The afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light across the Butterfly Mansion's courtyard. A breeze swept past, carrying the faint fragrance of wisteria and the pungent smell of medicine.
Dressed in a clean uniform, Tanjiro took a deep breath and carefully pushed open the Butterfly Mansion's side door.
"Well, if it isn't the kid with a head as hard as a rock! What happened? Did you anger Lord Rokuya again and get beaten back in here?" teased a member of the Kakushi Corps, who lay sunning himself in the corridor with bandages wrapped around his head.
"No, I came to..." Tanjiro had just begun to explain when his nose suddenly twitched.
He stopped and turned to look at the Kakushi Corps member.
Beneath the man's outward teasing, Tanjiro smelled something intensely suppressed, a sour, bitter scent like rotting leaves. It was profound self-reproach and helplessness.
"Sir..." Tanjiro walked over to the man and crouched beside him, looking at him gently. "Are you... thinking about last night's mission?"
The smile froze on the man's face, and his eyes instantly grew somewhat flustered. "You... what nonsense are you talking about? I'm just enjoying the sunshine."
"Your scent is full of sadness and self-reproach." Tanjiro's voice was quiet, but unusually firm. "You're blaming yourself for not running a little faster, for not carrying that injured comrade out on your back. Am I right?"
The man's body shook violently. He stared at the red-haired boy before him in disbelief, his eyes instantly reddening.
"I... I really did everything I could... That demon was too fast. If I'd turned back, I would've died there too..." The man suddenly covered his face, muffled sobs escaping between his fingers. "But... but just yesterday morning, he shared his last rice ball with me!"