Watching as Iguro Obanai was slammed into the ground with a single blow, several people instinctively shrank back, their faces twitching at the corners.
Although they all felt a bit sorry for Iguro Obanai, who'd been blindsided for no apparent reason... none of them dared say anything. Nightingale was clearly still simmering with anger and in no mood for discussion. Anyone who spoke up for Iguro risked sharing his fate.
So, they could only hope Obanai would bear the humiliation for now... Surely, he'd understand.
"Namu Amida Butsu..."
Himejima Gyomei pressed his palms together and, still worried for Oyakata-sama, spoke up anxiously. "Nightingale-san, may I ask... how is the Master's condition?"
"What's with all this noise?! If you keep causing such a ruckus outside, how am I supposed to focus on treatment?!"
Nightingale shot Gyomei a fearsome glare, her sheer presence enough to leave him speechless.
"Are you all only just realizing how grave and difficult his illness is? If you can't help, then at least don't get in my way—and don't interfere with my treatment plans! Either stand quietly outside, or leave. Otherwise, I'll treat you as a risk to the patient's safety and remove you by force—or silence you if I must!"
At the mention of "forcible silence," Uzui Tengen and Tomioka Giyuu both winced in sympathy—one rubbing the back of his head, the other his chest.
Did you think something had happened to make them so obedient while Obanai was out cold? No need to guess: everyone who voiced an opinion got the same treatment from Nightingale's iron fist.
Earlier, after Nightingale declared, "Leave everything to me. I promise—I will heal you," Ubuyashiki Kagaya simply nodded, calm as ever.
"Then, I'll entrust my illness to you."
No one had expected such a decision from him.
He only offered a gentle explanation:
"I can feel it—Nightingale-san bears no ill will. I'll be fine... In fact, what's about to happen may even be a blessing for me, right, Nightingale-san?"
Kagaya's trust in Nightingale shocked those swordsmen who had doubted or even resented her.
Everyone in the Ubuyashiki clan was born with an almost supernatural intuition—a sixth sense that sometimes allowed them a vague glimpse of the future. This ability was the reason their clan flourished and, more than once, it had saved the Demon Slayer Corps from total destruction.
Faced with such trust, Nightingale's expression grew solemn and earnest.
"A disease like yours... I've never seen anything quite like it before. But rest assured—even if you're at the edge of Hell, I'll drag you back."
Within those words was a vow—resolute and pure, a promise unsullied by hardship or despair.
Kagaya's trust, Nightingale's vow—together, they tipped the scales in everyone's heart, slowly dispelling doubt.
But to erase suspicion entirely would take far more than that.
Shinazugawa Sanemi, for one, refused to give in. He insisted he had to stay and keep watch during the treatment, overseeing Nightingale's every move.
To any medical professional, that kind of demand was the very definition of a "nightmare guardian."
"Absolutely not! Non-medical personnel are forbidden from entering!"
"Then you're clearly hiding something! No way am I letting some shady stranger stay alone with Oyakata-sama!"
Sanemi's relentless badgering brought to Nightingale's mind an old saying: The most infuriating thing isn't stupidity—it's when someone thinks they're clever and starts telling you how to do your job.
Even if you tell a patient's family not to let them eat for a day before surgery, they'll sneak in with chicken soup "for nutrition," then blame the hospital if something goes wrong. All that cunning, spent on deceiving doctors and dodging responsibility.
To most in the profession, this sort of situation is a major headache—the more you care, the more you're forced to tiptoe around others. Only the shameless seem immune.
But Nightingale couldn't care less.
Her entire philosophy could be summed up in a single sentence: I'm here to save you—what does your opinion have to do with it?
Why wasn't Sanemi waiting with the others when Obanai returned? Because he'd been given a lesson in "manners" by Nightingale's fist for refusing to give up.
Having watched the anime, Nightingale knew perfectly well—what plagued Kagaya wasn't an illness in the strict sense, but a curse.
A thousand years ago, Kibutsuji Muzan was once part of the Ubuyashiki bloodline. Because he became a demon, the entire clan was cursed: their children frail and sickly, rarely surviving to adulthood. Every generation, they took wives from priestly families, following the gods' instructions—just to give their children a fighting chance. But even so, not a single Ubuyashiki had lived past thirty.
Nightingale couldn't be sure if her abilities could resolve what Kagaya faced, but as a Servant, she couldn't bring herself to give up before at least trying.
To ensure the treatment went as smoothly as possible, Nightingale had made ample preparations... and that was when Obanai came back.
Thanks to the commotion caused by his scuffle with Rengoku Kyojuro, Obanai received the same "treatment" as Sanemi, ending up sprawled beside him. Nightingale ignored both—she had more pressing matters at hand.
"Nightingale-san..."
Suddenly, Gyomei's deep voice called out, drawing Nightingale's gaze.
"Please, I entrust Oyakata-sama to you."
A long silence followed.
"He is my patient now. Since that's the case, I will save him—no matter what."
Leaving only those words behind, Nightingale turned and strode back inside.
The treatment lasted from the height of the sun until dusk.
For hours, all the Hashira waited anxiously outside. During that time, both the previously unconscious Sanemi and Obanai regained consciousness, joining the others in their vigil.
The only reason those two didn't barge in again was because of a single remark from Gyomei: "If the treatment fails because you two rushed in, what then?"
As the Corps' undisputed strongest, Gyomei had never intervened in any of the previous disputes—Kyojuro always took the lead. But clearly, this time, Gyomei wasn't willing to just stand by.
Sanemi, though still looking fierce, couldn't hide a flicker of wariness when he met Gyomei's eyes.
But as the hours dragged on, his patience wore thinner and thinner.
"How much longer? How long are we supposed to wait?!"
Sanemi snapped, thumping his thigh in frustration. "There's not even a sound from inside. Is she trying to drive me mad?!"
Gyomei, quietly reciting sutras to steady his mind, finally spoke. "Patience, Sanemi. Oyakata-sama's illness is beyond difficult. Even Nightingale-san may not be able to resolve it easily. All we can do is wait... and trust that she'll bring us the results we're hoping for."
"Tch! I still don't trust her, not one bit."
Sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor, Sanemi scowled. "No one's ever cured this in a thousand years. Now some random girl pops up and claims she can fix it, and you all just accept that?! Ridiculous!"
"Sanemi... Even now, you're still trying to measure Nightingale-san by ordinary standards?"
"..."
Gyomei's meaning was clear.
You doubted her strength against the Upper Moons before, insisted on seeing for yourself—how much more are you willing to lose? You can't get enough of suffering?
A tense silence fell, broken only by Sanemi's barely contained grumbling.
Kochou Kanae stifled a giggle behind her hand... Everything Gyomei said was exactly what she'd wanted to say. But if she had said it, Sanemi probably would've exploded.
"Hmm..."
Rengoku Kyojuro looked around, suddenly puzzled. "Where did Obanai go?"
"He's behind the estate," Uzui Tengen answered, "said he's keeping watch in case Nightingale tries to flee after doing something bad... Not very flashy, huh? What can he really do back there anyway? Still, that woman's strength—if she charged out the front, we probably couldn't stop her."
"Truly remarkable!" Rengoku folded his arms, nodding in approval. "Two Upper Moons dead because of her, another severely wounded—her actions will save countless lives in the future! She deserves our respect."
"Seems like we'll have to work even harder, Tengen!"
Rengoku was practically glowing with excitement. "Let's make defeating the Upper Moons our goal!"
"Haha! Now that sounds flashy—just what you'd expect from the god of festivals!"
Neither Rengoku nor Tengen assumed that, just because Nightingale was strong, the task of defeating the Upper Moons should fall to her alone. They, as the Hashira, were the Demon Slayer Corps' pillars—the main line of defense against the demons.
Just as Nightingale saw healing as her calling, their mission was to hunt down demons.
"Rengoku-san and Tengen-san are so motivated... Is it because of Nightingale, I wonder?" Kanae listened to their conversation with a gentle smile. "How nice... Too bad I can't fight anymore. I suppose I'll need to find someone to succeed me as the Flower Hashira. And after that... what should I do? Lately, Shinobu's been learning medicine and pharmacology from Nightingale—maybe I'll help her?"
No longer qualified to bear the name "Flower Hashira," Kanae found herself pondering her future.
Meanwhile, Tomioka Giyuu—forgotten by all—stood quietly in a shadowed corner, lowering even his breathing until his presence barely registered, like a pebble by the roadside.
As everyone waited, the blood-red sun blazed like a burning orb, sinking behind the western hills. At the same time, a silver moon began to rise in the east.
SMACK!
Suddenly, Sanemi slapped the floor and stood up, turning toward the house.
"Where are you going, Sanemi?"
Gyomei's voice, low and heavy with warning, halted him like chains. "Nightingale-san is treating Oyakata-sama inside. No interruptions are allowed. I just reminded you of this—don't tell me you've already forgotten?"
"Spare me your lectures. I'm just going to stand by the door," Sanemi snapped back, undaunted. "This is taking way too long. There's not a single sound—don't you find that suspicious? I'm not going inside, just listening at the door for anything unusual."
"That's still not allowed."
Gyomei's frown deepened, voice growing lower—he looked ready to stop Sanemi by force.
But just then, a warm, gentle voice echoed through the air. There was something special in its timbre, a kind of magic that instantly eased the tension and hostility in the atmosphere.
"Gyomei, Sanemi—calm yourselves."
Gyomei, Sanemi, and all the Hashira waiting outside stared, eyes wide with shock, as they turned toward the voice.
With a step far lighter than usual, that same gentle, resolute smile blooming like plum blossoms in snow, Ubuyashiki Kagaya emerged from within.
All the Hashira: "Oyakata-sama!!"
They couldn't contain their joy and disbelief—their voices trembled.
Because the ghastly purple lesions—marks of the curse—had all but disappeared from Kagaya's face. The cloudiness in his eyes had cleared; they shone with new life.
"My beloved children, thank you for waiting here all this time. I'm sorry for worrying you."
In his smile, the Hashira saw something new—something like relief, as if a great burden had finally lifted, the joy of someone who had waited in darkness and at last glimpsed the dawn.
---
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