Sakonji Urokodaki was dead.
That was simply how humans were. They grew old, they weakened, they fell ill, they felt hunger, they were wounded—and in the end, they died.
As the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki had been among the strongest in the Demon Slayer Corps, yet even he could not hold back the coming of death.
On the day of his funeral, many people came.
The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima.
The former Thunder Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, along with his disciple, Zenitsu Agatsuma.
The Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, and her younger sister, Shinobu Kocho.
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui.
The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.
The young master, Kiriya Ubuyashiki.
…
Urokodaki's body was not buried in the cemetery prepared by the Demon Slayer Corps. Instead, he was laid to rest on Mount Sagiri.
The funeral was solemn and grand, with countless people coming to see him off.
There were many rules and details to handle regarding the burial, but with so many people helping, there was little Soma could do himself.
Among everyone, the one who found it hardest to accept Urokodaki's death was Makomo. On the day he passed, she cried until she nearly fainted.
Although she had calmed down somewhat afterward, she remained in a deep state of grief.
Soma tried to comfort her several times, but it did little to help. It seemed she would have to recover on her own, slowly coming to terms with the reality of death.
…
On the day of the burial, the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, personally recited the eulogy, chanting prayers as tears streamed down his face while he waited for Urokodaki to be laid to rest.
Although Urokodaki had not died in battle, those who knew the truth understood just how much he had accomplished.
He had personally experimented with the Demon Slayer Mark, becoming the first in the Corps to awaken it. Because of him, everyone now had a clearer understanding of the mark. After studying his notes and spending time refining their own approaches, nearly all the Hashira now had the ability to awaken their marks.
The only problem that remained was the loss of life that came with activating it.
Recently, however, they had been searching for solutions. Combined with Shinobu Kocho's medical research, they had already formed a general idea. While they might not be able to eliminate the life-draining drawback entirely, they could at least slow it down, allowing users to live longer.
As for the Transparent World, after reading Urokodaki's insights, everyone had begun forming their own understanding.
Perhaps it would not be long before someone stepped into that state. At the very least, Gyomei Himejima felt he was already very close to reaching the Transparent World.
…
As the coffin was slowly buried under layers of earth until it could no longer be seen, Makomo, Giyu Tomioka, Gyomei Himejima, and many others began to cry.
Kanao stood at a distance beside her uncle, quietly watching everything unfold.
She did not have much attachment to Urokodaki. In fact, she even felt a trace of hostility toward him, as he had once posed a threat to her uncle.
But at this moment, as she watched everyone crying…
She felt a faint sense of envy.
Envy toward those who could still cry.
At the very least, they could shed tears.
She, on the other hand, seemed to have lost that ability.
If one day someone truly important to her were to leave…
She likely would not cry like Nezuko, that little crybaby.
Although she always called Nezuko a crybaby, the truth was, she envied her.
"Uncle… why can't I cry?"
The girl held onto his hand as she asked in a small voice.
Soma paused for a moment, then crouched down and gently tapped Kanao on the nose. "Everyone is different. Some people show their sadness with tears that won't stop, crying their hearts out. Others carry their sadness in silence. Kanao belongs to the quiet kind."
"Oh."
Kanao nodded.
But Soma knew that wasn't the real reason. It was the experiences of her childhood that had taken away her ability to cry. Even though she had been getting better since he came into her life, the wounds from those early years still remained.
Thinking of that made him feel, once again, that her father had been let off too easily.
It was precisely because of that past that, in the future that once existed, when Kanae Kocho's funeral was held and everyone was crying in grief, Kanao alone had been unable to shed tears. Even though she was deeply saddened by Kanae's death, even though her whole body was drenched in sweat from the turmoil of her emotions, she simply could not cry—and afterward, she blamed herself for it.
"Uncle…"
Soma was pulled out of his thoughts by Kanao's voice, and he lowered his head to look at her.
"Next time something like that happens… can you not send me away? I want to stay and face it with you too."
Kanao looked up at him as she spoke.
Soma understood what she meant. She was talking about the day Urokodaki had returned—the moment she sensed the killing intent directed at him after his identity as a demon was revealed. She had been unhappy that he told her to leave.
"Next time, I will certainly respect your wishes, Kanao."
Soma patted her head, feeling a quiet sense of happiness that she was finally able to express her own thoughts, even if those thoughts were dissatisfaction toward him.
Little by little, she was becoming more like a normal girl. Even if she relied on him too much, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Uncle, Lady Kie has been very kind to me these past few days, and I like her very much, but... I still want to sleep by Uncle's side at night..."
Kanao immediately voiced another request, staring at him with her soft pink-purple eyes. After all, he had just said he would respect her wishes.
So now… shouldn't he do the same?
Soma looked at her again. As time passed, her figure had grown more slender, more graceful, and she was beginning to show the budding beauty of a young girl.
Things were no longer the same as before.
"That's not possible."
He refused almost without hesitation.
"But Uncle just said you would respect Kanao's wishes."
Her pink-purple eyes fixed on him.
"I said I would respect your wishes," Soma replied calmly, "but shouldn't you also respect mine?"
"Then why is your wish… to not let me stay with you at night?"
Her voice carried a clear trace of disappointment. They had always been together before, and now that had suddenly changed. Kanao didn't like it at all.
"Because things are different now."
Soma gently patted her head again. "Because Kanao has grown up. You're not a little girl anymore."
"Grown up… not a little girl anymore…"
Kanao lifted her bright eyes to look at him.
"Just like a bud that's about to bloom, opening its own petals, Kanao is the same. You'll grow into your own world and let it blossom. You might not understand it now, but one day, you will…"
Soma spoke softly.
Kanao simply looked at him with those pink-purple eyes. She still didn't fully understand, but no matter what it meant to bloom into her own world in the future…
The center of her world would always belong to her uncle.
...
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