The Master

"Hello, Mitsuri." Chiba Yo greeted her. As they were both Kyojuro's Tsuguko, Mitsuri was effectively his senior fellow student, so he addressed her respectfully.

Kyojuro then introduced him to Mitsuri. "Mitsuri, this is my new Tsuguko, Chiba Yo. His talent and strength are outstanding! He's already a Hashira, too!"

Kyojuro's words confirmed Shinobu Kocho's suspicions. Still finding it hard to believe, she asked him, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, Mr. Rengoku, but are you saying Yo-chan has already slain one of the Twelve Kizuki or killed fifty demons?"

Kyojuro nodded at Shinobu Kocho's question.

"That's right! Yo-chan slew Lower Rank Two just two days ago!" Kyojuro declared loudly, proud of Chiba Yo.

Though shocked, Shinobu Kocho accepted the fact and couldn't help remarking, "You really do have a gift for training Tsuguko, Mr. Rengoku. Yo-chan's talent is enviable, too."

"Then that makes Yo-chan my junior fellow student! Wonderful!" Mitsuri exclaimed excitedly after hearing Kyojuro's words.

Mitsuri was lively and cheerful, warm toward everyone and fond of making friends. Naturally, she was delighted to have a new junior.

"As your senior, I'll protect you from now on. If there's anything you want to ask about, you can come to me, too."

Mitsuri patted Chiba Yo's shoulder, speaking in the tone of an adult advising a child.

Chiba Yo was just about to speak when he suddenly felt someone staring at him, so he looked around.

He soon found the source of that gaze. A man with a white snake coiled around his neck and eyes of different colors was glaring fiercely at him. Chiba Yo could practically see the dark resentment radiating from him.

(;一_一)

What's going on? This should be our first time meeting. Why is he looking at me like that?

Chiba Yo was puzzled. He was certain this was his first time seeing the man with mismatched eyes; they had never crossed paths before.

Then it must be something I just did that made him react like this.

As Chiba Yo thought it over, he noticed Mitsuri's hand resting on his shoulder.

"Thank you in advance, Mitsuri."

Chiba Yo thanked Mitsuri, then stepped to the right, moving out from under her hand while keeping an eye on the man's reaction.

Just as Chiba Yo had expected, once he stepped right and moved away from Mitsuri's hand, the resentment surrounding the man with mismatched eyes dissipated, and he stopped staring.

He must like Mitsuri...

Chiba Yo reached his conclusion.

"This is the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro! His Sword Techniques are excellent!" Kyojuro introduced Obanai to Chiba Yo.

Since everyone had heard his earlier introduction of Chiba Yo, he didn't introduce him to Obanai again.

"Hello, Mr. Iguro," Chiba Yo greeted Obanai.

Obanai ignored him, however, and struck up a conversation with Kyojuro instead.

"Rengoku, have you heard anything about the Twelve Kizuki or Muzan lately?"

"No! There haven't been any signs of the Twelve Kizuki or Muzan in the area I've been patrolling recently!" Kyojuro replied.

"Same in my area. Hopefully, I'll have better luck in the future and run into an Upper Rank," Obanai said.

Watching Obanai talk to Kyojuro, Chiba Yo had a thought.

Has he... started holding a grudge against me...?

Chiba Yo was bewildered. He seemed to have earned a Hashira's resentment without doing anything at all. If he had to give a reason, it was that his senior fellow student had patted him on the shoulder.

Although they had barely interacted, Chiba Yo had already labeled the Serpent Hashira as jealous and petty.

Next, Kyojuro introduced Chiba Yo to Giyu Tomioka.

"He's the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka! He's a man of action, just a little quiet!"

"Hello, Mr. Tomioka."

Chiba Yo greeted Giyu.

Giyu's expression didn't change. Then he said, "There's no need to greet me. I'm different from them."

"Uh..."

Chiba Yo froze, unsure how to respond. Giyu's expressionless face, combined with his words, gave Chiba Yo the impression that he was incredibly arrogant and thought himself above everyone else.

Yet what Giyu was thinking at that moment was: I only joined the Demon Slayer Corps because someone protected me. I don't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the other Hashira.

Shinobu Kocho could barely stand to watch the exchange. She couldn't help saying, "Mr. Tomioka... you really have no way with words. You should speak less from now on."

"Don't bother with him. Let him stay alone forever."

At that moment, the Serpent Hashira, who hadn't responded to Chiba Yo's greeting earlier, suddenly spoke to him.

Although Chiba Yo's relationship with Mitsuri made him uncomfortable, he disliked Giyu even more.

Giyu said nothing in response to the other two Hashira. He simply stood there, expressionless, his thoughts a mystery.

A little while later, the other Hashira arrived.

The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima.

The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.

The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui.

The Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.

Of these Hashira, Chiba Yo knew the most about the Wind Hashira. Having talked quite a bit with Genya, he now had a fairly clear understanding of him.

That did nothing to bring him closer to the Wind Hashira, however. Though the Wind Hashira didn't ignore him like the Serpent Hashira had, he wasn't particularly friendly either. Still, Chiba Yo could understand him.

Among the others, he had heard of the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, the strongest member of the Demon Slayer Corps. After meeting him, though, Chiba Yo found him somewhat different from what he had imagined.

His tendency to burst into tears at the slightest provocation made Chiba Yo a little hesitant to approach him.

The Sound Hashira was a flashy, handsome man who gave Chiba Yo his approval, saying he was flashy as well. He singled out the flame markings on Chiba Yo's forehead for particular praise.

Chiba Yo's impression of the Mist Hashira was that he had a poor memory, forgetting what he had just said the moment he turned away. He also liked watching clouds, and he was the only Hashira a year younger than Chiba Yo.

It was also worth mentioning that several Hashira thought Chiba Yo and Muichiro looked somewhat alike.

After getting briefly acquainted with the remaining Hashira, Chiba Yo could sense that they were all upright, trustworthy people. Their personalities differed: some were a little hot-tempered, some sharp-tongued and prone to jealousy, and some rather poor with words.

But one thing was certain: they had all given everything they had to protect humanity and fight demons.

All the current Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps had assembled.

"The Master has arrived."

Two children's voices rang out from inside the residence. Then two nearly identical white-haired children emerged, followed by a long-haired man who came out with his hands resting on theirs for support.

"You've come, my dear children."