New Year's Eve had finally arrived.
For once, the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was no longer filled with the tension of battle, blood, and funerals.
Instead, the estate overflowed with warmth and celebration.
Paper lanterns swayed beneath the winter breeze, bright decorations lined the wooden corridors, and laughter echoed throughout the Ubuyashiki residence.
Under the guidance of Ubuyashiki Amane, nearly everyone had been dragged into helping prepare the New Year's feast.
The kitchen had become especially lively.
Among Uzui Tengen's three wives, Hinatsuru remained the calmest and most reliable as always, quietly preparing ingredients with practiced elegance.
Suma, however, was already on the verge of tears.
"My dumplings keep breaking apart!" she cried dramatically.
Makio immediately smacked flour onto Suma's forehead in irritation.
"Stop crying already! It's New Year's Eve!"
"But you're bad at wrapping them too!" Suma shouted back tearfully.
Makio's face instantly reddened.
"That's different!"
Unable to endure the bullying any longer, Suma immediately ran toward her husband for comfort.
"Tengen-sama! Makio is being mean to me again!"
Under normal circumstances, Tengen would have pretended not to notice the conflict entirely.
But tonight was different.
New Year's Eve deserved to be extravagant.
And maintaining peace among his wives was part of his responsibility as an unbelievably flashy man.
Tengen gently wiped away Suma's tears before kissing her forehead lightly.
"Suma, no crying tonight."
Then he turned toward Makio, pulling her closer before placing another affectionate kiss against her cheek.
"And Makio, no fighting tonight either."
Makio crossed her arms stubbornly, but the blush spreading across her face completely ruined her tough expression.
"…Fine."
Only Hinatsuru remained quietly focused on cooking, though the faint envy hidden within her eyes did not escape anyone.
Shinobu Kocho, who was helping knead dough nearby, immediately smiled mischievously.
"Uzui-san," she teased, "you forgot Hinatsuru-san."
Tengen looked utterly offended.
"As if I'd make such an unflashy mistake."
Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around Hinatsuru's waist and kissed her gently on the cheek as well.
"H-Husband… I'm still cooking," Hinatsuru whispered softly.
Yet her reddened face betrayed how happy she truly felt.
Watching the lively family interaction, Shinobu unconsciously drifted into thought.
For a brief moment, she remembered her own parents.
The warmth of home.
The peace they had once possessed before demons destroyed it all.
"Shinobu?"
Kanae suddenly poked her side playfully.
Shinobu immediately snapped out of her thoughts.
"Sister ah!"
She stared in horror at the flour-covered hands reaching toward her.
Kanae smiled innocently.
"Time to turn Shinobu into a little snow rabbit."
Before Shinobu could escape, Kanae smeared flour across her cheek.
"Sister!"
Kanae laughed brightly and continued her attack.
Unable to fight back alone, Shinobu immediately called for reinforcements.
"Aoi! Kanao! Help me!"
The younger girls of the Butterfly Mansion joined the chaos almost instantly.
Flour exploded everywhere.
Laughter filled the kitchen.
Even Amane, watching from nearby, did not interrupt them.
Instead, she simply smiled softly.
For people who constantly faced death, moments like these were precious beyond measure.
Elsewhere in the kitchen, Kanroji Mitsuri focused seriously on preparing desserts for everyone.
Iguro Obanai remained beside her the entire time, silently assisting without complaint.
Whenever Mitsuri reached for an ingredient, it somehow already appeared beside her moments earlier.
No one needed to ask who placed it there.
Outside in the courtyard, the men were busy decorating the estate.
"More to the left!"
Genya Shinazugawa shouted while directing everyone with surprising seriousness.
"Tomioka-san, a little higher!"
"And Rengoku-san too!"
Giyu Tomioka and Rengoku Kyojuro stood atop ladders while hanging lanterns around the entrance gate.
"I AM THE KING OF FESTIVALS!"
A blur suddenly shot past them.
Before anyone could react, enormous amounts of paste splattered across both sides of the gate.
Hashibira Inosuke stood proudly in the middle of the courtyard with his boar mask tilted upward triumphantly.
Behind him, Agatsuma Zenitsu staggered helplessly beneath a massive stack of decorations.
"Inosuke…" Zenitsu gasped desperately, "you're pasting them in the wrong places!"
But Inosuke ignored him completely.
Armed with a giant brush, he continued slapping decorations onto every surface he could reach.
Walls.
Pillars.
Windows.
At some point, even Kagaya Ubuyashiki who had been quietly playing a board game with his children nearby ended up with a "good fortune" decoration stuck directly onto his back.
Zenitsu nearly died from panic.
"M-Master Ubuyashiki-sama! I'm so sorry!"
Kagaya merely smiled gently.
"Oh? Isn't this supposed to bring good luck?"
"Inosuke says everything should be covered with fortune," Tanjiro explained earnestly nearby.
"Yes!" Inosuke declared proudly while pointing his brush at Zenitsu. "Even Monitsu needs more fortune!"
"IT'S ZENITSU!"
Meanwhile, Shinazugawa Sanemi had somehow been dragged into helping move tables and chairs after Nezuko politely asked for assistance.
Ordinarily, Sanemi would have exploded at being ordered around.
Yet strangely enough, whenever Nezuko spoke to him, his temper became far quieter than usual.
Without complaint, he carried every table into place.
Once finished, Sanemi immediately tried to leave.
But before he could escape, Nezuko grabbed the sleeve of his uniform.
"Thank you for helping."
She handed him a neatly wrapped box.
"This is for you."
Sanemi stared blankly.
"…What is it?"
"Hagi mochi," Nezuko answered with a smile before hurrying away to continue setting the tables.
Sanemi remained frozen in place while holding the sweets awkwardly.
Back inside the kitchen, Tanjiro Kamado was busy tending the fire beneath several enormous pots.
Compared to the modern gas stove nearby, he still looked far more comfortable managing traditional flames.
Tokito Muichiro glanced at him lazily.
"You really aren't used to gas stoves, huh?"
Tanjiro laughed sheepishly.
"Yeah… wood-burning stoves feel easier somehow."
Nearby, Kanao Tsuyuri carefully carried trays of freshly wrapped dumplings.
"Tanjiro, the water's boiling."
"Got it!"
Tanjiro immediately began dropping dumplings into the steaming pot one by one.
In the living room, Aoi Kanzaki arranged snacks and fruit carefully across the tables.
Suddenly
A hand shot upward from beneath the table, grabbed several acorns from a bowl, and vanished again.
Aoi froze.
Then another hand reached out.
This time, Aoi grabbed it instantly.
"So you're the culprit!"
With an angry shout, she tried dragging the thief out from beneath the table.
Unfortunately, the thief was Inosuke.
With monstrous strength, he accidentally pulled Aoi down instead.
"Hahahaha! I really am the strongest!"
Inosuke proudly sat atop Aoi's waist while raising his fists triumphantly.
"Inosuke!"
Nezuko immediately rushed over and yanked him away.
"How can you treat a girl like that?!"
Inosuke tilted his head in confusion.
"But she attacked me first."
At that exact moment, Himejima Gyomei entered the room carrying several barrels of fruit wine.
And from the kitchen came Amane's gentle announcement.
"Dinner is ready."
At last, everyone gathered together for the New Year's Eve feast.
For perhaps one of the rarest nights imaginable, Hashira, trainees, attendants, and families all sat beneath the same roof without thoughts of demons or death dominating the atmosphere.
As usual, Giyu quietly chose a seat near the very edge of the room.
He was already accustomed to isolation.
However
Just after he sat down, Shinobu suddenly seated herself directly beside him.
Giyu stiffened slightly.
"Tomioka-san," Shinobu said softly, "please stop staring at me."
Giyu hesitated briefly.
Then, before Shinobu could react, he quietly reached beneath the table and held her hand.
Shinobu's entire body froze.
To avoid attracting attention, she hurriedly hid their joined hands beneath the tablecloth instead of pulling away.
"Thank you," Giyu said seriously.
"For not hating me."
Shinobu's face immediately turned bright red.
"I do hate you!"
Giyu nodded calmly.
"I understand. You don't hate me."
"…You're impossible."
Watching the interaction from nearby, Kanae quietly sighed in relief.
As long as Shinobu could smile like this, Kanae felt content.
"You're just going to keep watching them?"
Sanemi's rough voice came from beside her.
Kanae immediately leaned her head against his shoulder with a mischievous grin.
"Sanemi-nii-san is jealous?"
Sanemi instantly froze.
Even the hand holding his cup stiffened awkwardly.
Nearby, Kanao finally lost her patience while watching everyone else flirt openly.
She immediately tugged on Tanjiro's sleeve.
"Tanjiro."
"Hm?"
"…Kiss."
The entire room erupted into cheers instantly.
Tanjiro nearly exploded from embarrassment, but after several seconds of panic, he finally leaned forward and kissed Kanao gently on the cheek.
Kanao's face turned completely red.
Zenitsu saw this and immediately rushed toward Nezuko dramatically.
"Nezuko-chan! Me too!"
Nezuko covered her face shyly.
"…Later. At home."
Zenitsu nearly ascended to heaven from happiness.
At another table, Iguro silently continued piling food onto Mitsuri's plate nonstop.
Peeled shrimp.
Fish.
Vegetables.
Meat.
Mitsuri's heart practically melted.
"Iguro-san…"
Unable to contain herself, she suddenly hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.
Obanai immediately turned bright red beneath his bandages.
Meanwhile
At the center of the feast
"UMAI!"
"UMAI!"
Rengoku Kyojuro devoured food at terrifying speed while shouting happily after every bite.
The sheer force of his appetite stunned everyone nearby.
Tonight, even the families connected to the Demon Slayer Corps had gathered together.
Urokodaki Sakonji.
The Rengoku family.
The Tokito family.
The Kamado family.
Laughter and warmth filled the estate completely.
Then, in the middle of the celebration, Tanjiro suddenly remembered something important.
He turned toward Inosuke.
"Inosuke… where's your mother?"
The atmosphere paused slightly.
Inosuke tilted his head beneath the boar mask.
"My mom?"
For a brief moment, everyone expected a tragic revelation.
Then Inosuke answered proudly:
"That weird old guy took her to the Infinity Castle for New Year's!"
The entire room instantly fell silent.
"…Huh?"