"Yukinashi Aoba?"
Hearing Hiru's voice, the youth coming down from the mountain raised a hand. "Ha ha, we meet again. Hello."
"Did you also break your blade and fail to get a replacement?"
"No. My swordsmith heard I became a Hashira and absolutely insisted I come here so he could forge a custom blade for me." Yukinashi Aoba looked a bit helpless. "I just finished getting my measurements taken and got sent down."
"Feels like getting a sword here is harder than fighting..."
"Yeah, yeah, I think so too."
Seeing the two getting along, Tetsu bowed slightly and excused himself.
"By the way, Aoba, how did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?" Hiru tilted his head, looking at the half-grown youth. "Becoming a Hashira at such a young age is incredible."
"I decided to join after Mr. Rengoku saved me. Honestly, I'm not that talented—it took me three years to become a Hashira." Aoba smiled. "And I'm older than you, you know. I'm already twenty-two."
"...Huh? Twenty-two?"
"I just look young." Aoba laughed. "Besides Mr. Rengoku, I'm probably the oldest among the Hashira."
"That's surprising... I thought you were around fifteen."
"Ha ha, I've heard that before. So what about you, Hiru? How did you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Oh—me...?"
The two chatted as they walked, the atmosphere easy and pleasant.
Three days later, Aoba left after receiving his blade, leaving Hiru to continue waiting.
Another three days passed before Akiha finally appeared, carrying a blade case in his arms.
"First, congratulations on becoming a Hashira." Akiha bowed slightly and pushed the case forward. "Considering your usage habits, I redesigned everything. It's no longer in the form of a traditional sword."
Hiru looked inside. Resting quietly in the opened case were two six-foot spears—around one and a half meters—each with a long double-edged blade and sharp tip. The words "Demon Slayer" were engraved into them.
"Spears... not exactly a common weapon."
"Yes. But based on my observations, you seem to enjoy throwing your weapons. So using the feedback from the ones returned to me, I decided on this design." Akiha's tone carried clear resentment. "This way, they're suitable for slashing, thrusting, cutting, or throwing. And to ensure hardness, I repeatedly folded in steel and hammered them countless times. There shouldn't be any more broken-blade incidents."
Hiru lifted the twin spears, watching the blades shift into a silvery-gray hue, and smiled. "Thank you. They feel perfect."
"You're welcome... I just don't want you to lose your weapon in battle—and your life—because something I forged was too weak." Akiha bowed his head. "Even though it pains me to see my children treated so roughly, please use them without worry. I... I... uuu... I really don't want to hand them over... uuu... my poor children... uuu..."
Hiru: ...The pressure just increased again.
With his weapons obtained, Hiru had no more reason to stay. He wrapped them in cloth, slung them over his back, and had a Kakushi escort him out of the village.
During the previous Hashira Meeting, since Hiru's movements were notoriously unpredictable, Ubuyashiki Kagaya assigned him no fixed jurisdiction. Instead, he instructed Hiru to wander freely among the territories of various Hashira and provide support wherever needed.
Hiru suspected he was probably the most idle among all the Hashira.
The idlest one stared at a map for ages before tossing the useless thing aside and picking a random direction.
He did not need a planned route!
Life settled back into its calm, waterlike flow—but the demons he encountered occasionally left him unsure how to react. Like today...
Hiru looked down at the old man clinging to his pant leg, then at the faceless shadow behind him, and fell silent.
The old demon was completely unaware, humming with his eyes closed. "Kind traveler, this old man is truly pitiful. Blinded and abandoned by my children... Please, have mercy and guide me home."
After a moment of thought, Hiru still didn't strike. Instead, he said, "Sir, let's calm down. Open your eyes and look at me first. Really, I won't leave. Just look."
The old demon finally opened his eyes to examine Hiru closely. Once he saw clearly, both sides fell into silence.
Hiru's expression was complicated. "...Do you think what you just did was appropriate?"
"Well..." The demon trembled as he released him. "Perhaps... we could try again?"
Hiru silently drew his short spear. "I don't think that's going to work."
Old Demon: ...
After eliminating the demon who pretended to be blind to scam him at the foot of the mountain, Hiru made his way toward a nearby town. In the four months since becoming a Hashira, his routine had consisted of aimless wandering. Whenever he passed through a town, he would check in with a Wisteria House; when he came across a demon, he casually dispatched it.
And somehow, his demon-slaying efficiency hadn't dropped—in fact, it had subtly increased. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it felt like some demons were deliberately seeking him out.
Did Kokushibo tell Muzan where I am? Or... has he realized something and is secretly tracking me behind Muzan's back? Hiru frowned. I never revealed that my brother is still alive... Could he be thinking that devouring me will let him overcome the sun?
Shaking his head, he put the thought aside. He would bring it up at the next Hashira Meeting.
After checking in with the Wisteria House, Hiru asked for the location of the town's sweets shop and headed there, planning to buy out all the strawberry daifuku the moment the doors opened and enjoy a peaceful moment.
Normally, he was the only one waiting until dawn. But this time, just as the sky began to pale, someone arrived before him.
"Oh my, I'm not the first one today?"
The newcomer was a lovely, well-proportioned girl who looked no older than eleven or twelve. Her hair was styled into three fishbone braids, a small mole sat beneath each eye, her pale leaf-green eyes sparkled, and her cheeks held a rosy flush—in short, she was undeniably adorable.
But... Hiru tilted his head slightly, studying her hair. How exactly does one end up with this cherry-pink gradient into grass-green...?
"Hello?"
Hiru finally stopped staring and gave a slight nod. "Hello."
"Hehe, I'm usually the only one waiting here," the girl said with a bright smile. "I didn't expect someone to arrive earlier than me."
"Hm..." Hiru's gaze couldn't help drifting back to her hair. I never thought the transition from cherry blossom pink to grass green would look like this... I expected it to be much harsher.
"Oh my, were you looking at my hair?"
Hiru paused, looking away with a soft cough. "Sorry. The color is so pretty, I couldn't help it."
"Hehe, really?" The girl looked delighted. "You're the first person to tell me my hair color is pretty!"
"Is this natural?"
"No. When I was younger, I ate one hundred seventy sakura mochi every day for eight months straight." She laughed shyly. "Before I realized it, my hair had turned into this."
"...Huh?" Hiru froze. "One hundred seventy every day for eight months?"
"Hehe... yes. They were just too delicious to resist~" The girl cupped her face. "But lately, since I want my hair to return to black, I've cut back. Now I only eat fifty a day!"
Looking at the petite girl before him, Hiru could only marvel at the limitless potential of humanity.