As it turns out, your actions do have consequences, Uzui and Kocho learn this very well as they witness a change in their coworker's appearance. But at least this shows some improvement in his condition, right?

Right?

WARNING: referenced and/or suicidal thoughts and tendencies! Also warnings of an eating disorder!

-linebreak-

It was odd waking up with short hair, Giyuu figured out the next morning. It was even odder staring at himself in his cracked mirror. Staring back at him was a man he didn't recognize.

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, but for some reason, he felt a strange sense of giddiness. The feeling was odd and unfamiliar but not to his own knowledge, it'd be a feeling he'd soon be acquainted with very well. 

He supposed there were positives to the situation as a whole. Blood would be easier to wash out, and it'd be less of a hassle to take care of. It all felt liberating in a sense, to have his shoulders be lifted of one less burden to take care of. It was... Nice.

One less thing to worry about in his already unforgivingly, stressful life. It almost brought a smile to his face. Almost. But he did not deserve that smile, he had not earned a reason to smile, to begin with. He may have foolishly allowed his lips to curl upwards last night in his own self-indulgent ignorance but he would not allow it again. 

Not until he earned it. 

And with the letter weighing heavy in his pocket maybe there was a chance he could earn to smile if he played his cards right. 

With a deep breath, he slid on his zori's and made his way out of his house and to the Corps Headquarters. Giyuu didn't know why, but a foreboding sense came over him as he left his house.

He feared their reactions to his spontaneous decision. 

-linebreak-

Mitsuri was in tears. 

That was their first warning that something odd was going on. 

Almost immediately she ran up and blocked their path, clinging to her former mentor, Kyoujurou, as she sobbed into his haori. 

"Noooooo! Y-you can't go in there!" She cried, tightening her grip on the pearly white fabric of the cloth. "The person in there-" She pointed at the gate. "-that isn't Tomioka-san!"

The group stared at her in bewilderment, even Iguro finding it hard to believe the woman. Nervousness crept up the edges of the Flame Hashira's smile as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "Kanroji, I'm sure it's not-"

"But it is!" She grabbed his collar and pulled him close until their faces were a mere inches away, wearing a grim expression. "The man in there is an imposter! A traitor! There's simply no way that can be Tomioka-san!"

 The group watched as she let go of the other Hashira's collar and shifted around on nervous feet. "The man in there is an imposter! An imposter I tell you!"

With a scoff, Shinazugawa pushed past the Love Hasira, his hands tucked roughly in his uniform's pocket. "I could be doin' more important shit right now so let's get this over with already." The bubble gum-haired woman let out a squawk of surprise before clinging to the man's arm and pulling him back, earning a growl from the man.

"No! You can't do that! I won't allow it!" Iguro glared with unhidden malice at the white-haired man, gripping tightly at the edges of his haori. Meanwhile, both Shinobu and Kyoujurou stared on in embarrassment as they watched the trifling squabble play on. Himejima simply shook his head in disapproval as Tokito got stuck in a state of reacting to it and then forgetting, and then responding to it again. 

Somehow this attempt was even worse than the last two, it felt like a tragicomic of some sort. The fact that it was the third attempt couldn't even manage to save it.

It was humorously upsetting. 

With a huff, Tengen pushed past the squabbling pair and reached for the gate, ignoring Mitsuri's trivial pleas. He waved the woman off with his free hand, just wishing to get this afternoon over with so he could go be with his wives once more. He was already starting to miss them.

Maroon eyes twinkling with annoyance, he cut the woman off as she spoke, eyes set straight forward as he pushed open the wooden gate, separating him from the current enigma of the corps. "I'm sure it's not that bad, it couldn't- what the fuck?" This was the second warning, Uzui suddenly being taken aback by surprise. 

As the Love Hashira wailed in despair in the background, the other Hashira peered over the large man's shoulder- with the exception of Himejima and Tokito- all wearing various scandalized expressions. 

You would have thought from their reaction that Muzan Kibutsuji was standing right in front of them, ready to fight them and the war as they knew it once and for all, but no, it was not that. Instead, it was just their coworker, Tomioka Giyuu standing there awkwardly with a haircut. 

In fact, short hair aside, the man looked like a small child who had just been scolded, along with a lost one. Both confused and very awkward, like he didn't know what to do with himself as he shifted nervously from foot to foot. He raised a shaky finger, tilting his head to the side innocuously as he spoke. 

"If it's that bad, you can just tell me,"

And honestly, it wasn't even that bad. He did it decently well for a person who had never cut their hair before. You could hardly tell he did it himself.

Yet, despite not even exchanging a dozen words, the man looked exhausted with it all and ready to leave at any chance he got. That wasn't good. 

Almost completely unable to choke out a response, Kocho pushed past Uzui, wearing a sugary-sweet smile. She waved her hands languidly as if to dispel the man's worries. 

"Oh no! Not... Not at all, Tomioka-san! It's just uh..." But the woman struggled with her words. "A surprise to see you with such a differing appearance!" But it was not an unwelcomed one at that, somehow, the shorter hair gave the man a younger, youthful appearance if even possible. 

As Mitsuri whined in the background, the other Hashira filtered into the area, unsure of what to say. It was Kyoujurou who was the next brave soul to step forward with a grin reminiscent of the sun, hands on his hips as he loudly spoke.

"I say it fits you rather well! You look splendid as always," Shrugging, the Sound Hashira took a step toward giving him a half-hearted nod. 

"A man as flamboyant as myself can always admire a gallant change of appearance, and that right there is one." Now gaining Uzui's nod of approval, the Water Hashira felt it necessary to push them forward to the next topic at hand, hoping to make this exchange as short as possible.

"Why did you all summon me here?" He plainly and bluntly put. His hands rested on top of each other in front of him as he waited for an answer.

"Well, why else would I summon you all here if it were not for a flashy festivity for us all to partake in?" Tengen leaned back languidly as he let out a hearty laugh, looking around for looks of interest and approval that were not sent his way. His mood quickly grew sour, he impatiently tapped his foot against the ground and furrowed his brows. "Did you really not hear what's coming up?" 

The overwhelming looks of confusion and bewilderment sent his way made the man huff, crossing his arms over his chest as he held his face away from them all, chin held high. "Well, then you'll find out, this Saturday, about when the sun is soon to settle show up here in some casual clothes- hell, get dressed up if you want but I'd advise against it- and you'll see." Then, he narrowed his gaze at the Water Hashira himself, practically glaring at him. "That includes you Tomioka, you better show up, or else I'll dress you up in the most flashiest outfit I can find and drag you here myself."

Giyuu stared at him unimpressed. "...Why should I?"

The silver-haired man let out a mockingly sounded chuckle, an offended look crossing his face.  "'Why'? Because I was planning on spending that evening with my wives, then, this happened and now I'm spending it with all of you."

The dark-haired man stared at him in confusion. "Then just... Invite them with you?"

With a low, gravely chuckle, Uzui shook his head, clasping a firm and tight hand on the other man's shoulder. One grip the Water Hashira could not get out of at the moment. "Oh buddy, if you thought I was insistent then well, you're wrong, if they heard of your current case right now, the moment they got there with us they'd be dragging you around to show you all the different types of delicacies that await us. And while I wouldn't have a problem with it, you probably would despite how lucky you'd be. So, yeah, show up because there's going to be food that they recommended and I'm not about to let them down because of your stubbornness, okay?"

Staring at him for what felt like a moment too long, Giyuu then looked away uncomfortable, shrugging off his hand. 

"...Okay..." He silently muttered, staring intensely at the ground. 

It was at this point, Shinobu found her spot to cut into the conversation and frankly did.

"Now, on the topic of festivals, I heard there's a lot of good food there to eat! We could all try out many different kinds!" She chirped, earning a grin from Tengen.

"Yeah, there's a bunch of different stuff there, like taiyaki, soba, tempura- basically anything you could think of, there's way more than that!..." As the man trailed off in his speech, a familiar-sounding word got a raise of the brow from the black-haired man, as he silently echoed them to himself. 

"...Tempura?" Despite the ill-intent behind his sentence, it elicited an agitated groan from the Sound Hashira. 

"Man, are you kidding me? You've seriously never tried tempura before? How have you even lived this long and never done that?!" At Uzui's comment, Giyuu shook his head, looking away. 

"I've tried tempura before," His words earned a scoff from the silver-haired man, who eyed him with disdain.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you don't eat your food, you just inhale it in one go. You probably don't even know what good food even tastes like." He scowled, glaring at the man. 

"It is very unhealthy Tomioka-san!" Kocho tacted on with a firm look. 

Giyuu only gave the man a briefly incredulous look before his brows furrowed and his gaze narrowed in on him. "But... Rengoku eats similarly...? Does that mean he's unhealthy as well?" It had never been a problem before, so why was it one now? He had always lived his life this way, and he noticed no need for change.

Folding his arms over his chest, the Flame Hashira looked away with a dejected look, mumbling under his breath. "I don't eat that fast..." 

"You kind of do..." Shinobu cringed as she watched the flame-haired man grow more dismayed at the comment. "But even then it's a moderate pace, Tomioka-san you just... Inhale the food, you finish before him which is very hard to do. It'd be another thing if your pace matched Kanroji-san but that'd be arguably far better than now." As she spoke, she languidly waved her hands around, pacing on her feet. 

Giyuu didn't like it, it felt like he was getting punished for something that wasn't even his own fault.

He didn't like punishments, they were never fun.

Crossing his arms stiffly over his body, turning away from them. His posture went rigid, as alarm bells started to ring in his head. He knew what would happen next if he wasn't careful, he wasn't going to allow it to happen. 

"You're imagining things," The voice came out quicker than he hoped, he was almost able to hear the desperation in his own voice and he hated it. He hated everything about this situation and he wanted out! Out out out out out!

Making his fears grow even worse, Himejima took a step forward with a firm and solid voice. Confidence wavered off of him like a sparkling aura. 

"And you're lying, Tomioka." At the man's words, the Water Hashira's heart skipped a beat and his breath briefly picked up.

This had never happened before so why was it happening now? Why now did the man choose to see through all his lies when he ignored them once before?! 

Why?!

Embarrassment and shame rolled over him as he curled his hands into fists. He felt like a child again. But instead of feeling happy and joyful like how every child should, he felt like he had just gotten caught by his grandparents for doing something he shouldn't have. Or like he got caught stealing something from the market and was in pursuit by the seller. He could still feel those familiar feelings of desperation to escape come creeping up his shoulders as he stood there, silently plotting a way and reason to leave.

Making his regret grow even stronger, Kanroji tilted her head innocently to the side, the corners of her lime-green eyes sparkling, she stared at him, eyes pleading for an answer. 

"Why are you lying to us Tomioka-san? D-did we do something wrong?" Her tone was painful in his ears. There was so much he wanted to say but couldn't, things he couldn't convey in simple words. Things that were obvious to him but not so much to them. He didn't want to hurt anyone necessarily, he just... He wanted to help them, he wanted to make their lives easier.

Things would have been so much easier if he were to have been the one to die that night instead of her.

He should have, and if he wasn't a coward he would have taken his life by now so no one else would have to suffer.

But he was a coward, a selfish, insatiable coward. And that's all he would ever be. 

God, he should just go die so no one had to waste their time worrying about him. So he wouldn't have to live a life of pain and misery. If he just died the pain would end. It'd all end.

No one would ever hurt him ever again.

He'd never be back there again. It'd all end.

It'd all-

"Tomioka."

A loud, crooning voice spoke over his shoulder and made him jump. His head felt like it had been muffled with cotton and wool. There was a warm hand on his shoulder. When did that get there?

For a few moments, his voice was lost on him so he was forced to look around, wide-eyed, and witness as his coworkers stared at him with varying looks of concern, distressed and disturbed. Once more, the voice spoke. 

"You know we care about you, right?" And at those words, Giyuu could only stare up at Rengoku skeptically. 

How could a person ever care for someone as cursed and horrid as him?

The Water Hashira tilted his head at the man, answering the other man's question without a single word spoken.

Tomioka Giyuu was a man unworthy of any form of love- at least, to himself. 

A/N: WOOOO! LETS GO! NEXT CHAPTER GIYUU AND UZUI GET FUCKED UP WHILE KYOUJUROU SITS THERE AWKWARDLY!!!