Night fell, and Tendo quietly slipped out of the old man's room, deftly climbing onto the roof to lie back and leisurely gaze at the stars.
Suddenly, one end of a ladder clattered against the roof, followed by the sound of footsteps on wood.
Creak, creak. As he looked up, Shinobu's small head popped up over the eaves.
"Tendo, what are you doing?"
"Looking at the stars!"
As he spoke, Tendo pointed downward. Shinobu followed his gesture and nearly fell off the ladder in fright—it was so high up.
"Eek!"
Just as she was about to lose her balance, Tendo grabbed her hand and pulled her up onto the roof.
"Such a young kid, and already learning bad habits—just taking advantage of people, you little pervert!"
A tiny angelic version of Tendo appeared, pointing at him and scolding.The next second, a little devil named Tendo kicked the angel away and said triumphantly:
"Idiot, what nonsense. It's just saving someone, what bad intentions could there be?"
"Tendo!"
"You're such a rogue, holding a girl's hand and not letting go!" Shinobu Kocho gave Tendo a knock on the head, pouting angrily like a little hamster.
"I was afraid you'd fall!" Tendo quickly let go of her hand, guiltily looking away.
And so, another little girl appeared on the roof of the Kuwayama household.
After lying there for a while, Tendo took out a small glass bottle filled with red liquid from his pocket. The bottle was shaped like a miniature chibi version of Tendo himself.
He handed the bottle to Shinobu, who looked puzzled.
"What's this?"
"Life-Saver 3000!"
"Huh?"
Little question marks seemed to float above Shinobu Kocho's head, her big eyes filled with even bigger confusion.
"Take a sip when you're injured—it speeds up wound healing. A family heirloom medicine!"
"Of course, it also works when you're sick. Shelf life is one month!"
As Tendo explained, the curious Shinobu immediately called him out, saying seriously:
"But Grandpa Kuwayama said he picked you up. How could you have a family heirloom medicine?"
Tendo: "Uh... (?_?)"
The old man really tells everything, huh.
Also, are little girls these days really this hard to fool?
The scientific name was Life-Saver 3000, but in reality, it was just Tendo's blood.
He was afraid the truth would be hard to accept, so he came up with this name instead.
Bloody it was, but life-saving it could be—Grandpa Kuwayama could vouch for that.
"Ah, whatever!"
"Just keep it. We're all family here—it's not like I'd poison you."
Shinobu pulled out the stopper and brought it close to her nose, sniffing carefully.
A faint metallic smell—it was blood.
"Your blood?"
"Yeah!"
"I have a special constitution—I eat a lot, and my blood has unique properties!"
"If you find it disgusting, forget it. After all, asking you to drink my blood is a bit weird when you think about it."
Tendo said this calmly, since only demons drank blood and ate flesh—normal people would have a hard time accepting it.
"Then thank you. It could really save my life in a pinch!"
"You're kind of like a demon in this regard!"
Shinobu accepted it readily. She had long noticed Tendo's peculiarities—it was a physician's instinct.
During the fight with the skeleton that night, she had witnessed Tendo's wounds scabbing over in less than a minute—something no normal person could do.
"Let me know if you run out!" Seeing Shinobu accept it, Tendo broke into a happy smile.
"This little bottle is so fun—it even has expressions!" Shinobu held the chibi Tendo bottle, smiling faintly, her dimples showing.
No sooner had she spoken than Tendo produced eight more small bottles between his fingers.
Smiling, crying, angry...
Every expression was accounted for, all thanks to the glassblower uncle in Momoyama Town.
"I've got plenty of these!"
Before Shinobu could reply, Grandpa Kuwayama's furious yelling erupted.
"You little brat, climbing the roof again!"
"Not sleeping in the middle of the night—do you want to go to heaven or something?"
Sigh!
Tendo shook his head. "Shinobu, time to sleep, or I'm gonna get beaten. You have no idea—when the old man hits me, he uses actual techniques."Thus, Shinobu Kocho lived with this pair of quarrelsome master and disciple for a week.
A week later, the two bid farewell to Kuwajima Jigoro.
Their next destination was the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters. Regarding the Breathing Techniques, Tendo Kazama had a grand ambition.
Since the five major Breathing Techniques originated from the Sun Breathing—the first of them all—he believed that by observing the five major styles, he could accomplish one thing with his innate talent: reverse-engineering.
...
Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
A boisterous boy in a black kimono stood at the entrance, his face adorned with a bright, cheerful smile. Just standing there, the boy radiated warmth like a small sun.
He had long yellow hair, the tips blazing fiery red, and beneath his thick black eyebrows were a pair of large, spirited eyes.
Beyond this fiery passion, there was also a touch of gentleness in the boy's expression.
"Father said Tendo should be arriving soon—where is he?"
Kyojuro Rengoku muttered to himself. Ever since his father returned, he had constantly mentioned a boy named Tendo Kazama.
Kyojuro himself had developed a great interest in this stranger he had never met, especially since the medicine he provided had stabilized his mother's condition.
One could say that in Kyojuro's heart, he had already nearly regarded Tendo as a blood brother.
As the fiery older brother waited eagerly, two small figures appeared on the horizon.
It was Tendo and Shinobu Kocho.
"Wow, the headquarters really is well-hidden. Without the Kasugai Crow, we'd definitely get lost," Shinobu remarked, gazing into the distance with barely contained excitement—she could finally see her sister again.
Tendo, however, wasn't as thrilled as Shinobu. After all, he already knew too much.
But there was one thing he particularly liked—the scenery at the headquarters was truly beautiful.
Kyojuro stared intently into the distance, his mind processing Tendo's appearance.
Deep red hair, golden eyes, accompanied by a girl.
Identity confirmed—this was the sworn brother he had already acknowledged.
"Tendo!"
"Please accept my deepest gratitude for saving my mother!"
With an expression of utter shock, Tendo watched as his "big brother" slid into a kneeling bow right in front of him.
"Holy—! ((???|||))"
"Big bro, if you keep this up, I'll die young!"
"Hm?"
"Big bro?"
Kyojuro stood up, dusting off his clothes before slinging an arm around Tendo's shoulders. With three hearty laughs, he declared:
"Since you acknowledge me as your big brother, let's swear brotherhood!"
The situation was unfolding too quickly—Tendo's brain had short-circuited.
He knew Kyojuro was passionate, but he hadn't expected the intensity to be this high. First meeting, and they were already jumping into a sworn brotherhood?
"Wait, wait, wait!"
"We just met for the first time."
"Right, right!" Kyojuro nodded.
"Do you even know who I am?"
"You're Tendo!"
"I don't even know who you are!" (If not for knowing the story, Tendo genuinely wouldn't.)
"I am Kyojuro Rengoku, twelve years old. My father is Shinjuro Rengoku, my mother is—"
Kyojuro was an honest soul, his earnest gaze shining like a divine beacon.
"So, can we swear brotherhood now?" Tendo's head was still spinning.
What was this about "Reincarnated in Another World, My Big Brother is Obsessed with Becoming Sworn Brothers with Me"?