Si Shu's words were soft, so soft they were instantly drowned out by the noise of the crowd. But that single sentence made Yoriichi, who was standing in the center, pause. He turned, searching the crowd for the person from his memories. But there was no sixty or seventy-year-old man in the crowd.
Just as Yoriichi was thinking he had misheard, the sound of a flute began to play.
Ooo... ooo... ooo...
The melody was strange, even off-key. But to Yoriichi, it was an all-too-familiar reminder. He had played it countless times beside his student. Following the sound, his gaze finally locked onto a young man. The moment he saw him, he knew he had found the right person. Even if his appearance was completely different from what he had imagined, he would never mistake that aura.
Walking to Si Shu's side, Yoriichi was stunned for a moment, then understood. "Si Shu... you've grown up."
Si Shu said nothing, just smiled and looked at his master. The memories of sixty years unfolded silently between them. It felt as if they had returned to the days of doing missions together, hunting demons side-by-side. There were no earth-shattering cries, but for the two of them, it was the best reunion imaginable.
"It's too noisy here. Let's find another place to talk."
"Alright."
Nodding, Yoriichi followed Si Shu out of the crowd. As for the ruffian on the ground, he would only be met with scorn and condemnation.
Returning to the inn from before, Si Shu got a room for himself and Yoriichi. With some wine and food, the master and student sat facing each other.
"Master, aren't you curious about my appearance?"
Yoriichi shook his head, indicating he didn't want to ask. Everyone has their secrets, himself included. To see his student healthy and happy was all he could ask for. Seeing that Yoriichi didn't want to ask, Si Shu didn't explain further.
He took the handmade flute from his robes and slowly pushed it across the table. The flute was almost unchanged from sixty years ago, only the passage of time had turned the vibrant green bamboo a dark yellow. Seeing how well Si Shu had preserved his flute, Yoriichi's hand paused. Slowly, he also took out a few pieces of paper from his robes.
In the moonlight, Si Shu saw that the papers were strange. They were tattered and covered in paste marks. From the colors, it was clear each page had been pieced together from fragments. The images on them were also slightly different from before. Si Shu understood. It was difficult to preserve a few pieces of paper for sixty years. The repair marks showed the immense care Yoriichi had taken.
"I..." Yoriichi started to speak but was stopped by Si Shu.
Placing the flute in his master's hand, Si Shu put the drawings away. "Our promise was to return the items to each other. Besides, it's not like I kept the flute perfectly either." Yoriichi could only sigh in his heart at his student's understanding.
After exchanging their mementos, he suddenly spoke. "In all these years, have you ever returned to the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Si Shu said nothing, just shook his head slightly. Although he had encountered many Demon Slayers over the years, he had never revealed his identity to them, let alone returned to the Corps. In his heart, from the moment he and Yoriichi were expelled, their relationship with the organization was over.
"If you can, I hope you will help them at the appropriate time." Hearing these words, an inexplicable chill crept into Si Shu's heart. He felt that what Yoriichi was about to say next was the real point. "After all, you will be the only Sun Breathing swordsman then. As for me... I only have a few days left to live."
Hearing this, Si Shu's hand, which was pouring wine, suddenly stopped. From the moment he had heard about the blood-red moon, he had felt something was amiss. Now, Yoriichi's words confirmed his earlier suspicions. The current Yoriichi was in his twilight years, his life almost at its end.
"Birth, old age, sickness, and death are all part of the human condition," Yoriichi said, patting his student's shoulder comfortingly. "The reason I came here was to complete one last hunt at the end of my life."
Si Shu lowered his head, his fists slowly clenching. The reunion of the brothers under the blood moon... is it finally coming?
"I will slay my brother with my own hands," Yoriichi stated his goal with a placid expression. The reason he was here was because of rumors of a six-eyed, sword-wielding demon in the vicinity. From the description, it wasn't hard for him to deduce that it was his demonized brother. The user of Moon Breathing, Kokushibo.
"You are a good student, and an outstanding Demon Slayer." Yoriichi stood up and looked at the moon through the window. "But just this once, I hope you will not interfere." The pale moonlight fell on him, and a faint sadness appeared on his aged face.
This was Yoriichi's last request before his death.
Si Shu knew very well that his master wasn't asking him to turn a blind eye to Kokushibo's evil. He just hoped that Si Shu would be the final witness to the brothers' story, to draw a close to this eighty-year-long tale.
Standing up, Si Shu looked into Yoriichi's eyes. "Master, I promise you."
"Thank you."
After sixty years, Si Shu once again saw a smile on Yoriichi's face. Unlike the smile when he parted with Sumiyoshi, this one was filled with release and relief. A sense of melancholy emanated from him, making one feel a bit sad. He lost his mother in childhood, his wife in his youth, was betrayed by his brother, and expelled by his comrades. If not for Si Shu's appearance, Yoriichi might have thought his life was a complete failure, that he was just someone who couldn't do anything right.
The high moon slowly set, eventually falling below the horizon. The rising sun also moved with time and set in the west, replaced by the moon once again. In just a few short days, Si Shu and Yoriichi talked about many things. The story of sixty years was long, but for them, it was far from enough.
One evening at dusk, Yoriichi suddenly stood up and looked at the setting sun in the distance.
"It's time."
Nodding, Si Shu handed the Nichirin Blade to Yoriichi. Taking the sword, Yoriichi strapped it to his waist and left the inn. Si Shu followed silently behind him, not saying a word.
The sun disappeared, replaced by a moon.
It was red as blood, as if foreshadowing something.
The crimson moon had finally arrived.
-------
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