Demon Slayer: I am a Demon.

Sanemi Shinazugawa, whose temper was usually terrible, unusually restrained himself: "You're right. If Kamino were here, he would be very worried about me. I can't let Kamino worry. I should listen to Kamino."

As he spoke, Sanemi Shinazugawa raised his head, his tone unusually calm: "Please have Kanae take good care of my injuries."

Looking at Shinazugawa Sanemi, whose attitude had suddenly become calm, Kocho Kanae could sense the sadness beneath his feigned ease.

Compared to Sanemi Shinazugawa's current peaceful demeanor, Kanae Kocho would have preferred him to maintain his previous domineering attitude rather than pretend to be relaxed.

Kanae opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but what words could comfort this wounded person? The departure of the person who treated Sanemi Shinazugawa like an older brother—what words could console such sorrow?

So, Kanae could only lower her head and silently bandage Sanemi Shinazugawa's wound: "I'm sorry, my bandaging skills are not as good as Shinobu's. If Shinobu were here, it would probably be much faster."

"I know Shinobu, that's your sister, right?"

Looking at the gentle woman before him, and the butterfly hair clip in her hair, Sanemi Shinazugawa thought of a girl with almost the same face shape as the girl in front of him, only slightly smaller in stature and with a completely different personality. She was a girl with a volatile temper and a serious demeanor.

"Yes, my sister's medical skills are excellent. No matter how serious the injury, she can treat it quickly. However, my sister is about to go to Mount Sagiri, so she has to pack her luggage and cannot come to help."

"Heading to Mount Sagiri?"

Sanemi Shinazugawa frowned slightly. If he remembered correctly, that should be the place where the former 'Water Pillar' Sakonji Urokodaki lived in seclusion.

"Is it Urokodaki-senpai who is injured?"

Sanemi Shinazugawa couldn't help but ask.

"No, it's to cooperate with them in training initial swordsmen."

Kanae Kocho shook her head.

"Initial Swordsman".

Sanemi Shinazugawa frowned slightly. Having only recently become the 'Wind Pillar,' he didn't know what an Initial Swordsman was.

"It refers to swordsmen who practice 'Sun Breathing,' such as the 'Flower Breathing' that I practice, and the 'Wind Breathing' that you practice, both of which originate from 'Sun Breathing.' 'Sun Breathing' is also known as the Beginning Breathing."

"In the very beginning, swordsmen who practiced 'Sun Breathing' were called 'initial swordsmen'..."

Kanae Butterfly explained again.

These secrets are not secrets that need to be kept by fellow 'Pillars'. If Shinazugawa Sanemi really wants to know, he can look them up.

However, for Shinazugawa Sanemi, who was always busy hunting demons, this was indeed the first time he had heard of the so-called 'Breathing of the Sun', and he was quite surprised.

Kanae Kocho was not surprised by Sanemi Shinazugawa's astonishment; if she hadn't looked up the information, she wouldn't have known about the so-called 'Sun Breathing'.

After all, the lineage of 'Sun Breathing' had long since disappeared within the Demon Slayer Corps, so she was somewhat shocked by the sudden appearance of a 'breeder' capable of cultivating 'Sun Breathing'.

…………

Although she wasn't as skilled at treating wounds as her sister, she was only slightly less adept. Soon, Kanae Kocho quickly bandaged Sanemi Shinazugawa's wound.

"Thank you."

Sanemi Shinazugawa thanked her, a rare occurrence, and tried his best to imitate the way Masachika Kamino used to do, but he clearly didn't do it right at all.

"No...it's nothing."

Kanae was also somewhat bewildered by Sanemi Shinazugawa's sudden attitude, after all, it was well known that Sanemi Shinazugawa had a terrible personality.

Although, in her heart, she, like Masachika Konno, believed that Sanemi Shinazugawa's heart was not as rough as it appeared, but rather quite gentle inside.

After his wound was bandaged, Sanemi Shinazugawa came out of the examination room, followed by Kanae Kocho.

Standing at the door, smelling the slightly pungent disinfectant and the drifting scent of wisteria blossoms, Sanemi Shinazugawa thought back to the last time he was injured.

The last time he was injured, it was Kocho Kanae who escorted him out, and then Kamino Masachika would wait not far outside the door, trying to ask Kocho Shinobu about his injury. They would then sit on the stone bench in the yard and discuss the subsequent rehabilitation training for his physical functions.

However, now, the gentle and kind-hearted Masachika Kaminari who treated him like an older brother is no longer there. The older brother who gave him the first experience of being loved and cared for in his life is gone forever.

His eyes dimmed slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Kanae Butterfly beside him.

Kanae Butterfly looked up at Sanemi Shinazugawa with some confusion.

"Are you planning to have your sister hunt ghosts all the time?"

Sanemi Shinazugawa couldn't help but speak again.

Sanemi Shinazugawa already knew about the Butterfly Sisters' situation. Both sisters' parents were killed by demons, and after being saved by the 'Stone Pillar', they joined the Demon Slayer Corps together.

This was something that Shinazugawa Sanemi simply couldn't understand.

It's incomprehensible what Kanae Kocho was thinking that led her sister to join the Demon Slayer Corps like her.

If his younger brother, Genya Shinazugawa, were to join the Demon Slayer Corps, he would never agree to it and would stop him no matter what, even if it meant beating his brother half to death.

Sanemi Shinazugawa believed that on this path stained with blood, having him alone was enough.

Hearing Shinazugawa Sanemi's words, Kocho Kanae's eyes dimmed.

Now, how could she possibly want her sister to continue down the path of demon hunting?

But what can we do now?

What happened back then is etched in my sister's heart. She can no longer live an ordinary life or have the happiness of an ordinary person.

“I also have a younger brother. If he dares to embark on the path of demon slayers, I will beat him half to death rather than let him join the Demon Slayer Corps.”

Sanemi Shinazugawa spoke to Kanae Kocho once again.

Kanae Kocho looked at Sanemi Shinazugawa, then turned her head to look at the sky: "If beating my sister half to death would stop her from hunting demons, I would do it no matter how reluctant I am. But even if I do it, even if I kill my sister, she will still walk the path of hunting demons."

The gentle girl's voice was full of sadness.

Sanemi Shinazugawa was stunned. He had always harbored a deep prejudice against Kanae Kocho for bringing her sister into the Demon Slayer Corps, but clearly, the truth was not what he had imagined.

"I'm sorry, I don't know about that."

"It's ok."

Kanae Kocho shook her head.

"Da da da……"

Footsteps sounded, and a girl with a face almost identical to Kanae Kocho walked over carrying a small bag. Seeing Sanemi Shinazugawa standing with her older sister, she couldn't help but step forward and ask, "What are you talking about?"

"We didn't talk about much."

Kanae Butterfly shook her head.

"I only suggested that Kanae persuade Shinobu to leave the Demon Slayer Corps."

Shinazugawa Sanemi looked at Kocho Shinobu and said seriously, "It is rare to see two sisters who are both demon slayers."

"Heh, you should stop worrying about it."

Butterfly chuckled coldly: "If you want me to stop hunting evil spirits, you might as well kill me now."

Shinazugawa Sanemi looked at Kocho Shinobu and sensed a gentleness in the girl that was different from her older sister's. The girl's hatred for demons was as sharp as a drawn sword.

And so, a rare silence fell.

"Your injuries are pretty bad, so get lost and stop getting in my way."

Kocho Shinobu glared angrily at Shinazugawa Sanemi, showing no kindness towards anyone who tried to persuade her to give up the path of demon slayers.

Looking at his younger sister, who was filled with hatred for demons, and then at his older sister, who had her head slightly bowed and looked somber, Sanemi Shinazugawa thought of his own younger brother, who was the same.

At this moment, Shinazugawa Sanemi was somewhat confused. If Kubino Masachika were still alive, he would tell him how to handle this situation.

He didn't know, because Masachika Kamino had already left and could never tell him how to answer.

So, Shinazugawa Sanemi simply handled it his own way. He looked at Shinobu Kocho and said seriously, "Just like your sister has a younger sister, I also have a younger brother. As the older brother, I cannot accept my younger brother fighting alongside me."

"Because, no matter what, I want to protect him. Even if he wants to hunt demons with me, I will refuse him."

As he spoke, Shinazugawa Sanemi looked at Kocho Kanae: "Miss Kanae, you are too gentle. Kamino Masachika was almost as gentle as you, but it was precisely because of this gentleness that he died. If you continue to be this gentle to your sister, so gentle that you allow your sister to continue on the path of demon slayers, one day, your sister will die on this path."

As he spoke, he looked at Kanae Butterfly: "Rather than let your gentleness take your sister's life, let her resent you and hate you. Even if you break her legs, don't let her walk down that path."

"Are you done talking?"

Shinobu Kocho roughly shoved Sanemi Shinazugawa away, looking at him coldly: "Do you need someone like you, who couldn't even protect someone like Masachika Kamino, who's like an older brother to lecture my sister? What right do you have?"

"I'm just expressing my thoughts."

"Ah……"

Butterfly sneered, "What do your thoughts have to do with me and my sister?"

"How much do you know about my sister and me?"

"Even if embarking on the path of demon slayers leads to death, so what? My sister and I have long been prepared to die together on this path. Shouldn't you be satisfied with this answer?"

"So you think your gentleness is only for your younger brother, and I, as the older sister, have to learn to be gentle like you?"

"And who do you think you are?"

With that, Shinobu Kocho took her sister's hand and left.

Sanemi Shinazugawa stood there, watching the two sisters' departing figures, but the image of his younger brother, Genya Shinazugawa, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

For him now, the only thing that keeps him alive is his endless hatred for ghosts. If there is anything he can still hope for or dream of, it is that his only remaining brother can marry the woman he loves, have children, and live a happy life.

But what if the younger brother is like Shinobu Kocho?

What should he do then?

For a moment, Shinazugawa Sanemi stood there, somewhat bewildered.

A gust of wind suddenly rose, whipping Shinazugawa Sanemi's hair into the air. The man looked up at the sky.

If you, Masachika Kamino, were still here, how would you answer yourself?

What would that man with the bright smile of the sun, who treats me like a younger brother, say?

"If you were still here, you would definitely yell at me and call me an idiot, right?"

“You, who are gentler and kinder than anyone else, would surely say that I should also understand my brother’s feelings, and then we can work together to guide and educate him.”

"You'll probably say that while you're laughing, right?"

A hazy mist rose in his eyes. Shinazugawa Sanemi knew that he would never receive guidance from Kamino Masachika again. He was all alone. As the older brother, he had no other choice but to do this. Even if he had to beat his younger brother half to death, he would never let him embark on the path of demon slayers.

"I'm in a really bad mood right now, so I'm going to kill a ghost to calm myself down."

Shinazugawa Sanemi looked at the sky, as if speaking to Kamino Masachika, who treated him like an older brother, then wiped his eyes and strode outside, leaving behind a "wind pillar" with the character for "kill" etched on his back.

The man's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.