Chapter 109: Kanae and Tamayo's First Meeting
"So far, I am the only one who knows about your Kamado family and the legacy of Sun Breathing," Akira said, his voice steady in the cool night air. "But beyond the breathing technique itself, I place immense value on you, Tanjuro."
Hearing those words, Tanjuro blinked, his sunken eyes reflecting a deep confusion. He pulled his checkered haori a little tighter around his frail shoulders, waiting for the young man to elaborate.
"I believe that over the hundreds of years it has been passed down, Sun Breathing—or rather, the Hinokami Kagura—must have accumulated numerous errors and omissions," Akira explained, his tone analytical yet respectful. "Human memory is inherently flawed. However, your movements during the dance just now were perfectly fluid. There was no wasted energy, no hesitation. It was entirely natural."
Akira took a step closer, his gaze locking onto the older man. "If I am not mistaken, you must have subconsciously corrected the movements of the Kagura dance relying on your own extraordinary physical intuition, and even deduced the corresponding breathing rhythm from those very forms."
Tanjuro remained silent, though his breath hitched slightly.
"You might have inadvertently touched upon a legendary martial arts realm," Akira continued softly. "The Transparent World. The first time I laid eyes on you, I felt as if I was being completely seen through—a kind of structural transparency of the body. To achieve such a feat with the naked eye, it can only be the Transparent World."
Akira offered a polite, measured bow. "Therefore, I wish to ask you how to enter that realm. Compared to the forms of Sun Breathing, I value this insight far more."
Tanjuro let out a slow, rattling exhale. He looked down at his calloused, thin hands. "If we go with you... how will we be arranged?"
After much deliberation, Tanjuro was already tempted. Since Akira wasn't lying, and the Kamado family's ancestral Kagura dance indeed shared obvious similarities with the so-called Breathing Techniques, then the threat of man-eating demons lurking in the dark had to be entirely real.
Based on his years of hunting bears and surviving in the harsh winter mountains, Tanjuro knew he possessed a certain level of strength. But his body was failing him. The illness in his lungs was a heavy weight, and he was no longer certain if his waning strength could protect his wife and children from supernatural predators.
More than that, he could feel his own mortality closing in. He wouldn't last many more years. Once he was gone, what would become of his family? Tanjirou was a good, responsible boy who could take care of their daily chores, but expecting a child to fend off demon attacks was a tragedy waiting to happen.
"I will arrange for you to live in a secure, secluded residence," Akira promised, his expression softening. "Someone will be assigned to take care of your daily needs. I will personally find a skilled physician to treat your failing body, and a dedicated teacher to provide basic education for your children."
Akira held up a hand to temper expectations. "Of course, your freedom will be somewhat restricted in return. You won't be completely confined, but you will need one of our trained swordsmen to accompany you whenever you leave the estate. However, please rest assured. My influence within the Demon Slayer Corps is quite significant. It is more than enough to ensure your family will be treated with the utmost kindness and respect."
"I... need to discuss this with my family," Tanjuro replied quietly.
He knew the conditions Akira offered were exceptionally generous, but uprooting their entire lives still required his wife's input. Deep down, however, Tanjuro already knew they would agree. If for no other reason, the Demon Slayer Corps' willingness to hire a doctor to treat his illness was a lifeline his family would never refuse.
Not to mention the unspoken reality of the situation. Akira had just revealed highly classified information about the Demon Slayer Corps, demons, and their own ancestral legacy. They didn't exactly have the luxury of turning him down.
If Shinobu Kochou had been present to witness this exchange, she would have immediately recognized this exact brand of gentle, inescapable coercion. It was an Akira specialty.
"There is no need to rush," Akira smiled, sensing the older man's quiet surrender. "I also need some time to prepare for the safe relocation of your entire family. I will return in about twenty days."
Although his senses hadn't detected any demons in the vicinity over the past two days, Akira couldn't guarantee that the Kamado household wasn't already being watched by Muzan's forces. To be absolutely safe, he decided he would bring Yushiro along to help mask their tracks when it was time to move.
"Alright." Tanjuro gave Akira a deep, meaningful look and nodded.
With the agreement settled, Akira bid his farewells. He walked past the somewhat dazed gazes of Tanjirou and his siblings.
In the span of a single day, these children had first met a generous, friendly older brother figure, only to have their entire worldview shattered by nightfall. They had just learned about flesh-eating demons, a secret corps of swordsmen, Breathing Techniques, the true nature of their Kagura dance, and the sudden news that they were moving away from the only home they had ever known.
Under the crushing weight of so much information, the young children's minds simply short-circuited. They instinctively waved goodbye as Akira turned to leave, completely forgetting basic hospitality like offering him a place to stay for the night.
The journey back to the Butterfly Mansion was swift.
"Are there really demons in this world that don't eat humans?"
The moment Akira stepped through the sliding doors of the estate, Makomo immediately approached him, tilting her head as she asked the question. Clearly, Kanae had already shared her lingering concerns—and Akira's bold promise—with the younger Hashira.
Looking into Makomo's cyan eyes, which held a bright spark of curiosity rather than fear or doubt, Akira nodded firmly.
"Is that so? Then I want to meet one next time, too," Makomo declared, crossing her arms.
She was genuinely intrigued. At this point, she didn't yet know about Akira's grander plan to actively cooperate with a demon to develop a cure, and Akira temporarily didn't know how to break that specific news to her. Telling a Hashira that a pacifist demon exists was one thing—it was just discovering a unique anomaly. But getting a Hashira to accept a working alliance with a demon was a political minefield on an entirely different level.
"Alright. I'll take you to see her eventually," Akira agreed with a faint smile, intentionally keeping the location vague.
"Then it's a deal." Makomo beamed. Since Akira had already promised this specific trip to Kanae, Makomo knew her responsibilities at the mansion meant she couldn't tag along this time.
The very next morning, Akira and a highly anticipating Kanae set off for Asakusa.
Without any unexpected delays or demon encounters along the road, the journey took them exactly ten days. The bustling, modernized streets of Asakusa were a stark contrast to the quiet mountain trails they were used to, filled with the glow of electric streetlamps and the chatter of city folk.
When Akira suddenly grabbed Kanae's hand and led her directly toward a solid brick wall in a dead-end alley, she gasped in surprise.
Yet, even faced with a seemingly inevitable collision, she showed no sign of struggling. She simply tightened her grip on his hand, trusting him implicitly as she allowed him to pull her straight through the Blood Demon Art illusion.
Stepping through the false wall and feeling her unwavering trust made a sudden pang of guilt prick at Akira's chest. He really needed to stop keeping her in the dark about his methods.
However, before Akira could voice an apology, a highly irritable voice snapped from across the hidden courtyard.
"You rude, insufferable fellow! Don't you know you should greet someone before barging into their home?!"
Yushiro stood on the porch, glaring daggers at them. Although Tamayo had successfully persuaded him to accept the reality that they would be leaving with Akira for a while to conduct their research safely, it didn't stop the young demon from holding a massive grudge against the swordsman.
"Yushiro? Is Mr. Kanzaki here?" Tamayo's gentle voice drifted from inside the clinic.
"Yes, Lady Tamayo!" Yushiro called back, his tone instantly softening before he whipped his head back to glare at the intruders. "And this rude fellow even brought an ug—"
Yushiro's sentence died in his throat.
The moment Akira saw the demon's mouth forming the word 'ugly', his casual demeanor vanished. In a fraction of a second, Akira crossed the courtyard, his movements entirely untraceable.
Yushiro froze. A heavy, calloused hand clamped firmly over his mouth, while the freezing, razor-sharp edge of a Nichirin blade rested perfectly against the side of his neck.
"I highly advise you," Akira whispered, his eyes dark and utterly devoid of mercy, "to think very carefully before you finish that sentence."
Feeling the lethal, suffocating aura radiating from the swordsman, and the cold steel biting just millimeters from his flesh, Yushiro's body trembled involuntarily.
"Yushiro!"
Tamayo rushed out of the house, her eyes widening in horror as she saw Akira holding a blade to her assistant's throat. Disregarding everything else—not even noticing Kanae standing quietly in the courtyard—Tamayo cried out, her hands raising as she frantically prepared to unleash her Blood Demon Art to save him.
"Miss Tamayo, please calm down," Akira said, his voice returning to its usual smooth cadence. He lowered his sword and stepped back. "I simply didn't want this fellow saying anything offensive to the woman I love."
The moment Akira released him, Yushiro scrambled backward, hiding behind Tamayo's elegant kimono. But a second later, his pride flared. Realizing how pathetic he looked cowering behind the woman he adored, Yushiro gritted his fangs, stepped out, and threw his arms wide to shield Tamayo, glaring at Akira with forced, trembling courage.
Standing near the illusionary wall, Kanae watched the entire chaotic exchange with wide, fascinated eyes.
With her keen emotional perception, she easily read Yushiro's micro-expressions. She saw his abrasive loyalty, his sudden fear, and his desperate need to protect Tamayo despite being terrified. It was precisely this display that left her breathless.
She had already sensed the demonic auras radiating from the two of them. They were undeniably demons. Yet, their behavior, their protective instincts, and their emotional reactions were indistinguishable from humans. Most, they lacked that sickening, suffocating aggression that all other demons possessed—that inherent, predatory gaze that viewed humans merely as walking meat.
And as for Akira's lethal reaction just to prevent Yushiro from insulting her?
A deep, rosy flush crept up Kanae's neck, warming her heart immensely. Her gaze shifted between the fiercely protective swordsman and the two unique demons, her curiosity now burning brighter than ever.
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