Worth it!

The water pillar watches from afar as he observes Tanjirou and the Mist Pillar talking about the intricacies of wood cutting. He had minimal experience with it while living with Urokodaki, but their conversation was, admittedly, on a whole other level.

"It's out of your depth, isn't it, Tomioka-san?"

Giyuu doesn't flinch, though he knows Kochou is behind him. He turns to her, dropping his normal façade and hangs his head in shame. "Yeah," he admits.

She blinks for a moment, it is rare for him to admit defeat so easily.

Shinobu tilts her head, stepping out of her comfort zone. "They both used to be wood cutters after all," trying to reassure him, "It's only natural they'd be familiar with the intricacies." Giyuu nods, it is true, and yet, he couldn't quite tear his eyes away from Tanjirou. It's rare to see him to talk about something so technical with such precision. The usual animated Demon Slayer was speaking with such clarity. His gestures were limited but, added enough context that it was clear the Tokitou nodded along enthusiastically. Reading Tokitou's expressions, he could clearly understand the specific experiences wood cutters faced.

The other slayers collapsed on the floor, finally finished training for the day. They've made little progress in the session despite their muscles screaming in pain.

Many turned to see Kamado still lively as ever, sitting next to the mist pillar. His tone of voice is softer, his pacing even. A stark contrast to how he was earlier trying to explain how to maneuver the mist pillar's onslaught for training. Some turned to each other, quite stunned to see the mist pillar engaging with the conversation, enthusiastically even.

Rather than out of politeness, there's a light that's reflected in his eyes. While, he's not as animated, it's still obvious the mist pillar was intrigued by Kamado's choice of conversation. His shoulders were laxed even as he sits properly. Hands rest firmly on his lap but gesture as needed. The movements weren't as dynamic compared to his swordsmanship, but they carried that same fluidity: movement that was second nature.

Some of the corps members began whispering amongst themselves, wondering what exactly the mist pillar and Kamado were talking about. "Are they even speaking Japanese?" some members mused.

From afar, on the left side of the of the dojo's entrance, the water pillar leans back against the frame, listening. He conceals himself well enough he has no need to worry about other slayers noticing his presence. Yet, he crosses his arms and scrunches his face. His right hand grips at his haori. He had already wrapped up his training with the mist pillar and had no reason to be here, and yet here he is and straining his ears on top of that. It'd be bad if he was seen by....

"You don't have to try so hard if it's out of your depth, Tomioka-san."

Giyuu's eyebrow twitches as he tilts his head to see the insect pillar with her arms crossed and leaning on the other side of the frame. Dawning the same friendly smile as always.

"I'm sure Tanjirou-kun would understand if you can't grasp the nuances of wood cutting."

Giyuu purses his lips and simply grips his haori tighter.

"It took you three years before you could confidently cauterize a wound on your own." she states.

Giyuu's grip on his haori finally loosens and his shoulders sag. All he could do was sigh.

"We simply don't have that kind of time, you and I both know that, Tomioka-san." Shinobu says, unmoving. She, then uncrosses her arms and and leans forward, but not enough that anyone looking at the entrance would see. "Just go with the flow, after all, you are the water pillar."

Giyuu frowns, and can't find a point of attack. What she says is true, and yet, there is a part of him that feels empty if he can't fully piece together every aspect of Tanjirou, especially with something so integral to who he is. He, however, capitulates to Kochou's unspoken request, and he simply turns around and leaves. Like always, she follows suit.

Tanjirou stops for a moment to look at the entrance. Odd, he thought, I could have sworn I sense....

"Tanjirou?"

Giyuu arrives in front of an isolated cabin in the mountains. With the wrapped gift in his left hand he marches forward.

On the other side, from the corner of Nezuko's eyes, she sees her former benefactor. She drops the vegetables she was washing for tonight's dinner and runs towards him.

When Nezuko jump and hugs him, Giyuu briefly loses balance, but recovers just as fast. Nezuko squeezes him during the embrace, in response Giyuu tilts slightly and lets his head rest against the top of her head for a beat.

A moment later Nezuko lets go and they both take a step back. Familiar with this song and dance, Giyuu hands the wrapped gift in his hand, and Nezuko accepts. No words were exchanged.

One blink later, they curtly nod at each other.

In another blink, Giyuu starts running towards the back of the cabin towards the smoke.

Zenitsu walks up and stands by Nezuko side. He shoots a dirty glare at the former water pillar.

"Do you really think it's like that, Zenitsu-san?" Nezuko asks, quirking an eyebrow up while she turns to look at him.

Even without hyper-sensitive hearing, she can hear Zenitsu's teeth nash, clearly muttering at the one-sided rivalry.

When Giyuu is out of Zenitsu's line of sight, he finally turns to her and softens his expression. Nezuko's expression shifts as she turns to look at him, too.

"It's not what you think, Zenitsu-san," she says, smiling with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "How -" Zenitsu stutters. From his eyes, it's as plain as day. "How can you be so sure of that, Nezuko-chan?!" Nezuko grips the wrapped gift with her left hand and starts to head toward the same direction Giyuu went off to. "Over here," she gestures, "You'll see what I mean."

Zenitsu pauses for a moment, but, ultimately, decides to follow her. The two walked in silence and stand at the corner of the cabin, out of view.

Nezuko sets the gift by her feet. She then takes her right index fingers to her lips and uses her left index finger and points to her ears. Zenitsu stares for a moment, and scrunches his face, skeptical. But another moment passes before he decides to indulge in his Nezuko-chan's wishes. He then turns with her to look at the former water pillar and Tanjirou. The Giyuu is listening intensely and watches Tanjirou char the morning's freshly cut wood, preparing for the following day's sales.

Zenitsu perks his ears, using his sensitive hearing to his advantage. And then he hears it. The former water pillar was laughing. If he were to put an image to describe the sensation, it reminded him of a warm pond, sitting in the sun in the forest. A quiet scene that holds a deep feeling of tranquility.

There's a soft crinkle in Giyuu's eyes as Zenitsu watches the former water pillar cover his mouth, trying to hide his teeth while he chuckles. Tanjirou, even while preparing tomorrow's charcoal, finds the time to take his hand and move Giyuu's hand away from his face. He can catch Tanjirou lightly whining at Giyuu to "stop that."

Zenitsu stops listening closely after that, it felt like he was intruding.

He, then turns to Nezuko.

"I understand now, Nezuko-chan."

She finally looks away and tilts her head and giggles. "You know, Zenitsu-san," she starts.

Zenitsu doesn't know exactly what else to expect after this. There isn't that same feeling of dread that crawls up his spine and up his neck in the same way when he was a demon slayer out on a mission. Yet, he finds the weight in his feet shift uncomfortably. Despite this feeling, he allows her to continue.

"If you tell Uzui-san that Onii-chan's oiran days never ended, he bursts out laughing." Zenitsu's eyebrows twitch at the mention of the former sound pillar, but he eyes focus at the gift by Nezuko-chan's feet. He glares at it with the same intensity as he did with the former water pillar, before he finally softens and smiles.