He suddenly raised his foot, and with extreme disgust, kicked Tanjiro in the chest.
"That expressionless guy outside is looking for you! Get the hell out of here!"
"Don't pollute my view! Your face makes me want to vomit!"
With that kick...
The space of consciousness instantly collapsed like a shattered mirror, emitting a crisp cracking sound.
Tanjiro felt an irresistible, immense repulsive force strike him, causing him to lose his balance and plummet rapidly towards the endless abyss.
"Wait! I haven't told you your bedtime story yet--"
Before Tanjiro's cry of alarm could even finish, his consciousness was plunged into complete darkness.
In the real world, at the Butterfly Mansion ward.
"Ah!"
Tanjiro suddenly sat up from the soft hospital bed.
He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, and his forehead was covered with a fine layer of cold sweat, which soaked the stray hairs on his forehead.
His eyes were still a little glazed over, and it took several seconds for his pupils to refocus.
"Bedtime story... Oh, no, I'm already awake."
Tanjiro shook his slightly dizzy head and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
He still finds it somewhat unbelievable.
The extremely violent demon within him, which nearly destroyed the Ubuyashiki garden...
At its core, is it really just an arrogant "giant baby"?
While he was still savoring and pondering,
"Squeak--"
The exquisite wooden sliding door to the ward was gently pushed open from the outside.
The moonlight is beautiful tonight. The cool moonlight shines through the crack in the door, like a silver veil, into the dimly lit ward.
A tall, slender figure stood steadily at the doorway.
The newcomer was none other than the current Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka.
At this moment, he was carrying an exquisite three-tiered food box.
A tempting aroma of smoke wafted from the wooden cracks in the food box.
Hearing the noise, Tanjiro suddenly looked up.
Their eyes met unexpectedly in the dimly lit hospital room, through the tiny dust particles floating in the air.
For a fleeting moment, the air fell into a quiet, even eerie stillness.
Tanjiro looked at the expressionless man carrying the food box.
In an instant, everything that had happened in the garden of the Ubuyashiki during the day flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
For his sake, Mr. Giyu faced the coup attempt by the Seven Pillars all by himself.
Meanwhile, Giyu Tomioka quietly watched the pale-faced boy on the bed, who had just struggled back from the brink of death and the abyss of mutation.
A subtle, complex emotion flickered in his deep blue eyes.
The next second.
It was as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times.
"Whoosh!"
Tanjiro suddenly bent over on the hospital bed and slammed his head deeply into the soft blankets!
Giyu Tomioka stood straight at the door, feet together, upper body at a perfect 90-degree angle, and gave an extremely solemn bow!
"Sorry!!"
Two voices, one high and one low, rang out simultaneously in the ward, perfectly overlapping each other!
After bowing.
Both of them froze, then looked up at each other in surprise.
"Why?"
Tanjiro was completely bewildered, but his wine-red eyes instantly turned completely red, and tears began to well up.
"Mr. Giyu, why are you apologizing?"
Before Giyu could even speak, Tanjiro's tears flowed like a burst dam.
While wiping away his tears, he began a profound self-examination, sobbing uncontrollably:
"Mr. Giyu! I'm the one who should apologize!"
"I'm so useless! I swore to you that I would never succumb to the power of evil spirits."
"But in the end, I still couldn't resist that extreme hunger...!"
"I almost burned the entire Ubuyashiki garden down! I almost injured all the Pillars!"
Tanjiro was sobbing uncontrollably.
I've caused you a huge problem! I've put you in an awkward position in front of your colleagues!
"If you hadn't intervened in time and stopped me with Water Breathing... I can't even imagine the extent of the sins I would have committed!"
"I'm such a hopeless idiot! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Hearing Tanjiro's heart-wrenching sobs and tears...
Giyu Tomioka slowly straightened up.
He carried the food box and walked steadily to the bedside.
After gently placing the food box on the bedside table, he sat down on a wooden chair, his deep blue eyes fixed on Tanjiro, who was still wiping away tears.
My apology was based on a tactical error.
Giyu placed his hands flat on his knees, leaned slightly forward, and spoke in a serious tone:
"My wrists are rough; it's my fault. I'm sorry."
"..."
After hearing this incredibly hardcore, chilling "straight man's minimalist apology,"...
Tanjiro was completely stunned.
He even forgot to wipe his tears, a snot bubbled from his nose, and just stared blankly at the serious-looking man in front of him.
What kind of apology is this?!
Any normal person would probably be so scared that they would call the police on the spot!
But!
Tanjiro Kamado is no ordinary person!
His unusually gentle thought process, at this moment, took an unexpected turn.
It perfectly matches the dead-end, straight-male thought process of Giyu Tomioka!
Tanjiro's mind began to race with wild fantasies and self-pity:
"My God... Mr. Giyu may not say much, but he has such a sensitive heart!"
"Even in that life-or-death moment, he was still precisely calculating how to minimize my suffering?!"
"... How could I be so harsh on myself afterward?!"
"Mr. Giyu isn't good with words; he must be too shy to express his concern!"
Tanjiro was so moved that tears and snot streamed down his face.
He felt that the man in front of him, Mr. Giyu, was simply the gentlest, greatest, and most proudly kindest person in the world!
"Mr. Giyu! You're too kind! You don't need to apologize to me at all!"
Tanjiro shouted loudly,
"Every cut you made was to save me! Even if you cut me a thousand times, I would only be grateful!"
If Shinobu Kocho or any other Pillar were present at this moment.
Hearing this strange resonance between the two brothers, which transcends the understanding of carbon-based life forms.
He would definitely vomit blood on the spot and curse those two guys for having their brains slammed in a door.
But at this moment, in this quiet hospital ward...
The strange resonance between the straight man and the warm man unexpectedly elevated their relationship to a new level through this inexplicable apology.
Seeing Tanjiro start to cry again, Giyu frowned slightly.
He's really not good at handling these emotionally charged situations.
"Have a meal."
Giyu deftly opened the lid of the food box on the bedside table.
"Whoosh--"
A rich aroma of food instantly filled the ward.
Those were two hearty bento boxes.
"Everyone's exhausted and asleep. This is what Shinobu Kocho left... with added medicinal herbs."
Giyu gave a concise explanation and then handed over the chopsticks.
"Gurgle--"
At that moment, Tanjiro's stomach cooperated by letting out a thunderous protest.
He then realized that he hadn't had a drop of water all day, from morning until now.
"I'm starting to eat..."
With tears in his eyes, Tanjiro shoveled large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.
The sweet aroma of rice and the freshness of salmon explode on the tip of the tongue.
This feeling of being able to normally taste human food, this ease of not having to endure the torment of the cannibalistic instinct.
It made him truly feel that he was still alive.
It is still a human being with feelings...
A dozen minutes later.
Tanjiro, who had devoured three whole boxes of rice in a whirlwind, finally let out a big, satisfied burp.
Giyu Tomioka also put down his teacup and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
He glanced at Tanjiro, whose complexion had returned to its healthy glow, and the calmness in his deep blue eyes gradually faded.
Three things.
Giyu's tone instantly switched to tactical reporting mode.
Tanjiro felt a chill run down his spine, immediately suppressing his touched smile and sitting up straight.
"First."
Giyu raised one finger.
"Muzan has gone into hiding, but he must die!!"
Tanjiro's gaze instantly sharpened, and a flame of hatred ignited in his wine-red eyes.
"Yes!"
"Your body has withstood the sunlight, a Muzan temptation for Muzan."
Giyu looked at him coldly.
"Our Oyakata-sama has made a decision: we'll use you as bait to lure him out. It's a near-certain death situation! Do you agree?"
Without the slightest hesitation.
"I do!"
Tanjiro's answer was resolute and unwavering.
"If my life could be exchanged for the chance to completely eliminate him, I would be more than willing!"
Giyu looked at him quietly for a few seconds, then nodded silently.
"Very good, the second one."
Giyu raised his second finger.
"You're too weak to be used as bait. You're not strong enough to be instantly killed by Upper Rank."
"I suggest... you borrow the power of that guy inside you."
"What?!"
Tanjiro gasped, nearly jumping off the bed, his hands flailing wildly.
"No! Absolutely not! Mr. Giyu, you clearly warned me that I must never yield to evil spirits!"
Seeing Tanjiro's alarmed expression, Giyu remained expressionless and uttered the core of his philosophy.
"A knife has no inherent good or evil; it is the heart that kills."
Giyu said calmly,
"Since that guy is a 'giant baby,' use your will as a human being to tame him. Running away is the behavior of the weak; go and talk to him."
These concise yet soul-stirring words completely shocked Tanjiro.
"I understand! I will go and talk to him!" Tanjiro nodded emphatically.
"The third item."
Giyu raised his last finger, stood up, and walked towards the door.
"We're going to Mount Sagiri first thing tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this name, Tanjiro's eyes lit up.
Giyu, with his back to Tanjiro, left him with a sentence that filled him with ecstatic joy:
"Your family is there."
As soon as he finished speaking, Giyu pushed open the door and stepped out, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness of the corridor.
Silence returned to the ward.
Tanjiro wiped away his tears and sat cross-legged on the hospital bed again.
He took a deep breath, letting his consciousness sink into the deepest recesses of his brain, preparing to have a proper talk with that arrogant devil.