A young girl's heart is often like the breeze—in a mere instant, it can shake the delicate peach blossoms from their branches.
If left unattended, the petals falling from the branch would simply land in the dirt and become dust.
Ume listened to Izumi Kiyokazu's words. She was waiting for an answer—the answer that would define the story of her life.
Kiyokazu looked at Gyutaro with a calm gaze. He met those eyes, which were filled with scrutiny and a trace of imperceptible tension, and spoke in a voice that was not loud, yet exceptionally firm.
"Yes, I must leave."
Kiyokazu paused. He could feel Ume's body beside him instantly tense up, and he could hear Gyutaro's breathing grow heavy. A moment later, Kiyokazu took a deep breath and continued with absolute conviction:
"But I want Ume to come with me. No! It's not just a wish—Ume must leave here with me!"
Gyutaro looked at Kiyokazu and lowered his head slightly. His voice was hoarse and carried a tremor.
"She is my sister. If I do not allow it... you cannot take her."
Kiyokazu didn't retreat an inch. He hated indecisive expressions and loathed the confusing back-and-forth of "pulling and shoving." Since he had made his choice, he would give the other person a level of confidence firm enough to face anything!
"Even if I have to knock you unconscious, I will take you and Ume both! Yoshiwara... we have offended too many people. If I leave and you stay here alone with Ume, you will absolutely not be able to survive!
Even if you are capable, Brother, and even if you're willing to risk your life every day to earn money, you and Ume will still live a miserable life!
As long as Ume is here, her future is already sealed!
Which shop would she go to?! What rank of Oiran would she become?! What kind of woman would they force her to be?!
Does she actually want that kind of life?!"
Hearing Kiyokazu's words, the veins in Gyutaro's arms bulged. He grabbed Kiyokazu by the collar and roared at him:
"What do you know?! She's my sister! Do I not know better than you what kind of life she wants to live, or what kind of future she desires?! Do you know what kind of life those Oiran have if they marry a good man?!
To be with someone like that, living a life of peace, wealth, and prosperity—what is wrong with that?!
And yet you want her to join that 'Demon Slayer Corps' with you! Then one day, she'll suddenly die in a demon's mouth! That is the kind of future you can offer her!
You don't even have the ability to guarantee she lives to a safe old age, so why are you being so selfish as to drag her along?!"
Facing Gyutaro's fury, Kiyokazu took a deep breath, reached out with both hands, and seized Gyutaro's collar in return, roaring back even louder:
"What the hell do you know?! Have you ever asked what the root reason was for Ume wanting to become an Oiran?!
It's because of you, you bastard! It's because of you, Gyutaro!
Your job as a debt collector only works in a place like Yoshiwara, where there is almost no legal restraint. Anywhere else, you wouldn't even have a way to survive!
Based on that, even if Ume wanted to leave this place, do you think she could bring herself to abandon you?!
That is exactly why she cannot leave this damned Yoshiwara! And she certainly cannot leave a bastard like you!
So, her dreams and her future have been pinned down to this one spot by you!
The best life she has ever seen or heard of is becoming an Oiran!
Do you know how old the girls in those shops are when they have to start learning how to receive guests?
Thirteen!
Do you know how many girls in those shops die of disease every day?
Seven or eight out of ten!
Do you know how tragic the fate of those Oiran is once they grow old?
They are sold to worse shops, each one worse than the last, and then they die on a filthy straw mat!
Do you know the outcome for those Oiran you think marry rich men?
They are targeted by the rich man's other partners, and once the man gets bored, they are given away to servants like dogs or pigs!
What do you actually understand?!
Have you ever actually looked into those things?!
Have you ever stopped to think—does Ume really want to be some damn Oiran?
Ume's value was never in that face with a price tag from Yoshiwara!"
Kiyokazu's roar was like a jagged piece of iron, stabbing deep into Gyutaro's heart and tearing out piece after piece of flesh.
It was the corner of his soul he least wanted to face, the one he was most powerless to refute.
Gyutaro's grip on Kiyokazu's collar suddenly went slack. In those eyes, which were always filled with malice, a look of near-broken emptiness and pain appeared for the first time.
He opened his mouth to argue, but found that all words were pale and hollow.
Because it was only at this moment that Gyutaro realized he truly hadn't looked into those things Kiyokazu mentioned. He had only been using his own worldview to plan a cramped, suffocating future for Ume.
He was right... how could his own filthy, dark eyes ever plan a proper future for Ume?
Meanwhile, Ume, who was still pretending to sleep, had already been moved to tears by Kiyokazu's roars.
Gyutaro opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry and pained as if it were on fire.
"You're right...
If it weren't for me, Ume's future would be entirely different.
If it weren't for Ume, my future would be entirely different, too.
You take Ume—"
In the next instant, before Ume could jump up to stop him, Kiyokazu slapped Gyutaro across the face. He tugged at the man's collar, his voice becoming incredibly stern:
"Take back what you just said! That is an insult to Ume! It's an insult to yourself! And it's an insult to me!
If it weren't for you, Ume would have been dead long ago. If it weren't for Ume, you would have collapsed on some hopeless night long ago!
You shaped Ume! And Ume shaped you!
Why would you say something that belittles this bond?! Why would you say things that cause Ume pain?! Why would you say things that make you yourself cry uncontrollably?!
Take it back! Take back those words!"
Looking at the furious Kiyokazu, and then at his sister who had now "woken up" and was weeping as she looked at him, Gyutaro suddenly felt the dam of pain and grievance in his heart burst. He bit his lip hard, refusing to let a sob escape.
Blood mingled with tears, falling in large drops into the bitter-smelling wisteria medicine, merging everything that belonged to them into the brew.
"I take back what I said! Now, you bastard, let go of me! No one grabs their own brother's collar like this! Once we get there, I'll become stronger than you. That way, as long as I don't die, I won't let anything happen to you or Ume!
Don't get it twisted! I'm only doing this to protect what Ume treasures—it's not for the sake of protecting a bastard like you!"
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Demon Slayer: Starting by Snatching Daki(194 Chapter- Ongoing)
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