"I… I'm fine…" Takeo said as he looked at the girl and tried to lift the arm with the IV drip attached.

He wanted to show some movement to prove he was alright, but the moment he saw his left hand, he fell silent.

The girl didn't think much of it. Seeing that Takeo was fully awake, she immediately stood up and said:

"Wait here—I'll go get Lady Butterfly!"

With that, she hurried off.

Takeo didn't stop her. He simply raised his left hand quietly and fell into a long silence as he looked at the small, shrunken hand—almost the size of a baby's.

"…Same style as Deadpool…"

Flexing his tiny left hand and giving it a light squeeze, Takeo was caught between exasperation and amusement.

Back when he and his friends had watched that Deadpool scene with the "baby hands," they'd laughed like fools.

Now it was his turn. He'd ended up with the same kind of baby hand… though when it would return to normal was anyone's guess.

Not long after the black-haired girl with twin ponytails had run off, she returned—this time bringing Shinobu Kocho with her.

Compared to the panicked girl, Shinobu appeared calm and composed.

She wore her usual gentle smile. When she looked at Takeo lying in bed, she approached with her hands behind her back and said softly:

"So, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

"You… medical staff. Is that really the first thing you say when a patient wakes up?"

Thinking of the black-haired girl who had asked the exact same question, Takeo couldn't help but complain.

Shinobu Kocho approached with a smile and replied, "It's important to check your condition. If your body hasn't recovered properly, we need to begin treatment immediately. But from the looks of it, you've recovered quite well."

As she spoke, she walked over and opened the window beside the bed.

A cool breeze from the turn of late summer to early autumn drifted in, bringing fresh air with it. Takeo instantly felt much more at ease.

Looking at her, he asked, "How long… was I asleep?"

"Three days," Shinobu replied immediately. "It's honestly incredible. I heard from Mr. Rengoku that your chest and abdomen were torn open by the Upper Rank demon, leaving a hole the size of your head. But by the time we got to you, your internal organs had already completely healed—your body was even in the process of expelling any remaining debris."

"Some members of the Kakushi were so frightened, they almost thought you'd turned into a demon."

Shinobu chuckled softly at the memory.

Takeo imagined the scene in his mind and tried to laugh, but he couldn't manage more than a twitch at the corners of his mouth.

He asked again, "That day… the other Demon Slayer Corps members—none of them were seriously hurt, right?"

"No. You, Mr. Rengoku, and the other team members… apart from a few injuries, no one died. You protected everyone, Kamado-kun."

"…That's good."

Takeo let out a long breath of relief.

In the battle against the Upper Moon, Takeo had fulfilled his promise—not a single member of the Demon Slayer Corps had died.

At last, he could feel at ease.

"Alright, now that we've covered all that, let's talk business, Takeo-kun," Shinobu Kocho said as she pulled a chair over and sat down beside his bed.

Upon hearing her words, the black-haired, blue-eyed girl quickly gathered her things and left the ward.

Takeo watched her leave, then turned to Shinobu, who smiled and said:

"Curious about Aoi?"

"Aoi?"

"Kanzaki Aoi. She was once a swordswoman in the Demon Slayer Corps—same class as you and Tokito-kun. Don't you remember her?"

"No… doesn't ring a bell…" Takeo tried to recall the Final Selection. He vaguely remembered a few girls taking part, but whether they had passed or not, he couldn't say. His focus back then had been entirely on his duel with Tokito Muichiro.

But he decided to set that aside for now. Turning to Kocho Shinobu, he asked:

"Miss Kocho, what did you mean by 'business'?"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Shinobu gave a light chuckle. "Kamado-kun, I'd like you to tell us every little information you could have noticed about Upper Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki."

...

....

"…That's all! That's all the information we have on Upper Rank One!"

In the courtyard where the Hashira Meeting was held, on the tatami floor within the room—

The Hashira who were currently not on active missions had gathered here, along with the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

The reason for their gathering: Upper Rank One.

As one of the Twelve Kizuki, the Upper Moons had rarely been seen alive over the past century.

The last known encounter was nearly three years ago, when the former Flower Hashira, Kocho Kanae—elder sister of Shinobu Kocho—faced Upper Rank Two in battle.

Kanae was critically wounded by the demon and was only spared because dawn had nearly arrived. As a result, the Demon Slayer Corps gained some information on Upper Rank Two.

Unfortunately, her injuries were too severe. Kanae died in Shinobu's arms without being able to share much.

But now, Rengoku Kyojuro and Kamado Takeo had confronted Upper Rank One—and survived.

This meant they had firsthand, detailed information on one of the most dangerous demons among the Twelve Kizuki.

Exactly the kind of intelligence the Demon Slayer Corps had long hoped for.

That was why Rengoku Kyojuro had been called here—to formally report everything they had learned about Upper Rank One.

And now, having shared every detail of the encounter, the room full of Hashira fell into deep silence.

"So that means… that trash was once a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps, right?"The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, let out a sinister smile. "Whether it was fear of death or something else, he actually became a demon… and Upper Rank One at that. I can't wait to cut off that bastard's head."

"Moon Breathing…" the Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai, muttered as he turned to face the Master. "Does the Demon Slayer Corps… have such a Breathing Style?"

The gentleness on Ubuyashiki Kagaya's face faded slightly. He replied slowly:

"It did exist, once. But that was a very long time ago."

"So, he truly was part of the Demon Slayer Corps… once," Iguro said, now certain.

Judging by the fact that Kokushibo used a Breathing Technique and wielded a weapon similar to a Nichirin sword, the chances were high that he had once belonged to the Corps.

No one knew why or how he had become a demon.

But that wasn't something they needed to worry about right now. Now that they had a rough understanding of Upper Rank One's identity and abilities, they needed to begin considering how to counter him.

Kyojuro asked directly, "Master, is there any record of Moon Breathing in the Demon Slayer Corps?"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya slowly shook his head. "There are very few surviving records from that era. The Corps suffered devastating losses during that period."

When Yoriichi Tsugikuni was still alive, the Demon Slayer Corps had reached its historical peak. Even now—though this generation of Hashira is considered among the strongest—their strength pales in comparison to that golden age.

However, after Yoriichi Tsugikuni's death, the Demon Slayer Corps underwent a massive purge.

Muzan Kibutsuji and Kokushibo had killed all those who knew about Sun Breathing, resulting in the technique being reduced to mere records—no one was left to pass it on.

Likewise, some Breathing Styles created during the same era as Sun Breathing, including Moon Breathing, were mostly lost to time.

As a result, the Ubuyashiki family retained very little information about either Sun or Moon Breathing.

This was something Ubuyashiki Kagaya deeply regretted.

_________

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