Demon Slayer: Rise of the Third Brother-Chapter 134: Tsugikuni Hiru

When Hiru woke up that morning, his mind was completely foggy.
The clothes were unfamiliar.
The bedding was unfamiliar.
Even the surroundings were unfamiliar.
【Shouldn’t I be sleeping at home? Why am I here? Was I kidnapped?】
Hiru clutched the quilt tightly.
【The heir’s coming-of-age ceremony would certainly be a good opportunity to stir up chaos, but the family never hid the fact that I’m an adopted son. Why would anyone kidnap me?】
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Human Hashira-sama, are you awake?”
【Someone’s here?】
Hiru grew even more tense.
【Human Hashira… is that what the kidnappers call themselves? But isn’t that term used for sacrificial rituals? What kind of person would use such an inauspicious title? Do they really have no taboos at all?】
“Human Hashira-sama? May we enter?”
【More than one person outside? And… “enter”? That means they know exactly where I am.】
Hiru nervously scanned his surroundings.
【But I’m the only one here. Are they calling me? But when did I ever—】
“It seems the Human Hashira hasn’t woken yet. Should we wait here?”
“Let’s wait a bit. If the Human Hashira is inside, he should already be awake. Perhaps he’s tidying up.”
【So I really was taken here by this ‘Human Hashira’? When did the Tsugikuni family provoke someone like this? I have to find a way to contact Father…】
Hiru’s expression dimmed slightly.
【But Father probably wouldn’t offend someone like this for my sake anyway. At least I can warn my older brother. That wouldn’t be completely pointless.】
“Hiru still hasn’t woken?”
“Sun Hashira-sama.”
“Sun Hashira-sama, we knocked, but there was no response.”
“I understand. I’ll handle it.”
The knocking sounded again.
“Hiru? Are you awake?”
【This person knows me? And ‘Human Hashira,’ ‘Sun Hashira’… It looks like ‘Hashira’ is a rank, while ‘Human’ and ‘Sun’ are titles. Some kind of organization?】
【I can’t just sit here and wait…】
Hiru stood up, his gaze sweeping across the room before landing on a weapon wrapped in cloth beside the table.
【That’s probably a weapon. I wonder if I can even lift it…】
Outside the door, Yoriichi heard the movement and felt a flicker of confusion. He knocked once more.
“Hiru, I’m coming in.”
The instant the door opened, the sound of cutting air rushed straight toward him. Yoriichi instinctively shifted aside, then remembered the Kakushi behind him and immediately raised his hand.
The Kakushi stared at the blade hovering less than two centimeters from his nose, swallowed hard, and spoke with a trembling voice.
“Th-thank you, Sun Hashira-sama.”
Only then did Yoriichi look into the room, his brows knitting together.
“Hiru, what are you—uh?”
“Heavens, Human Hashira-sama!”
“What in the world is going on?”
Yoriichi looked at his younger brother, whose height barely reached his chest now, clearly reduced by more than just a little. Slowly, realization dawned on him.
“It looks like he’s been affected by a Blood Demon Art.”
“Then, Sun Hashira-sama, this—”
“It’s not a serious problem,” Yoriichi said after a brief pause. He looked helplessly at Hiru, who was gripping the only remaining short spear and glaring at them warily.
“Please help prepare a set of clothes that fit Hiru. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll take our leave.”
Hiru stared warily at the tall, white-haired swordsman before him. The indistinct, faceless shadow behind him made him deeply uneasy.
“Who exactly are you? What do you intend to do to the Tsugikuni family?”
Yoriichi stepped fully into the room, carefully placing the short spear by the doorway before removing his mask.
“I’m your brother as well.”
【The same face as my eldest brother… Is this Yoriichi, the brother who left home? But that hair…?】
“And no one kidnapped you,” Yoriichi said with a smile as he sat down and raised a hand.
“Come here.”
“How do you prove you’re my brother?” Hiru asked, staring at Yoriichi’s strange attire. “And if I wasn’t kidnapped, are you saying I followed you here myself?”
“I was planning to scold you a little for falling for a Blood Demon Art so easily,” Yoriichi said, unable to stop himself from laughing. “But seeing this is rather nice too.”
“As for proof… before I left home, the only things I knew were that Hiru cried after being frightened by Mother’s temper, and that he felt hurt and dejected after Father tore up his drawing.”
“That really was before you left…”
Hiru lowered his weapon slightly.
“But… you’re clearly older than my eldest brother, aren’t you? How do you explain that?”
“I think you’ll understand in a few days,” Yoriichi said with another smile. “Now that I think about it, I’m actually looking forward to your reaction then.”
Hiru: …?
“Sun Hashira-sama, the clothes are ready, and the training grounds have been cleared…”
The Kakushi returned holding a set of clothing, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward Hiru, who had retreated behind the table and once again raised his guard.
“Um, if I may ask… what’s going on with the Human Hashira?”
“He was hit by a Blood Demon Art,” Yoriichi replied as he stood and accepted the clothes. “His memories seem to have returned to a point before I ever came home.
“As for the training grounds, let the other swordsmen use them. Hiru isn’t in a suitable condition to train right now.”
“Ah, understood… I’ll go inform the others.”
The Kakushi left, glancing back more than once, clearly reluctant to go.
“…Was that ‘Human Hashira’ referring to me?”
After the Kakushi left, Hiru finally relaxed a little.
“Why would I choose such an unlucky title?”
“You were very happy about it at the time,” Yoriichi said, walking over with the clothes. “You’re only temporarily suffering from memory loss due to the Blood Demon Art.”
“Blood Demon Art?”
Hiru tilted his head.
“What’s that?”
“Well… it’s hard to explain all at once,” Yoriichi said, gently ruffling Hiru’s hair. “But you’ve already noticed something, haven’t you?”
Hiru nodded.
“Yeah… my strength shouldn’t be this great.”
“I’ll wait outside,” Yoriichi said. “Change your clothes and come out. I’ll take you to a sweets shop, and we can talk slowly while we eat, all right?”
He smiled, crouching in front of Hiru.
“Speaking of which, should I write to your friends and invite them over? In this state, it might help you grow closer to them.”
“Friends?”
Hiru hugged the clothes to his chest.
“Won’t Father be angry?”
Yoriichi froze for a moment, then smiled again.
“No. He’ll be very pleased.”