It's only been a week, and Sanemi already wanted to head back.
Do you know the one thing that makes Sanemi want to yell on the top of his lungs and dash back to headquarters? It isn't the constant travel. It isn't the lack of comfort from his bed. It wasn't even the lack of good coffee in some towns.
No. The thing that made him want to go back is travelling with Giyuu Tomioka! Sanemi doesn't know how a man can improve so much socially and still be the worst companion ever! Giyuu doesn't converse... at all. He's said a total of 10 sentences through out the week, and most of them were greetings! When they have a layover at towns, Sanemi has to be the one to talk to the food vendors and inns. When they face demons at night, they're so weak that Giyuu doesn't need to say anything while he slices their neck in one fell. When Sanemi even tries to talk to Giyuu about anything he just nods his head!
Giyuu was pissing him off, and Sanemi felt he was gonna commit murder.
'God, I really miss Kanae...' thought Sanemi as he was walking besides Giyuu.
The duo has covered a good distance for a pair that doesn't know where they're going. They both agreed the first priority in their journey is to evaluate their abilities and train to get stronger. However it's kind of hard to do that when they are towns, civilians, demons, and authorities wandering around the roads.
So their first plan of action was finding a suitable place for training. They continued to walk in silence, to Sanemi's dissatisfaction. With no concrete destination, they both were walking down a road that spans across different towns.
Sanemi was walking with a irked face. Giyuu on the other hand was taking in his surroundings. Before when he was sent in missions he never paid attention to the nature that surrounded his journeys, and when the war ended he didn't do that much travelling. Now that he has a deeper appreciation to the ambient life that surrounds him, he's taken more time and effort to pay attention towards them. He couldn't carry a camera, but his memories served to be vivid enough.
Soon the sun set and the sky became dark. A demon was running in a forest. She was planning on snatching some travelers in the middle of nowhere, but now she was running for her life. She looked behind her to get a glance of her attacker, but before she could register the blue sword, her neck was already severed. As she faded away, Giyuu put his katana back into its sheath and Sanemi appeared from the darkness.
"I got the other demon easily. Were you able to get this one?"
Giyuu nodded in response before walking back to the direction of the road. There was no town nearby, so the Hashiras opted to travel during the night instead of resting. As they both were walking under the starry night sky, Sanemi finally couldn't take the silence and snapped.
"Oi! What's with you? You back to your arrogant self?"
Tomioka raised his eyebrow in response. "... what do you mean?"
"You're not speaking at all! And its driving me crazy! What's up with you!" Giyuu could only blink in response.
"I apologize Shinazugawa... when it comes to missions I always prefer silence... it helps with the task..."
'Is... is he actually serious!' Sanemi genuinely wanted to smack his palm on his forehead. There was no way someone could be this dense...
"Tomioka... in case you don't know, this is not a normal mission! Right now our mission isn't slaying demons! Its finding a place to sleep at! For more than one night! In what part does that require absolute silence!"
Giyuu just stared at Sanemi for a while, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Giyuu responded with:
"Oh..."
*cricket*
"Oh? Oh! OH! THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO YOURSELF!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!!!" Sanemi was no longer yelling. He was screaming so loud the entirety of Japan could hear it. Despite the intense wind Giyuu was feeling, he was unfazed. Probably because he dealt with this before.
"I really am sorry... I'm just used to not speaking with anyone when on missions with other people..."
It was true. In every joint mission he did with another slayer, he always opted to be silent and communicate with minimal words. This was because Giyuu wanted to put all of his energy into completing the mission then socializing with his comrade.
Even with a mission as different as this and the change in Giyuu's behavior, he suppose the habit simply transferred. Giyuu believed it was a good habit of his. Really, the only missions he talked a lot were only with Shinobu, and that was always because she teased him extensively.
However, this all flies over Sanemi's head as he continues to yell insults at Giyuu. Giyuu could tell him to calm down, but he once heard that attempting to calm a rabid animal can make it worse.
After five straight minutes, Sanemi finally calmed down, albeit slightly. Regardless, Giyuu took this chance to defuse the bomb.
"I apologize Shinazugawa... I'll talk more from now on..."
Sanemi finally stopped yelling at Giyuu's face and took a deep breath. Once he inhaled he looked away from Giyuu and turned his head straight into the road. He continued to walk, this time with him in silence for a while before quietly responding.
"Damn it. Can't believe I'm glad to be talking to you, bastard..."
Once the misunderstanding was cleared, the duo started some small talk as they reached a town. After staying a day there, they departed once again in search for their training grounds.
The Hashiras needed to find a place that was ideally rural. Someplace where they were away from civilization, but also nearby so they can go there for any supplies. A location that's geographically secluded was also preferred, as the amount of demons would be less.
And so the Hashiras continued their journey. They went to towns. They went to mountains. They went to forests. But no matter what, they couldn't find a place that sit right with them. A couple days turned to one week. Then two weeks. Then three weeks. Then one month.
Before they knew it, its been two months since they left; and Sanemi was at his last straw.
"DAMN IT! IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS! AND WE'VE DONE NOTHING!!" yelled Sanemi as his slammed his fist on the table. Giyuu could only look at the wavy customers in the restaurant and give an apologetic bow.
"Shinazugawa... please calm down..."
"Oh of course you would say something like that! You're probably enjoying this, huh Tomioka!!"
"Please Shinazugawa... you're causing a scene..."
Sanemi finally looked around, seeing the people in the restaurant. No one was talking and was instead staring at him with spooked expressions. One girl looked like she seen a ghost and was barely holding back tears.
Sanemi slowed down his breathing before he closed his eyes. He took one deep breath and let it out slowly.
'1... 2... 3...'.
After he counted to ten, he opened his eyes. No longer was the eyes filled with frustration and fury, and instead they been replaced with a calm dull purple. Sanemi stood up and gave a deep bow to everyone in the the restaurant before sitting right back down and taking a sip of his tea.
"Sorry... just I didn't expect that this would take so long. We were suppose to get to training as soon as possible to reach our peak conditions. Instead the only times I got to practice were fodder demons at night."
"I understand your frustration Shinazugawa... but we can't rush a location... otherwise we risk exposing ourselves to authorities..." Giyuu then leaned slightly close before whispering, "or Muzan..."
Sanemi let out a sigh before responding, "I know I know! We can't risk having our position compromise and have a Uppermoon ambush us." They both were well aware of when Uppermoon 4 and 5 launched an attack in the swordsmith village. The odds of they're position getting exposed is low.. but never zero.
Now that the two Hashiras are away from headquarters, they risk an ambush from an upper rank demon. With knowledge of the future, it's imperious that they don't lose their lives, or worse: have Muzan gain their knowledge of the future. Whether its with a blood demon art, or turning them into demons, the possibilities are on the table.
"Still, it shouldn't be taking this long. We have limited time."
"I know... I have a backup in case we can't find one..."
Yes, Giyuu did have a backup - although he would prefer if he didn't go there yet. It's not that he didn't want to meet his master. However with what they have to do, Giyuu would prefer if he wasn't with someone he had a relation with. Makes him have to deal with less questions.
After a while the Hashiras left the restaurant, still discussing potential locations they haven't checked.
"I also agree that it's better if we weren't with people that know us Tomioka. But we can't waste more time."
"Yes, I understand..."
"Look, if we can't find a place in two weeks, then we sho-"
"Excuse me young men. Do you two happen to be slayers?
Giyuu and Sanemi quickly turn around to address the mysterious voice, only to see no one.
"I recognized your uniforms while walking by. Are you two perhaps on a mission right now?"
Giyuu and Sanemi looked down in response to the voice. What they were greeted with was an old man. He was short, carrying a cane and a scar on his face.
"Oh, sorry. Please let me introduce myself." said the old man as he straightened his yellow patterned haori and gave a bow.
"My name is Jigoro Kuwajima. The former Thunder Hashira. Is there perhaps anything I can aid you two with?"