Going home... so another year has passed...
Urokodaki Sakonji's hand, which was slicing dried radish, paused. He looked up at the window. The snow had been falling year after year. It seemed as if nothing had changed, yet it also felt like everything had changed... After a moment of silence, he said, "Okay."
"Gurgle gurgle..." The porridge simmering on the stove bubbled up, pushing the lid open. The old man hurriedly lifted the lid, scalding his hand.
"Master." Makomo trotted to his side, pouting as she blew on his hand. Following her... was a pair of broad hands that took over for Urokodaki Sakonji, the palms calloused from long-term sword practice.
Roy lifted the lid and turned off the fire in one smooth motion, smiling as he said, "Master, let me."
"You usually take care of me. Leave this little bit of work to me."
The porridge was ready. He just needed to slice some dried radish and some of the leftover pork leg from last night. It was simple... Urokodaki Sakonji nodded without saying much and left the kitchen to sit quietly by the kotatsu and wait. Beside him, Makomo knelt, her expression a little downcast...
"Eiichiro is going home. Master will be alone again for the New Year."
"What can we do about it? Haven't we gotten through all these years the same way?" Shinsuke had a large bump on his forehead. He winced in pain whenever he touched it. Fortunately, Fukuda was in a worse state; his face was beaten to a pulp, completely unrecognizable... This was the price for mocking his height!
"Look on the bright side. After Eiichiro avenges us, there'll be even fewer people to keep master company next year."
"If you can't say anything nice, then shut up!" Fukuda noticed Makomo's head droop, her eyes growing darker. He opened his mouth to say something, but his lips were swollen like sausages and wouldn't open. In the end, it turned into a sigh... It was already a blessing that those who should have gone to hell were able to remain in the mortal world due to their strong attachments. They shouldn't ask for too much.
"But I just want to..." Makomo stubbornly bit her lower lip, on the verge of tears... Her body unconsciously leaned closer to Urokodaki Sakonji. Suddenly, a sword was thrust between them, separating her.
"Calm down." Sabito, holding his tachi, looked at Makomo sternly. "Master's soul is too strong. You know that. Getting too close will burn you."
'Burn?' 'So is this why Sabito could pull Tanjiro into his own consciousness space but was helpless against Urokodaki Sakonji?'
In the kitchen, slicing dried radish, Roy spared a glance and quietly watched this scene. He understood what Sabito and Makomo were missing—they lacked a medium, a bridge of Nen, to communicate with the living!
Roy himself didn't mind being a bridge, and he was happy to do it, just as he had helped Nanno Kōji see his family... The young man calculated the time and decided to do it on the eve of his return home for the New Year.
That was a day for family reunions. A day for celebration. A day for happiness.
Makomo finally calmed down, moving half a body's length away from Urokodaki Sakonji.
Sabito sheathed his sword and sighed silently in his heart, not knowing how to comfort her for a moment. Fortunately, a voice broke the silence—
"The rice porridge is ready~"
Roy brought out the breakfast he had prepared, breaking the sorrowful atmosphere.
Makomo sniffled, seeming to have returned to her gluttonous cat-like state. Roy deliberately tempted her, waving the plate of pork leg meat under her nose. The girl licked her lips, and the light returned to her dull eyes.
"Whoosh~" Outside the window, the snow fell heavily. Inside, steam wafted from the food...
It was as if nothing had happened, yet it also felt like something had. After the meal, without Urokodaki Sakonji having to lift a finger, Roy took the initiative to wash the dishes, then took his asauchi and went out to practice his sword.
After he left, Urokodaki Sakonji quietly went to the head of the kang, felt around under the pillow, and from beneath the bedding, he pulled out a sock. He counted out some silver coins and put them into a small cloth pouch with a fox head printed on it.
"Hey... Eiichiro is so lucky. What is master doing... is he preparing New Year's money for him?" Shinsuke watched with envy as he tucked the pouch back into his clothes. The sourness in his mouth made his teeth ache again; he didn't know if it was from Fukuda's beating.
"Hey~ has master ever prepared New Year's money for you?" Makomo nudged Sabito. The fox-masked boy's body was a little stiff. He shook his head.
Since he and Giyu were adopted, forget New Year's money, they hadn't seen a single copper coin. All their food and clothing were provided by their master. They were too grateful to even think of asking for money...
However... Makomo was happy. Her big eyes narrowed into crescents, and she said with a grin, "I'll tell you a secret, I have some~"
"That's because master sees you as a girl and is taking care of you."
"I don't care. All I know is, I have it, and you don't. That's enough..."
Sabito feigned helplessness and followed Roy out toward the dense forest... At least Makomo was happy. That was good enough...
The fox-masked boy tightened his grip on his tachi and instantly disappeared into the snowstorm...
"Forty-seven thousand... forty-nine thousand... fifty thousand... fifty-one thousand..."
Adding a thousand swings each day was the minimum requirement Roy set for himself.
[Hint: Swordsmanship +53]
The young man backhanded his sword, the blade grazing past Sabito's ear and striking a cypress tree behind him. "CRACK—"
The cypress tree, so thick that two people couldn't wrap their arms around it, split in two along its central axis.
The sharpness and accuracy of the blade were eye-catching... A fighting spirit rose in Sabito's heart. His hand subconsciously rested on the hilt of his sword, but he quickly suppressed the urge...
Roy let out a long breath and sheathed his sword, pretending not to have seen the boy's hand on his tachi. That night, he returned to the wooden cabin, had a simple dinner, and lay down on the kang in his clothes.
Night fell, and fatigue washed over him...
Roy fell into a deep sleep.
Once again, through deep sleep, he left the world of Demon Slayer and returned to Kukuroo Mountain.
The familiar sensation of falling, though delayed, arrived...
The young man opened his eyes on the soft, large bed. The familiar chime of the grandfather clock's pendulum striking the sound spring reached his ears.
Four in the morning. Another day.
Roy rolled out of bed and went for his morning run as usual. When he returned, he ate breakfast while listening to Gotoh report the day's training plan.
"It's still poison resistance training." Gotoh pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked at Roy cautiously. "Also, there's one more thing. The master has ordered that he wants to have dishes made by you for dinner tonight."
'Which master?' There were many masters in the house: Silva, Zeno, Maha... Roy glanced at him.
The young butler, who had been growing a beard for a few months, finally had the beginnings of a full beard. He added, "It's Old Master Maha."
'He's probably just got a craving for something different...' Roy thought, and said flatly, "Understood."
He listed two dishes for Gotoh to take to the kitchen to prepare: one "Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms," and one "Smashed Cucumber Salad"...
Gotoh took out a pen and paper to note it down, then cleared the dishes and left with the serving cart.
Roy picked up Yukibashiri from the sword rack and followed him out the door. He went to the training room, endured the poison resistance, practiced Sun Breathing, and then went to the basement again to hone his Ren. This time, he only lasted one minute and forty-three seconds, not much progress.
'Could it be, as Grandpa Zigg said, that from now on, it can only be polished by time?'
The young man left the secret room with a heavy heart. The airtight door closed heavily behind him. He took a deep breath of air and recalled the scenes of Gon and Killua training with Wing and Biscuit. He left the passage without even hearing Scarface and One-Eye greet him. He walked through the long corridors of the old castle from memory, lost in thought... At a certain moment, he stopped and saw...
A thin, withered figure, with his hands behind his back, leaning against a windowsill, admiring the night scenery. Only then did he suddenly remember that his great-grandfather had asked him to cook tonight.
"It's already eight o'clock. Where's this old man's food?" Speak of the devil. Maha turned his head and looked over.
Roy gave a sheepish smile and quickly tried to make amends. "I'll go make it now."
"Forget it..." Maha waved his hand listlessly and turned back to the window. The moon was high in the sky, a perfect night... Eating the moonlight as a meal wasn't so bad.
Seeing this, Roy tiptoed past him. Just as he was about to brush past his shoulder and step away, he was called to a stop.
"This old man doesn't even have food to eat, and you're thinking of eating?"
"Come here and stand in the corner with me as punishment!"
"Yes..." Roy silently retracted his foot and came to Maha's side, looking at the view with him.
The old man pointed to the willow tree in the garden and asked, "What do you see?"
"A willow tree."
"And?"
"Willow branches."
Maha's eyes widened. "I'm asking you what's on top."
This time, Roy focused his vision, even using Gyo, and saw clearly, "It's a bird's nest."
"Oh, so you do know it's a bird's nest."
"I'm not an idiot."
"You are an idiot." Maha gave him a sidelong glance. "Even the baby birds know to chirp and beg the mother bird for food."
"Why don't you?"
Roy frowned.
The old man looked at him with disappointment and said again, "Do you know what Silva hates most about you?"
"What?"
"Your self-righteousness, your naive belief that you can handle everything by yourself!"
Roy fell silent.
"You're too strong-willed, Roy."
"And too arrogant."
Maha turned to look out the window. The mother bird flew back, carrying a few insects in its beak, and landed on the edge of the nest. The chick that chirped the loudest ate the most... The old man said in a deep voice, "Because you are too strong-willed, you think you can do everything yourself. You've never thought of relying on anyone, and that's what makes Silva feel unneeded."
"And when a father feels he is not needed, anger is born..."
"Sha sha..." A cold wind blew, rustling the young man's bangs and the willow branches together...
Roy listened in a daze, his memories flying back, tracing his past. Since he was young, because of the status panel and being a reincarnator, he felt he could rely on himself to be independent and strong. Whether it was studying or training, if he could do it without help, he would. The number of times he had asked Silva for help could be counted on one hand. Recently, it seemed the only time was to "open his Nen," and even then, it was through Gotoh, in a roundabout way...
Thinking about it now, he had indeed been too "independent." His independence had turned into arrogance, gradually slipping out of control and evolving into "conceit," and ultimately "disdain for everyone"!
In the end... Roy looked up. The only chick in the nest that hadn't opened its mouth to chirp was pushed out of the nest by the others. With a "thud~," it fell to the ground and died before it could even open its eyes to see the world.
"Do you understand?" After a long pause, Maha asked grimly.
Roy took a deep breath and bowed in a salute. "Thank you, great-grandfather."
The old man turned his head away and grunted noncommittally. "Get lost."
Roy straightened up again, turned away from his bedroom, and headed for the second floor.
"Tap... tap..." The young man's back, illuminated by the lights, was already beginning to look like an adult's...
He rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.
In a dim yellow corner, a shadow stirred. Zeno emerged with his hands behind his back. He glanced at the second floor and slowly came to stand beside Maha. "Grandfather, you still have your ways. A few words were all it took to subdue this boy."
"If I hadn't stepped in, this family would have been done for." Maha snorted coldly. "Squat!"
Zeno: "..."
'This has nothing to do with me...'
"Grandfather, we have to be reasonable..."
"Squat!"
"Yes..." Zeno covered his head and squatted. A sharp rap came down. The old man cursed in frustration, "I am the reason!"
"Your grandson? My grandson? Don't you understand the principle of leading by example?"
"Kill, kill, kill! Can't you take a shit if you don't kill someone for a day?"
"If you bother this old man again, I'll beat you to death with a stick!"
'A crude Enhancer brute...' Zeno felt wronged. How was he to know he would give birth to a house full of stubborn fools?
One wouldn't bow his head, the other refused to bow his head. Other than bringing out the old ancestor, what else could he do?
Fortunately, it was effective... Zeno silently endured Maha's verbal abuse. When he had cooled down, he helped him rub his back to calm him...
In the small, dimly lit room, the cartoon was playing again, and the rocking chair was rocking again. The old man enjoyed Zeno's massage and grunted, "I'm hungry. When that kid comes back, tell him to prepare a meal."
"This old man must have a taste of something fresh today!"
Zeno: "..."
'So stubborn...'
...
The night gradually deepened.
Walking on the stone steps leading from the first to the second floor.
Roy had never felt that just going upstairs could take so long, so long that it felt like climbing a ladder to heaven.
Torches were lit on both sides of the walls, stretching his shadow very, very long. He went up step by step. Finally, he reached the second floor. He stopped and came to stand before the door of a bedroom that was not grand but had an aged quality.
Through the crack in the door, he could faintly see a light on inside.
The young man raised his hand, held it in mid-air, adjusted his breathing, and without any more hesitation, without any more wavering, and without any more confused avoidance, he knocked.
"Knock... knock... knock..."
"Creeak—"
The door opened.
A tall figure blocked the doorway, his silver hair falling to his waist. He looked down at Roy, completely blocking the light from behind him...
Silva said with no expression, "What is it?"
Roy looked straight back. "Something."
"What is it?"
"Something about learning."
"Why should I teach you?"
"Because you are my father, you should teach me."
"Teach you what?"
"Teach me how to defeat you." Roy said seriously, "I think we can start with Ren."
Silva fell silent, staring at him for a long moment, then laughed with a suppressed voice, "Hehehe... hahahaha..."
His laughter grew louder and wilder, startling Kikyo on the bed. The woman looked over. "Who is it, Silva?"
The man stepped out and stood shoulder to shoulder with the young man. He reached out a large hand and grabbed his shoulder. "From today on, whatever you want to learn, I will teach you. I will stand right here, without dodging or avoiding, waiting for you to come and take me down!"