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Not long after, he , back to being Hakuji , and Koyuki bid me farewell together and set off for their hometown.
Gyutaro and Daki also turned back into humans without trouble, though they slept even longer than Nezuko Kamado.
Probably because they had stayed as demons for so long. They had been thirteen or fourteen when they turned, but they came back looking like young adults.
Gyutaro had always been lean. He was still on the thin side as a human, but at least he was tall.
Daki came bounding over and threw her arms around my waist. "Sister-sama, my face isn't ugly now, is it? I'm still the prettiest girl, right?"
I went "Mm, mm, mm" and assured her there wasn't a single wrinkle on her face, that becoming human again hadn't touched her peerless beauty in the slightest.
She giggled for a good while, nuzzling against my shoulder, then went still.
"Sister-sama, you haven't taken the medicine yet?"
"I still need to go see Kagaya," I said. "A demon's body is more useful right now."
Daki nodded like she understood completely. "I can't use my obi sash anymore either. I really don't know what to do with myself."
Gyutaro, though, gave me a look. He waited until Daki was out of earshot before asking quietly, "My lady. Is something wrong?"
I shook my head, calm. "Nothing's wrong. Don't worry. I'm going to the Ubuyashiki Estate — you two wait for me at home."
He hesitated, then nodded. "We'll clean the house and wait for your return."
The walk to the Ubuyashiki Estate felt nothing like the trips I had made before.
Daifuku kept me company the whole way, darting off now and then to exchange news with the Kasugai crows in the area, then looping back to tell me what had changed among the Corps members.
The best surprise came when I arrived and saw Kagaya walking in the garden. No one supporting him. Just him, moving easily, back and forth.
Every illness mark on his face was gone. He wasn't hunching against pain anymore. He stood straight, shoulders relaxed, like a man who had simply forgotten what suffering felt like.
"Lady Chihaya. You've had a long journey."
Laughter spilled out from inside the house. All five children came running at once, swarming around me in a noisy, jostling knot, their faces lit up with enormous smiles.
"Lady Chihaya! Welcome!"
"You must be exhausted from walking all that way!"
"Mother made new tea cakes!"
"Will you stay a few days? Come play with us!"
"Father says we're going into the city soon — will you come, Lady Chihaya?"
Five voices at once, bright and overlapping, like a tree full of sparrows.
They used to be so quiet. Even as small children they had learned to help with the housework, to look after their sick father. Smiles like these , the careless, uncomplicated kind that only children should have , were rare.
I hugged all five of them and promised to stay and play.
But my worries couldn't hide from Kagaya. After dinner, once the children had scattered off to bed and only he and Amane remained, he asked me directly.
"You still haven't decided to take the medicine?"
Mm. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing. After everything , at the very last moment , I was the one hesitating.
Every demon was gone now. What remained was Yushiro, grieving for Tamayo, and me: a thousand-year-old demon who had been here since the beginning.
If I couldn't become human again, would I become a new problem for them? If I had to keep living as a demon , what then? What was I supposed to do?
"Grandmother-sama."
I blinked. It wasn't Kagaya who had spoken. It was Amane. She laid her hand lightly over mine, her pale, composed face softened into something warm, like winter light giving way to spring.
"You don't need to carry all of this." Her voice was steady. "Lord Kagaya and I will both be here. Please trust us. Whatever comes next — we will never let you face it alone."
A second hand settled over mine. Kagaya, smiling gently.
"You have given us so much. This time, let us be the ones you lean on."
Something in my chest went quiet. All of it , the worry, the uncertainty , lifted at once.
Right. There was nothing to be afraid of. I wasn't alone.
So I took the medicine there at the estate, found a clean room, and lay down.
The sleep felt long. Longer than it should have been. But strangely, I didn't dream , just drifted in silence, and then, without quite knowing when, I was awake.
Noise outside. Sunlight pressing warm and gold against the window paper. A beautiful day.
I stepped out, and the sounds sharpened into voices.
Familiar faces everywhere. Daki and Gyutaro. Kagaya. The Hashira , all of them, the ones who were supposed to have gone home already. Tanjiro and the others.
"She's out!"
Everyone was watching me, tense, clutching cloaks or pitch-black sun-blocking umbrellas.
I didn't know when they had arrived. I didn't know how long they had been waiting out here.
Had they been waiting for me to wake up this whole time?
Kagaya stood in the garden and reached out his hand. "Grandmother-sama. Give it a try."
"Lady Chihaya!" "We're all ready!" "Sister-sama, you can do it!"
Honestly, I didn't feel any different. My body felt exactly the same as always.
I took the first step carefully. Moved out from under the shadow of the eaves.
Drew a slow breath. Closed my eyes. And walked into the garden.
Light crashed over me , warm, total, everywhere at once. The sun was strong. Every patch of skin it touched bloomed with heat.
I smelled the sun.
No pain. No burning. No tearing, searing agony.
I opened my eyes.
My shadow stretched long across the ground in front of me. Very long.
I held up my hand, stiff-fingered, and shaped a rabbit's head against the light.
The rabbit hopped. It landed softly in my arms.
The cheering that erupted nearly split my ears. The world went blurry for a moment.
I stared at my shadow.
Then I crouched down, wrapped my arms around myself, and sobbed.
The same. Exactly the same.
A thousand years, and it hadn't changed. Not even a little. My sun.
I couldn't stop. My whole body shook. Through the blur of tears I looked up at the sun hanging in the sky, and managed to get the words out:
"I'm... back."
---
[End of story]
The author is an idiot who hit 'complete' too fast and then discovered that only accounts level five and above can create bonus chapters. This book can't be continued here, so the extra stories will be posted in a separate book , it won't be very long. You can find it on my homepage.
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