Himejima's Past

The Swordsmith Village smelled the same as ever, like a massive steelworks.

Haruto severed his connection to the starry sky. Even though he had become a Hashira, he still didn't want to learn too many of the Demon Slayer Corps' secrets.

What if he encountered a demon that could read his memories someday?

The Godogawa Family's home was close to the village entrance. The moment Haruto's white hair came into view, Godogawa spotted him.

"Why are you back again?" Godogawa frowned and raised his voice. "What did I tell you? Don't come bothering me unless you've found someone to marry..."

His words cut off abruptly when he saw the Kocho Sisters swaying on the backs of the Kakushi behind Haruto-or, more precisely, when he saw Kanae.

The Kakushi set Haruto down and removed his mask and earplugs.

"Thanks... Hey, Master! I'm home!"

Haruto waved at him with boundless energy. "I'm eating at home today!"

"Well, this is an unexpected surprise. I haven't prepared anything yet."

"Huh? It's just a meal. I'll make sure not to eat too much, so you don't need to prepare anything!"

"Who cares what you're eating!"

Godogawa clacked past him in his wooden sandals, his voice suddenly turning gentle. "How old are you, young lady? Where are you from? When did you join the Demon Slayer Corps? Our Haruto has quite a temper. You must have your hands full with him..."

Still dazed from the bumpy ride, Kanae stared blankly under the barrage of questions. "Huh?"

"Master, that's not it!" Torn between laughter and tears, Haruto reached for Godogawa's shoulders. "She's one of this year's new swordsmen. She's here to discuss having a Nichirin Blade forged!"

"..." Godogawa opened his mouth, then forced out a smile. "Well, even if you aren't together now, you could be in the future. Our Haruto has a wonderful temperament. I was only joking earlier..."

Shinobu pressed her lips tightly together to keep from laughing.

What a surprise. Did even someone like Haruto have trouble finding someone to marry?

"Master..." Haruto gave Kanae an apologetic look. "Who was assigned to forge Shinobu Kocho's Nichirin Blade?"

Godogawa stared at him and sighed in exasperation. "...Go ask the village chief. He draws up all the assignment lists."

Tetsujikawara Tecchin, the village chief, lived just to the left after entering the village. Haruto pointed the sisters in the right direction but didn't follow them.

A jet-black crow landed on the eaves in front of him and spoke in a solemn voice. "Mr. Haruto, Himejima is waiting for you at the hot springs."

Gyomei Himejima?

Haruto nodded to the Kasugai Crow named Zekka. Since moving to Mount Sagiri, he hadn't seen Mr. Himejima in a long time.

As two of the younger Hashira of the new generation, he and Himejima did have a few things to discuss.

So he raced home like the wind, took a quick shower, then raced toward the hot springs just as fast.

"Where are you going!"

"Mr. Himejima invited me to soak in the hot springs! I'll be back for dinner!"

"Oh dear..." Watching Haruto disappear, Godogawa let out a long sigh. "It's impossible to tell what that boy is thinking. He won't accompany a girl to get her sword forged, but when a big monk invites him to the hot springs, he runs faster than anyone..."

A girl... A big monk...

As if something had suddenly occurred to him, the little old man's pupils contracted.

Dressed in a bathrobe, Haruto had no idea what a "rebellious" path Master Goto now imagined he was taking. He reached the hot springs on the mountain, where Himejima sat naked in a pool with a towel on his head.

The Swordsmith Village's hot springs had the miraculous ability to heal all sorts of stubborn ailments and injuries, as well as strengthen the body, so everyone in the village came for a soak in their spare time.

Haruto shed his bathrobe and sank into the pool, immersing his entire body in the spring water.

His already-healed scars began to itch, and he couldn't help reaching out to scratch them.

"Don't scratch." Although he was blind in both eyes, Himejima's keen senses still told him what Haruto intended to do. "Once the itching subsides, the scars will fade a little. If you scratch them open in the hot spring, it will hurt."

Haruto obediently lowered his hand. After soaking in silence across from Himejima for over ten minutes, he finally sat up and stretched.

"Do you have some time off today too, Mr. Himejima?"

The big monk nodded slightly. "I came to collect my Nichirin Blade. I didn't expect to catch you returning to the village-I haven't congratulated you on your promotion yet. I never thought..." He fell silent for a moment and didn't finish.

"You never thought I'd become a Hashira?" A bitter smile touched Haruto's lips. "Neither did I."

"No. Ever since you mastered Star Breathing, I believed there would be a place for you among the nine Hashira." Himejima shook his head. "Star Breathing is exceptionally powerful, and your perseverance and patience far surpass those of ordinary people. Star Hashira is merely an insignificant embellishment before your name."

Haruto turned toward him in surprise. Hearing something like "an insignificant embellishment" felt far too good. "Monks don't lie, right?"

Himejima chuckled. "Of course. Monks don't lie. I merely didn't expect you to get along so well with children."

He had met the Kocho Sisters and knew that a child not yet ten years old followed Haruto around. Perhaps only someone as good-natured as Mr. Haruto could get along so well even with children.

If it had been him...

"That man is a monster. He's the one... who killed everyone."

Himejima drew a deep breath, as though Sayo's accusation still echoed in his ears.

"You really don't like children, do you, Mr. Himejima?"

Haruto moved beside him and rested his hand on the edge of the pool. "I still remember how you ignored me when you first came to the Swordsmith Village. Back then, I thought this big fellow's pride must be as sky-high as his height."

Himejima lowered his head and pressed his palms together. "I'm truly sorry for giving you that impression... At the time, the Master had only just brought me out of death row. I was deeply wary of everything around me."

"Was it... because of what happened at the temple?"

The big monk paused, then sighed and nodded. "Yes. It was what happened at the temple.

I once raised a group of children who had no family in a temple. We all lived together in harmony. Though I was frail and blind back then, I thought that being able to spend my whole life that way would be a mercy from Buddha..."

He fell silent for a while, as though steeling himself to tear open his own wounds. "One night, a child came back late and encountered a demon on the road.

But innocent children are always selfish. To save his own life, he struck a bargain with the demon.

He slipped back into the temple under cover of darkness and extinguished the wisteria incense I had lit to ward off demons...

The demon broke into the temple and killed seven of the children.

The youngest child, Sayo, was the only one who listened to me and didn't run off. To protect her, I used every ounce of strength I had, smashing the demon's head with my fists until dawn.

I had thought Sayo would thank me, even if it was only, 'Thank you for fighting for me, big brother.' But there was nothing."

His throat tightened, and tears spilled from his eyes.

"'That man is a monster. He's the one... who killed everyone.' That was what she told the people who came.

So they seized me and put me on death row. If the Master hadn't arrived in time, I might have died in prison long ago."

This account was more detailed than the one Godogawa had told Haruto, and far more despairing.

No wonder Gyomei Himejima distrusted children so much. If Haruto had suffered something like that himself, he would probably have been even angrier and more devastated than Mr. Himejima.

"I never doubted you, Mr. Haruto." Himejima wiped the tears from his cheeks and "looked" at him. "You lived in the Swordsmith Village and among the Demon Slayer Corps before I did. You have stronger feelings for this place than I do. When we first met, I simply didn't know how to interact with children. It wasn't that I doubted you."

"Hearing that really takes a weight off my mind." Haruto let out a long breath of relief, then blinked. "The child who accused you was named Sayo. What was the name of the child who made a deal with the demon? Did he escape?"

Gyomei Himejima answered, "...He should still be alive."

The words "I don't remember" turned over several times in his mouth, but he could never bring himself to say them.

Haruto gently patted the big monk's broad shoulder. "Everything will get better. Once Muzan Kibutsuji is dead, all this darkness will vanish in the sunlight."

Himejima's lips moved, and he closed his eyes.

"Kaigaku. That child's name was... Kaigaku."