After leaving the ward, Lin Guang immediately activated Telepathy.
Before long, Lin Guang located Shinobu Kocho. He smiled faintly. "Found you."
Lin Guang vanished in an instant, then appeared outside a laboratory. He opened the door and saw Shinobu Kocho busy inside.
"Aoi? It's so late, and you still haven't..."
Hearing the laboratory door open, Shinobu Kocho assumed Aoi Kanzaki had come. When she turned and saw Lin Guang, she froze for a moment.
Shinobu Kocho set down the medicine she was preparing and said with a faint smile, "Lin Guang, what brings you here?"
Seeing her like this, Lin Guang looked troubled.
"Shinobu, I have something to tell you."
At his words, the smile on Shinobu Kocho's face gradually faded.
Lin Guang continued, "This isn't the place to talk. Come with me."
With that, Lin Guang left the laboratory and walked into the Butterfly Mansion's courtyard.
Shinobu Kocho brought her sword out into the courtyard. Looking at his back, she asked with a faint smile, "Lin Guang, what did you want to say?"
Lin Guang turned to face her. "Shinobu, I've joined the Demon Slayer Corps now, so I'll keep the promise I made to you back then."
The moment he finished speaking, Shinobu Kocho charged at him, thrusting her Nichirin Blade at him with all her strength.
"Shave!"
Lin Guang vanished in an instant and appeared behind Shinobu Kocho, evading her thrust.
Shinobu Kocho spun around and kicked at him, a blade instantly emerging from the sole of her shoe.
Lin Guang still had no intention of attacking her. Instead, he kept putting everything he had into dodging.
Seeing that none of her attacks could so much as touch him, Shinobu Kocho began to fall apart.
"Why?! Why?! Why did you have to show up again?!"
Seeing her lose control, Lin Guang took her Nichirin Blade from her and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm sorry I came so late," Lin Guang said.
Shinobu Kocho's tears spilled uncontrollably. Hearing her sobs, Lin Guang felt even guiltier.
Just then, Lin Guang saw a light come on in a nearby room.
He scooped Shinobu Kocho up and swiftly vanished from the Butterfly Mansion.
Just after Lin Guang and Shinobu Kocho left, Aoi Kanzaki came into the courtyard.
"I thought I heard Lady Shinobu just now, but shouldn't she be in that room she won't let anyone enter?"
Meanwhile, Lin Guang brought Shinobu Kocho to a mountaintop.
Shinobu Kocho had regained her composure and wrenched herself out of his arms.
"Why did you bring me somewhere like this?"
Lin Guang said, "You were crying so hard that I brought you out. If anyone had seen you like that, you'd have lost all your dignity."
Shinobu Kocho huffed and rolled her eyes at him, then asked, "When did you join the Demon Slayer Corps? Have you finished whatever you said you needed to do?"
Lin Guang smiled softly, then sat on the ground and looked up at the moon.
"Yes, it's finished."
"Three years! Three whole years!" Shinobu Kocho demanded angrily. "What was it you had to do that took three years?!"
Shinobu Kocho showed none of her earlier gentleness. It seemed this was her true self.
"It's all in the past. It doesn't matter anymore," Lin Guang said, shaking his head.
Shinobu Kocho angrily grabbed his clothes. "What do you mean, it doesn't matter?! Do you have any idea what I've been through these past three years? And why did you defend a demon today? You know my family and my sister were killed by demons. Why would you do that?"
Lin Guang said helplessly, "Haven't we already proved that Nezuko won't hurt anyone?"
At his words, Shinobu Kocho petulantly let go of his collar, then crouched beside him, lowering her head and hugging her knees.
"Lin Guang, do you think humans and demons can really get along?"
Without waiting for his answer, Shinobu Kocho continued.
"Ever since my beloved sister was brutally killed by a demon, every time I see someone weeping because a demon took someone precious from them, every time I hear their cries of despair, the anger keeps building and swelling inside me. Deep within me, there's a revulsion I can never get rid of."
"The other Hashira must feel much the same as I do. Now that they've seen Nezuko, who has never eaten anyone, they should remember her scent. With Oyakata-sama's wishes as well, no one should attack her."
Lin Guang said softly, "I know. But even so, you still can't forgive demons, can you, Shinobu?"
Shinobu Kocho sighed and looked at him resentfully.
"You're always like this. You always see right through me without a shred of mercy, and you're always making me angry."
Lin Guang gave an awkward smile but said nothing.
Shinobu Kocho rolled her eyes at him again, then continued.
"But living peacefully with demons was my sister's wish, so I have to carry it on. If there's a way to avoid killing those pitiful demons, I have to keep searching for it, so that the smile my sister loved will never disappear. But I'm getting a little tired."
As she spoke, Shinobu Kocho curled in on herself.
Seeing her like that, Lin Guang reached out and put his arm around her shoulders.
Leaning against him, Shinobu Kocho continued, "Lin Guang, why do demons always lie? They'll abandon all reason to protect themselves and kill purely on raw instinct. Can my sister's wish really come true?"
As she spoke, tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes once more.
"It will. With you here, Kanae's wish is sure to come true." Looking at the tearful Shinobu Kocho, Lin Guang told her a kind lie.
Hearing his words, Shinobu Kocho lifted her head and saw the tenderness in his eyes. Once again, she lost control of her emotions, threw herself into his arms, and sobbed.
After a long while, Shinobu Kocho's sobs gradually subsided.
Suddenly, she pushed Lin Guang away and turned her back on him.
"That's right! You still haven't answered my questions! When did you join the Demon Slayer Corps? And what's the story behind your Ice Breathing?"
Looking at her back in confusion, Lin Guang said, "I met Kanao when I took the Final Selection. Didn't she tell you?"
At his words, Shinobu Kocho suddenly remembered how Kanao had kept her head lowered and said nothing after returning from the Final Selection.
Back then, I thought Kanao was worried I'd be unhappy, so I told her, "Don't think about anything. Just cut off the demons' heads." Could she have been wondering whether to tell me about this?
At that thought, Shinobu Kocho covered for herself. "Oh! I forgot. What's the story behind your Ice Breathing?"
Lin Guang stood up and said, "The one who killed Kanae was Upper Rank Two, Doma. His abilities involve ice, so I created Ice Breathing. That way, his abilities won't affect me when the time comes."
Shinobu Kocho turned to look at him in astonishment.
"Did you really develop a Breathing Style like that just to help avenge my sister?"
Lin Guang smiled softly without a word.
Before you continue