The rejected Star Hashira

Sanemi's eyes widened. "...Huh?"

Whoa. This guy really did look pretty scary.

Especially with his eyes wide open, the whites bloodshot and veins bulging, combined with the scars on his face and body and that icy gaze...

I honestly couldn't tell whether demons or you were scarier.

Haruto cleared his throat. "Let me ask you this: have you ever asked Genya to his face whether he hates you?"

"No."

"When you were secretly watching him, did he ever say anything about hating you?"

"...No."

"Then why do you think he hates you so much that he wants to cut ties with you as his brother?"

Haruto looked at him in exasperation. "What on earth do you keep imagining all day?"

Sanemi clenched his fists, suddenly leaped aside, and rained punches on a tree beside the mountain path.

Bam, bam, bam!

Startled, Haruto frowned at the silver-haired boy with the hedgehog spikes as he went berserk, then reached out to catch a falling persimmon.

Huh? An unexpected bonus?

Haruto nicked the persimmon's skin with his front teeth, then spat it out repeatedly. It was still astringent.

"How could he not hate me?! How could he possibly not hate me?! I abandoned him when he needed his family most!"

Sanemi roared, his punches tearing through the tree's bark and splitting the skin over his own knuckles.

"How could he accept being abandoned so easily?! Is he an idiot? Is there something wrong with Genya Shinazugawa's head?!"

Thonk!

A green persimmon sailed over and struck Sanemi on the head. Haruto hooked an arm around his neck. "Seriously... you're really strange.

"You're obviously worried about Genya, sneaking over here to see him, but now you're saying such awful things. You're completely contradicting yourself."

"I'm not worried about him!" Sanemi snapped. "I know he's safe with you!"

"Ha. Are you praising me and thanking me, or chewing me out? Honestly... this is the first time I've met someone stranger than Giyu Tomioka."

"Didn't you say Genya was a useless kid who can't learn a Breathing Style?! Then just let him grow up, and kick him off the mountain once he can support himself! I'll work hard to pay you back for raising him these next few years!"

So that was what he was worried about...

Haruto turned his face toward him, displeased. "How can you call your own little brother useless? You clearly care about him, so why say such hurtful things?!

"Who are you trying to tear down with those cruel words? Me, standing right in front of you?

"Do you want me to believe that Genya, who trains and practices so hard, really is useless?"

Sanemi waved his hands frantically, but he had no idea how to explain himself. His agitated face looked even more frightening.

"I'm telling you, your little brother, my student Genya, is not useless. He's a prodigy with the incredibly rare constitution of a Demon Eater!

"He has a bright future ahead of him. He'll stand alongside you, me, and all the finest swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps, and take revenge on the demons responsible for his mother's death!"

Haruto's stern words finally broke through Sanemi's defenses.

"I don't want that! I don't want him to be a prodigy!" Sanemi roared, twisting his body to grab Haruto's hand. "I don't want him joining the Demon Slayer Corps! I don't want him facing those demons!"

The silver-haired boy struggled and fell to the ground. He lay face down, refusing to lift his head, and pounded the earth with his fists as he howled, "Genya... should learn a skill he can make a living with, get married and have children when he's old enough, then work hard to provide for his wife and kids-not drown in hatred like me!"

The boy seemed to be crying, but he stubbornly refused to let anyone see his tears.

"I want to kill every demon in the world so they can never get near Genya... Mom's dead, and our little brothers and sister are dead too. Genya's all I have left..."

Haruto froze.

So... that was why?

He was neither belittling nor despising his brother. He was trying to use sharp words to drive him away from himself and the Demon Slayer Corps.

Haruto let out a long breath, trying to dispel the heaviness in his chest.

"But that's impossible."

Sanemi raised his head and watched the man lower his eyes and shake his head.

"He was there when it happened too, wasn't he?"

That was right. That night, Genya had witnessed their younger siblings' deaths from even closer than he had. His face, like Sanemi's own, bore the scars of their mother's attack.

"He saw your mother turn into a demon with his own eyes too, didn't he?"

Haruto sounded subdued. "I don't believe in fate, Sanemi, but..."

He crouched down and gently patted Sanemi's shoulder. "For many people, the path to hunting demons is already set."

An anguished wail escaped Sanemi's throat. Blood from his knuckles and his tears seeped into the same earth his brother's sweat had watered.

"Aren't you going to see him?"

A little while later, the silver-haired, spiky-haired boy straightened his clothes and prepared to leave.

"No, Mr. Haruto." Sanemi hesitated, then shook his head. "Just knowing Genya's doing well is enough for me."

He didn't want Genya to see all the scars on his body. The kid would worry so much he wouldn't be able to eat.

"Do you have somewhere to stay? Or a trainer, for that matter?"

Remembering that his Tsuguko position was still vacant, Haruto began considering the possibility.

Sanemi's personality and social skills left much to be desired, but he wasn't a bad-hearted kid.

He was exceptionally talented, possessed rare blood, and if he stayed with Genya, the two could look after each other.

Besides, it wasn't as though Haruto had never met someone with poor social skills who couldn't express himself. Wasn't there already one limping around back at the cabin?

Sanemi's stiff reply interrupted Haruto's plans. "There's no need. Someone I know... Masachika Kume from the Demon Slayer Corps introduced me to his trainer. Please don't tell Genya I was here. I'm worried it would distract him."

...Fine. Just great.

Haruto pursed his lips and watched the silver-haired boy disappear at the end of the mountain path.

"...Tch. It's not like I'm desperate for a Tsuguko. Why turn me down so quickly?"

He rubbed his nose and gave an irritated huff.

When he returned to the cabin, all three looked at him.

"What happened? Why were you gone so long?"

Seeing that he was unharmed, Sabito sighed in relief and lowered the Nichirin Blade in his hand.

"Oh..." Haruto tipped his head toward Genya. "I saw your older brother."

Genya's hand froze as he wiped away his sweat. "My... brother?"

"Yeah. His hair sticks up like a hedgehog's. He was hiding up on the mountain, watching you."

"He's probably gone now." Cresthead tightened his grip on the towel, but a brilliant smile spread across his face. "He must have left! He only came to see me because he wanted to know whether I was suffering."

"He left, and you're still that happy?" Haruto looked at him in bewilderment. "Sheesh, what kind of brothers are you two? Your brains must be wired together."

Shaking his head, he headed for the kitchen. Whatever. Filling his stomach came first.

As for that brat who turned me down so decisively, you still expect me to keep your secret?

Hmph!