified to speak, their eyes said more than words could. There were children there, too. Everybody who had lived in the village, huddled in the one cage yet none touching, unable to pass some sort of charm the demon had worked, keeping them all apart. And then Sabito. Oh, Sabito, his gaze strong and insistent, urging him not to save him. To save the villagers instead. But he couldn't. He didn't know what to do. He was freezing up, unable to decide. Sabito called out.

"Giyuu!" Sabito shouted. Despite their proximity—Sabito's cage sitting behind the demon—his words were muffled. "Our promise! Please—remember!"

Promise? Which promise? To stay together forever? Giyuu frowned. No. Sabito wouldn't say that now. Then a different promise. Oh. That one.

"I- I can't!" Giyuu choked out. He hadn't even realized the words had been building in his throat until they were already out.

"Please, Giyuu," Sabito pleaded. "You can't let them die!"

'If I get captured, you can't try to save me unless it's your only choice.'

The words had been delivered after a laugh, a smile still lingering as they left Sabito's lips. Now, there was no laughter. No smile in Sabito's eyes. Nothing but a plead to let himself be killed. No. Giyuu couldn't do it. He couldn't, he couldn't, he-

Even so, he managed to rasp out a shaky, "fine. Leave them be."

The demon tilted its head mockingly. "Who?"

"The villagers."

"Then I kill...?" it prompted, amusement lacing its tone. As if this was no more than a parent trying to teach their child. A game.

Giyuu nodded towards Sabito, not wanting to say it.

"Tell me," the demon insisted. "Tell me who I kill. Give me a full sentence."

"I- Shit, I-" Giyuu swallowed hard, refusing to meet anyone's eye as he whispered, "You can kill Sabito..."

The demon's lips curved into a cruel smile. "Lovely." It sauntered over to the larger cage and the people inside it shrank back. Giyuu raised his katana, waiting for an attack. The demon, however, kept its side of the negotiation, releasing the villagers. They all sat there on the ground for a full moment before scrambling hastily behind Giyuu, sobs shaking the bodies of the younger ones. Giyuu wished he could cry too. But he still had to try. Try to save Sabito.

As he ushered the people back, he started to step forward, katana raised. Then the demon slashed down at Sabito. There was the sharp cry from the boy as blood blossomed from his now-ripped uniform and he slumped down, though not yet dead. Giyuu didn't need to know much to realize this was a fatal wound. For a moment, he stood stockstill, shock freezing his body. Then the demon lunged towards the villagers and Giyuu realized it had never intended to let them go. It knew it was stronger. But, in the spur of the moment, Giyuu's fury hit him so suddenly he had no time to react as it guided his arms, his legs. He plunged his katana into the demon's throat, slicing its head clean off with only a second's struggle.

He waited only enough to see it begin to disintegrate before he rushed to Sabito, abandoning his katana, his preservation. He knelt down into the pool of blood that spilled around his boyfriend. A sob threatened to spill over as he grasped for Sabito's hand trying to put pressure on the wound but knowing full well it was in vain.

"Sabito... Sabito, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-" Giyuu was cut off by his own cry and his shoulders shook as he hugged Sabito to his chest.

There was a soft voice, hoarse and barely there, that made it to Giyuu's ears albeit reluctantly. "Giyuu... Giyuu, it's fine. It's fine. You did... good. Don't cry. Us against... against the world, right?" Sabito was sapping up all his strength trying to speak. A trembling hand lifted, cupping Giyuu's face.

Giyuu held his breath, resisting the sobs that tried to cut through him, wanting to catch Sabito's every word. He leaned into the touch, placing a quivering kiss to Sabito's cheek. "Against the world," he repeated quietly.

The life was seeping out of Sabito's eyes but he managed a small smile. "Just... us," he murmured.

Giyuu watched, in horror, as Sabito's hand fell limply to his chest, his previously shaky breathing diminishing to a wisp and then nothing.

"No- No, Sab- Sabito!" he shouted. He clutched him to his chest, unwilling to believe it. If he hugged him tightly enough, Sabito would come back to life. Warmth would spread in his body and he'd hug back and Giyuu would feel safe and—

A hand was placed on his shoulder. For a short, blissful moment, Giyuu thought it was Sabito. Then he looked up and flinched, finding a woman there. He turned away, not wanting to look at her, not wanting to see the inevitable pitying stares of the others. Or disappointed ones. But in the end, she didn't do anything. She simply stood there for a while before starting to leave. As she left, she murmured, "We'll prepare a burial for him later, if you wish it. A place to sleep and eat will be provided for the night as well."

He didn't glance back when she left, nor did he follow later. He sat there for a long time with tears streaming down his face and his arms still clutched around Sabito.

The following days were a blur. He barely registered them. He supposed he must've gotten up at some point. Buried Sabito. Had he been buried? Cremated? It didn't matter. Either way, he was dead.

He remembered, vaguely, going to Urokodaki's. Staying there for a while. Sharing his grief with the man. He wasn't sent on any missions. Or if he had been, he didn't remember them. He knew that the days after Sabito's death had been painful. Most likely, he had spent them dehydrated. Alone. But when he thought back to them, he remembered only a haze. Muffled noise, blurred pictures, incoherent words. As if it had been years ago. He snapped out of his daze a week later. He remembered this part clearly.

He had been sewing that night. Somewhere, in his and Sabito's old room, Urokodaki had found one of Sabito's spare haori's. He'd gifted it to Giyuu. Giyuu, who was in no rush to get rid of the red kimono he'd kept in memory of Tsutako, decided to merge the two fabrics together into one haori. However misshapen it might be.

A crow arrived. It wasn't Kanzaburou, however. It had a ribbon tied around its neck and spoke better than either of Giyuu or Sabito's Kasugai crows. Its words, at first, were delivered and that only. They didn't reach Giyuu's ears. But then it repeated itself and Giyuu froze. He was being promoted to the highest rank a Demon Slayer could achieve. A Hashira.

He frowned. That couldn't be right. He had just failed to save Sabito! How could he...? How could he be a Hashira if he had let the life of the person most precious to him slip from his fingers? The crow explained, noticing his incredulity, that on that very same mission, he had killed one of the 12 Kizuki; the most powerful of the demons. The demon that had mocked Giyuu, taken Sabito's life, was Lowermoon Three. The Kizuki were split into two groups of six: the Uppermoons, the most powerful ones, and the Lowermoons, following second. Because Giyuu had killed one of the Lowermoons, he had become a Hashira. In a week's time, Giyuu must go to a specific coordinate where he would be guided to the Master's estate where the Hashira had their biannual meetings with the leader of the Corps.

There had been a long silence after the explanation, broken only by the crow's uncomfortable shifting. It was dubious about Giyuu's reaction. Shouldn't he be happy? Instead, Giyuu could feel anger rising in him all over again. How could this have happened? Sabito should've killed the demon. Giyuu had only killed it because he had been fueled by anger. He didn't deserve this title. Sabito had always been stronger, anyway. Why hadn't he been promoted? This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair!

He hadn't realized he'd said it aloud until the crow ruffled its feathers, opening its beak to speak. But then Giyuu raised a shaking hand, the needle he'd been sewing with pricking his hand as he closed his fingers into a fist. Black feathers floated down as Giyuu only caught the crow's tail. It squawked indignantly, flying up into the air. It left then, muttering angrily about how it was only trying to help. Giyuu dropped the needle as blood started streaming down his arm. He glared at it furiously, tears blurring his vision. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! This. Wasn't. Fair!

In the end, however, he did attend the meeting. Fair or not, if the Head of the whole Demon Slayer Corps was bothering to send for Giyuu, he should go. Also, Urokodaki threatened to deliver him there personally, maybe restraining him beforehand, too. So, he went.

He made sure, however, to finish sewing the haori. He wanted his first impression on them to be with it on. He had also decided not to speak much. Isolate himself from the rest of them. After all, he would forever be different than them. He didn't have what it took to deserve the title as a Hashira. They did. He would never be one of them. He would only ever belong with Sabito. It had always been him and Sabito. Without Sabito, Giyuu wasn't anyone. He was alone.

[applepie-enthusiast]

Imagine an AU where Sabito suddenly wakes up , he notices his body has grown as if he had been alive since the Final Selection (21) and finds Urokodaki (ouch, please imagine Urokodaki having doubts and even testing that Sabito is not a shapeshifting demon, but when he confirms for real that IT IS Sabito, Urokodaki hugs him and cries, his other adoptive son is back.) and soon, Sabito learns that Giyuu is now the Water Pillar.

To say Giyuu is beyond shocked, him standing frozen as Sabito smiles at him and calls at him,

"Giyuu..."

Oh god, Giyuu missed his voice so much, but this can't be. Sabito seemed like he aged with him as well.

Sabito was dead.

Whatever demon plays this game is just tricking him, this is a cruel trick. Giyuu had learned from Tanjirou about that demon who gave dreams that victims wanted to see.

Except Giyuu is very much awake, and this is daytime.

There is no way that this is a Blood Demon Art.

"I know it's hard to believe, and you might never accept that is all happening, but I just want to say I'm proud of you." Sabito kept that fond look on his face, and finally, Sabito smiles at him gently.

Oh, how Giyuu's heart skipped a beat as he felt so many emotions all at once.

"I'm sorry for dying that time, and for not being able to say goodbye to you. But I'm back, Giyuu. I'm home."

It took a lot from Giyuu to not react and turn his back away, this is no way happening.

Tanjirou was also shocked to see Sabito but is otherwise overjoyed. It was not until Giyuu received a letter from Urokodaki that it is indeed Sabito, that Giyuu finally faced Sabito himself, and Giyuu hugged him tightly, and cried.

It was a silent cry, but his tears never stopped as he hugged Sabito tighter and tighter, as if letting go would equate to losing him the second time.

They reconnect, and Sabito caught up to everything. He even met the other Pillars and Oyakata-sama, suffice to say it took a lot of convincing from the Pillars to believe Sabito's existence.

However, Giyuu visibly changed bit by bit. He is still a tiny bit distant but is slowly opening up to others in general.

Sabito trained more and more with Giyuu, and after quite a time, he was also promoted as a Water Pillar.

While Giyuu was out, with Sabito walking outside, he met Sanemi, who walked up to him.

"Hey, are you for real?"

"What?" Sabito replies, and he observed how Sanemi was weirdly calmer than usual yet carried a certain air towards him at the moment.

"How long will you be here?"

"Pardon?" Sabito was starting to realize Sanemi didn't come here for a friendly chat.

"If you're just going to disappear again—"

Sabito cuts him off, "Our jobs are risky, but that doesn't mean I won't fight to stay alive."

Sanemi replied that he was starting to lose his temper. "You know that's not what I mean. Tomioka—"

Sabito winced, "What about Giyuu? What do you want?"

"First name basis?"

"Yeah, we're childhood friends, for now."

"If you really care about him, don't fuck around and—"

"Listen," Sabito paused, his tone just as threatening. "Whatever Giyuu and I have is none of your business."

[kokuyuu]

I said that I was a multi-shipper but I’ve only talked about Kokuyuu (kokushibo x giyū)

So here’s a few more of my ships, idk if I’ll write anything for them but I’m not against it if others would like that (˵’〰’˵)

Obanai - Giyū, Mitsuri, Sanemi

Giyū - Kokushibo, Sabito(Alive AUs), Rengoku, Obanai, Uzui (and all of his wives of course), Gyomei

Mitsuri - Obanai, Shinobu

Rengoku - Giyū, Uzui, Suma, Makio, Hinatsuru

(Non Hashira(mostly))

Zenitsu/Tanjiro

Genya - Tanjiro, Muchiro

[nerosdayinanime]

crippling need to draw this image i have of sabigiyuu pressed back to front, giyuu holding onto the arm thats hand is splayed over his stomach/ribs, easily leaning his head back onto sabito's shoulder, his soft barely-there hold on giyuu's neck with their cheeks gently pressed together

[kozmicmizuu]

ok- soooo… my brain thought of smth a tiny bit fucked but the i remembered this is kny and atla so it’s ok to be fucked. so, in the series water benders are like- not really in the war, but they were basically taken from the south tribe for war reasons. the angst in my brain is that the southern tribe in this au is where urokodaki would train all of this students (yes, the past dead ones are alive in this) and then the demons attacked (they’re basically the fire nation in this).

(also in this au in my take (you can see how you’d like) the demons aren’t really demons. they’re human, but they use this fucked up branch or rather a “weed” of the breath-bending that’s the equivalent of dark magic basically.)

they just took everyone with no remorse for anything, and then they found out that water’s conductive. sooooo- torture via electricity was used to make the water benders weapons of war!!! yay!!

giyuu was considered one of the best in the small tribe (i think between him, sabito, and makomo, giyuu was the one to completely master water breathing and well- survived canon). shock collars were obviously used- cause this is demons we’re talking about.

giyuu and basically all of the tribe were just abused for years (lets use giyuu’s age as a reference). the tribe was taken when giyuu was 8- the controlling and abuse didn’t stop until giyuu was 19. basically instead of him finding tanjiro, tanjiro found him.

you can only imagine how just aggressive giyuu was, a major contrast to his usual calm and stoic personality. tanjiro probably couldn’t even get close without giyuu being violent so he called for backup from the corps/friends. let’s say that sanemi and shinobu and kyojuro were sent there (sanemi was there in case of a fight.) to say that giyuu’s condition was worrying would be an understatement.

literally every single water breather was fucked- they needed the moon for spiritual healing but we’re never given the chance to see it for god knows how long, barely any food or water. kyojuro probably threw up when he saw kids in there. sanemi was just pissed about this, a whole ass tribe was ignored by the world. also don’t worry, literally no one is dead from the water tribe. but idk of that’s a good thing tbh….

it took them literally forever to get giyuu to trust them, like trying to tame a wild animal. but the simplest thing is what got literally the whole tribe to trust them, the promise of seeing the moon and sea again. tanjiro was just happy to see the southern tribe from the stories, but so sad that they were like this for 11 years. the moment they even opened the door for the tribe- it was literally like setting caged birds free. though urokodaki was the one who told the four, “thank you” and followed his students into the beach on a full moon.

also the shock collars took some time to remove, no one really sat still at all, or some stood unnervingly still. shinobu knew that it would them literal years to recover from all of that trauma, potentially a whole lifetime. kyojuro probably sobbed his sweet little heart out when he saw them so happy on the beach (emotional bitch), sanemi was still fuming, mf was READY to put an end to this war. he just imagined genya in this situation and was like “no i im not letting this slide” and proceeded to sink the entire fleet that did this to the tribe (W sanemi).

sighhhh this thought happens from remembering the episode of when katara found another water bender from the southern tribe (holy fuck i can’t remember the name) and she ended up being fucked in the head after all.

so, does that mean giyuu can be feral and deranged when he’s completely ticked off?? yes, more feral giyuu content for the starving people. he’d be so much more intense with any threat (maybe like when azula was going a bit silly) but after the threat is gone he’s just “woopsie daisies my bad yall”

they ended up taking the tribe to the corps and basically giving them a safe place to heal and relax. gyomei ended up being good friends with a lot of them because water benders are very sweet to him and the kids thought he was cool (a little scary at first). giyuu, bless his soul, was found by tengen immediately. mf knew he HAD to befriend this guy, sabito wasn’t having it tho so know there’s sabito and tengen beef.

anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk about this fucked up lil thing… i’m not okay because i started typing this out at 8 in the morning…