Inei's POV. Hot Springs Entrance.
When we got out of the hot springs, we Tanjiro is making his way to the hot springs as well.
Tanjiro: Ah, Inei-oniisan! Kanroji-san!
Inei: Oh, it seems like the chief told you about the hot springs.
Tanjiro: Yeah.
Mitsuri: WAAAAAAH! TANJIRO-KUUUN! HE IGNORED ME!
Tanjiro just sweatdropped.
Tanjiro: W-What happened?
Inei: When we finished bathing at the hot springs, someone came along and Mitsuri-san greeted him. But she was totally ignored.
Mitsuri: Isn't just that cruel!? Saito-san and I were both Hashiras! Now all the good energy from the hot spring is gone!
Inei: I'm used to being ignored anyways.
Mitsuri: But still!
Inei: I know, it's about respect, right?
Tanjiro: Wait, nii-san, you said that you and Kanroji-san came from the hot springs, right?
Mitsuri: Oh, don't worry, Tanjiro-kun, I didn't do anything to Saito-san. He's really loyal to Shinobu-chan.
Tanjiro: Must be nice, eh.
Mitsuri: I totally agree.
Inei: Let's not hold Tanjiro here for too long. Tanjiro, you also deserve to relax. So, take a dip at the hot springs. But not too long, okay?
Tanjiro: Yeah.
Inei: Oh, it seems like Nezuko will alsp find the hot springs enjoyable as well.
Tanjiro: Yeah. Oh, nii-san, Kanroji-san, I also heard that dinner is almost ready. I heard they're serving it with Matsutake mushrooms.
Mitsuri-san's face glowed up.
Mitsuri: Whoaaaa! You serious!?
And she's off.
Tanjiro: So, she eats a lot, eh?
Inei: Yeah. I remember the time after I helped her buy the ingredients she needed in making dishes, we went to a udon stall and man.......
Inei: She ate atleast 36 bowls.
Tanjiro: R-Really!?
Inei: I still can't even believe it to be honest.
Inei: Anyways, I'll be heading out. Enjoy your time at the springs, Tanjiro. Also, Genya is also there.
Tanjiro: Oh, is he the one that Kanroji-san was talking about?
Inei: Yeah.
And with that, I went to lodging and ate dinner with Mitsuri, who just started to eat.
Mitsuri: Oh, Saito-san! Come, join me on dinner.
Inei: Hmmmmm........
Inei: Maybe I'll have ramen.
And so, I asked the chef and when the ramen was served, I ate it slowly.
Inei: *sigh*
Inei: Man, this is one of the finest ramens that I ever tasted.
Mitsuri: I just noticed, you're a slow eater.
Inei: Well, I like well prepared food. Also, I'm all about enjoying the food that were prepared well.
Inei: So, savoring it is a nice response to this.
Mitsuri: I see. You really have good manners. Is that part of your training as an assassin?
Inei: Kind of. Well, after all, some of my targets are corrupt political officials and sometimes, they are always at luxurious banquets.
Inei: So, etiquette and manners is also a must, in order to infiltrate and find a chance to assassinate the target.
Mitsuri: I see.
Inei: Also, it reminds me of how things were really used back when I was still at the orphanage.
I just continued to eat the noodles slowly, until Tanjiro came back from the hot springs.
I swallowed a decent amount of the noodles before I talked.
Inei: Ah, welcome back, Tanjiro. Join us for dinner.
Tanjiro: Of course!
Inei: Oh, also, let Nezuko out as well.
And the Kamado siblings joined us. Tanjiro also ate dinner, as for Nezuko, she just wandered around.
When she saw me, she had that happy expression.
I finish my bowl of ramen as I slowly sip all of the soup. I gently put it down and.......
Inei: Thanks for the food.
And Mitsuri-san, she just had her 37th serving.
Tanjiro: That's amazing, this is what Inei-san was talking about Kanroji-san being able to eat a lot.
Inei: I know, right?
Mitsuri: Ah, Saito-san, you're embarrassing me.
Inei: I'm just stating facts though.
Tanjiro: I'm going to eat a lot too so that I would become stronger!
Inei: My foster mother used to say that to me when I was young.
Tanjiro: Oh yeah. The boy that you two met at the hot spring was someone from my batch.
Inei: Genya Shinazugawa.
Mitsuri: Oh! Is that so.....
Mitsuri: Wait, that means.......?
Inei: He's Sanemi-san's younger brother.
Mitsuri: But he didn't told me he didn't have one. Maybe they don't get along? That's so tragic.
Tanjiro: Oh, are they........? Why is that?
Inei: Base from my observation of the brothers..........
Inei: They are totally similar but.....yeah, they don't really get along.
Mitsuri: Well, I have five siblings and I get along with them.
Mitsuri-san said as she is playing with Nezuko.
Mitsuri: I really don't know, since the Shinazugawa brothers are scary.
Mitsuri: Oh! By the way, since we're talking about siblings. Saito-san, how was your life back then at the orphanage?
Inei: Back at the orphanage, huh........?
I just looked down........and those memories...........
Flashed through my mind.
Inei: Actually.......today was that day as well...........
Mitsuri: That day?
Inei: Ten years ago...........
Inei: When I was eight years old.........
Inei: That nightmare happened.
Inei: I won't ever forget the day, where my foster family were killed right in front of my eyes.
Mitsuri: .........
Tanjiro: ...............
Mitsuri: Would you mind, telling us? But if you don't want to.........
Inei: It's fine, since this is their 10th year death anniversary, maybe I'll also share, the final fragment of my mysterious past.
Inei: As you already know, when I was just a month old........
Inei: My parents were killed by a demon, and my sister took me away and ran to safety.
Inei: But since she was injured, she can't allow herself to be chased by the demon.
Inei: And with my safety still her top priority, she didn't have a choice but to send me away, in a basket.
Inei: She wrote two letters, one saying about my name and my true birthday. Second, is about a mark that is on my nape.
I removed the collar and showed them the mark.
Tanjiro: Ah, that's the birthmark you were talking about, right?
Inei: Yes.
I put the collar back and continued with my story.
Inei: And so, I was found by the one who runs the orphanage, the one who adopted me. My foster mother.
Inei: Her name is, Ayame Hoshikage.
Inei: Actually, I was one of the first ones who were adopted to the said orphanage since it was newly built.
Inei: And according to Ayame-san, a disease spread out and all the other infants succumbed and died to the disease.
Inei: Except for me.
Tanjiro: Oh...........
Inei: And then, as I grow up, eight years after I was adopted, many children were also adopted into the orphanage as well.
Inei: In total, we were five children at the orphanage.
Inei: Me being the eldest.
Inei: Saki and Asako were a year younger than me. Shinichi who was two years younger than. Tsubaki who was just a year old.
----------------
Inei's POV. Flashback, 10 years ago. Orphanage.
It was a peaceful day at the orphanage.
And I know it is another day of work.
???: Inei, where are you going?
I turned to the woman named Ayame, the one who adopted me.
Inei: I'm going to work. I found a place on where I can work.
Ayame: And where is this work you're talking about?
Inei: At the town.
Ayame: I see.
Then, one by one, my adopted siblings also woke up and saw that I am about to leave.
Saki: Nii-chan, let me help you at your work.
Then a boy with a red hair, Shinichi also wanted to come with me.
Shinichi: Me too, nii-chan. I want to see what you're doing at your work. So that in the future I can help you too!
I smiled at the two of them as I gently rustled their hair.
Inei: Thank you. But I got to do this alone for a while. Don't worry, once I got a decent job......
Inei: I guess we'll be able to buy a new house.
The other one, Asako heard this as she was carrying the sleeping Tsubaki.
Asako: Nii-chan, make sure you come back for dinner, okay?
Inei: Yeah.
I also patted the head of the sleeping Tsubaki.
Inei: I'm heading out.
And I went to the town and go to my work.
But what was my work?
I'm assisting the swordsmith of the village in gathering materials and even testing the durability of the blades he's making.
Since there are the rumors of me who just singlehandedly took on a band of mercenaries who attacked the orphanage, the blacksmith assumed that I know how to use a sword.
It's really heavy, the swords are really heavy. But whenever I perform a swing, it feels natural, as if I've been doing this for years.
And so, I began my work and my order of business is to deliver a newly forged sword to a soldier who is waiting at the outpost.
While I'm at it, I should also collect ores for the swords, which is can be collected in the nearby cave.
So I set off to do my job.
When I delivered the sword to the soldier and received the payment, I immediately went to the cave and search for the ores.
Inei: Hmmm........okay......there are decent ores here........
Inei: Also, maybe I could find something valuable here like gold!
Since I haven't met the quota of the needed ores, I continued my search.
Until as if I'm blessed, I discovered high quality ores which is surprisingly found not at the furthest part of the cave.
Since I met the quota, I quickly returned to the forge and gave the ores.
I took a rest for a while, and I began assisting the swordsmith in creating swords and spears.
But since the demand for swords have increased, we received a lot of orders.
It will take a while.
The swordsmith also asked me to collect some wood needed for the furnace.
And so, I went to the forest and searched for fallen trees to collect wood. It took me at least 3 hours to find the wood that I'm searching for.
After collecting the right amount of wood, I went back and delivered the wood.
Once that was done, we finished up the rest of our work........and called it a day.
The money that I received earlier, the swordsmith let me keep it.
I'm really thankful that I might be able to buy new items with this lot of money.
With this, I happily went on my way back to the orphanage.
But.......
When I returned........or maybe.....while I was away.........
Tragedy fell upon my home.
It was eerily quiet...........
It was really quiet.
I don't know what was going on but........
I have a bad feeling about this.......
And so, I quietly went inside, and hid my presence in the shadows..........
And when I came to the living room.........
To my horror, blood was everywhere........there was blood........
I fear for the worse.........
I observed my surroundings based from what I can see due to the darkness of the night........
Until.......thanks to the moonlight, I found the culprit.........
A man clad in red, his eyes are somehow abnormal because their color is like the rainbow, I also noticed that he's carrying metal fans.
But the most horrible thing that I saw was........
Under his feet.........
Are the mangled corpses of.......
Asako, Shinichi, Saki......
I covered my mouth in disgust as I saw him brutally pulled out Tsubaki's head from her body.
Inei: ...........!?
And Tsubaki's blood splattered across the room........
Inei: W-What is this!? What's going on!? What is happening!?
I don't want to move from my spot, I remained calm on the outside but inside, I don't even know what the hell was going on.
All I'm seeing is massacre.
By a monster.........?
No, wait, Ayame told us stories about demons who were lurking every night.........
And so............
I concluded that man is a demon...........
I searched around if there is something I could use to distract the killer but to my surprise........
He drags out the lifeless body of Ayame..........and he absorbed her........
I thought I was going to be sick due to the horrible things that I saw........
Tsubaki's murder was somehow enough for me to be really disturbed but this..........
I want to fight, but I don't have a weapon with me..........
And if I get out of here, I'm going to die as well...........
I really didn't have that much choice.
So, I waited until the demon was done devouring Ayame........
Somehow, he turned around once more and I looked upon his eyes and I saw the words........
"Upper Rank Two."
It's weird because there are words written in his eyes.......
But I didn't had the time to think...........
I got to stay alive.
Then...........
After a few moments...........
He walked out and was gone from the area.
Once I confirmed that it is safe........
I went to the corpses of my adopted siblings and finally, I was able to mourn........
I can't believe that this happened to me.......
I kept asking myself, did I do something wrong? Did we committed a crime against the gods?
But right now, I don't want to ask questions, because I'm mourning for the terrible tragedy that befell upon us.
As I was mourning.........
Two people arrived and both of them have swords.
But their uniforms are different. The other one is wearing black uniform with a haori. The other one is wearing a standard soldier's uniform, until I noticed the symbol of the Emperor on his armor.
They asked me what happened and I told them everything. The man in a black uniform, went ahead as for the soldier, he brought to the Imperial Palace.
The rest was history.
-------------------
Back to the present.
I finished my story..........
Inei: And there you have it.
Inei: ...........
When I looked at them, Tanjiro and Mitsuri are already crying, as for Nezuko, she's hugging my arm.
Tanjiro: So......you've been suffering.......
Mitsuri: For a very long time......
Mitsuri: *sob*
Mitsuri: If Shinobu-chan hears this story, I'm sure, Saito-san.......
Mitsuri: She'll smack you countless times for being an idiot.
Nezuko: Hmm! Hmm!
Tanjiro: But........nii-san, you still have us, right? Me, Nezuko, Maya-nee, and Shinobu-san.
Mitsuri: Hey! Don't forget the other Hashiras! We still get along with Saito-san, you know!
Tanjiro: Um, I think he only gets along with Uzui-san, Rengoku-san, Tomioka-san, Himejima-san, and Shinobu-san.
Mitsuri: Hey! Iguro-san and Shinazugawa-san are the only ones who is holding a grudge against Saito-san!
Mitsuri: In fact, I respect Saito-san with all my heart!
And they continue to bicker........
Until I saw the faces of my foster siblings overlapping with Tanjiro and Mitsuri-san.
I gently stroke Nezuko's hair as tears flow from eyes........
Nezuko: .......?
Nezuko: .........!?
Nezuko: *proceeds to hug*
Inei: Thank you, Nezuko.
Inei: *sob* *sob*
Tanjiro: Nii-san........
Mitsuri: Saito-san, is everything all right?
Inei: It's fine........I just remembered them.........
Inei: And thought about how things could've been if a demon didn't attack the orphanage. If I was just stronger back then.............
Tanjiro: .............
Mitsuri: So this is what Oyakata-sama is saying about Saito-san's shadows.
Mitsuri: "The shadows of the past still haunt him. He is strong, but even he, is also loathing his own weakness back then."
Tanjiro: ...........
Suddenly, as I continued crying.........
I felt two figures embracing me.
Tanjiro: Nii-san, please, don't always blame yourself.
Mitsuri: Yeah. Please, we can't bear to see you like this. Also, we're your new family, right?
Inei: ............!?
That's right........
Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Kanao, Naho, Sumi, Kiyo, Aoi, Maya-neechan.........
Shinobu.............
I made a vow unto myself......
That I will protect them no matter what.
My other reason why I wanted to be stronger........
To be able to protect the happiness that I created with these people.