Miss Yuko Was More Reassuring After All

Demon Slayer was a story whose plot was nothing special, yet it became wildly popular across the internet.

What exactly made it unique?

Its characters.

Especially the protagonist, Tanjiro.

As a kindhearted male protagonist, he had no advantage at all in the current market.

What set him apart from other gentle protagonists was that the kindness and determination in his heart did not conflict with each other.

He was the kind of person who felt sorrow for demons and their circumstances, yet could also resolutely cut off the heads of evil demons.

Yuko had originally gotten into Demon Slayer because of an edited compilation of Tanjiro's gentle moments in the show.

Demon Slayer portrayed its characters with great subtlety. Compared to its plot, Yuko felt that this was the fundamental reason it had become so popular.

As Tanjiro's ancestor, Tanjiki had a personality that was almost identical to Tanjiro's.

Gentle and considerate.

So Yuko felt that they might understand her.

After breakfast, Tamiko went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and utensils.

Yuko, meanwhile, handed Miyare over to Tanjiki.

Tanjiki smiled gently. "Sorry for the trouble."

Yuko swallowed the saliva in her mouth and smiled faintly. "It's nothing. She's very cute."

Yoriichi noticed her slight abnormality, and his heart was deeply moved.

Yuko was trying her best, too...

Tanjiki carried Miyare over to the side without asking about what had happened earlier.

Yuko looked at the light pouring in through the doorway and reached out to test it.

Yoriichi promptly grabbed her hand and shook his head.

Yuko smiled gently. "It's all right."

Tanjiki watched the interaction between the two of them in confusion.

Under their gazes, Yuko slowly extended her fingertip into the light.

Sizzle~

Yuko's slender, pale fingertip seemed to have plunged into a flame, burning rapidly.

Tanjiki's expression changed abruptly. Before he could react, Yuko had already pulled her finger back.

Yuko lowered her head and looked at her finger. Almost in the blink of an eye, the charred half of it rapidly regenerated.

Under the sunlight, her regeneration had almost completely stopped.

Once she hid in the shadows, her regeneration was no longer restricted.

Seeing that Tanjiki's face was filled with shock but not fear, Yuko smiled gently.

Just as I thought, he really was a lot like Tanjiro.

Tanjiki knew that evil demons existed. The reason they had met Tanjiki was precisely because they had rescued his family from an evil demon two years ago.

So Tanjiki knew very clearly that Yuko had already become a demon.

Yuko did not offer much of an explanation. Tanjiki was silent for only a moment before returning to normal and happily telling the two of them about his family's life.

Just then, Yoriichi stared blankly at the sun climbing high in the sky.

Perhaps it was Tanjiki's thoughtfulness that prompted him to say what he did.

"I've always wanted to find someone to talk to."

Yoriichi began recounting what had happened to him since the day he was born.

Including all the little things involving his family.

He told them how he had left home and met Uta, who was just as lonely as he was, how they had lived together, and how they had become husband and wife ten years later.

When he spoke of how he had gone out to find a midwife because Uta was about to give birth, only to return too late after helping an old man he had met by the roadside find his son, causing his wife and child to die tragically at the hands of an evil demon...

Yuko finally understood what kind of grief had been hidden deep within Yoriichi's heart when he had eagerly volunteered to find a midwife after Tamiko was about to give birth to her daughter.

There was much in Yoriichi's story that Yuko had never known.

Perhaps because Yuko had been seriously ill, Yoriichi had been unable to bear making her worry and had therefore never confided in her.

But now, in front of Tanjiki and Yuko, who was no longer tormented by illness, Yoriichi finally spoke openly about his story.

"I'm afraid I was born with this talent precisely so that I could defeat Kibutsuji Muzan."

"Yet I failed. Because of my failure, countless more people will lose their lives in the future."

"I can't find peace in my heart."

He possessed such overwhelming strength, yet he had failed to protect anyone.

His wife and child, his elder brother, his younger sister...

His life had no value at all.

Yoriichi's story drew Tanjiki's attention. At some point, Miyare had crawled out of his arms and made her way to Yuko.

When she heard Yoriichi say those words, Yuko, who had been playing with Miyare, turned her head toward him.

That wasn't right.

Failing to kill Kibutsuji Muzan was not Yoriichi's fault, nor was it Yoriichi's fault that more people would die because of it in the future.

The idea that the strong should protect the weak was wrong.

It was a beautiful human moral quality, but it should not be reduced to a rule or order.

No rule stated that Yoriichi had to protect others, and the strength he possessed was not something he had wanted.

Yuko's lips moved slightly, but Miyare climbed off her lap before she could speak. She wobbled over to Yoriichi's side and tugged at his clothes.

"Hold me~"

Tanjiki seemed to want to say something comforting but did not know what. Seeing this, he hurriedly waved both hands.

"Ah, please, please hold her. She'll be very happy if you lift her up high, and you're taller than me, too..."

Yoriichi stared blankly at the delighted Miyare before following Tanjiki's instructions and lifting her high into the air.

Miyare's happy smile entered Yoriichi's eyes, and tears began to slide down the eyes of the invincible swordsman.

As expected, children really were the best medicine for the heart.

Yuko watched the scene with a tender smile.

Tanjiki also let out a sigh of relief. He unconsciously turned his head, but when he saw Yuko's face, he suddenly froze.

Yuko noticed his odd expression and could not help looking confused.

"What's wrong?"

Looking at Yuko's bewildered expression, Tanjiki opened and closed his mouth, seeming unable to say it.

Yoriichi came back to himself at the sound of their conversation. Holding Miyare in his arms, he turned his head toward them. The tears in his eyes abruptly stopped, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Yuko..."

"Hmm?"

"Your saliva... is dripping."

Yuko froze for a moment before her old face flushed bright red. She hurriedly wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth.

After a while, she lowered her head and dared not look up at anyone. In a weak voice, she said, "I'm sorry..."

Miyare was just too tempting. She had even started drooling. She was really sorry.

While holding Miyare, Yuko had actually been deliberately suppressing her own desire the entire time.

But she had never expected to become distracted for a moment by Yoriichi's experiences, causing her to lose control.

It was a little embarrassing.

After washing the dishes, Tamiko came out carrying her child on her back, only to see this scene.

"What's wrong? Why are you all looking at Miss Yuko like that?"

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were scolding someone.

Yuko lowered her head even further.

It was too embarrassing.

"Oh, right. Sorry for the trouble, Miss Yuko. Could you watch the child for me? I'm going to the woods to see if I can find any fresh chestnuts."

Yuko looked up and instinctively refused with both hands. "Ah, this..."

"Then I'll leave her to you." Without giving her a chance to refuse, Tamiko untied the young child from her back and placed her in Yuko's arms.

Tamiko smiled. "Compared to a careless grown man, Miss Yuko is more reassuring after all."

Yoriichi, Tanjiki: "..."