A/N- Here I am waking up..... Still can't sleep on your side..... There's your coffee cup........The lipstick stain fades with time..... If I can dream long enough....  You'd tell me I'd be just fine....... I'll be just fine.....

            Ghost of You- 5 Seconds of Summer

⚠️Also big warning- A lot of mentions about gore, depression, mental illnesses, eternal suffering, death, and more goshdarned suffering⚠️

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Narrator's POV

Continuing where we left off, we see the aftermath of what happened a day later.

The pair were still at the shop, Shinobu denying his offer to stay at the apartment and Giyu just wanting to stay for the mother and daughter's safety.

Both would try to busy themselves as they ignored the events that transpired a few hours ago, to which was still stuck in both of their minds.

Shinobu was still uncomfortable with the sudden change of pace, and everything was just moving too fast for her.

All in one goddamned day, she would get kicked out with her young one, helped by this mysterious man she only met for a week, get hunted by the greedy man he called a landlord and finally get protected by the said mysterious acquaintance of hers.

Oh and did I mention that she got called his wife at least 5 times? The thought alone made her blush again.

All of this happened in a day, and if I ever experienced that I would probably get high on coffee and sulk afterwards; which funnily enough she did.

Well not sulking in a sense where she cries, more like distancing herself from the man who we know as the depressed and reincarnating Giyu Tomioka.

Giyu actually noticed this, but decided that he already intruded enough, I mean calling her his wife and everything must be bothering her quite a lot right? Plus, the atmosphere is awkward enough.

He could only sigh, returning to his job of cleaning the mess he initiated last night.

He still felt the ferocious punch, not that he received it but he still felt the impact that he had exerted towards the man's jaw.

If he had done it a little more stronger then the man could've been in a coma right there and then.

But he still had some control in him, and he literally drank like at least 12 bottles of beer before all of that; and let me tell you how even 4 beers can already make someone go cookoo crazy, and yet here he is with his goddamned control.

But anyways while the two would busy themselves, a little girl would wake up in a lowered bed/crib she was put on.

Hitomi wouldn't even cry as she woke up, the kid went straight to find her mother or follow any voice that was familiar to her.

Both adults seemingly occupied wouldn't even notice the little girl who somehow got out of the crib Giyu had stocked here from a previous sale crawling over towards them.

Oh right did I mention that Giyu didn't just have a small convenience store? He actually sold a lot of things from everyday items to even car and machinery parts, so that includes cribs somehow.

Also how she didn't fall or somehow get out of the wooden cage is a mystery, all I know is that these two are definitely not fit to be parents- I'm joking, they're clearly a bit stressed; more on Shinobu though since you know..... The wife usage and whatnot.

Oh and before I forget, little Hitomi is seven months old and can already crawl, I mean the author's mom said he could crawl at six which was weird but hey let's continue the story. (Hell yeah I did! My flabby baby arms were as strong as a goddamned twig infused with metal alloys (ノಠ益ಠ)ノwhich is probably useless if they were just melted outside the twig but then again......)

Luckily Giyu cleaned a lot of the dangerous things, like the broken glass and shattered pots that were sadly part of the destruction last night.

The little girl would crawl over towards Giyu, slowly maneuvering over; curious as to who this towering man could be and where the heck her mother was.

And yes babies can recognize as early as their early trimesters in the mom's tummy, by that I mean like the voice of their mothers ever since they were in the mother's womb, works with animals like dolphins and crocodiles too.

But she didn't recognize any of the noises at all, usually it was Shinobu's voice that would always call out to the toddler but she was nowhere to be heard.

And the only voice she could hear was that of this old man talking to himself about how much damage his dumbass did to his establishment, and the shuffling of items of course.

And being a baby of course, she was curious about what was bothering our depressed man, other than crippling depression that is.

She would go on and proceed to pull the man's pants with all her strength, which was pretty surprising for the man since he almost shuffled backwards to which he luckily didn't.

He would look over to see the innocent glare coming from the toddler, her deep blueish lavender eyes staring with a face of confusion and interest towards the man.

Before he could even say anything the baby would reach her short arms out towards him, him coming to a conclusion that she was indicating that she wanted to be carried, or in baby terms "upsies".

And so he did, carefully carrying the girl towards him as she would ponder over his looks.

And by ponder I meant she rummaged his face like me kneading over some great ass tiddies- I mean dough, definitely dough.

She was quite light, he thought to himself. Clearly reminding him of a certain butterfly, who also had the privilege to possess the same quality.

Well actually that shouldn't be a privilege, was she even getting the proper nutrients? I mean he already knew the hardships that the mother and daughter were experiencing so it shouldn't be a surprise.

And well, Giyu was still pretty strong, like being in the military did this so it was only natural but Hitomi was slightly lighter than most babies her age would be.

Other than that, Giyu would eventually notice more things about the baby, both of them now staring intently at any of the unique qualities the both of them would possess.

Hitomi would look at the man with emphasis, noticing his scar-riddled face and his long dark hair, somehow thinking that he looks like one of those furry beasts her mom calls as doggy, and in this case we could assume he was a very scarred K9.

The baby would also notice Giyu's calm look, his ever so serious and enigmatic expressions paired with his deep hazy eyes caught her attention quite a lot, and that's a lot considering the fact that babies literally get tired after seeing something for a second before moving onto something next.

And don't even fight me with this goddamn fact, I literally had to babysit my cousins and their kids, which is fun and exhausting so moving on!

She would also trail her stubby little fingers over his cheek, the rough texture from his battle ridden skin met with her soft and sensitive ones.

Giyu on the other hand would let the little girl do this, not like he did have a choice.

The sensation was weird to say the least, I mean don't get me wrong, he's been a father for numerous lives already but he still couldn't get this feeling of childish bliss and the tickling sensation that comes with it.

But the contact was still surprising for him, he doesn't know why but the fleeting feeling of having a baby meddling and interacting with him always scared him for some reason.

Maybe it was because of the fear he had of accidentally hurting or injuring something as innocent as them, or just his overall trauma of being around people knowing how everyone and everything he was close to was either killed, destroyed or inhumanely taken from him.

And yes this was coming from the fact that in some lives he had, especially the ones that were the events we call WW1 and this time WW2 happened; And yes it also includes the time he was a Demon Slayer.

Dude literally saw corpses of children, babies and families ripped apart by war and of course those fucking demons.

And for another point of his miserable life, those thoughts were replaced by the feeling of comfort and something he hasn't seen in a while, and that was hope.

The calming stare from the nebulae-like eyes coming from the little girl gave him some freedom to feel safe and calm, which rarely happens at all since the only people who could do this were all taken from him (Examples would be Tsutako, Shinobu, Sabito, Nezuko and Tanjiro... Well almost from Tanjiro since he presumably died from Muzan but he just became a demon and luckily survived the whole ordeal, and Nezuko also got cured so hey at least he still had them before the seppuku thing happened that led to this bullshit he's currently living in).

And now here he is living, dying and suffering, for what he could assume is gonna be happening until the very goddamn reality he's living in gives up and restarts the process again.

As his brain was now seemingly drowning in this thought, something he'd least expect happened.

And let's just say it's gonna cause him child support, and of course marrying a certain insect woman.

Giyu's POV

"Papa?" was all I heard, and my thoughts instantly vanished into a distant memory.

As I look over in shock to see Hitomi looking at me, what I could assume is a toothless grin.

Did I hear that right? No that's impossible, shouldn't her first words be mama or something?

I mean babies are supposed to recognize their mother more than their father, since they were literally the ones that were with each other from the start.

Well, it's either that or my hallucinations are starting to act up again, but no I definitely did not mishear her words.

She was just in earshot range so of course I should be assuming that it was real but this is all surprising, even for me.

"Papa!" She would babble again, but this time instead of her looking at me with a face of concern as I could assume; she was now hugging me?

Now that's definitely confirming the first one, but why? I'm pretty sure this is the only time she actually saw me.

And no, this can't be right at all, I'm not even her father yet she thinks I am! Does this always happen when she sees a man even if she just met them?

Didn't Shinobu say her husband died? Wait no, I shouldn't be calling her Shinobu..... We aren't even close in this life, and I was already used to calling her Kochou ever since our first lives..... I would only call her Shinobu sporadically and sometimes just out of nowhere.

But why? Why was this little girl calling me Papa even though I haven't even had the chance to at least introduce myself, which is probably unlikely considering that she can't really understand what I'm saying yet.

But then again she's still young, and her parental needs are a must since it's a form of guidance for her to grow into her own self.

And her just knowing her mother and not seeing any other person caring for her or her mother must have done something for this to happen, but on the other hand this can't explain the fact that she called me Papa without her even knowing who her father is......

God, I'm overthinking the simplest of things. This shouldn't even bother me, but somehow it does quite a lot.

And why am I trying to argue with myself? God, am I starting to become crazy?

"Papa!" Eventually I stopped my overflowing thoughts once more, this time she was looking at me with a face of what I could assume curiosity and concern.

That or she just saw something in my face that got her attention.

This is still a problem though, it would be embarrassing if Shino- I mean Kochou, would see the both of us while she screams Papa at me.

Not only would Kochou think that I'm brainwashing the kid to think that I'm her father, she'll also probably be kicking me with her bone crushing strength.

But could I even convince a 6 month old that I'm not her father? Highly unlikely, but then again the chances for getting killed by pillow suffocation are also pretty low, but aren't zero so what's to lose anyway.

Well here goes nothing....

Narrator's POV

So this is where we now see how everything goddamn spirals into a beautiful mess.

"No, I'm not your Papa. I'm just your mom's friend- well we just met but I could assume we have agreed to a somewhat acquaintance relationship aaaaand... that's too many big words for you to understand, but no I am not your Papa" Was what he would say to the baby, and like he already said the baby didn't even understand any of his statement at all.

"Papa!" She replied, this time pointing at him with her little index finger as he could only sigh.

"No, I'm not your Papa. It's Gi-yu not Pa-pa, I would assume that you could understand that now right? Well I know I shouldn't, but I hope you did" Is what he would reply, once more expecting that she'll at least know that but he was in for a much bigger surprise.

"Papa Giyu!" Was what she would giggle in response, definitely surprising the man yet he still wanted to correct the adorable mistake the little girl did.

"As surprising and adorable as that was, I'm still not your Papa, it's just Giyu. Please just say Giyu, I don't want any controversy" Was all he could comment on, even adding a bit of sarcasm before being disappointed once more.

"Papa Giyu!" And with this he would just give up, he really can't convince the little girl and there was nothing to lose with him being called Papa.

It was precious and all, but he still expected it to cause some problems so he just prepared himself from the worst outcome, but considering that he's already been living an endless nightmare... What more could he lose right?

"Fine, you can call me Papa. I can't really argue with a 6 month old, but if your mom kills me I'm holding you accountable for my imminent demise by a woman who's a foot smaller than me" Was all he could mutter as a response, and was rewarded by a toothless smile from the baby.

"Papa!" Rang over his ears once more and it ended with the little girl hugging him, and with him unconsciously hugging back.

Was this happiness? Oh yeah, definitely.

His fatherly instincts just somehow resurfaced from this act and I'm not surprised, he always had a knack to protect the innocent and that especially comes up to a hundred when it's younglings like them.

Not even noticing, a single tear would eventually spill out of his right eye; And with that came more tears, he didn't know why but he just did.

No he wasn't full on crying with an ugly face and all that shit, it's just full of tears and nothing else.

He didn't even show any sign of sadness at all, he looked more surprised to be honest but not just the surprise you'd normally think of.

It was like that resurfaced emotion from a memory you can't ever experience again, and it fit well knowing his unfortunate circumstances.

And it was all because of this little girl in his arms, who would've thought that the emotionless man would be crumbling in tears because of a baby?

But with that being said, he already did do this before, and it involves someone monumentally important to him.

And with that being said we see that said woman, arriving at the heartening scene.

And let's just say she saw everything, and yes every goddanged scene.

Shinobu's POV- A few minutes earlier....

What time was it? I finally finished the work Tomioka-san assigned me to.

I mean I did want to repay him so I asked him if I could help with the mess that happened, and he instructed me with rearranging the items that fell over.

But that was deemed too easy and I finished it in just a few minutes, so of course I asked if there was something else I could do.

And so once again he instructed me by sweeping the floor, which definitely took longer than expected since this shop is basically a warehouse.

I would slowly finish the work but as long as I could repay my debt, I'd do anything.

Well not in a sense of everything like in millions or trillions of dollars or any type of sexual favor, I mean it in a way where I could do anything in my disposal to help.

I mean luckily he isn't some type of pervert or creep, he was actually quite a gentleman.

And to be completely honest, because of that fact I would even work here without getting paid for all the things Tomioka-san did for us.

Hell, I basically owe him my life for protecting me and my kid! And the fact that we were basically complete strangers is an even stronger reason to repay his kindness!

Not just that, he actually looks good even with all those scars- Shinobu Kochou, what in the hell are you thinking?!?!!?

No, No, No! I already said I'm married! Yes I'm a widow, but I still vowed to love Douma even if death did us part!

God this is frustrating!!!! I'm not even tired of the work but my thoughts are just so infuriating and just drives me to insanity sometimes!

Was the lack of sleep eventually catching up to me? I hope not, plus that would be stupid!

I slept for 6 hours last night, and that's 33.3% more than what I'd actually have on any other day, so that's basically an improvement!

I mean yeah 4 hours is not a lot but I could catch it up with some coffee, tea or the occasional alcohol when I have the money, but I don't even feel tired at all!

But I guess it was stupid of me thinking that I could last forever with this lifestyle, I should probably try to rest and relax myself from this.

But still, it didn't tire me out as much as I would with Hitomi...... Wait, HITOMI! SHINOBU WHY ARE YOU A DUMBASS?!?!?!!(#)!# IT'S BEEN ALMOST 2 HOURS SINCE YOU LAST CHECKED ON HER!!!! GOD I'M SO FUCKING STUPIDDDDDDD!!!!!!!

I instantly ran to the room in panic, the fear of my baby girl getting hurt just invading my already stressed brain.

Why am I so stupid! All of this because of your stupid, childish thoughts about this man you just met!

I am such a horrible mother! I failed! Why are my parents not disappointed that they have a dumbass for their daughter?! Argggh fuck these thoughts I just need to see Hitomi!

Finishing those thoughts, I eventually did reach the room where Tomioka-san assigned/gave us for the night.

But instead of the sight of my daughter sleeping peacefully, I just see a ruffled bedsheet and the pillow on the floor.

I wanted to scream out of frustration and anger right now and then but I stopped myself from doing so, knowing that she's just around here wandering around these unfamiliar rooms.....

Plus she can't open any doors so she shouldn't have gone too far at all, and other than that the main entrance for the customers was still locked since Giyu-  I mean Tomioka-san didn't open for the day.

I wanted to search everything, but that would be inefficient and would just take too much time.

So I thought of things that attract kids a lot and that's when I thought, color! Kids are interested in a lot of vibrant things and well, the main store has the most vibrance in all of the building!

Well I was about to search for her over for the said place when I heard her voice, wait a minute did I hear that right?!

She was over there! Wow that's pretty good coming from me but who was she talking to? That's unusual, Hitomi never really talks that much and would just prefer to just do other things.

Well if it was a stranger at least, but when it's usually me she always babbles something and the occasional Mama.

I was near the store when I saw a glimpse of what I could say is the cutest thing I have ever seen in a while.

It was Hitomi hugging Tomioka-san, and him giving the most surprised face ever! They look like that one picture my mom took of me and my dad when I was a baby..... Tomioka-san and Hitomi look like such an adorable father and daughter duo.....

Wait! No you can't say that! Arghhh what am I saying?! Good God am I delirious right now!? How could I say something like that! As adorable the scene was these were the wrong thoughts!

Keep your composure Shinobu, just carefully approach the two. There's nothing wrong with that...... unless someone comes and knocks even though it's close and mistakes us for a family- NO! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!

Am I really this head over heels for this man?! I'm such a horrible wife for having these goddamned thoughts! Again, I may be a widow but I'm taking our vows to my grave! Even if I do feel some sort of attraction to someone I will resist myself....

And right after my thoughts were finally finished I heard something that just broke my mind for a second.

"Papa!" Did I hear that right?! Did Hitomi call Tomioka-san Papa?!

Oh no this is happening too fast! I can't marry someone I just met?! Let alone the fact that I may or may not love him already!

And here's my daughter basically giving me the green flag already! By the gods should I even intervene?

I know I should but.... This is just too much for my heart and brain to take right now, I guess I'm just seeing how he reacts.... And if this goes uphill or downhill.

I looked back to see him definitely surprised, but he instantly shook this off and answered something out of the ones I thought he'd answer with.

"No, I'm not your Papa. I'm just your mom's friend- well we just met but I could assume we have agreed to a somewhat acquaintance relationship aaaaand... that's too many big words for you to understand, but no I am not your Papa" It was pretty lengthy but he was undoubtedly right! Although as much as I'd hate to admit it, we are still in the acquaintance stage.

But before my thoughts could trail more, I noticed my baby looking at him in confusion; which isn't unusual at all considering the fact that the only word she would've known there is Papa.

And as I expected she only seems to answer with Papa, but this time she would exclaim it in full force and even point at him.

He would just sigh, but he would still insist that he wasn't her Papa.

"No, I'm not your Papa. It's Gi-yu not Pa-pa, I would assume that you could understand that now right? Well I know I shouldn't, but I hope you did" Is what I heard him say, but all of that went straight through the drain when the next sentence from Hitomi came.

"Papa Giyu!" I- WHAT?!?!?!?

WHEN DID MY BABY GIRL BECOME SO SMART?!?!??!?!?!(!!#)#!#)!?!?

God this is concerning, not only was that adorable it was also surprising to the point that I'm thinking "What in the hell did I teach this kid?".

I'm definitely sure that the only words she knows can't be understood, Mama and the recent addition of Papa.

But now she somehow knows how to pronounce a name that she just heard of....... I think this pretty much says that I probably should marry this man.

Not only did he help us with a lot, he would call me his wife and my daughter already calls him Papa with his first name........

Is this God's way of saying that we were meant to be? Or is this another twist of play by fate?

I seriously don't know and I'm clearly overthinking things but I still cannot believe the sight I'm saying right now.

Me and Tomioka-san are in utter shock, but my Hitomi just giggled from her response.

"As surprising and adorable as that was, I'm still not your Papa, it's just Giyu. Please just say Giyu, I don't want any controversy" Is all that he could reply to that, but Hitomi would still insist that he would be called Papa Giyu.

And with that I could see the face of defeat from him, and this time he would just utter the sentence "Fine, you can call me Papa. I can't really argue with a 6 month old, but if your mom kills me I'm holding you accountable for my imminent demise by a woman who's a foot smaller than me" which definitely offended me, but I just can't get the thought of him just letting a baby that isn't even his call him Papa.

I mean personally if a baby ever called me Mama even though I'm not the mother I would just freak out, but this man doesn't even seem fazed with that fact.

Hitomi would just call him Papa in Glee once more, and this time giving him such a heartwarming hug.

He was shocked, well not as shocked as the first time Hitomi hugged him but I could see a hint of emotion this time.

His expression just changed in an instant, and he would start to hug her back.

And this is where it all began to change......

His expression changed from shock to tears, but not the typical ones you'd expect to see.

He doesn't look sad at all, hell he doesn't even look like he's having happy tears.

It was just tears mixed with an emotionless face, but his gaze said otherwise.

I may not be as good as others when it comes to EQ (Emotional Quotient or the emotion based version of IQ) and all this emotional crap but I could tell that his face was that of resurfacing memories.... How I knew? Well it's because I had the same experience......

I really wanted to run and give them both a hug, but I couldn't just ruin such a moment like this.... I just can't.... Something's saying that it just wasn't the right move.....

And so I let them, I should probably head back and freshen up for now, because I know that my baby is definitely in the safest hands I could possibly think of right now.

Narrator's POV

As Shinobu would leave the two their privacy, Giyu would notice her sudden presence.

He saw how she left both of them, did she see everything?

It confused him but he could only look back at the smiling toddler who was still hugging him, and he could only smile back.

But it still made him wonder if she agreed or even approved of her kid calling him her dad.

But shaking the thought, he wipes the remaining tears from his face and starts to entertain the kid, the little girl happily joining with his antics, and the both of them just starting to bond more and more.

If you were a customer that day, you'd definitely just think that it was just a simple father and daughter, but it's just mind boggling that the fact that they aren't is just as surprising as you getting a perfect test you didn't even try to answer.

Hell even I would mistake them for that, and I'm writing this shit! God I just hope that the Giyu and Shinobu give her a little sibling- wait a minute that's a bit too fast..... Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Anyways skipping ahead of time, we could see them all getting closer and much more acquainted with themselves.

Giyu would still own the store, Shinobu would often visit with Hitomi and even leave her in his care in some times where she would be needed for the whole day.

She recently got a much better job, higher pay and a much better working environment.

And she also found a new apartment near Giyu's shop, so whenever she needed help in case of emergency she could just go over to Giyu (his suggestion/idea).

Hitomi grew up fast too, she was now 2 years old and oh was she the bundle of energy.

She learned to walk after turning 10 months and now she just ran around quicker than what Giyu and Shinobu could comprehend, and she was just 2!

She would hide from the two, play tag, learn new things, talk to her endlessly and letting her live the best she could.

Giyu was the same old man, a little bit older but still retaining the youthful look.

He wasn't as depressed as he was in his other lives, but he still hoped that this life was the end of his godforsaken curse.

It wasn't perfect yes, but this was the best life he lived yet.

I mean yeah he just went through the roughest and darkest part of our history but he experienced countless things, and because of that even the war would feel miniscule in comparison.

Dude literally went through all of the possible mental health illnesses, went through most of the atrocities this world could offer and even causing them himself.

And this life wasn't like the others where the people close to him did die in front of him or caused did die because of his insolence and mistakes, hell he didn't even see any of them.

Well excluding Shinobu's sisters and some of the Hashira, but his parents and the teens other than Kanao were nowhere for him to see.

Plus he was an orphan in this life, Tsutako and his parents died in the war and he was left in an orphanage was what they told him.

He hasn't seen Makomo or Sabito too, which he deemed fine as long as they stayed away from the war beforehand but other than that it was just Mr. Urokodaki.

Then we have Shinobu, she was also pretty much the same.

But a lot of things changed when Tomioka came to their lives, and we'll be listing them all.

She eventually got over Douma's death, accepting that she could never have him back and just praying that he would watch over them from wherever he is.

She'd start to open up more towards Giyu, even telling stories of their younger years towards the man who intently listened to every word she said.

She didn't know why but seeing Giyu engrossed on one of her stories was something else, she felt this weird feeling that she did this towards him before.

But that would be impossible knowing that she just opened up this once, even with them knowing each other for a year she never did say these things to him.

She would just shake the thought of the deja vu and just proceed with strengthening their relationship by telling each other their lives, him telling about the war (not like he could tell her that he remembers every past life he lived) while she tells him about her and Douma.

He still loved the man, he was definitely a part of her life she just can't forget but somehow Giyu just felt different; a good type of different.

And as the time would pass, she slowly fell more in love with the man that she was "friends" with.

The relationship would evolve from them just being casual friends to having them rely on each other, and someone would say that of a typical married couple.

They'd start calling each other with their first names, even started hugging casually with Hitomi joining in with the cuteness.

They'd help each other with taxes, bills, planning on allowances and savings, chores, and raising Hitomi to be the woman she could be.

They would even go on play dates on parks with matching outfits and they somehow aren't even courting each other!

People would say compliments like "You're daughter is adorable!" "What a nice family" "You 3 look like the epitome of a perfect family" "I want to know how you have such a nice relationship with your family!" And with all of them just being disappointed/surprised with the fact that they're just fucking friends.

And the fact that the kid literally calls Giyu dad or papa wasn't even actually true knowing that they weren't even related, but they were still confused on how the two looked too related.

Like Giyu's appearance must've rubbed off on Hitomi cause goddamn they look uncanny, like if Giyu was a girl and her age they'd pretty much look the same.

Drives me goddamn nuts, but I really can't do anything about it (which is cap since I just wanted y'all to suffer wahahhdhshcjzhz).

But even with all of these in mind, Shinobu would still deny any feelings with the man, and to go as far as she would try to bury those feelings six feet under even though it hurt her.

But there was one time that all of that was pretty much downed in the drain, a really memorable one at that but goddamn was it embarrassing.

It was around the time Giyu was introduced to Shinobu's family, and boy did it bring in some misunderstandings.

The 3 where greeted with the surprised faces of the Kochou family, and let's just say that they didn't even get the chance to take their shoes off before getting stormed with a bullet storm of questions.

And did I mention Sanemi, Obanai, Mitsuri and Gyomei were also there? Yeah, Sanemi still hates Giyu here so moving on!

"Shinobu who's the guy with the baby blue eyes? Why is he so tall? What happened in the span of 2 years of you being gone? Why does he look so rugged and what's with the scars? And why is this guy so handsome?!" Her older sister would barrage her with questions, Shinobu just melting down from the embarrassment of her saying the wrong things and making the misunderstandings even more of a trouble.

Did I mention that Giyu was much more different from his other selves here? No? Oh well, I should say that he's quite taller here.

Coming from the fact that he was only half Japanese here, his dad being an American and his mother being the Japanese.

He's around 6'4 here, 2 inches taller than Douma but still goddamn was he tall here.

Anyways going back to the interaction, he would introduce himself to everyone present in the room, and answering all of Kanae's questions as truthful as he could.

"I'm Giyu Tomioka, I'm a former sergeant of the 2nd platoon. Sorry for not introducing myself any sooner! I am Shinobu's friend, I am honored to meet all of you" Is what he would introduce with, bowing over them as a sign of respect.

Kanae would raise her eyebrows with a sly smirk, "Already on the first name basis?" flooding her brain as her smirk grew.

And it escalated quickly, Shinobu's parents asking him all about what he thinks about Shinobu, and if he'd like to take their daughter's hand in marriage even though she was a widow with a kid; to which Giyu could only stay silent in with Shinobu just being embarrassed.

Mitsuri, Iguro and Gyomei would also join in. Wanting to know about this newly introduced man, and his history.

Sanemi would just listen over but not intently, he wasn't that much of a jerk so he still wanted to know about a few things.

"So you were in the war? How long? And why did you retire early? Are you still single? Can you marry my daughter?" All of these questions would come from the 'annoying' person Shinobu would call her father, to which Giyu would give a short explanation that answered every question he was given.

"Yes, for almost 2 decades. I started when I was just 16, enlisted myself even though I was underaged but I had nothing to rely on so I had to earn the money somehow. I retired around the 16th year when I was 32 because I felt like the unpleasant images from the war resurfacing after what I've experienced in the field just bothered me a little too much, so I decided on a peaceful life of having a humble business instead. And yes I'm still single sir, but I couldn't do that knowing that your daughter only sees me as her friend, I can't force a relationship it's just wrong" Was what he'd answer with, surprising the man and everyone in the room.

Who knew the man went through things like that, and what a gentleman!

Father Kochou definitely approved of him, that includes the other people from the Kochou family.

Hell even Sanemi kinda approved, plus having a war veteran as a brother-in-law sounds cool right?

And yeah him and Kanae are engaged and about to marry, also yes Mitsuri and Shinobu are friends since they met in Giyu's shop and instantly became friends.

And they became family friends too, Gyomei included.

Anyways moving on, they had drinks and alcohol can lead to a lot of things.

They would talk about how Giyu wasn't even bothered with the fact that Hitomi calls him Papa; with him replying that he just got used to her doing it.

With that being said, they still wondered how Shinobu and Giyu weren't still a thing, like wtf? Shinobu's kid literally calls him Papa already, and that alone should be a good enough reason to marry the depresso.

Plus they know she likes him, like she down bad for the man but she's just denying it too much.

And Giyu wasn't even hiding it, bro he would literally switch to googly heart eyes whenever he looks at her.

The sexual tension between the two was just too much, but hey alcohol solves it.

As they say in my county "Alcohol brings out the truth in someone" and goddigitty damn it did.

And let's just say that Shinobu and Giyu had a lot of hickeys, and the hottest night they had.

Which actually didn't happen but they did make out, for 5 minutes which definitely surprised the audience.

And these fuckers told then that they were just friends.... Those fuckers lied to them big time.

But anyways they would still look back at that memory, even if it was almost 2 decades ago.

And here they were in their fifties, living their retirement to the fullest while their kids went on with their own jobs and visiting them from time to time.

Hitomi (means eye, which she's the apple of the eyes of both Giyu and Shinobu) was now working for a tech company, their first biological child Akimitsu (male, means glitter or clear) was currently in college, their second youngest Tomoe (female, means blessing which she was) was nearly finished with highschool, and their youngest Mine (yes this is a Japanese name and pronounced mi-ney and it's perfect since it means third daughter which I was also surprised when I found it out) was halfway in highschool.

Their family was definitely something, even with decrepit old selves they still somehow were the coolest parents for them.

They would always go to concerts if they could, especially pop and rock ones (my fave genres).

They went to concerts by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley and even The Rollingstones.

They also went to vacations once Hitomi or Akimitsu would have their breaks, which involves quite a lot of travelling at times and even their grandparents (which are already at their 80's but they're still fighting).

And that's why their family is so close that if one of them ever gets sick or even hurt, they'd just stop everything that they're currently doing and just focus on that person.

However even with all the happiness they're currently experiencing, there's always that lulling feeling before the storm comes and destroys everything.

But that's a story for another day......

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A/N- Well this is the second part to the trilogy! The ending is next soooooo I'LL SEE Y'ALL LATER! HELL NEEDS IT'S SECOND IN COMMAND BYEBYE MY FRIENDSSSSSSSS!!!!!