"Big brother! I'm hungry!"
"Alright then! Let's go eat at that ramen shop up ahead!"
On the streets of Tokyo, Tanjiro was taking his many younger siblings out to play.
It was now noon, exactly the time for lunch. Tanjiro had originally planned to take them to a street stall for ramen, but his younger brothers and sisters completely disagreed.
"No, big brother! I want to go to that one! That one looks so amazing!"
"Huh? But I've never been to that one either..."
These curious children dragged and pulled him together, pushing Tanjiro into a Western restaurant nearby.
This put Tanjiro in a difficult position.
It wasn't a matter of money. After all, Master Oyakata-sama had given him quite a lot of money for this holiday outing, so spending was completely not a concern.
The main problem was that he had never been to these foreigner-run restaurants before and couldn't understand any of the dish names at all...
"Uh..."
Forced to sit at a window seat, under the expectant gazes of his younger siblings, Tanjiro braced himself and picked up the menu before him.
Speaking of which, he could still recognize the word for alcohol—after all, alcohol was just alcohol...
But what were these "steak" things, those "salad" things, and those strange names like "fries" and "tiramisu"? What did they even refer to?
"Sir, what would you like to order?"
"Big brother! Hurry up and order!"
Under the dual scrutiny of the waiter and his siblings, Tanjiro was sweating more and more. Just as he decided to follow his intuition and order randomly, a familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"That 'steak' up there refers to a whole piece of meat. That 'salad' is mostly vegetables. 'Fries' are just fried potato strips—I don't know why they have to use such inexplicable names...
As for 'tiramisu,' it's a pre-meal dessert. Just think of it as cake or ice cream.
Considering your eating habits, if you don't mind, I suggest you order a bowl of seafood pasta for each of your siblings, with some vegetable salad and fries on the side, plus a bowl of soup.
As for that 'steak' and 'tiramisu'—the former depends too much on the chef's skill, and the latter can give children stomachaches if they eat too much. I don't recommend ordering either."
"Oh! Thank you! Alright! Let's go with that!"
Guided by this suddenly appearing voice, Tanjiro immediately felt his mind clear up. He quickly ordered from the waiter beside him following her suggestions.
Just as Tanjiro turned his head to thank this kind passerby, he suddenly realized—this helpful stranger's voice sounded somewhat familiar?
[Wait! Isn't this voice—?!]
Turning his head sharply, the moment his eyes met Mitsuba's smiling gaze, Tanjiro's pupils contracted.
Tsugikuni Mitsuba! It was really her?!
She was in Tokyo right now! Right behind him!
When did she appear? Wasn't it daytime right now?!
In his shock, Tanjiro's gaze caught the black umbrella Mitsuba held in her hand.
She actually dared to go out strolling during the day with just an umbrella?!
Subconsciously, Tanjiro wanted to reach for his Nichirin Sword at his waist.
But the moment his hand moved, he realized—since he was out on holiday today, he hadn't brought his sword at all!
"Don't be nervous, little one. I just happened to be passing by. I have no intention of causing you trouble.
And I don't have a hobby of killing people in the street... generally speaking."
Saying this, Mitsuba casually pulled out the empty chair before her and sat down.
"Big sister! Are you big brother's friend?"
Across the table, Tanjiro's two younger brothers asked curiously.
"Friend?"
Glancing at Tanjiro, who was still in shock and completely unsure how to respond, Mitsuba simply smiled:
"I wouldn't say we're friends yet. We've just met twice before, so we know each other."
"Big brother?"
Beside Tanjiro, Nezuko looked at him with a puzzled expression, his unusual demeanor, and called out to him softly.
She carefully glanced at Mitsuba from the corner of her eye, seemingly having noticed something.
"What are you here... to do?"
Sweat slid down his gleaming forehead. Finally steadying his mind, Tanjiro stared at Mitsuba intensely and asked nervously.
Of course he was nervous. All his younger siblings were here right now. If Mitsuba suddenly wanted to do something to them, he wouldn't have any ability to stop her at all...
"I just told you, didn't I? I came back to Tokyo to take care of some matters. I happened to see you on the way and thought I'd come over to take a look..."
Saying this, Mitsuba looked at the terrified Tanjiro before her and suddenly smiled.
"I really didn't expect this. As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, I thought you little one would definitely be hiding in your headquarters right now, desperately training yourself...
I never imagined you'd actually have the leisure to bring your siblings out to play. How relaxed..."
"I haven't forgotten my duty."
Facing Mitsuba's deliberate teasing, Tanjiro immediately retorted:
"This is time specially given to us by Master Oyakata-sama, so I..."
"I understand, I understand. A final gathering, just like a last meal before execution~"
"Don't say that in front of Nezuko and the others... Huh?"
Tanjiro had wanted to stop Mitsuba from saying things that would worry his family, but when he turned around, he discovered that his younger brothers and sisters showed no reaction at all to their conversation just now.
These little ones were each chatting about their own things. Even Nezuko was looking at them with a concerned gaze, not looking toward the two of them at all.
[Strange, what's going on? Could it be that Nezuko and the others didn't notice what she just said?]
"No need to guess. It's my Blood Demon Art ability."
Like a magician producing a mandala flower from her hand, Mitsuba got straight to the point:
"I made it so they can't hear us. So speak directly, little one. What do you want to talk to me about?"
Indeed, Mitsuba hadn't approached Tanjiro purely out of boredom.
Running into him on the street was true, but what truly drove her to come over was the thread of causality she saw on Tanjiro—his desire to have a conversation with her.
This thread of causality was born after the battle at Infinity Castle.
It seemed that after hearing Kanae explain her identity at that Hashira meeting, this thought had always existed in Tanjiro's heart. He had even confided it to that blond-haired friend beside him.
She was genuinely a bit curious—what exactly did Tanjiro want to talk to her about?