"Mr. Giyuu, this is my older brother! Please don't hurt him!"
"He hasn't eaten anyone, just like Nezuko!"
Tanjirou hugged his family member tightly, his crimson eyes filled with pleading.
It was a familiar scene. Giyu Tomioka felt as if he had returned to that snow-covered pine forest, where a much smaller Tanjirou, just like now, had tearfully knelt and begged him.
Don't hurt his sister.
Giyu Tomioka's calm gaze paused when it met the girl, and his flat, unruffled voice spoke.
"Another Pillar is coming this time. If you don't want anything to happen to them, then stand up and stop your tears."
"Use every means at your disposal to keep them alive."
"Do you understand?"
Giyu Tomioka stood, holding his blade with one hand, looking down at Tanjirou on the ground. Coupled with his indifferent face, others might have felt fear, but Tanjirou thanked him gratefully.
Because his arms had no strength, Yoizumi could only let Nezuko carry him. He held his sister's hand, running with all the strength he could muster.
"Don't look back, keep going forward."
Giyu Tomioka stood in place for a while, sensing Shinobu approaching from not far away, and raised his blade as if to give chase.
Sure enough, Shinobu leaped past him, her special nichirin blade swirling in a dance of swordsmanship, ready to stab Nezuko.
But she was blocked by Giyu Tomioka. Shinobu looked at Giyu Tomioka, who wore a calm expression as if nothing had happened, her eyes curving into a smile, and her voice soft:
"Oh my? Mr. Tomioka, what are you doing?"
"I was trying to attack just now. You blocked me," he said woodenly, his voice dry.
He continued to leisurely pursue Tanjirou.
"?"
Shinobu's smile froze, but her gentle, pleasant voice remained.
"Is that so~? I thought Mr. Tomioka was doing it on purpose~"
She prepared to use her breathing technique again, but her nichirin blade didn't have time to get close to Tanjirou and Nezuko, who were running through the forest.
"Clang!"
The nichirin blade was deflected again. Shinobu struggled to maintain her smile, asking kindly:
"And this time, Mr. Tomioka?"
"An accident."
"Really? If Mr. Tomioka wasn't so young, I'd think he was already at the point of being old and senile~"
This time, Shinobu pushed off the ground with force. Her petite body, combined with the rainbow-colored haori she wore, made her resemble a butterfly in the forest, gracefully fluttering its beautiful wings, swiftly weaving through the tangled branches.
Seeing this, Giyu Tomioka quickened his pace, chasing after her... Run! Run!
Don't stop! If they get caught, Yoizumi-nii and Nezuko will both die!
His lungs ached, and his legs felt heavy.
Breathing was so painful!
It hurt so much he wanted to scream.
Hold it in! Hold it in!
I must protect them. This is what I have to do now!
"Clang!"
"Now~ Mr. Tomioka, what excuse will you use this time?"
"..."
"Why don't you say something!"
"Why are you protecting those two demons?"
"..."
He didn't reply. He glanced at Tanjirou, who had already run far away, and still gripping his blade, he chased after him.
Looking at the silent Giyu Tomioka with a forced smile, Shinobu suppressed her emotions, though the bulging veins on her forehead betrayed her true feelings at that moment.
She stepped after him.
"Please explain your reasons, Mr. Tomioka."
"This is a violation of the corps rules."
A hint of impatience appeared on Giyu Tomioka's indifferent face. He gripped his blade, looking as if he intended to attack.
Tanjirou, who was running, was suddenly kicked to the ground by a girl descending from the sky. Nezuko, whom he was holding, also stumbled and fell, but even as she fell, she didn't release her right hand, which was holding Yoizumi.
Tanjirou lay on the ground. When he saw the character 'Destroy' on the girl's back, his pupils constricted. The girl's nichirin blade was about to strike Nezuko. Tanjirou reached out and tugged on the girl's white haori, causing her to fall back onto his back, while shouting:
"Nezuko, take Yoizumi-nii and run! Absolutely don't get caught! If you get caught, you'll die! Quick..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the girl's heel slammed heavily into the back of his head. Tanjirou's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Yoizumi?
Hearing the familiar name, Shinobu froze. Was it the Yoizumi she was thinking of?
Her peripheral vision caught sight of the familiar, dazzling golden hair in the hand of the fleeing demon. Shinobu confirmed it; it was Yoizumi!
Her hand moved faster than her mind, blocking Giyu Tomioka's nichirin blade.
"?"
Now it was his turn to be confused. Why did Shinobu suddenly stop him? Just a moment ago, she had been determined to attack.
He tentatively swung his blade again. After Shinobu blocked each strike with a polite smile, Giyu Tomioka confirmed that she was indeed stopping him.
"You were just talking about me. What are you doing now?"
With her blade held horizontally in front of her, Shinobu wasn't sure why she was doing this, but if that tiny one was Yoizumi, she wondered how many injuries he had suffered to end up in that state.
Shinobu realized she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"Oh, Mr. Tomioka, it's because you never know how to read the atmosphere that you're disliked."
"..."
"I... am not disliked," Giyu Tomioka said with a calm expression.
Covering her lips with her small, fair hand, Shinobu looked surprised: "Oh my~ Have you still not realized you're disliked?"
"I spoke out of turn. My apologies."
Their blade tips pointed at each other, neither yielding, neither able to fathom the other's thoughts... Nezuko listened to Tanjirou's words, holding Yoizumi tightly in her arms as she ran.
Kanao was already close behind her. Although she was a bit confused as to why this demon was holding another demon, she only needed to obey orders and slay demons.
The nichirin blade swiftly slashed towards Nezuko's head. The moment it was about to strike, Nezuko's body shrunk. As Yoizumi was roughly the same size, she couldn't carry him anymore and could only lift him with both hands, holding him above her head. Her short legs worked hard, running and jumping, dodging Kanao's attacks.
She shrunk, became a child?
Kanao saw the other demon, held high above the head of the demon, and noticed the golden hair. She couldn't help but recall the special demon she had encountered before.
His name... seemed to be Yoizumi?
Was the 'Yoizumi-nii' that person just shouted the same name?
"Caw! Caw! Message! Message!" The Kasugai Crow's sharp voice echoed through the forest.
"A message from headquarters!"
"Capture Tanjirou, Nezuko, and Yoizumi and return to headquarters!"
"Capture Tanjirou and the demons Nezuko and Yoizumi! Bring them back to headquarters!"
"Tanjirou, wearing a checkered haori, with a scar on his forehead."
"The demon biting a bamboo muzzle, Nezuko."
"The golden-haired demon, Yoizumi."
"Bring them back! Bring them back!"
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