Kagaya Ubuyashiki remained silent.
He lowered his head, looking at his hands, at his fingers that had turned pale from the illness.
"What if... we can't make a choice?"
"Then we'll wait until you make your choice. I'm not in a hurry."
Higashino Makoto turned around, walked back to the cherry blossom tree, and sat down.
"However, I won't stay here forever. The terms I just agreed to will not be honored after this deadline."
He didn't believe anyone could resist the temptation of a loved one's resurrection, even at the so-called cost.
Besides, wasn't that price paid by the resurrected person?
In other words, if the opponent cannot be resurrected, then you don't need to pay a price.
If possible--
He believed that resurrection was possible as long as it wasn't the kind that turned one into a ghost.
That price, most people are willing to pay.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki closed his eyes.
Countless faces flashed through his mind: the team members who died in battle, the swordsmen who gave their lives for humanity, and those who would never return.
"My lord."
Kyojuro Rengoku's voice rang out, deep and restrained.
I think--
"I know."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki opened his eyes.
"Kanae Kocho."
The Flower Pillar. Shinobu Kocho's older sister. She was killed by Upper Ranks Two, Doma, several years ago.
The courtyard fell silent.
All eyes were on their lord.
"She... has been dead for several years."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's voice was very soft.
"Her body was eaten by a ghost, but her soul should still be here."
Higashino Makoto looked at him with an expression of surprise.
Oh, her!
"You know her?"
"My men have gathered intelligence on you."
Higashino Makoto's tone was flat.
"Kanae Kocho, I've heard she's very strong and also very beautiful."
He paused.
"Meets the requirements."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki stared at him for a long time.
"You... can you really bring her back to life?"
"Able."
Higashino Makoto answered without hesitation.
"But I need one of her belongings, preferably something she used frequently during her lifetime, the closer to her body, the better."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Shinobu Kocho should have it."
"Then let her come."
Higashino Makoto leaned back in his chair, his golden eyes gazing at the cherry blossom tree overhead.
"Have her bring her sister's belongings here. I'll wait here."
Shinobu Kocho arrived at headquarters in the evening.
She was wearing a black Demon Slayer Corps uniform, with a white haori over it, and Nichirin Blade hanging at her waist.
Her long black hair was piled up at the back of her head and secured with a butterfly hairpin. Her purple eyes held weariness and vigilance.
She heard that someone had broken into headquarters and defeated all the pillars.
She heard that the man claimed to be a traveler and was looking for a guide. She heard that...
That person said they could resurrect the dead.
I heard that person can easily change the celestial phenomena.
She didn't believe it.
But she still came.
Because that person said they needed her sister's belongings.
"My lord."
She walked up to Kagaya Ubuyashiki and knelt down on one knee.
"I am coming."
Get up.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's voice was weak, but carried a rare gentleness.
That person is waiting for you.
Shinobu Kocho stood up, turned around, and looked at the man sitting under the cherry blossom tree.
Long silver hair, golden eyes, and a dark robe.
Beside him sat a girl with pink hair and purple eyes, dressed in a black kimono, with a black tail swaying gently behind her.
"You're Higashino Makoto?"
"I am."
Higashino Makoto looked up at her.
Did you bring your sister's belongings?
Shinobu Kocho took out a butterfly hair ornament from her bosom. It was silver-white, with pale blue gemstones inlaid on its wings.
That was her sister's favorite thing when she was alive.
"This is..."
That's enough.
Higashino Makoto stood up, walked up to her, and took the hair ornament.
Then he closed his eyes.
"Muninn."
A raven flew out from the tattoo near his ear and landed on his shoulder.
"Grown ups."
"Exploring the soul of Kanae Kocho."
"Yes, sir."
Muninn closed her eyes.
Its body began to glow.
Light emanated from its body, spreading in all directions and enveloping the entire courtyard.
A few seconds later, Huginn opened his eyes.
"Found her. She's right next to her."
Higashino Makoto opened his eyes and looked at Shinobu Kocho.
"Your sister's soul is with you."
Shinobu Kocho's pupils contracted slightly.
"What?"
She's always been by your side.
Higashino Makoto's voice was calm.
"She's been there since the day she died. You just can't see her, you can't hear her."
Shinobu Kocho's lips trembled.
"You... you're lying--"
I didn't lie.
Higashino Makoto raised his hand, and a pale golden light appeared in his palm.
"I'll bring her back to life, you'll see then. Oh, and cooperate a little."
What kind of cooperation?
"Find a private room. Don't move, don't speak, be quiet. Also, prepare some clothes; resurrected souls don't come with clothes."
Shinobu Kocho bit her lip, nodded, and borrowed a set of clothes and a private room.
Higashino Makoto closed his eyes.
Light emanated from his palm, enveloping the butterfly hair ornament.
The hair ornament began to glow, and within the light, a figure slowly emerged.
The figure of a woman.
Her face was delicate and gentle, with a faint smile on her lips.
Long black hair, a voluptuous figure, and...
Higashino Makoto completely ignored Shinobu's Shinobu Kocho expression and brazenly sized her up for a few moments until she finished dressing.
Kanae Kocho.
Tears welled up in Shinobu Kocho's eyes.
She didn't cry out loud.
She didn't move. She just stood there, watching the figure become clearer and clearer, more and more real.
"Tolerate..."
Kanae Kocho opened her eyes, her purple eyes looking at her younger sister.
"You... have grown up."
Shinobu Kocho finally couldn't hold back anymore. She threw herself into her sister's arms and cried like a child.
"Sister... Sister... You're back... You're really back..."
Kanae Kocho hugged her and gently patted her back.
"I'm back."
Her voice was soft, with a slight hoarseness.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long."
Shinobu Kocho crying in her arms for a long time.
It was long enough for the sun to sink below the horizon, for the moon to rise, and for the lanterns in the courtyard to light up one by one.
Higashino Makoto stood aside, watching this scene, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion.
"Cheng-san."
Momo walked to his side, her tail gently wrapping around his wrist.
"Um."
Are you... happy?
Higashino Makoto was silent for a moment.
"Good."
You're smiling.
Higashino Makoto reached out and touched the corner of his mouth. He was indeed smiling.
"... Okay, a little."
Momo's lips curled up slightly.
She held Higashino Makoto's hand, looking at him with her purple eyes.
"Makoto-san, you are so kind."
"I'm just a womanizer."
Higashino Makoto glanced at her, then chuckled softly.
Momo smiled.
The moonlight spilled into the courtyard, turning everything silvery-white.
Cherry blossoms drifted down in the wind, like pink snowflakes.
The butterfly sisters hugged each other, one crying, the other laughing.
And those pillars standing around, those swordsmen wielding knives, those who had once despaired, been angry, and struggled—
Everyone was watching this scene.
Looking at a dead person, and standing before them again.
They watched as an impossible miracle unfolded before their very eyes.
Looking at the man who called himself "the traveler," his golden eyes shimmered softly in the moonlight.
"Higashino Makoto..."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki murmured the name.