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"Why... didn't you... choose... that one?"
Kagaya spoke with difficulty now, so his words were simple and direct.
"You wish I had taken it myself?" I said. "But if I no longer feared the sun, if I could live for a very, very long time — I might become a second Muzan someday."
"You wouldn't." Kagaya's voice was firm. "No matter... another hundred years, a thousand years... you would never become... that kind of being."
"I don't need another thousand years." I curled my fingers and tapped his forehead lightly, the way I always had. "If I could just have one day — eat my fill, lie back in a haystack, and sleep under the sun — that would be enough."
Kagaya laughed softly. "Yes... I thought... you would probably... feel that way."
Just that short exchange, and the coughing started again. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Amane was waiting outside. She heard it and came straight in with a basin of warm water.
I took the basin from her and cleaned the blood from his body. When the medicine was brought, I helped him drink it down. His breathing eased, a little.
"I think... Muzan will definitely... come here..." Kagaya continued. "He has... probably reached his limit... with us... So... this is also... a good opportunity..."
"No."
I knew what he was suggesting. Reveal his location, let the prophecy do the rest, and Muzan would come to them. Use what life remained to set the trap. From the Ubuyashiki family's way of thinking, it was perfectly logical. Cost-effective, even.
But I said it again. "No."
Kagaya could still hold on. If that final moment had truly arrived , if Muzan died , the curse on his body would lift. His illness would improve.
Even a sliver of hope was enough. I wouldn't let him throw his life away so easily.
"If we need bait, there are better options."
I just wasn't sure which would tempt Muzan more: the Blue Spider Lily, or Nezuko Kamado.
Kagaya's fingers moved slightly. "You... plan to... do what?"
I laid out the plan I had worked through.
Muzan had lived for a thousand years. No one could say how powerful he had become. He might have overcome even decapitation and wisteria by now. If so, the only thing left that could suppress him was the sun.
And Muzan would never risk sunrise. He would move after nightfall, keep the window of daylight exposure as small as possible. No human could last against him through an entire night on stamina alone.
So we had to use every force available to us.
Kagaya listened. He thought quietly for a long time. Then he nodded.
"Then... I leave it to you."
His body could no longer carry the weight of command. All affairs of the Demon Slayer Corps passed into my hands.
The Hashira's special training continued as scheduled. I made time to visit each of them, checking on their condition.
Everyone looked sharp. They were pushing themselves hard, and pushing the Corps members under them even harder.
Muichiro had regained his memories and pressed Yuichiro to come stay with him. Yuichiro, who had never been comfortable around too many people, said no.
When I came to see him, the face that had always seemed so distant and unfocused wore a gentle smile.
"Lady Chihaya. It's been too long." The Muichiro who had his memories back was warm and courteous , exactly as I remembered him from the very beginning.
"I haven't thanked you yet for saving Yuichiro." He stood and bowed deeply. I pressed a hand to his shoulder and brought him back up.
"It was nothing. Don't be so formal with me."
He smiled again, but there was something troubled underneath it.
At the break, when the other Corps members had cleared out, he took out a piece of colored paper and started folding while we talked.
"In the Swordsmith Village, I met Upper Rank One." He kept his head down, working with his hands. "He said... he is my ancestor. A traitor to the Demon Slayer Corps. Someone who killed Ritsu's entire family. And I carry that demon's bloodline." He paused. "It shames me deeply."
I tried to imagine the weight of it. Something like hearing from Douma that in Muzan's eyes, everything I had ever done amounted to nothing but a child throwing a tantrum.
That feeling sat badly. And Kokushibo had killed every last member of Ritsu's family on top of it.
"I don't think Ritsu blames you for it. She knew from the beginning , you're distant relatives. That's all."
Muichiro nodded. I understood that Ritsu's forgiveness wouldn't touch the real wound. This was something no one else could carry for him.
But I tried anyway.
"Have you heard of Princess Take?"
He looked up suddenly, eyes fixed on me. "Who is that?"
"Kokushibo's wife, when he was still human. A remarkable woman." I said. "That man was irresponsible even before he became a demon."
So I told him her story. How after her husband walked away without looking back, she bore the weight of the family alone. How she raised their two children with care. She died young, but she spent her last moment fighting to protect the people she loved.
"People remember the damage a great swordsman caused when he became a demon. No one ever seems to think about the woman he left behind." I said. "I've always thought that was unfair."
Kokushibo had left a mark on everyone who knew of him , no one could deny that. But the memory of how Princess Take held that family together through everything?
Only I still carried it.
Muichiro looked at me steadily. "I'll remember her. I am a descendant of Lady Take."
I smiled. Then I leaned in and told him something I hadn't told anyone. "You and Yuichiro both take after her, you know. I thought so the first time I ever saw you. The resemblance is striking."
That landed. Muichiro's expression shifted, a little embarrassed and a little pleased, and he finally laughed. I hoped it helped, even just a little.
No other problems with the Hashira. I moved on to check in with the other Corps members I knew.
The Kamado siblings were still at the Butterfly Mansion. Tanjiro was recovering. Nezuko was being looked after by the girls there, picking up bits of everyday life she had missed.
I watched her crouching in the sunlight, turning a small flower over in her fingers without a care in the world. I couldn't decide whether I envied her or simply felt glad for her.
What I knew for certain: watching her that happy made me feel something close to happiness too.
What I hadn't expected was the absence of Zenitsu and Inosuke.
Those two were usually inseparable. But they weren't at the Butterfly Mansion, and I hadn't spotted them at any of the Hashira's training grounds either. Had I somehow missed them?
I was still turning that over in my mind when Daifuku came streaking in, a letter in tow, and dropped something difficult squarely in my hands.
Zenitsu's senior, Kaigaku, had defected. He was a demon now.
➤ Next: The Kaigaku Incident
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