When I stepped out of the Master's mansion, Amano was waiting for me at the gate. The overwhelming pressure I had felt from her earlier was gone, making me wonder what that sensation had truly been...
"Lady Amano, have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all."
The moment our eyes met, a sudden chill ran down my spine. It was a sensation as if I were about to lose something precious.
...It is likely nothing of consequence.
"Is there something you wish to say?"
Amano looked at me with a soft, thin smile.
"...Tsugikuni-dono. Shall we abscond from our duties for once? I happen to know a wonderful place."
Pardon? Skip duty?
"We have only just returned from leave, and you already suggest truancy? I fear we would earn a scolding from the Master."
Furthermore, I never expected the word 'abscond' to come from Amano's lips.
"But surely, for just a single day..."
It was as Amano-san began to tug on my sleeve that it happened.
"Caw! Caw! Moon Hashira, Tsugikuni Michikatsu! Mist Hashira, Amano Ruka! Mission! Mission! Northwestern Village! Northwestern Village!"
The Kasugai Crow above our heads barked out our orders.
But for a single mission to require two Hashira? Had another prototype of the Twelve Kizuki appeared?
"Oh dear, a mission. Tsugikuni-dono."
Amano-san looked up at the Kasugai Crow with a smile.
"It seems we must. It is a pity, but shall we save our... outing for later?"
At that moment.
"Caw! Mission! Caw. Mission. Ca... w...?"
I knew not why, but the moment the Kasugai Crow caught sight of Amano's face, its beak snapped shut.
What is wrong with it? Did it eat something foul?
Suddenly, I felt the grip on my sleeve tighten with increasing force.
Wait, Amano-san? Your strength! Your strength! You're going to tear the fabric!
@@@
This mission could be considered an unprecedented situation.
It was not that the Hashira did not take to the field, but they were the ultimate combat force of the Demon Slayer Corps. Even against a prototype of the Twelve Kizuki, a single Hashira was usually enough to settle the matter.
Deploying two such Hashira for one task was a first since the era of Breathing Styles began.
Had a swarm of Twelve Kizuki prototypes appeared?
The victims were five samurai. They weren't picked off one by one; they were devoured simultaneously while they were all together. At the estimated site of the incident, five completely shattered katanas were found lying abandoned.
It was certainly the work of a Demon. However, why target sturdy men—and combat-experienced samurai at that—instead of women or children?
To a Demon, anyone without a Breathing Style or a Nichirin Blade is much the same, but it is typically easier to hunt the relatively weak.
It was a historical fact that women and children accounted for more victims than men, and among male victims, samurai were significantly rarer. Groups of samurai were even rarer targets.
Hunting five warriors would be less efficient than finding easier prey. Even without Nichirin Blades, a coordinated group could potentially hold out until sunrise, which is a death sentence for a Demon.
So why did this Demon assault five samurai instead of a lone traveler?
Was it an act of bravado, or mere coincidence...?
In any case, a mission with Amano-san... it brings back old memories. It is quite pleasant.
"Do you not agree, Lady Amano?"
"...Ah, yes. Indeed."
Is Amano-san in a poor mood today?
"Tsugikuni-dono."
"Yes."
Amano looked straight into my eyes and spoke.
"Having a limited lifespan... knowing you have but eight years left to live. Are you not afraid?"
"Afraid?"
I have no desire to live a long life in this cursed Sengoku period. There is nothing here that surpasses the twenty-first century. I find it much better to die cleanly and early.
Of course, whether I simply drop dead when my time is up or waste away from a weakened constitution remains to be seen.
But why does she ask this?
"I heard it from Uzui-dono. That you did not join the Corps for revenge, but merely to earn a living."
That Uzui... she's spouting useless details again, dragging down her employer's reputation.
"Though you joined to provide for your household, you lack the drive of revenge or the sacred mission to eradicate the Demon kind, do you not?"
"I suppose you could say that."
"Then, for the eight years you have left... would it not be better to retire and spend the rest of your days in peace?"
Amano-san was suddenly urging me to retire.
"Pardon?"
Retire? Now?
I am still in my prime. I may die in eight years, but my limbs move perfectly well for now.
"Eight years. Not even a decade. Surely those remaining years should be spent normally... Leave the Demon hunting to the rest of us Hashira, and spend time with your brother..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Lady Amano."
"Are you truly not afraid? You will die in eight years! Your life force will simply run dry. Do you have no lingering attachments to this world? Why!"
Her voice began to rise in pitch.
"How can you be so nonchalant...?"
Tears began to spill from her eyes.
"L-Lady Amano? Did I say something offensive...?"
Why is she suddenly crying? Did I commit a slip of the tongue?
"I do not know."
I don't know either.
"Seeing you so composed makes me angry in spite of myself. Do you truly have no regrets concerning your life...? You..."
@@@
How can he be so calm?
The emotions surged, cutting off her words.
He clearly intends to survive until his natural end, yet he seems to have no attachment to living.
He simply waits for the day of his death with total composure. Yet, he wields his sword with the sole intent of staying alive.
An incomprehensible paradox. And his existence, embodying such contradictions, made her feel a strange resentment.
He says he fights to live, yet he looks so fragile, as if he might break and perish even before those eight years are up.
How can he be so detached? Why does he have no yearning for life?
He has been safe until now because he is strong, but there is no guarantee for the future. Her own parents, who seemed so powerful, were slaughtered by Demons.
Yoriichi-dono, Uta-dono, Uzui-dono, the Hashira, and the Master—none of them wish for Tsugikuni-dono to die.
I wish for him...
I wish he had lingering attachments to his life.
I wish he had the heart to want to keep living on this earth.
I don't want any more of those close to me to die or leave, as my parents did.
Is this truly too much to ask for, Tsugikuni-dono?
"Lady Amano."
"Yes."
"It is not that I have no attachments to life. It is simply that I do not fear death. Even if we should lose our forms, we never truly stop our march forward."
Pardon?
"I am not afraid to know misfortune. What is truly terrifying is realizing that the happiness of the past will never return... That is why I wish to live a life that leaves no regrets. Even if that life is short."
He placed a hand on my head, stroking it gently before offering a grin.
"Even if I wither and fall, never to bloom again, is there not something magnificent about scattering like a flame?"
I see.
So that is it.
This is simply the kind of man Tsugikuni-dono is.
It wasn't that he had no attachment to life; he just wasn't afraid to die.
Suddenly, a phrase came to mind—something mentioned in a conversation with Uzui-dono. A sentence about how 'admiration is the emotion furthest from understanding.' Words that Tsugikuni-dono had once said to Yoriichi-dono.
Perhaps, blinded by admiration, I failed to truly understand you.
It wasn't that you had no attachment to your life; it was that I was the one who was attached to your life.
After he gave my head a final pat, I watched his back as he turned and walked away.
And yet, Tsugikuni-dono.
I still wish you would fear death just a little.
I wish you held onto even greater regrets.
I wish for even a small wound of grief to be carved into your heart. Because a bite mark of sorrow has already been etched into mine.
@@@
That night.
An encampment where a unit of samurai was staying.
The air reeked of blood, and many samurai lay fallen throughout the site.
"How tedious. His face resembled that Moon Hashira, so I rejoiced thinking he would be a strong opponent, but he was this weak? I should have attacked the Demon Slayers instead."
A single Demon stood there.
"Who... are... you...?"
"Hmm? You're still alive? No matter. You'll be joining them soon enough."
Just as the Demon brewed its power to snuff out the man's life.
"Hmph."
A man appeared, blocking the Blood Demon Art.
The Demon's face twisted in shock as it looked at the newcomer. He looked remarkably similar to the samurai it had just tried to kill.
"You..."
"Tsugikuni Michikatsu. A Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps."
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