Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
Meanwhile.
At the Swordsmith Village.
Tecchin was back in his house's backyard for the first time in a while.
He had traveled a long way and finally returned to the Swordsmith Village after accompanying the village chief and finishing the forging of the Tokito brothers' swords.
"...I'm beat." He relaxed his shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, grumbling resentfully.
"That old bastard, always insisting on staying away for so long before coming back. Everyone was starting to get really worried." He let out a deep sigh.
Thinking about the chain of events happening over the past month, he tilted his head back and mused, "This is a rare vacation..."
Just as Tecchin was looking up at the sky, his consciousness gradually relaxed.
Out of the corner of his eye, he felt like something was missing from his yard.
After a moment's hesitation, Tecchin lowered his head.
'What's missing?' He looked at his empty yard.
His brow slowly furrowed, the question on his face growing more intense.
"Where's the box...?"
"Where in the world is my big box—?!"
Tecchin's eyes widened. Throwing his hands out, he turned his head left and right, searching the empty yard.
"Who?! Who is it?!"
His pitiful and horrified screams echoed through the sky above the Swordsmith Village.
Thump!
Tecchin's voice cracked, his expression sorrowful. He fell to his knees with a thud, hysterical.
"There's a thief in the village!"
His son, Kotetsu, poked his head out from the second floor, breaking out in a cold sweat.
He had personally witnessed with his own eyes how that figure had taken the family's heirloom training doll.
Gulp.
As if remembering something, Kotetsu stared at his father's grief-stricken back. He swallowed worriedly and slowly withdrew his gaze.
---
-Location: Mount Natagumo-
"How..." Inosuke was left hanging on the tree as he dropped his head, lost in thought.
The things he had experienced today were hard to accept for him.
It was the usual day when he woke up.
Encounter an enemy.
Challenge them.
Got tied up.
And he had suffered this humiliation twice now.
His gaze grew deep in thought.
An idea that bubbled in his mind that sent Inosuke into dejection.
"Am I... too weak?" He stared at the empty ground before him, muttering to himself.
In his azure-blue eyes, his fighting spirit gradually wilted.
He had thought that being king of the mountain made him the strongest, but unexpectedly strong guys were everywhere in the outside world.
On this new mountain, almost everything was stronger than him, creatures he had never seen before.
In the end, he had just been a frog in a well.
The older sister demon who had been here before him was long gone, having apparently fled the scene.
A pitiful scream pierced his ears as he contemplated his life.
It was followed by the sound of feet running.
Inosuke's turned his head, drawn by the sound.
A crimson glow approached his tied-up self.
"Run for it!!"
The spider-bodied demon, with a human head, his face pale, the white marks belonging to Rui having faded, revealing his original features.
'What's going on!'
'How did Rui die?!'
Thump, thump, thump!!
"Aaaah—!!" The spider demon, reduced to only a few legs after being cut, sprinted desperately, screaming pitifully.
His scarlet eyes were now filled with terror.
'This isn't right! Shouldn't this be our dinner time?!'
'Why is that demon slayer chasing us down?!'
Whoosh!
A dazzling flash of red cut through the pitch-black forest, sweeping across his neck.
"Guh!" The spider demon choked immediately, his eyes bulging. His head rolled off with a look of unwillingness, beginning to crumble into ash.
Thud.
Tanjuro landed lightly on his feet. He slowly exhaled a puff of white vapor, flicking the ash from the crimson Kusabimaru.
He turned his head to glance at the demon turning to ash behind him.
Whoosh—
A sakura-pink light radiated from the demon's body, crashing into Tanjuro's chest.
"Hmm, that's the last one."
Tanjuro sensed the number of Revival Orbs and Paper Talismans within him.
The Upper Moon Four, Rui, had only yielded two Revivals.
After massacring all the demons on Mount Natagumo, he had gathered enough for one more.
Three Revivals, roughly the same amount of life force as Hantengu.
The number of Paper Talismans wasn't great; aside from the three obtained from Rui, he hadn't gained any more from other demons.
Looking at Kusabimaru, Tanjuro nodded slightly.
With a large number of Paper Talismans as a foundation, his proficiency with Lightning of Tomoe was increasing.
Even without a thunderstorm, Tanjuro was quite confident he could summon lightning.
He was sheathing his sword and preparing to turn and leave when he was called out.
"Hey—!!"
A rough shout came from behind him.
"Hey, Red Sword Uncle over there!!"
Tanjuro halted his footsteps.
He turned his head, looking in the direction behind him.
Although he knew someone was there, Tanjuro hadn't intended to make contact initially.
After all, once all the demons were killed, that person would be safe.
After focusing his gaze in the voice direction, he was stunned.
"That's right! It's me!"
"I'm the one who called you!"
Tanjuro looked at him with a somewhat puzzled expression.
'Inosuke?'
The boy wearing the boar's head, Hashibira Inosuke, is a member of the main cast in the original story.
Perhaps the butterfly wings he was flapping were too strong; Inosuke, who shouldn't be here, had now appeared.
Tanjuro contemplated for a moment and walked up to the suspended Inosuke.
"Hey, uncle, you're with those hot-headed, long-haired sword guys from before, right?"
"My name is Hashibira Inosuke!"
Inosuke's gaze remained fixed on Tanjuro, his head turning to follow Tanjuro's movements.
"Where did you guys come from? Are all the people there this strong?"
Tanjuro didn't immediately answer Inosuke's questions. He drew his blade and sliced through the spider thread suspending Inosuke.
Thump!
Catching the falling Inosuke handily, Tanjuro silently hoisted him onto his shoulder and began heading down the mountain.
"??" Inosuke was confused at finding himself draped over the man's shoulder like a loincloth.
Then he quickly reacted, squirming his body, still with bound hands and feet.
"Can't you talk?! Put me down!"
"Are you mute?"
"Hey!!"
---
-Location: Tamayo's Residence-
"I've examined it. This appears to be some kind of training doll."
"Take it with you. When I'm not around, it will be beneficial for your swordsmanship training." Michikatsu stated.
Soichiro and his sons looked at each other with their eyebrows furrowed.
"Uncle Michi, you're not coming with us?"
Forgetting the box for the moment, Muichiro anxiously asked Michikatsu.
"Why? Is it because of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
He reached out, reluctantly grabbing the hem of Michikatsu's clothes.
"Don't worry, everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps is very friendly, Tanjiro, the Kakushi members." Muichiro said hastily to try and convince him.
"Oh also, Shinobu-nee even taught us how to kill demons using wisteria flower poison—"
Smack!
Before he could finish, Yuichiro's palm abruptly clamped down over his brother's mouth.
Muichiro's face stung, and a muffled sound escaped from behind the hand covering it.
"Mmph mmph!!"
Yuichiro's expression tightened. His hand tightly covered his brother's mouth, forcing a smile, he gave Michikatsu an awkward chuckle. "Haha, haha, he's just joking, Uncle."
Beneath his smiling expression, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
He shot Muichiro a surreptitious glare.
Bringing a demon to the Demon Slayer Corps? To walk to its death?!
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Michikatsu didn't say anything. He reached into his clothes and took out another flute, pressing it into the brothers' hands.
"Go."
Seeing that they can't persuade him, they say their goodbye, and Soichiro takes the box to leave.
Michikatsu watched the family at the gate of the residence as they gradually receded into the distance.
Countless people had died by his hands.
The Demon Slayer Corps would not welcome him. Having once served in the Corps, he knew better than that, than anyone.
And besides.
He had no need to return to the Demon Slayer Corps either.
He turned around, his snakeskin haori fluttering slightly.
Thud, thud.
Soichiro carried the box on his back. The box was thoughtfully fitted with two straps, now pressing heavily down on him.
Sweat dripped from his forehead; every step forward was immensely heavy.
"Father..." Muichiro called out worriedly from the side. "Can you carry it?"
He clenched his fists, looking left and right.
"I'll help!"
Finally, his eyes lighting up, he trotted behind his father.
"Heave-ho!" He helped lift the box from behind, struggling under its weight.
If he hadn't lifted it, it might have been fine.
But the moment he did, Soichiro lost what little balance he had.
Stomp!
"Hah!" Soichiro's face flushed bright red. He stumbled heavily, stepping forward to stabilize his body.
He gritted his teeth with difficulty, forcing words out. "Mu... ichi... ro...!"
"I know, Father!" Muichiro nodded, applying even more force with his hands.
But the box he was lifting from behind kept shifting its weight forward.
Feeling a sudden release of tension in his hands, Soichiro's expression paled instantly.
'Uh-oh.'
Thump!
Michikatsu was already walking back to Tamayo's residence when he heard it.
A dull thud of something hitting the ground came from the path behind him.
Accompanied by a scream.
"Father—!!!"
It was Muichiro's startled scream that convinced him to turn around.
Michikatsu was startled. He quickly turned his head.
Upon clearly seeing Soichiro, motionless, pinned under the box, Michikatsu's pupils contracted slightly.
Michikatsu saw that Soichiro was motionless, being pinned under the box!
His pupils contracted at the distress boys trying to pull their father out from under the heavy box.
Whoosh!
He transformed into a blur, sprinting towards the father and sons.
Tamayo and Yushiro watched the spectacle together. The two demons exchanged glances, then hesitantly looked towards the clearly panicked Michikatsu.
10 minutes later.
Creak... creak...
The wooden wheels wobbled unsteadily, producing a fragile, pitiful groan, leaving two deep tracks in the muddy ground.
Soichiro stared up at the sky, lying on a wooden cart next to the box.
His sons walked together as they strained to pull the cart forward.
Michikatsu stood behind them, watching until they disappeared from his perception.
Only then did he relax slightly and turn away.
The former Upper Rank One had never known fatigue after turning into a demon.
But he felt a measure of mental exhaustion now.
"Sigh..."
---
The next day.
The light of dawn streamed through the streets, spilling into the alleyways.
In front of the Rengoku residence.
Rustle, rustle...
A small child, with thick, dark, swallow-like eyebrows and the tips of his flame-colored hair glistening in the sunlight.
Holding a bamboo broom, the boy dressed in a white kendo uniform smiled gently as he patiently and slowly swept the fallen leaves in front of the gate of his house, one sweep at a time.
His name is Rengoku Senjuro.
The second son of the Rengoku family.
Senjuro breathed lightly. He looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gazed at the sunlight slowly spilling over the top of the wall.
Unlike his father and older brother, he had trained hard in swordsmanship but didn't produce any results.
Perhaps he simply didn't have the talent to become a swordsman.
But that was okay.
During his father's previous period of depression, he had handled all the household chores, big and small, including balancing the books.
He could still help others with his own abilities.
Now, his father was no longer a shut-in, and his brother's swordsmanship was progressing by leaps and bounds.
The veil that had shrouded his heart was finally lifted.
Senjuro watched the sunlight grow increasingly dazzling and couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart.
Thud!
Suddenly, a dark red figure flashed past the gate.
The wind gently stirred and ruffled the tips of his flame-colored hair.
"Morning." Tanjuro, who was carrying Inosuke on his shoulder, passed by the Rengoku residence and nodded to Senjuro.
Then, he continued on his way towards the Butterfly Mansion.
Senjuro was taken aback for a moment. Watching Tanjuro's figure recede into the distance without pausing, he quickly reacted.
He raised his hand and shouted.
"Good—Good morning, Kamado-san!!"
Tanjuro's figure rapidly shrank at the end of the street.
The figure carried on his shoulder suddenly struggled violently.
"Bastard! So you can talk!"
Faintly, the tied-up boy's voice could be heard.
Seeing Tanjuro disappear around the corner, Senjuro slowly lowered his still-raised hand.
'How wonderful.'
His gaze was full of longing.
He didn't know the details.
His father wasn't very comfortable explaining either.
But Senjuro knew from his father's muttered words in his studies that it was Kamado-san who had resolved the conflict in his heart.
There were more people in the world suffering hardships even harder to bear than he had before.
If only he also had the ability...
Senjuro gripped his broom tightly, trying not to think of anything negative anymore.
Creak—
The sound of wooden wheels grinding and heavy with gasping breaths caught his attention.
Senjuro was startled and quickly turned to look.
"Hah! Huff!" Muichiro and Yuichiro were drenched in sweat, their uniforms soaked through, as they continuously pushed the wooden cart forward.
Since the Rengoku residence was on the way to the Butterfly Mansion, they saw many injured people every day.
"Are you alright?!"
Senjuro looked at the two pushing the cart. He glanced left and right.
No one else was there.
He looked down at the paper in his hand bearing the character for "Kakushi."
He dropped the broom.
Senjuro pursed his lips, walked to the back of the cart, placed his hands on the wooden plank, and helped push forward.
Creak... creak...
The Tokito brothers were so exhausted and couldn't think straight that they didn't even notice the help. The three of them pushed the cart together, making their way to the Butterfly Mansion.
Not long after, they finally arrived.
"Haa—! Haa!"
The Tokito brothers lay sprawled on the ground like two dead fish, gasping for air.
Senjuro also bent over, breathing heavily, but the light of hope in his eyes burned ever brighter.
'I did it!'
He straightened up.
He turned his head to look to the side.
There stood a residence much smaller than the Butterfly Mansion.
It was the place where Kakushi members received their assignments.