"I did it because I wanted to. Why should I care what those people think?"
"…Hah?" Sanemi stared at Hiru, veins bulging faintly at his temple. "Do you even realize what kind of bullshit you're spouting?"
Hiru had no intention of explaining himself. He silently stepped past the others, walked to Yoriichi's side, and stopped there with his eyes closed.
Yoriichi, who had remained quiet ever since arriving, reached out and gently ruffled Hiru's hair. Then he turned to the others and offered them an apologetic smile, still saying nothing.
"Amida butsu…" Himejima raised a hand to block Sanemi, who was about to charge forward again. "Let us at least wait for the master to arrive before making a judgment."
"Tsc… what judgment is there to make about demons?!" Sanemi snapped. "Aren't demons supposed to be exterminated, all of them?!"
"Mm! On that point, I cannot agree!"
Sanemi immediately shot a vicious glare at Kyojuro.
"Hah? What did you just say?!"
"I said I do not agree with what Shinazugawa said earlier!" Rengoku Kyojuro folded his arms. "I believe that some demons possess kindness! If it can be proven that a demon will not attack humans and will not eat people, then I think coexistence may be possible!"
"I think the same, and I believe there are other circumstances at play this time…" Kochou Kanae raised a hand, though her gaze toward Hiru carried a trace of concern. "Everyone knows how Hiru and Yoriichi feel about demons. Compared to us, they hate demons even more. If they chose to shelter one, then there must be reasons they had no choice but to accept…"
"Even if there were reasons, sheltering a demon is still wrong," Kochou Shinobu puffed out her cheeks. "He used to tell us all the time, 'If you encounter a demon, kill it without mercy. Don't listen to demon lies.' And now he's the one changing his stance? That's just too strange."
"My opinion's different from Shinobu's~"
Makomo clasped her hands behind her back, curiosity shining in her eyes as she looked at the box on Hiru's back.
"I don't think living together with demons is possible. But if someone extremely important to you became a demon, and you confirmed that they hadn't eaten anyone, then you could keep them under supervision. Prevent them from eating people, and when they reach the age they should have died as a human, ask someone else to end their life for them—so they can die as a human."
"But isn't confirming whether they've eaten people incredibly difficult?" Sabito crossed his arms, sounding resigned. "Honestly, it's practically impossible to tell."
"It's possible."
Sabito looked at Tomioka and sighed.
"But talents like Urokodaki-sensei's are once-in-a-lifetime, aren't they? And I've never seen a demon who can maintain their sanity without eating people. It just feels impossible."
Tomioka fell silent again.
"But Giyu…"
"…Hm?"
Sabito studied him. "Why do I feel like you're not surprised at all? Did you already know?"
"…Yes."
At once, everyone's attention shifted away from Hiru and the box and turned toward Tomioka instead.
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Tomioka lifted his head to glance around briefly, then lowered it again.
"…Because Yoriichi asked me to."
"Mm—while it's a good thing that Giyu is starting to form his own opinions," Makomo propped her chin on her hand and sighed, "being kept completely in the dark about something this important without even a hint still leaves me with complicated feelings…"
Sabito couldn't help pushing his mask up, looking at Tomioka with an expression that was both shocked and strangely relieved.
"It almost feels like a belated rebellious phase… ahh, my emotions are all over the place."
Hearing this, Himejima turned his head toward Yoriichi, even stopping the motion of his prayer beads.
"Did you know about this from the very beginning, Yoriichi?"
Yoriichi gave a slight nod.
"Yes. I knew from the start. Keeping it hidden was due to my own selfishness."
"Well, that certainly wasn't very flashy of you," Uzui said with his arms crossed. "If you ask me, you should've just given the demon a flashy send-off. As a demon, dying flamboyantly ought to be enough."
"Although it's a bit late to say this now…" Yoriichi glanced at the still-silent Hiru and reached out to ruffle his hair again. "The child who became a demon is, in a sense, my stepson. There was some selfishness involved."
The moment Yoriichi said that, the previously noisy scene fell completely silent.
Everyone froze, as though time itself had stopped.
Rengoku stared at Yoriichi and Hiru in shock. Both looked calm, yet Hiru's hand was clenched tightly around the strap of the box on his back.
[So that child is Brother Yoriichi stepson… No wonder Hiru wanted to handle this privately. Even though reporting it was done according to the rules, it seems I may have done the wrong thing…]
Rengoku pressed his lips into a thin line, lowered his head, then quickly raised it again.
[No. I am a Hashira. I must make my own judgments on matters like this.]
[That child must prove he poses no danger to the Demon Slayer Corps. As a Hashira, I must be responsible to the swordsmen under me. If the test later requires combat, I'll volunteer. At the very least, I can control my strength so he won't be seriously hurt. Mm—yes, that's what I'll do.]
Despite these thoughts, Rengoku didn't speak. In fact, everyone present was deep in contemplation.
Seeing the heavy silence that filled the space, Mitsuri cautiously tugged on Obanai's haori, her voice very soft.
"Um… if the person who became a demon is a Hashira's stepson, is that… a big problem?"
Obanai withdrew his gaze from Yoriichi and lowered his head, speaking just as quietly.
"If an ordinary Corps member shelters a demon, then regardless of what happens to that member, the swordsman who trained them is destined to be dismissed—or, in severe cases, forced to take their own life.
"And if a Hashira's stepson becomes a demon, the Hashira bears collective responsibility. There's only one way to atone—suicide. Yoriichi and Hiru are brothers, each other's only remaining family. I still can't stand demons, but I can understand why he wanted to handle this privately."
Mitsuri covered her mouth. Her emerald-green eyes widened in disbelief, her voice trembling.
"…How can it be like that? Isn't that far too unfair? The Hashira and the instructors are clearly fighting for—"
"The stronger a person is, the stronger they become as a demon," Obanai interrupted quietly. "Even a Hashira's stepson would be nearly impossible for ordinary swordsmen to match. And the information they could leak after becoming a demon would put the Demon Slayer Corps in grave danger. That's why, in most cases, the Hashira personally kill their stepchildren and then take their own lives.
"Historically, there have also been cases where Hashira retired from the Corps and continued slaying demons on their own.
"As for instructors—if someone they once trained ends up becoming a demon, it's not something that can be blamed on a single person."
Obanai paused briefly.
"Most of those who train the younger slayers are swordsmen who stepped away from the front lines due to injury or age. Their resolve hasn't faded in the slightest. So even when there's talk of retirement or leaving the Corps… no one has ever truly abandoned it."
Mitsuri lowered her head and said nothing more.
She felt it was terribly unfair. Why should the person who helped bear the burden for another's mistake? How could anyone possibly see through and fully understand another person? Wasn't that simply absurd?
[Even I sometimes want to hide the parts of myself that are different. If failing to see through that kind of concealment means both I and the people who helped me must be punished, isn't that strange? If my concealment led to a mistake, then punishing just me should be enough. Why should the people who helped me be dragged down as well?]
"Probably because someone who can think like that would never allow themselves to make a mistake that implicates others."
Mitsuri froze. Her face flushed red as she hurriedly covered her mouth.
"I—I said that out loud? I'm sorry!"
"Ah… the rookie does have a point," Uzui said as he rubbed the back of his neck. With his keen hearing, he had clearly caught every word of Iguro and Mitsuri's exchange. "But isn't the bigger problem this—on some level, aren't we Hashira all Yoriichi's disciples? Wouldn't that make this kid our junior? How exactly are we supposed to calculate that?"
"Well… that really is an outcome no one expected," Sabito said, stroking his chin with a complicated expression. "After all, our own negligence played a part too. But how exactly did this child become a demon? Giyu?"
"It was him."
After a brief pause, Sabito's eyes widened.
"Seriously?!"
Tomioka's expression remained calm.
"…I arrived too late."
"My god… then Hiru did run into him?" Makomo was equally shocked. "Do you have any more details?"
"I don't know." Tomioka paused. "But that child was very brave."
"…If that's the case, then he really was brave," Sabito sighed. "I don't even know whether to say he was unlucky or fortunate."
"Hey! You two, translate already!" Shinazugawa Sanemi raked a hand through his hair, clearly irritated. "No one except you and Makomo can understand a word this guy says! It's driving me crazy!"
"Huh? Ah… Giyu said the kid turned into a demon because his family was attacked by Muzan," Sabito explained to the group.
"He was probably infected by accident."
Obanai walked over slowly, giving Giyu a meaningful look.
"Hmph. Then he really is an unfortunate one."
Tomioka took two seconds to process that, then replied seriously.
"I am not unfortunate."
"Enough, Iguro. That guy's deadpan face and way of talking? I doubt he'll ever fix them in this lifetime," Sanemi said, finally calming down a little. "But doesn't this just make the situation even more complicated?"
"For me, it's not complicated," Makomo said, lightly tapping her chin. "Whether or not he's Yoriichi's stepson doesn't matter. As long as we can prove he hasn't eaten humans and won't attack people, I agree we should let him stay. After that, it would be best if Yoriichi personally watched over him. That way, we can all rest easy."
"Mm… if Yoriichi is watching him, that is reassuring," Kanae said, concern flickering in her eyes. "But can that child really pass the test? He hasn't been a demon for very long, has he? Wouldn't a Hashira-level trial be too harsh?"
"Honestly, Makomo and you are both way too soft-hearted!" Shinobu puffed out her cheeks. "If the test isn't difficult enough, what if he suddenly loses control due to an accident when no Hashira is around? That's why we need to consider every possible scenario from the very beginning and—"
"Shinobu, can you imagine a day when Kanao turns into a demon?"
Kanae cut her off. Seeing Shinobu freeze, Kanae lowered her eyes.
"No one would ever want that to happen. That child was personally targeted by Muzan. Before becoming a demon, he must have gone through a desperate battle. It was only because there was something he absolutely had to do, because of an unwavering conviction, that he ended up like this.
"Don't forget—Hiru and Giyu were nearby at the time. Even Yoriichi arrived not long after. They understand what that child went through far better than we do, and they're suffering even more because of it. Just imagining you or Kanao experiencing something like that already hurts me so much I can barely breathe. I even want to take you both and run away, change our names, and live quietly somewhere far away…
"So, Shinobu, don't say things like that."
Hiru lifted his head and looked at Kanae. When he met her gaze, full of concern, the tension in his shoulders finally eased a little, and he managed a faint smile.
"…Thank you."
"If you put yourself in their shoes, it's not hard to understand," Kanae shook her head. "If a test is necessary, let me help. I'll do my best to attack without harming the child."
Rengoku: ...(O-O)?!
[Mm, I didn't get the chance to say it… but if it's the Flower Hashira, she probably could do it better than I could. During our sparring before, I could feel how gentle her strength was…]
"Haha, I appreciate the offer, but I plan to have Shinazugawa handle it," a voice said calmly. "With blood as rare as his, this kind of tedious proof only needs to be done once."
This time, it was Sanemi who froze. Just as he was about to speak, a voice sounded from behind him.
"It seems I arrived late this time. My apologies."
At the same moment that voice rang out, all the Hashira turned toward the entrance and dropped to one knee.
"Master."
Only the newly arrived Mitsuri was a beat too slow. After everyone else had already greeted him, her belated voice rang out awkwardly. Mitsuri immediately flushed and clamped her mouth shut.
Ubuyashik smiled gently.
"You must be Mitsuri. Welcome to the ranks of the Hashira."
"Yes! I'm terribly sorry for my rudeness!"
"It's all right. Relax a little. I'm the one who should apologize for not welcoming you properly—there was a more pressing matter to attend to."
Ubuyashikiglanced briefly at Hiru, then turned his gaze back to the group.
"I imagine you've already had a chance to exchange thoughts while I was absent. In truth, the moment this incident occurred, Yoriichi wrote to me and informed me of everything. The child he regarded as his stepson was killed by Kibutsuji Muzan while trying to protect his family. However, because Muzan injected his blood into the child, he was transformed into a demon and lost his memories.
"Even so, the child still firmly remembered that he fought in order to protect his family. Because of that, Yoriichi and Hiru chose to conceal his existence and attempted to help him restrain his appetite, while also seeking a way to return him to being human through medicine."
The Hashira exchanged glances but remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"I know that many of you have been harmed by demons and naturally harbor deep reservations toward them. To ask you outright to accept a demon would be no different from trampling on your limits," Ubuyashiki said gently. "That is why I hope you will grant this young man a chance to prove himself."
Supported by Amane, he turned around.
"Since others have also been invited and the test subject is rather special, I ask that all of you follow me to the indoor training hall."