With everything settled and nearly everything they needed to discuss covered, the impromptu Hashira Meeting came to an end. The three Hashira said goodbye to Kagaya Ubuyashiki and went their separate ways.
"The number of Hashira is growing. I feel as though I can already see all nine gathering in the future, recreating the glory of the Demon Slayer Corps during the Sengoku period."
"That day will come."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his wife, Amane, spoke quietly as they watched the three leave.
Back at the Medical Department, Kanzaki Kumo first sought out the two elderly physicians. He thanked them for their contributions to the Demon Slayer Corps and passed along Kagaya's message. With all the courtesies observed, the two voluntarily resigned and left under Kakushi escort to enjoy their retirement in peace.
As Kanzaki Kumo saw the two elderly physicians off, Kanae Kocho happened to spot him.
"What are you doing, Kanzaki?"
Kanae was now wearing the familiar outfit from Kanzaki Kumo's memories. On either side of her head was a butterfly hair clip with a green base and pink edges, and she wore a white, pink-edged haori shaped like butterfly wings. Beneath her loose clothing, the curves of her figure had begun to develop.
Compared with the night they first met, she now looked more beautiful and had a gentle, mature air about her.
"Letting two old men who've spent most of their lives working for the Demon Slayer Corps go home and retire in peace. After all, you're all here now, aren't you? I've experienced Uncle Zemu's medical skills firsthand. Those two deserve a rest." Kanzaki Kumo turned to glance at her, then changed the subject.
"Anyway, enough about that. I have some good news for you. Today, I suggested to the head of the Demon Slayer Corps that we rename the Medical Department the Butterfly Mansion, and he agreed."
"Huh?" The unexpected news left Kanae stunned, her little head full of enormous question marks and exclamation points.
Whether it was the influence Kanzaki Kumo had, the news of the Medical Department's renaming, or the meaning behind the name "Butterfly Mansion," all of it surprised her.
"After all, you'll be living here from now on. Calling it the Butterfly Mansion should make it feel more like home, right?" Kanzaki Kumo found her dazed expression amusing, but kept talking.
"Oh, and I'll be living here from now on too. I'm the Demon Slayer Corps' Rumble Hashira now, so I need to patrol and guard an area. The Butterfly Mansion happens to be in a suitable location for my residence."
"We'll have plenty of time together from now on, so you don't need to call me 'Kanzaki' anymore. You look a little older than me, so just call me Kumo like a few of my other friends do. And I'll call you Kanae. How does that sound?"
"Mm..." Faced with another string of information, Kanae had no idea where to begin responding. All she could do was smile, nod, and say, "Mm."
"Then it's settled. I still need to make a trip back to my teacher's place, so I'll get going. I'll leave it to you to tell everyone about renaming the Medical Department the Butterfly Mansion, Kanae. Bye."
"Ah, oh... goodbye." Only then did Kanae come back to her senses and wave goodbye to Kanzaki Kumo. Watching his not particularly tall or imposing figure gradually recede into the distance, she felt a little more moved.
Then Kanae Kocho collected herself and turned toward the room where her parents were, her steps light. Her haori swayed with each step she took, as though she really were a butterfly. The butterfly wings of her hair clips also opened and closed gently, as if they had come alive.
On the way back to Mount Momiji, Kanzaki Kumo recalled Kanae's reaction and couldn't help laughing. Despite already having a somewhat mature air, she had looked so adorably dazed. It gave him a good understanding of what "gap moe" meant.
Both Kanae Kocho and Shinobu Kocho, who could still be considered a child at this point, were very cute girls. He couldn't let that bastard Doma hurt them. Protecting these people would require greater strength. Kanzaki Kumo, who hadn't even managed to kill a Lower Rank instantly, still had a long way to go before he could take on an Upper Rank.
Putting those matters aside for the moment, Kanzaki Kumo ran toward Mount Momiji at a brisk pace. Naturally, he had to tell the former Rumble Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, in person that he had succeeded him. He also needed to say a proper goodbye, since he would be living at the Butterfly Mansion from now on.
Still, Mount Momiji happened to fall within the area he guarded, so coming back whenever he wanted wouldn't be difficult.
The town where Kanzaki Kumo had once lived and some of its surrounding areas, along with the area around Mount Sagiri, also fell within his territory. These had been transferred from Gyomei and Shinjuro respectively.
Kanzaki Kumo was quite pleased with this arrangement. He would have chances to visit his friends and teachers while on patrol.
Although his previous two midday returns to Mount Momiji had both ended with Kuwajima falling on his backside, it was already noon by the time this Hashira Meeting ended. By the time Kanzaki Kumo reached Mount Momiji, it was dinnertime. Surely he wouldn't knock Kuwajima over by kicking the door open again.
Then...
Bang!
"Old man, Zenitsu, I'm back!"
Thud!
"Ow!" A dull thud, considerably quieter than the previous two, rang out alongside a cry of pain.
"Huh?" Kanzaki Kumo froze for a moment, still holding his door-kicking pose.
Lowering his head slightly, he found Zenitsu Agatsuma sitting on the floor, clutching his head and looking up at him.
"Oh no! Zenitsu, I'm really sorry. I didn't notice you behind the door. Sorry, sorry. You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine, Big Brother Yun." Thanks to his keen hearing, Zenitsu had heard Kanzaki Kumo's footsteps from far away and eagerly gone to open the door for him. He hadn't expected him to move so quickly and kick it open.
"You brat! You knocked me over twice before, and you still haven't learned to stop kicking doors open?" Kuwajima came out of the kitchen, looked at Zenitsu, who was nearly in tears from the pain, then glanced at Kanzaki Kumo and began scolding him without hesitation.
"Grandpa, it isn't Big Brother Yun's fault. It was my fault..."
Hearing Zenitsu call him "Grandpa" made Kanzaki Kumo pause. How long had he even been away? Had they already established a grandfather-grandson relationship? After another glance at Jigoro Kuwajima's face, which was beaming from that single "Grandpa," he forcibly suppressed the urge to make a snide remark.
Kanzaki Kumo: I just don't want to ruin the old man's mood. It's definitely not because I'm afraid he'll chase me down with his cane. Definitely not!
"All right, Zenitsu. This really was my fault. You don't need to speak up for me. It's not like the old man would actually punish me."
Without looking at Kuwajima's expression again, Kanzaki Kumo rubbed Zenitsu's head. His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was unusually serious.
"More importantly, you need to change that personality of yours a little. Things aren't like before, when you were afraid of upsetting other people. As long as you're in the right, there's no need to put yourself through that. Here on Mount Momiji, you have the old man backing you up. Once you join the Demon Slayer Corps, your Big Brother Yun will back you up."
"I'm the Demon Slayer Corps' Rumble Hashira now, you know. I'll definitely be able to look out for you."
"Mm, thank you, Big Brother... Wait, you're already a Hashira? That's amazing..." Stars seemed to light up in Zenitsu's eyes as he looked at Kanzaki Kumo. Even "Big Brother Yun" had become "Big Brother."
"What's all this about looking out for him? Don't go being a bad influence on Zenitsu, you brat. As a Hashira, you need to set an example all the more. You can't openly show favoritism."
Perhaps he was imagining it, but Kanzaki Kumo kept feeling that Jigoro Kuwajima sounded a little jealous.
Kuwajima: Zenitsu has never looked at me with that kind of admiration. What makes you so special, you little brat!
Kanzaki Kumo: ...
"It's not like Zenitsu can't tell right from wrong. I just don't want him getting bullied in the future. He's too soft right now. A man ought to have a little backbone."
"Mm-hmm! Don't worry, Grandpa. I won't use your name or Big Brother's to do bad things." Zenitsu's little head bobbed rapidly.
Zenitsu Agatsuma's personality was largely the result of his upbringing.
Having lost his parents as a child, he often thought he might die at any moment too. That was why he was so fixated on finding a girlfriend, getting married, and having children, so he could pass on his bloodline early.
Of course, that didn't rule out his own somewhat lustful nature as a contributing factor. Most ordinary people had lustful desires, though; it was just a question of whether they could control them.
Zenitsu's cautious, somewhat weak personality also stemmed from losing his parents as a child. A child with no one to back him up naturally wouldn't dare speak assertively to others, terrified of accidentally offending someone. He had developed what Kanzaki Kumo had known in his previous life as a "people-pleasing personality."
His instinctive response to any trouble was to apologize. He would rather suffer himself than argue his case, thinking only of how to smooth things over.
Because he knew that if things escalated, while he couldn't say whether the other person had anyone to stand up for them, he truly had no one behind him to help.
All of the above had led to some bad girls swindling him out of every bit of his parents' inheritance. By the time Kanzaki Kumo found him, the boy could already be considered to have been living on the streets.
But now that Jigoro Kuwajima and Kanzaki Kumo were there, it was time for Zenitsu's personality to change.
Before you continue