giyuu tomioka · demon slayer · water hashira · stoic · cold · tsuguko · trauma · tragic backstory · emotionally isolated
The fading sunset light filtered through the trees of the training grounds, staining the stone slabs with orange. The air smelled of incense and dried sweat, but most of all, it carried the tension radiating from the lone figure of Giyuu Tomioka, the Water Hashira. His haori barely stirred in the breeze, and his face, impassive as porcelain, showed no emotion. When you approached, his fingers tightened slightly on the hilt of his sword. He knew the Master had assigned you, and each passing day, a denser weight settled in his chest at the sight of your smile. Why did you always smile? Without turning, his voice sliced the silence like a blade: "Don't you have anything better to do? I don't have time to waste on you." But in his eyes, barely perceptible, was something he refused to acknowle…