Yuki gazed at the siblings, a wave of complex emotions washing over him.
His intervention had undeniably altered the Kamado family's fate.
Nezuko hadn't become a demon.
Tanjiro no longer had to risk his life repeatedly, battling those grotesque demons.
Therefore—
As the root cause of all this, that bastard Muzan needed to be dragged into the sunlight sooner rather than later!
After greeting Nezuko and Tanjiro, Yuki finally met Kamado kie.
She was still wearing her white square-necked robe and a white headscarf.
Seeing Yuki, kie's face lit up with surprise and joy.
"Mr. Yuki, it's wonderful to finally meet you!"
"I'm so sorry for mistaking you for..."
"In any case, the Kakushi here have told us everything that happened."
"We are truly grateful for saving our entire family!"
"Children, hurry and thank the man who saved our lives!"
After kie's introductions, Yuki finally recognized all the current members of the Kamado family.
Besides Mrs. Kamado, Tanjiro, and Nezuko, whom he had already met, the other members were Takeo, Hanako, Shigeru, and Rokuta.
Seeing the children gathered around him, Yuki couldn't resist reaching out to pat each of their heads.
Amidst the warmth of the moment, that familiar thought resurfaced:
Why can't Muzan just go stand in the sun and hurry up and die already?
After chatting with the Kamado family for a while, Yuki prepared to leave.
But as soon as he stepped out of the room, Tanjiro followed him.
Meeting Yuki's slightly puzzled gaze, Tanjiro finally voiced the question that had been weighing on his heart:
"May I ask why you appeared at our home that day and saved us from that monster?"
Yuki's gaze drifted to Tanjiro's Hanafuda earrings, and he smiled faintly.
"Let's just say it was a promise I made to your ancestors."
Meanwhile, in another part of the Butterfly Mansion, Giyu sat rigidly in a corner of the treatment area.
"I am not injured and do not require treatment."
"Murata and I immediately went to investigate the train after receiving our orders."
"However, the Demon had already left by the time we arrived, so we did not engage in combat."
"Therefore, I am not injured and do not require treatment."
Across from him, Shinobu maintained her smile, but a vein bulged on her forehead.
"You only need to say it once. There's no need to repeat yourself."
Giyu's usually expressionless face, which often made him seem rigid, now showed a rare hint of confusion.
Among the Pillars, Shinobu often initiated conversations with him.
Yet for some reason, after exchanging a few words, she would suddenly fall silent.
Could it be true, as Mr. Yuki had suggested, that she disliked him?
After pondering for a moment, Giyu voiced his question:
"Kocho, do you dislike me?"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Shinobu's face instantly transformed into astonishment.
"You actually have the self-awareness to realize you're disliked?!"
Recalling Giyu's recent experiences, she couldn't help but press further:
"Did Mr. Yuki tell you that?"
Giyu nodded, but his expression remained puzzled.
"That's right. Through my conversations with him, I realized something else."
"Directly expressing my thoughts—that seems to be what you call 'normal communication' with people."
Shinobu froze.
She had only met Yuki once, at the Pillar Meeting. Her impression of him was that of a swordsman highly regarded by the Lord, even stronger than Sanemi.
If she had any other impressions, it was the news that Yuki had slain two Lower Moon Demons while on a special mission with Sanemi and Kyojuro.
Now it seemed this Yuki was not only incredibly strong but could also "teach" Giyu?
Comparing her own "teaching results" with Yuki's, Shinobu unconsciously nodded.
"You're right. Directly expressing your thoughts, as Yuki suggested, is indeed better than the methods I taught you."
Giyu countered with unwavering seriousness:
"If that's the case, why did you and Sanemi react so negatively?"
Shinobu felt a vein throbbing on her forehead again.
"Because you kept repeating yourself!"
"As for Sanemi... what exactly did you say to him?"
Giyu paused to recall, then replied with his usual earnestness:
"He was saying some rather pessimistic things at the time, so I combined Yuki's words with my own experiences and pointed out that constantly dwelling on such negativity wasn't healthy."
"Like I always say, 'I'm different from you all.' Actually..."
This was the first time Shinobu had heard Giyu personally explain the meaning behind his words, "I'm different from you all."
She froze, then softly murmured after a moment, "So that's what you've always thought."
As soon as she said it, Shinobu realized something was wrong.
"Wait! Even Sanemi wouldn't keep arguing with you after hearing all that. He might even tell Iguro about it."
"You must have said something else!"
Giyu nodded.
"Yes, I also told him, 'If you're bad, practice more.'"
After saying this, Giyu even took the time to explain the meaning of "If you're bad, practice more" to her.
Creak—
Shinobu's grip tightened on the medical instrument in her hand.
She finally understood the root of Giyu's "problem."
His biggest issue wasn't a lack of communication skills, but a complete lack of emotional intelligence!
To confirm this hypothesis, she only needed to conduct a simple test.
So Shinobu said:
"Let's do a test," Shinobu said.
"Imagine we come across a large crowd gathered around something, but we're both standing outside the perimeter."
"I'm incredibly curious and eager to see what's happening inside. What would you do?"
Giyu pondered the question earnestly.
However, his first words made Shinobu lose her composure:
"Someone as short as you wouldn't be able to see over the crowd anyway."
Suppressing her anger, Shinobu pressed on:
"So? What would you do?"
Giyu replied in a deep voice:
"I know how much you value your haori because it was left to you by your sister."
"Whether I carried you or lifted you up, it would inevitably wrinkle your haori, so I can't do that."
Shinobu froze again, stunned.
His thoughtfulness... it's so delicate and gentle?
Then she heard Giyu say:
"So I'd grip the back of your neck and lift you up."