The Art of Letting Go x Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Bewilderment

Roy paused slightly, standing in the dense forest, letting the sunlight filter through the green leaves, casting dappled patterns of light that draped him in a mottled sun-kissed garment.

Thinking back to when I first entered the world of Demon Slayer, returning home with Tanjiro, my heart was filled with turbulent emotions, like the surging tide... With another step, I took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the small courtyard surrounded by a fence made of wooden stakes...

"The sound of footsteps grew closer..."

A series of light footsteps stretched out from the dense forest. At one moment, hearing the noise, Takeo and Shigeru, who were playing with spinning tops in the yard, thought Tanjiro and called out, "Tanjiro- nii- Nii-san." Turning around, they were met with Roy's warm and gentle eyes.

Two little creatures, each holding a whip made of hemp straw.

It fell to the ground with a "thud".

"Big brother!"

"It's the eldest brother!"

Excitement, agitation, and disbelief transformed into a slowly dissipating Nen Qi above my head, spreading out a magnificent crimson glow!

Takeo and Shigeru yelled and screamed, abandoning their spinning tops, and charged towards Roy like the wind. In their panic, Shigeru tripped over a stone, screaming and falling to the ground.

Unexpectedly, a leaf fell, a gentle breeze arose, and as Roy activated [Wind Breathing], it swirled and carried Mao to his side. Mao, with his small head full of confusion, was clearly stunned for a moment. Then, regaining his senses, he looked up at Roy, who was a full head taller than Tanjiro, and stretched out his arms to hug Roy's leg. "Big brother... I missed you so much!"

"Big brother, me too... I missed you too!" Mao hugged his left thigh, and before Roy could glare at the two of them, Takeo followed Mao and pounced on him, his two little hands tumbling over to grab his right leg.

The commotion grew louder and louder... Roy stood at the doorway, the three little ones hanging from his arm, smiling as he looked into the yard.

Nezuko, her grandmother, and a little girl with two tiny pigtails on her head, who was just learning to speak, stumbled out, being led by the two of them... "Nezuko, Grandma, Delia..."

"Eiichiro Nii-san,"

"Good boy,"

"Eee-yah-yah~"

Delia timidly hid behind her grandmother, clearly a little shy... Seeing this, Roy squatted down, clapped his hands at her, and said, "Come here, Delia, come into your big brother's arms."

Behind them, Tanjiro slid down, smiling as he listened and watched. Grandma encouraged Delia, and Nezuko, along with Hanako, was embraced by Roy. Soft, trembling sobs could be heard— Nezuko's tears of longing.

Roy didn't speak, but gently stroked the girl's forehead, offering silent comfort. Then, in the wooden house on the east side of the courtyard, the kitchen curtain was lifted, revealing Kie wrapped in a headscarf. Roy squatted down, grinned at her, and said, "Mother, I'm back."

Kie, wearing an apron, her hands still sticky with bits of steamed rice, paused for a moment, then her eyes suddenly reddened... "You're back... it's good you're back... it's good you're back..."

"Anada (husband),"

"Eiichiro is back..."

A series of violent coughs echoed from the main house, and a thin, wiry figure slowly emerged. His right hand was clenched into a fist and placed to his mouth, desperately suppressing the discomfort in his lungs. Despite it being summer, a blanket was still draped over his shoulders. Leaning against the doorframe, he smiled... Father and son, as if in perfect unison, nodded to each other. In that instant, it seemed as if nothing was said, yet everything was understood without words.

"You're back."

"You're back."

"Come inside."

"Um."

Roy stood up, with Takeo and Shigeru hanging on either side of his legs, one arm around Delia and the other holding Nezuko's hand. Behind him followed Tanjiro, who was carefully unloading the baskets from his older brother. He slowly walked towards the main house...

"Hehehe. Good boy, go talk to your father, I'll go help your mother." With her white hair streaked with silver, Grandma hunched over, stepping aside to make way for the Sun-Earring Boy, then turned and hobbled towards the kitchen.

At the kitchen doorway, Kie, holding up the kitchen curtain, wiped away her tears and smiled at Roy, saying, "We're having sushi today. The day before yesterday, I asked Tanjiro to buy a live fish at the market, but it hasn't been killed yet. It's been kept in a tank, and I'll kill it later."

Roy readily agreed, "Great, I just happened to be passing by the market and bought some things there too."

As he spoke, he led a few children to sit down on the main house's long corridor. With a thought, he summoned the [Sumeru Mustard Seed], reached into it, and pulled out many things as if by magic, leaving Tanjiro, Takeo, Shigeru, Nezuko, and the others in a daze.

New clothes were bought for Nezuko, Takeo, and Shigeru.

There was a bamboo windmill that I bought for Delia.

There was fabric for my mother, father, and grandmother.

I bought some snacks for the kids.

Meat, rice, oil... a huge pile of stuff he'd bought for his family was stacked up like a small mountain in front of everyone, leaving them speechless! "Nii-san, you... you emptied the market?!"

"How did you bring all this back?"

"Oh my god!"

Too many... too many... a dazzling array, I can't take it all in!

Roy smiled without explaining, then flipped his hand and pulled out a [Nen Artifact wooden Sumeru Mustard Seed] that he had carved for Tanjiro beforehand, tossing it to him.

Thanks to money, Roy now has his own unique understanding and knowledge of how to successfully [enchant] objects. This [Nen Artifact wooden sword] is imbued with some of his understanding of Sword Path. How much Tanjiro will be able to understand in the future depends on his diligence and talent.

With a "whoosh," the sword was in his hand, Tanjiro's eyes lit up noticeably. He held the sword with obvious affection, looking at it from left to right, his eyes no longer seeing anything else.

Just then, Takeo shouted, "I know, Nii-san... Everyone says you're a god. Indeed, only a god could conjure up such a huge pile of things, right?"

Who said that?

"Tanjiro- Nii-san said it." Shigeru's little eyes sparkled as he stared intently at Roy, pointing to Tanjiro beside him and complaining to Roy, "Nii-san said all the old ladies and aunties at the market are saying that..."

Tanjiro reluctantly tore his gaze away from the [Nen Artifact, wooden sword], scratching the back of his head sheepishly, and said, "Everyone saw it; I wasn't making this up."

Roy reached out and took the teacup from his father, Tanjuro, took a small sip, and said ambiguously, "If they say so, then so be it." Takeo and Shigeru yelled excitedly and were about to jump up and circle around Roy, but Nezuko glared at them and grabbed their ears.

It seems that with his older brother away, Nezuko, his older sister, has been quite "disciplining" the two of them.

Roy watched this scene with a smile, then turned off [Sumeru Mustard Seed] and slowly took out several boxes of medicine from his pocket. He sorted them according to the dosage instructions and placed them in front of Tanjuro.

The Sun-Earring Boy, his long, fiery red hair swaying in the wind, smiled at Tanjuro and said, "Father, medicine... medicine that can cure your illness." The wooden corridor immediately fell silent.

Tanjiro and Nezuko shuddered. Takeo and Shigeru, whose ears were being pulled, stopped making a fuss. Even the youngest, Delia, clutching her bamboo windmill, lay on the wooden floor covered with a velvet carpet, looking up at him and then at him, obediently remaining silent.

Finally, Tanjuro remained, sitting cross-legged in front of the low table, looking down at the medicine. His pupils showed ripples of emotion, and his breathing became noticeably rapid... Clearly, his heart was in great turmoil!

He still remembers that snowy night.

Right behind the house,

The moment he handed the Sun-Earring Boy the Hanafuda Earrings passed down for hundreds of years in the Kamado family,

The Sun-Earring Boy confidently told him, "He will definitely find a way to cure him."

Now... he really did it...

The man covered his mouth, desperately trying to suppress a cough. He looked up, staring blankly at the Hanafuda Earrings dangling from the Sun-Earring Boy's ears, fluttering with his long, fiery red hair... He heard Kie and her mother approach, carrying sushi, fried fish fillets, and miso soup.

Without questioning the efficacy of these drugs, nor asking Roy where they came from,

A slight smile played at the corners of her lips as she looked at the Sun-Earring Boy gently and said, "These earrings have been chosen for the right person."

A surge of emotion welled up in Roy's heart, and in the shadows, he seemed to see Roy Tsugikuni Yoriichi. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "To borrow the words of a certain senior, Father, I have ultimately fulfilled my mission."

"I have fulfilled my mission." Tanjuro, whose long, fiery red hair was also draped behind his head, paused slightly, then smiled... Just then, Kie and Grandma arrived, "Dinner's ready."

Roy and Tanjuro exchanged a smile. Roy instructed Tanjiro to cut up some cooked food he had bought and make a platter. Roy watched silently as the Sun-Earring Boy directed the meal with composure, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

soon,

The dishes are all ready.

Everyone is here.

On this sunny and breezy midday, we enjoyed a sumptuous meal.

After the meal,

Grandma took Delia for a nap.

Nezuko, along with Takeo and Shigeru, dealt with the gifts Roy had brought.

Mother Kie cleared away the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash.

In the blink of an eye,

Roy then stayed with Tanjuro, talking and playing with the children for a while, until the sun began to set and night fell. Only then did Roy get up, tease Delia for a bit, letting her scratch his face with her chubby little hands, and turn to Tanjuro, saying, "Father, goodnight."

Then, carrying Takeo and Shigeru in each hand, and with Tanjiro, they returned to the west wing and went to sleep on that familiar communal bed.

"Tread... tread..." The tall figure of the Sun-Earring Boy walked ahead, with the slightly smaller Tanjiro following behind, and two other little ones hopping and skipping beside him. Under the moonlight, their shadows intertwined and were reflected in Tanjuro's eyes.

The man stared intently.

Until the door opened, closed, and shut again,

A hint of melancholy surfaced deep in his eyes.

The door creaked shut, separating the father and son, creating two separate worlds.

On a summer night, a mountain breeze rises, carrying the fragrance of earth and dispelling the daytime heat.

Roy, with his back to the door, could clearly sense Tanjuro's aura outside, a somber gray... The Sun-Earring Boy stood silently for a moment, then, with a quick movement, took off his shoes and socks, climbed onto the communal bed, and quietly joked and laughed with Tanjiro, Takeo, and Shigeru for a while longer.

Watching them fall asleep,

He quietly got out of bed, and in the bright moonlight, gently pushed open the door and looked out into the main house's long corridor.

As always, Tanjuro was already seated behind the low table in the corridor, a pot of chilled tea brewed in his hand, silently waiting for him.

"Father."

"Come."

Upon hearing this, Tanjuro beckoned to Roy to sit down.

Once again, we sat facing each other across a low table, not in the cold winter, but in the already sweltering summer.

The father and son looked at each other, feeling as if everything had changed, yet nothing had changed at the same time. Neither spoke first. After a long while, Delia let out a faint, indistinct hum.

As fate would have it, the silence was broken.

Tanjuro had just Youyou handed Roy a cup of tea and asked, "Are you still leaving?"

"Yes." Roy picked up the teacup, rubbed it between his fingers, and answered honestly without drinking.

Sitting opposite each other, Tanjuro

inside the house,

A collective silence fell...

A stifling atmosphere permeated the area...

Roy took a deep breath, pretending not to see Kie eavesdropping inside, and gently touched the Curse on the back of his hand, saying solemnly, "The world's world has been pacified, but my story is far from over."

"Father, I have things to do, and I must do them,"

Please Forgive me, dear Mother!

"Eiichiro," from the inner room, Kie finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped out from the darkness with a lamp in hand.

The woman looked at Roy, then sat down next to Roy, placed the lamp on the low table, gently stroked his cheek, her eyes welling up with tears again, and said in a trembling voice, "Son, you did nothing wrong, you don't need to apologize to us."

"Since there are still things left undone, then go and do them. As long as your father and I live, we will wait for you."

"Sigh..." A long, drawn-out sigh echoed from the rafters, lingering for a long time. Tanjuro remained silent, watching and listening, saying nothing as Kie continued her rambling instructions to Roy. He drank cup after cup of tea; tonight, he knew he wouldn't get a good night's sleep. Until the mother and son finished their intimate conversation...

The man spoke softly, looking at Roy with a kind expression, "You've heard what your mother said, so I won't go on and on."

"Eiichiro," Tanjuro sat up straight, looking at the Sun-Earring Boy with an unusually serious expression, and said, "I'm different from your mother. I only have one request for you: to live."

Even if you don't come back, I don't care, as long as you're safe and sound!

[The Transparent World] appeared, and in that instant, Roy met Tanjuro's clear and serene gaze, his figure overlapping with Silva's for a moment.

Two people, clearly with completely different personalities, strengths, experiences, perceptions, and even... worlds, were seamlessly intertwined, each containing elements of the other, indistinguishable from the other... At a certain moment, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, residing within Roy's "Sword Path" and possessing only a sliver of spiritual power, couldn't help but sigh softly in the Sun-Earring Boy's heart, saying, "Eiichiro, you have a good father. Very good, very good, far better than I have... a father..."

Amidst the surge of emotions, Roy murmured to himself, "Yes, my father is a good man."

"Therefore, I will do everything in my power to fulfill my promise to them and defeat him honorably!"

Tsugikuni Yoriichi: "?!"