In that instant, Tanjiro became a red spinning top of frantic bows.
He bent his waist to a perfect ninety degrees, his hands pressed tightly against the seams of his trousers.
Even his voice came out somewhat garbled from sheer shame and panic. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!"
"I really didn't mean to! I swear! I absolutely didn't mean anything by it! Please forgive me!!!"
Tanjiro's apologies came like machine-gun fire, his head bobbing so fast it nearly struck the ground.
The unbelievable softness and warmth still lingered on his forehead, making him wish he could dig a hole and crawl straight into it.
Meanwhile, Kanao Tsuyuri, already dazed by the collision, finally shut down completely.
Her small mouth fell slightly open, and for the first time, clear bewilderment appeared in her usually vacant, lifeless deep-purple eyes...
After bewilderment came disbelief, followed by an exceedingly rare trace of... embarrassed anger?!
Almost unconsciously, she even slowly raised a hand and blankly covered her chest where it had just taken that heavy blow.
The impact of the boy's hard forehead still seemed to linger there, along with... its warmth?
She simply stood there clutching her chest, her mouth slightly open...
Silently staring straight at Tanjiro as though she were seeing this "headbutting maniac" for the very first time.
The air was terrifyingly still, with only Tanjiro's incoherent apologies echoing through the woods.
And Inosuke, the source of all this chaos, had completely turned to stone as well.
He looked at the frantically bowing Tanjiro, then at Kanao Tsuyuri, who was clutching her chest and staring at Tanjiro with an expression that belonged in a "baffling human behavior compilation"...
At that moment, his feral boar brain utterly failed to comprehend how this bizarre, awkward scene had come about.
Weren't we fighting to the death just now? How did it suddenly turn into this?
His immense confusion began popping out above his head like tangible bubbles. Yes, actually popping out!
Inosuke's signature boar-head mask was already battered beyond recognition.
At that moment, the expression on his wild, handsome face vividly embodied, Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
His eyes bulged like brass bells, and his mouth hung wide enough to fit a fist.
His eyebrows shot up so high they nearly flew past his hairline, his whole face twisting into a boar-head reaction meme from utter confusion and mental overload.
"What the fuck is going on?!!!"
A wisp of blue smoke even obligingly curled up from his disheveled hair...
All killing intent had vanished from the battlefield.
Tanjiro was still bowing frantically, his face as red as a cooked shrimp, the words "I'm sorry" nearly striking sparks in his mouth.
Kanao Tsuyuri clutched her chest, her usually vacant purple eyes roiling with a rare storm of confusion, embarrassed anger, and a trace of bewilderment.
Inosuke had completely transformed into a question-mark reaction meme. The air was thick with awkwardness and a fighting atmosphere that had gone completely off course, and the situation briefly spiraled out of control.
Just as this bizarre stalemate continued, and killing intent seemed about to gather again in Kanao Tsuyuri's vacant eyes...
"Caw-! Caw, caw-!"
A loud, slightly urgent crow's cry tore through the oppressive forest air.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
A sturdy Kasugai Crow with glossy, jet-black feathers swept swiftly through the night sky in a near dive.
An exceptionally conspicuous deep-purple scarf was tied around its neck, gleaming nobly in the moonlight.
The Kasugai Crow swept its sharp gaze over the chaotic battlefield below, precisely locking onto Tanjiro, Nezuko's wooden box, and the stupefied Kanao Tsuyuri and Inosuke.
It hovered in midair, beating its wings, and proclaimed loudly in a tone of unquestionable authority:
"Hear this! An order from the Master!"
"Capture Tanjiro Kamado alive! Capture Nezuko Kamado alive!"
"I repeat! Capture Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado alive!"
"Tanjiro's identifying features: dark-red hair and a flame-shaped scar on his left forehead!"
"Nezuko's identifying features: a girl demon who usually holds a bamboo tube in her mouth!"
"Effective immediately, bring both of them to headquarters!"
"Capture them alive! Alive! Bring them to headquarters! Caw-!"
The Kasugai Crow's proclamation echoed over and over through the silent forest like thunder, every word carrying the Master's supreme will.
Tanjiro abruptly stopped bowing and raised his head. His face was still flushed with shame, but his eyes had lit up with unbelievable joy and relief.
The Master? An order from the Master? Nezuko... was safe! At least for now!
Kanao Tsuyuri slowly lowered the hand covering her chest, the complex emotions in her eyes instantly replaced by an almost instinctive obedience.
Emptiness covered those purple eyes again, as though the earlier turmoil had never happened.
The poisoned blade in her hand slid soundlessly back into its sheath, and she bowed her head slightly to acknowledge the order.
The question-mark steam above Inosuke's head instantly dissipated. He scratched his damaged mask, seemingly still processing this sudden turn of events. "Huh? Capture them alive? We're not fighting anymore?"
"Ah..."
He looked at Tanjiro, then at Kanao Tsuyuri, before finally resting his gaze on the imposing Kasugai Crow and letting out a strange cry of unclear meaning.
The scene returned to the forest clearing where Kirishima Bupai and Shinobu Kocho stood facing each other.
The Kasugai Crow wearing the purple scarf likewise swept swiftly past, loudly repeating Oyakata-sama's order word for word.
"..."
The lingering flush of shame and anger on Shinobu Kocho's face had yet to fade completely.
When she heard the key phrases "capture alive," "do not harm," and "bring back to headquarters," an exceedingly complicated emotion flickered through her eyes.
There was surprise and incomprehension, but more than anything, there was forcibly suppressed killing intent and a faint undercurrent of worry.
She turned her head slightly, looking away from Kirishima Bupai.
Kirishima Bupai lightly adjusted his sunglasses, an almost imperceptible curve lifting the corners of his mouth.
Oyakata-sama's intervention had come sooner than he had expected, and more directly. It was undoubtedly the best way out of this predicament.
A subtle, persistent awkwardness hung in the air.
Neither spoke first. That earlier "close-quarters contest" and the crisp slapping sound seemed to linger in the air...
In the end, Kirishima Bupai gave a dry cough and broke the silence. "Ahem... well... Kocho, look, the Master has given his orders."
"..."
Shinobu Kocho did not look at him. She merely straightened the somewhat rumpled hem of her butterfly-wing-patterned haori.
After a long while, her voice regained its usual gentleness, though it carried a barely perceptible distance and businesslike formality. "Indeed, Mr. Bupai."
"Since these are the Master's orders, we must of course obey." She paused, then added, "It seems those people you 'called in' won't be needed for now?"
Kirishima Bupai rubbed his nose. "Ah... plans can't keep up with changes! But as long as the result is the same..."
"Hmph." Shinobu Kocho gave an extremely soft snort and said no more.
She turned and stepped lightly toward headquarters, in the direction indicated by the Kasugai Crow.
"The Kakushi members should arrive soon to collect the siblings and handle the aftermath."
"We should set out as well, Mr. Bupai. The Hashira Meeting... will presumably be convened very soon."
Before you continue