Shinjuro Rengoku

Along a country lane, Kyojuro, Chinatsu, and the others ran at speeds no ordinary person could match.

Kyojuro was the Flame Hashira. At full speed, he could even keep pace with a moving train.

Chinatsu's physique was far beyond ordinary. When conserving stamina was not a concern, her basic physical abilities were second only to those of the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima. Naturally, she had no trouble keeping up with Kyojuro.

Though Tanjiro and Nezuko lagged slightly behind, neither slowed the group down. They both ran swiftly, only about ten meters behind Chinatsu and Kyojuro in the lead.

"Chinatsu, we'll definitely run into my father when we get to my house. He's been depressed ever since my mother passed away. If he says anything offensive, please bear with him," Kyojuro said, turning toward Chinatsu as they raced along.

Kyojuro's father... Shinjuro Rengoku.

The former Flame Hashira had once been a good man, an upbeat, big-brother figure much like Kyojuro was now. He had even saved the current Serpent Hashira back in the day.

But once, while he was away on a lengthy mission, his wife, Ryuka, who had always been frail, fell seriously ill and became bedridden.

By the time Shinjuro returned home from his mission, his wife had already passed away.

It dealt Shinjuro a devastating blow. The balance between his duties as a husband and his mission as the Flame Hashira fell apart. He began blaming himself and never recovered.

He resigned as the Flame Hashira and stayed home, drowning his sorrows in alcohol day and night. Losing the woman he loved left him terrified of suffering such a loss again. He sealed his heart away with drink and stopped caring about the two sons he had once cherished. Even when Kyojuro succeeded him as the new Flame Hashira, nothing changed.

"How tragic."

Recalling Shinjuro's past, Chinatsu could not help murmuring those words aloud. Beside her, Kyojuro blinked in confusion. The wind was too strong for him to hear her clearly.

Chinatsu quickly realized she had spoken aloud and replied awkwardly, "N-nothing. We've come so far already. We should be almost there, right?"

"Yes, only another two or three kilometers."

Kyojuro thought nothing more of it. For them, two or three kilometers really did mean they were almost there. Soon, they arrived outside the Rengoku Family estate.

In front of the estate, a boy who looked almost exactly like Kyojuro was sweeping the ground with a broom.

"Senjuro!"

At Kyojuro's shout, the boy turned toward the voice.

"Brother!"

A smile spread across Senjuro's face. He was Kyojuro's younger brother, but he had no talent for practicing a Breathing Style. Even after years of training, he could not so much as make a Nichirin Blade change color, so he could only stay home and do chores.

Seeing the older brother he admired most return home filled Senjuro with joy.

He hurried into Kyojuro's arms. Smiling, Kyojuro stroked his head and introduced the others beside him.

"Senjuro, we have guests. This young lady is Chinatsu, the brightest rising star in our Demon Slayer Corps. A little while ago, she single-handedly slew a Lower Rank demon.

"The boy and girl behind her are her younger brother and sister. They wanted to consult our family's historical records about something, so I brought them home.

"By the way, is Father here?"

No sooner had Kyojuro finished speaking than, as if summoned by the mention of his name, his father, Shinjuro, emerged from the Rengoku Family estate with a wine flask in one hand.

"I was wondering what all the noise was. Kyojuro, you're still alive?"

Looking at the sheer deadness in Shinjuro's eyes, even Chinatsu felt tempted to address him as a master.

Only after perfecting the slacker realm can one enter the dead-fish realm!

Poor me. I can't even enter the slacker realm yet, let alone this supreme dead-fish realm. But this master seems to have reached it by going off the rails in his cultivation. That's hardly a path worth following.

While Chinatsu supplied her own mental commentary, Kyojuro took his father's words completely in stride. He laughed and replied, "Father, I'm very strong! There are still so many demons in this world. I won't die that soon!"

Seeing Kyojuro look so much like his younger self, Shinjuro lowered his head and clicked his tongue.

Just as he was about to say, "Do whatever you want," he suddenly noticed the earrings hanging from Tanjiro's ears behind Kyojuro.

Shinjuro's pupils trembled. The members of the Demon Slayer Corps did not understand what those earrings represented. Neither Kyojuro Rengoku nor Senjuro understood, but he knew.

Sun Breathing! The very first Breathing Style!

A Breathing Style that only someone chosen by the heavens could use. All the other basic styles were merely offshoots of Origin Breathing. Flame, Wind, Water-before Sun Breathing, they were all... trash!

Fury blazed in Shinjuro's eyes, carrying so many tangled emotions that, in that moment, he could no longer control his own body.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he had kicked off the ground and charged toward Tanjiro.

"Father!"

In the blink of an eye, Shinjuro was right in front of Tanjiro. Tanjiro's mind registered his speed, but his body was a fraction too slow. He managed only a single step backward.

Shinjuro's hand stopped barely a finger's width from Tanjiro. His brow twitched. Kyojuro had seized his shoulder firmly from behind, while Chinatsu held the wrist of his outstretched hand in an iron grip.

"Mr. Rengoku's father, please calm down."

Chinatsu stared at Shinjuro intently. His movement had been instinctive, and so had hers. Besides, did he really think he could ignore her presence and lay a hand on her little brother right before her eyes?

You're getting awfully bold there, old man, Chinatsu thought.

Held immobile by two youngsters, Shinjuro finally calmed down a little. Still, the appearance of Sun Breathing had shaken him deeply.

He stared fixedly at Tanjiro before him. A thousand things he wanted to say boiled down to a single statement.

"Don't get arrogant. Don't get complacent. Even the creator of Sun Breathing in the Sengoku era couldn't kill the Demon King. As you are now, you can't even fully react to my movements... you're far too weak!"

After speaking, he shook his body to signal Chinatsu and Kyojuro to release him. Once free of their grip, he turned and went back inside his estate to drink away his misery.