Tomioka Giichi and Shinazugawa Sanehiro unsheathed their swords the moment they caught sight of the two people before them.

Why?

Giyuu and Sanemi were just that unfortunate, that's why.

Giyuu knew luck had never been on his side, but such a sick blood demon art? Who's even was it that it would stupidly picture himself and Shinazugawa standing side by side as if they were the comrades they definitely weren't?

A blink later and the Giyuu-lookalike was standing in front of Sanemi, sword unsheathed and eyes wary (eyes way too expressive than he was used to seeing on Giyuu's face, talk about f*cking wierd).

At this moment Sanemi was doing something he never pictured himself doing, standing back-to-back with that stuck up bast*rd as said bast*rd faced his own look alike.

What a f*cking gigantic ball of utter bullshit. He wanted to fight Kibutsuji Muzan for what he did- what he f*cking did to Oyakata-sama, not fight his and Tomioka's puny demon copies!

Growling, Sanemi started the first form of wind breathing when-

"Ay, Shinazugawa, this copy of yours is so growly!" The ''Giyuu" before him smiled quizzically and said.

Smiled.

Smiled.

"To think a f*cking demon would be more expressive than you, you a**!" Sanemi laughed.

...

Giichi, "... what."

Sanehiro,"... what the f*ck?"

Giyuu, "Well your copy is down pat, at least.''

"Oh you f*cking-"

Sanehiro watched with building irritation as the two men (that looked a little too much like him and Giichi) actually started fighting right then and there (one-sided that it was with Giichi look alike just saying one sentence quips while his own copy embarrassingly cursed like a sailor) as if they weren't even worried about the blades pointed at them.

Yet, Sanehiro noticed, their postures were stiff, wary and prepared, swords pointed unwaveringly forward.

No, Sanehiro realized, they weren't fighting without a care in the world.. They were completely prepared to face them.

Trouble, very much trouble, they knew how to use those swords they mimicked.

Without Sanehiro realizing, his partner Giichi had already walked (or well, flowed, because he's the water Hashira and all and, for real, Sanehiro didn't float like Giichi flowed, that show-off) to his side under that cursing demon brat's watchful gaze.

"Don't," Giichi quietly said, as the demons stopped their back and forth.

"But-"

"I know, they could be mimic demons, but that boy, who looks like you, he performed the first form of wind breathing perfectly, you know I'm familiar with it.

"And anyway, you are bleeding, yet they haven't attacked."

That was right.

Sanehiro was a marechi, and currently injured enough to bleed. Yet neither demons(?) had attacked.

Still he was too wary to just lower his sword like Giichi.

Then suddenly, his look alike's eyes widened as if realizing something, and Sanehiro suddenly had a bad feeling.

He watched as his look alike raised his sword (What the f*ck?), watched as he sliced himself on his arm with barely suppressed maniacal laughter (What the actual f*ck?) and watched as he raised it triumphantly above his head and said, "Enough playing demons! I'll f*cking butcher you all for this! Come pounce haha! Food's here! "

This time it was Giichi who said, "What the f*ck!," as the smell of one of the most potent marechi blood entered his nose (the only other most potent one he'd ever smelled was from Sanehiro, which meant..).

With a falsely light smile, Giichi turned his sight to Sanehiro, now not so worried about the two before him, his nose having confirmed they were humans.

After all, he had an even more important thing to know about.

Giyuu, Sanemi and Sanehiro felt chills run down their spines at that smile.

"Sa.Ne.Hi.Ro. Did you hide a brother behind my back?"

❇⚜❇⚜❇⚜❇

Giyuu would like to say he understood the whirlwind of mess that happened next. But he didn't.

Social talks and feelings already weren't his forté, so him understanding the argument (more like interrogation) before him was a lost cause.

Yet Shinazugawa seemed just as lost.

Oh, and apparently the two before him were Shinazugawa Sanehiro and Tomioka Giichi, the wind and water pillars respectively.

Oh, now he can't call Shinazugawa 'Shinazugawa' in his head anymore. A pity, he'd hate to call the person who didn't tolerate him 'Sanemi', even in his head.

And..... Giyuu was losing his train of thought. He wondered why, though it had happened before.

The last time it happened-
A patterned haori.
Blood.
"He saved everyone, yet couldn't save himself."

-The last time his thoughts spiraled like this was when Sabito died. There was too much in his head then, confusion (where's Sabito?), pain (Where's Sabito?!), anger (Gone?? Gone?!! Not him, never him!) and utter helplessness (He's no more, like neesan, he's-he's-).

Yet why was he spiraling now? Was it because of Oyakata-sama's death-

Oh.

Oh.

Where was he?

He had apparently asked this question aloud, if the way Giichi (his face, that was his own face, yet not ) and Sanehiro turned to him was anything to go by.

"You are near the slayer quarters, brats," Sanehiro replied, frowning.

"Era?" The Giichi lookalike who is apparently called Giyuu asked.

"What, why-" Sanemi sputtered before Giichi talked over him and said, "Sengoku."

The two slayers (?) in black uniform and wierd haori stilled unnaturally, the total concentration breathing (why had Sanehiro not noticed that?) they were constantly holding up getting disturbed in their apparent shock.

Before either young slayers before them could react, sounds of bushes moving was heard nearby. Curious, four heads turned towards the disturbance only to see..

The young face of a boy poked out from the thicket, pale lavender-purple eyes with slits looking at them with a frown.

Eyes with slits...A demon!! Sanehiro and Giichi thought in unison.

Alert, they watched as the boy frowned in confusion then cursed a few colorful words before shrugging and seemingly ready to turn away.

This greatly shocked Giichi and Sanehiro, considering the fact that they were obviously slayers and still the demon didn't show any fear.

Then they heard a soft feminine voice speak up, "Uhh, Yushiro-san, I believe you're not aware but.."

Another obviously demonic girl with small horn protruding from her head full of dark hair, peeked out from above the 'Yushiro' demon's shoulder.

"Ah.. your invisibility talisman.. has stopped working.."

Oh.
Oh.
Oh shit.

Yushiro wasted not another moment as he tightened his hold on the brat on his back and made a run for it from the two copies of the hashira he knew, those two who radiated killing intent.

Giichi: ...

Sanehiro:... so that's why...

"Fuck!" They shouted as they saw the direction the demon was running towards, already ready to chase when suddenly Giyuu jumped up and said, "No, you can't!"

"Have you lost your mind?? Those are demons! Didn't you want to f*cking kill  demons?? The hell are you standing on my way for??!" Sanehiro shouted, trying to jump above Giyuu's blade.

"Finally someone who understands how I feel on a daily f*cking basis," Sanemi sighed, yet he too stood next to Giyuu and raised his blade.

"!!!" Giichi exclaimed in his head at the new turn of situation. These versions of themselves were already demon slayers, seemed pretty loyal, yet wished to protect demons?

"Let us through," Giichi tried to gently speak some sense into the young heads, "They are heading towards the slayer headquarters."

"No can do," Sanemi continued, seeing how Giyuu didn't seem any willing to explain, so Sanemi had to take up the inconvenience.

Thing was..Sanemi didn't explain, he cursed, beat people up. And considering he was defending those beastly things he hated, for this job he was not fond of he had only these words to say:

"I f*cking hate it too, but I f*cking dealt with it, so deal with it."

Sanehiro was disappointed by this alternate version of himself, so much so that he wanted to spit blood! Barely swallowing the blood down, he went to his old go-to method of solving problems, brute force.

Raising his sword he performed the Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts, leaping upwards.
Bringing this powerful move out, it was obvious he was not going to underestimate his current opponents.

Or that he really just wanted to end the battle quickly.

Following his movements, Giichi performed Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool, twisting his body and flowing effortlessly.

The two original creators were so exceptionally good with their forms that Giyuu and Sanemi almost stumbled, yet they themselves were no laughing matter. Sanemi decided to confront his obvious ancestor's flying form while Giyuu readied Dead Calm to parry the attack of Giichi.

This could've evolved into a very interesting fight if not for...

Two certain someones' falling from the sky...

Right on top of Giichi and Sanehiro.

Bam!

And the two were flattened pancakes on the ground, Giichi already knocked out because of the person falling on him, the last thing he heard was, "At least you're comfortable to land on, I could almost fall asleep on you..."

As for Sanehiro? Well he was uncontrollable:

"YOU FU*KING BAST*RD- YOU IDIOT-  HOW DARE YOU F*CKING- WHAT THE FU-"

The man on top of him, stared indifferently at Sanehiro with his red-maroon eyes, raised his hand and knocked him off himself.

Giyuu: ...

Sanemi:...

The girl on top of the unconscious Giichi, brushed back her black bangs, her messy green-black hair falling back into her eyes again and again. Yawning, she said,“Sorry, what where you saying?”

The two awake slayers plus one unknown guy who definitely didn't say anything, "..."

Tilting her head, the girl blinked drowsily a few times, then posed another question, completely disregarding her first one herself, "Oh, what was the mission again, stop who from killing who?" This question, she obviously posed at the unknown guy.

"... The mission is over." The guy replied, scratching at his freckled cheeks as he stood up without a care in the world for Sanehiro's boot- print covered back.

"Oh," the girl said. She turned to the baffled Taisho-era pillars and said, "Then I'll just..." before promptly falling on top of Giichi and... sleeping.

In the deafening silence that followed, Sanemi clutched at his hair in confused anger and  cried out, "What the actual f*ck is going on?"

In his head, Giyuu shared the sentiment.

~~~~~~

Confusing chapter with quickly changing Povs, i know!! forgive me for that! also can u see the hints of a ship I'm trying to sail??

hope u enjoyed this chapter!