At the mention of that night aboard the Mugen Train, Rengoku Kyojuro's gaze turned incomparably solemn. "Speaking of it, I must truly thank you for staking your life in that desperate battle! If it hadn't been for you… I will never forget this life-saving grace!"
He did not ramble on at length. His words were concise and grave, filled with the responsibility and sincerity befitting the Flame Hashira.
Asuka's expression remained calm and undisturbed. He gave a slight nod in acknowledgment of the gratitude.
He seemed entirely unconcerned with talk of life-saving favors or the speed of recovery.
Meeting Kyojuro's blazing gaze steadily, he spoke directly. "There is no need to dwell on it. I came this time for Flame Breathing."
Kyojuro pressed a hand to his still-aching chest and laughed heartily. He understood that this was simply Asuka's way.
"Excellent! Such a pure heart in pursuit of strength, truly worthy of a Hashira!" He admired Asuka's straightforwardness and was about to invite him inside to talk further when—
A sudden stagger of footsteps and the heavy stench of alcohol drifted in from the front gate.
The door leading to the inner residence was kicked open violently, and a tall figure stumbled in.
The man wore a faded blue-gray robe. His disheveled gold-and-red hair looked unwashed for a long time, tangled in places. His face bore the unhealthy flush of long-term drinking. Unshaven and scruffy, he looked utterly unkempt.
Clutching a brimming sake jug, he swept the courtyard with bloodshot eyes—
This was the head of the Rengoku household, the former Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinjuro.
Shinjuro gulped down a mouthful of sake and let out a coarse belch. With an insolent gaze, he looked Asuka up and down and curled his lips into a sharp, mocking sneer.
"Heh… I was wondering who it was. Just another useless brat from the Demon Slayer Corps…" He let out a string of indistinct scoffs, his voice hoarse and biting. "What? Come to laugh at the Rengoku family's Flame Hashira? A sickly cat who couldn't even stand up after being kicked once by an Upper Rank demon?"
Kyojuro's expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly drew in a breath and introduced cheerfully, "Father, this is—"
"Enough!" Shinjuro cut him off rudely, shaking the sake jug impatiently. "Just another worthless mediocrity! What's there to say? Get out of my sight!"
He staggered toward the inner residence.
As he passed Kyojuro, he shot him a vicious glare. "Isn't this better? Those without talent should just stay at home! Going out will only get you killed for nothing!"
Even Shinobu Kocho at the side felt stung by those words, her brows knitting slightly.
The younger brother Senjuro, who had been sweeping the courtyard, looked on the verge of tears. He lowered his head deeply, afraid of provoking their father's displeasure.
Yet Kyojuro did not grow angry. He simply bowed toward his father. "Father, please drink less. Your health is important…"
Shinjuro acted as if he hadn't heard and climbed onto the veranda, about to enter the house.
"Rengoku Shinjuro, correct?"
Asuka suddenly spoke, startling everyone present. Shinobu tugged lightly at his sleeve, urging him not to cause trouble.
"I wish to learn Flame Breathing. Would you be willing to teach me?"
"Hah?" Shinjuro turned around, frowning deeply at Asuka. "What nonsense are you spouting, brat?"
Asuka bowed sincerely. "My name is Asuka. I wish to learn the Rengoku family's inherited Flame Breathing. I ask for your guidance."
"Heh… hahaha!" Shinjuro erupted into piercing laughter as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world.
Soon, the laughter stopped.
His eyes turned cold and hollow, filled with self-destructive resentment. "You want to learn Flame Breathing? Are you deliberately looking for trouble? That worthless thing is nothing but a joke!"
He hurled the sake jug to the ground in front of Asuka. The sharp crash startled the birds from the nearby trees.
"Worthless! Completely worthless!" he roared hysterically, pointing at Kyojuro. "Look at him! So what if he learned it? So what if he became a Hashira? Wasn't he beaten half to death like a dog?"
"Flame Breathing is the breathing of the uselessness! People like us are just talentless trash…"
"Is that so? But I am not useless. I simply wish to earn more power."
Asuka cut through Shinjuro's spiral of despair, speaking calmly amid the rising fury. "If this request is too difficult for you, then I apologize for disturbing you."
This man is beyond saving, he thought.
"What did you say, brat—" Shinjuro's shoulders trembled. He had not expected such defiance and was about to explode.
"Father! Please calm yourself!"
"Out of my way!"
Kyojuro hurried to stand between them, only to be shoved aside violently by Shinjuro and knocked to the ground.
Cough, cough—he broke into a harsh coughing fit, his face turning pale.
Senjuro rushed to his brother's side, gently patting Kyojuro's back. Tears pooled in his eyes, yet he bit his lip tightly, not daring to make a sound.
Kyojuro tried to steady the pain in his chest and looked at his father with a strained smile. "Please take care of your health. Do not let anger consume you…"
Seeing him like this, Shinjuro froze. The fist he had raised lifted and fell several times before he finally let out a vicious snort.
"…Take your so-called friends and get out of my sight!"
With that, he turned away, muttering drunken nonsense as he stormed into the inner room.
The courtyard was left in shambles and suffocating silence. The heavy scent of alcohol and the sorrow of self-abandonment lingered in the air.
Only after his figure disappeared behind the door did Shinobu quietly let out a breath. She turned to Asuka with faint dissatisfaction, thinking he should not have provoked a senior so recklessly.
Yet Asuka had never once looked at Shinjuro. Instead, he crouched down and fixed his gaze firmly on Kyojuro.
Sunlight fell upon the two of them, casting a faint halo as if trying to wash away the gloom from moments before.
"I will learn Flame Breathing, no matter what others say."
"Rengoku, you are you. Your father is your father. His weakness does not define you."
"Stand up. Recover properly. Then join me in killing Muzan and let's prove our worth to him."
His words were not impassioned or grand. They were simply what he truly believed.
Shinjuro's talk of worthlessness had not taken root in his heart at all.
The value of strength is defined by the one who wields it, and by the enemy it cuts down.
He did not need to understand Shinjuro's trauma. If the man refused to help, then he would find another path.
The goal must be achieved.
Kyojuro looked up at Asuka. Golden-red flames reignited in his resolute eyes.
Though tinged with lingering pain, the fire burned purer and fiercer than before.
"Well said, Asuka!" He broke into a smile worthy of the Flame Hashira and responded firmly, "Then we begin today!"
"Today?" Shinobu's brows twitched. These two truly loved to act on impulse.
"Indeed! There are three volumes of the Flame Breathing guidebooks. The sooner you read them, the better! Hahaha!"
Sunlight poured into the ancient courtyard, glinting off the sake that still clung to the shattered fragments of the jug.
Within the Rengoku residence, amid the noisy wind, a new flame was quietly being kindled.