On the day before New Year’s Eve, Yoriichi and Hiru finally arrived as well, each carrying a large bag of gifts.
Setting aside the New Year provisions, Yoriichi—treating Urokodaki Sakonji as the elder he was—presented him with tea leaves, while Hiru gave him a set of shogi.
For those who were ostensibly of the sa generation, Yoriichi gifted his carefully compiled notes on sword training, while Hiru handed out hollow-carved crystal amulets he had made himself, ant to serve as protective charms.
Sanemi examined the exquisite amulet in his hand, then looked at Hiru with suspicion.
“Hey… you didn’t make this yourself, did you?”
“Of course I did,” Hiru replied while unwrapping his own New Year’s gifts. “Handmade gifts are more heartfelt, aren’t they?”
“…You are a Hashira, right?”
“Obviously.”
“And you still have ti for this? Aren’t you being a bit too relaxed? Are you really doing your job properly?”
Hiru: “…If you want a good start to the New Year by picking a fight, you can just say so.”
“Alright, you two—there’s no need to keep bickering during the holidays,” Sabito said, walking over with bamboo and pine branches in his arms. “If you’ve got ti for that, help make the kadomatsu.”
“Let the bandit-face do it,” Hiru said, hugging the gifts he’d received. “I promised Makomo I’d make the shinawa with her.”
“I’m saying you should do so manly work too,” Sabito replied helplessly as he set down the bamboo and pine. “Leave that kind of thing to Genya.”
Hiru thought for a second, decided it wasn’t great to steal work from a kid, and nodded.
“Then I’ll go pound mochi.”
“No,” Giyu said flatly as he returned carrying more bamboo and pine branches. “You’d smash the mortar along with it.”
Hiru: …
“Pfft—” Sanemi turned his head away, wearing a rare expression of approval toward Giyu. “Not bad. You can say sothing sensible once in a while.”
Tomioka considered this seriously, gave Sanemi a brief smile, then imdiately returned to his usual blank expression and walked over to Sabito with the branches.
Sabito smiled as well. “Then how about you help Sensei set up the altar, Hiru? We still have the ritual to do before dinner.”
“That works,” Hiru said with a frown. “New Year’s is suddenly feeling like a lot of trouble.”
“But isn’t it nice that everyone’s together?” Sabito laughed. “And in a way, our New Year here is probably the safest one imaginable.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, let’s see—we’ve got three active Hashira, one Hashira candidate, one forr Hashira, and two exceptionally capable swordsn,” Sabito counted on his fingers. “If a demon showed up here, that’d actually be pretty amusing.”
“What kind of blind idiot would co looking for trouble here?” Sanemi scratched his head. “By the way, how do you make this kadomatsu again?”
“For kadomatsu, you—”
Watching Sabito lead the others in making it, Hiru turned and headed inside. As he passed the kitchen, he heard Makomo’s voice.
“That’s amazing! I didn’t know you were good at cooking too, Yoriichi!”
“I’m only good at desserts,” Yoriichi replied gently. “These dishes are my first attempt. I learned thanks to your guidance, Makomo.”
“No, no—Yoriichi, even on your first try you’re already much better than . Your work is so precise,” Makomo said cheerfully. “Sabito and Giyu are completely useless here. All they can do is wash vegetables.”
“It’s probably because of my experience with sweets. So, what’s the next dish?”
“Let check the nu…”
Hiru rubbed his nose. Sohow, he felt like he’d been hit by a stray arrow as well.
He went around to the back of the house, where Urokodaki Sakonji was handcrafting the altar. Once Urokodaki heard Hiru was there to help, he imdiately assigned him a whole list of tasks.
By the ti evening arrived and everyone gathered for the New Year’s Eve al, Hiru almost felt as though he’d turned human again.
【Leaving the mountain back then, eting Sabito, and being recomnded to take part in the Mount Fujikasane selection… that really was a blessing.】
Hiru thought so from the bottom of his heart.
After dinner, as expected, everyone gathered to chat before turning in for the night. Since they were all mbers of the Demon Slayer Corps, the conversation naturally drifted in that direction.
“Before I ran into the Twelve Kizuki, I once t an old man,” Sabito was the first to share.
“He seed to know sothing. When I went to investigate a demon, he stopped and said, ‘Tragedy in this world can’t be solved with nothing but hot blood. Sotis, living ans accepting fate.’ He told to think carefully.”
“I knew he ant well—he didn’t want throwing my life away. But slaying demons is my duty. It’s sothing I have to do, so I refused him. Want to guess how I did it?”
Hiru took a sip of tea. “…‘My fate is mine, not heaven’s’?”
“Not that dramatic,” Sabito laughed. “I told him, ‘But at the very least, I can resolve the tragedies I see with my own eyes. If I don’t even have the courage to resist, then what am I living for?’ After that, he just left in silence.”
“Sabito really does like his lofty principles,” Makomo said with a smile. “What happened after that?”
“After that…” Sabito sighed. “That old man tipped off the demon about . Honestly… I almost got killed. Luckily, I was strong enough.
“And after everything, instead of being thanked by the locals, I was blad. My feelings were really complicated back then. Even now, thinking about it still makes a bit depressed.”
“Why don’t you learn from bandit-face over here?” Hiru said casually.
Sanemi, already irritated by the story, froze. “…Learn from ? Why?”
Sabito looked over as well, puzzled.
“Because you look too easy to talk to,” Hiru replied. “Soone with a face like his—people would take one look and go out of their way to avoid him. Who’d dare strike up a conversation?”
Sanemi thought about it seriously, then nodded. “That’s true. Most people back off as soon as they see .”
“That’s not exactly a proper solution…” Sabito sighed, then turned to Hiru. “What about you? Haven’t you run into situations like that?”
“I have.”
“Then how did you deal with them?”
“How else?” Hiru said calmly. “I killed what I needed to kill, they cursed all they wanted. If they pushed too far, I sent them off to reunite with the demons.
“Most people learn how to talk properly once you break their legs and put a blade to their throat.”
Yoriichi couldn’t help but shake his head, though he said nothing.
Giyu tilted his head and looked over. “But wouldn’t that make people hate you?”
“There’s already more than enough things to worry about,” Hiru rolled his eyes. “Why bother caring about people who don’t matter? I can barely manage the ones I actually care about.”
Sabito froze for a mont, then laughed.
“That’s true. I can barely manage the people I care about either.”
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