After the long meeting ended, Kagaya personally invited Tanjiro for a walk. He wanted to explain the Mark in private, and Tanjiro agreed without hesitation.
The timing was past noon, with sunlight at its peak.
Kie remained in his room, while Mitsuri was enjoying time with Hinaki, Nichika, Kuina, and Kanata.
Little Kiriya accompanied his father.
They walked for a few minutes as Kagaya softly explained how his family had built immense wealth through their foresight ability.
They invested large sums in businesses their intuition guided them toward and avoided dangers early, sometimes pulling the family back from the brink.
He also spoke of the tragedy that haunted them: his father taking his own life in grief, and his mentally ill second brother Senri setting fire to the mansion, claiming the lives of their youngest brother Akito and their mother.
It was a horrifying moment that left a nine-year-old Kagaya alone to rebuild the family and manage the Demon Slayer Corps.
Hearing this, Tanjiro was taken aback.
'Holy shit… I didn't know that. This man is insane…'
Yet in the end, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the dying leader. Despite such willpower, Kagaya would pass within the next three years.
'What his family suffers from is a curse. Not even almighty Senzu Beans would work here… The only way to cure him is to defeat Kibutsuji Muzan quickly and break the thousand-year-old curse…'
In the air, Kanae's ghost followed quietly.
"I can't describe this feeling, but I can somehow sense Oyakata-sama's life fading little by little every moment… He won't live long at this rate," she mumbled to herself.
Tanjiro nodded inwardly.
'Another ghost perk, huh…'
Shortly after, they arrived at a place Kagaya visited daily.
"Graveyard…" Tanjiro said calmly, fully aware.
The sight before him was a massive, serene graveyard maintained meticulously and treated with daily love and care. He could tell.
Kiriya looked at him with quiet surprise. How could this person perceive his surroundings with his eyes closed? Gyomei-san had adapted to blindness after years of struggle, but how was Tanjiro capable of it under such a thick blindfold…?
The child was clearly baffled, though he remained silent beside his father.
Unlike his son, Kagaya showed no surprise. His refined foresight strongly urged him to trust Tanjiro's strength. Why question a blindfold when he already knew what the boy was capable of? Tanjiro had defeated two powerful demons alone. Kagaya believed in him completely.
After gazing at the clean, quiet graveyard with a gentle expression, Kagaya spoke calmly.
"All the orphaned children who died for the noble cause of exterminating demons are brought here… They fought bravely and died for others, so now they rest together as family."
Kanae stared at the graveyard with quiet nostalgia.
She located her apprentices' graves not far away. Seeing those names and remembering the precious memories that still lingered in her mind caused her gaze to soften drastically. 'Suzu… Minori…'
Perceiving thousands of graves spread everywhere around him, Tanjiro responded in a cold voice subconsciously. "All because of a single wretch."
Though he felt emotional, he knew better. If he wanted to give meaningful closure to all the people who had died because of Muzan and his demon servants, he must finish the ultimate task and exterminate Muzan. That would be the most he could do for the dead and the living.
In the end, he tilted his head with a deep sigh.
Muzan had successfully escaped his grasp and was most likely going to hide for years.
The only way to pull him out of the Infinity Castle would be to bait him.
'If only Mother could conquer the sun… Hm, but I doubt that bastard would take the risk… Shit, I have to wait and see for now…'
Kagaya turned toward Tanjiro and said in his usual soft voice, "Kibutsuji Muzan originated from our bloodline a thousand years ago. That's the reason our family has taken upon itself to kill that man. It's a stain that has cursed our blood since the Heian Era…"
Tanjiro listened without interrupting.
Kiriya wore a sad look but didn't shed a tear, proof of his early maturity.
Noticing that it was time, Kagaya looked at the sky with his right eye and added with a complex look. "Tanjiro… Do you know that the first appearance of the Mark was approximately five hundred years ago, during the Sengoku period? Although much of the records are lost, we found in the remaining scrolls that a man who claimed to have been born with the Mark was the very first user of Breathing Techniques. It was because of that person the current Demon Slayers are able to use Breathing arts to such a degree."
Hearing his words, Tanjiro could only reply in marvel. "He must have been an extraordinary person…"
'The man who scared the shit out of the demon king… Definitely a monster in his own right, heh.'
Kagaya nodded.
He then turned to Tanjiro and said after remaining quiet for a few seconds. "What we have managed to learn from the remaining scrolls we currently possess is that anyone who awakened the Mark later in life died at the age of twenty-five… With the sole exception of the same man who had it since birth, the Sun Hashira of that time, Tsugikuni Yoriichi."
A silence suddenly drowned the atmosphere.
Kanae's face changed almost instantly. "W-What?"
She then looked at Tanjiro's Mark, which he had told her he awakened during battle, and a grave expression immediately appeared on her face.
'He… will die? At twenty-five?'
Tanjiro's blindfolded eyes were looking at the graves.
After hearing Kagaya's explanation, he simply shrugged and replied calmly. "Rest assured, Oyakata. I don't fear death. As long as my family is safe and sound, I'll happily sacrifice my life for them. Of course, there's a high possibility I could die fighting demons before reaching twenty-five, so it's alright."
Kiriya's gaze turned admiring toward him because of his answer.
"Our Ubuyashiki family will support you in any way possible, Tanjiro." Kagaya gave a respectful bow, followed by his son. The boy had denied a mansion and didn't ask for ridiculous money. He was helping them fend off demons, and all he wanted in return was help to turn his mother back to human. So why wouldn't Kagaya feel deep respect for a boy so young yet with such great values?
"Please, don't do this—you're the boss here…" Tanjiro sighed, a bit frustrated inwardly.
Kagaya's lips parted lightly after hearing his words.
'Boss…?' That was the first time he had been called boss since becoming Oyakata.
His son showed a restrained smile, trying his best to hide it.
Kanae had gone silent. Tanjiro noticed.
After the walk with Kagaya ended, they gradually returned to the mansion.
Meanwhile, Tanjiro told him about Hinokami Kagura and the Hanafuda earrings that had been passed down in his family without exception for a very, very long time.
Kagaya, with his foresight, easily concluded that it must have been the same man with the natural Mark and the first Breathing user who taught Tanjiro's family forefather during the Sengoku period. It could be considered that man's legacy.
And just like that, Mitsuri and Tanjiro waved their goodbyes and left for the Butterfly Mansion.
Kie was silently strapped on his back.
.....
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