New clothes

Although he had eaten with Kyojuro before, Kyojuro had eaten fewer than ten bowls that time. Now, there were more than twenty bowls on the table alone.

(;一_一)

Chiba Yo stepped a little closer and said again, "Master Rengoku, I passed the Final Selection."

"Delicious!!!"

Kyojuro suddenly turned his head and shouted, startling Chiba Yo.

A little while later, Kyojuro finished eating, and Chiba Yo told him what had happened during the Final Selection.

"Mm, splendid! Now you're a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, too! Let's work hard together!" Kyojuro said enthusiastically after hearing Chiba Yo's account.

"Yes, sir!" Chiba Yo answered respectfully.

"I'm going home today. Would you like to come along, Yo-chan?" Kyojuro asked him once they had finished discussing the Final Selection.

"Huh? May I?" Chiba Yo asked, taken aback.

"Of course! Come to think of it, my previous Tsuguko visited my home a few times, too!" Kyojuro replied.

The previous Tsuguko he was referring to was Mitsuri Kanroji, the current Love Hashira.

"All right, then." Chiba Yo agreed.

Chiba Yo followed Kyojuro at a leisurely pace along the bustling street. When they passed a kimono shop, Kyojuro stopped and went inside, and Chiba Yo followed him in.

So expensive...

Looking around at the prices on the clothes, Chiba Yo couldn't help marveling inwardly. Some of them cost more than he could earn from an entire year of digging up medicinal herbs in the mountains.

He was still wearing the outfit his mother had made for him. It had been two years now, and as he grew taller, it no longer fit very well.

"If either of you sees anything you like, you're welcome to try it on," the shop assistant told them with a smile.

"Mm. See if there's anything you like, Yo-chan," Kyojuro said, turning to Chiba Yo after acknowledging the assistant.

"Huh? Me?" Chiba Yo didn't understand at first. Once he did, he hurriedly waved his hands. "No, thank you. I can still wear what I have. The clothes here are all too expensive..."

"Try this one." As though he hadn't heard Chiba Yo, Kyojuro picked out a white kimono and handed it to him.

"All right..." Unable to refuse, Chiba Yo took the clothes and tried them on.

His long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, his features handsome and resolute. Clad in white, he had an air of mystery lent by the flame pattern on his forehead.

With the new clothes on, Chiba Yo looked every bit a dashing samurai.

"Very nice! You look much sharper. We'll take this one!" Kyojuro looked him over, then took out some bills and paid the shopkeeper.

"Master Rengoku..." Chiba Yo parted his lips. He hadn't expected Kyojuro to come here to buy clothes for him.

"Consider it a gift to congratulate you on passing the Final Selection. Keep up the good work!" Kyojuro said with a smile, patting Chiba Yo's head.

An indescribable warmth enveloped Chiba Yo. It felt like the sun suddenly appearing on a frigid night, driving away the darkness and cold, illuminating the world and bringing warmth.

Chiba Yo felt his nose sting. With Kyojuro, he had experienced something he had never felt before. What did it resemble? A teacher? An older brother? A father? A senior? Or perhaps all of them.

At the entrance to the Rengoku estate

Chiba Yo arrived with Kyojuro. In the courtyard, a boy who resembled Kyojuro was sweeping.

When he spotted Kyojuro, Senjuro ran over happily.

"Brother."

So this is Master Rengoku's younger brother? They really do look alike.

Chiba Yo thought as he watched Senjuro run toward them.

"You've grown taller again, Senjuro. How have you been?" Kyojuro asked with a smile.

At Kyojuro's words, Senjuro lowered his head dejectedly.

"I still can't master the Sword Techniques you taught me, Brother. I think I might not be suited to becoming a swordsman. I have so little talent for it," Senjuro said dispiritedly.

"It's all right. There's no need to be upset over it. Everyone has things they're not good at. Follow the path you believe is right. As your older brother, I'll always support you!" Kyojuro said, patting Senjuro's shoulder.

Hearing Kyojuro's encouragement, Senjuro raised his head. The dejection and disappointment had vanished from his face.

"Yes!"

After catching up with Senjuro, Kyojuro introduced him and Chiba Yo to each other.

"This is my Tsuguko, Chiba Yo. And this is my younger brother, Senjuro."

The two greeted each other, then all three entered the residence together.

Just as they stepped inside, a stubbly middle-aged man came out carrying a flask of sake.

"Father," Kyojuro greeted him respectfully.

"Still playing at being some foolish demon-slaying swordsman? Utterly pointless!" Shinjuro Rengoku glanced at Kyojuro, then headed out to buy more sake.

Shinjuro's words made Chiba Yo uncomfortable, but he was Kyojuro's father, after all, so Chiba Yo couldn't very well say anything.

Just as Shinjuro was about to leave, he noticed the Demon Slayer Mark on Chiba Yo's forehead behind Kyojuro. He froze for a moment, then said in a dispirited voice:

"Heh, heh, heh. So what if you've manifested a Demon Slayer Mark? It's all futile anyway. In the end, you'll just die young." With that, he staggered out.

For some reason, Chiba Yo heard desolation in his voice, though the talk of a Demon Slayer Mark left him bewildered.

"Master Rengoku..." Chiba Yo looked at Kyojuro with concern. Having one's own family refuse to acknowledge what one did must have been painful. As for Shinjuro's remark about him dying young, he didn't take it to heart.

Kyojuro's expression remained unchanged, showing no surprise. He merely watched Shinjuro's retreating figure with a trace of heartache.

Afterward, Chiba Yo stayed for lunch with the Rengoku Family. Once lunch was over, Kyojuro received a mission from his Kasugai crow. Since Chiba Yo's Nichirin Blade hadn't been finished yet, he couldn't join Kyojuro on this mission.

Returning to the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters alone, Chiba Yo ran into a familiar face just outside the entrance: the boy with the mohawk he had met during the Final Selection.

The mohawked boy spotted him as well, then gave a cold snort and turned away, making Chiba Yo abandon the idea of greeting him.

Ten days later, someone wearing a bamboo hat and a Hyottoko Mask came to see Chiba Yo.

"I am Tetsumaru-yama, a swordsmith from the Swordsmith Village. I have been instructed to deliver the completed Nichirin Blade to the swordsman, Mr. Chiba Yo."