Chapter Text
Leaves rustled around him, the wind blowing eagerly as if to match his mood. It was early February and he always looked forward to this specific date each year. Sure, his friend only started showing up recently, but it's better than nothing. In fact, he was ecstatic. (And maybe a little pissed it took him years, but who cares.)
The peach-haired boy (not that he was supposed to be one) sighed, his legs swinging back and forth on top of a tall, gray stone with his name engraved into it. His friend was taking forever. He just wanted to see him again. While he waited aimlessly, he wondered if he would've preferred the occasion a different way.
Two small, sweaty idiots sat on the edge of their favorite cliff. Despite Urokodaki constantly scolding them for doing so, they loved to jump off and see if they could break their fall with waterwheels. Of course, things don't always turn out so well, but it was fun nonetheless.
It was the younger's (they assumed he was the younger, they had no proof whether it was true or not, but they had just taken it as so) birthday so their sensei had made some salmon daikon for the two to eat on top of the cliff. In between bites, they'd talk about random things and their training, as well as how Urokodaki-san was biased about the training they did ("Sabito, stop being so jealous.")
Swallowing a bit of salmon, his friend looked at him curiously. "Hey, Sabito... Uhm, I was just wondering... When's your birthday?" The peach-haired boy's gaze settled on his friend.
"I don't have one."
His friend winced. "You don't have one?"
He sighed. Sabito set down his chopsticks on the bowl and faced his friend completely. "I don't remember it and the old man doesn't have any clue on when it could be either, so I just...don't have one. It doesn't bother me, I'm honestly okay with it." His friend became sad and he stammered, "B-but, uh, we could come up with one if you'd like, Yu!"
Giyuu bit his lip, then smiled. "What about February eighth?" Sabito blinked. "But...that's your birthday."
"We can share one." The boy broke out into a wide grin. "You can be my birthday buddy!"
Sabito smiled. Of course Yu'd offer up something like that. His best friend was so sweet. "Oh, yeah? And how would that work, exactly?" The dark-haired jumped up and ran in an excited circle. "We'd celebrate together, of course! We'd celebrate our birthdays together every year, and even if one of us is far away, we'd go find one another." He puffed his chest, determined to remain true to his word.
If only he actually had...
Sabito was this close to stabbing Giyuu with his sword once he finally arrives.
The last time he had seen Giyuu was a year ago, the same year Sabito had helped Tanjiro with his rock. Giyuu had not only secretly checked on the kid, but he also finally, finally visited Sabito's grave (and went to apologize to Sensei for leaving and not saying anything.) He assumed that Tanjiro had successfully slaughtered the hand demon because all his fox friends had disappeared into the mist, yet left him behind.
Why hadn't Sabito disappeared into the mist like the others? The question plagued the dead's mind every day. Was there a reason for it? What significance did he have to remain? It was boring, doing absolutely nothing in the mountains. He had tried to go down the mountain to Urokodaki-sensei's home, but it seemed as if there was a boundary preventing him from going. The only good thing that came from this is that he'd still be able to see Giyuu.
If the man-whore ever fucking showed up, Sabito thought. He was never a patient person to begin with, and he really wanted to stab Giyuu right now.
Suddenly, he heard a twig snap. His head shot up and he glanced deep into the forest. Without warning, a tuff of black bed hair appeared in front of him, causing him to jump and let out an undignified screech in surprise, falling backward on his ass.
He had never been so glad Giyuu couldn't see him.
Sabito huffed, fixing his clothing. He then walked around his tombstone and approached his childhood friend carefully. The peach-haired spirit eyed his friend, observing his rough appearance. His friend had definitely lost more weight - not that he weighed much to begin with. His eyes had dark circles, as dark as a dead raccoon's, and his skin was terribly pale, as pale as moonlight on a clear night. His lips were chapped and his hair was one hundred percent tangled to no end. The only familiar thing the man owned was his mismatched haori, half of his sister's and half of his-
"Sabito." His friend's voice broke him out of his thoughts. It was deeper, yet quiet and gentle. "Happy birthday. Sorry I'm late, Kocho forced me to stay at the infirmary and I finally managed to sneak out."
Infirmary? Was he injured?
"Don't worry, though, the bleeding stopped and she already wrapped my ribs." He paused. "She won't find me, at least. She wouldn't know I'm here." That didn't reassure Sabito at all.
His friend sighed (there was clearly pain behind it) and glanced up. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" the dead wondered out loud, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. What does he have to be sorry about?
"If... If I had only been stronger... If I wasn't so pathetic and weak..." His voice broke. "You would still be alive, living your best life..."His breathing began to hitch. "It should've been me." The hashira curled in on himself, light tears streaming down his cheeks. Giyuu shook his head. Stop. Stop crying. Pathetic.
Sabito wanted nothing more than to slap his best friend's face. Yell at him that it wasn't his fault. Then hug him, comfort him.
But he couldn't.
Because he was dead.
"Don't say that you'd be better off dying. Ever again. If you do, you and I are done. We'll stop being friends."
"You can't die. Ever."
Oh, fuck that bullshit.
Sabito ran at Giyuu, tackling and pinning him down. If this worked on Tanjiro, then it sure as hell better work on his best friend. When he realized his hands actually made contact, Sabito slapped Giyuu's cheek. Hard.
"Tomioka. Fucking. Giyuu." He held his best friend's head between his hands, his blue eyes in clear disbelief and confusion, and stared him down. "If you ever--ever--blame yourself again, I will come back to life and personally beat your ass."
Giyuu stared at him. He glared back. Giyuu didn't move. He flicked his forehead.
"What the hell... No. No." The dark-haired boy shook his head. "No, you're not real. You're not. It's always fake. It's always a hallucination." He continued to mutter to himself, denying anything and everything.
Sabito sighed, he'd deal with that later. "Yu, what's up?" He flashed a lopsided grin. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
His best friend, however, did not find that funny. "You're not real. Get off."
"If I'm not real, then why should I get off?"
Giyuu hesitated. "Sabito's never talked back before..."
Sabito, being the impatient little shit he was, groaned. "Yuuuuuu, I finally get to talk to you again, stop with that hallucination bullshit." He grabbed his face again, staring him down. "I. Am. Real. Okay?"
"But-"
"No. Shut up. I'm real and you need to shut the fuck up."
The spirit sighed. "If I get off, do you promise to not run away?" Giyuu hesitated, then nodded. Sabito stood up, holding his hand out for his friend. "Come on, up you go."
Giyuu observed Sabito curiously. "You're real?"
Sabito groaned exasperatedly, "Yes. Oh my fucking god, yes."
The slayer frowned, "Well, excuse me for asking. It's not every day you're suddenly able to talk to your dead best friend." Okay, fine, Sabito supposed he had a point there. He still had no idea how it was all possible, but he really didn't care, just as long as he got to be with Giyuu again.
The two stood there awkwardly, because what the hell are you supposed to say when you're dead and can suddenly talk? The slayed sighed. He uncrossed his arms, stretching out for a hug. Giyuu immediately hugged him back, face nuzzling in the crook of his neck.
"I missed you..."
"I missed you, too, you idiot."
They stayed like that for a while. The wind blew around them, leaves dancing all over the place. The hug felt nice. It's been years since Sabito had hugged someone like this. The last person he remembered hugging was sensei.
Speaking of Urokodaki... "Have you talked to Urokodaki-sensei yet?" Sabito felt Giyuu shake his head. The hug was a little awkward, now that he actually thought about it. Giyuu had to go on his knees since he was taller than Sabito, so it definitely looked a little funny.
Out of nowhere, Giyuu hissed, retracting his arms back and curling them around his torso. Ah, right, Sabito remembered. He had gotten hurt earlier.
"Giyuu, are you okay?" Sabito asked pointless questions when he got worried. "What happened?"
The hashira grunted. "Demon threw me against a tree. Broke a few ribs." Sabito tried his absolute hardest not to laugh. Who the hell gets themselves yeeted into a tree? "And you decided to climb a mountain tonight?"
"I wanted to say happy birthday to you."
Sabito resisted the urge to facepalm. "We don't even know if it's actually my real birthday or not, Yu."
"But I promised..."
"Promised wha-"
"We'd celebrate our birthdays together every year, and even if one of us is far away, we'd go find one another."
Sabito sighed fondly. "Yeah, okay, I get it. But, Giyuu, your health is so much more important than that. Promises can't always be kept." Besides, I broke my promise, too. "You need to take care of yourself better. I can tell you haven't been."
The shorter slung Giyuu's arm over his shoulders, helping him up. "Come on, let's go. We're going to sensei's place and we're going to get some food in you. You're skinner than from when we first met."
Giyuu grumbled but walked nonetheless, so Sabito took that as a win.
"Hey, Yu?" Said man glanced at a smiling Sabito. "Happy birthday."