Humans, as creatures, became cautious about maintaining their character when they were worshiped by others.
They did not want those who worshiped them to see their ugly sides.
After a long silence, Kokushibo said flatly, "What is there about someone like me that's worth entrusting anything to?"
Yuko lowered her head to look at him and answered a different question. "I know. Big Brother hates Yoriichi, right?"
At those words, Kokushibo's pupils contracted slightly. Faced with Yuko's gaze, he instinctively looked away.
It was as if he had stripped naked in front of Yuko, with no secrets left to hide.
Yuko did not mind. In a gentle tone, she said, "I'm actually very envious... No, I should say I'm envious to the point of jealousy. I'm jealous of Yoriichi's talent."
"That innate talent of his is something others can never even hope to reach, no matter how hard they chase after him."
Kokushibo's lips parted slightly. For the first time, he revealed an expression of surprise in front of Yuko.
This was precisely Yuko's method of treatment.
The first step was to help Kokushibo establish his self-esteem.
The second step was to let Kokushibo know that someone shared his feelings—that they were both ordinary people bullied by the genius Yoriichi.
Some things were painful to keep bottled up alone. But if there was someone to share them with, they would not hurt as much, especially if that person could empathize with you.
That was also why the people you often got along with tended to be your classmates and coworkers.
Because everyone stood on the same side.
Only today did Kokushibo see that his little sister had such a gentle expression.
Surely it was because...
He watched Yuko for a moment and noticed the fine sweat on her forehead.
Sure enough... Yuko had been suppressing her pain the entire time she fought him.
Kokushibo actually felt a rare trace of guilt.
Yuko took the wooden flute hanging around her neck from her chest.
Kokushibo was slightly stunned. She was still carrying it?
Yuko had never hung it around her neck before. She had always stuffed it into her pack.
This time, she had deliberately brought it along to manipulate Kokushibo.
Yuko held the wooden flute in both hands and said with a bright smile, "Big Brother, please carry Yuko's dream with you and work hard to catch up to Yoriichi."
"Ahem... I'll cheer you on, Big Brother."
And then...
Once they passed the age of twenty-five, they would leave this world together.
Having lived another life, she was truly satisfied.
Three years passed after that.
Yoriichi felt that his big brother seemed to have changed.
His big brother still trained as hard as before, and he still seemed no different from the past.
But Yoriichi simply had that inexplicable feeling.
"I lost." Kokushibo sheathed his Nichirin Blade and calmly accepted his defeat.
Yoriichi said gently, "Big Brother's skills have improved again."
After seeing that they had finished sparring, Yuko waved at them. "Big Brother, come over and have some tea."
She poured the tea and distributed it between them.
Yoriichi took a small sip and praised it. "Yuko's skills have improved too."
Yuko rolled her eyes at him. "Yoriichi, can't you say something else?"
"You say that every time."
Yoriichi smiled. "Are you feeling all right? The doctor told me to keep an eye on you and not let you jump around too much."
Yuko was covered in black lines. "What kind of personality do I have in everyone else's eyes?"
Kokushibo drank his tea and said flatly, "A monkey."
"??" Yuko looked at him in disbelief.
Kokushibo ignored her.
Watching the two of them fool around, Yoriichi smiled at first. Then, after unconsciously using the Clear World to see the condition of Yuko's lungs, he lowered his eyelids and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Yuko. I wish I had been by your side back then."
Yuko froze for a moment. Realizing what he was talking about, she smiled and shook her head.
"That was my mission in the first place. I was simply too careless."
"It's fine. Sometimes I can't help wanting to cough, but it doesn't affect my daily life."
After that, Yuko, who had difficulty using the Breathing Technique, withdrew from the front lines of the Demon Slayer Corps and took charge of maintaining the logistical work.
She occasionally instructed newcomers in swordsmanship, which let her experience the pleasure of being a teacher.
Only after hearing Yuko say this did Yoriichi relax somewhat.
Kokushibo, however, did not want to mention Yuko's illness. He changed the subject and said, "More and more swordsmen are awakening their marks. The Demon Slayer Corps is growing stronger by the day."
"Perhaps the conflict between humans and Demons will end in our generation."
Yoriichi nodded. "Yes. There have been far fewer traces of Demons lately."
Without a doubt, both the birth of the Breathing Technique and the awakening of the marks had made the Demon Slayer Corps stronger than ever, suppressing the growth of the Demons for a time.
The two brothers still maintained an optimistic attitude. Only Yuko fell silent upon hearing those words.
More and more people in the Demon Slayer Corps were awakening their marks. The first-generation Hashira were now all marked.
After awakening his mark, Kokushibo quickly mastered the Scarlet Blade and Clear World, becoming the second person after Yoriichi to master all three abilities.
Yuko could occasionally enter that transparent world, but it was unstable.
As for the Scarlet Blade, which was activated by using grip strength to draw out the sun's energy within a Nichirin Blade, even after awakening her mark and improving her physical abilities, Yuko still lacked the grip strength to make her Nichirin Blade change color.
She had fallen completely behind her two brothers.
The brothers led the entire Demon Slayer Corps by a vast margin.
At that time, the three siblings stood on the rear mountain, gazing into the distance.
"No one's strength can match yours or mine. The inheritance of the Breathing Technique is simply despairing."
"If this continues, the supreme techniques forged through countless trials will be lost."
Unlike Kokushibo's concern, Yoriichi's expression remained calm. He smiled and said:
"Big Brother, you think too highly of us."
"You and I are merely two passersby in humanity's long history."
"Perhaps, at this very moment, a baby whose talent far surpasses yours and mine is being born somewhere in this world."
"I'm sure they will eventually reach the same realm as you and me."
"There's no need to worry. We only need to let nature take its course and wait for the day our lives reach their twilight."
Hearing these words, Kokushibo's heart, which had finally changed slightly because of Yuko, sank into the mire once more.
Yoriichi, every time you smile, I feel disgusted beyond measure.
Whenever we talk about the heavy subject of the Breathing Technique being lost, you maintain that bizarre optimism... and smile...
Yuko looked at her two brothers and opened her mouth, but in the end, she still could not say anything.
In fact, she had seen it long ago.
Yoriichi completely ignored how his brother felt about him. Wasn't that also a kind of innate "indifference" that geniuses showed toward ordinary people?
When a genius spoke freely about his own ordinariness, how could those chasing after him possibly remain calm?
That year, Yuko was twenty-three, while her two brothers were twenty-four.
A swordsman who had awakened his mark died.
At first, everyone thought he had died suddenly from overtraining.
But before long, another marked swordsman died suddenly, the day after celebrating his twenty-sixth birthday.
Then, even among the first-generation Hashira who had awakened their marks, some died because of it.
Only then did the Demon Slayer Corps notice that everyone who had died suddenly was a swordsman who had awakened a mark.
And they all shared one thing in common.
They were over twenty-five.
The mark was an ability that borrowed years from the heavens and spent one's life in advance. No one who awakened a mark could live past twenty-five.
Words like these gradually began circulating within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Before you continue