Rewind | KNY |

Move Forward, It Doesn't Matter If It's Step by Step

"It's ripped to shreds... it's almost unreadable. Was it originally like this?" Tanjiro asks the slightly younger boy beside him.

"No... it wasn't like this. The 'Generational Flame Hashira Record' is supposed to be preserved really well. I think my father tore it apart... I'm very sorry," Senjuro apologized.

"Don't be! It isn't your fault, Senjuro-san. Please don't mind it," Tanjiro reassured.

"You purposely came all this way, but you couldn't find anything about this 'Dance of the Fire God's or the 'Breath of Sun' my father spoke of..." Senjuro trailed off.

"It's fine. I know what I should do anyway. I'll train some more. Even though I know the steps to the 'Dance of the Fire God', I can't perform it perfectly," Tanjiro says with a smile.

"Oh, is that so..." Senjuro trails off.

"When I use it in my Full Focus Breath state, my body becomes a lot less mobile than I imagined. That's on me. My body isn't catching up with the technique. Thanks to using Full Focus Breath Constantly, my stamina has increased, but it's still not enough... if I can use it constantly, my stamina will improve day after day, but it won't get me stronger right away," Tanjiro explains before sighing softly. "...Back then, if I had been stronger, if there... was a way I could've been strong enough to save both Rengoku-san and (L/n)-kun... I've constantly thought about it. But there is no such convenient method. There are no shortcuts."

Senjuro listened carefully to Tanjiro's words, a soft frown on his lips. He had seen his older brother earlier this morning, who had left to speak with Ubuyashiki about something. And he was currently waiting for an update about (Y/n) but had no luck as of yet for the other to awaken.

"I can only flounder. For now, I will keep moving forward as much as I can. No matter how painful it is, no matter how much I regret it. And I... will definitely become a strong Hashira like Kyojuro-san," Tanjiro declared. "And a strong swordsman like (Y/n)-kun."

Senjuro stares at the teenager in front of him with teary eyes.

"My brother never had a 'successor'. Originally, I was to become his successor. I had to heap my achievements as a reserve Hashira. But my nichirin blade never changed color. I had to acquire a certain degree of swordsmanship skills or its color won't change. But no matter how much I practiced, it was useless," tears fell onto Senjuro's hands as he said this. "So I gave up on becoming a swordsman."

Tanjiro stares at Senjuro with a soft look on his face, before taking notice of an albino crow hopping inside of the room, just to plop herself onto one of Senjuro's clenched hands.

Senjuro opened his eyes a little when he felt a little head bump on his forearm and sadly smiled when he saw it was Akira.

She must've finished pouring every single thing of alcohol his father must've had in the compound right in front of him without any remorse.

Senjuro gave light head scratches to the hazy-eyed crow. "So I will do other things which are useful to people. In another way. It'll break the succession of the Flame Hashiras and make a scare in a long history, but... my brother would definitely forgive me," he finished.

Tanjiro stared at the young male with tears in his eyes.

"Please go down the path you think is right. If there is anybody who badmouths you, I will headbutt them," Tanjiro gently declared.

"It would be better if you stopped that," Senjuro replied.

Tanjiro just sat there quietly, ignoring the quiet laughter leaving Akira.

✧˖*°࿐

"I'll try to restore the 'Generational Flame Hashira Record' and look it up in other books. I'll also... try to ask Father. And if I figure something out, I'll send a crow over. I'm glad I could talk to you and Akira. Please be careful on your way home," Senjuro says and then bows.

Tanjiro bows back. "My pleasure. Thank you so much," he replied.

Akira hopped around Tanjiro and Senjuro's feet out of boredom, waiting for the conversation to come to a close because she wanted to head back to the infirmary at the Butterfly Estate.

"Oh yeah, Tanjiro-san here... this is the guard on my brother's nichirin blade," Senjuro holds out a flame-shaped guard to Tanjiro.

Tanjiro's eyes widened as he started to panic a little. "I... I can't accept something so valuable... I..." He stammered out.

Senjuro smiled. "I want you to take it. My brother was supposed to give it to you not long after retiring, but he got sidetracked. I'm sure it'll protect you," he says.

Tanjiro stood there for a few moments before bringing the guard into his hands. "Thank you..." He says.

The trio make their separate ways, two of them going back in the direction of the Hashira Headquarters, and the other staying back.

✧˖*°࿐

"Excuse me. Oh, you came back... uhm... about a while ago–" Senjuro says just to be cut off by his father's yelling.

"SHUT UP!! IT DOESN'T MATTER GET OUT!!" Shinjuro hollers.

Senjuro flinched backward. "B-but  brother's –" He tried to say, just to be silenced once more.

"NOT IMPORTANT! IT'S JUST GOING TO BE BLAMING ME ANYWAY! I KNOW THAT!! GET OUT ALREADY!" Shinjuro snaps.

"Understood," Senjuro says softly. "Please take care of your body. Those were the only words he left behind for you, Father," he adds before sliding the door shut.

Shinjuro stared quietly into the garden in front of him, tears falling down his cheeks remembering how he saw his son come back injured with a damaged eye that caused blindness.

Heavy sobs left his lips.

✧˖*°࿐

Soft scratching left from Nezuko's box that also has Akira perched on it.

"It's alright, Nezuko. We'll arrive at the Butterfly Estate soon..." Tanjiro reassured before looking forward.

"Hm?" He hummed out.

A familiar swordsmith with long hair could be seen holding two knives in his hands, and two knives tied to his mask.

'Ha... Haganezuka-san!!' Tanjiro panicked.

"What the hell were you thinking losing that sword, you bastaaard!! You deserve death... you deserve death!!" Haganezuka hollered.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!" Tanjiro apologized.

Screams of anger echoed throughout the day.