Heart Unbound

"Tendo, you..."

Looking into Hiruma's eyes, Shinobu Kocho was unable to speak. Or perhaps she simply did not know what to say. Her feelings were complicated.

Beyond hatred, there was another emotion, like a seed on the verge of withering receiving sweet rain. Yet she did not understand that feeling now.

"Mr. Tendo, why would you do so much for us?"

Unlike her younger sister, Kanae Kocho felt more gratitude than confusion. After all, she had dreamed of killing the one responsible for their parents' deaths.

"I just like meddling in other people's business. Go do what you want to do!"

As a transmigrator, Hiruma's feelings were the most complicated of all. He knew where the story was headed, what these people were thinking, and what regrets they carried.

Perhaps making up for those regrets was the mission that had brought him into this world.

The path to salvation lay within it.

Shinobu Kocho took the Nichirin Blade that was still dripping blood. Her hand trembled as the pungent smell of blood flooded her nose, making her cough violently.

But a warm hand clasped her little hand. It was Kanae. An elder sister was like a mother.

"Shinobu, let's get our revenge!"

"Yeah!"

The Kocho sisters' gazes hardened. Hand in hand, they walked toward Bakotsu's mangled corpse. At last, they no longer had to bury their rage within their hearts.

"To kill a Demon, you have to cut off its head!" Hiruma reminded them.

Standing before the Demon that had killed her parents, Shinobu Kocho saw scenes from that rainy night two years ago flash before her eyes. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Rain fell without end, and the sky was so overcast it seemed ready to collapse.

A blood-soaked man stood before Bakotsu. Behind him lay the ruins of what had once been a home.

He gripped a bloodstained kitchen knife tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with determination and defiance. His body trembled slightly, every breath looking painfully difficult, as though he would collapse at any moment.

Even though his breath had grown so weak it was nearly imperceptible, he still refused to fall.

A closer look revealed more than a dozen deep, bloody holes in his body, blood continuously pouring from the wounds.

"Interesting. If you can take one more hit from me without falling, I might consider sparing them!"

"Monster, come on!"

The man laughed as he coughed up blood. From the corner of his eye, he saw his wife and daughters already running far away. As long as they escaped, it did not matter whether he lived or died.

He only wanted them to live.

The next second, the Spine Bone Whip flew past the man's ear, slicing off his ear along the way.

At the same time, a hand strike pierced through his heart.

In the distance, Shinobu Kocho, hiding in her mother's arms, saw it all. She nearly cried herself hoarse.

Driven by a mother's instinct, the woman shoved Kanae away and pushed Shinobu Kocho into her arms.

"Eldest, Second, live on!"

"Run!"

The Spine Bone Whip pierced the woman's chest. Warm blood splashed across Shinobu Kocho's face, and her mind went blank in an instant.

Bakotsu said with a playful smile, "Looks like you're going to fall. Your wife and daughters are as good as dead!"

But the man could no longer hear its mockery. He had stopped breathing, yet his arms still clamped tightly around Bakotsu's arm, his nails digging into its flesh.

"Damn it!"

A look of disgust appeared on Bakotsu's face as he threw a hard punch, unleashing immense power in an instant.

With that punch, the man's body was shattered outright. Half his body turned into a pool of blood and splattered across the ground.

Bakotsu watched the scene, a flash of disdain and coldness passing through his eyes.

When it came back to its senses, the Kocho sisters had disappeared. They had escaped, carrying their parents' final hope with them.

It strolled forward unhurriedly. Suddenly, the Kocho sisters' mother wrapped her arms around its legs. It was a mother's final strength.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, as though it would drown the entire world. The sounds of tearing flesh and chewing blended into the rain.

A bloody curtain of rain destroyed a happy family of four.

Soon, the heavy rain swallowed the whole world.

Yet a blade cut through the curtain of rain, and severed the past as well.

Kanae Kocho stood behind her younger sister, both hands wrapped around Shinobu's. Shinobu Kocho clutched the blade that was still dripping blood.

Bakotsu had been beheaded, its remaining body dissolving. Its gaze did not rest on the Kocho sisters who had killed it, but fell upon someone in the distance.

Tendo Hiruma stood there.

With their great vengeance repaid, the knot in their hearts would slowly unravel.

The Kocho sisters collapsed onto the ground. With a clang, the blade fell from their hands.

"Dad, Mom, we got revenge!"

In the silent night, a bright full moon hung in the sky, casting down a soft glow.

The Kocho sisters held each other tightly, tears bursting forth like a breached dam as they released years of suppressed pain and fury.

Their bodies trembled slightly, their sobs intertwining and echoing throughout the wilderness.

Shinobu Kocho sobbed, "Sis... Sister, we... finally got revenge!"

Kanae Kocho suppressed her sobs and gently stroked Shinobu Kocho's hair, consoling her softly. "Shinobu... we got revenge... From now on, smile more... Live on for Mom and Dad too!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's live on together!"

As time passed, their crying gradually subsided, replaced by relief and tranquility.

Iguro Obanai silently watched the scene before him. He had not expected these sisters to be victims of Demons.

Demons really deserved to die!

He looked at Hiruma again and thought, This guy did that on purpose. Why do I have the feeling that he knows something?

Faced with Iguro Obanai's scrutinizing gaze, Hiruma turned his head away and whistled nonchalantly.

Holy shit!

Could that guy Obanai be lusting after my body?

Did his preferences get messed up because I changed the storyline?

No way, no way!

Iguro Obanai: "???"

After calming down, Shinobu Kocho picked up the blade and personally handed it to Hiruma. For the fourth time, she smiled at someone other than her sister.

"Hiruma, thank you. You're a good person, the best person in the world!"

Oh yeah!

Hiruma jumped up happily because Shinobu had finally called him by name.

And so, this guy had already started thinking of names for their future children.

Shinobu Kocho: "???"

Kanae Kocho: "???"

Iguro Obanai: "You're insane!"

Kanae pulled Shinobu into a solemn bow. Their great vengeance had been repaid entirely thanks to Mr. Tendo.

"Hiruma, thank you so much!"

As she spoke, she was about to pull Shinobu down to kneel, but Hiruma stopped them in time.

"Forget that. I told you, it's really nothing!"

After thanking Hiruma, the Kocho sisters thanked Iguro Obanai as well. After all, he had helped too.

The sudden gesture made Iguro Obanai panic a little. He clearly had not done anything.

"I didn't do anything. Forget the thanks!"

"By the way, what are you two planning to do from now on? Your house has been destroyed too!"

"Like you, I was harmed by Demons. I joined the Demon Slayer Corps."

"I plan to wipe out every last one of those things!"

"Are you interested in joining us?"

Iguro Obanai had always remembered Hiruma's original goal. He wanted to take these sisters with him, especially that little skinny runt, so Iguro simply brought it up for him.