When Hayashi arrived and found Tomioka Giyu, he was immediately stunned by the scene in front of him.
One of Giyu's arms was wrapped around Kocho Shinobu's waist, and his hand had somehow ended up pressing against her neck—
from the side, the posture looked exactly like he was holding a waist drum.
Giyu, still looking puzzled, asked seriously:
"Why did you suddenly attack me?"
Because she was "sandwiched" in such a ridiculous way, Shinobu's slender body could only bend awkwardly.
Although her lips maintained their trademark smile, the veins at her temples were already bulging.
"Although fighting among members of the Demon Slayer Corps is prohibited," she said with a chillingly sweet tone,
"but I believe even Oyakata-sama will forgive me once he learns the details."
Before she could finish, a blade popped out from the heel of her sandal.
With a sharp kick backward, the hidden blade went straight for Giyu's side!
Giyu reacted instinctively, catching Shinobu's ankle with his free hand.
Hayashi, watching the "interaction" from up close, nearly burst out laughing.
Every time I come to headquarters, I end up witnessing some legendary scene!
Last time, he saw Sanemi Shinazugawa and Rengoku Kyōjuro surrounding Giyu, putting on a perfect "Bullying Giyu Ensemble."
And now—today's new highlight: "Tomioka Giyu & Kocho Shinobu's Ansai Waist Drum!"
But why is it always Giyu in the middle of these famous scenes…?
Suppressing his laughter, Hayashi lightly coughed and tapped the wall.
The sound startled both combatants, and they immediately separated.
Shinobu's smile turned stiff, her voice a little high-pitched as she bowed slightly:
"Yoriichi san, you're here. I suddenly remembered something urgent—so I'll take my leave now."
With a blur of afterimages, Shinobu vanished down the corridor in a heartbeat.
Giyu, however, just stood there with a confused expression.
"Yoriichi san, do you know what's going on?
Didn't you say that as long as we speak our minds directly, we can communicate normally?
But Shinobu still got angry… and even attacked me."
Hayashi pressed a palm to his face.
Right… I really did tell him to express himself directly.
But I forgot to add: not every thought should actually be spoken out loud!
What confused him, though, was this—Shinobu was usually one of the very few Pillars who would actually talk to Giyu.
Even when Giyu said something tactless, she usually just fell silent with a smile.
So what on earth did he say this time that made her furious enough to launch a kick at him?
Hayashi raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did you say to her today?"
Obedient as ever, Giyu nodded and recited their entire conversation word for word.
After listening, Hayashi felt a full-body numbness.
Now he finally understood why Shinobu said even Oyakata-sama would forgive her for attacking him.
Just then, Giyu asked seriously:
"By the way, Yoriichi san, why are you here? Were you looking for me?"
Hayashi sighed and subconsciously touched the disaster-averting fox mask tucked inside his robe.
After discovering the disaster-averting mask in Ubuyashiki Kagaya's room, Hayashi made up his mind. He turned to Giyu Tomioka and said in a deep voice:
"Let's go. Follow me to Mount Fujikasane."
On the way, Tomioka explained the weight behind his words that day in the haunted house: "I am different from you."
Hayashi already knew the truth from the original story. Both Giyu and Sabito had been disciples of Urokodaki Sakonji, and both went to Mount Fujikasane to participate in the Final Selection.
But Giyu was ambushed as soon as he entered the mountain—injured and unconscious, he lay in the forest for seven days.
It was Sabito who saved every other swordsman that year. Yet when Sabito faced the Hand Demon, his blade shattered, and he died alone.
Giyu had carried that scar in his heart ever since.
"It should have been me who died instead of Sabito. He saved everyone, but he alone perished. And I… I just slept through the entire ordeal, and still passed the Selection somehow. If Sabito had survived, he would have been far stronger than me. I'm unworthy—not just as a Pillar, but even as a swordsman of the Corps."
Those words had become a curse:
"I don't deserve it."
Hayashi remembered his first encounter with Giyu on Mount Natagumo and how he had wondered back then how to untie this knot. Now, with the mask in his hand, he had found the answer.
He would make Giyu confront the very demon that killed Sabito.
At the Foot of the Mountain
When they finally arrived at the base of Mount Fujikasane, Tomioka asked, confused:
"Aren't we here to supply demons for the Final Selection? Shouldn't we capture enough before heading in? Why did we come straight here?"
Hayashi only smiled, drawing out the fox mask from his robes.
The familiar carved wood caught Giyu's eyes, and he froze. But his confusion only deepened:
"This… this is a disaster-averting mask. How do you have this?"
Hayashi did not answer directly. He placed the mask gently in Giyu's hands and pointed toward the mountain.
"In this mountain lurks a demon unlike any other. Ever since Urokodaki-san captured him and sealed him here, he has hunted down every swordsman wearing one of these masks. Sabito… died at his hands."
Giyu's face changed instantly—shock, realization, grief all at once.
"So that's why! That's the truth behind Sabito's death… And such a demon still exists on this mountain?!"
Hayashi cut him short with a wave of his hand.
"The details don't matter. What matters is this—your Final Selection… begins again, here and now."
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