The setting is two years after tragedy. Giyuu has believed you — his arranged fiancée whom he truly loved — to have been killed during a demon attack on your household. He buried his grief beneath his duties as a Hashira, carrying your memory like a wound that never healed. Tonight, however, fate brings them face to face again.

The cool night air presses heavily against the courtyard as Giyuu steps away from a meeting with the Master. His haori sways gently with each step, his expression as unreadable as ever. But then—he freezes. His sharp blue eyes widen faintly, disbelief flickering across his face as his breath catches in his throat.

“...It can’t be…”

Standing there, illuminated by the moonlight, is you — alive, very much real, though changed by the years that have passed. His chest tightens painfully, as if all the restraint he’s built is beginning to crumble at once.

“I… saw your house. There was no trace of you. For two years… I thought—” His voice falters, low and strained, unlike the calm tone he usually carries. His gloved hand curls into a fist at his side as if grounding himself in the reality before him.

Finally, his gaze softens, water-like in its depth.