The sounds of laughter and chasing rang out...
Unfortunately, Roy was the only one who got to enjoy them.
"Glug, glug..."
The water boiled, pushing the kettle lid up.
Tanjiro was quick to lift the kettle off the fire. He poured a cup of hot tea and handed it over...
Leaning close to Roy's ear, he said, "Nii-san, why does this place feel so gloomy? It's like someone's watching us."
His father, Tanjuro, was the first person in a thousand years since their ancestor, Sumiyoshi Kamado, to enter the Transparent World. Perhaps Tanjiro had inherited his bloodline, or perhaps his ancestors were watching over him... either way, he had been blessed with an exceptionally keen sense of smell.
Years later, after training in Water Breathing, he would be able to smell the movements of Sabito's sword and anticipate his attacks, then cut through his mask. Clearly, he would have one hand reaching the edge of the Transparent World.
So it was no surprise that he could sense something was off now, just by instinct.
"What do you smell?"
"I don't know... It's a little like Uncle Minamino..."
Tanjiro's nostrils twitched. He didn't know how to describe it.
Where he couldn't see, "whoosh"—several gusts of cold wind swept in and surrounded him.
Among them were Shinsuke and Fukuda, who had been playing around...
"Whoa—"
"This kid's sense of smell is incredible..."
"Just like our master. He can pinpoint a demon's location and tell how many people it's eaten from its scent alone..."
"Looking at it this way, perhaps he'd be even better suited to learning Breathing Style than Giyu..."
Chattering excitedly, several lingering spirits were piqued by what Tanjiro had said...
They circled above his head, but not one of them recklessly tried to pass through his body...
Clearly, they understood that lingering spirits could harm the souls of the living.
"Brr..." Tanjiro sucked in a breath, wondering why it had suddenly gotten so cold.
He hurriedly hugged himself and edged closer to Roy...
Roy focused on eating his dango, washing down the last bite with a cup of hot tea. When he looked up, he noticed that the boy and girl beside Urokodaki Sakonji had glanced over in surprise...
His gaze passed calmly straight through their bodies and settled on Urokodaki Sakonji nearby.
The former Water Hashira carved the mask one stroke at a time, blending into the world around him. It was as if he existed and didn't exist at once... Unless you looked closely or sought him out deliberately, it was easy to overlook him.
This state was somewhat like Zetsu. Both involved sensing nature and blending into it, using it to diminish one's presence.
The difference was that one sealed all of one's Nen inside the body to heighten the five senses, while the other relied on decades of extraordinary skill... How much did they have in common, and how much did they differ? It was worth pondering—provided that...
He was willing to give Roy a chance to ask.
"Crack... crack..."
Wood shavings flew. At some point, Urokodaki Sakonji had switched to a different carving knife. Perhaps he wasn't used to the new one yet, or perhaps having someone watch had unsettled him. When he brought the knife down—
He missed.
The result was a crooked fox's mouth, as if it were mocking him...
What good was being able to carve, if he couldn't even protect his own students?
"Master..." Makomo crouched nearby, silently watching. Sabito stood silently beside her...
Urokodaki Sakonji froze for a few seconds, replaced the ruined mask with a fresh block of wood, and resumed carving, seemingly still unaware that someone was outside the yard.
Tanjiro was getting antsy, rubbing his hands together.
At last, the boy couldn't hold back. "Nii-san, should I go knock?"
Knock?
There wasn't even a door here.
The Hashira didn't need doors to keep demons out. They were the doors themselves.
Roy took a sip of hot tea and said unhurriedly, "If you can't sit still, go into the mountains and catch some game."
They'd eaten too many dango and could use some meat to fill them up.
"No, I'll stay here with you." Tanjiro shook his head.
He had a feeling something was wrong, and he didn't want to be separated from Nii-san.
"If you won't go, I will." Roy rose to his feet. Ignoring Tanjiro calling after him, he took two quick steps and vanished with Shadow Step.
He was simply too fast—
So fast that a shadow remained where he had been, making it seem as if he were still standing there.
"Hm?"
A cold wind blew...
Several gazes turned toward him in perfect unison, as if they'd rehearsed it beforehand... but they were still half a beat too slow, catching only Roy's "tailwind."
Fukuda let out a startled cry—
"That guy's so fast!"
"Shinsuke, did I see that right?"
Shinsuke glared at him, annoyed. "You're dead, not blind. Do I have to lend you my eyeballs to tell you whether you saw right?"
Just then, Roy returned, carrying two wild rabbits. He walked back as casually as before.
"Gasp—"
Everything was in disarray...
The flames on the bonfire danced and leapt about erratically...
The spirits that had been surrounding Tanjiro all rushed toward Roy in unison, curiously inspecting him, as if trying to see whether he had an extra leg.
They didn't dare get too close, though. As Roy walked, they automatically parted to either side, leaving a path that ended at—
Sabito, gripping his katana!
"If you'd been that fast back then, you wouldn't have died, would you?" Makomo stood up, her beautiful eyes shining as they reflected Roy's figure. She could hardly believe it.
Sabito fell silent...
It was true. If he'd had that kind of speed back then, he could have escaped easily, even if he couldn't win. But...
Could he really have run away? And what would have happened to Giyu afterward? Back then, Giyu had been a timid crybaby... Facing that thing, he probably wouldn't even have been able to hold his sword.
Sabito shook his head with a wry smile, then turned to look at Makomo. Changing the subject, he said earnestly, "This time, I really think there's a good chance."
"Hmmmm... Let's watch them eat first."
The fire melted the snowflakes, sending waves of heat into the surrounding air...
Roy took an ax from his waist and used the hot water they'd just boiled to prepare the rabbits...
Roy and Tanjiro each skewered one on a wooden stick and roasted them over the fire...
"Drip... sizzle..." Fat melted into oil and dripped down, feeding the flames... Before long, both rabbits were roasted until they glistened with grease, looking utterly mouthwatering...
Unfortunately, they had no cumin... no barbecue seasoning... and the freezing weather made it impossible to find scallions or ginger to marinate them... The only seasoning they had was a small jar of salt that Tanjiro found in his basket...
Even so, they attracted quite a few "hungry ghosts"...
Fukuda, for one. Shinsuke, too. And Makomo...
The little girl stared at the roasted rabbit in Roy's hand without looking away. She licked her lips and said to Sabito, "Hey, Sabito, think of something... I want some."
"What can I do?"
"You're the one who said we should 'watch' them eat."
Sabito was at a loss for words. He simply chose to keep quiet, but the corner of his eye caught a brief glint...
"If you don't rub oil on the rabbits and marinate them first, they'll taste gamey. If you two don't mind, come inside with me. I'll prepare them."
Urokodaki Sakonji had appeared beside the bonfire at some point...
The broken fox mask lay quietly on the tree stump where he had tossed it...
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