Death Is Not the End

Tsugikuni Kuuga noticed that Giyu Tomioka had been staring at him the whole time, giving him goosebumps. Could this guy have been captivated by my beauty?!

"Let me tell you, I already have someone I like, so don't covet my good looks! And I'm not into men," Tsugikuni Kuuga quipped.

Giyu Tomioka's face darkened. "Uh! You're overthinking it."

"That's good, then. After all, we're good brothers!"

As Tsugikuni Kuuga spoke, he threw an arm around Giyu Tomioka's neck. Before his hand could touch him, Giyu Tomioka slapped it aside.

"We've only known each other for a few days. Don't act so familiar with me!" Giyu Tomioka said, pushing Tsugikuni Kuuga away.

"How heartless. After eating Sister Kanae's special meal, you're turning your back on me!" Tsugikuni Kuuga immediately put on an act.

"Big sister...?" Giyu Tomioka sighed.

Giyu Tomioka stopped paying attention to Tsugikuni Kuuga and gazed at the bright moon again, his eyes filled with sorrow. Tsugikuni Kuuga fell silent as well. He knew Giyu Tomioka was thinking of his sister, Tsutako Tomioka, who had died protecting him.

Tsugikuni Kuuga knew that Giyu Tomioka had always felt guilty over his sister's death, believing himself unworthy of living. Sabito's death had wounded his heart even more deeply.

"Hey! Do you want to hear my story? Actually, I didn't have any family from the start. I guess that makes me what you call an orphan!"

Tsugikuni Kuuga did not care whether Giyu Tomioka wanted to hear his story. He simply continued. Giyu Tomioka did not interrupt him, because he related to it even more deeply. Perhaps Tsugikuni Kuuga had suffered even more than he had.

But Giyu Tomioka found that Tsugikuni Kuuga was different from what he had imagined. Being alone from childhood to adulthood was clearly an incredibly lonely and sorrowful thing, yet Tsugikuni Kuuga was always smiling.

"Were you always like this? Cheerful and thick-skinned?" Giyu Tomioka suddenly asked.

Tsugikuni Kuuga said, "Uh! That's called optimism and not caring about the world's judgment. What do you know!"

"I truly have never seen anyone speak so proudly of being thick-skinned!" Giyu Tomioka retorted.

Since they were standing in a tree, Tsugikuni Kuuga saw a figure running in the distance, followed by several demons. He recognized the person at once as Demon Slayer's greatest scourge, Kaikatsu. It was time to punish evil and uphold justice.

However, Tsugikuni Kuuga intended to wait a little longer before making a move. He would let the demons wear him down first. After all, it took evil men to grind down evil men.

Leaning against the tree, Tsugikuni Kuuga looked at the moon and said, "Death isn't the end of life. Forgetting is. Your sister sacrificed herself so her little brother could live, so you should keep her in your heart forever. If you die, perhaps no one will remember her anymore!"

After Tsugikuni Kuuga finished, both of them fell silent. The bright moon remained the same, and the night breeze was still as cool as ever, but the boy's heart had opened.

After a while, Tsugikuni Kuuga jumped down from the tree. "I have something to take care of. I'll be right back, so don't worry about me!"

After saying that, Tsugikuni Kuuga ran into the darkness. Watching his retreating figure, Giyu Tomioka murmured, "Death isn't the end. You were right, weren't you, Sister?"

The boy's heart found release. A young woman dressed in wedding robes appeared before Giyu Tomioka. She gently stroked her younger brother's cheek, then said tenderly:

"Giyu, live well. Live for your sister's share too!"

Giyu Tomioka wanted to reach out and touch his sister, but just as he was about to touch her, Tsutako Tomioka smiled and vanished.

"Sister, I'll live on!"

A crystal-clear tear slid down the boy's youthful cheek and fell to the ground. In that moment, it seemed as though the sound of a water droplet could be heard.

Drip!

Under cover of night, Tsugikuni Kuuga moved through the trees. His destination was the place ahead filled with the sounds of battle.

As Tsugikuni Kuuga peered through the bushes to assess the situation, Kaikatsu had already shoved out the companion following him. That companion was instantly torn apart by the demons, his face full of unwillingness and confusion before he died.

He had never expected to die at the hands of one of his own. Kaikatsu took advantage of that instant to kill one demon, reducing the two demons pursuing him to one.

It had to be said that Kaikatsu had some skill. He was evenly matched with the remaining demon.

"Human, you're more suited to being a demon. You sent your own companion to his grave without even blinking!" the demon mocked.

"Die!" Kaikatsu shouted.

Kaikatsu kicked away one of the demon's arms, then slashed at its neck. But just as his blade was about to touch the demon's neck, it was somehow knocked away.

Kaikatsu was dumbfounded, but so was the demon. Its Blood Demon Art clearly did not have such an ability. Still, the demon knew this was a good opportunity, and with one swipe of its claws, Kaikatsu's arm flew away.

Kaikatsu cried out in agony. At that moment, he was terrified, because every uncertain factor made people afraid.

Kaikatsu thought the demon had some Blood Demon Art it had not used yet. It seemed this demon was stronger than he had imagined. Without another thought, Kaikatsu turned and ran. After all, he only had one life.

But at that moment, something struck Kaikatsu again. He fell straight to the ground, suddenly feeling all strength leave his body.

The demon was completely stunned, as though someone was secretly helping it. In any case, it was certain to enjoy a feast today.

Kaikatsu struggled to crawl forward, but he still could not escape death beneath the demon's jaws. Just like that, the only traitor in Demon Slayer died.

As he died, Kaikatsu saw the dozen or so children who had died because of his cowardice. Yes, back then, he had extinguished the Wisteria Flower incense burner, causing more than a dozen children to die in a demon's jaws, while the Stone Hashira had been wrongfully accused and imprisoned.

Tsugikuni Kuuga tossed aside the last pebble in his hand. He had not expected that the pebble he had thrown just to try his luck would actually strike Kaikatsu's pressure point. Sure enough, after doing too many bad things, even heaven could no longer stand it. One great hidden danger had been successfully eliminated.

Tsugikuni Kuuga did not want to regret failing to kill this potential Upper Rank Six after his family and friends suffered someday. If there was sin in this, then he would bear it alone.

Tsugikuni Kuuga killed the demon, then buried Kaikatsu. This was Tsugikuni Kuuga's final mercy toward him.

Although getting rid of Kaikatsu would make Rumble Hashira Jigoro Kuwajima and Zenitsu Agatsuma sad for a while, since they did not know what would happen in the future, it was still better than having the Rumble Hashira commit seppuku because Kaikatsu had become a demon.

Tsugikuni Kuuga felt no burden in his heart. Now that he had dealt with this uncertain factor, it was time to deal with the Hand Demon that had eaten dozens of people.

What Tsugikuni Kuuga did not know was that a large green demon surrounded by grotesque hands was already heading toward the Water Hashira pair.