"Your name is very similar to Wind Pillar's. His name is Sanemi Shinazugawa. You two aren't brothers, are you?" Chiba Yo asked with some curiosity.
"Thump."
The nichirin blade Genya had always wanted fell to the ground. He suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Chiba Yo's shoulder, and then excitedly asked Chiba Yo loudly, "What did you say! Is my brother here too? Where is he now?"
He had originally said that as a joke, hoping to ease the atmosphere between them, but he hadn't expected Genya to react so strongly after hearing it.
So they really are brothers?
"Uh, he was just at the Insect Pillar's Butterfly Mansion. I don't know where he went now, but he might still be there," Chiba Yo replied truthfully.
"Where is the Butterfly Mansion you mentioned? Tell me quickly!" Genya's tone became increasingly agitated as he shook Chiba Yo's shoulder and asked.
Chiba Yo heard his question and turned to point out the location of the Butterfly Mansion, and then saw the Wind Pillar, whom he had just met, passing by.
"Brother…"
Genya let go of Chiba Yo and immediately turned to run towards Sanemi.
"Brother! I finally found you!" Genya shouted excitedly as he ran towards Sanemi.
Sanemi naturally heard Genya's voice, turned his head and saw Genya. He was surprised for a moment, and then returned to his original cold expression.
"Brother, about what happened back then…" Genya was already a few steps away from Sanemi, but the apology he wanted to give to Sanemi was cut off by Sanemi's words.
"You foolish fellow, you are not my brother. Don't stay in the Demon Slayer Corps." Sanemi said to his brother in a cold tone, without a trace of emotion on his face, looking at Genya coldly as if he were a stranger.
The cold words instantly made Genya stop in his tracks, and his excited heart cooled down at that moment.
But he quickly recovered.
Brother must be like this to me because of what I did back then. It's all my fault, so I must apologize to him properly.
"Brother, everything that happened back then was my fault. I misunderstood you and said such hurtful things. I'm sorry! I've been looking for you all these years, please let me stay by your side no matter what!"
Genya loudly spoke the words he had suppressed in his heart for many years. Due to his excitement and nervousness, fine beads of sweat even appeared on his face.
Genya, who had finally seen his brother again and finally gathered the courage to speak his mind, looked at Sanemi nervously. However, Sanemi's next words directly poured a bucket of cold water over his head.
"Stop shamelessly calling me 'Brother, Brother.' I don't have a brother, and I don't care about what you say, so just get lost." Sanemi said this and then turned and left.
Genya was left stunned in place, at a loss. He had always imagined the scene of reuniting with his brother. He had imagined that his brother might scold him, or even hit him, because of his actions back then, after all, he had been too much at the time, and even if his brother was gentle, he probably wouldn't forgive him immediately.
But he hadn't expected his brother to completely disown him. His brother, who used to be incredibly gentle to all his younger siblings, now spoke so roughly.
It's all my fault… If I hadn't said those words back then… We would at least still have each other… But now…
This is what I deserve, right? The brother he protected with his life ended up cursing him as a murderer. How painful must it have been for him at the time? Even if he hates me, it's understandable, right?
Genya stood in place, his fists clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh without him realizing it. Self-reproach and guilt filled his heart. He didn't even notice that Sanemi had already walked far away, but even if Sanemi hadn't left, he would have found it difficult to say anything more now.
"Are you alright?"
A voice sounded in Genya's ear. Chiba Yo patted Genya's shoulder and looked at him with some concern.
Although he still didn't know exactly what had happened between Genya and the Wind Pillar, Chiba Yo could tell that Genya must be feeling very bad at the moment.
"It's all my fault… I misunderstood brother… And said such hurtful things…" Genya, whose emotions had been building up in his heart, finally couldn't bear it anymore, and tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
Chiba Yo didn't know the details of the situation, nor did he know how to comfort Genya, so he could only stay by his side.
After a while, Genya's emotions gradually calmed down, but because of what had just happened, neither of them was in the mood to train temporarily. They sat together on the steps outside the corps quarters and started chatting.
"Thank you." After what had just happened, Genya's impression of Chiba Yo had improved significantly. He thanked Chiba Yo.
"It's nothing, you…" Chiba Yo was about to ask what the situation was between him and the Wind Pillar, but thinking of how sad Genya had just been, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
However, to his surprise, Genya voluntarily started talking to him.
"You must also be curious about what happened between me and my brother. My brother was originally a very gentle person, and he became like this all because of me…"
Genya also wanted to confide in someone now, and Chiba Yo happened to be a very suitable person.
Hearing that Genya was willing to talk, Chiba Yo listened attentively.
"My brother and I were born into an ordinary urban family. There were seven siblings in total. I was the second oldest, and my brother was the oldest.
We had a father who often gambled, beat, and scolded us and our mother. Whenever our father beat us, our small mother would shield us with her body.
Later, our wicked father was stabbed to death by an enemy, leaving us brothers and our mother to depend on each other. At that time, my brother told me: 'Father was stabbed to death, from now on, we will protect everyone.' What do you mean 'from now on'? It should be 'from now on, we two will still be relied upon,' right?
I still clearly remember my brother's gentle smile at that time.
Our father's death didn't make us too sad. When he was alive, he only beat and scolded us. After that, the seven of us brothers and our mother lived a difficult life together. Although we were poor, we were all very content. As long as we still had each other, we felt very happy.
But such a life changed one night…"
At this point, a painful expression appeared on Genya's face. This was clearly a memory he didn't want to recall, but he still continued to speak.
"That night, Mom never came back. I stayed home to look after my younger siblings, and my brother went out to look for Mom.
However, they still hadn't returned until it was almost dawn. I told my younger siblings to go to sleep first, but then the door suddenly knocked urgently.
My younger siblings thought Mom had returned and immediately opened the door. A dark shadow darted into the house and instantly killed the younger siblings who opened the door. My face was also scratched by that dark shadow, and at the same time, the last younger sibling in my arms was also injured and on the verge of death.
Just then, my brother rushed in, carried that dark shadow, and rushed out of the room, while telling me to run away quickly.
When I came to my senses, I was the only one left in the room who could move. Looking at my dying younger sibling, I went out intending to find a doctor.
However, on the way, I encountered my brother holding a kitchen knife and my mother lying in a pool of blood…"