This evening, while trimming weeds in the yard, Inosuke suddenly felt a sneaky aura and abruptly turned his head.
Taka was at that moment carrying Shinobu on his back, carefully circling around the water tank in the courtyard.
"Hey! Toritaro! Where are you going!"
His upper body bare, he glared fiercely at Taka with his beautifully refined features.
That heavily worn boar mask had been left inside the dojo. Although the Demon Slayer Corps had disbanded, he still lived in Hayama.
In his words, he wanted to rule the mountain top here.
"Fireworks festival." Taka replied without looking back.
"Huh? What's so great about that noisy stuff! Better to come compete with me in cutting down trees!" Inosuke noisily hopped over.
"Inosuke, don't make a fuss!" Kanzaki Aoi, who was decocting medicine in the backyard, walked out holding a fan and shot him a helpless glare.
She looked somewhat worriedly at Taka and Shinobu: "Taka-sama, Shinobu-sama, your bodies.... going down the mountain like this, is it really alright?"
"Should I still have Kiyo and the others come along...."
After all, Taka's appearance now was truly somewhat shocking.
After the final battle, due to the excessive erosion of his Reiatsu on this body, large patches of dark purple blotches had appeared on his skin, looking like rotting, dead flesh.
And Shinobu on his back was equally pale as paper, her eyes vacant.
A hideous one-armed strange man carrying a blind, sickly woman on his back.
No matter how you looked at it, it was hard to feel reassured.
"It's fine." Taka shifted the weight of Shinobu on his back.
Her weight was unbelievably light, as if he wasn't carrying a person, but a feather ready to float away at any moment.
"I want to see it, Aoi." Shinobu rested her head on Taka's shoulder, revealing a weak but brilliant smile in the direction of the voice. "It's such nice weather. Taka's been begging me for a long time."
".....Actually, last night you said...."
"Taka-san, please remain silent at times like this."
Taka shut his mouth.
Shinobu revealed a mischievous smile. She had Taka lean her closer and quietly whispered to Aoi: "I specifically sent Kanao away, otherwise we definitely wouldn't be able to leave.... Just do your big sister a favor and help us out."
Feeling the warm breath in her ear, Aoi's face flushed. Her voice even stammered a little:
"Th-then please be careful! Come back early!"
Inosuke snorted and silently kicked aside a small stone blocking Taka's path.
Taka nodded to the two and, carrying Shinobu on his back, slowly made his way down the mountain.
The town at the foot of the mountain was brilliantly lit.
This was probably the liveliest spring at the foot of Hayama.
People had shed their heavy winter clothes and changed into colorful yukata. Both sides of the street were lined with various stalls.
The sweet scent of candy apples, the savory smell of grilled squid, and the playful shouts of children filled the air.
No more man-eating demons would appear at night. Everyone enjoyed this tranquil life.
But when Taka walked into the crowd, the surrounding air noticeably cooled.
People instinctively avoided this tall, one-armed man with a terrifying face.
Those formerly noisy vendors, upon meeting Taka's calm single eye, would involuntarily fall silent.
"Look at that person.... so scary."
"Shh, don't look. What are those things on him? Is he sick?"
"That woman is blind too, right? So pitiful...."
The fragmented whispers drilled into Taka's ears. He didn't care at all… after all, they were true.
He turned his head and found Shinobu grabbing his shoulder, tilting her head with some excitement.
She couldn't hear the whispers, concentrating all her attention on breathing in the festive atmosphere around her....
"Hey, Taka, I smell candy apples."
"....I see them, over there."
"I want one."
"Okay."
Ignoring the disgusted or pitying glances, Taka quickly passed through the crowd.
He supported Shinobu, letting her hand over the coin to buy a bright red candy apple.
Shinobu nibbled at it in small bites, as satisfied as a child.
"Taka, everyone must be looking at us, right?" she suddenly asked quietly.
"....Yeah."
"They must think we're a strange pair of monsters."
"I'm the monster. You're not." Taka corrected seriously.
Shinobu laughed softly, her laughter flashing briefly through the crowd:
"If I were a monster, I'd be the kind of butterfly demon that eats bad people like Taka-san."
"Butterflies don't eat people, do they."
".....That's a metaphor, a metaphor."
He carried her up a long stone staircase to a secluded small hillside behind the shrine.
This place was far from the crowd, with an open view, overlooking the entire town and the fireworks about to rise into the sky.
Due to her damaged vision, the world in Shinobu's eyes was reduced to a blur of constantly shifting grey shadows.
"Not started yet?" She looked up, her hollow gaze towards the pitch-black night sky.
"Soon." Taka set her down, letting her sit on his haori.
Bang—!
Just as he spoke, the first loud sound tore through the night sky.
A brilliant golden light exploded in the sky, like a blooming chrysanthemum.
Then came purple, red, green.
Shinobu's vacant pupils finally reflected a faint glimmer of light and shadow.
"Can you see it?" Taka asked.
"Mm.... a little. Very blurry, but I can feel it."
Shinobu reached out, as if trying to catch that fleeting light: "This color reminds me of going to fireworks festivals with my sister when I was little."
Taka silently watched the sky.
The fireworks in his eyes weren't particularly beautiful. He only saw the eruption and dissipation of energy.
Like the lives of the Hashira. The more brilliantly they burned, the shorter they seemed, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless.
"Taka."
"I'm here."
"Tell me, where do people go after they die?"
Shinobu's voice was very light, sounding somewhat ethereal amidst the sky-filling explosions of fireworks.
Taka withdrew his gaze and looked at the woman beside him.
This should be the last time he revealed his secret to someone in this world.
"They go to a place called the Soul Society."
Taka narrated calmly, as if telling an ancient legend.
"It's vast. I hear it has three hundred and sixty thousand districts. Most people live in the outer Rukongai. It's similar to here, there are houses, streets… just not as peaceful as here...."
"In the center of the Soul Society, there's a white city called the Seireitei. The people there hold swords in their hands that can cut souls...."
He described the sunset over the Rukongai, described those Shinigami dressed in black Shihakusho, described that place which stirred complex emotions within him.
Shinobu listened very intently, even forgetting to eat her candy apple.
"It sounds like a very lively place." She murmured. "Are there demons there too?"
".....There are nothing but demons there."
"Then.... are there flowers there?"
"Yes. Even deep in the Rukongai, there are wildflowers blooming all over the hillsides."
Shinobu turned her head. Though she couldn't see Taka's face clearly, she seemed to sense the complex thoughts in his eyes at this moment.
"So, Taka-san.... are you going back there?"
Taka was silent for a long time at this question.
"Yeah." He finally admitted.
"How wonderful...."
Shinobu leaned back against Taka's shoulder and sighed softly.
She of course knew Taka wasn't an ordinary person. From his extraordinary physical recovery, from his unfathomable combat....
She hesitated for a long time before speaking again:
"When the time comes.... could you take me with you?"
Hearing Shinobu's request, Taka frowned, propping his chin as he analyzed seriously:
".....I'm not sure your soul can reach the other shore of the Soul Society. And even if it does, it might not necessarily be a good thing."
"It's also cruel there. Everything might have to start over. And I don't know if you'd still remember me."
"The most terrifying thing is, the Soul Society harbors...."
"Idiot...."
Shinobu muttered softly.
".....What?"
"You really are a complete and utter idiot, Taka-san."
Shinobu reached out, fumbling for a while before pinching Taka's cheek. Though she didn't use force, it made him unable to move. "Are you seriously considering whether taking me there would make me suffer..... Don't you understand a girl's words?"
The fireworks were having their final carnival in the sky. The entire hillside was illuminated a magnificent purple.
Shinobu's lips moved. Her gentle words were drowned out by the fireworks, finally almost disappearing in the wind.
But Taka still understood her meaning.
"The place I want to go is where you are."