The two brothers

Even with his thick fur-collared cloak shielding him snugly from the wind and snow, Kagaya still coughed a little after returning indoors.

Amane handed him a bowl of medicinal broth. He frowned and drained it in one gulp.

"One year from now, whatever your rank, come to headquarters-and become a Hashira."

Kagaya patted his shoulder. "Stay for a meal."

Haruto was just about to agree when Cang Kong began circling in the sky outside.

"Looks like I can't." He walked outside to shake the water off his straw rain cape.

"In snow this heavy?" Kagaya had Amane fetch him a waterproof coat. "Times are changing. Don't live like an old stick-in-the-mud."

A young man from the twenty-first century being called an old stick-in-the-mud by someone from the early twentieth-that had to be a first.

Haruto accepted the waterproof coat, which resembled a military raincoat, and couldn't help defending himself. "I just can't tell..."

To him, there really wasn't much difference between the twentieth century and the fifteenth.

Ordinary people still wore handmade wooden clogs and hemp clothing, and lit fires with flint and steel or matches.

Yet wealthy households already had electricity.

In this era where a new century intertwined with the old ways, all he could do was let the tide of history carry him forward.

After recovering, Haruto found himself growing busy. Headquarters seemed determined to make him catch up on all the "shifts" he had missed during his rest, bombarding him with assignments.

Often, he would barely finish a mission in one place before Cang Kong flapped down onto his shoulder to guide him to the next.

Did demons have to hit their targets over New Year's too?

Were they barred from Muzan Kibutsuji's annual company party if they failed to meet their yearly KPIs?

This New Year was the only one in Haruto's sixteen years that he hadn't spent with Master Godogawa. He hadn't even seen anyone from Urokodaki's household.

But that was all right. Over his busy New Year, he killed many demons and allowed many families to reunite.

The Wisteria House also provided dinner for the swordsmen busy working away from home, and he even ran into Murata there.

The boy with the center-parted hair was as lively as ever. Haruto stared at his smooth hair, hoping to get some hair-care tips for Makomo.

"Aw, hahaha." The boy cheerfully scratched his head. "It's camellia oil. Rub some in every day, then wash it out, and your hair will be really smooth."

"Ever since Murata's girlfriend complimented it, he's spent ages fussing over his hair every day."

A fellow swordsman beside him teased him, but Murata kept grinning happily.

A girlfriend...

The corner of Haruto's mouth twitched. He could almost hear Godogawa roaring in his ears.

Once March had passed, temperatures in Tokyo Prefecture rose quickly.

Almost overnight, everyone shed their heavy padded clothes and changed into light Haori and kimono.

After dealing with a vicious demon near Kyobashi Ward, Haruto searched the streets for somewhere to eat as dusk fell.

"Genya, someone stabbed Dad to death."

Haruto turned his gaze away from a street-side food stall and looked at the pair of brothers walking ahead, pulling a wooden cart.

They were brothers, but they didn't look particularly alike.

The boy pulling the cart was taller, with a head of tousled yet stylish silver hair. He wore a shabby striped Haori, and his steps remained steady despite the heavy wooden cart behind him.

The boy beside him carried a bundle on his back and sported a strange, dark-colored Cresthead. He looked a little goofy as he turned to his older brother.

Haruto had expected to hear something like "Let's avenge him" or "We'll make that bastard pay in blood" from the brothers. Instead, the silver-haired boy fell silent for a moment before saying, "From now on... we'll be the ones protecting everyone.

"It's better off dead, a beast like that."

Cresthead looked dazed, and even the bundle on his back began slipping down.

"Hey, hold your things properly."

"Oh, right." He hitched his shoulders, still looking a little goofy.

"But everyone will still feel uneasy without Dad," the silver-haired boy said. "Koto asked me today why Dad hadn't come home, and Sumi and Sadako keep watching our reactions... They're still so little. Some kid must have said something while they were out playing. So..."

He turned to look his younger brother in the eyes. "From now on, we'll take care of Mom and our little brothers and sisters. Any objections?"

Only then did Cresthead snap out of his daze and snort. "What do you mean, 'from now on'? It's still going to be down to us, just like before. He..."

Seeming to feel that discussing his dead father out in public wasn't appropriate, he gave a childish huff and said no more.

The silver-haired boy froze, then broke into a brilliant smile.

A smile tugged at Haruto's lips too, though he wondered just how badly a father had to fail for his children to see him as nothing more than a symbol of stability in the household.

Still, with such a sensible pair of brothers, their family was probably happy and harmonious.

As he thought that, Haruto's eyes suddenly lit up.

Oh, a sukiyaki restaurant.

Fresh beef mingled with that rich aroma of sauce, plus all kinds of fresh vegetables-it had to be delicious.

He rubbed his stomach and went inside.

By the time the smiling owner saw him out, it was completely dark.

Haruto cradled his belly, thoroughly satisfied, while the equally satisfied owner prepared to close up.

I'll find somewhere to stay here and head back to Mount Sagiri tomorrow morning.

Just as he thought that, Haruto's faintly extended starry-sky awareness gave him an unusual response.

His hand instantly tightened around the sword hilt at his waist, and Haruto's presence grew sharp.

The presence of a demon.

And it was coming from... the residential area to the east!

Haruto leaped swiftly between the wooden buildings. Through his flickering starry-sky awareness, he saw a tangle of fighting figures smash through a wooden railing and tumble out of a house.

It was that... silver-haired boy from this evening!

Sanemi Shinazugawa gripped a hatchet tightly as he fought the creature before him, something between a human and a beast.

How could this happen! How could this happen!

Blood vessels crept across the whites of his eyes. The thought of the scene inside the house filled him with such despair that he could almost have wept blood.

Mom hadn't come home for so long. He had only meant to go looking for her. Why had his home ended up like this!

Koto, Sumi, Sadako, and Hiroshi and I!

Apart from Genya, who was a little older, this thing had killed all his younger siblings!

He had only just promised Genya they would protect their family together. How... how could it end like this!!!

A roar of grief and rage tore from his throat as the creature kept gnawing at his arm, sucking up the blood that flowed out.

Kill it! Kill it!

Avenge his little brothers and sisters!

Suddenly, a gust swept past his ear... carrying the smell of sukiyaki.

A figure swept across the night sky, crouched low with a hand on his sword. The handsome white-haired boy turned his head and gave him a puzzled glance.

"Young man, I'm here to help."

The white-haired boy's voice drifted through the starry night, like a star sinking into the evening sky.