Gyomei Himejima.
Himejima.
Master Himejima.
Kaigaku always thought he had forgotten that name, just as his own dirty past would be washed clean by time and sink to the bottom of everyone's memory.
No one would remember.
No one would remember that many years ago, a child made a deal with a demon to save his life.
"I'll go back to the temple and extinguish the wisteria incense…" Young Kaigaku said in a trembling voice.
"And then ~" He couldn't remember the demon's appearance anymore; the only thing he remembered was its pungent stench.
"Then… there are eight children in the house, only one big blind monk, they have no resistance."
That's right, just say it, just say it!
You did nothing wrong, Kaigaku!
"Why did you steal money!" The children cursed him, throwing stones and mud at him.
"Why did you steal everyone's money!" They angrily accused him, looking utterly ridiculous.
"Get him out! Don't let him stay in the temple anymore! Thieves are not welcome here!"
The older children pushed Kaigaku, driving him out of the temple.
Those people, those children, should have been torn to shreds!
Encountering demons was all thanks to them!
If he hadn't been driven out by them, why would he still be wandering outside at this hour!
Then, the demon nodded.
He secretly snuck back into the temple under the cover of night and extinguished the incense.
The demon rushed into the temple, tearing a child to pieces right away.
Ha, that's the price for pushing me.
Kaigaku laughed gleefully, quietly slipping away before the commotion.
Later, he heard that almost all the children in the temple had died, and Master Himejima had survived but was beheaded as the murderer.
I didn't expect… he's actually still alive?
Kaigaku's hands and feet trembled. He looked at Haruto, who had a smile on his lips, but felt a chilling cold in his eyes.
"Mr. Himejima is a kind and friendly person. Although he cannot see, his heart is wider than the heavens and earth.
But at first, my interactions with him weren't pleasant. Do you know why?"
Haruto was asking him, but Kaigaku dared not answer a single word.
"Because Mr. Himejima seemed to hold a grudge against younger children, and this situation continued until I was older and it improved.
I became a Star Pillar, and became his colleague, on equal footing, only then did he tell me some things that happened many years ago…"
With a thud, Kaigaku knelt on the ground, shaking like a sieve.
"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Please stop talking…"
The white-haired swordsman's gaze was as sharp as a blade, poised at Kaigaku's neck, as if it could send him to the afterlife in the next second.
He could only prostrate himself on the ground, his forehead pressed tightly to the floor, remorsefully admitting his mistakes to Haruto.
"It's all my fault, I was afraid of death…"
Why is it all my fault! Why are you making things difficult for me?
Shouldn't the one who should be questioned most be Gyomei Himejima?
So powerful, yet why pretend to be just an ordinary monk!
Why would he allow demons to exist around the temple?
He indirectly caused the deaths of so many children, and now he's righteously sitting in a Pillar's position, flaunting those old, rotten affairs everywhere!
Why!
"Heh…"
Haruto lowered his head and looked at him with pity.
"Is it truly sincere repentance, or a temporary measure due to being found out?
I really wish I could borrow Tanjirou's nose to smell what kind of scent you're giving off right now."
"Please forgive me! Please forgive me! I will dedicate my life to the cause of slaying demons! You… you can watch me!"
"Of course, of course, I will watch you closely."
Haruto nodded as if it were obvious, then squatted down and leaned in close to him: "Whether outside or inside the Demon Slayer Corps, whether now or in the future.
My eyes will always be on you, staring fixedly at you."
A disciple falling to become a demon?
That is the most shameful thing for a trainer.
Even just a simple desertion in battle would make his trainer and fellow disciples feel ashamed.
If he truly fell to become a demon… then his trainer would probably only have one path left: ritual suicide.
Haruto would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen. Mr. Kuwajima, who dedicated his entire life to the Demon Slayer Corps and even lost a leg, should not meet such an end.
The threat in the swordsman's words was too strong, scaring Kaigaku so much that he didn't dare to look up for a long time.
He lay on the ground for a long time, only daring to lift his head when silence fell around him. Haruto was already gone.
"Whew…"
He let out a long breath, only to realize his back was already drenched in cold sweat.
Damn it, damn it!
Punching the ground heavily, Kaigaku slumped to the ground, gritting his teeth at the sky.
Why is everyone making things difficult for me!
The old man is like this, that blonde guy is like this, and now this Pillar and his disciple, who came from who knows where, are also like this!
...Himejima became a Pillar, that Haruto is also a Pillar, this Demon Slayer Corps... how can he stay here anymore... should he run away?
..."Breath of the Stars, First Form: Tear of Light."
A flash of blue-purple sword light carried Haruto's figure to the front in the direction of the swing, tearing the wooden post in front of him into pieces.
"So fast!" Zenitsu watched Haruto practice his sword with wide eyes, getting hit on the butt with a small wooden stick by Kuwajima Jigoro: "Practice your sword quickly!"
"Grandpa, I just sprained my ankle!"
"No nonsense, if you talk more nonsense, no dinner today!"
After scolding Zenitsu, Kuwajima Jigoro turned to instruct Haruto.
Although the Breath of the Stars is not a branch of Thunder Breathing, it has certain correlations in terms of speed and techniques.
For example, their First Forms, Tear of Light and Thunderclap and Flash, are both linear thrusting skills based on speed, capable of producing a rapid displacement.
However, there are also differences. Thunder Breathing pursues extreme speed and super explosive power, while the Breath of the Stars focuses on extreme speed and peculiarity, as mysterious as the stars in the sky.
With Mr. Kuwajima's help, Haruto corrected some physical errors and changed the speed that would slow down his attack speed. After three days, he found that something in his mind was gradually taking shape.
It encompassed both the strangeness of the Breath of the Stars and the speed and super destructiveness of Thunder Breathing… "Hoo…"
Genya kept his eyes on Haruto's every move. Although he couldn't learn Breathing Techniques, it didn't stop him from memorizing all of them.
That way, it would be convenient for him to tell Tanjirou or pass it on to future generations.
The starting stance was still so ordinary; if it weren't for someone very close, it would be impossible to discern Haruto's next move from his initial posture.
From afar, Genya seemed to see a star leaping from Haruto's blade.
No, it wasn't a star!
It was a ray of sunlight reflected when Haruto held his sword upright in front of him.
The next second, the reflection disappeared, and the white-haired swordsman's legs exploded with powerful propulsion. With the help of the strong thrust, he vanished from his original spot.
In a brief instant, he traversed nearly thirty meters, and as he approached the wooden post, his sword light flared, rapidly delivering dozens of cuts with both forehand and backhand. Each strike was executed in an extremely rare and peculiar manner, utterly demolishing the thick wooden post.
What a powerful technique, perfectly integrating speed, explosive power, and peculiarity!
Whew.
Haruto let out a long breath, his toes, which had just exerted power, felt a little sore.
Breath of the Stars, Sixth Form… what should it be called?