Chapter 72: Sister! I've finally found you!
The morning sunlight always carried an undisguised sharpness, attempting to pierce through every dark corner of the world.
However, in this slightly crude hotel room, the sunlight's ambition was firmly blocked by heavy curtains.
In this suffocating dimness, a fair, slender hand gently lifted a corner of the bed curtain.
It was Kanae Kocho's hand, with the cool moisture of her morning wash still lingering on her fingertips.
Kanae turned her head slightly, quietly gazing into the deepest, darkest corner of the room.
It was an absolute dead zone that even the faintest light could not reach.
There, on a large bed, a huge silhouette was raised, tightly wrapped in a thick quilt.
"Tatsu,"
Kanae parted her lips gently, her tone full of water-like tolerance and near-maternal tenderness,
"It's already morning. Although you cannot see the morning light outside, a new day has begun. What would you like for breakfast? I'll go get it for you."
The "fortress" made of quilts shifted slightly.
Accompanying a faint rustling sound of fabric, the gap in the quilt was carefully pushed open a crack.
In the darkness, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly emerged.
It was a pair of eyes belonging to a predator; the blood-red hue should have been filled with violence, greed, and a craving for flesh.
But at this very moment, there was only deep attachment in those eyes, along with a purity akin to a fledgling recognizing its nest.
Tatsu revealed those blood-colored eyes, staring through the dim light at Kanae Kocho, who stood by the bed.
Watching her gentle brows and eyes, watching the smile at the corner of her lips that seemed as though it would never disappear.
"Kanae..."
"Anything is fine..."
Tatsu's voice was very low, a soft murmur, revealing a sense of unreserved trust and obedience,
"As long as it's from you... I will eat it."
Hearing Tatsu's answer, the smile at the corner of Kanae's lips deepened.
She leaned her body forward slightly.
"That won't do, Tatsu."
Kanae tilted her head slightly, the butterfly hair accessory on her head swaying gently with her movement,
"Although you are willing to eat anything, you cannot always be so casual. Eating is a very important matter; it allows one to feel the breath of being alive."
She paused, appearing to think seriously.
"I have it,"
Kanae clapped her hands lightly, producing a crisp sound,
"Let's go with tonkotsu ramen with two soft-boiled eggs! Eating a bowl of piping hot ramen in the morning will make your stomach feel warm, and your mood will improve along with it."
At this moment, she was not a Demon Slayer, and he was not a man-eating demon; they were just two souls relying on each other in this chaotic world.
Tatsu, inside the quilt, watched Kanae's face, which seemed to radiate light, a trace of trance flashing in his scarlet eyes.
He did not need to feel the warmth in his stomach, but he wanted to see Kanae looking happy.
"Okay."
Tatsu replied in a deep voice, his exposed eyes filled with obedience.
Kanae nodded with satisfaction, turned around, walked to the door, and reached out to grasp the doorknob.
Just at the moment she was about to push down the doorknob, she suddenly stopped.
An inexplicable, subtle sense of unease swept through her heart.
Although this was just a remote town, and although she had tried her best to conceal her tracks, her intuition, honed from years of walking on the edge of life and death, still kept her vigilant.
More importantly, she knew what kind of loneliness and fear would be left for Tatsu after she departed.
Kanae slowly turned around.
With her back to the extremely faint light from the door crack, her face was hidden in the shadows, but those wisteria-like eyes were exceptionally bright.
She looked at the huge silhouette curled up in the corner, her tone suddenly becoming incredibly serious, yet mixed with endless tenderness:
"Tatsu,"
"Wait for me here obediently. No matter what sounds are outside, do not come out, and do not approach the window. I will be back immediately, I promise you."
She knew what a dangerous tightrope she was walking on; a single misstep would mean total destruction.
But as long as she saw Tatsu's dependent eyes, she felt everything was worth it.
Because she firmly believed that even a demon in the abyss had the right to be redeemed.
This was her, Kanae Kocho, a belief she would carry through to the end, even if it meant her own death.
"...Okay."
From the darkness came Tatsu's muffled reply once again.
Kanae smiled slightly, she no longer hesitated, and pushed down the doorknob.
With a soft "click," the door was opened a crack, and the light from outside instantly pierced in.
Kanae quickly slipped out, and at the same time, shut the door tightly, completely cutting off that terrible light.
With the door closed, the room fell into silence.
Tatsu still maintained that curled-up posture, and even though there was no sound outside the door, his scarlet eyes remained fixed on that tightly shut door.
On the other side of the door was sunlight capable of turning him into ash, a hell he could never set foot in.
But at the same time, on the other side of the door was the only thing he cared about in this world.
"I will wait for you to return..."
In the darkness, Tatsu muttered in a barely audible voice.
This sentence seemed to become his only spell to combat this long loneliness.
He was like a vicious dog abandoned in a dark cave, silently and stubbornly waiting for the only master who would feed him and gently stroke his head.
He did not know how much time had passed; he only knew that as long as Kanae had said she would return, he would definitely wait, even if he had to wait until the end of time, even if he had to wait until the world was destroyed.
The morning streets were already bustling.
Kanae Kocho walked among the bustling crowd; her gorgeous butterfly Haori stood out remarkably in the crowd.
But she lowered her head slightly, a wide bamboo hat covering most of her face, revealing only a beautifully lined jaw.
Looking at the people around her who were rushing about for a living, their faces beaming with ordinary smiles, a trace of complexity flashed in Kanae's eyes.
These were all the smiles she had once sworn to protect with her life.
And now, she stood on the opposite side of these smiles for the sake of an "enemy."
But she did not regret it.
If killing is for the sake of protection, then when redemption can achieve the same goal, why not give it a try?
If Tatsu could live as a demon that did not need to eat humans, then this would be the first opportunity to break this endless cycle of blood that had lasted for hundreds of years.
She took a deep breath, pressing those heavy thoughts down into the bottom of her heart.
The primary task now was to go buy breakfast for the "child" hiding in the darkness waiting for her.
Turning a street corner, a rich aroma of pork bones boiling rushed toward her.
It was a small ramen shop; the wooden sign had been eroded by time and appeared somewhat mottled, but the large pot at the entrance, with its rolling white broth, demonstrated the shop's substance.
Piping hot white steam permeated the cold morning air, blurring the scene inside the shop.
Kanae stepped into the ramen shop.
Although it was still early, several customers were already sitting in the shop, all with their heads buried, slurping noodles in large mouthfuls.
"Boss,"
Kanae walked to the counter,
"Two bowls of tonkotsu ramen, with two soft-boiled eggs, to go."
"Coming right up! Please wait a moment, customer, it'll be ready soon!"
The busy boss responded loudly without looking up, his large ladle skillfully stirring in the pot.
Kanae nodded slightly and turned to sit at an empty table near the door.
She kept her legs together, her hands folded on her knees; even sitting in this small, greasy shop, her posture remained so dignified that not a single flaw could be found.
She quietly watched the bustling street outside, her thoughts drifting back to that dim room, wondering what expression Tatsu would have when he ate the ramen.
However, Kanae did not notice that, in a seat in the corner behind her, sat a young girl wearing a black Demon Slayer Corps uniform and a Haori with purple butterfly patterns. That was Kocho Shinobu.
At this moment, Kocho Shinobu looked to be in terrible condition.
Her purple eyes, which usually carried liveliness and cunning, were now bloodshot, with heavy dark circles under them.
Her hair was also a bit messy, clearly having gone through a long period of rushing about.
She still didn't believe it.
She absolutely did not believe that her gentle and kind sister, who regarded protecting humans as her duty, would voluntarily collude with a demon!
In Kocho Shinobu's heart, there was only one truth: her sister must have been mind-controlled by that cunning demon using some despicable Blood Demon Art.
Or, her sister had been held hostage by that demon and was forced to submit in order to protect certain people.
"As long as I kill that demon... as long as I sever that monster's head, my sister will definitely wake up and will definitely return to my side!"
This was the only belief that supported Kocho Shinobu in her frantic searching through countless days and nights.
She frantically searched for clues in every place where demons might appear.
She hated the demon that had taken her sister, and she was also terrified that what she might find would be her sister's cold corpse.
At this moment, she was mechanically stirring the noodles in her bowl with chopsticks.
She hadn't had a proper meal in days, and her stomach was churning with acid, but she forced herself to eat because she needed the strength to fight and to find her sister.
Just as she barely lifted a mouthful of noodles, preparing to put them into her dry lips, a voice suddenly rang out in the noisy ramen shop.
"Boss, two bowls of tonkotsu ramen, with two soft-boiled eggs, to go."
The voice was not loud, and was even partially drowned out by the boss's shouting.
But falling into Kocho Shinobu's ears, it was like a thunderclap, instantly exploding in her mind!
That voice... that gentle, crisp tone...
That voice she had heard since childhood, had called out in her dreams countless times, and had thought she might never hear again in this lifetime.
Kocho Shinobu's body stiffened abruptly.
The chopsticks stopped in mid-air, the noodles slid back into the soup, splashing a few drops of hot broth onto the back of her hand, but she seemed to have lost the ability to feel pain and did not react at all.
"Is it an illusion... is it another illusion caused by being too tired..."
Kocho Shinobu's breathing began to become rapid.
She slowly, and with extreme difficulty, turned her head, as if her neck were a rusted gear; every turn required all her strength.
Her gaze pierced through the swirling steam in the ramen shop, crossed two wooden tables, and finally settled on the back sitting near the door.
That gorgeous Haori, unfurled like butterfly wings.
That dignified and elegant posture, which radiated gentleness even just from behind.
And that familiar profile, which could not be hidden even by the bamboo hat.
"Clatter."
The chopsticks in her hand slid weakly and dropped onto the table, making a crisp sound.
It wasn't an illusion.
It was real.
That was her living, warm sister!
The moment she confirmed that figure, the string in Kocho Shinobu's brain that had been tightened for months, the one named "reason," completely snapped.
Forget the discipline of the Demon Slayer Corps, the vigilance of a swordsman, or the hatred toward demons; at this moment, they were all thrown to the nine heavens.
She was no longer the decisive, fearsome demon hunter; she was just a little girl who had been lost for a long time and had finally found her family.
"Bang!"
Kocho Shinobu stood up abruptly, her knee slamming hard against the table leg, shaking the noodle bowl on the table and spilling soup all over the floor.
But she didn't care about any of that; she didn't even have time to go around the chair, directly kicking it away and rushing toward that back with everything she had.
"Sister!"
This shout was filled with the fear, despair, longing, and the ecstatic joy of finding what was lost over these past few months.
Kanae, who was lost in thought, was startled by the sudden loud noise and shout, her whole body trembling.
That "Sister" was too familiar, so familiar that the moment she heard it, her heart seemed to skip a beat.
She turned her head abruptly.
Under the bamboo hat, those wisteria-like eyes widened instantly, reflecting the petite figure that was stumbling and rushing toward her recklessly.
"Shi..."
Before Kanae could finish her words, that figure had already slammed into her arms.
The huge impact caused Kanae and her chair to slide back half a step, but she instinctively stretched out her hands, steadily catching the person in her arms.
"Sister... Sister! I've finally found you! Wuwuwu..."
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