"What a magnificent sight!"
Aoi Kazama stood atop the stone steps, gazing at the village of interlocking wooden houses below. She couldn't help but let out a breath of wonder.
From her vantage point, the slaty-gray roof tiles stretched out in layered waves, following the natural slope of the mountain. Thin plumes of white smoke drifted lazily from various chimneys, blurring into a faint, misty haze against the clear sky.
The air was thick with the scent of charcoal fires and the metallic tang of iron shavings.
In the open clearings nearby, several towering smelting furnaces stood like sentinels, their fires roaring. The rhythmic clink-clink-clink of hammers hitting anvils echoed through the air—a steady, vigorous heartbeat that gave the village an incredible sense of life.
"And that scent... it smells like there's a hot spring nearby."
"Really?" Aoi's eyes lit up. She took a deep breath, and sure enough, caught the faint, unmistakable warmth of sulfur on the breeze. "I didn't realize the Swordsmith Village had a hot spring! This is going to be so relaxing."
Tanjiro nodded, his face full of yearning. "Once we've finished apologizing to Haganezuka-san, maybe we can soak for a bit and relax."
"Before that, the Chief's house is just down this path—take a left at the end. Please go and pay your respects to him first," the Kakushi said, pointing the way for them.
"Understood, thank you!"
Tanjiro's voice rang out clearly through the quiet village.
Meanwhile, in the hot springs, Mitsuri Kanroji—who had arrived early—perked up at the sound of Tanjiro's voice. She had been leaning back against the smooth stones of the pool, but she sat up straight the moment she heard them.
She peered over the edge of the rocks, her long pink hair clinging wetly to her shoulders, water droplets still clinging to the ends. Her lime-green eyes sparkled with excitement. "Is that Tanjiro? Are Tanjiro and Aoi-chan here?"
Following the Kakushi's directions, Aoi and Tanjiro walked along the flagstone path until they reached the Chief's residence.
"Excuse us!" Tanjiro said, giving the Village Chief a deep, respectful bow.
"Ah, well... Hotaru is currently missing. We can't find him anywhere, so you'll just have to be patient for a while," the Chief said in a slow, measured voice.
"Hotaru?" Tanjiro blinked, then a look of realization dawned on him as he tapped his forehead. "So Haganezuka-san's first name is Hotaru! I had no idea."
"What a cute name!" Aoi couldn't help but smile. Compared to Haganezuka's usual terrifying, aggressive personality, a name like "Firefly" was a hilarious contrast.
"Isn't it? I was the one who gave it to him. But he told me it was 'too cute' and gave me quite the earful for it."
"That sounds... rather distressing," Tanjiro remarked, rubbing his chin with a look of sincere concern. "It's such a lovely name; it's a shame Haganezuka-san doesn't appreciate it."
The Chief burst into laughter at Tanjiro's earnestness and patted him on the shoulder. "You're a sweet boy, aren't you? Unfortunately, Hotaru doesn't care for sweet talk. If you ever dare to call him that to his face, you're guaranteed to get a hammer to the skull."
Aoi stood by, stifling a laugh. She nudged Tanjiro with her elbow and whispered playfully, "Did you hear that? That's some life-saving advice from the Chief. Don't go looking for a death sentence."
Tanjiro nodded fervently.
After saying their goodbyes to the Chief, the two were led toward the hot springs. They had just found their bearings when Mitsuri's voice called out from a distance.
"Tanjiro! Aoi-chan!"
Mitsuri Kanroji came sprinting toward them. She practically tackled Aoi into a hug, her tone turning piteous and wounded. "Aoi-chan, you won't believe it! I saw someone I didn't recognize just now and tried to be friendly, but he completely ignored me! It was so mean!"
Aoi hurried to steady her, her palms brushing against Mitsuri's damp, cool hair. She patted the Hashira's back soothingly. "Who would be so bold as to ignore our lovely Mitsuri-san?"
"I don't know! I didn't know his name, which is why I asked, but he just walked past me! And I'm a Hashira! The wonderful mood I had from the bath is totally ruined!" Mitsuri's green eyes were swimming with tears of pure indignation.
Tanjiro tried to offer some comfort. "I think dinner is being served soon. I heard it's matsutake mushroom rice."
"Eh! Really?!" Mitsuri cupped her face, her eyes instantly turning into sparkling stars. The misery of a moment ago vanished as if it had never existed, and her voice jumped up an octave.
"Aoi, Tanjiro, I've gotta go!" With that, she went skipping away.
"She really is a little glutton," Aoi said, shaking her head with an affectionate smile. She watched Mitsuri's bouncing ponytail until the girl vanished around the corner of a wooden building.
Tanjiro laughed as well, scratching his head. "Mitsuri-san certainly loves her food. But matsutake rice does sound delicious."
"Exactly! So let's hit the springs and then go eat!" Aoi stretched her arms, her face full of anticipation.
However, once they reached the edge of the water, Aoi froze. "Wait... is this spring not divided by gender?"
Tanjiro froze too, scratching his head in sheer embarrassment. "It... seems that way? The Chief didn't mention separate baths for men and women."
Suddenly, an object came flying through the air and beaned Tanjiro right on the forehead. "Oof—!"
Tanjiro instinctively caught it. When he opened his palm, a blood-stained tooth was lying in the center of his hand.
"A molar? Someone lost a tooth?"
Aoi looked at the bloody tooth and felt a phantom ache in her own jaw. "Yikes. To lose a whole tooth... that must have hurt."
Just then, the sound of splashing water erupted from a section of the spring not far away. Aoi looked toward the source of the noise and saw Genya Shinazugawa standing stark naked in the water.
"Ah!" Aoi's face turned beet-red in a fraction of a second. She slammed her hands over her eyes and spun around, her ears burning hot enough to fry an egg.
Tanjiro, equally panicked, scrambled to move in front of Aoi to block her view.
Genya, hearing the commotion, turned around only to find Aoi standing there with her face buried in her hands. He froze instantly.
He hadn't expected to run into the girl he'd fallen for at first sight here, of all places. His face turned a violent shade of red that traveled all the way down to his neck. He lunged frantically for his yukata on the side of the pool, but his foot slipped. With a massive splash, he tumbled back into the water, sending a huge wave into the air.
Aoi started running for the exit, shouting back at Tanjiro, "Tanjiro, you go ahead and soak! I'll come back later!"
Genya gripped his hair in frustration as he watched Aoi flee. His ears were a shade of red that looked ready to drip blood. He cursed his own uselessness internally—why did he have to make such a fool of himself right now?
Tanjiro, seeing the coast was clear, quickly stripped off his clothes and hopped into the water. He waved cheerfully at Genya. "Hello there! You're Genya Shinazugawa, right? You have the same last name as the Wind Hashira!"
Genya was already in a foul mood, and that comment was the final straw. He let out an angry roar. "Go die!"
He threw on his yukata and stormed out of the area without another word.
Tanjiro watched him go, scratching his head with a look of pure, innocent confusion. "Did I say something wrong? He seemed really angry. I thought we could build a good relationship by being... well, 'transparent' with each other."
He sighed to himself. "Socializing is so complicated..."