The group set off down the mountain.
Giyū walked at the front, his face stony and not letting out a single word.
Marcus walked in the middle, with Nezuko's box on his back and the two demonesses' trunk floating in front of him.
Shinobu walked at his side, chatting away with a smile that wouldn't come off her face.
And bringing up the rear was Tanjiro, who kept shooting glances ahead every so often, with a complex expression.
'Senpai Giyū looks angry because of that icy face… though at the same time he doesn't. Shinobu-san won't stop smiling, but she's giving off this huge sadness. And my other senpai… I'm picking up a hint of anxiety mixed with enthusiasm…'
Then he looked around, wondering how Inosuke was doing.
And Zenitsu too. Hadn't Marcus said he'd entered the mountain as well?
Even though he knew there were people in charge of the cleanup work, he couldn't help but worry. Better to ask!
He'd ask Kanao, since she was the one handling the logistics…
Huh?
That's right!
Where is Kanao?!
He scanned around a couple of times and realized she had disappeared.
Right at that moment, Marcus's voice came to him from up ahead.
"Tanjiro."
"Huh? Yeah?"
"I asked Kanao to go check on how Zenitsu and Inosuke are doing. You want to go with her?"
Tanjiro was taken aback, but he answered on the spot. "Yes! I'm on it!"
…
Not far from there, where the Kakushi Squad had set up camp…
"Inosuke! What a tragic death you had!"
A blond kid was sprawled out on the ground, crying.
"Rest in peace, my friend. I swear to you… Tanjiro is going to avenge you."
In front of him lay another boy, with his boar mask knocked crooked, revealing underneath a face so delicate it looked like a girl's.
Inosuke.
He was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, with big bloodstains seeping through them, and his legs immobilized with splints.
"Relax, he's not dead yet."
Hearing that voice, Zenitsu flinched, and then he lifted his head.
His face soured instantly.
"Tsk. So he's not dead… What a shame. A guy like him, capable of ditching his teammates…"
He sprang up and grabbed the one in front of him by the collar. "HE SHOULD BE DEAD!"
Knowing Zenitsu was just venting, Tanjirō didn't say anything — he just pulled his head back to dodge the flying spit.
As time went on, Zenitsu was getting more and more worked up, crying and screaming, unable to hold back the tears.
"AND YOU!! TANJIROO!! WAAAAAH! DO YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH AFTER YOU GUYS TOOK OFF?!"
"Spiders! GIANT SPIDERS!! SPIDERS WITH HUMAN FAAACES!!"
"WAAAAAH!! And your senpai!! Your senpai was so scary I shit myself aliiive! WHY ME?! WHYYY?! WAAAAAH!!"
Watching him bawl his eyes out, Tanjiro could only manage a forced smile.
It was then that Zenitsu noticed he was also sporting quite a few bandages himself.
He let go of his collar in an instant, and his expression snapped straight into one of concern.
"W-wait… your wounds… are they serious?"
"It's nothing, my senpai got there in time."
"Y-Your… senpai…" Zenitsu pursed his lips. It was obvious he still hadn't forgiven Marcus for leaving him behind.
But suddenly, his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.
"Tanjiro… you never told me your sister was such a gorgeous thing."
!!?
Tanjiro jolted when he heard that, and was about to throw himself at him to cover his mouth.
He glanced around nervously to make sure Marcus wasn't anywhere nearby, and let out a sigh of relief.
"Zenitsu, from now on, whenever my senpai's around, don't you dare say things like that." He leaned casually toward his ear. "He's… a little spiteful."
!
Right at that moment, a shiver ran down his spine, as if someone was staring daggers at him from behind.
Tanjiro shuddered and whipped around.
Good news: it wasn't Marcus.
Bad news: it was Kanao.
Just when he couldn't figure out how to stop her from ratting him out, Zenitsu's eyes lit up all of a sudden.
And he shot over with a slide until he planted himself right in front of her.
"Lit-AAAH!!"
Before he could finish the phrase, a kick from Tanjiro sent him to the ground.
Without giving him time to react, he was already sitting on top of him, clamping a hand over his mouth with all his might.
"If you don't want to die, shut up. She's also… a 'good friend' of Marcus's."
Hearing him say "good friend" in that tone, Kanao's cheeks flushed red and, with a grin from ear to ear, she walked off in silence.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Tanjiro let him go.
Nobody would know what would have happened if Zenitsu had ended up breaking out his "will you marry me?" routine on her.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Zenitsu was panting for air, and suddenly asked indignantly, "Just how many girlfriends does your senpai have, I want to know?!"
"How many? Let me count…"
As Zenitsu watched Tanjirō unfold his fingers one by one until even one hand wasn't enough, a fit of envy hit him that nearly disintegrated him!
"WHY?! WHY?!"
Tanjirō glanced around and, once he'd confirmed Kanao was no longer nearby, stood up and dusted off his legs. "Forget the why, because you're not going to understand it anyway. Just remember one thing."
"He's good at everything, he doesn't pick fights over dumb stuff, and he almost never gets angry." Suddenly, his expression turned solemn. "But when it comes to girls… he's EXTREMELY… EXTREMELY… EXTREMELY jealous and possessive!"
Zenitsu: "…Is he that much of a womanizer?"
Tanjirō nodded gravely. "That much of a womanizer!"
Zenitsu: "And what's going to happen with your sister?"
Tanjirō shook his head, with a melancholy air. "No clue. I guess we'll just see how it goes."
"Look, even to hug Nezuko now I have to ask him for permission…" And as he said it, he muttered with a hint of annoyance, "I don't even get how things ended up like this…"
"..."
If even the biological brother has to ask for permission to hug his sister… just what level of possessiveness does this guy have?!
…
Day broke little by little.
The morning light filtered through the treetops, bathing the mountain trail.
The group finally emerged from Mount Natagumo.
At the foot of the mountain they ran into the second batch of logistics personnel from the Demon Slayer Corps, who were arriving at that very moment. When they saw who was coming out, and, above all, when they saw the enormous trunk floating in the air, their faces turned into something quite peculiar.
But nobody opened their mouth.
Because Giyū and Shinobu were leading the group.
With two Hashiras at the head of the group in person, who was going to dare to complain?
Tanjirō and Zenitsu joined the procession too. With them came Inosuke, wrapped up like a mummy and still out cold, whom the two of them were carrying between them.
And when Zenitsu saw Marcus throwing his arm around Kanao's shoulders, chatting and laughing with Shinobu at the same time…
And when he found out that on top of that he was carrying Nezuko on his back, and two brand-new servants inside the trunk floating ahead of him…
The lecherous Zenitsu's teeth almost broke from pure envy.
And so, the group kept moving forward at a steady pace in what seemed like a calm atmosphere.
Mount Natagumo wasn't exactly right next door to Headquarters.
At Hashira speed, the trip would have taken a little under an hour. But with them walking at a normal pace, it took about four.
Around ten in the morning, when they spotted the silhouettes of the buildings cut out in the distance, Marcus knew they had arrived at the Demon Slayers' headquarters.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was waiting for him right there.
"We're finally going to meet face to face…"
Just when he was calculating how to squeeze a good chunk of cash out of him to finance his grand plan for the future…
The first obstacle of the Demon Slayer Corps planted itself in front of him.
"Please leave the wooden box and your Nichirin swords here before entering. Don't worry, we'll keep them well guarded."
As he looked at the Slayer keeping watch at the entrance, the scene where Nezuko had been inside the box and Sanemi had amused himself jamming his sword through it popped into Marcus's head.
A tangle of veins bulged on his forehead.
"Guarded? Ha! Guard your fucking mother!"
Everyone present was dumbstruck at his words.
____
Slayers! We always fall JUST short of the goal... 😩 So close yet so far! If you really want another chapter today, step it up with those PS 💎
Goal: 300 PS and another chapter drops. Don't leave me hanging like always! 😏🔥
THANKS FOR READING!
____
And if PS aren't your thing but you still want more chapters...
P-a-t-r-e-o-n → Athome790