Masao, whom the translator has genuinely forgot, walked into the room to see Goto tucking Tanjiro into bed.
Their conversation finished, and Tanjiro immediately fell asleep, exhausted.
"Goto, are you okay?"
"I saw Tomioka-sama patrolling the area around the house." Masao said as he put off his sandal and sat beside Goto.
"I sent the old man home. I don't know how he ran so fast at his age. It's amazing." Masao said in admiration.
He puts down all his tools that he brought with him.
"There is nothing to clean up here."
"The house is not damaged; even the snow in front of the door has been swept clean."
"I've checked everywhere, and the blood on the snow is from the demon. It disappears as soon as the sun rises."
Masao reported his observation of this incident. He looked Goto in the eyes.
"Was there really a demon attack here?"
Hearing Masao's report, Goto just nodded his head, affirming his fellow's question.
"The injured are in stable condition, too."
Then he pointed at Tanjuro's sleeping form.
"This is Tanjuro. He's the one who defeated the demon. His body is showing signs of exhaustion."
Masao followed Goto's finger and looked at Tanjuro, and he immediately noticed something was wrong.
"This is Tanjiro. He has a slight fever, but otherwise he's fine."
As Goto continued to explain, Masao interrupted him.
"Hey, wait."
"This... isn't right."
Masao's sight was still fixated on Tanjuro's face, which had gone pale without anyone noticing. He quickly went to Tanjuro's side, bent down, and opened his eyelids.
"I may specialize in the restoration of houses and negotiation, but I have been trained in basic medicine."
Sweat poured out of Masao's forehead as he imagined the worst possible outcome. He looked at Goto seriously.
"He doesn't look okay at all, does he?"
Gesturing to Tanjuro's pale face and the weakening of his breath.
"It's a miracle this guy is still alive!"
Goto was taken aback. He picked up the candle and quickly checked on Tanjuro.
Goto moved the lit candle in front of the still-open eyelids side to side.
Tanjuro's pupils were slightly dilated and unresponsive to the light.
"Damn it!"
Goto's scalp went numb, and his heart tightened. He was just fine when he checked him just now!
Now, Tanjuro is on the verge of death!
How could this be?!
Forcing himself to calm down, Goto pressed his ears to Tanjuro's chest, trying to listen to his gradually weakening heart.
Knowing time was of the essence, Goto adjusted his posture to try and pump the heart.
"Quick! Do CPR!" Masao shouted.
"I know! I'm already doing it! Raise his legs!" Goto ordered back, his hands clasped together and his upper body leaning its weight to constantly press on Tanjuro's chest.
"One! Two! Three!..."
"Hey! Tanjuro! Can you hear me!?"
"Breathe! Come on! Breathe!"
Tanjiro was woken up by the commotion, watching the two men trying to save his father. He tried to reach out his hand, wanting to say something.
"Ha..."
But his hoarse throat couldn't produce any sound.
...
...
"Huff... Huff..."
Goto knelt on the ground beside Tanjuro's body; sweat poured out of his face and dripped onto the floor. His eyes were full of fatigue and unwillingness.
—Failed!
~Bam!~
He slammed his hand on the floor.
"Damn it!"
"..."
Masao leaned against the wall, panting heavily, saying nothing.
He looked at the quietly lying Tanjuro, not knowing what to think.
Unfortunately, the first aid registered by the two doesn't produce any effect.
Tanjuro has already stopped breathing, and his heart has stopped beating. Even with all their supplies, they can't save him.
Goto turned to look at Tanjiro, guilt and regret coloring his face.
He should've been more thorough. There's no way a person encountering a demon would be completely fine!? Even the members of the Corps would be injured when they encountered a demon. Not to mention a person with a weak body.
"Stupid! Stupid!"
~Bam! Bam!~
Goto pounded the ground in frustration.
Tanjuro's death could've been avoided.
It is his negligence that led to this situation.
It was... him who killed Tanjuro.
~Drip drip~
Tears ran down his face, soaking the black cloth covering his face.
Masao didn't say anything. It wasn't easy to watch a life pass away right before their eyes.
...
~Sreeak~
"Goto-san..."
Tanjiro struggled to lift his head, breathing heavily, as he called out hoarsely. His sense of smell has completely gone as his fever reaches its peak.
"What happened...?"
When Goto and Masao heard Tanjiro's question, he felt his stomach tighten. His whole body trembled as he slowly turned to face Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro..."
"I..."
Goto choked on his words, not knowing what to say. He could only stare at Tanjiro, trying to seek forgiveness.
'This kind boy... because of me, he's forced to be a man because I couldn't save his father.'
Goto felt his mind fall into despair as he racked his brain and heart on how to confess his sins to Tanjiro and apologize for his mistake.
Then—
~Whooosh~
A pink light softly lit up over Tanjuro's body.
Everyone in the room was blinded as the pink light shone more brightly.
When the light receded, Goto and Masao could see pale pink cherry blossom petals falling in mid-air, carrying with them a crystal clear light, slowly scattering.
The translucent petals slowly fell on the dead body of Tanjuro and merged with him.
Suddenly, a sound breeze blew by along with a bell chime.
Two floating pinkish-red kanji appeared above Tanjuro's body.
—"回生" (Resurrection)
Goto stared in shock.
Because the dead body of Tanjuro suddenly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he was just waking up from a full 8 hours of sleep.
Goto and Masao's eyes gradually changed from sadness and grief to horror as Tanjuro slowly sat up, nodded to Goto, and took in his surroundings.
His brain is in reboot, but the sensation of his resurrection is still fresh in his mind.
'Did I... die for a while?' Tanjuro thought as he squeezed his hand.
Soon enough, Tanjuro shook off his daze and came back to his senses.
—Being resurrected is just another Tuesday in Sekiro.
Tanjuro just didn't expect to still retain the power of the Dragon's Heritage in this world.
Turning his head to look at Goto and noticing his uniform, Tanjuro immediately understood the man's identity.
'Kakushi? Has a swordsman from the Demon Slayer Corps come?'
Tanjuro breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to speak—
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
Goto and Masao huddled together, chills running up their spines as they stared at the anomaly that is Tanjuro.
Tears of guilt quickly changed into tears of horror.
They keep shrinking back from Tanjuro's body until their back hits against the wall.
"Don't come near here!!"