"Nezuko still hasn't come back…"
The boy with paper earrings stood by the mountain path, gentle dark-red eyes tinged with worry. "I wonder if she managed to find a place to stay…"
"Tanjiro—it's already dark—you should come back—"
"Alright, Mother—I'm coming now—"
After calling back, the boy cast one more anxious look toward the road leading down the mountain. Only after a long while did he turn around, supporting himself with a cane as he slowly headed home.
Halfway there, he spotted another boy approaching, dressed in the same black-and-green checkered haori, carrying a full load of firewood on his back. Tanjiro stopped and smiled at him.
"Thanks for your hard work, Takeo."
"Hm?" Takeo looked up, startled for a moment before frowning. "Big brother, aren't you injured? Why did you come out instead of staying home?"
"Ah, it's just that Nezuko still hasn't returned, so I was a little worried…" Tanjiro glanced down at his leg, which was bound in splints. "It was a move I've practiced countless times, yet I still lost focus, rolled down the mountain, and hurt my leg… It's really embarrassing. I almost want to crawl into a crack in the ground."
"You were probably affected by Father's passing too, big brother." Takeo walked over and supported Tanjiro from his uninjured side as they headed home together. "After all, even that swordsman praised your talent before."
"Haha… Thanks for comforting me, Takeo." Tanjiro reached out and rubbed his brother's head. "I feel much better now."
"Hey! I'm not a little kid anymore!" Takeo protested, a hint of annoyance in his voice, though he didn't dodge away. "Stop patting my head all the time!"
"Alright, alright." Tanjiro withdrew his hand, his gaze warm. "Our Takeo is already a man who can stand on his own."
"Hmph…" Takeo puffed out his cheeks unconsciously, but soon looked back at Tanjiro. "Don't worry about big sister either. She's really strong. Last New Year, when we went to town, she scared an adult who was bullying Hanako into crying just with her presence."
"That's true." Tanjiro smiled again. "When Nezuko gets serious, she's very intimidating. Way more impressive than me."
"Even though big sister is amazing… she still can't beat you, big brother," Takeo muttered quietly. "After all, you're the one who once smashed a big tree with your head…"
"Haha… Now that you mention it, if I'd smashed my head into the ground back then instead, maybe I wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"Honestly, no matter how hard a person's bones are, they can't be harder than stone…" Takeo sighed. Seeing smoke rising from their house, he let go of Tanjiro's arm. "Alright, big brother, hurry inside. I'll take care of things outside! The most important thing for you right now is to rest and heal!"
"Yes, yes."
Tanjiro smiled and slowly made his way toward the house. At the entrance, he took out the wisteria incense Hiru had given him and lit it.
"Hey, big brother, why do we always light this incense?"
Tanjiro turned his head to look at the little girl beside him, dressed in a pink kimono.
"It's you, Hanako. This incense is to ward off evil."
"Ward off evil?"
"Yeah." Tanjiro placed the burning incense down. "If we light this, demons won't be able to find us."
"Huh—are there really demons?"
The question gave Tanjiro pause. Still, everyone who had ever spoken to him about man-eating demons appearing at night had done so without the slightest hint of deceit. After a brief moment of thought, he replied,
"Probably. We just haven't run into them."
"Ugh… that sounds scary." Hanako quietly hugged Tanjiro's arm, puffing out her cheeks. "Does that mean no one can go out at night anymore?"
"It's okay. If a demon shows up, big brother will chase it away." Tanjiro tilted his head toward her and smiled. "I'll definitely protect all of you."
"Hey, hey, big brother!"
"What is it, Shigeru?" Tanjiro lifted his hand, loosely guarding the younger boy who lunged toward him, so he wouldn't crash into him. "Is there something you want big brother to do?"
"That thing! That thing!"
Shigeru looked up at Tanjiro with sparkling eyes, holding up a long sword. "Can we see the Fire God today?"
Tanjiro froze for a moment before realizing Shigeru was talking about the sword forms of Sun Breathing. He sighed and took the sword from his brother's hands.
"Sorry, Shigeru. I can't really put my strength into it right now. How about New Year's instead? And didn't I tell you not to play with a Nichirin Blade? It's dangerous."
"But Rokuta wanted to see it! If he held it, it would be too dangerous, so I kept the scabbard on and just showed him. We only looked at the patterns on the guard and the scabbard—we didn't draw the blade!"
"Is that so? Then Shigeru was very well-behaved…" Tanjiro rubbed his brother's head. "But next time, you have to wait until I'm back, okay?"
"Okaaay~"
"Honestly, Shigeru!" Hanako leaned in, puffing out her cheeks at him. "Big brother's foot is injured! Don't jump at him like that!"
"I paid attention! I slowed down before I got to him!"
"That still doesn't make it right!"
"Alright, alright, big brother's fine."
Tanjiro laughed helplessly.
"Hanako, Shigeru, don't argue."
…
Life went on just as it always did—filled with trivial, insignificant moments, yet enough to make people feel happy.
And yet, sometimes, even such simple happiness was something others could not tolerate.
Muzan looked down at Doma, who was kneeling before him.
"You said… you found a family on Mount Kumotori? What does that have to do with that puppet?"
"Ah, it's like this~"
Doma gently waved his folding fan.
"I heard that the swordsman who died had been trying to treat someone in that household who had already passed away. And it seems Little Akiwa is also quite concerned about that family. I think we can definitely gain something from them."
"Did you go and see for yourself?"
"No~"
The blue veins at Muzan's temple became more pronounced.
"It's because I caught a whiff of something extremely disgusting, so I had no desire to get close~"
Doma smiled.
"There must be a very capable apothecary who prepared medicine for them, right? If I remember correctly, that swordsman also used a very powerful drug that day. Could it be the same apothecary? Or maybe… it was made by Little Akiwa herself?"
Muzan's gaze shifted to Doma.
"Why didn't you confirm it before reporting back to me?"
"Eh—~ Didn't you tell me not to act rashly, sir?"
Doma snapped his fan shut and tapped his chin lightly with it.
"With that disgusting stench surrounding the place, I can't guarantee I'd come back alive~"
"And even if I did capture them, under the influence of those medicines they'd probably end up just like before—turning into a lump of flesh that can't be transformed, right? Wouldn't that be too pitiful for that family~ Although they're already quite pitiful as it is~"
"Ahh~ when you think about it like that, Little Akiwa really is incredible~ I'm starting to want to see her again more and more~ When will we meet again, I wonder~"
Listening to those thoughts—perfectly matching his outward expression—the veins on Muzan's temple finally bulged visibly.
"What a useless creature…"
"Yes~ My abilities naturally can't compare to yours, sir~ Would you like to gouge out my eyes to vent your anger~?"
[Truly a repulsive thing.]
Muzan averted his gaze and looked toward Nakime.
"Go find that family on Mount Kumogakure. I want to see what the Demon Slayer Corps is really up to."
Nakime lowered her head slightly.
"Yes. I'll go at once."