"Would you take over this dojo, Hakuji?"
I saw Uncle Keijo speak with a smiling face.
I'm his only disciple, and Koyuki has never trained in [Soryu].
I assumed I would inherit Uncle's [Soryu].
Still, inheriting the [Soryu] dojo just because I'm the sole student felt absurd, so I resolved to train diligently and become a martial artist worthy of Uncle's style.
I was overjoyed, thinking I'd finally been officially recognized by Uncle as a warrior of [Soryu].
However,
it seemed Uncle's thoughts at that moment differed slightly from mine.
"Koyuki says she likes you too."
"What?"
My mind froze.
Someone likes me…?
Before I realized it, I glanced at Koyuki beside Uncle.
She avoided my gaze, cheeks flushed.
Seeing her rosy face, I without realizing it blushed as red as a radish.
Three years ago.
'I can't say for sure now, but you never know what might happen later.'
I'd denied those words back then because I couldn't imagine such a future.
I am a criminal.
A criminal with countless lines etched into his stigma.
For someone like me to have a companion who loves me…
I couldn't picture a future of spending my remaining days with a child.
Having somewhere to lean on was enough.
It was enough just to honor my father's dying wish to live honestly.
I thought I had already received more than I deserved...
I knelt, placing both hands on the ground and touching my forehead to my palms in a bow.
The faint hope that I might live an ordinary life like others spread so large it couldn't be contained.
'If you decide to protect them, you must protect them at all costs.'
I vowed that, even at the risk of my life, I would protect these two no matter what.
@@@
It's been a long time since I visited Keijo's dojo with Tamayo and Uzui.
Has it been about three years since I left here?
I wonder if that fellow has done well.
I knocked on the door of the dojo and called Keijo's name; with a creak, the door opened and revealed his smiling face.
Perhaps hearing my voice, he came running, holding a water ladle by the well.
"Hey! Long time no see!"
"It's been a while."
Keijo laughed heartily, pleased to see my face.
His face looked the same even after three years.
"So you've finally come to become my disciple?"
His persistence was unchanged...
"I just came to see you."
"That's a shame..."
At my words, he sighed and lowered his head.
Then he immediately lifted his head as if about to say something.
Judging by his racing heart, was something good happening?
"Ah, and as for you and Koyuki… we—"
—cough.
A faint cough came from somewhere.
It wasn't that I couldn't hear his next words; that small cough was more important.
After the cough came the metallic scent of blood.
Keijo seemed unaware...
"Ah, right."
"Just a moment... excuse me."
I cut off Keijo's words and stepped into the dojo, heading toward the source of the metallic scent.
The origin of the smell of blood.
"Cough, cough!"
Koyuki lay collapsed in front of the well, coughing up blood.
The amount of blood she spat was alarming.
Worried that her illness had relapsed, I used the [Revealed World] to examine her body.
'It's poison.'
Poison.
Poison was slowly spreading through her body, eating her from the inside.
Who would do such a thing?
The water ladle left idly beside her.
Could it be... someone laced the well?
Uzui, who had followed me, discovered Koyuki.
"Uzui, it's poison!"
At my words, she nodded and took out an emetic and water gourd from her robe, giving them to Koyuki.
As Koyuki swallowed the medicine and water, she vomited a bloody fluid.
After that, I carried her inside and set her in a comfortable position.
"This is an emetic. First we need to purge the poison..."
Uzui spoke through clenched teeth as if uncertain.
It couldn't be helped.
Vomiting was only first aid.
We need an antidote, but we don't know what kind of poison Koyuki ingested.
If her sickness hadn't fully healed, she would have died on the spot.
"Koyuki...! What is this...!"
Keijo ran over with a look of horror I'd never seen before.
"It's poison. Someone must have laced the well."
"Poison? What are you saying...!"
Keijo stared at Koyuki in disbelief.
What should we do?
There's no time.
Even as we deliberate, the poison in Koyuki is killing her.
Even if Tamayo analyzes it and makes an antidote, Koyuki's body won't hold out until then.
Is there any other way?
...I didn't want to use that.
The last method I least wanted.
Turn Koyuki into a demon...
There's no other option.
I might not even have time to explain to Keijo, but I can't let a wedding ceremony become a funeral procession.
'Stop.'
[Kibutsuji Muzan]'s voice in my mind urged me to desist.
Stop? She's going to die soon.
'I... also think the same as Muzan...'
Kokushibo also opposed.
'Even if it's weaker than the original, the blood that turns a human into a demon is still a potent poison.'
'That girl... especially weakened by poison... it's highly likely she won't adapt to your blood.'
Then what am I supposed to do?
Should I just let her die...?
This girl is different from the Hashira and the elders who burned away their mortality for immortality.
They rejected immortality and chose a brief lifespan, but Koyuki is different.
She's just an ordinary kid, someone who wants to live longer.
After living an ordinary life for three years, to tell her to die... is that even reasonable?
To hold a funeral at what should be the happiest moment?
Really... is there no way?
At that moment.
"There is... a way..."
Someone spoke with difficulty.
@@@
There is a way.
It wasn't impossible.
The devil's bargain that [Kibutsuji Muzan] offered me and Michikatsu.
Demon transformation.
If we turned Koyuki into a demon, we could revive her.
And Michikatsu's blood is closest to Muzan's blood, so he could make her a demon.
But Michikatsu refused to give her his blood.
From his expression, it felt not that he didn't want to give blood, but that he mustn't.
Could it be...
He thinks that because his blood is as toxic as Muzan's, Koyuki—dying of poison—wouldn't adapt to his blood...
I bit my lip.
Then there is only one method.
Medicine.
The drug I had made just in case to transform a human into a demon.
The medicine I created so that those near death with a longing to live could be saved.
With that, maybe I could save Koyuki.
But.
That drug has never been used on anyone.
Unlike Michikatsu's blood, I have no idea what would happen to Koyuki after she became a demon.
Would she attack Keijo like I did...?
What if Koyuki becomes like I was...?
Even as I spoke bravely, my hands trembled and were slick with sweat.
I was afraid.
I was terrified that my decision might send Koyuki down an irreversible path.
I became a doctor to save more lives than I had taken...
But if she became like I was...
I would...
be pathetic...
Even now, Koyuki is dying.
And I'm only thinking such thoughts...
Then.
"Keijo."
Michikatsu suddenly stood up, removed his gloves, and
"Wait—"
—rasp!
He slashed his own wrist.
"What the hell is that...!"
Keijo grabbed Michikatsu by the collar in shock at the sudden self-harm.
But.
At Michikatsu's severed wrist, bone began to sprout, veins reformed, and flesh grew.
Keijo couldn't say a word, only holding Michikatsu's collar.
Then Michikatsu threw his severed hand into the courtyard, and the fallen hand, under the sunlight, withered to ash and disappeared.
Michikatsu...?
"As you can see, I am a demon."
Why reveal his identity?
"And I will make Koyuki a demon."
Stop.
Keijo seemed to lose strength as his hand released Michikatsu's collar.
"I'm sorry, but this is the only way. So, Tamayo, from here on I'll take over."
Saying this, he extended his hand toward me as if asking for the drug.
He spoke calmly, as if taking all responsibility upon himself.
He knows why I hesitated to give Koyuki the drug.
So he revealed his identity.
To direct all the blame to himself.
Why?
I could take responsibility.
After all, our relationship is one of mutual use.
He didn't need to care this much.
So, what should I do…
Then.
"It's okay. Please."
Keijo's closed lips opened.
@@@
Admittedly, I had my doubts.
His body was as strong as steel.
They said it was because of his skin disease, but he would wrap himself tightly even in daylight.
So I couldn't shake off the thought that they might be demons that ate humans.
But.
They were sincere.
Koyuki, who could only lie down and cough, recovered her health.
Thanks to them, our Koyuki came out of her sickbed and played with Hakuji.
We even went to see the fireworks together, something I had longed to see.
That thread I had abandoned even after my wife gave up, they helped me grasp it again.
And this time too, he's trying to save Koyuki even at the cost of revealing his identity.
He probably revealed his identity to take all responsibility onto himself.
He's saying that everything from now on is his responsibility, not the doctor's.
So, I…
"It's okay. Please."
I decided to believe in his goodwill.
The goodwill that seeks to save a life even at the cost of hate and resentment.
Because his goodwill cannot be bad.
"Koyuki may become a demon, but she's my daughter; I won't abandon her even if it kills me."
"And with Hakuji by her side, what is there to fear?"
"So..."
"Please, don't hesitate; save my daughter."