"Speaking of which… Yoizumi, are you and Kochou already…?" Uzui Tengen propped his head with one hand, idly twirling a sake cup with two fingers of his left hand. His tone was rather ambiguous, with a suggestive pause and elongation at a certain point.
"?" Yoizumi, eating the dango offered by the shop, looked at the winking and strangely expressive Uzui Tengen, completely failing to understand what he meant.
"Mmmph!"
Kyojuro Rengoku took a bite of the piping hot, freshly fried tempura, enjoying the crispy texture with a clear sound, seemingly unaffected by Uzui Tengen's words.
"No way? You don't even know that? You're too naive, aren't you!"
Uzui Tengen glared with his dark pink eyes, speaking exasperatedly. He drained all the sake from his cup and placed it down on the table with a "clink."
Thinking of something, he suddenly curved his lips, raising a finger and nonchalantly beckoning towards Yoizumi, his eyes full of interest at having found something amusing.
"Come over here, I'll tell you~"
"No need." Since the other party was the troublesome Uzui Tengen, Shinobu had already prepared Yoizumi mentally: if he had a strange smile on his face, there was no need to listen to him. These were Shinobu's exact words.
Yoizumi kept this in mind, turning his head away and ignoring him.
"Hey! You, I'm kindly trying to teach you something useful, and you won't listen."
He sighed, feeling bored. The flamboyant him knew, even without thinking hard, that Kochou must have said something to this blockhead, who truly followed her every word.
He poured himself some sake, and also topped up Kyojuro's cup.
Slowly raising his sake cup towards the two beside him, Kyojuro Rengoku understood and likewise raised his cup.
"Mmm, today's meal was very enjoyable!"
"Yoizumi! Uzui! I toast you both!"
Yoizumi, who couldn't drink alcohol, used water as a substitute, mimicking their actions.
"Although I don't know if we'll have another chance to gather like this, but… the flamboyant me will definitely live to the end."
"So… you two mustn't die, okay."
He was currently the closest to the brink of death, aside from Himejima, yet he still smiled defiantly.
"No one can be sure about such things. What we need to do is burn our hearts!"
"Let's work hard together!"
There was not a trace of fear of death on Kyojuro Rengoku's face. How could a person who burns himself like a raging fire be extinguished by wind and rain? He would only ignite an even greater blaze.
"…" Yoizumi listened to their words in silence. Given his personality, it was difficult for him to utter grand reason or comforting words, especially since he was a demon, unlike their human bodies.
Words coming from him might be misinterpreted by others.
"It will be alright."
In the end, Yoizumi could only utter this one sentence. The other two didn't mind, and together they drank the liquid in their cups.
"I promised to go back and be with my wives today, so I'll be off first."
"Later~"
Uzui Tengen casually waved at the two and quickly disappeared from their sight.
"Uzui is also feeling a bit anxious, huh." Kyojuro Rengoku, watching Uzui Tengen leave and with his arms crossed, murmured.
Hearing this, Yoizumi's sapphire eyes lowered, concealing any emotions within them.
"It's understandable, he still has three wives, after all," Kyojuro Rengoku continued.
Yoizumi recalled the anxious look on his three wives' faces in the Red-light district after he had just defeated Upper Rank Six. He wondered if Uzui Tengen, having activated his Mark, could handle things now.
"Also?" Yoizumi suddenly noticed the word Kyojuro Rengoku had used earlier.
Kyojuro Rengoku slowly nodded. The afternoon sun cast a golden glow on his hair and face. He lowered his gaze to his calloused palms, his hands tightening slightly.
"Because family is just like that."
"No matter how powerful one is, when facing important people, there will always be a soft spot in their heart."
"Family is always the most fatal weakness."
Yoizumi nodded in agreement; he also believed this.
Kyojuro Rengoku patted Yoizumi's shoulder, a comforting smile on his righteous face.
"Young Kamado will come to me after he finishes with Tomioka. I will train him to be even stronger!"
"Then I'll leave Tanjirou to you."
… "Brother, you're back!"
Senjuro, sweeping fallen leaves from the ground with a broom, happily rushed to his brother upon seeing Kyojuro Rengoku.
"Hmm, Senjuro, have you grown taller?" Kyojuro Rengoku bent down and gently stroked his brother's head, saying with satisfaction.
The shy Senjuro, facing his admired brother, lowered his head a bit bashfully.
"Where's Father?"
Senjuro pointed towards the bedroom. At this time, Father would fill a sake pot to the brim, and after drinking it all, he would fall asleep until evening.
"Brother, please try to persuade Father a little. Drinking like this, his body won't be able to take it."
"Yes, I understand."
Walking to his father's bedroom door, Kyojuro Rengoku took a deep breath and knocked.
No one answered, but he knew his father was inside.
"Excuse me, Father."
Opening the wooden door, he saw Rengoku Shinjuro sitting under the eaves, a sake pot in hand, pouring sake into his mouth. The liquid ran down his chin, wetting his collar, but he didn't care. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, glanced at his son, and said nothing.
Walking step by step to his father's side, Kyojuro Rengoku knelt beside him, staring at the empty sake pot on the ground, his face filled with worry.
"Father, drinking too much sake is not good. Senjuro also said that you often sleep without eating dinner."
"I'm very worried about you, Father."
"Clang." The sake pot hit the ground heavily. Shinjuro's voice revealed impatience.
"My affairs are none of your business."
"I am your son, of course I can interfere!"
"Then why don't you listen to me, your father!" Shinjuro almost roared, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Kyojuro Rengoku.
Clenching the sake pot tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, Shinjuro's chest heaved violently.
"Why didn't you listen to me and leave the Demon Slayer Corps?!"
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