After Tanjiro and his companions slew Kyōgai, the House of Demons returned to its original state.
Supporting the slumbering Zenitsu and the heavily wounded Inosuke, Tanjiro located the rare-blood humans Kyōgai had captured.
By the time the battle ended, night had already fallen.
After expressing their heartfelt gratitude, the two humans hastily fled the place that had been a living nightmare for them.
Suddenly, Inosuke shook off Tanjiro's support, glaring toward the forest where Yōsuke crouched.
"There! I found two demons!"
Ignoring his own injuries, Inosuke grabbed his twin Nichirin blades and charged at Yōsuke—and at the wooden box containing Nezuko.
"Wait, Inosuke! That's Tanjiro's—" Zenitsu spotted the box and tried to stop him.
"Shut up! Beast Breathing, Charge! Charge!" Inosuke roared, heedless of Zenitsu's words.
Tanjiro too noticed Yōsuke.
"No! Inosuke, don't!"
But Inosuke was already upon Yōsuke, blades swinging.
A loud bang rang out. In the blink of an eye—faster than anyone could register—Inosuke was pinned beneath Yōsuke's foot. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.
When Yōsuke turned his gaze on Zenitsu, Zenitsu's entire body went rigid.
Zenitsu possessed an extraordinary sense of hearing—able to read emotions through sound, distinguish humans from demons, and even discern thoughts if he listened closely.
From Yōsuke, he heard three hearts beating within his chest. He knew instantly—this was no ordinary demon.
As for the demon in the wooden box, Zenitsu had long ago sensed it. But hearing Tanjiro's voice—so kind, so gentle it could move one to tears—he believed Tanjiro must have had a reason, one he could accept.
Even so, Zenitsu cowered behind Tanjiro, clutching his clothes, trembling as he stammered:
"T-Tanjiro! He—he's a demon! And he feels even stronger than the one in the House of Demons!"
Yōsuke glanced down at the struggling Inosuke and at Zenitsu cowering behind Tanjiro. With a sigh, he said,
"You've had a hard time of it, Tanjiro."
"That voice… it's so gentle. How could a demon sound like that?!" Zenitsu stared at Yōsuke in disbelief.
Tanjiro quickly ran forward, bowing respectfully.
"I never expected we would meet again, Yōsuke-san!"
"Tanjiro—you… you're on familiar terms with a demon?!" Zenitsu cried out, dumbfounded.
Pulling Zenitsu closer, Tanjiro pressed down his head.
"This is Ubuyashiki Yōsuke-sama. Don't be disrespectful, Zenitsu!"
"U-Ubuyashiki Yōsuke?!" Zenitsu recalled the name—one emphasized within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Pinned beneath Yōsuke's foot, Inosuke continued struggling, his boar's head mask slipping off.
"Wha—? A woman's face?!" Zenitsu exclaimed at the sight of Inosuke's delicate features. "Gross! With such a muscular body, how can his face look like a girl's?!"
Enraged by the jab, Inosuke thrashed even harder.
"You bastard! Do you have a problem with my face?!"
Tanjiro tried to calm him.
"Don't move, Inosuke! Your wounds will worsen! He's not our enemy!"
"I don't care if he's Yōsuke or Yajirō! Let me go—I'll fight him—"
Before he could finish, Inosuke collapsed unconscious, foaming at the mouth.
Zenitsu peeked timidly from behind Tanjiro.
"Is… is he dead?!"
"No," Tanjiro explained. "He just fainted. He was already gravely injured in battle, and then kept struggling. He's simply lost too much blood."
Yōsuke lifted his foot from Inosuke, while Tanjiro carefully applied medicine to his wounds, then folded his haori into a pillow beneath his head.
Zenitsu too took off his own haori and draped it over Inosuke's exposed body.
Once finished, Tanjiro turned to Yōsuke.
"Yōsuke-san, why are you here?"
"I came to hunt that Lower Rank Six demon. But when I arrived, I saw you fighting, so I refrained from interfering."
"Eh?! Yōsuke-san, you mean you were just watching from outside? We nearly died in there!" Zenitsu complained, his face twisted with frustration.
"First of all," Yōsuke replied evenly, "I am not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. I have no duty or obligation to help you. Secondly—how can you be so sure I'm not your enemy?"
His aura flared—the crushing presence of the Demon King.
Zenitsu trembled violently, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword hilt.
But Tanjiro quickly pressed his hand down.
"Zenitsu! Yōsuke-san already helped us. During the battle, when the demon drummed, there was a sudden pause—that was him. Thanks to that, we were able to sever the demon's head."
"Eh? I helped you guys kill the demon?" Zenitsu blinked. Having been unconscious, he remembered nothing.
Tanjiro smiled gently.
"Yes. At that time, you were very brave."
Just then, the wooden box suddenly rattled.
Knowing a demon was inside, Zenitsu began shaking all over again.
"It's coming out—it's coming out!"
The lid creaked open. Zenitsu shrieked and leapt about in panic, hiding first behind Yōsuke. But meeting Yōsuke's eyes terrified him even more, sending him scrambling back to Tanjiro's side.
From the box emerged a tiny, doll-like Nezuko. Under their gazes, her body grew until she returned to her normal size.
She hopped lightly to Yōsuke's side and clung to his arm.
Tanjiro began to explain,
"Zenitsu, this is my—"
But before he could finish, Zenitsu's whole body flared with sparks of electricity, his bloodshot eyes bulging.
"Tanjiro, you… you've got to be kidding me! You've been traveling with such an adorable girl all this time?! Laughing and playing together every day?!"
"Zenitsu, wait—listen to me!" Tanjiro panicked.
"Give me back my blood! I didn't join the Demon Slayer Corps so you could frolic with girls! This is unforgivable! You must be purged! Immediately purged!"
Blackened with rage, Zenitsu drew his blade and pointed it at Tanjiro.
"She's my little sister, Zenitsu!"
At that, Zenitsu froze. Dropping his sword, he twisted his body toward Nezuko, fawning over her shamelessly. His fear of Yōsuke completely vanished.
"Stop that, Zenitsu!" Tanjiro protested helplessly.
But Zenitsu ignored him, sticking out his lips and wriggling closer to Nezuko.
Clutching Yōsuke's clothes tightly, Nezuko looked up at Zenitsu. Yōsuke, expressionless, cast him a single glance. The sight sent a shiver down Zenitsu's spine, and he hurriedly scuttled back behind Tanjiro.
Just then, a Kasugai crow swooped overhead.
"Rest! Rest! All injured Demon Slayers, proceed to the Butterfly Mansion! Rest until fully healed!"
At the same time, another crow—one of Yōsuke's—landed on his shoulder. Reading its memory, Yōsuke learned that crows across the land had discovered the whereabouts of Upper Rank Five, Gyokko.
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