Nezuko carried her younger brother, Rokuta, on her back, humming a lullaby. She heard the door creak open and turned, smiling brightly.
"Mr. Aomura, are you leaving?"
"Yes."
Aoki put on his hat, then reached out and patted Nezuko's head, smiling. "See you tomorrow, Miss Nezuko."
He was 18, and Nezuko was only 11. It was a little forward, but not inappropriate.
"Huh?"
Nezuko blinked, her fair face turning pink.
Aoki waved and vanished into the forest.
Kie Kamado came out of the house, looking around. "Nezuko, where's Mr. Aomura?"
Nezuko pointed in the direction Aoki had left. "He's gone!"
"Gone? Then I'll have to wait until tomorrow," Kie Kamado gripped the money in her hand.
Nezuko glanced in the direction Aoki had left.
Meanwhile, Aoki said goodbye to Nezuko and met Giyu in the forest.
He took off his hat and walked over.
"Giyu, I'll stay here for a few days. You can leave if you have things to do."
The trees blocked the sunlight in the forest. He didn't need to worry about the sun.
"Then I'll take my leave!"
Giyu left without hesitation.
As a Pillar, he was busy. He couldn't stay here.
He and the Demon Slayer Corps had investigated the Kamado family carefully.
Tanjiro and his family were ordinary. They were a normal farming family.
The only thing was that Tanjiro seemed to have a great sense of smell, like Master Urokodaki. If he trained, he might become a strong swordsman and take over as Water Pillar.
But hunting demons was dangerous. You could die anytime.
The Kamado family was happy.
He couldn't put Tanjiro in danger for his own reasons.
He couldn't guess why Mr. Aomura wanted to meet the Kamado family, and he didn't ask.
They hadn't agreed, but not asking about each other's secrets was their understanding.
...
Tanjiro walked skillfully on the mountain path, looking cheerful.
The charcoal had sold well. He had bought a lot of food. His siblings wouldn't need to eat wild vegetables for a few days.
He walked past the cliff, through the forest, and got home. No one was outside.
He smelled everyone inside.
He took the food and opened the door.
"I'm home!"
Everyone looked at him.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Tanjiro paused, sniffing.
It smelled like joy.
Everyone seemed happy.
Had something good happened?
Nezuko pointed to the table. Tanjiro looked and his eyes widened.
Money!
So much money!
More than he had ever seen!
"What, what's this? Why is there so much money?" Tanjiro looked shocked.
Nezuko's eyes sparkled. "Mr. Aomura gave it to us!"
"Mr. Aomura?"
Tanjiro looked confused.
Who was Mr. Aomura? Why would he give them so much money?
Kie Kamado stood up, took the food from Tanjiro, and told him everything.
"I see!"
Tanjiro was still dazed.
He had just sold charcoal, and his family had gotten a fortune.
Kie Kamado said, "Tanjiro, what do you think about Mr. Aomura learning the Hinokami Kagura?"
"It's okay!"
Tanjiro said quickly, "I can teach him if he wants to learn, but..."
He looked at the money on the table. "Mom, is this too much?"
He didn't think blood, the blue spider lily, or the Hinokami Kagura were valuable.
They were poor, but they shouldn't take advantage of others.
Kie Kamado smiled and nodded. "I'll keep a little and give the rest back to Mr. Aomura tomorrow!"
"That's good!"
Tanjiro smiled.
They had so much money. Even a little would last a long time. His family wouldn't need to worry about going hungry for at least a year.
Mr. Aomura was a good person. He would teach the Hinokami Kagura carefully.
Kie Kamado smiled. "We can buy Nezuko and the others new clothes for the New Year."
Nezuko said quickly, "Mom, my clothes are still good!"
Kie Kamado smiled and touched her hair. She remembered something. "Oh, Tanjiro, Mr. Aomura seems to know you."
Nezuko and the others looked at him.
Tanjiro paused. He remembered the description his mother had given him, searched his memory, and shook his head. "I don't remember him."
Mr. Aomura looked unique. He wouldn't forget him if he had met him.
But he decided to smell Mr. Aomura tomorrow.
He trusted his nose more than his eyes.
...
Time passed. The last rays of the sun faded, and night covered the world.
Aoki held a wooden board, using his finger as a pen and blood as ink, drawing a space mark.
He finished the last stroke. The cut on his finger healed automatically, but he didn't look at it. He stared at the board.
Buzz!
A slight spatial distortion spread, like a stone dropped in calm water.
Aoki's eyes lit up.
The blood-red runes turned silver from top to bottom.
He reached out and touched it lightly.
Nothing happened.
The complex silver diamond pattern had merged with the wood, like a natural marking.
It was beautiful, delicate, and mysterious. It looked great.
Aoki focused.
He had a coordinate in his mind, like a light had appeared. It was very strong.
Having only one wasn't a problem. If there were many, it might be distracting.
But that was okay. He would get used to it.
He needed to figure out how to tell which coordinate matched which space mark.
---
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