After the short heart-to-heart conversation, Kanae quickly returned to her normal self and stayed by his side all the time.
Although she had been spooked by the Mark's consequences and his alarming jump in physical growth, the trust Tanjiro had built in her mind in just a single day overpowered her confusion and loneliness.
In no time, she was smiling and responding like her usual self, completely different from earlier.
In the hallway, Tanjiro had a sudden impulse and studied her ghostly body with his Transparent World, or at least tried to.
In that moment, the world around him seemed to glitch and everything slowed down.
Yet he still could not perceive the insides of her ghostly form like he could with others so easily. What an expected failure.
'Bizarre… She's like an illusion. I can only see and hear her. My other senses don't even register her existence…' he pondered, deactivating the Transparent World.
Remembering something that had been on his mind for quite some time, he spoke to her softly. "Kanae, have you ever tried possessing someone else's body? Like entering their brain and taking over control?"
Hearing his words, her expression turned extremely weird.
"Is… that even possible? Ehh?" she replied in an unbelievable tone.
He simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not the one who's an actual ghost here… You could try it, obviously on a freshly dead female body. Perhaps you could successfully possess it for your own use. Hm…"
She thought about it for a moment and couldn't help asking. "Tanjiro, how do you know so much about ghosts?"
While asking, she recalled. 'This morning, I awakened when he was nearby, and I'm also strangely tied to him for some reason. Just what is this? Definitely not a coincidence… He's abnormal.'
With his calm, half-closed eyes, he smiled and answered gently. "My late grandmother used to tell me all kinds of horror stories. Also, we lived on the mountain, isolated, so the village kids at the foot were always busy trying to spook me with their ridiculous ghost bluffs, hehe. That's why I know a thing or two…"
Looking into her pale purple eyes, he added. "To be honest, I also wish you could have a human body. That way, we could have even more fun, and you'd be able to do many things you currently can't."
As Kanae listened to his sweet and caring words filled with emotion, a genuine smile blossomed on her face naturally.
Even though she was just a ghost, this person was still rooting for her happiness so much. Despite being so busy with his own tasks, he had also been thinking about giving meaning to her hopeless future.
Understanding this easily, she felt true happiness arising from her core that made her mind as light as cotton, not realizing that a powerful seed of a certain emotion was being sown deep into her very soul.
"Mmm~! I'll try it in the future, if I ever get the chance."
He nodded. 'If she could possess an injured or diseased body even for a second, I would be able to heal it completely with a Senzu Bean. Heh, now I'm really curious. If she could actually do it, then what about possessing a demon's body… Nah, she'll surely reject it… Forget it.'
Afterward, he returned to his newly assigned room.
Using the device, he extracted some blood from his mother without her causing any scene. Although she did hug him tightly when he let her out, not letting go, causing Kanae to giggle cutely.
Only after a full five minutes of embrace did she allow him to leave.
"Mother, it's night. You can stay out for now…" he said while opening the closed curtains.
The beautiful moonlight was already outside, mildly glowing the atmosphere.
Kie simply tilted her head in response. "Where… we? This place, not home."
"…. W-Wait…! Your mother can speak? I thought she was in a special state or something, wasn't she?" Kanae's eyes were full of surprise.
Tanjiro deadpanned at her. "Partial memory loss…" he mumbled, and Kanae gave an understanding nod.
He came to Kie's side and held her hands together. "Mother, this place is our new home now… Our family will continue to stay here until… until Mother's back to being human."
Hearing and comprehending his son's words fully, she nodded with much more human emotion than she had shown after becoming a demon. "Fine…"
Her morphed eyes became gentle, reflecting his image. She let out her words with worry and extreme care. "Tanjiro's body… grew again… My child alright…?"
Even though she had become a demon and her memories were gone, she could still analyze and observe—perhaps even more perceptive than her human self.
She understood that humans do not grow at such speed, thus she was worried.
"Whoa, I have never seen a demon look so worried for a human before… This is too astonishing!" Kanae's mouth hung wide open. The shock was so great that she didn't even register what Kie had just said.
Tanjiro's eyebrows twitched at her remark.
'She's still my mother… You damn ghost, what's wrong with your head…'
Yet his face showed only a warm smile as he answered Kie's concern. "I'm good, Mother. There's no need to worry…"
She reached out with motherly affection and slowly ruffled his hair.
He let her do whatever she wanted, simply enjoying the feeling.
He had no mother back on Earth, only a drunkard father who gave zero fucks about him. They had lived off his late grandfather's hard-earned money and house until Saul earned a massive scholarship and left to save his own future. Though he had died a year later in the end.
'Having a caring family… It's not so bad.'
Seeing the mother-and-son duo, Kanae couldn't help but recall her own past. The still-fresh memories of her parents, who had died protecting her and Shinobu from a demon, brought a nostalgic glint to her eyes.
Yet she quickly subdued the feeling and simply enjoyed watching the family before her.
Next, Kie's loving voice sounded softly in the room. "Are you hungry… my child…?"
'…'
Tanjiro's heart skipped a beat.
His mind raced through several thoughts at once.
In the span of a second, he spoke calculated words before his mother could even attempt to free her lactating breasts in the open. "Not really… Though dinner is about to be ready, and since it's our first day here, I have no choice but to join and eat with the others."
Kie nodded slightly, her mood a bit down. "Okay…"
Seeing her face like that, he could only sigh inwardly.
'Only if…'
A sweet voice suddenly drifted into his ears. "Mm, your mother is really thoughtful… She's so concerned about you, fufu~"
'…'
'She must possess a human body…! God damn it…'
....
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