Bright moon and scarce stars.
The wind on Mount Sagiri carried the smell of wet earth and pine trees.
Among the shadows of the trail, a silhouette appeared stumbling under the silver light. Shuffling forward and clinging to every tree.
"Huff... huff... I... I'm back...! Nezuko...!"
Tanjiro materialized at the cabin entrance, leaning against the doorframe with all his weight, panting like a dog.
"MARCUS!! You didn't do anything to my sister, DID YOU?!"
His face was covered in mud, his body drenched in sweat, his arms full of scratches, and his clothes half destroyed.
But his gaze was still sharp and directed exclusively at Marcus.
Then he saw the inside.
His sister Nezuko was sleeping peacefully in the corner. Good.
Marcus was squatting in the center of the cabin, stirring something in a pot over the fire. Good... supposedly.
And Urokodaki...
The imposing, fearsome, unbreakable Urokodaki he had met...
Was lying on the floor. Face up. Completely stiff. Mask on and arms glued to his sides.
Not moving.
Like a corpse.
"...!!!"
Tanjiro's brain short circuited.
"Ma... Marcus... what... what did you do to Mr. Urokodaki?"
Because the only logical explanation his mind could manufacture was that the degenerate had tried something with Nezuko, Urokodaki had caught him red handed and confronted him, and then Marcus had done the unthinkable.
'Did he murder the master to cover up the crime?!'
Marcus lifted his head from the pot and what Tanjiro saw was an absurdly innocent smile.
"Oh, little brother in law! You finally made it! Did you pass the test?" His eyes sparkled as if he were genuinely happy to see him. "Congratulations, congratulations!! I knew you could do it!"
"I'm just making dinner!" He added cheerfully, pointing at the pot bubbling over the firewood.
Then, following Tanjiro's horrified gaze, he turned his head toward Urokodaki, who was still lying on the floor with the stiffness of a plank.
He looked at him for a moment and shrugged.
"As for the master... relax, I didn't do anything to him. He practices Water Breathing, right?" He nodded with full conviction. "He's probably lying on the floor absorbing moisture."
"..."
'Moisture?'
'Absorbing moisture?!'
'ARE YOU LISTENING TO WHAT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, YOU PSYCHO?!'
Without answering him, he went straight to Urokodaki. He knelt beside him, carefully extended his hand and...
SMACK!
A swat.
Urokodaki's hand came out of nowhere and batted Tanjiro's fingers away before they touched the mask.
"Don't bother me."
"..."
Tanjiro froze.
Behind him, Marcus crossed his arms.
"See? It's not like I'm ignoring him. He won't let anyone help him."
Even so, the ever kind Tanjiro still couldn't rest easy. "Mr. Urokodaki...? Are you really alright...?"
"..."
But Urokodaki remained motionless, staring at the ceiling, as if he were contemplating the void. Or the meaning of life. Or the various ways he could purge Marcus from his existence without it counting as murder.
Biting his lips, Tanjiro was getting more and more anxious, and he looked up to glare at Marcus.
"YOU, WHAT DID YOU ACTUALLY DO TO..."
"Enough... stop making noise."
Tanjiro's gaze snapped down. "Mr. Urokodaki!"
The former Pillar didn't sit up. He just slowly raised his right hand and covered the forehead area of his mask.
"..."
Tanjiro held his breath and waited. It seemed like nothing was happening, that maybe he just needed a moment, that...
Then Urokodaki began to murmur very quietly.
"...late in life reputation... ruined..."
"...name... dragged through the mud..."
"...Jigoro... that bastard... probably already wetting his brush to write the letter..."
"...what's the point of being an instructor anymore..."
"...might as well change my name... move to an island... and start planting sweet potatoes..."
Tanjiro blinked.
'...Sweet potatoes?'
'Master, I haven't even learned anything yet and you already want to change careers?!'
He didn't understand a single thing Urokodaki was saying. Ruined reputation? Name dragged through the mud? Who was Jigoro? Why was he talking about sweet potatoes?
But even if he didn't understand, what he could feel was that Urokodaki was profoundly shattered.
And he turned his head toward Marcus, his eyes full of accusation: 'What inhuman thing did you do to him?'
Ignoring him, Marcus, with the serenity of a monk who had done nothing wrong in this life or any previous ones, walked over and crouched down on the other side of Urokodaki.
"Master, don't stay on the floor, it's cold. Your back is going to get chilled and then everything will hurt. Come on, I'll help you up." He extended his hand with a compassionate smile. "Would you like some hot soup? It's freshly made."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
The swat was instantaneous.
Urokodaki pushed himself off the floor on his own with rigid movements. Flatly refusing to accept assistance from the enemy. He got up on the sheer strength of his wounded pride.
The mask turned toward Marcus.
His expression couldn't be seen, since now his eyes weren't visible. But the look emanating from behind the mask was so palpable, so loaded with desperation and silent reproach, that Tanjiro got goosebumps.
"You..." Urokodaki spoke through tightly clenched teeth. "Your breathing technique... what the hell is it?"
Marcus blinked. And quickly put on his good boy face.
"Master, haven't you seen it already? It's just... how do I explain it? Being near girls makes me feel... inspired."
"'INSPIRED'?!"
Urokodaki's volume skyrocketed and Tanjiro jumped in fright.
"That's called, that's called... that's called...!"
The words were tripping over each other in his throat. He was so furious that his vocabulary had been reduced to rubble. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. His fists were shaking.
Until finally, after holding back with superhuman willpower, he found the definition:
"THAT'S CALLED BEING A PERVERT!!"
"You can't say it like that..." Marcus scratched the back of his neck. "You're oversimplifying the situation."
"Look, isn't the result good? I can kill demons now. I created my own breathing style. The power is real. The end justifies the means, right?"
"IT JUSTIFIES NOTHING!!"
Urokodaki nearly levitated off the floor. The veins on his neck stood out like roots. If he weren't wearing a mask, Tanjiro would have been able to see a face so red it would rival the sunset.
"Killing demons is a serious matter! It's a battle where you risk your life! Every breath, every cut, every second could be your last!" He took a step forward, looking at him with outrage. "It's NOT... it's NOT A CHILD'S GAME that gets solved by running around girls!!"
Tanjiro, who up until that moment had been trying to follow the argument, hadn't understood much. But there was one thing his siscon radar picked up instantly.
'Running around... girls?'
Every alarm went off.
"MARCUS! You want to go after my sister again, DON'T YOU?!"
"What do you mean 'go after her'?"
Marcus turned toward Tanjiro with a serious expression.
"What I do, I do for Nezuko too! To protect her! To better use my strength and kill demons!"
He took a step forward. "The master just confirmed it with his own eyes! When I'm near Nezuko, my technique flows better and my forms are more powerful! That's a FACT!"
"And what does that prove? It proves that Nezuko and I are the perfect combination. We complement each other perfectly. Like the sun and the moon. Like the sword and the sheath. Like—"
"PERFECT COMBINATION MY ASS!!"
A vein exploded on Tanjiro's forehead.
"My sister doesn't need you to 'power her up'!! You staying away from her is the greatest protection she could ever receive!"
"Listen to what you're saying, Tanjiro... Listen to what you're saying." Marcus clicked his tongue. "You're too narrow minded. We're all in the same boat now, you understand? We have to help each other. My power needs Nezuko to activate it. And the power Nezuko helps me activate... can protect her in return. See? Win win! Mutual benefit! It's a union made by destiny!"
"WHO'S A UNION MADE BY DESTINY?!"
Tanjiro stood up, crossed the cabin in two strides, and planted himself in front of Nezuko.
"Don't use those kinds of words to describe my sister! 'Destiny,' 'complement,' 'combination'! EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IS WORSE THAN THE LAST!!"
"I'm saying this for the last time!! STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!!"
"I don't want to."
The answer was instant.
Marcus deployed his full height, and that difference in stature allowed him to look down at Tanjiro from above.
"I'm doing it to maximize the team's power." He tilted his head and looked toward Urokodaki. "Master, isn't that right? You as an instructor... surely you understand that the priority is always to improve the disciples' strength, right?"
And just like that, he tossed the ball to Urokodaki.
He had been standing in the same spot for a good while, listening to them argue as if he didn't exist.
He looked at Marcus. He looked at Tanjiro. He looked at Nezuko, asleep in the corner. Oblivious to everything.
"Silence!"
Marcus and Tanjiro shut their mouths and stayed still, watching him.
Breathing deep, Urokodaki walked to the center between them with slow steps.
He turned to Tanjiro.
"You've passed the preliminary test. Starting tomorrow, you begin receiving my training formally."
Tanjiro shuddered with excitement. All the fury evaporated, replaced by a gratitude so intense his eyes glistened.
He quickly bowed in a deep reverence.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Urokodaki!"
Urokodaki nodded briefly.
Then... he turned toward Marcus and stayed quiet for a good while.
Finally, everything condensed into a single sentence.
"Your training I'll organize separately."
"Yes, master!"
Marcus accepted without a single objection and tested the waters:
"So... regarding the 'coordination training' between Nezuko and me... when do we start?"
"NO SUCH TRAINING EXISTS!" Urokodaki and Tanjiro said in unison.
"DON'T EVEN DREAM ABOUT IT!!" Tanjiro added, pointing at him.
Marcus twisted his lips. 'They're shutting me out.'
But it didn't matter.
Because at the end of the day, when the moon came up, when the lights went out, and exhaustion closed everyone's eyes... they were all going to sleep under the same roof.
He had all the time in the world to use Total Concentration Constant breathing.
________
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