"All right, Amane. That's far enough. I'd like to speak with Yoriichi alone."
"But Kagaya … your health…" Amane hesitated, clearly worried. Yet when she met his calm, reassuring gaze, she let out a quiet sigh. "Understood. I'll wait here."
As she stepped back and released her support, Yoriichi moved forward to take her place.
"Excuse me."
"Thank you. Let's walk a little."
Yoriichi lowered his head.
"…Yes."
Amane watched them leave, unease quietly settling in her chest.
No matter how she tried to process it, she still couldn't accept it—that the two brothers who hated demons more than anyone… were themselves demons who had lived on for centuries.
What unsettled her even more was the fact that Kagaya had carried that truth alone all this time.
Without ever speaking of it.
[Were his earlier arrangements… all because of those two?]
The thought made her chest tighten.
In the end, she didn't follow. She simply remained beneath the eaves, lowering her gaze as she watched their figures gradually fade into the distance.
…
Yoriichi walked beside Kagaya in silence.
Neither of them spoke.
From the outside, it looked no different from two people taking a quiet stroll.
It wasn't until a vast field of tombstones came into view that Yoriichi's expression shifted slightly.
"…What is this place?"
"This is where members of the Demon Slayer Corps are laid to rest," Kagaya answered softly. "Those whose bodies were recovered… and who had no family left to claim them."
He paused.
"Over the centuries, it has grown into what you see now."
He stopped before an unmarked stone and gently brushed away the petals scattered across it by the wind.
"When my thoughts become too heavy… I often find myself here."
His voice remained gentle.
"Looking at these stones… helps quiet my mind."
Yoriichi lifted his gaze.
The tombstones stretched endlessly—some newly carved, others worn by time.
Thousands of them.
And yet… this only represented the deaths that could be seen.
"…I'm sorry."
His voice was low.
"If I hadn't failed back then—"
"No," Kagaya said softly. "I'm not blaming you."
He turned slightly toward him.
"I only hope you can understand their reactions."
"Ninety percent of the Demon Slayer Corps has suffered because of demons. For people who carry that kind of pain… it's only natural they would react strongly upon learning that someone they trusted is, in fact, a demon."
"…I understand."
Yoriichi lowered his gaze again.
"Hiru and I… lost our family to demons as well."
"So now, as someone who has become a demon… I won't resent being hated."
His voice tightened slightly.
"What I resent… is my own weakness."
"…Why would you say that?"
"After I severely wounded Muzan, his movements—and those of demons in general—became far more restrained."
"Even in the two hundred years after I faked my death… no demon acted as openly as before."
His hand slowly clenched at his side.
"But that doesn't change anything."
"People still died because of my failure."
"All of it… stems from my own inadequacy."
Kagaya let out a soft sigh, a faint smile lingering on his lips.
"To leave behind a deterrent that lasted two hundred years… that is hardly incompetence."
"There's no need to comfort me."
Yoriichi shook his head.
"This is my responsibility."
He fell quiet for a moment before continuing.
"As for cowardice…"
His voice lowered.
"In these past few years, I have twice spared a powerful man-eating demon… simply because he was once the elder brother I respected."
"To the point that Hiru once told me: 'If you can't do it, then restrain him. Leave the rest to me.'"
"And today…"
He hesitated briefly.
"Before coming here, Hiru spoke with me."
"He said that if we were to part ways with the Corps… he would use his own death to stabilize the situation."
Yoriichi's voice grew quieter.
"He told me to help Kamado Tanjiro return to being human… to ensure Muzan Kibutsuji is killed… to make sure no demon remains that poses a threat to humanity…"
"And to remember that, in the end, no matter the outcome… we must remain true to our hearts."
A long pause followed.
"For the first time… I felt anger toward him."
"But I didn't know how to stop him."
He clenched his hand slightly.
"Because from my perspective… I could just as easily choose to die in exchange for his safety."
"And yet…"
His voice faltered.
"…selfishly, all I wanted was for him to live."
"To the point that I could no longer think about anyone else."
He lowered his head.
"How could someone like me deserve your praise?"
"Perhaps… the moment I failed to kill him, even after learning he had become a demon…"
"…was the moment I lost the courage to face his death."
Silence fell between them.
But Kagaya could feel it—the faint tremor in the hand supporting him.
…
"I see…"
Kagaya's voice remained calm.
"Then tell me… what kind of person was your elder brother?"
Yoriichi paused.
"…He was gentle."
"And patient."
"When I was young… he always took care of me."
A faint shadow crossed his expression.
"But when I met him again years later… he seemed to hate me."
Even so, a small smile appeared.
"…And yet, whenever he heard others speak ill of me, he would step in and silence them."
"I only learned that later—from the Flame Hashira."
"Back then, because my brother resented me… I never joined the Corps."
"And after both he and Hiru became demons…"
"I grew even more distant."
"You've carried a heavy burden," Kagaya said gently.
"Perhaps… you should tell Hiru these things."
"He values bonds deeply. If you speak with him, he may choose a more measured approach… rather than being as direct as he was today."
"…No."
Yoriichi shook his head.
"Hiru has always been decisive."
He turned to look at Kagaya.
"When I was human, I couldn't perceive the world like others."
"I could only understand people… through their heartbeat, through the tension in their bodies."
"On the day he became a demon… when I found him…"
"He didn't resist at all."
"He suppressed his instinct to attack humans… and spoke to me calmly."
"Years later, when my life was nearing its end…"
A faint breath escaped him.
"He smiled… and told me to go watch the sunrise."
"So I wouldn't hesitate."
"And when he faced my brother…"
His voice grew firmer.
"It was the same."
"No matter how much pain he felt… he still chose to stand as an enemy."
"And acted on it."
"Hiru… is not someone who wavers."
Kagaya listened quietly, then spoke.
"In the memory he showed of the day his clan was destroyed… I heard him say something to your brother."
Yoriichi turned slightly.
"He said: 'Father once told me that when necessary, I must give everything for my elder brother. That is the meaning of the third son's existence.'"
Yoriichi froze.
Slowly, he turned his head toward the cherry blossoms blooming beside the stone grove.
His voice came out hoarse.
"…He never told me that."
Kagaya's tone softened.
"This may only be my speculation…"
"But the way Hiru was raised likely made him accustomed to sacrificing himself for others."
"It allows him to cherish others deeply…"
"…while disregarding himself."
"And in doing so… he may unknowingly hurt those closest to him."
"…Accustomed to sacrifice…"
Yoriichi's hand instinctively reached for his sword.
But found nothing.
He froze.
Only when Kagaya's soft cough broke the silence did he come back to himself.
"…I'll escort you back."
He lowered his head slightly.
"Thank you… for speaking with me."
"I only hope it helped."
Yoriichi looked at Kagaya's gentle expression.
His lips pressed together.
"…It did."
A quiet resolve settled in his eyes.
"There are things… I no longer need to hesitate about."