Giyu Tomioka walked slowly down the corridor of the Butterfly Mansion, his hands tucked into the loose sleeves of his casual clothes.
This is the core medical rear area of Demon Slayer Corps, surrounded by wisteria Wisteria that can drive away all evil.
Even in this absolutely safe place, Giyu didn't bring his dark blue Nichirin Blade.
As a result, when he reached the main hall entrance, he stopped in his tracks.
The gate was tightly shut.
The main hall of the Butterfly Mansion, which is usually brightly lit and bustling with people, is now completely dark and silent.
Giyu frowned, a big question mark flashing in his deep blue eyes.
Why aren't the lights on?
"Could the lanterns in the hallway be broken?"
Giyu pondered to himself,
"No, if only the light was broken, it wouldn't be this quiet inside."
"Could it be that Shinobu is developing some new, shady poison again?"
"Or maybe that bored guy, Sabito, deliberately put a bucket of cold water on the door, just waiting for me to push the door open and see me make a fool of myself?"
Considering Sabito's usual mischievous nature, Giyu felt that this was highly likely.
He stretched out his right hand, placed it on the edge of the wooden sliding door, and then very cautiously took half a step to the side, pressing his body against the wall.
"Whoosh--!"
Giyu opened the door, ready to dodge at any moment.
"Bang bang!"
The moment the door opened, a series of deafening explosions rang out right next to his ears.
All the lights in the hall turned on at the same time, and the dazzling light made Giyu squint slightly.
Immediately afterwards, colorful ribbons, confetti, and glittering fragments rained down from the sky like a downpour.
A gaudy pink ribbon landed squarely on Giyu's aloof head, hanging right in front of his nose.
"Ta-da! A super glamorous entrance!"
[Sound Hashira] Tengen Uzui suddenly appeared from some corner, striking a super flashy pose, the diamond headband on his forehead almost blinding Giyu.
His three wives followed behind, holding the fireworks that had just been set off, shouting excitedly.
"Giyu! Your door-opening technique is so lame! Did you think there were hidden weapons on the door?"
The Sabito leaped over from the side like a big monkey, grabbed Giyu by the neck, and laughed so hard it hurt.
He ruffled Giyu's short, black hair and ripped off the ribbon from his head.
"We've been waiting for you for a full half hour! If you hadn't opened the door, I would have thought you'd gotten lost and wandered back to Mount Kumotori!"
Giyu stood there, dumbfounded.
For the first time, a vivid expression called "utterly dumbfounded" appeared on his usually impassive, icy face; it was almost as if he had "⊙_⊙" written all over his face.
The spacious main hall was even more lively than during Chinese New Year!
A long table not far away was laden with an extravagant array of food.
[Stone Hashira] Gyomei Himejima his hands together, and tears streamed down his face, which was as resolute as a rock.
"Namo Amitabha Buddha... In the blink of an eye, he has grown into such a reliable young man. At the age of eighteen, he is truly moving..."
"Five ants! Mr. Tomioka!"
Kyojuro Rengoku's incredibly powerful voice exploded right next to Giyu's ears, making his eardrums buzz.
The hot-blooded young man was holding a plate piled high with roasted meat, his eyes wide open like saucers.
"This is the passion that youth should have! Today we're going to eat until our bellies burst!"
Beside Kyojuro, Shinjuro Rengoku, carrying his signature large red sake gourd, threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, not forgetting to raise Giyu sake gourd in salute to Giyu.
"Good lad! No need to slay demons today, just drink to your heart's content!"
However, in the far corner of the hall, the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.
[Wind Hashira] Sanemi Shinazugawa leans against the wall with his arms crossed.
He was clearly dragged here by force today; the expression on his face was worse than if he had eaten ten pounds of bitter herbs.
What's most striking is his scarred face, with a dark circle around his left eye, clearly a lingering effect of his Giyu.
Sanemi glared fiercely at Giyu, gritted his teeth, and let out a cold snort through his nose before awkwardly turning his head to the side.
But the beautifully packaged cardboard box he clutched tightly in his hand betrayed his true feelings.
"Don't get too cocky, you expressionless bastard!"
"I was just forced by my Master to come and go through the motions!"
"... If you dare say this snack isn't good, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
Sanemi frantically tried to find excuses for himself.
Sitting next to Sanemi, Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira, wasn't in much better shape either.
His heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one green, were filled with displeasure, and the white snake around his neck flicked its tongue.
Obanai slowly walked forward and awkwardly stuffed a strange gift box, tightly wrapped in bandages, into Giyu's arms.
"Take it."
Obanai's tone was sarcastic, making no attempt to hide her disdain.
"This is a gas mask I specially picked out for you."
"A guy like you, who's always surrounded by women, will be poisoned by some weird perfume powder one day. Keep him around to save your life!"
Giyu held the strange bandage gift box, his deep blue eyes scanning every vibrant face in the room.
"You..."
Giyu opened his mouth, but his usually quick-thinking brain completely froze.
He had no idea why everyone was gathered there, nor why these people were giving him gifts.
Just as he was at a loss, the crowd suddenly quieted down and parted to make way for him.
"Excuse me, excuse me."
With a light and sweet sound, a cart was slowly pushed out.
Kanae Kocho changed into a light purple casual outfit today, and her long hair was tied up with an exquisite pearl hairpin.
Her beautiful face wore a gentle smile that could melt an iceberg.
On that cart was a rather extravagant three-tiered cake.
What's most eye-catching is that on the very top layer of the cake, a tiny figure wearing a contrasting haori (a type of traditional Chinese garment) is sculpted from lifelike cream.
The little man had a classic icy, expressionless face, but he was tightly clutching a creamy salmon that was twice his own size.
"Mr. Giyu."
Kanae pushed the cake up to him and stopped.
She tilted her head slightly, her large, watery pink eyes reflecting the warm light in the hall, as well as Giyu's bewildered face.
Welcome to your eighteenth birthday celebration.
Kanae's voice was so gentle it could melt your heart. She stretched out her fair, delicate finger and gently tapped the expressionless, creamy little figure.
Happy birthday, our great hero!
Happy birthday?!
These four words were like a magic key, instantly unlocking a long-sealed door deep within Giyu's mind.
February 8.
Giyu's pupils suddenly contracted.
So it was today...
I'm eighteen.
Ever since his older sister, Tsutako, died protecting him on that bloody night, he hadn't remembered his own birthday for a very, very long time.
For him,
Every day he lives is for slaying demons; those celebrations of festivals and the passing of age have long been regarded as useless burdens and thrown into the trash can of his memory.
He thought he had long been used to walking alone in the wind and snow.
He thought he would never deserve to experience the warmth of being surrounded by people again in his life.
But now.
Looking at the enormous cake covered in candles in front of me.
Watching Sanemi and Obanai, who always find fault yet awkwardly bring gifts,
Looking at the Rengoku family, who were shouting loudly and treating him like family,
Looking at Xingming praying with tears in his Gyomei,
And then there were his companions, who looked at him with a mixture of goodwill and mockery.
And then there's this woman in front of me, her eyes only for him, going to great lengths to give him a surprise.
Giyu felt a tightness in his throat.
"What are you standing there for! This cake took my sister two sleepless nights to make!"
Shinobu Kocho was standing next to her, had somehow gotten closer.
She put her hands on her hips, glared angrily at Giyu, and then pushed him in front of the cake.
"Hurry up and make a wish and blow out the candles! If any wax drips onto them and ruins your sister's hard work, I'll definitely poison your tea!"
"Blow it up! Blow it up! A real man doesn't dawdle!"
The people around immediately joined in the cheering, and the hall erupted in cheerful applause and whistles.
Giyu was pushed in front of the cake.
He looked at the flickering candlelight, then at Kanae standing opposite him, her eyes full of encouragement.
Giyu took a deep breath.
He didn't make any unrealistic or unrealistic wishes.
Because he knew better than anyone else that everything he wanted to protect could only be achieved through everyone's joint efforts.
He leaned forward slightly and puffed out his lungs.
"Call--!"
All the candles were blown out in unison at the same time, leaving only wisps of smoke rising into the air.
"Yay!"
The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the main hall.
Sabito led the applause, Tengen Uzui even pulled the pin on another firework tube in his hand.
Amidst the noise, Kanae leaned close to Giyu's ear and whispered with a smile in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Since the candle has been blown out..."
"I should give Mr. Giyu a real birthday present now."
Giyu turned his head and looked at her with some confusion.
Isn't this huge cake the whole surprise?
As if by magic, Kanae produced a huge blue-and-white porcelain bowl from the bottom of the cart.
The bowl is steaming hot, with a rich sauce coating the stewed, tender white radish and tempting thick-cut salmon chunks.
"Ta-da! These are ingredients I personally picked out at the market, and I stewed this special radish and salmon dish all afternoon!"
Kanae shoved the bowl, which was bigger than Giyu's face, into his hands, her pink eyes full of anticipation.
"This is what you wanted most, right? Go ahead and try it, how does it taste?"
Looking at the steaming bowl of delicious food in my hand.
Giyu Tomioka's deep blue eyes instantly lit up like stars, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in a very honest manner.
The bittersweet emotions I felt just moments ago were instantly wiped away by my appetite.
Thank you for your hospitality!
Giyu picked up the chopsticks next to him, skipped the formalities, and directly picked up a thick piece of salmon and put it in his mouth.
"Hey! You expressionless bastard! You didn't even glance at the reed cakes I gave you, you were just busy eating radishes!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa finally lost his temper and rushed over, pointing at Giyu's nose and shouting.
"Five ants! Mr. Tomioka! Eating fish is not enough! My grilled meat is the real delicacy!"
Not to be outdone, Kyojuro Rengoku, carrying a plate piled high with grilled meat, squeezed to Giyu's left.
"You two idiots, don't get so close! You've scared my white snake!"
Obanai Iguro angrily joined the battle.
The hall instantly descended into chaos!!
Giyu steadily held the huge blue-and-white porcelain bowl, nimbly dodging left and right amidst the shoving and pushing of the crowd, but never stopping the chewing motion in his mouth.