"Whoa… that's so cool!"
Nezuko stared wide-eyed at the glowing, see-through gate hovering in the air. She had no idea how Shuya had made it appear or how he'd just stepped through and vanished.
Curious, she reached out to touch it. Her fingers passed straight through like it wasn't even there.
"So cool!" she whispered again, amazed.
Then she noticed the silver chains stretching from her bound family straight into the gate. She gave one a careful poke—it felt completely solid. But the moment the chain crossed the threshold, the part connected to Shuya's hand simply disappeared.
"Hey, Nezuko," Tanjiro asked while Shuya was gone, "can you tell me about Mr. Shuya?"
He was dying of curiosity, but there was more to it. Nezuko was already at the age where she could start thinking about marriage. Shuya had saved their family, and the way Nezuko had been leaning on his shoulder a minute ago made it pretty clear she didn't mind him at all. Tanjiro figured it wouldn't hurt to let them spend some time together and see if they clicked.
As for whether Shuya might not be interested in his sister?
Please. Tanjiro had never even considered that possibility. Nezuko was the prettiest girl in ten villages.
"Huh?" Nezuko blinked, caught off guard by the question.
What kind of person was Shuya?
She thought back. During their whole conversation earlier, she had basically done all the talking while he just listened and nodded along. He had saved her family, stayed calm when Takeo and Tanjiro both charged at him like idiots, and never once looked annoyed even when she wouldn't stop chatting.
Nezuko answered seriously, "Shuya's a really good person."
"Really?" Tanjiro rubbed his chin. Looked like his little sister already had a soft spot for the guy. Perfect. He could relax and leave her in Shuya's hands while he figured out how to help the rest of the family.
Just then the glowing gate rippled again. Shuya stepped out, followed by a woman with long, deep-purple hair.
Tanjiro instinctively took a step back.
She was beautiful.
Stunningly, impossibly beautiful.
He had never seen anyone like her—except maybe his own sister. But the second she appeared, his first reaction wasn't awe.
It was pure terror.
His nose twitched. The thick, metallic stench of blood rolled off her like a tidal wave. She didn't feel human at all. She felt like a demon straight out of hell, a living slaughter machine that had carved its way through mountains of corpses.
For a split second Tanjiro's vision swam—he saw an ocean of blood surging behind her, a massive purple serpent rising from the waves with its jaws wide open, lunging straight at him.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
When he opened them again, the illusion was gone.
"Easy, Saeko-senpai," Shuya said with a chuckle. "Use In and pull your aura back a little. Tanjiro's senses are sharp—you're scaring the hell out of him, and he still has to show us the Sun Breathing later."
Saeko Busujima gave a small nod. "Got it."
The suffocating pressure vanished instantly.
"Is that… sweat?" Tanjiro wiped his forehead and stared at the moisture on his fingers, heart still pounding. "What a terrifying woman…"
Even after she had hidden her presence, the fear lingered. He stayed on the balls of his feet, ready to bolt at any second.
Shuya patted Tanjiro's shoulder. "All right, Tanjiro. Ready to show us the Dance of the Fire God?"
Tanjiro snapped out of it. "Oh—right! Just give me a second."
He ran inside the house and came back carrying the ritual tool they used for the dance—a wooden staff shaped like a sword with white cloth streamers tied to the end.
He looked at Shuya. "Should I start now?"
Shuya glanced at Nezuko. "Come watch with us."
"Huh?" She tilted her head. "Me too? But the Dance of the Fire God is only passed down to the oldest son. I don't know it…"
Still, she walked over anyway.
Saeko smiled warmly and waved her closer. "Come on, cute little sister. Watch with us."
Nezuko's cheeks turned pink. She had never seen a woman this gorgeous before. Standing next to Saeko, she suddenly felt a little shy. But Saeko was so friendly that Nezuko quickly warmed up and started calling her "Big Sister Saeko" nonstop.
Shuya finally nodded at Tanjiro. "We're ready. You can begin."
Tanjiro took a deep breath, raised the wooden staff, and started the dance that had been passed down in the Kamado family for over four hundred years—the strongest sword style in existence.
The Sun Breathing.