A long time passed.
In the infirmary, Tanjiro finally stirred awake.
"You're awake?"
Kanao stepped over. The moment she saw his eyes open, she whispered in surprise, almost afraid to believe it.
"Yeah… you've been here this whole time?" Tanjiro's voice was weak, but his gaze was clear. "Thank you."
Kanao shook her head and quietly sat back down.
After a while, the door swung open again.
"Tanjiro still hasn't woken up? Leaving such good cake here is a total waste…"
A woman in black walked in, a tray in her hands. On her back was the character for "Kakushi," the support corps.
"Kanao, you're here too. If the cake's about to go bad, you can just eat it…"
She was still talking when her eyes landed on Tanjiro.
"Wait. Tanjiro, you're awake?!"
"I've been awake for a bit."
"What?!"
She immediately snapped her head toward Kanao and scolded her like an older sister.
"You kid, you're still as quiet as ever! If Tanjiro wakes up, you're supposed to tell everyone! Do you know how worried everybody's been?!"
With that, she huffed and stormed out.
"Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, and Aoi! Tanjiro's awake!"
"Waaah!"
The three little girls started crying on the spot, overwhelmed with relief.
They came rushing in and instantly packed around Tanjiro's bed until there was barely any air left.
Kiyo Terauchi sobbed as she pushed a sweet bun toward him.
"Mr. Tanjiro, here! This red bean bun is for you!"
"You're finally awake, Mr. Tanjiro, hurry and eat the cake!"
"Try the pancakes!"
Hearing the commotion, Aoi Kanzaki hurried in too.
The moment she saw Tanjiro, her face crumpled. She couldn't hold it in.
"Thank goodness… you're finally awake!"
"Everyone got hurt because they went on the mission instead of me…"
"Don't say that."
Tanjiro turned his head weakly, searching.
"…Where are the others?"
Aoi wiped her eyes, forcing herself to answer.
"The blond one woke up two days ago and already went back out on a mission. He complained the whole time, but he still went."
"The Sound Hashira… he has wives. They took him away. He hasn't returned."
"And the one with the boar mask… his condition was bad. The poison delayed his breathing technique for stopping the bleeding…"
She hesitated, then added, "The one in the best shape is Mr. Vincent Fox. He stayed two days, then went straight back to missions. I heard he's killed a lot of demons lately."
"Is that so?" Tanjiro's eyes softened. "Mr. Vincent Fox really is amazing."
Then he frowned slightly, as if realizing something.
"But… I must be really weak. That boar head on the ceiling has to be a hallucination…"
The room went silent.
Everyone snapped their heads up at once.
Only then did they notice Inosuke, clinging to the ceiling like a bat.
"Wahahahaha! You actually spotted me, Tanjiro!"
"…Wait, I'm face-up?"
Thud!
Inosuke dropped down and landed squarely on Tanjiro's bed.
"I'm the man who woke up seven days earlier than you!"
Tanjiro blinked, impressed even in his exhaustion.
"That's incredible. Inosuke, you're really strong."
Inosuke's chest puffed up.
"Heh heh heh! Don't stop. Keep going. Praise me more!"
Tanjiro nodded seriously.
"But Mr. Vincent Fox is really strong too. I heard he only rested two days and went right back out."
Inosuke's expression stiffened for a second.
"That guy… that guy's a monster. Even if he ran into a Hashira, he probably wouldn't lose."
Then he snapped back, offended.
"What are you doing? Keep praising me!"
Kiyo suddenly lifted a book and thrust it forward.
"Oh! Mr. Tanjiro, look at this!"
Tanjiro turned and saw a picture of a weasel-like animal.
"It's cute."
Kiyo nodded and eagerly explained, as if she'd been waiting for this.
"Shinobu-sama said it's called a honey badger, a foreign kind of weasel! Its fur is super tough, it's not afraid of lions or tigers, and it won't even die from snake venom! Shinobu-sama said Mr. Inosuke is just like it!"
Inosuke went quiet.
After a moment, he planted his hands on his hips and declared loudly:
"She's saying I'm immortal!!! Hahahaha!"
Aoi immediately shot him down.
"Then why did you only wake up now? What's there to be proud of?"
"Shut up, you shrimp!"
Inosuke reached over and yanked Aoi's braid without mercy.
"You're the shrimp! You're not even that much taller than me!"
Aoi struggled, swatting at him.
The door opened again.
Vincent Fox walked in, fresh from a mission.
"Tanjiro. You're awake?"
Tanjiro nodded and smiled weakly.
"Yeah… sorry for making you worry, Mr. Vincent Fox. Did you just get back from a mission?"
"Yeah. Lately the number of demons around the villages has been acting strange. It's been busy."
Vincent was still talking when he noticed Tanjiro's eyes had closed again.
"Huh… did he fall asleep?"
Inosuke leaned in and started poking and shaking Tanjiro's head like it was a toy.
"Yep. He passed out again."
"Don't jinx it!" Naho snapped.
Naho turned to Kanao.
"Let's go cook some porridge."
Kanao nodded.
"Mm."
Inosuke stayed near Tanjiro, sniffing the air with his boar mask.
"I just want this guy to wake up fast… and eat a ton of food…"
Two more days passed.
Tanjiro's strength had mostly returned.
He was in the infirmary, playing with the three girls, when he suddenly remembered something.
"By the way… while I was asleep, did a sword get delivered? My broken one."
"A sword…" The three girls instantly tensed, stuttering. "U-um… Mr. Haganezuka sent a letter… do you want to read it?"
"Of course."
Tanjiro took the paper from Kiyo.
The handwriting was crooked and aggressive, the letters practically stabbing through the page.
No sword for you!
Curse you. Unforgivable!
"…This is bad."
"…Right?" Vincent had noticed too and let out a wry laugh.
"My sword still hasn't arrived either. Looks like Mr. Haganezuka is… a very unique kind of person."
"Huh?" Kiyo leaned closer. "Mr. Vincent Fox doesn't have a sword either?"
Tanjiro immediately understood and explained for him.
"Mr. Vincent Fox's fists are strong too. Like this, bam bam bam."
He threw a couple of clumsy practice punches, then continued, completely serious.
"He punched Upper Rank Five's head right off in one hit."
"So cool!" The three girls turned into instant fans, starry-eyed as they stared at Vincent.
Vincent scratched his cheek, then spoke as if he'd just remembered something.
"You could go directly to the Swordsmith Village. Talking in person might go better."
"Really?" Tanjiro asked, startled. He'd never even heard of going there.
Before, Haganezuka always delivered the swords himself.
Not long after, a Kakushi member arrived. His face covering had three bold stripes painted across it.
"The Master has approved it. I'll guide you."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tanjiro Kamado. Please take care of us!"
Tanjiro bowed.
"This is Mr. Vincent Fox. We both need to go to the Swordsmith Village. Sorry for the trouble."
The three-striped guide nodded.
"It's not proper for a guide to state his name, but… please take care of me as well."
Then he handed over several pieces of black cloth.
"And please, you two must wear these."
Tanjiro blinked.
"These are to cover your eyes and block your ears. Don't take it the wrong way. We'll carry you to the village."
"Wha…?"
"Oh, right." The guide suddenly remembered something and pointed at Tanjiro.
"Your sense of smell is too sharp. You'll need this too."
Then, as an afterthought, he added,
"Mr. Vincent Fox… you should use it as well."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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