Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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'Gentle?' Kokushibo stared blankly at Soichiro.
The man just kept smiling at him.
This is the second person that came to this conclusion about him.
Kokushibo's feeling of indignation in his heart slowly dissipated. His clenched fist relaxed its strength.
Yuichiro saw that Kokushibo's finally calming down; his whole body was also calming down from its tense condition. His clothes was soaked by his sweat, especially his back.
"...whew." Yuichiro breathed a long sigh of relief.
He retreated to his place beside Muichiro, but he never took his eyes off Kokushibo.
Crackle... Pop!
The small stove made a crackling sound as the damp firewood was dried enough to finally burn and boiled the medicine in earnest.
The faint light of the fire illuminated Soichiro's face, and heat spread around the house.
For a while Soichiro busied himself to make sure the fire inside the stove was properly lit.
"Come to think of it..."
Soichiro fanned the flames with his small fan and continued his conversation with Kokushibo.
"Haha..."
"I've been talking about myself and my family, and I don't even know your name."
He turned his head and looked at Kokushibo with his warm smile. "What is your name?"
His name.
Kokushibo was using the Transparent World to dissect Muichiro, who had fallen asleep from tiredness, talent and potential. Hearing Soichiro's question, Kokushibo withdrew his gaze and answered subconsciously.
"Koku—"
Kokushibo paused midway. The name he wants to say freezes on his lips.
"Koku?" Soichiro tilted his head and repeated the words in confusion. Seeing Kokushibo's frozen expression, he tentatively asked. "Koku... what?"
Kokushibo slowly closes his mouth.
—His Name.
Kokushibo, is that really his name?
Looking back on his life, from his birth to his jobs as a Demon Slayer with Yoriichi to his eventual turning into a demon to his recent defeat by the hand of the Sun Breathing successor to this small wooden shack.
His memory flashed in his mind like a book, scrolling every chapter in his life.
All of them have meaning and lessons that he picked up.
None more proudly preserved than his time with Yoriichi, when they stand back-to-back fighting off demons.
He thought deeply for what felt like hours.
The emotions that had been buried for 400 years seemed to resurface again.
He was silent before he finally spoke again. "My name..."
"My name... is Michikatsu."
"Tsugikuni Michikatsu."
Michikatus said with certainty. Declaring his human name to the whole world.
Soichiro paused in his fanning the flames. The introduction felt more like an affirmation of the man's identity than simply saying his name.
Then he continued fanning and smiled as if the pause never happened.
"Oh, I see."
"That's... quite a domineering name."
...
...
The torrential rain didn't stop until the evening of the next day.
Shallow puddles lie scattered in front of the house and across the muddy ground. When the sun shone through the cloud, the light reflected back by the puddles like a mirror—creating a warm golden atmosphere.
Creak...
Michikatsu opened the door of the house and glanced at the sunshine outside.
He turned to look at the occupants of the house.
"Mom, be careful now."
Kaoru was already able to sit up, and her high fever had subsided under the effect of the flower soup.
She smiles as she takes a small bowl of porridge from Muichiro's hand. "Thank you."
Muichiro's heartfelt joy rose and appeared on his face. His mother was smiling again.
"Hehe."
Muichiro rubbed his head awkwardly as he sat in dogeza beside her, smiling happily at being a good boy.
Muchikatsu observed Kaoru's body through the Transparent World.
Her high fever was caused by overwork and being rained on.
In addition, due to lack of food, her body is much weaker than a normal person's. Which led to her nearly dying.
Although,
If she just drank the roughly brewed herbal medicine, Soichiro would not be able to pull Kaoru back from the brink of death, and she would not have the strength to eat porridge right now.
The reason why she recovered fast was...
...Michikatsu gave Kaoru some of his blood.
Just a drop of his demon blood.
His drop of blood was in such a small dosage that it doesn't turn Kaoru into a demon. He gave just enough to inject her body with life force to help maintain her body.
With such a strong life force injected, Kaoru successfully recovered from her sickness.
Michikatsu offered to help by giving some 'concoction' of his own making to Kaoru.
He made sure that Soichiro and their sons didn't see how he adds that 'concoction.'
Soichiro, the kind and trustful man that he is, allowed Michikatsu to help and was especially grateful for his 'concoction' that saved his wife.
Muichiro glanced at Michikatsu and suddenly propped himself up. He leaned against his mother and spoke in a low voice.
"Oh, right..."
"Mom, last night..."
Kaoru turned her head and listened to Muichiro recount everything since Michikatsu arrived in their house. She blinked and nodded from time to time to show she was listening.
Finally, Muichiro finished speaking with a flushed face. The kid was just so excited to see his mother recovering that he talked so fast and forgot to breathe.
Kaoru smiled and patted Muichiro's head.
She looked at Michikatsu standing by the door.
"Tsugikuni-san... is that right?"
"Thank you so very much." Kaoru smiled and bowed her head deeply.
Michikatsu nodded back stoically. His eyes just contemplatively stare at Kaoru and her son beside her.
He may have helped Kaoru recover, but not without condition.
And that condition is—
"Hey! Six-eyed Uncle!" Yuichiro frowned as he pulled his frame and walked over in front of Michikatsu but stopped before he closed in on him.
Yuichiro is still wary of Michikatsu.
"What was that thing you were talking about... sword training?"
"When does it start?"
Yuichiro crossed his arms and looked up at Michikatsu like a brat.
Even though the man 'cured' his mother, Yuichiro never completely let his guard down.
"Why do we have to pick up sword training? We're just a family of woodcutters..." Yuichiro's voice was mixed with doubt.
Indeed.
Michikatsu's condition was for the father, Soichiro, and their sons, Yuichiro and Muichiro, to pick up the sword and train with it.
Soichiro agreed with the condition wholeheartedly, being so grateful for his wife's improving health.
His sons begrudgingly follow their father's choice.
"...wait until tonight." Michikatsu looked at Yuichiro and only said to wait as he withdrew his gaze.
He leaves them to celebrate their good fortune in silence.
Before, he might have ignored their opinions and happiness and forced them to train immediately.
'Perhaps...'
'I've changed too, Yoriichi...'
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-Location: Butterfly Mansion-
"Hey, have you heard?"
Two men in black uniforms were walking together, each holding a wooden box in their hands.
"Heard what?" The kakushi who was asked looked at his colleague in confusion.
"That red-haired man, who is very kind and has many children."
"What's wrong with him?"
Seeing that his colleague was completely unaware of the rumors, he became excited and deliberately lowered his voice.
"That man..." He leaned over to his colleague's ear. "He defeated the Upper Moon One!"
The kakushi was stunned when he heard that. Then, he smiled. "What's wrong with you? Making such a fuss over a rumor."
"Defeating an Upper Moon..."
His brain finally catches up with the information he heard.
"What? What!!!"
...
A week passed quickly since Tanjuro arrived at the Butterfly Mansion to rest and spend his time with his family.
In just that week, rumors have spread across the Butterfly Mansion and the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"That red-haired skinny man, Tanjuro-sama, has defeated the Upper Moon One!"
The news spread like a wildfire throughout the Corps.
The more it was spread, the more outrageous it became and the further it deviated from the truth.
First it was just Tanjuro forcing back Kokushibo with everything he had; that's why he was resting in the Butterfly Mansion.
Next, it became Tanjuro dominated the fight and killed Kokushibo decisively using one hundred slashes of his sword.
The most outrageous one was Tanjuro easily defeating Kokushibo with one thousand slashes and then coming home to his wife and making children endlessly.
...that last one was probably because the Kakushi were always surprised to see another one of Tanjuro's children whenever they visited the mansion.
And when they secretly watched Tanjuro teaching his children how to properly perform the Hinokami Kagura in the courtyard.
...and his performance of Hinokami Kagura from early in the evening until dawn the next day.
This made Tanjuro, who like a quiet life, feel a little annoyed.
Unfortunately, more "annoyance" would soon come his way.