The moment Tanjuro saw his wife standing in the doorway, a rare flicker of panic crossed his usually calm face.
"Aoi… why did you come here?"
Aoi's voice trembled softly, carrying both fear and relief. "I woke up and realized you were gone. I followed your footprints through the snow…"
Without hesitation, Tanjuro stepped in front of her, shielding her body from Kokushibo as though facing a natural disaster itself.
"Please spare my wife!" he pleaded. "I am the inheritor of the Hinokami Kagura. If you want anything, take my life alone!"
Even now, his first instinct was to protect his family.
Kokushibo did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised one hand calmly toward the charcoal brazier.
"Please sit down first, Mrs. Kamado. You've been walking through the snow for too long. Your hands are freezing."
Tanjuro instinctively touched Aoi's fingers and realized they were ice-cold.
The warmth of the small charcoal stove gradually spread through the room while snow continued to fall quietly outside.
The three sat around the table in silence.
Tanjuro remained tense from beginning to end, his hand never leaving the axe beside him. Though he understood he had no chance of defeating the demon before him, he was prepared to die protecting his wife.
"You heard our conversation outside, didn't you?" Kokushibo asked calmly.
Aoi lowered her head and nodded weakly.
She was only an ordinary woman. She could not understand why demons, death, and mysterious powers had suddenly descended upon her peaceful family.
Yet despite being ordinary, she possessed the fierce spirit of a mother. The same iron will that Tanjiro inherited from her. A woman capable of headbutting a wild boar to protect her children was not truly weak.
Tanjuro bowed deeply again.
"Please… spare her."
Kokushibo let out a slow sigh.
"Even if I spare her, she will still die within a year. And among your children… only two will survive."
The moment those words fell, Aoi collapsed against the table, sobbing uncontrollably.
Kokushibo watched silently.
In truth, he did not need to come personally. But if he wished to fully understand Sun Breathing, he had no choice but to meet Kamado Tanjuro.
And since the man was already nearing death, Kokushibo chose to reveal part of the future to him.
"One year from now," Kokushibo continued, "a demon stronger than even myself will arrive here and slaughter your family."
Tanjuro's expression finally shifted.
"A demon… stronger than you?"
Even Kokushibo could sense the pressure radiating from Tanjuro at that moment.
After a long silence, Tanjuro finally asked:
"Who survives?"
He did not ask who the demon was.
He only cared about his children.
"Kamado Tanjiro… and Kamado Nezuko."
Aoi cried even harder upon hearing that only two of their children would remain alive.
"Then let's leave!" she cried desperately while clutching Tanjuro's sleeve. "We can move somewhere far away "
Before she could finish, Kokushibo placed his hand upon the hilt of his flesh-forged katana.
"No."
The atmosphere froze instantly.
"You are not allowed to leave this mountain."
Kokushibo's six eyes remained cold and unwavering.
Nezuko's future ability to conquer the sun was essential to his plans. Once she overcame sunlight, her blood could potentially allow him to transcend the final weakness of demonkind itself.
As long as events unfolded properly, he could eventually become a being untouchable even by the sun.
Tanjuro immediately understood.
The reason they could not flee was because destiny itself revolved around Nezuko and Tanjiro.
"You know the future," Tanjuro said quietly before lowering himself into a respectful bow. "Then please… tell me everything."
Kokushibo narrowed his eyes.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Would revealing the future alter it?
Perhaps.
But after considering it carefully, he decided Tanjuro deserved the truth before his death.
So Kokushibo explained.
He spoke of Muzan Kibutsuji, of demons, of Nezuko's unique potential, and of the possibility that she alone could one day conquer the sun itself.
Aoi fell silent after hearing the truth.
Tanjuro slowly gripped his wife's trembling hand.
"So?" Kokushibo said coldly. "This plan has taken years to prepare. I will not allow anyone to interfere with it."
Tanjuro finally stopped resisting.
"I will persuade Aoi," he said softly. "Please give us time."
Kokushibo nodded once.
"Until your death, I'll remain nearby. Don't attempt to escape."
As the couple prepared to leave, Kokushibo gestured toward the untouched food and sake on the table.
"Take it with you. I have no use for human food."
Though his tone remained indifferent, the amount of supplies prepared inside the house was enough to support the Kamado family for quite some time.
After all, Kokushibo had already arranged for Qihe's subordinates to monitor the family from nearby.
The next morning, the workers stationed near the mountain discovered the house nearly emptied of provisions and immediately fell into confusion.
The boss had merely informed them that an important guest would be arriving and ordered them to stay away for the night.
Now the entire place looked as though it had been robbed clean.
Fortunately, Qihe reimbursed all expenses generously, leaving them too grateful to complain.
Meanwhile, Tanjuro spent several days comforting Aoi and persuading her to accept reality.
She was only a mother who wished for her children to live peacefully.
But in the end, she understood.
Against monsters capable of overturning human lives so casually, ordinary people possessed no power to resist.
Several nights later, when Kokushibo returned once again, Tanjuro finally informed him:
"Aoi understands now. We will pretend we know nothing."
Kokushibo nodded in satisfaction.
"Then why tell her in the first place?" he asked mockingly.
Tanjuro gave a faint smile.
"A husband should never carry such burdens alone."
Kokushibo scoffed softly but said nothing further.
Before leaving, he warned them about the people stationed near the mountain.
"They are watching this place constantly. If you require supplies, ask them. But don't attempt to flee."
That night, despite his weakening body and worsening illness, Tanjuro performed the Hinokami Kagura before Kokushibo beneath the falling snow.
The dance was beautiful.
Each movement flowed like flames beneath the moonlight.
Though Tanjuro's breathing was weak and his body frail, the rhythm of the dance possessed a mysterious perfection that even Kokushibo could not ignore.
For the first time in centuries, Kokushibo stared silently at movements connected directly to Sun Breathing itself.
His six eyes captured every detail.
Every footstep.
Every breathing rhythm.
Every subtle motion of muscle and blood flow.
And yet
Even while observing it through the Transparent World, Kokushibo still felt an indescribable distance separating himself from true Sun Breathing.
When the dance ended, he silently turned and departed into the snow-covered night.
Back inside the house, Tanjuro gently wiped away Aoi's tears.
"It's alright," he whispered softly. "You won't be alone for long. I'll simply go ahead first."
He could already feel death approaching.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro continued carrying firewood and preparing dinner for the family completely unaware of the fate looming over them.
Nezuko sat nearby while holding one of her younger siblings, quietly watching her older brother cook.
The expensive ham, vegetables, eggs, and polished white rice that Tanjuro brought home astonished the children.
The Kamado family rarely ate pure white rice porridge unless someone was seriously ill.
Yet tonight there was an entire pot.
The younger children cheered excitedly, believing it must be someone's birthday or a special celebration.
Only Aoi forced herself to smile while tears threatened to spill from her eyes again.
Tanjiro sensed something strange in his parents' expressions.
But he chose not to ask.
As the family gathered together around the warm meal, laughter slowly filled the small mountain home.
And while the children happily enjoyed the rare feast before them, Aoi silently made a promise deep within her heart.
If fate truly could not be changed…
Then until that final day arrived
She would make sure her children smiled like this every single day.