This smile felt both familiar and strange to Roy.
Back in the Zoldyck family, Roy had never seen Silva smile.
It was as if a "smile" should not exist on the face of a cold, ruthless assassin.
Not even a "grim grin" or a "savage smirk" had ever appeared on Silva's face.
At times Roy even wondered if Illumi's habitual blank mask was influenced by him.
After all, the elders at home had said it more than once—
"An assassin must never let emotions sway judgment."
"Joy, anger, resentment, sorrow—keep them off your face. Only in absolute calm can you complete a mission and avoid exposing yourself to danger."
Perhaps because Silva and Zeno saw Roy couldn't meet that standard, they concluded his talent for assassination was limited.
Their judgment was accurate. Compared to being an assassin, Roy believed more firmly that he should be a living "person" first, a "profession" second. He refused to be a machine that erased emotion and knew only killing. That was also why he disliked Illumi.
Illumi was too "formulaic."
Family training had erased the joy a child should have had. He should be like Nezuko, Takeo, and Shigeru before him—rushing up to chatter, share happiness, complain grievances, or tattle playfully.
Not wear a dead-fish face all day while grinding through mechanical training.
A rush of thoughts flashed by. Roy blinked once, and little Shigeru had already latched onto his thigh.
The boy tilted back his small head, eyes pleading. "Big brother candy"
Roy smiled, quickly fished a small cloth pouch from his chest, and tossed him a piece. The room erupted.
Nezuko wanted one. Takeo wanted one too. Roy was soon surrounded on all sides, busy as could be.
He stroked Nezuko's head, patted Takeo's back, then warned Shigeru not to gobble too fast and choke. In the lamplight his silhouette fell into Tanjiro's eyes, finally restoring a sense of the familiar.
Yes. This was the big brother Eiichiro he knew. As for the one in the forest just now... that had been a soul-devouring demon god.
"Big brother, me too..."
Tanjiro rubbed his face and joined with a smile. Sensible as ever, he first helped Roy take the basket off his back, easing Roy's burden.
Roy nodded to him, then, after satisfying the little ones, walked toward Tanjuro.
"For me?" Tanjuro stared at the candy Roy offered on his open palm, dazed. When he came to, his eyes warmed. He could no longer remember the last time he'd eaten candy—so long ago it was only a blur, back when his father, Tanjiro's grandfather, was still around.
He hadn't expected that, in the turn of years, his child would be thoughtful enough to bring him candy.
Tanjuro looked at Roy gently and shook his head. "A father doesn't care for sweets. You eat it."
Roy didn't withdraw his hand. He insisted, "Father gets one. Grandma gets one. Mother too. Everyone gets one."
Seeing he couldn't win, Tanjuro smiled, unwrapped the candy, and let it rest on his tongue, savoring it. At the same time he motioned for Roy to help him into the ceremonial robes for the Fire God rite.
Offering a dance to the Fire God to pray for peace was a Kamado family tradition passed down for generations.
Those Fire God dances and the pair of earrings on Tanjuro's ears—painted with sun and mountains—might be unknown to others, but Roy, who had read the original story, knew well. They were Yoriichi Tsugikuni's legacy—
Sun Breathing and the sun earrings he wore in life.
"Since our ancestor Kamado Sumiyoshi, the family has required the eldest son to learn the 'Kagura of the Fire God.' Now..."
"It's your turn, Eiichiro."
With Roy's help, the robes were quickly set. As he tied the last ceremonial cord, gentle Tanjuro rose, and even his presence changed.
The red-and-white vestments swayed in the wind. The great flaming kanji on the mask seemed to come alive.
He beckoned Roy. "Come."
Roy could not hide his excitement as he realized his chance to change his physique had come.
The Kagura of the Fire God is Sun Breathing. Sun Breathing, created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni through visualization of the sun, is a powerful Breathing Style that draws in solar power to transform the body—and it is the origin of all other styles, such as Moon Breathing, Stone Breathing, Wind Breathing, and Water Breathing.
Its guiding idea can be summed up in a line: sunlight is the source of all growth, thus the womb that nurtured every Breathing Style.
Powerful means difficult.
Back then, after Yoriichi created Sun Breathing, he did not hoard it but spread it among the Demon Slayer Corps, even to his own elder brother, now Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
Sadly, neither Kokushibo nor any other swordsman could bear the weight of the sun well enough to learn Sun Breathing.
So from the Warring States era to now, only Tanjiro Kamado truly mastered it in battle—proof of how hard it is.
Roy tugged Tanjiro's sleeve. "You too."
Before Tanjiro's confusion cleared, Roy had already stepped into the yard to stand beside Tanjuro and invoked [Gyo].
Unlike the four major Nen fundamentals—[Ten], [Zetsu], [Ren], [Hatsu]—
[Gyo] is a simple application of Nen: concentrate aura into the eyes.
With Wutong's careful tutoring and Zoldyck blood as a base, Roy grasped it with ease.
A milky film of aura coated his eyes as he stared, unblinking, at Tanjuro's movements.
Riding the flow of aura within, he "frame-analyzed" the Kagura like animation, branding each beat into memory.
First the Fire God Kagura—"Dance," then "Clear Blue Sky," next "Raging Sun," "Fake Rainbow," "Fire Wheel," "Burning Bones, Summer Sun," "Sunflower Thrust"...
Tanjuro danced like a fire spirit amid drifting snow. Roy followed at his side, imitating step for step. Clumsily beside them was Tanjiro.
Once, twice, three times...
Tanjiro grew winded and fell behind.
Hands on knees, he gulped air, eyes fixed on Tanjuro and Roy, a small body filled with big doubts.
Why did his always-frail father have such stamina today?
Why had big brother, clumsy at first like him, now found the rhythm and kept pace with father?