"Promise me, you won't hurt him, okay?"
'It was that woman's voice again....'
"Of course not, sister. This isn't something that harms him.... It's all for..."
'Who? Such a sticky, gloomy cold voice... What are they talking about...'
'Am I... dreaming again....'
Ever since releasing Tonan's name, Taka felt that many things had begun to change.
The attacks of demons began to seem slower in his eyes. The state of people around him was easier for his Reiatsu to perceive, allowing him to more intuitively judge their next move.
Most importantly, he had started having dreams, very long dreams.
When surviving in the streets, sleep was a luxury.
He always had to remain alert and vigilant, lest he be ambushed in his most vulnerable state.
For fourteen years, he had basically never had a single solid sleep, often startling awake after falling into light sleep. This didn't improve until his two years in Hayama.
And now, he frequently dreamed.
He would dream of a boy with a straw hat whose arms could extend infinitely, and also of a blonde-haired Ninja with a forehead protector, condensing blue energy spheres in his hand.
These dreams had no pattern, no source, like fragments of real events and people, appearing out of nowhere in his mind.
The most frequent figure was a woman.
The woman's face was indistinct. He could only see her shoulder-length, dark green hair, and a loose, light green kimono. She was always crying, holding an infant.
Taka, in his dream state, turned his non-existent neck and looked around dazedly.
Classic walls painted with pine trees, tatami of fine material, and the faint scent of incense in the room.
'So familiar.....'
"But I know... the other children, they all died, didn't they...."
The woman suddenly trembled, speaking softly to the mist-like figure before her:
"I don't care about your ambitions... But this child, you absolutely must not..."
"Sister, stop being ridiculous, alright?" The figure spoke gloomily and coldly: "This child was never yours to begin with. You need to have some limit to your maternal instincts...."
The person reached out, somewhat roughly grabbing the infant's swaddling clothes, causing him to cry out.
With this crying, Taka felt his head splitting with pain. The whole world began to collapse.
The next second, the Japanese-style room shattered. He fell continuously as if plunging into an abyss, tumbling down into deeper darkness....
Thud!
After an unknown amount of time, Taka felt himself land on a soft cloud, dazedly getting up.
This space was even more vast. Everywhere, dazzling light shone, piercing his eyes so he couldn't open them.
And amidst all the light, he vaguely saw a familiar face.
'Wasn't that Shinobu-senpai....'
"Nee-san! Don't go! Nee-san!!"
Shinobu's voice trembled. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, drop by drop falling onto the cheeks of the woman in her arms, which had already lost their color.
The woman looked very much like Shinobu, wearing the same butterfly-shaped hairpin. She was so weak she could barely speak, yet also couldn't stop crying.
"Shinobi... leave the Demon Slayer Corps..."
"I want you... to be happy like an ordinary girl... to live until your hair turns white, to live a long life...."
"No!!"
Shinobu screamed, grabbing the other's cold hand. Tears, accompanied by surging emotions, burst from her eyes.
"I will never leave! I will definitely avenge you, Nee-san!"
"Nee-san! What kind of demon did this to you! I will never forgive him!!"
".....It was a demon... its head... seemed splashed with blood... using twin fans..."
The woman's voice grew weaker and weaker. Finally, with her last effort, she forced the words from her throat.
And when she spoke the last word, her arm fell limply, with no trace of life left.
"Nee-san!!!"
Shinobu buried her face in the other's neck, her shoulders trembling violently. Even Taka's entire spiritual space shook with it.
'Who was this? Was it Shinobu-senpai's older sister? Why was I dreaming of this scene?'
'Was this the root of the anger in her heart? That overwhelming hatred for demons, enough to deeply affect even an ordinary person.'
Suddenly, Shinobu, still crying as she held the corpse, looked up. Her face was covered in tears, yet still had that gentle smile. Her red-rimmed eyes looked towards Taka.
"Are you alright, Taka-san?"
'Huh?' Taka felt his consciousness twitch. The dream world began to distort with it.
Shinobu's voice echoed continuously in his Inner World, growing louder and clearer....
"Ugh—!!"
Just as he was about to be dizzy from the sound, Taka abruptly opened his eyes, drew in a sharp breath, and his body shot up.
"Ara!"
At the same time, a light figure gracefully leaped backward, dodging Taka's suddenly springing head.
Surprised, Taka turned his head and found Shinobu actually in his room.
"It's already noon, Taka-san." She said with a smile: "Seeing you hadn't come for training, I came to check. Sure enough, you were having a nightmare."
'Training.... Oh, right.'
Seven days had passed since that Hashira Meeting.
These seven days, he had been staying at the Butterfly Mansion.
The first three days, he trained in body techniques with Shinobu. The next three days, he went to Muichiro for sword technique sparring.
Originally, he also wanted to spend a day learning Flame Breathing, but Shinobu felt such high-intensity Hashira-level training was already enough, and it was more important to keep a day for recuperation.
"Sorry... Did I scare you?" Taka wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, apologizing for his loss of composure.
If Shinobu hadn't reacted so quickly, she might have been hit.
Shinobu didn't mind, but spoke with some concern: "Taka-san's nightmares are lasting longer and longer. This is not a good sign. Is it because the training is too hard?"
Because Tanjiro and other Demon Slayer Corps' members severely injured on Spider Mountain were all receiving treatment at the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu had also been working there recently, not going on outside missions.
During these nights, besides looking after a few children who were practicing Total Concentration: Constant in their sleep, she paid special attention to Taka's condition.
As she said, Taka's nightmares had been lasting longer recently.
At first, they were just brief sleep-talking. Now it had become severe enough to require external force to wake him.
"It's nothing. It'll pass in a while."
Taka looked at the smiling Shinobu, unable to connect her with the screaming, crying girl in his dream.
He straightened his collar: "Thank you... Shinobu-senpai. I'm ready to start training."
'Was it really okay?' Shinobu skeptically surveyed the veins still throbbing on Taka's forehead and sighed inwardly.
She had already learned a bit about Taka's past from Oyakata-sama:
A wandering boy, believed to possess innate Breathing, able to fight demons with a battered sword.... Taken in by the Hayama training ground, he worked ten times, tens of times harder than ordinary people to train and grow stronger....
'What kind of obsession was in his heart, supporting him to push himself so hard....'
A moment later, Taka had changed into his training clothes and stood in the training ground holding a wooden sword.
Dozens of green bamboo poles were intersected at angled angles, each tied with a copper bell. Scattered on the ground were numerous copper coins.
His training was simple:
Weave through the bamboo poles, avoid the bells, and simultaneously pick up the scattered coins on the ground.
During this, Shinobu would continuously toss stones from around the area to disrupt Taka's movements.
If he was hit, he had to start over.
During training, Shinobu would not hold back. Every hit would leave another bruise on Taka's body. This was also to strengthen his sense of crisis.
"I hope you'll get fewer injuries today, Taka-san." Shinobu smiled, tossing a small stone in her hand, looking slightly worried in Taka's direction.
"It's fine. Give it your all."
Not far away, on the veranda, besides the female corps members of the Butterfly Mansion and the girl swordsman Taka had met that day, there were also three noisy figures sitting, looking in his direction:
"Good afternoon! Taka-san!!"
"Eh? Training again? Do you have to do such difficult training every week?"
"Hmph! That bird over there! I want to join the training too!!"