After Yoriichi rose and followed Kagaya out, the atmosphere in the room visibly loosened.
Iguro stood up without hesitation and left. Sanemi followed in silence.
His thoughts were a mess—he despised demons, yet Hiru had once saved his life. Part of him was worried about what Iguro might do. The other part… just needed time to sort everything out.
Gyomei remained where he was. After a moment of silence, he murmured a quiet Buddhist chant through his tears, then turned and walked away, clutching his broken prayer beads.
Sabito watched them go. After giving Hiru a small nod, he lifted the exhausted Makomo onto his back and followed after Shinobu, who had already left to prepare medicine.
He had been the one to bring those two into the Corps. He had always believed they would grow into outstanding swordsmen.
In the end, he needed time to steady himself as well.
Giyu stepped forward, his expression stiff, and lightly patted Hiru on the shoulder.
"…Don't die so easily."
"…I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll take it as a compliment."
Giyu froze for a moment, his face going blank. He instinctively turned his head—only to realize Sabito had already left with Makomo.
His lips pressed together.
"…I mean it. Don't die so easily."
Hiru: …
"I think what Giyu means is that you should value your life," Kanae said gently as she approached. "Hiru, why don't you come talk with us about demons later? Maybe Shinobu and I can give you some ideas… perhaps even help you develop a medicine that turns demons back into humans."
"It's unlikely," Hiru replied with a faint smile. "But I appreciate the thought."
He glanced toward the doorway.
"And Shinobu… seems to have taken this pretty hard because of me. Could you talk to her? Don't let her become as stubborn as Iguro."
Kanae let out a soft sigh.
"I'll keep an eye on her. But Hiru… please don't let something like today happen again."
Her gaze softened.
"Yoriichi cares about you deeply. If you ask something of him—even if it goes against everything he wants—he'll still follow your lead."
She paused briefly.
"He didn't say anything… but when you talked about dying, I could feel how much sorrow—and anger—he was holding back."
"Could you… try to think about Yoriichi a little more? The same way you've always thought about us?"
"…Yeah. I understand."
Hiru lowered his gaze, exhaling quietly.
"Before the final battle… I won't do something like that again."
Kanroji hurried over, her expression bright and completely unguarded.
"I never imagined you were a demon who doesn't eat humans, Mr. Hiru! Honestly, during that illusion earlier, I was so hungry I could barely stand it—but you endured the whole time. That's incredible!"
"Indeed!" Rengoku approached energetically. "Brother Hiru and Yoriichi do not consume humans, which must make sustaining yourselves quite difficult!"
He clasped his hands together.
"You should join us for a meal later! Kanroji has already found an excellent restaurant!"
"…Sure, but isn't calling me 'Brother Hiru' a bit much?"
"There's nothing strange about it!" Rengoku's smile was radiant. "My family has long been indebted to both you and Brother Yoriichi! If things had taken a turn earlier, I would have done everything in my power to stop it!"
Hiru paused, his expression softening slightly.
"You're seriously injured. What are you saying? You wouldn't even be able to wield a sword right now."
"Mm! That's true!" Rengoku admitted without hesitation. "But even so, I would have opposed it with everything I had!"
Kanae, however, glanced toward the two brothers beside Hiru—their lips tightly pressed together.
After a quiet sigh, she placed a hand on Rengoku's back.
"That's enough. You need proper treatment."
She turned slightly.
"Mitsuri, come with me. I'll check on you as well."
"Mm! Understood!"
"Okay~ I'll leave it to you, Kanae~"
Uzui noticed the look Kanae gave as she left. Realizing it wasn't appropriate for him to stay, he immediately grabbed Tanjiro and started dragging him toward the exit.
"Come on. I want to see how the Transparent World manifests in you."
"Eh? But Mr. Hiru told me to wait for him—" Tanjiro stumbled, barely keeping his footing as he was pulled along.
"He'll come to the training grounds once he's done talking."
Tanjiro staggered after him, glancing back at the three who remained behind, worry clear in his eyes.
[Yuichiro… Muichiro… this must be really hard on them…]
[Being told someone you care about is a demon… Please… let them work this out…]
Watching them leave, Hiru let out a quiet sigh.
He lowered himself to one knee and looked up at the two boys, their eyes red.
"Hey… Yuichiro, Muichiro. You're both grown now."
He forced a light tone.
"You can't cry, alright?"
But the moment he spoke, Muichiro broke.
Tears welled up instantly, his voice trembling.
"Didn't you say we were family, Brother Hiru? That me and my brother… we were your family?"
He clenched his fists.
"Then why didn't you tell us? Why hide something like this from us for so long?"
Hiru raised his hand and gently wiped away his tears, his expression carrying a quiet apology.
"Muichiro… do you remember the first time I stayed at your house?"
Muichiro didn't answer right away.
Instead, just as Hiru began to withdraw his hand, he grabbed the sleeve of his haori, sniffing softly.
"…Yeah. You protected us."
"Yeah… I did."
Hiru's voice softened.
"But strictly speaking… that was simply what a demon is meant to be."
His hand rested lightly on Muichiro's shoulder.
"And what a demon truly is… you understand that now, don't you? As a Hashira."
"I want the people I connect with to know me—not to label me as a demon out of fear or pity."
"That's why I've never deliberately hidden it… but I've never gone out of my way to explain it either."
"It wasn't that I wanted to deceive you."
His voice grew quieter.
"But my brother and I… we're destined to disappear someday."
"I didn't want you carrying burdens that were never meant to be yours because of us."
"If I had a choice…"
A faint smile appeared.
"I would rather you had never needed to know about demons at all."
"That you could live peacefully in this world… and grow up safely."
"…Do you really think we can go back to that?"
Yuichiro's voice broke as well.
"You came into our lives, earned our trust… and now you're talking about leaving like it's nothing."
"And then you say it wasn't 'on purpose'?"
He let out a shaky breath.
"That's just too convenient."
"Doesn't that make me and Muichiro look like idiots who got carried away on our own?"
"If you really saw us as family… you should have told us everything from the start."
His eyes were red, but unwavering.
"Or what? Did you think we'd judge you just because you're a demon?"
"Yuichiro…" Hiru's voice softened even more.
His gaze remained gentle.
"I know both of you are good kids."
"But the world doesn't work that way."
"People believe what they want to believe. They take what they see… and treat it as truth."
"Just like how people assume the child of a murderer will become one as well."
He looked away slightly.
"And someone like me… a demon from hundreds of years ago… something that should have already disappeared."
He let out a quiet breath.
"Being able to see this era… to witness its peace…"
"And to be trusted by the two of you…"
A faint smile returned.
"That alone is already more than enough for me."
"With what I've already been given…"
His voice softened to almost a whisper.
"I have neither the reason… nor the right… to ask for anything more."