"Blood can sense things to some extent, but it's nothing compared to the mark's perception—ugh!"
A sudden force from behind knocked Hiru out of his thoughts, sending him stumbling forward a step.
Feeling the burning sensation surge again, he felt both irritated and helpless. But when he glanced up and saw the sun already rising over the horizon, he could only sigh in resignation.
"Blood Demon Art: Banshoku Seki."
The raging flames instantly crystallized into glittering golden stone. At the same time, the burns on Hiru's body healed completely in an instant.
He turned around, grabbed Tanjiro by the face, and without the slightest mercy flung him straight into the shadows of the forest.
"…I swear, I must have owed your ancestors a debt hundreds of years ago."
"Hiru! Are you alright?!"
Hiru turned his head toward Kyojuro, who was running over, and let out a long breath as the demonic features on his body gradually receded.
"What could possibly happen to me? As long as a demon isn't dead, what counts as a problem? Are you stupid?"
"Mmm…"
Kyojuro stopped in front of him, staring blankly as the rising sunlight fell across Hiru's face.
"I still find it hard to believe! Could what Akaza said really be true?!"
"Yeah. Surprisingly, he wasn't lying about that part."
"Then—"
"My situation can wait," Hiru cut him off, glancing toward the silent forest. "I need to settle this brat first. You head back and have Takeo or Nezuko bring the box they usually carry Tanjiro in."
He paused for a moment.
"Oh, right. Bring my box too."
Kyojuro watched as Hiru rolled up his sleeves and walked into the forest.
He stood there in a daze for a moment before finally turning and heading back, leaving it unclear what exactly he was thinking.
After sending Kyojuro off to relay the message, Hiru followed the trail Tanjiro had crashed through into the woods.
It didn't take long for him to find Tanjiro crouched within a patch of shadow.
Tanjiro's gaze was still full of hostility, though the presence of sunlight nearby seemed to make him slightly calmer.
"You're really overflowing with killing intent…"
Hiru stopped in a patch of sunlight before Tanjiro and crouched down, meeting his gaze.
"You seriously don't recognize me?"
The only answer he received was a low growl.
"Well, whatever. In a sense, you didn't exactly attack the wrong person. Let's say you did alright."
Hiru scratched his hair irritably.
"Haah… sometimes living too long really wears a person down."
Meanwhile, Nezuko and Takeo were walking toward them, carrying Hiru's weapon box along with the wooden box they usually used to carry Tanjiro.
Both of them looked extremely uneasy.
Ever since Tanjiro had grabbed Takeo's sword and rushed out to attack Hiru, their hearts had been hanging by a thread.
And after watching everything that followed, they felt even more lost about what to do.
They had clearly seen that after Tanjiro was kicked away by Hiru, he never once retaliated—even when Rengoku Kyojuro attacked him.
He had only continued dodging, trying to bypass Kyojuro in order to attack Hiru.
Then, when Hiru and Akaza were about to fall into the opening, Tanjiro had suddenly shoved Kyojuro aside and dashed toward the doorway with unbelievable speed.
Jump. Step on someone for leverage. Lunge forward.
The entire sequence had been seamless.
Although it had accidentally saved Hiru from falling into the void, the two siblings couldn't help but feel that Tanjiro had only acted because he didn't want Hiru to escape.
"…Hey, sis," Takeo asked quietly, "do you think Mr. Hiru will be angry?"
Nezuko looked just as conflicted.
"I think he might be… After all, he came to help us, but ended up getting attacked by one of our own…"
Takeo pursed his lips.
Hiru had saved their entire family. What Tanjiro had done almost counted as repaying kindness with hostility.
His voice trembled slightly.
"Then… when we see him, should we apologize first?"
"Mm… yes, I think so too."
Nezuko nodded.
"But there's something I don't understand. Why did brother avoid the Upper Moon and attack Mr. Hiru first?"
She hesitated.
"Even if Mr. Hiru really looks like a demon… demons shouldn't be able to walk in sunlight, right?"
Takeo frowned as well.
"Mr. Rengoku seemed to realize something when he talked to Mr. Hiru earlier, but their voices were too quiet for me to hear clearly."
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"But Zenitsu probably heard it, right? His hearing is really good."
"That's true… And it was Zenitsu who warned everyone about the door earlier."
Nezuko tilted her head.
"How did Zenitsu know about that?"
The more they talked, the more confused they became.
Only when they followed the trail and finally found Hiru and Tanjiro did they temporarily push those questions aside and greet him.
"Oh, you're here."
"Yes… Mr. Hiru, we're really sorry. We don't know why my brother would—"
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine."
Hiru sighed and stood up.
"After all, I'm a demon too. It's only natural Tanjiro would get confused after losing his sanity…"
He paused, noticing their expressions.
"…What's with those faces?"
"Mr. Hiru… is a demon too?"
Nezuko covered her mouth and instinctively glanced up at the bright sky overhead.
"But… but…"
"…Looks like Tanjiro never told you."
Hiru put his hands on his hips and sighed again.
"I really can't take this anymore… Alright, give me the boxes. I need to calm this brat down first."
But just as Hiru walked toward the stunned siblings, intending to take the boxes and search for medicine—
A roar suddenly erupted from behind him.
The next instant, Nezuko and Takeo only saw a blur.
Tanjiro had charged straight through the sunlight and tackled Hiru out of the open.
"Brother!" ×2
"Are you insane?!"
Ignoring the searing pain from the burning Blood Demon Art flames, Hiru rolled over and pinned Tanjiro beneath him, shielding him from the sunlight.
"What the hell are you doing all of a sudden?!"
But Tanjiro didn't accept the goodwill.
Even while being burned by sunlight, crimson flames ignited in his hands as he lunged at Hiru, looking as though he intended to drag them both down together.
Hiru instinctively leaned back to avoid the attack.
But at that moment, pale, grotesque bone whips suddenly burst from Tanjiro's back and lashed toward him.
Under normal circumstances, attacks at that speed meant nothing to Hiru.
But now he couldn't dodge.
If he moved away, Tanjiro would immediately be exposed to full sunlight and die.
The bone whips pierced straight through Hiru's body.
The moment they touched sunlight, they turned to ash.
Only several gruesome bloody holes remained in Hiru's torso.
With a grimace, Hiru slammed Tanjiro back to the ground with one hand. Then he raised his other hand like a blade and drove it through Tanjiro's chest and abdomen, crushing the vertebrae that had produced the bone whips with precise force.
"Pour the medicine from the white bottle in my box onto a cloth and bring it to me!"
Nezuko and Takeo finally snapped out of their shock and hurried into action.
But Tanjiro had no intention of stopping.
Hiru clearly saw a crimson sphere forming between them—
And then it exploded.
The violent blast threw Hiru off balance.
Tanjiro seized the brief opening, grabbing Hiru by the throat and wrenching himself free from the restraint.
But the moment sunlight touched him, he let out a painful roar and collapsed to the ground.
Hiru's heart lurched.
He immediately reached out, intending to inject his blood into Tanjiro.
But in that short instant, the burns from the sunlight had already begun healing across Tanjiro's body.
Watching Tanjiro charge at him again under the sunlight—
Hiru had only one thought.
[You've got to be kidding me… all that work for nothing.]