Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
The forest swayed as the wind gently blew through the night as the moon reached its zenith, casting a hypnotic vibe throughout the forest.
"Koff... huh!"
Rui's eyes widened as his head rolled onto the ground. He stared dazedly at the people before him.
He couldn't process what had happened.
His head had been cut off!
Why was the former Upper Rank One together with humans?!
Doesn't Muzan-sama know about this?!
His mouth opened, trembling as if trying to say something, but he choked, only able to emit meaningless syllables.
His pupils slowly shifted towards Tanjuro.
'Who is this guy?!'
"To be able to cut off the head of me, an Upper Rank. He's dangerous!'
Perhaps due to his unique circumstances, even back when he was a lower rank, Rui had already seen all of the upper ranks.
This was a special privilege granted to him by Muzan.
"Muichiro!"
Muichiro snapped out of his dazed staring at Rui's head on the ground by the call from his brother.
"Don't move!"
Yuichiro quickly turned and ran to his brother's side, his gaze worried as he frantically felt Muichiro up and down.
"You didn't get chopped into pieces, did you!" He asked hysterically.
Smack!
His eyes hid a flicker of fear, his hands trembling as he covered Muichiro's ears from both sides.
"Your head's still here!" His voice strained as he rubbed his brother's head vigorously.
"That hurts, Nii-san. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Muichiro looked at his suddenly frantic older brother in confusion, casually swatting away the hands on either side of his head.
"'Course I'm fine... No, wait."
"Something's off." He frowned slightly, feeling something was strange, even taking a small step back in surprise.
In his memory, where was his brother, the one with the perpetual scowl who would occasionally scold him?
Muichiro's expression grew wary, even looking at his unusual brother up and down.
"You haven't been hit by some kind of hallucinatory blood demon art, have you?"
Having been staying at the Butterfly Mansion, the two brothers had naturally learned a lot about demons from Shinobu.
"What? No!" Yuichiro noticed his brother's slight step back, his worried thoughts caught in his throat.
He looked at the suspicious Muichiro in the eyes and felt his brother's words pierce his chest like several sharp swords.
"Because you're just—" He froze mid-sentence.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
This was perhaps the first time Yuichiro, as the older brother, had felt the sting of failure in front of his younger brother.
Wiping the sweat from his face, Yuichiro walked over. He looked at his boisterous brothers, then raised his head to look at the two who had just arrived.
"...Haha." Yuichiro laughed, spreading his arms and pulling both brothers into a hug, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
"I'm just glad you're okay!"
"..."
Perhaps because he was nearing death, Rui's thoughts and brain cells finally linked.
"Family." Rui's gaze passed through the standing Tanjuro and Michikatsu, staring fixedly at the two brothers hugging each other.
His vision presented him with a field of white.
Slowly falling snowflakes landed on his silver pupils.
"Snow?" Rui was startled.
'When did it... start snowing?'
The clothes of the two people standing before him also seemed to have changed into styles he had never seen before.
Rustle, rustle...
"I'm sorry... for not being able to let you be born with a healthy body..."
In his whitening vision, the "mother" in his memory, tears mixing with blood, lay collapsed in a pool of blood, her voice choked.
"It's alright, Rui."
His father, eyes filled with tears, was holding a blade, pointing it at him, who had already turned into a demon. "I'll die with you."
His pupils contracted.
He remembered now.
His obsession. His needs. Of wanting a family.
It was because of his parents.
And his guilty little heart for not being the perfect son.
In his eyes, the dim moon was reflected, and within it, the figures of a man and a woman seemed to appear.
"...I'm sorry."
Hoarse words escaped his throat.
A gentle breeze blew.
As he completely turned to ash.
...
After watching Rui completely turn to ash, Tanjuro turned sideways and slid Muichiro's sword back into its sheath.
"Huh?" Muichiro stared at his own sheath in disbelief, having not noticed at all when he lost his blade.
Tanjuro turned back, his chest heaving slightly.
He had tucked his own messenger crow into his chest to guide him and had run all the way here almost at full speed.
Moreover, at the foot of the mountain, he had encountered Kokushibo.
He looked beside him.
The tall swordsman is wearing a snakeskin haori.
Within his six golden eyes, the characters for [Upper Rank] that were once there were gone.
"Has Upper Rank Four weakened to such an extent..."
Kokushibo muttered as he stood upright, slowly sheathing his now non-monstrous blade to its sheath.
"Carrying such a dense concentration of blood within him, yet his strength does not match it." He laments to himself.
Being a demon who didn't have to worry about physical injury, Kokushibo naturally had different means of travel than a human like Tanjuro.
That high-speed charge, practically plowing through the ground, had left a deep impression on him.
Looking at the flute, broken in two on the ground, Michikatsu bent down and carefully picked up the pieces.
Although it wasn't the one he kept in his chest, this one was also carved by his own hands.
Sensing Tanjuro's gaze, he glanced back.
Upon observing Tanjuro up close, his expression froze.
Michikatsu narrowed his eyes slightly.
'This guy... felt even more familiar than before.'
The two men stared at each other, neither speaking first.
Sizing each other up, Tanjuro wondered whether their encounter would end up in a fight again.
Fortunately, Yuichiro came back to his senses and looked at them both with a strange expression.
"We meet again."
Michikatsu closed his two sets of eyes, so only his normal ones opened.
"Gonpachiro."
The last time they had met face-to-face like this, they had been enemies.
Of course, they weren't exactly allies now either; it was just that Michikatsu's goals had shifted slightly.
As if to show he meant no harm, he folded his arms across his chest, a posture that prevented a quick draw.
Although for a demon, this could only be a gesture.
"Caw!"
The messenger crow poked its head out of Tanjuro's chest, curiously looking left and right. "Who say my na—"
The crow's words were cut short as Tanjuro decisively pushed its head back in.
"Hmm." Tanjuro glanced at Kokushibo, whose expression and emotions were intensely serious, and for a moment, he didn't know how to react.
He averted his gaze slightly.
'I'll explain when there's a chance later.'
His gaze fell on Yuichiro, who was behind Kokushibo, and he gave a slight nod.
It seemed that Kokushibo was quite attentive to the Tokito family now.
Seeing Tanjuro's taciturn demeanor, Michikatsu showed no surprise.
Since Yoriichi had anticipated someone with the same talent as he had to be born, their own personality should be similar to his younger brother's.
'Yoriichi.'
After breaking away from Muzan, Michikatsu had long been unable to find anyone to confide his thoughts to.
Though he hadn't really had any thoughts he wanted to share before.
Everything had changed after this man, Gonpachiro, appeared.
"Since our meeting last time, I have been thinking."
As seeing the man reminded him of his past, Michikatsu's gaze deepened as he looked through the forest, beginning to mutter to himself.
"I, for what reason, was born into this world?"
"What exactly am I supposed to do? What is the meaning of the things I have done up until now?"
He lowered his head, looking at his own palm, and clenched his fist slightly.
"I walked aimlessly while I was lost in my thoughts."
As he spoke, his gaze rested on the somewhat bewildered Tokito father and sons beside him.
"After solving one question, the next follows right away."
"Perhaps the path I am walking now still does not belong to me, or perhaps..."
He turned his head, his gaze fixed directly on Tanjuro, and voiced the question within his heart.
"Gonpachiro."
"Do you know the meaning of your own existence in this world?"
Tanjuro's figure was reflected in his golden eyes.
He awaited the other's answer with anticipation and curiosity.
During his reflection, he had extensively tried to interact with humans, but unfortunately, most humans were ignorant or completely unable to communicate with him.
And.
He was even more curious about this man who carried Yoriichi's vision for the future.
Upon hearing Kokushibo's talks, Tanjuro felt a strange sensation inside.
He couldn't help but glance at the demon with suspicion.
Earlier, he had been wondering why Kokushibo had betrayed Muzan.
But now...
'Could it really be because of an existential crisis?'
Tanjuro had thought it might be related to his mastery of Sun Breathing or his connection to Yoriichi, but he had never considered this point.
"I am just an ordinary and insignificant human." He shook his head, deciding to answer as a simple woodsman.
"Too insignificant to protect anything more than the loved ones right beside me."
Tanjuro settled his eyes on the man before, his tone straightforward and content, giving Kokushibo a negative answer.
"So, I've never thought about it."
Michikatsu gazed at Tanjuro, silent for a long while.
Nearby, Yuichiro frowned deeply, his gaze darting between the two men.
"What are these two old guys talking about?" His brow was furrowed tightly.
"I see."
Michikatsu slowly blinked, nodding, his brow slightly furrowed.
'Family, huh...'
Tanjuro kept his expression neutral, saying nothing more.
"Let's go." Michikatsu turned back, speaking to the Tokito family before him.
"Come with me."
He specifically meant the Tokito family.
"Eh? Where?" Muichiro's earlier eagerness to chat with his six-eyed uncle vanished upon hearing this.
Having survived a near-death experience, Muichiro just wanted to rest properly now.
Yuichiro reached out and smacked the back of his head on instinct.
"Don't be nosy; if he says go, we go."
Feeling the familiar smack, Muichiro felt both a bit happy and a bit wronged. He pursed his lips and looked up at his brother.
"Why are you so mean?"
"I can even use Hinokami Kagura now! Aren't you going to praise me?"
Thud.
Michikatsu stopped his walk as he slowly turned his head back.
All six of his eyes were opened as if he had just looked at Muichiro for the first time.
"Muichiro... you learned... what?" Michikatsu's tone was careful with a hint of bewilderment.
Having previously been unable to teach Muichiro the Moon Breathing at all, he was now hearing news like this.
He was extremely astonished.
Startled by the sudden opening of his six eyes, Muichiro instinctively shrank his head back, cautiously peeking at Michikatsu.
"Um... the Hinokami... Kagura." His voice is hesitant.
"It's called Sun Breathing. Hinokami Kagura is just the name of the ritual dance."
Yuichiro helplessly held his forehead. Having confirmed his younger brother was fine, he was completely relieved.
"Honestly, practicing that breathing style and swordsmanship every day, and you don't remember what Kamado-san said during training?"
"Even I know that," he muttered.
Looking secretly pleased with himself, he seemed to want to regain the upper hand from earlier against his brother.
"Nii-san!" Muichiro looked up indignantly but couldn't get any words out.
Under Michikatsu's gaze, he finally lowered his head, scratching it sheepishly.
Michikatsu froze from hearing the information shared by Yuichiro.
His astonishment turned into pure shock as well as incredulousness.
"Sun breathing...?" He repeated it under his breath, his voice trembling slightly.
"Muichiro learned it?"
"That's right." Yuichiro nodded, extending his hand to point at Tanjuro, who was standing nearby and hadn't gone far.
"Kamado-san taught him."
"..."
For a while, Michikatsu didn't speak, nor did he move from his place.
"I see..."
Finally, Michikatsu muttered.
"...Was this also something you foresaw?"
He was staring at no one and into the pitch-black depths of the forest, as if they held the answers to his questions.
"Yoriichi..."
Yuichiro furrowed his brows, seeing his six-eyed uncle seemed to be having a brain aneurysm.
He looked towards his brother and father nearby, signaling with his eyes.
'Uncle has broken!'
Muichiro and Soichiro looked at each other.
Soichiro simply smiled, watching Michikatsu's trembling back with a very complex expression.
Whoosh!
Michikatsu suddenly vanished in a blur.
A gale-force wind swept past the three, heading towards a spot beside them.
By the time Muichiro realized it.
Michikatsu had already reappeared before Tanjuro.
Tanjuro stood still without moving, sensing a subtle shift in the atmosphere.
"..."
"Michikatsu."
Michikatsu gazed at Tanjuro, his tone slightly different from before.
"That is my name."
Tanjuro was a bit puzzled but then suddenly realized.
Now seemed like a good opportunity.
"Kamado Tanjuro," Tanjuro replied.
Michikatsu's expression didn't change; he merely nodded slowly.
Then he turned and left.
Motioned the Tokito family to follow him as they departed down the mountain.
Tanjuro stood there watching them leave.
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping across the depths of the forest.
The "family" bound by Rui's blood seemed to be scattering in chaos due to his death.
Click.
He gripped the hilt of Kusabimaru tightly.
...
That night.
An unusual number of thunderclaps echoed over Mount Natagumo.
---
-Location: Tamayo's Residence-
Muichiro was standing in front of the Tokitos with a box about his height.
"Isn't this..."
Yuichiro frowned, pointing at the somewhat familiar box before him, exchanging a look with his father beside him.
This doll was from that swordsmith's house!
Father and son nodded after confirming their thoughts.
"Carry this back to your lodging."
Michikatsu spoke thusly to the gradually stunned father and sons.