"Miss Yuko, thank you for your guidance."
On the training grounds, several Demon Slayer swordsmen bowed to Yuko, who had been instructing them.
Yuko replied gently, "This is all your own hard work."
"Please keep up this passion. I believe that one day your efforts will be properly rewarded."
Everyone looked at her in a daze.
"Miss Yuko…"
She's so gentle… Miss Yuko.
"Continue training using the same method as before," Yuko said as she swept her gaze over the training field. After giving them a small bow, she left.
"If only Miss Yuko hadn't gotten injured…"
"With Miss Yuko's skill, if she hadn't been injured, she definitely could've become a Hashira!"
"Obviously! Miss Yuko is the younger sister of those two great men!"
"Her self-created Snow Breathing is powerful enough to stand alongside the original Breathing Styles. Even now, she's the only one in the entire Demon Slayer Corps who can use it."
The group watched her departing figure with admiration—until someone suddenly blurted out:
"Miss Yuko is so gentle… I really want to marry her someday."
His words instantly angered the others.
"Damn you, Matsuda! Go look at yourself in a mirror! The only one worthy of Miss Yuko is me!"
"Hah? Yamamoto, go die! Don't even dream of defiling my gentle Miss Yuko!"
Yuko, already far away, naturally didn't hear their noisy quarrel—otherwise she would've complained:
Who the hell is spreading such exaggerated rumors?!
"Powerful as the original Breathing Styles"?
They're just inflating me! Absolutely inflating me to death!
After finishing the training session, Yuko returned to her room to pick up her prepared tea set and headed straight toward the back mountain.
Whoosh—
Before she even reached the summit, she heard enormous sounds coming from above.
Michikatsu held his Nichirin blade, training the forms of Moon Breathing. From the raging aura surrounding him, his state of mind was clearly anything but calm.
Yuko sat down at the stone table to the side and waited quietly.
About twenty minutes later, Michikatsu finally stopped, panting heavily.
Yuko called softly, "Brother."
He sheathed his Nichirin blade and walked straight toward her.
Yuko poured him a cup of tea. "Brother, please."
Michikatsu took the cup, lifted his head, and downed it in one gulp—completely without the usual graceful manner he cared so much about. Then he slammed the cup heavily onto the table.
This was something the normally etiquette-strict Michikatsu had never done.
Yuko's eyes shifted slightly. She noticed the bulging veins on the hand gripping the cup. With calm tone, she asked, "Brother, are you troubled over the Marks?"
She knew. She had always known.
She had lived two lifetimes. Influenced by Akeno when she was a child, Yuko once treated herself as truly a little girl, acting spoiled in her mother's arms.
But after Akeno's death, she returned to being an adult.
With the emotional sensitivity of an adult, she knew very well what kind of person Michikatsu was.
At Yuko's words, Michikatsu's grip tightened again, his breathing growing slightly unsteady.
Before he could speak, Yuko continued, "Brother, you're unwilling to accept it, aren't you? Because there's no time left to catch up to Yoriichi."
"…"
Michikatsu's breath unconsciously halted.
Yuko could always see through his inner thoughts without warning.
At times, he found Yuko even harder to deal with than Yoriichi.
Whenever he communicated with her, he disliked speaking—because in front of Yuko, it felt as though he had no secrets at all.
Sensing his shock, Yuko sighed from the bottom of her heart.
She lifted her gaze slightly, her wine-red eyes looking at him with warmth.
"Brother, you don't need to prove anything to anyone. I have always been proud of you."
"Whether it's you or Yoriichi, in my eyes both of you are irreplaceable."
Michikatsu's mind trembled. He lowered his gaze, his eyes quivering.
He had always known.
No matter how hard he tried, he could never surpass Yoriichi.
He simply couldn't accept it…
Yuko pressed forward gently. "Brother…"
She paused. A sudden itch rose in her throat, triggering a string of uncontrollable coughs.
"Cough… cough…"
The cough tugged at her lungs, sending sharp pain through her chest. Yuko bent down, covering her mouth in agony.
Concerned, Michikatsu reached out to support her. "Yuko!"
Wiping the corner of her lips, Yuko forced a smile. "It's nothing serious."
After a moment of silence, Michikatsu said, "Show me your hand."
Knowing she couldn't hide it from him, Yuko sighed and opened her palm, revealing a scatter of cherry-red bloodstains.
"When did it get worse?"
"About a month ago."
"What did the doctor say?"
"As long as I don't strain myself, I probably have about three years left."
Yuko added optimistically, "It's around the same limit as the Mark anyway, so it doesn't really affect me."
Michikatsu remained silent. With his Transparent World, he could clearly see Yuko's condition.
Yuko had always pushed back strongly whenever the brothers tried to check on her, calling it "peeking into a girl's privacy," and saying things he didn't quite understand.
Something about "posting on TikTok," "exposing you on Facebook," and "internet mobs" or something.
Now he understood—she was trying to hide her injuries.
"Don't talk. I'm taking you to the doctor."
"No need, my body—"
Before she could finish, her brother had already picked her up onto his back and started down the mountain.
Yuko froze for a moment, then a soft smile curved her lips.
This is enough… Brother…
…
Michikatsu had indeed been turned into a demon by Muzan himself—that much was certain.
As for when and where, Yuko didn't know.
When she didn't trust things at the beginning, she secretly followed Michikatsu on several missions.
But later, when her stamina deteriorated further, she gave up the idea.
He should be fine, right?
With Michikatsu's strength, even if he encountered Muzan, escaping shouldn't be difficult.
…
While on a mission outside, Michikatsu encountered the progenitor of demons—Kibutsuji Muzan.
At that time, Michikatsu still held his blade toward the Demon King.
Until Muzan spoke:
"Why not simply become a demon?"
"Once you do, you'll have limitless years ahead of you."
"You seek higher swordsmanship, and I want to see what happens when a swordsman who uses Breathing Technique becomes a demon."
"How about it? You're different from the others… you have the chance to choose."
Michikatsu's breath halted; his expression wavered.
Despite Yuko's persistent guidance, despite the slight change in his heart…
A person's deepest desires cannot be shaken by a few comforting words.
Those who had abandoned their dreams because reality bent their backs… it didn't mean they didn't want to pursue them.
Once even the faintest possibility appeared, they would cling to it like a drowning man grasping the last straw.
Muzan's words instantly awakened Michikatsu's buried dream of surpassing Yoriichi.
Yes.
If he became a demon—
If he gained unlimited time—
Then he could keep training. One day he would surpass Yoriichi.
And the cost was merely being unable to stand in sunlight.
His chance to fulfill his dream was right before him. Michikatsu's breathing grew heavier.
Just as his throat bobbed slightly, Yuko's gentle face surfaced in his mind, and her soft voice echoed:
"Brother, you don't need to prove anything to anyone. I have always been proud of you."
"Whether it's you or Yoriichi, in my eyes both of you are irreplaceable."
Michikatsu subconsciously tightened his grip on his blade.
Muzan frowned.
What a shame. Looks like he'd need to find someone else.
Just when the tension reached its peak, Michikatsu's fingers slowly relaxed around the hilt.
Then he spoke, cold and abrupt:
"If I become a demon… can illnesses be cured as well?"
Muzan paused—then a wicked smile curled on his lips.
"But of course."
"As a demon, any injury or ailment can be healed effortlessly."
---
+40 Chapters
(Currently at Chapter 54 on Ko-Fi.)
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08