Chapter 62 62: Setting Out on the Journey

Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

Butterfly Mansion.

Tanjiro returned alone beneath the quiet night.

The Butterfly Mansion was far calmer than it had been during the day. The corridors were still, the garden carried the faint scent of medicinal herbs, and the soft chirping of insects drifted through the darkness. After the conversation with Oyakata-sama, his mind had yet to settle.

The decision had been made.

Tomorrow, he would leave headquarters.

He had only just stepped into the courtyard when he noticed someone waiting beneath the eaves.

A petite figure stood there in the moonlight, her butterfly-patterned haori stirring gently in the night breeze. Her smile was as soft and flawless as ever, but her deep purple eyes seemed to see far more than they revealed.

It was the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho.

"Welcome back," Shinobu said lightly, walking toward him with her usual smile. "You went to see Oyakata-sama, didn't you? Did something happen?"

Tanjiro found himself standing a little straighter under her gaze. Perhaps because she had come so close, or perhaps because her face was simply too pretty when she smiled like that, his cheeks warmed faintly.

"Yes," he answered honestly. "I'll be leaving headquarters tomorrow with Asuramaru."

For the briefest instant, Shinobu's smile froze.

It vanished so quickly that most people would never have noticed. But Tanjiro's nose caught the shift in her scent before his eyes could fully register it.

A small ripple.

Surprise. Disappointment. Something else beneath it.

Then Shinobu smiled again, just as gently as before.

"My, that is sudden," she said with a soft laugh. "Why the hurry? If you leave your two friends behind, won't you feel lonely?"

Tanjiro did not hesitate.

"No. It would be too dangerous for them to come with me."

His voice was gentle, but there was no uncertainty in it.

"It's better for Zenitsu and Inosuke to stay here and continue training. And I need to become stronger as soon as possible. Strong enough to protect everyone."

Shinobu watched him for a moment.

There was no vanity in those words. No childish desire to play hero. He meant every syllable, and that sincerity was painfully easy to recognize.

"No wonder Asuramaru chose you," she said quietly. "Your heart is very pure."

She turned her gaze toward the dark garden, her smile still in place, though her voice became softer.

"In that case, I would like to entrust my dream to you."

"Your dream?" Tanjiro asked.

"Yes." Shinobu's eyes lowered slightly. "A world where humans and demons can coexist peacefully. I believe that one day, you might be able to make such a thing possible."

She said it with a smile.

But Tanjiro smelled anger.

It was sharp. Quiet. Buried so deeply that it had almost become part of her.

He looked at her in confusion and concern.

"Are you angry?"

The question struck more cleanly than any sword.

For the first time, Shinobu's smile faded.

What remained beneath it was not ugliness, nor hatred alone, but exhaustion. A sadness that had been held too long. A wound covered so carefully that even she had perhaps forgotten how badly it still hurt.

"Angry?" she repeated.

Her voice was low.

"Perhaps I am."

The night wind passed between them.

"Ever since my sister was killed by a demon, I think I have been angry. Whenever I see someone lose their life to a wicked demon, that anger grows again. Deep down, there is a hatred inside me that I cannot erase."

She closed her eyes for a moment.

"I imagine the other Hashira feel the same."

Tanjiro listened in silence.

He understood.

He had lost his family to a demon. He had held their bodies. He had smelled the blood in the snow, had carried Nezuko down the mountain while desperately refusing to let despair take him.

He could not tell Shinobu that she was wrong.

Because she was not.

But because he understood that hatred, his own resolve became even firmer.

"Miss Shinobu," Tanjiro said, his voice steady, "please don't worry. I will make everyone accept Nezuko."

Shinobu opened her eyes.

For a moment, she looked at him without speaking.

Then her smile returned.

"Is that so?"

The words were light, almost teasing, but the scent around her had changed. The anger had not disappeared, but something gentler had joined it.

Inside the sword, Asuramaru watched the exchange and immediately noticed the opportunity.

A good one.

"Tanjiro," he said in Tanjiro's mind. "Lend me your body. I have something to tell her."

Tanjiro did not hesitate.

"Okay."

He turned to Shinobu and spoke honestly, "Miss Shinobu, Asuramaru has something he wants to say to you."

Shinobu, who had been about to leave, paused. Her eyes shifted to the sword at Tanjiro's waist, then back to his face.

A moment later, Tanjiro's expression changed.

The warmth in his eyes cooled.

His posture remained the same, but the presence standing there was no longer the gentle boy Shinobu had been speaking to. Those crimson eyes carried an unnerving stillness, as if something ancient had opened them from beneath his skin.

Shinobu's smile did not waver, but her fingers twitched ever so slightly at her side.

"Mr. Asuramaru," she said pleasantly. "What would you like to tell me?"

Even Tanjiro, whose consciousness had stepped aside, listened with curiosity.

Asuramaru did not bother with preamble.

"Go to Kagaya Ubuyashiki," he said. "Ask him to search for a demon named Tamayo."

"A demon?"

Shinobu's smile thinned.

Resistance stirred in her heart at once.

Nezuko was one thing. Nezuko had already proven she did not eat humans. But another demon? A demon they knew nothing about?

That was not something Shinobu could accept so easily.

Asuramaru continued, "Her knowledge of medicine and pharmacology far surpasses yours. If the two of you work together and study Nezuko's blood, you may find something useful."

Shinobu's gaze sharpened.

Asuramaru's voice remained calm.

"I can sense it. Nezuko is different from other demons. She is special."

The courtyard fell into silence.

Shinobu did not immediately agree. She weighed the words carefully, her mind turning faster than her expression revealed.

A demon with knowledge of medicine.

Nezuko's unusual blood.

A possible path toward turning a demon back into a human.

She disliked the idea of cooperating with a demon. Her entire being resisted it. But Asuramaru was not speaking casually. After everything he had shown, after what he had done for Oyakata-sama, his words could not be ignored.

At last, Shinobu nodded.

"Since this is your request, I understand." Her tone became serious. "Tomorrow, I will personally ask Oyakata-sama."

"That is enough."

Asuramaru released control.

The coldness in Tanjiro's eyes softened again, returning to their usual gentle clarity.

But Tanjiro could no longer remain calm.

"Asuramaru," he asked urgently in his heart, "does that mean Nezuko might really become human again?"

Inside the sword, Asuramaru smiled faintly.

"Who knows?"

It was not a promise.

But to Tanjiro, even that uncertain answer was enough to light a fire in his chest.

Night deepened.

After parting from Shinobu, Tanjiro returned to his room. Nezuko's box rested near his bed, quiet and secure. Zenitsu and Inosuke were already asleep—or at least pretending to be, in Zenitsu's case.

Tanjiro lay down and closed his eyes.

For once, the night passed peacefully.

Until morning came.

Before sunrise fully broke, Asuramaru sensed movement in the room.

Zenitsu and Inosuke were awake.

More accurately, they were sneaking.

The two moved with an almost practiced silence, slipping from their beds with all the seriousness of thieves escaping a noble estate. Zenitsu held his breath until his face nearly turned blue. Inosuke, for all his usual noise, was surprisingly careful when motivated by the sacred art of not getting beaten by Hashira.

Asuramaru watched from within the sword.

Then he released a wisp of Demon Power.

A black hand formed silently in the air.

Smack!

The crisp sound rang through the room.

Tanjiro shot upright, one cheek faintly red, his eyes wide with bewilderment.

"What happened?"

Then he saw Zenitsu and Inosuke frozen halfway to the door.

Asuramaru's displeased voice sounded in his mind.

"Those two are trying to run away. Say your goodbyes before they disappear."

Tanjiro blinked, then immediately understood.

"Thank you, Asuramaru."

"You thank me for everything. It's becoming a disease."

Tanjiro smiled awkwardly, then turned toward his friends.

"Zenitsu. Inosuke."

The two flinched.

Zenitsu slowly turned his head, his expression stiff. "T-Tanjiro… good morning. What a coincidence. I was just… inspecting the door."

"In the dark?" Tanjiro asked.

"In case the door was lonely!"

Even Inosuke seemed embarrassed, though his boar mask did most of the work hiding it.

Tanjiro did not scold them.

Instead, he smiled.

"I'll be leaving first. I'm going to hunt wicked demons. Please take care of yourselves, both of you."

Zenitsu's eyes widened.

"Huh? You're leaving now?"

Inosuke's breathing grew rough. His hands tightened into fists.

"Then we're going too!" he shouted. "We'll hunt wicked demons together!"

Tanjiro shook his head.

"No. It's too dangerous for you to come with me right now."

"Who're you calling weak?!" Inosuke barked.

"I didn't say you were weak," Tanjiro answered gently. "But the enemies after me may be far stronger than the demons we've fought before. I don't want either of you to get caught up in that."

Zenitsu's face twisted.

He looked frightened, relieved, guilty, and lonely all at once.

"You're really going alone?"

Tanjiro glanced down at the sword at his waist, then at Nezuko's box.

"Not alone."

Zenitsu followed his gaze and quieted.

For once, he did not wail.

Inosuke clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

"Fine. Go ahead first. But don't think that means you're better than me forever. I'll catch up."

Tanjiro smiled.

"I know."

He packed quickly.

Two swords hung at his waist. Nezuko's wooden box rested on his back. His Hanafuda earrings swayed faintly by his cheeks for the last time before he stepped outside.

At the mansion gates, someone was already waiting.

Sanemi Shinazugawa leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his expression as fierce and unwelcoming as ever. He looked as if he had been waiting there for quite some time, though his face carried not a trace of patience.

When Tanjiro approached, Sanemi reached behind him and tossed something over.

Tanjiro caught it with both hands.

A fox mask.

"Wear that from now on," Sanemi said. "And take off those Hanafuda earrings. It's getting late. We're leaving."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and started walking.

Tanjiro looked at the mask in his hands.

Then he carefully removed the Hanafuda earrings from his ears and tucked them away. After a moment, he placed the fox mask securely with his belongings.

His chest tightened slightly.

Those earrings were precious to him. They were one of the few things that connected him to his father, to the Hinokami Kagura, to his family's past.

But he understood why this had to be done.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Sanemi."

Sanemi did not look back.

"Hurry up."

Tanjiro adjusted the box on his back and followed.

The two figures left the Butterfly Mansion together, walking into the pale light of dawn.

Above them, a black Kasugai Crow circled through the sky. Its wings cut across the morning mist as it opened its beak and cried out in a sharp, urgent voice.

"Northwest! Northwest!"

The crow banked toward the horizon.

"People are disappearing there! Northwest!"

.....

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