"Oh! Hello, Brother Yohan! I'm my brother's sister, Kamado Nezuko!"
Nezuko didn't quite understand what was happening to her. She'd met plenty of people from town before, but none of them had ever made her heart skip the way this man did.
"Shall we go inside?" Yohan suggested with a calm smile.
"Ah, y-yes, of course." Flustered, Nezuko quickly turned and led the two of them into the house.
"Brother! Brother!"
"You're back, Tanjiro!"
Tanjiro's younger siblings, along with their mother, came out happily to welcome their big brother home.
"Hello, I'm Yohan," he introduced himself politely, turning to Tanjiro's mother. "I asked Tanjiro to help guide me into the mountains to look for a particular flower."
"Welcome, Yohan. Our home is a bit modest—please don't mind that," Kamado Kie responded with warm sincerity. As a mother, she trusted her eldest son's judgment. If Tanjiro had brought someone home, he couldn't possibly be a bad person.
"Mom, these are the things I bought today." Tanjiro reached to retrieve the rice he had purchased, which was packed deep at the bottom of his basket, making it difficult to get out.
Yohan stepped forward and easily pulled out the meat and vegetables he had bought himself, handing them to Kie.
"Auntie, please take these."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly." Kie tried to push them back toward him. Their family was indeed struggling, but how could they accept such expensive offerings from a guest her son had brought home?
But Yohan gently yet firmly pressed the food into her arms and smiled. "Auntie, no need to be so polite. I'm really looking forward to tasting your cooking! And besides, Tanjiro's helping me tomorrow—he won't get far on an empty stomach."
Hearing that, Kie realized it would be rude to continue refusing. "Alright, then let me start cooking right away." She turned and walked off to the kitchen, arms full.
"I'll help you, Mom!" Nezuko followed her in.
"Yohan, you really didn't have to…" Tanjiro said, clearly uncomfortable. He hadn't even helped Yohan yet, and already he was giving their family so much—meat and vegetables they almost never had the chance to eat.
"Haha, well then tomorrow you'd better guide me well, Tanjiro."
"I promise I'll do everything I can to help you find that flower," Tanjiro said seriously, making a firm promise in his heart.
When the rest of the family heard that Yohan was from outside the town and just passing through, the younger siblings swarmed him with excitement. All of them were desperate to hear about the world beyond the mountains.
As Yohan described the things he'd seen and the places he'd been, their eyes sparkled with wonder. To children whose entire world was this tiny village, everything he said was like a magical fairy tale.
"Brother Yohan! Will I get to see those things someday too?" This came from Kamado Hanako, the fourth sibling, who often clung to her older brother. But right now, she looked entirely swept away by her own dreams.
"You will. All of you will," Yohan said gently, looking at the bright, hopeful faces in front of him. And in that moment, he made a quiet decision in his heart.
"Time to eat!" Nezuko called out, prompting everyone to gather. She'd been listening in too, her heart equally stirred by Yohan's words.
With Yohan joining them, the family squeezed in close around the table. Tonight, it was more crowded than usual, but the mood was lively and full of joy.
Especially for the younger kids, seeing the table filled with meat and vegetables was a rare treat—something they usually only experienced during the New Year.
"Wow! I want this one, and that one too!" exclaimed Kamado Shigeru, unable to contain his excitement.
"Hey! Don't be rude—wait for our guest to eat first!" Kie scolded, lightly whacking his head with a chop-chop hand gesture.
"Ah! That hurt!"
"Hahaha, it's alright, Auntie! Let's all dig in together!"
With Yohan's cheerful tone lightening the mood, the meal turned into a joyful celebration. They not only got to enjoy delicious food, but the entire house felt more vibrant, more alive.
As the eldest daughter, Nezuko was especially sensitive to these changes. She remembered how her mother had secretly wiped away tears in the kitchen earlier, and how the courtyard had echoed with her siblings' laughter—all thanks to this one man named Yohan.
After dinner, Kie took the little ones to bed. Tanjiro was outside checking the house's surroundings for safety, leaving just Nezuko and Yohan alone in the courtyard.
She watched him silently for a while, standing under the starry sky with his head tilted up, deep in thought. Something about his presence seemed distant yet comforting.
Before she realized it, her lips had already spoken, "Yohan, what are you thinking about?"
"Me? I'm just marveling at how mysterious this world is."
"Mysterious?" she echoed.
"Yeah. It gave me a chance—to change so many things." Nezuko didn't really understand what he meant, but she could feel the joy in his voice.
"Yohan… thank you." She finally said the words she had been holding in her heart.
Back in the kitchen, she had seen the food Yohan brought—so much meat, so many vegetables. Things they rarely got to eat. Nezuko herself didn't care much, but her younger siblings were growing fast, and their family income relied almost entirely on Tanjiro. The food Yohan brought would last them a long time if rationed properly. She was truly, deeply grateful.
"Nezuko, hold out your hands."
Yohan had walked up to her now, and from his pocket, he slipped something small into her palm.
"This is…?!"
"Konpeitō! Sugar stars!"
Nezuko stared, wide-eyed, at the delicate candy in her hand—her favorite treat. She hadn't even tasted it yet, and her heart already felt sweet.
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