Tanjiro's Ancestor

The news struck Yuko like a magnitude-ten earthquake.

Yoriichi had actually gotten married?

You hid it well, kid!

It had already been five years since they saw each other again...

Yuko's quip, already on the tip of her tongue, caught in her throat.

Yoriichi had no reason not to tell his younger sister that he had started a family.

Unless...

Yuko could not bring herself to ask. She merely followed in Yoriichi's footsteps, her heart somewhat heavy.

One night, they arrived at a place in the mountains.

By the moonlight, Yuko made out the road ahead. "Brother, there seems to be a house up ahead."

The moment she finished speaking, Yoriichi tightened his grip on the Nichirin Blade at his waist and sped toward the house.

A demon!

Yuko's reaction was not slow either. She gripped her sword hilt and followed close behind.

When members of the Demon Slayer Corps left the organization, their Nichirin Blades were usually reclaimed.

But out of consideration for Yoriichi and Yuko's contributions to the Demon Slayer Corps, the Master had allowed them to keep their Nichirin Blades.

Yoriichi's perception far surpassed hers. It was not until they were within twenty meters of the house that she sensed the demon's presence.

"Brother, are you all right?"

By the time she burst into the house, the demon's body was already gradually crumbling away.

As expected of Yoriichi. He was as powerful as ever.

The person who had been rescued nearby let out a long breath.

"We're saved~"

Yuko followed the voice, her eyes widening slightly as surprise appeared on her face.

Tan... Tanjiro?

"My name is Tanjiki. I offer my deepest thanks to you both for saving my life."

The man, whose appearance resembled that of Tanjiro, the protagonist of Demon Slayer, knelt on the floor and bowed as he introduced himself.

It was not strange for someone to offer such a grand gesture in thanks for being saved, but Yuko did not like it.

She stepped forward and helped him up. "There's no need for such formalities. Slaying demons is our du—"

Yuko's voice faltered. They had already left the Demon Slayer Corps.

Tanjiki did not think much of it. He merely looked at the two of them gratefully. "It is getting late. If you two do not mind, you may stay the night at my humble home."

Yuko turned to Yoriichi. They had been traveling day and night for several days, yet they had still not reached the place where Yoriichi's wife lived.

Yoriichi suddenly spoke. "Is there anyone else in the inner room?"

If someone had merely been there, he would not have cared this much...

Tanjiki's eyes turned into little dots, and he froze for a moment. When he realized what Yoriichi meant, he ran toward the inner room in a panic, shouting in alarm.

"Oh no! Tamiko!"

The two of them hurried after him. Lying on the bed in the inner room was a woman with a heavily pregnant belly.

The woman struggled on the bed, her face twisted in pain.

"Tamiko!" Tanjiki called out to his wife in a panic.

"Let me through." Yuko stepped forward and pulled him aside, then gave Tamiko a quick examination.

"She is about to give birth. We need to find a midwife right away." Yuko turned to the two of them. "Brother, please look after them. I will go to the town at the foot of the mountain—"

Before Yuko could finish speaking, Yoriichi turned and left.

He left behind only one sentence.

"Yuko, take good care of them. I will be right back."

When Yoriichi said he would be right back, he truly meant it.

He returned with the midwife on his back after barely any time had passed.

When Yoriichi saw that Tanjiki's wife, Tamiko, had safely given birth to a baby girl, a ripple finally appeared in his usually calm expression, and a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.

But Yuko read the emotion called sorrow on his face.

Tanjiki stayed in the inner room to care for his wife. The two of them sat by the doorway, gazing at the rising sun. Yoriichi seemed to understand his sister's confusion and explained calmly, "This is where... Uta and I once lived."

Just as she thought...

Yuko pursed her lips.

Tamiko had given birth and was resting in the room, while Tanjiki invited the two benefactors to stay for a meal.

"I am truly sorry. There is not much good food in the house, so I can only ask the two of you to try the wild greens Tamiko picked yesterday."

Yuko smiled faintly. "As long as it fills our stomachs, that is enough."

What good food could there be in this era? Yuko had never been a picky eater anyway.

Soon, Tanjiki had prepared the food.

Several plates of wild greens were brought to the table.

The boiled greens were all limp and wilted, making it impossible to tell what they had originally looked like. But since Tanjiki had served them to the two of them, they were obviously not poisonous.

After breakfast, Yoriichi led Yuko behind the house.

There was a grave platform made from several pieces of broken stone.

It was Uta's grave.

Yoriichi stood before his wife's grave and told her about his time after joining the Demon Slayer Corps.

Yuko knelt beside him and listened quietly.

One must not be rude when paying respects to a loved one.

Yoriichi's story was a long one. In a careful and gentle voice, he slowly recounted their story. He spoke of reuniting with his elder brother and younger sister after a long separation, and of the days when the three of them practiced their Breathing Techniques together.

The sun was high in the sky. It was August, and the weather was unbearably hot.

Yoriichi realized this and turned to his sister. "Yuko, if you are feeling unwell, go back first."

With those eyes of his, Yoriichi could clearly see Yuko's physical condition.

He knew all too well that his younger sister did not have much time left.

Yuko shook her head. "I'm fine."

In fact, she rather liked summer.

Yuko's constitution was somewhat unusual. She had been born fond of the cold and unafraid of heat. Perhaps that was also why she had successfully mastered Snow Breathing.

Yoriichi gave a slight nod, understanding his sister's thoughtfulness, and continued speaking to his wife.

Just as Yuko was about to move her legs, which had grown slightly numb from kneeling for so long, a flash of blue suddenly entered the corner of her eye.

Yuko instinctively turned to look. Right beside Uta's grave, several blooming blue flowers swayed in the breeze.

Was this... a Spider Lily?

But why was it blue?

And had these flowers been there just now? How had she failed to notice them?

A Blue Spider Lily...

A fragment of her memories from her previous life suddenly flashed through Yuko's mind.

She seemed to have seen this term somewhere before...

It was...

Yuko's eyes widened slightly. She remembered!

The Blue Spider Lily that Muzan had been searching for, the one that could overcome sunlight—she had seen it mentioned in the comments!

Then inspiration struck her.

No wonder Nezuko could overcome sunlight. It was because this thing grew near their home!

Had no demon passed through here over the past several hundred years?

And the worthless boss still had not discovered it.

Suddenly.

???

What the hell?

Yuko was stunned.

The Blue Spider Lily, which had been blooming brilliantly just a moment ago, actually withered and faded within a few breaths, leaving behind stems resembling ephedra.

She instinctively reached out to touch it. It had really withered.

Right before her eyes.

For no apparent reason.

What was the principle behind this?

No wonder that worthless boss could not find it. This flower was rather miraculous.

"Yuko, what is it?" After paying respects to his wife, Yoriichi turned around and saw his sister staring blankly at several ephedra-like stems.

"N-nothing."

"Then let's go."

"Mm."

Yuko hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she did not break it off.

She did not know whether this flower existed only here. If it did, then it could indeed shatter that worthless boss's dream of basking in the sunlight.

But if it did not...

Then Nezuko would be doomed.

She was a talentless person. In the end, she had not managed to change anything.

Whether it was ending Muzan in this era or saving Kokushibo.

She had accomplished nothing.

But she knew that Tanjiro and Nezuko would definitely be able to defeat Muzan.

As an outsider, she could not cause any more trouble for this world.

After taking one last look at the Blue Spider Lily that resembled ephedra, Yuko followed Yoriichi away.