บท 52: Chapter 52

We had been recovering at the Butterfly Mansion for two weeks now. Not much happened during that time, except for Kyojuro's little brother coming to visit once he heard about Kyojuro's injuries. They looked so similar, it was quite the sight.

On my side. I had Eri, Tanjiro, and Nezuko, who refused to leave me alone. Eri and Tanjiro watched over me during the day, with Nezuko at night. How did it start? Shinobu. She had told everyone that I had left in a completely different direction and, at the pace I was going, I should've been at least two days away from Kyojuro and his group. When asked how I got there so quickly, I explained that Eri had a bad feeling, so I ran. This forced me to go into slight detail about my abilities, but I knew it would come up sooner or later during my stay in this world.

Eri, the sweet girl, would always check on me, asking if I was okay. I'd always respond with, "Yes Eri, I'm almost fully healed." While the others knew better, they didn't say anything. It made Eri happy, and though I hadn't seen her smile yet, I knew she was pleased. Tanjiro, on the other hand, constantly worried and asked if I was alright. It got to the point where, one day while I was resting in a bed next to Kyojuro's, I snapped at him. "I'm not fucking dying!" Unfortunately, that outburst sent me into a coughing fit, blood coming up in the process, which only made Tanjiro worry more. 'Damn moron.'

Nezuko was a different story. While she couldn't speak, she was expressive and physical. At night, as I lay trying to sleep, she'd come in, sit by my bed, and hum softly. Sometimes, she'd even pat me on the head. 'Can't believe I let a fourteen year old do that.' I thought.

Right now, I was waiting to meet Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. 'This'll be interesting.' I didn't know much about him, aside from what he looked like and his position as the Corps leader. That wasn't enough to get a read on his personality. 'Is he running this out of obligation or for humanity?' I thought, sighing as I sat at the place where Tanjiro had first met Kagaya.

"I hope you haven't waited long?" A soothing voice spoke, pulling me from my thoughts.

I turned to the source and was met with a man in his twenties. His pale skin and shoulder-length straight black hair contrasted sharply with the curse marking the upper half of his face. It was pink in color, covering his eyes, making him blind. He was dressed in a black kimono similar to mine, with a braided tan obi and a white haori that reached his calves, flames of purple and pink rising from the hem and halfway up his sleeves. 'Simple, yet elegant and probably expensive.' I mused as I finished taking in his appearance.

"Not really." I replied casually. "The tea's been nice, though it could go without Wisteria flowers."

He hummed thoughtfully as he sat down. His wife entered with fresh tea, dismissing the previous servant. "I think Wisteria flowers give a nice flavor." he remarked.

I snorted as the white-haired woman placed the tea in front of him and stood behind him. "Right." I muttered, taking a sip from my cup. This time, there was no Wisteria. I placed the cup down and hummed in curiosity. "Why not this time?"

Kagaya took a sip from his own cup, then calmly placed it down. "Why did you drink it, knowing what it does to you?"

I glanced up at the sky for a moment, then looked back at him. "I've trained Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, can't have them dying on me."

He hummed again, taking another sip. "I've heard about that. Why do you train them?"

I took another sip myself, thinking about my answer. "I guess it's a mix of mutual respect... and Tanjiro reminds me of someone. He trains hard to protect the people close to him."

"I see." Kagaya responded softly. "The truth is, I wanted to meet you to assess whether you would be of help in our cause of eliminating Muzan. I believe I've gotten my answer." He paused for a moment, then asked. "So, I'd like to ask you a different question. What is that mark around your neck?"

I raised an eyebrow, realizing what he meant. 'Right, Amaterasu's blessing.' Sensing my confusion, he continued. "I don't know how to explain it, but I feel heat radiating from it."

I hummed, lightly touching the tattoo. "It was a gift."

He stood up slowly, nodding. "I see. Whoever gave you that gift must be quite the person." He began to make his way out, his wife following, but then he turned back to me. "I've heard you wish to visit the Swordsmith Village. I will request them to have you visit, please don't betray my trust."

With those final words, he left.

Two months and two weeks had passed, marking three months in total of recovering at the Butterfly Mansion. Right now, Tanjiro and the two others surrounded me for a light spar. They wielded wooden bokkens while I used a stick again. Shinobu and Kyojuro were watching from the side, with Eri sitting in Kyojuro's lap. I looked at the three and tilted my head. "Are you sure you all want to do this?"

I received resolved nods as Tanjiro went in first. There were no breathing styles other than Total Concentration Breathing being used, since Shinobu had disallowed it. I watched as Tanjiro blitzed toward me. 'Did he copy what I do when I speed toward my opponent?' I noticed that he put weight on his left toes before transitioning to his right to generate momentum. 'He's learning, at least.'

When he was a few feet away, he stopped and changed direction to confront me on my left, and that's when I noticed that Inosuke was behind him. 'Tanjiro was covering him from my sight? Clever.' I deflected a vertical strike from Tanjiro and ducked under Inosuke's slashes, responding with a kick to the chin that Inosuke barely dodged. I felt another attack come from behind and saw Tanjiro going for a piercing strike toward my face. I deflected it with the back of my left hand and pulled the back of the bokken, forcing Tanjiro to pull away. I let him pull me along with it, as soon as Tanjiro pulled Inosuke attacked again with his bokkens crossed together.

'I've let them have fun.' I took a deep breath, even as the pain in my lung flared, dug my feet into the ground, and pulled Tanjiro's bokken, and him with it right into Inosuke, who wasn't expecting it. As they collided I kicked Tanjiro's back, sending them flying into Zenitsu, who looked like he was ready to start. I watched as the duo pile became a trio pile.

I let out the breath and spoke to them. "Seems like I won again." I heard groans in response and clapping from Eri and the other two. Shinobu happily chimed in, "Now that all of you have finished, it's time for medicine."

That got everyone except Eri to groan. 'I'll take them with plum wine when she's not looking.' Shinobu then turned to me. "And no wine this time."

'Fuck.'