29 Vol. II Demon Slayer: Floating Comment

"The speed of the burst... it's insane."
"Add the swift, seamless slashes, like streaks of light…"
"The damage it deals is several times that of the First Light… But the strain on your ankles is immense. Are you even listening, or are you just nodding your head? Do you get it?"

Tanjiro blinked his round eyes, then shook his head firmly.

"...What a waste of time," muttered Genya, turning his head away with a scoff. "This idiot."

"And you're no better," Haruto retorted, pulling out a small bottle of candy from his pocket and placing it in Nezuko's hands. "Just repeating instructions over and over—how do you expect him to understand like that? I'll teach him the move myself eventually…

"But you, Genya! Why the hell were you turning into a demon on Mount Momoyama's back hill? You scared Zenitsu so badly he fainted! I couldn't even properly say goodbye to Mr. Jigoro. All I could do was dump Zenitsu on him and make a quick getaway…"

Genya's expression froze awkwardly. "I just... accidentally swallowed some medicine when I fell. That's all."

"Right. And you couldn't come up with a worse excuse?"

"Fine! I'll admit it—I wanted to teach that guy with the blue eyes a lesson. I didn't think Zenitsu would get so scared." Genya mumbled, his head drooping.

"You already had the upper hand. Why go looking for trouble again?" Haruto raised an eyebrow. "I saw it clearly—you had your gun aimed at his head."

Genya blinked, then grumbled, "Sensei, this is between us. Adults don't need to meddle."

"Adults?" Haruto smirked. "I already know why. Kaigaku bullies Zenitsu constantly, and you wanted to stick up for him, didn't you?"

"I wasn't sticking up for him!" Genya's voice rose as he tried to defend himself. "I barely know the guy! Why would I care about some spineless crybaby?"

"Sure, sure. So you just happened to lose your patience with Kaigaku's insults during training?" Haruto teased, raising a brow. "You know, once you're both in the Demon Slayer Corps, private fights are strictly forbidden. Better settle your grudge now."

"...I can really join the Corps?" Genya paused, a mix of doubt and hope in his voice. "But I don't know any Breathing Techniques."

"This isn't the Breathing Corps or the Breathing-to-Kill-Demons Corps," Haruto quipped, his words rolling off his tongue like a riddle. "You don't have to master Breathing to slay demons."

Seeing the blank look on Genya's face, Haruto chuckled and nodded. "Of course you can join."

Genya clenched his fists, a faint blush creeping up his face.

Tanjiro sniffed the air lightly. "Hmm… That's the scent of joy."

"And a bit of anger mixed in," Nezuko added softly.

"Now it's mostly anger," Tanjiro continued. "Frustration, even."

"Iron-head brat!" Genya roared.

Tanjiro tilted his head and smiled gently. "See? Genya's still just a kid at heart."

"Like you're so much older!" Genya snapped.

"Oh, by the way," Haruto said, pointing to Tanjiro's ear. "Where are your paper earrings today?"

Tanjiro reached up to touch his earlobe and realized it was bare. "Oh, right. They were itching this morning, so I took them off."

"Where did you get those earrings? I've seen a pair just like them before."

"Really?!" Tanjiro's eyes lit up as he ran inside to retrieve them, placing the earrings in Haruto's hands.

Haruto held them up to the sunlight, his brows furrowing.

Just as he suspected—they were identical to the ones on the Yorichi Zero Type, the ancient sword-wielding automaton.

"These earrings belonged to a swordsman from the Sengoku era. Some say he was the strongest warrior of all time, mastering the most powerful Breathing Technique ever created. Tanjiro, do you understand what that means?"

Tanjiro stared at the earrings, his mind racing. "These... My father gave them to me a long time ago. He told me to make sure they were passed down through our family, no matter what."

"Your father?" Haruto's eyes narrowed as a thought struck him. Something that once seemed like a harmless detail now carried an entirely new weight. "Was your father a Demon Slayer?"

"No," Tanjiro shook his head, puzzled. "He was just a charcoal seller."

"Did he die suddenly?"

"No, it was an illness."

"Hold on." Haruto raised a finger. "Didn't you mention once that shortly before his death, he killed a man-eating bear? Is that right?"

Tanjiro's eyes widened. "Y-Yes…"

A charcoal seller who succumbed to illness, yet could kill a bear. Haruto struggled to reconcile the two images.

Even Tanjiro began to look uncertain.

Ding!

Main Storyline Triggered… Reward: A Fragment of Tanjiro's Memory!

"Wow, Haruto's memory is insane! I had to search for ages to find that line—it was just a throwaway comment Tanjiro made when he first met him!"

"I thought Tanjiro was your classic underdog hero, but this feels like the Dragon King returning to his throne. LOL!"

Ignoring the playful commentary, Haruto focused on Tanjiro's words.

Tanjiro began recounting memories of his father, Kamado Tanjuro—a quiet man with a gentle gaze, always watching over his children.

He even had the same scar on his forehead as Tanjiro, though Tanjuro's was a birthmark, unlike Tanjiro's burn.

Tanjiro traced his father's face in the air, describing it so vividly that it was as though Tanjuro stood among them once more.

"He once killed a massive bear during a snowstorm. And on cold winter nights, he danced the Hinokami Kagura around the fire…"

Tanjiro's voice trailed off as realization struck him. "The Hinokami Kagura… I should have realized it sooner!"

His red eyes sparkled with renewed determination as he turned to Haruto.

"I remember now! The Hinokami Kagura!"

"The what?" Haruto tilted his head, confusion evident.

"It's a sacred dance passed down in the Kamado family for generations. Every New Year, we perform it from sunset to sunrise!"

"A ceremonial dance?" Haruto echoed, his mind connecting dots. He'd heard of such rituals before, even seen similar dances in his youth.

"Yes," Tanjiro said, his voice growing more confident. "We work with fire, so the dance is an offering to the Fire God for safety and blessings. Even when my father was gravely ill, he danced all night, every year."

Tanjiro's memories began flowing more freely, his speech becoming clearer and more vivid.

"I once asked him how he could dance so long, even while sick. And he told me…" Tanjiro looked at Haruto, his expression resolute.

'Tanjiro, it's because of the power of Breathing Techniques.'

'When you master this way of breathing, you won't tire, no matter how much you move. That's why I can dance from dusk till dawn.'

Tanjuro had spoken those words with rare seriousness, followed by an earnest request:

'Tanjiro, promise me.'
'Promise you'll pass on these earrings and the Hinokami Kagura, no matter what.'