Chapter 32: Sister, Protecting an Evil Demon?
Sanemi Shinazugawa's teeth ground together, veins bulging on the back of his hand as he gripped Masashi's collar.
He didn't speak, but the murderous intent radiating from him...
...made the temperature in the room feel as if it had dropped several degrees.
Hearing this, Kocho Shinobu couldn't help but cover her mouth, her eyes showing her distress.
Being eaten by a demon... this was the most tragic end for a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"And then?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's voice was hoarse, suppressing a towering rage.
"Since you're not dead, who saved you?"
Masashi sobbed, speaking haltingly:
"It was... it was Lady Flower Hashira..."
Lady Flower Hashira arrived just in time..."
Hearing the words "Flower Hashira," Kocho Shinobu rushed forward and asked urgently:
"Sister? You're saying Sister saved you?"
"Then where is she?"
"Why didn't she come back with you?"
"Is she injured?"
The sense of unease in Kocho Shinobu's heart had reached its peak, her hand unconsciously grabbing the hem of Masashi's clothes.
Masashi looked up, seeing the face of Kocho Shinobu which bore some resemblance to the Flower Hashira; his gaze suddenly became complicated.
It was an expression of fear, anger, and confusion all woven together.
"Lady Flower Hashira... she..."
Masashi swallowed hard.
"Master Sanemi... please, go save Lady Flower Hashira!"
"She... she's been deceived!"
"Deceived? What do you mean?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's brow furrowed, his gaze sharp as a blade.
Masashi took a deep breath and shouted with all his might:
"Lady Flower Hashira is currently with an evil demon named 'Tatsu'!"
"Lady Flower Hashira said he doesn't eat humans..."
"...and she even wants to protect him."
"That demon must have used some kind of Blood Demon Art to bewitch Lady Flower Hashira."
"What?!"
Kocho Shinobu and Sanemi Shinazugawa exclaimed in unison, their faces filled with disbelief.
"That's impossible!"
Kocho Shinobu retorted instinctively, her voice shrill.
"Sister is a Hashira!"
"She is a swordsman who slays evil demons!"
"How could she possibly protect one?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Masashi was so agitated his face and neck turned red, tears and snot flowing freely.
"That demon named Tatsu... said he wouldn't eat people..."
"And then Lady Flower Hashira... her heart softened."
"She sheathed her sword and even stood in front of that demon."
"I was right there begging her..."
"I said that's an evil demon, a man-eating demon!"
"But Lady Flower Hashira said... 'I believe him'..."
"Are you kidding me?!!!"
Boom—!
A violent current of air suddenly erupted from Sanemi Shinazugawa, making the medicine cabinet nearby rattle loudly.
His expression was terrifyingly dark, his bloodshot eyes swirling with tangible murderous intent.
"Protecting an evil demon?"
"Has that woman Kanae... finally lost her mind completely?!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa roared, slamming a fist into the nearby wall.
The hard wall was instantly smashed, creating a web-like crack.
"A demon is a demon!"
"A demon for a day, a demon for life!"
"She actually did it for such a thing... for such a thing..."
Kocho Shinobu stood frozen in place, her face as pale as paper.
Masashi's words were like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing some conviction in her heart.
Sister... protecting an evil demon?
"That demon must have deceived Lady Flower Hashira!"
Masashi cried out.
"I saw it clearly; when that demon was behind Lady Flower Hashira, it showed murderous intent toward me."
"It wanted to kill me."
"It's exploiting Lady Flower Hashira's kindness."
"Master Sanemi, if we don't go quickly, Lady Flower Hashira will surely be killed by that demon!"
"Damn it... damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Kocho Shinobu lowered her head, repeatedly muttering those words.
Her body was trembling violently, not from fear, but from anger.
An unprecedented rage.
Sister was such a gentle person.
Sister always believed in the beauty of humanity, even willing to believe that demons could have good intentions.
But this gentleness, this kindness, was actually being exploited by that despicable demon.
Unforgivable.
Absolutely unforgivable!
To exploit Sister's kindness, to trample on her beliefs...
...and perhaps even preparing to harm her...
That demon named Tatsu must die!
"No... I have to find Sister."
Kocho Shinobu suddenly looked up, her purple eyes—which usually held a hint of playfulness—
...were now completely replaced by cold, murderous intent.
"Lady Shinobu, you..."
The Kakushi member who had carried Masashi back tried to dissuade her but was silenced by the aura Kocho Shinobu emitted.
Kocho Shinobu ignored everyone and turned toward the Nichirin Sword hanging on the wall.
"I'm going to kill it."
Kocho Shinobu grabbed her Nichirin Sword, her voice as cold as if it had been soaked in an ice cellar.
"I will tear that demon who deceived Sister into ten thousand pieces!"
Having said that, she didn't give the others time to react.
With a kick off the ground, she instantly rushed out of the infirmary.
"Hey! You stupid woman! Stop right there!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa cursed as he watched Kocho Shinobu's disappearing back.
He turned his head and glanced at Masashi, who was slumped on the floor, a flicker of complex emotion in his eyes.
It was pity for his disciple, and hatred for demons.
"Recover well. Don't die."
Sanemi Shinazugawa left those words behind and snatched up his green Nichirin Sword leaning against the bed.
"Master Sanemi..."
Masashi reached out with his handless arm, as if trying to grab something.
"Don't worry."
Sanemi Shinazugawa had his back to him; though his voice was still gruff, it carried a reassuring strength.
"That demon, I will kill it."
"As for that idiot Kanae whose brain is full of water..."
He paused, the white Haori on his back with the word "Kill" fluttering even without wind.
"If she dares to stop me from killing the demon, I'll beat her up too."
Before his voice had even faded, Sanemi Shinazugawa's figure turned into a Wind, kicking up dust from the ground...
...as he sped off in the direction Kocho Shinobu had vanished.
...
In the courtyard.
Kocho Shinobu's speed was incredibly fast; she leaped across the rooftops, the tiles beneath her feet making faint clicking sounds.
The wind whistled past her cheeks, messing up her bangs, but she didn't care at all.
Her mind was filled with images of her sister.
The way Sister smiled and said, "Demons are pitiful too."
The way Sister held her and said, "Shinobu, you should smile more."
The way Sister looked in the sunlight, her Haori fluttering in the wind.
"Sister... you stupid sister..."
Tears betrayingly slid from the corners of her eyes.
Why were you always so naive?
Why did you always have to hold onto expectations for those man-eating monsters?
"If you die protecting something like that... I absolutely won't allow it!"
Kocho Shinobu gritted her teeth, her grip on the Nichirin Sword tightening.
"Hey! You shorty! Are you running that fast just to go die?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's signature roar came from behind.
Kocho Shinobu didn't look back, but she could feel that violent aura of wind rapidly approaching.
"It's none of your business; this is between us sisters."
Kocho Shinobu shouted back, her pace quickening even more.
"Ha? You think I want to get involved?"
With a few leaps and bounds, Sanemi Shinazugawa had caught up to a short distance behind Kocho Shinobu.
"That idiot Flower Hashira is currently being completely bewitched by a demon."
"For a brat like you who can't even cut a demon's neck, going there is just serving yourself up as a meal."
"Then I'll have to save one more person. What a pain in the ass."
"Who asked you to save me!"
"And don't you dare call Sister an idiot!"
Kocho Shinobu glared back at him in exasperation.
"What else is she if not an idiot for being tricked by a demon? A huge idiot!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa retorted mercilessly, his face contorted.
"When we get there, I'll mince that demon into meat paste first."
"Then I'm definitely going to crack open that woman Kanae's head to see if it's filled with mush."
Although his words were harsh...
...Kocho Shinobu noticed that Sanemi Shinazugawa was maintaining a position just behind her and to the side—the optimal distance for support.
This man, though his tongue was deadly sharp and his personality was the absolute worst, at a time like this...
Kocho Shinobu bit her lip, withdrew her gaze, and focused all her attention ahead.
"Wait for me, Sister."
Kocho Shinobu thought to herself.
"No matter what sweet words that demon used, no matter what you're thinking, Sister..."
"...if it dares to harm a single hair on your head, I'll use the most potent toxins to make it wail in agony as it goes to hell!"
Two figures, one purple and one white, rushed forward, filled with rage and anxiety.