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Chapter 87: Sun Breathing, Nezuko, and Grave Grass
"Mom?!"
Seeing that her mother had regained her sanity, a look of overwhelming joy washed over Nezuko's face.
The heavy guard she had placed on Suyan immediately dropped significantly. She grabbed her siblings' hands and hurried toward Kamado Kie.
Seeing them approach, Kamado Kie panicked and shouted, "Nezuko, don't come any closer!"
"Mom?" The siblings stopped in their tracks, staring at her in utter confusion.
"Mister, please keep me and these two bound tightly! You absolutely must not untie us, I beg of you!" Kamado Kie didn't answer her daughter; instead, she looked frantically toward Suyan, pleading with him.
Even though she had regained her reason, she was terrifyingly aware of the reality: she was now a man-eating monster.
Just looking at her own flesh-and-blood children, she felt her throat bob as she secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
If Nezuko and the others got too close, she honestly couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't lose control and attack them. And if she, an adult, was struggling this much, it was a given that her two younger boys, who had far less self-control, were even more volatile.
"No problem," Suyan replied simply. "But since you've got your head straight now, you can explain what happened here to them yourself."
"Yes, thank you." Kamado Kie nodded, looking at Suyan with deep gratitude. After voicing her thanks to him, she turned her agonizing gaze to Nezuko. "Nezuko, listen to me. Here is what happened..."
Kamado Kie proceeded to recount the night's horrific events, concluding with how she had begged Suyan to feed her and the boys the demon blood to save their lives, effectively turning them into demons.
"How could this..."
Hearing the truth, Nezuko's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe her ears. Man-eating demons? Weren't those just scary stories adults made up to frighten disobedient children?
How could they exist in reality?
But looking at her mother, who was willingly bound and deeply terrified of her own hunger, Nezuko had no choice but to force herself to accept this grim reality.
She turned and bowed deeply to Suyan. "Mister, thank you for saving my family."
Even though her family had become man-eating monsters as a result, at the end of the day, their lives had been saved. No matter what, a profound debt of gratitude was owed.
Realizing his mistake, Shigeru vigorously scratched his head, looking like a child caught doing something terrible. He bowed to Suyan as well. "I'm so sorry. I was too impulsive earlier—"
"It's fine." Suyan waved a hand, entirely unconcerned by their apologies and gratitude. He locked eyes with Nezuko and said, "Because I didn't just happen to be passing by."
"I came here specifically for the Kamado family. If you had accidentally died, it actually would have been quite a nuisance for me."
"W-What?"
Nezuko stumbled over her words, but quickly collected herself. "Regardless, we still owe you our thanks. If it weren't for you, my mother and brothers would be..."
"So, no matter what your goal is, please just tell us. If there is any way we can help you, it would be our absolute honor."
"Well, little miss—" Suyan began.
"Kamado Nezuko." She interrupted him, her face completely serious as she corrected him. "That is my name. You can just call me Nezuko."
"Alright, Nezuko," Suyan smiled, looking at the earnest, adorable girl. "Nezuko, did you know? Your family is actually anything but ordinary."
"Not ordinary?" Nezuko was confused. What could possibly be special about a dirt-poor family that sold charcoal for a living?
Suyan explained, "Because for over four hundred years, your Kamado family has passed down a sacrificial ritual known as the Dance of the Fire God."
"The sacrificial dance?!"
Hearing this, Nezuko's eyes immediately lit up as the pieces began to click together in her mind.
Right! If flesh-eating demons existed in this world, then there had to be people out there who fought them.
And what about... the Gods?
Her eldest brother, Kamado Tanjiro, had inherited the Dance of the Fire God, a dance specifically performed as an offering to the deities.
Did that mean this man in front of her was actually someone who fought demons? And his goal in seeking them out was to learn the Dance of the Fire God to banish the evil creatures?
Nezuko's mind raced with fantastical, hopeful scenarios.
A second later, Suyan shattered her naive illusions.
"Correct," Suyan nodded. "But it's actually a sword technique created by an invincible swordsman during the Sengoku period. It was designed specifically for killing demons."
"However, after that swordsman died of old age, the demons began actively hunting down and slaughtering anyone who knew this technique."
"Because of that, the only person left alive in this world who still knows this sword technique... is probably your older brother, Kamado Tanjiro."
"Ah... what?!"
Learning that the sacred Dance of the Fire God was just a sword technique left Nezuko feeling profoundly disappointed. It felt as though the beautiful, divine fantasy in her heart had been thoroughly crushed.
But upon hearing that demons actively hunted down anyone who knew the dance, her disappointment was instantly replaced by a sharp, terrifying panic for her brother.
"What do we do?!"
Nezuko looked at Suyan in a panic. Without thinking, she grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly, pleading anxiously. "Can you help us?"
Even she didn't realize that, at this moment, her tone carried a faint hint of unconscious coquettishness.
Suyan reached out and affectionately ruffled Nezuko's hair. "Did you forget what I just said? This is exactly what I came here for."
"Thank you!" Nezuko expressed her gratitude once more. "So... what should we do now?"
"First, we wait for your brother Tanjiro to get back."
Looking at the impossibly charming and pretty Kamado Nezuko, Suyan couldn't help but sigh internally.
Aside from Muzan's blood, the Kamado family was practically the biggest treasure trove in the entire Demon Slayer world.
First, there was Tanjiro's Sun Breathing.
Then, there was Nezuko standing right in front of him. As the anime's female lead, she would be the very first demon to completely conquer the sun.
And finally, there was the Blue Spider Lily.
There was a famous piece of lore behind that. Over four hundred years ago, this very mountain was Yoriichi Tsugikuni's home. The Kamado family ancestor, Sumiyoshi, stumbled upon the empty house while Yoriichi was away and simply moved in, taking it over.
When Yoriichi returned and found Sumiyoshi squatting in his home, he didn't kick the man out. Instead, he let him stay, and eventually even taught him the Sun Breathing.
Because this happened after Yoriichi was exiled from the Demon Slayer Corps, nobody else knew about it. Thus, the Kamado family managed to escape the relentless purge conducted by Muzan and Kokushibo.
So, that begged the ultimate question:
Why did Muzan search for over a thousand years and never find the Blue Spider Lily?
Why did the Kamado family survive for centuries without being attacked by demons?
Why had Kamado Kie and a young Kamado Tanjiro both personally seen the Blue Spider Lily blooming?
The answer was painfully simple.
Because the Blue Spider Lily was just the grave grass growing around the tombstone of Yoriichi Tsugikuni's dead wife!!
Kibutsuji Muzan: Devastated!
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