Hiru stared blankly at the youthful-looking Yoriichi, his mind completely frozen, his expression locked in shock as he gazed at him without blinking.
Yoriichi couldn't bear to watch any longer. He stood, walked over, and pressed the back of his hand against Hiru's forehead. "Why aren't you saying anything? Was it that nightmare just now?"
"Brother... you..." Hiru's voice trembled as he raised a finger toward Yoriichi, unable to form a single coherent sentence. "You... you..."
"I'm sorry for making this decision without asking you." Yoriichi sat down directly across from him. "It may sound weak, even shameless... but this was a choice I made after much thought."
"Eh? Eh?" Hiru's mind was still completely blank as he stared at Yoriichi in disbelief.
"When I couldn't bring myself to raise my sword against you back then," Yoriichi said softly, regret in his eyes, "it was inevitable that things would lead to this outcome. I'm sorry—for hiding the fact that I used your blood to become a demon."
"No... that doesn't matter." Hiru shook his head blankly, still convinced he was trapped in a dream. He lay back down, shutting his eyes tightly. "There's no way my brother would choose to become a demon... Ha, haha... What a strange dream. I should wake up soon. Maybe my brother's already come back. Yes... that's right... I just need to wake up."
Yoriichi could only sigh helplessly and rise to his feet. "Then rest well. I'll go check on Miss Tamayo."
"Huh?" Hiru opened his eyes again, frowning. "Why?"
"Well... Miss Tamayo seemed quite frightened earlier. When she saw me return, she fainted right in front of the workbench. She woke up yesterday but has been praying nonstop since then. She seemed a bit disoriented, so I didn't disturb her." Yoriichi looked down at him. "You should apologize to Miss Tamayo as well."
After a long pause, Hiru quietly stood and draped his haori over his shoulders. "It's just a dream anyway... Might as well go see what it's like."
Yoriichi tilted his head slightly, a helpless look crossing his face. He reached out to ruffle Hiru's hair, but when he tried to pull his hand back, Hiru caught it.
"Keep touching it..."
Yoriichi froze.
Hiru lowered his eyes. "When I wake up... I won't be able to see you again, will I?"
Yoriichi decided he needed to make Hiru face reality immediately. After ruffling his younger brother's hair once more, he withdrew his hand and drew the well-maintained long sword from his waist.
"Huh?" Hiru instinctively took a step back as the crimson blade gleamed before him. Then, realization flickered in his widened eyes as he stared at the weapon. "Even in a dream, it's terrifying... As expected of you, brother..."
Yoriichi held the blade horizontally in front of him. "It's real."
Hiru: ...?
"Do you want to test if it hurts?"
Hiru: ???
See? He knew it was a dream! There's no way his gentle brother would say something like that!
But in the next moment, Yoriichi sighed. With a deft twist of his wrist, he turned the sword and pressed the flat of the blade gently against the back of Hiru's hand.
"Ah—!" Hiru immediately jerked his hand back, the heat stinging his skin. He stared blankly at the sword, then at Yoriichi—back and forth several times—before hesitantly touching the blade again. The instant the fiery steel burned his skin once more, he flinched and looked up, dazed.
"...It's real?"
"It's real." Yoriichi sheathed the sword and looked at him gently, reaching out to wipe the tears from the corners of Hiru's eyes. "You're an adult now. No more crying."
Hiru said nothing. He only wrapped his arms around Yoriichi, burying his face against him. Yoriichi could feel the fabric of his shoulder quickly soaking through with tears.
"Remember the race we had before?" Yoriichi said softly, patting his back. "Let's use the winner's reward here, then. Can you forgive my weakness?"
"...You're not weak, brother." Hiru's voice was muffled. "You've always hated demons the most, haven't you? Now that you've become one... you're the one who must be in pain.
If only I had died in the sunlight, then you wouldn't have had to make this choice...
When you become a demon, it feels like your body is crushed and reformed all over again... and you have to suppress all those dark impulses and hunger... You must have suffered so much, right?"
Yoriichi hesitated, falling silent for a moment. "...No, I haven't."
"I remember exactly how it felt when I became a demon!" Hiru lifted his head to glare at him. "Don't try to lie to me, brother!"
Yoriichi paused again, this time for much longer. "The truth is, after I came into contact with your blood through my wound, it took me a full month to turn completely from human to demon. During that time, I still needed to eat human food to replenish my energy.
The process itself wasn't painful—no twisted bones, no torn flesh. And I didn't experience the uncontrollable hunger you described. If anything... it was peaceful."
"Huh? But... that's impossible, isn't it?"
"Perhaps. That's why I need to discuss this in detail with Miss Tamayo." Yoriichi let out a small sigh, wearing his usual faintly helpless smile. "But she was quite frightened by me... I'm not sure if she's recovered yet."
A new question suddenly struck Hiru. "Then what about the Breathing Techniques? When I tried practicing yours, I nearly burned myself to death! Even after I survived sunlight, when I secretly tried again, it was still unbearable—just without the burning. You've always used those Breathing Techniques. Did nothing happen to you?"
"Nothing at all." Yoriichi nodded lightly. "If anything, I think those very techniques might have slowed my transformation.
Miss Tamayo said that ordinary people would turn into demons simply by touching the blood of a Primordial Demon. So I originally planned to stage the illusion of our deaths, then use your blood to become a demon and return. But due to this unexpected change, I stayed outside a little longer to adjust to my new body... though I learned nothing useful.
Still, I feared you might do something reckless, so I came back as quickly as I could. Thankfully, you managed to restrain yourself. You did very well."
"In a sense... it was close."
"Hmm?"
"Nothing." Hiru tugged lightly at Yoriichi's sleeve. "Let's go find Miss Tamayo! We need to get to the bottom of this!"