When Sasuke stepped into the Butterfly Mansion's courtyard again, the afternoon sunlight was just right.
Warm, but not dazzling.
It stood in stark contrast to the night of raging thunder and rain he had unleashed himself a few days earlier.
In the courtyard, Aoi Kanzaki was hanging freshly washed sheets to dry, while the three little girls, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho, helped nearby, their chatter filling the place with life.
Sasuke's footsteps were light.
Yet his presence was stronger than ever before.
Sumi was the first to notice him.
At the sight of that familiar yet unfamiliar figure, she instinctively tugged on Aoi Kanzaki's sleeve.
"Miss Aoi..."
Aoi Kanzaki turned around.
Then she froze completely.
It was still the same black-haired boy.
Still the same stern, largely expressionless face.
But there was something new on him.
A black haori embroidered with roiling, ominous thunderclouds.
It was proof of his status as a Hashira, something only the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest fighters were entitled to wear.
"L-Lord Thunder Hashira..."
Aoi Kanzaki used the honorific almost instinctively.
Her voice was quiet, yet it instantly silenced all the bustle in the courtyard.
The three little girls all ducked behind her, peeking out with only their little heads to steal glances at Sasuke, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity, admiration, and a trace of fear.
The "Mr. Sasuke" they knew seemed to have become a distant figure they could only look up to overnight.
Sasuke paid no attention to their reactions.
Using Kirin had taken far more out of him than he had imagined.
It had not merely depleted his chakra, but placed an enormous strain on his mind as well.
Right now, he needed rest.
Just as he was about to cross the courtyard and head straight for an empty room...