After the gathering, Uzui did not even manage to return home. He stayed at a nearby mansion under the Ubuyashiki name and had diarrhea for a full half month. For the following two months, his stomach and intestines were so fragile that he could only get by on porridge.
By the time he finally recovered and planned to go find Hiru for revenge, all he found in Yoriichi and Hiru's home were the Tokito twins, their eyes red as they tidied the room.
Uzui stood frozen in the doorway for a long time before he spoke.
"Did they... leave?"
Muichiro did not answer. He only raised his sleeve to cover his eyes.
Yuichiro held out two envelopes to him. "...These are from Hiru-nii and Yoriichi-nii."
Uzui silently reached out and took them. His voice was low. "...When?"
"Probably sometime in the last few days." Yuichiro turned his head aside, his spirits low. "When we came by last week, Hiru-nii and Yoriichi-nii didn't seem strange at all... Maybe they just didn't know how to say goodbye."
Only then did Uzui open the envelopes, looking at the messages the two of them had left.
Yoriichi's message was very long, but it was mostly wishing him peace and smooth days ahead, and hoping he would continue to refine his martial arts. Every line was full of an elder's concern and expectations for a junior.
Compared to that, Hiru's message was very concise.
"I have nothing to say to you, junk food. Live well. If circumstances allow, help look after my kid too. That's it."
The heavy air around Uzui instantly eased quite a bit, and a helpless smile tugged at his face.
"...I just made him drink a mouthful of my blood, didn't I? Did he really have to remember it for this long?"
Yuichiro's expression also relaxed slightly.
"Hiru-nii left behind other paintings too. He said that aside from the largest one and several sets of projection paintings that need to be combined and sent to Oyakata-sama, visitors can choose and take any of the others. Uzui-nii, you can go have a look if you're interested."
"...Projection paintings?"
"Mm. You place the paintings in fixed positions and use light to cast projections on the wall, forming the picture. As the light changes, the projection makes different movements too. It really is breathtaking."
Yuichiro smiled and led the way ahead.
"If it's flickering firelight, the figures become lifelike. But those paintings are all packed away now, so we probably won't be able to see them until they're delivered to Oyakata-sama."
"That really is a grand project... Flashy enough." Uzui rubbed his chin. "But when I gave him pigments before, he complained they were inferior. And weren't all his stones from Blood Demon Art? What did he use to paint?"
"Mm, Hiru-nii made new pigments from natural materials Oyakata-sama collected from all over overseas. There's still half a room full of unused pigment left. I'm thinking about whether I should learn painting too..."
Yuichiro led him toward the inner room.
"It's right here. Uzui-nii, you can look on your own. Muichiro and I still need to finish the final cleaning."
"Mm, don't mind me." Uzui nodded to Yuichiro. "...Take care."
"Mm... Hiru-nii said souls really exist. He said that after he finishes atoning for his sins, no matter how many years pass in some future era, we will definitely meet again." Yuichiro smiled faintly. "He also said that he and Yoriichi-nii lived for so long that they already got more than enough, and told us not to be sad for them."
Uzui also gave a faint smile.
"Sounds like him."
After watching Yuichiro leave, he finally slid open the room door.
The first painting that entered his sight stopped him in his tracks.
It was probably the largest painting in the room, and also one of the paintings Muichiro had said Hiru wanted to give to Oyakata-sama.
The painting was filled with Demon Slayer Corps members, from Oyakata-sama to the Hashira, then ordinary swordsmen and Kakushi, even Tamayo and Yushiro. Some faces were unfamiliar even to Uzui, who was good at remembering people, but every expression was different and clearly visible.
At first, he thought it was only a commemorative painting of everyone. But after looking more closely, he realized that although the people in the painting all had different expressions, the group led by Yoriichi and Hiru faced a different direction from the others, and their eyes were not open.
After examining it even more carefully, he found several familiar faces among those same closed-eyed figures. Only, the owners of those faces had already lost their lives for various reasons.
Uzui stood before the painting in silence for a long time before carefully walking around it and moving farther inside.
All the paintings were neatly arranged. There were magnificent landscapes, but more of them were people with different expressions, showing all kinds of emotions.
Farther in, he also saw himself painted on one of them. It was the scene from when they had gone to the red-light district, when he was telling his three wives to be careful.
Uzui had never imagined that such a gentle expression could appear on his own face.
After a long silence, he raised his hand and took the painting down. As he picked it up, two notes slipped out from behind the board.
After a brief pause, he reached down and picked them up from the floor. When he saw the contents written on them, he froze again.
"If you're not Uzui, that walking jewelry stand, please put the painting and notes back. Portraits with notes behind them are gifts for the person painted in them. If anyone else takes one, I'll curse you."
"If you're seeing this, it means you came early enough that my kid hasn't started organizing everything yet. I don't mind you helping my kid send the paintings out. Of course, it would be even better if you called the people themselves over to take them. Also, after sneaking a peek at someone else's note, remember to put it back."
Uzui: ...That bastard.
Even though he thought that, he could not help smiling. The sadness in his heart faded quite a bit. He tucked the notes into his clothes, the corners of his mouth lifting again.
"Since you asked so sincerely, then I, as the God of Festivals, will flashily grant your wish."