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When I saw Zenitsu Agatsuma again, he was a wreck. Bandages covered him head to toe.
Kanae Kocho stood beside me and walked me through every wound , how many there were, how bad they were, and how when he'd first been carried into the Butterfly Mansion, he'd looked like something dragged out of a pool of blood.
He'd lost so much that Kanae had spent the entire surgery terrified he wouldn't pull through.
Inosuke, brought in alongside him, was in slightly better shape. Apparently Zenitsu had spent the whole fight throwing himself in front of him.
Once their wounds were dressed and they were moved to the ward to rest, they stayed unconscious for several days before coming back to themselves.
When I came to visit, Nezuko and a few of the mansion girls had been out picking flowers. They'd arranged them in vases and brought them in to brighten the room.
Any other day, Zenitsu would have been shouting the moment he spotted me , loud enough to rattle half the Butterfly Mansion.
Today he was silent. So silent it was making even Inosuke uneasy.
Inosuke was lying in his own bed, but he kept stretching his arm out, straining to poke Zenitsu from across the gap.
Even when Tanjiro came by between his rehabilitation sessions, Zenitsu didn't react.
He just lay there, eyes fixed on the ceiling, staring at nothing. Like someone had reached in and pulled his soul clean out of him.
Then I knocked on the door and stepped inside with my gifts. The moment Zenitsu saw me, something snapped back to life in him. He lurched upright. His wounds immediately soaked through the bandages.
"This is my fault!" he shouted. "I'm sorry! Punish me — whatever you decide, I'll accept it! But — but —"
"After Jigoro received the news, he came to see me," I said. "He brought a knife. He intended to commit seppuku and apologize to me in person."
The words hit him like a hand around his throat. His voice cut off. His face went still.
His wide eyes stayed fixed on me. Big, silent tears rolled free and dropped onto the sheets.
Kanae, who had followed me in, said gently but with an edge, "Miss Chihaya, please don't frighten him. He isn't healed yet."
Tanjiro caught the shift in the air immediately. "Miss Kanae , what does that mean?"
"He had that intention," I said, putting weight on what came next. "I stopped him. For now." I moved to the edge of Zenitsu's bed and sat down. "I came to hear what happened directly from you, Swordsman Agatsuma. You still remember the promise you made me, don't you?"
Zenitsu dropped his gaze. His expression was raw with shame. "Yes. I'm very... sorry."
"It's all that rotten bug's fault , why are you blaming Zenitsu!" Inosuke exploded from the next bed. "We fought like hell trying to stop him! It's that six-eyed freak who's to blame!"
I understood Zenitsu had done everything he could.
He had his own missions. The Corps' work was relentless, and no one could shadow another swordsman every hour of every day. Beyond that, Zenitsu and Kaigaku held different ranks, which meant different assignments , there was no practical way to keep watch over him. And if Kaigaku had already made up his mind, no amount of watching would have changed anything.
Based on what Zenitsu told me, filled in by Inosuke, the sequence went like this: when Zenitsu heard about the Hashira Training, he wrote to ask whether Kaigaku planned to attend. Kaigaku didn't write back. Zenitsu didn't think much of it at first.
It wasn't until he reached Uzui's post , the first stage of training , that he found out Kaigaku had never shown up.
A handful of swordsmen were still out recovering from injuries. But among those who had skipped training without that excuse, there were several who had a history of bad blood with Kaigaku.
I noted that down and asked, "Why the bad blood?"
"Kaigaku never mastered the First Form of Thunder Breathing," Zenitsu said, very quietly. "Those guys used to talk behind his back. Called him an incomplete swordsman."
I remembered that Zenitsu was the mirror image , he had only ever learned the First Form. The two of them, as a pair, were complementary. I nodded for him to continue.
What came next confirmed every fear Zenitsu had been carrying.
With no demons currently active, tracking the missing swordsmen's whereabouts wasn't difficult. By the time Zenitsu and Inosuke arrived, it was already over. Kaigaku had killed the swordsmen he'd had conflicts with , every one of them , and laid their bodies at Kokushibo's feet as a pledge of loyalty.
Then, with Kokushibo watching, he drank Muzan's blood.
Zenitsu nearly came apart. His only thought was to charge forward and demand an answer , why, why, why. Inosuke punched him before he could move. It was enough to bring him back.
Kaigaku had killed his own comrades and turned demon. That was a violation of Corps law. The only thing Zenitsu could think to do was kill him before he could hurt anyone else.
But neither of them was anywhere close to Kokushibo's level.
They got lucky. The report about the missing swordsmen had already gone up the chain, and Shinazugawa and Iguro were close enough to respond. They arrived in time to pull Zenitsu and Inosuke out.
Kokushibo didn't linger. He took Kaigaku and left.
He hadn't tried to finish off the two Hashira while he had the chance.
Even with their Demon Slayer Marks active, Shinazugawa and Iguro wouldn't have had any guarantee against Kokushibo. So why walk away?
My best guess: Muzan had given him other orders. It looked like Muzan was pulling his forces together and quietly sending people out to recruit more.
I filed that away as something to watch.
When I looked up, the room had gone quiet. Several pairs of eyes were fixed on me, tight with anxiety.
Zenitsu swallowed. "Um. My grandfather , Grandpa, he..."
I let a moment pass before answering. "Jigoro doesn't have to commit seppuku. But even with the death penalty lifted, he still has to atone."
Normally there would be no exceptions. Exceptions undermined the deterrent. But I had a feeling this was going to be the final battle. Once Muzan was dealt with, the Demon Slayer Corps would have no reason to exist. There was no point adding another innocent death to the count.
Until then, Jigoro would remain imprisoned. He could copy sutras in his cell and pray for the ones who died.
"The betrayer was a successor of Thunder Breathing," I said. "That means the responsibility of executing him falls to you, Swordsman Agatsuma."
I told him plainly: if he killed Kaigaku and distinguished himself in doing it, Jigoro could walk out of that cell. If he didn't, Jigoro would stay there until he died.
Zenitsu nodded, over and over. Keeping Jigoro alive , that alone seemed to be enough for him.
"I'll kill him myself. I swear it."
He said it through his teeth. His face, usually so open and easy to read, held something I hadn't seen there before. He looked, somehow, older.
Growing through something like this was about the best outcome anyone could hope for.
I told them both to start for the training grounds once they'd healed, then left the Butterfly Mansion.
Before the final battle, I had work to do. Tamayo and I needed to sit down and work out exactly how to lay the trap for Muzan.
➤ Next: Ancestor of Demons
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