You Sleep Outside Tonight!

Mount Peach Town.

The town was as quiet and peaceful as ever. Unlike the Imperial Capital, this remote little town had no electricity, and its people still lived by leaving early and returning late.

Prosperity had its own bustle; remoteness had its own humble warmth.

Hiruma walked along the town streets, feeling at ease. He knew the people here, and more importantly, his only family was here.

"Hiruma, long time no see!"

"Yeah, I'm back, Grandma Shizuko!"

"Hiruma, want to work for me? I'll pay you double!" Uncle Yamamoto made his eight hundred and seventieth invitation.

"No."

"Ah—"

"You rejected me so cleanly. It hurts!" Uncle Yamamoto clutched his head, his face full of regret.

Rengoku Shinjuro had taken Obanai Iguro and the Kocho sisters back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters. Hiruma had originally planned to go too, but he decided to come back and see the old man first.

After greeting the familiar faces in town, he left and bought a huge pile of delicious food along the way, spending all the money the old man had given him.

"Hiruma!"

In a daze, Hiruma heard a familiar voice, like a blazing fire stirring his heart.

"Ah, how could that be?"

"I'm hearing things. I must be starving!"

He muttered to himself and finished the tempura shrimp in his hand in a few bites.

"Hiruma!"

Shinobu Kocho's voice rang out again. Hiruma turned his head—and froze.

The distant sky had been dyed orange-red and purple, like a massive oil painting.

The afterglow of the setting sun hung down from the distant horizon like golden threads, spilling across the earth. Every ray carried a warm, gentle light, illuminating everything around it.

Beneath the gentle sunset stood a girl as exquisite as a porcelain doll. Her hands were behind her back, and her chest rose and fell slightly. It seemed she had jogged over.

The tips of her purple hair fluttered in the wind. Her lively purple eyes were fixed on Hiruma, and a brilliant, straightforward smile rested on her lips.

It was Shinobu Kocho. As an extreme sister-con, she had not gone to headquarters with the main group. After a hurried farewell, she had chased after him to Mount Peach Town.

She wanted to see the peach blossoms that Hiruma had described as covering the mountains, and even more, she wanted to see his home.

"What? Aren't you happy to have me at your house?" she asked when Hiruma said nothing.

Holy crap!

This wasn't a dream. Shinobu was standing right there. Alive.

Hahaha! (??ω??)

"No, no, no!"

Hiruma hurriedly waved his hands. Happiness had come too suddenly, and he was overwhelmed by the favor.

"Welcome! You're more than welcome!"

"It's just that you came at the wrong time of year. The peach blossoms have long since fallen!"

"If you come again in autumn, you can eat peaches!"

The two walked shoulder to shoulder toward Peach Mountain. Hiruma chattered like a little sparrow, sharing everything he knew about Peach Mountain.

Shinobu was like a quiet little lamb, only asking a question now and then.

"Oh, right. Is it okay for you to leave Megumi?" Hiruma asked. Although they were the same age, Kanae was a few months older than him, so he naturally called her Sister Megumi.

Shinobu folded her arms and complained, "Do I look like some brat who can't live without her sister?"

"That's true. There's no doubt about it!" Hiruma nodded with utmost seriousness, saying it naturally without even realizing what he had said.

"Hm?" Shinobu clenched her tiny fist and glared at Hiruma indignantly. I left my sister to come find you, and you're calling me a brat who can't live without her sister?

Oh crap!

What did I just say? It's all the plot's fault. Thinking quickly, Hiruma chose a scapegoat.

"Obanai said you're Sister Megumi's little tagalong, an extreme sister-con!"

"He said it all!"

At that very moment, Obanai, who was traveling on the road, sneezed. That idiot Hiruma must be secretly badmouthing me again. Damn it!

Shinobu burst into laughter at the sight, her smile blooming like a flower.

"Then it's all Obanai's fault!"

"Right, right!"

"It was all Obanai!" Hiruma nodded like a pecking chicken. When there was no danger, that was what good brothers were for.

As the saying went, brothers were raised for a lifetime and used when the time came.

Before they knew it, the two arrived at the wooden cabin halfway up the mountain.

Kuwajima Jigoro sat in front of the door, leisurely smoking as his pipe swayed rhythmically.

The moment his disciple came into view, Jigoro Kuwajima was thrilled beyond measure, though he did not show it.

That was until Shinobu stepped out from behind his beloved disciple. The old man was so startled that he fell out of his recliner.

"Ow, my back!"

The old man cried out miserably, but he paid it no mind. There was only one question he cared about.

A girl?

How had that rebellious disciple of his gone out and come back with a girl?

In Jigoro Kuwajima's imagination, Hiruma was a big bad wolf, while Shinobu was a weak, pitiful, helpless little white rabbit.

After living together for so many years, the old man simply could not imagine anyone making his disciple suffer.

So he immediately jumped to his own conclusion.

"Grandpa, are you all right?"

Upholding a physician's principles of healing the sick and saving lives, Shinobu helped Hiruma pull the old man to his feet.

"Old man, I know you missed me, but you didn't have to get this excited, right?"

Hiruma's heart felt warm. The old man still cared about me after all.

"You brat, how did you trick and abduct this young lady back here?" The old man greeted Hiruma with a glare and a doubtful look.

"Grandpa, that's not it. I came here on my own!"

"Please sit down. I'll rub your back. My family has practiced medicine for generations—it's very effective!"

Shinobu's sweet voice rang out, and the old man felt like flowers were blooming in his heart. What a wonderful girl.

Eh?

No, wait. She came back on her own.

He glanced at the bewildered Hiruma. Besides the helpless feeling of a flower stuck in cow dung, he also felt proud that the child had grown up.

Such a little kid already knew how to find himself a child bride.

Damn it, who taught him that? It definitely wasn't me.

Hiruma: "???"

Watching the old man's incredibly complicated expression shift, Hiruma found it difficult to imagine what had happened.

"Grandpa, my name is Shinobu Kocho. We really are friends!"

"Hiruma talks about you all the time. He misses you very much!"

"Good, good, good!"

"So you're friends. Not bad, not bad!"

Jigoro Kuwajima nodded with a gratified look. He looked at Hiruma and waved a hand. "What are you standing around for? Go into town and buy something tasty to entertain our guest!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Hiruma left with a gloomy expression. Had the old man been possessed by a demon? He was being way too kind. I'm not used to it.

Still, it looked like the old man was very satisfied with Shinobu, which put Hiruma at ease.

A short while later, Hiruma returned to the cabin carrying bags upon bags of food. He saw a familiar pile of bedding stacked by the door.

"Hm?"

"Isn't that mine?"

Just then, the old man came out carrying a pillow. He glanced at his disciple and said,

"You sleep outside tonight. That girl will sleep in your room!"

Hiruma: (′-﹏-`;)

Of course, the old man had merely brought Hiruma's bedding out to air it. How could he possibly make his disciple sleep outside?

He just liked saying things like that.