Demon Slayer: My breathing technique went awry after Nezuko pushed me down.

Senior brother... is really... so gentle...

Shirakawa Yu handed Makomo to the stunned Tanjiro, "Use my sword."

He held the Tang-style horizontal sword named Makomo, which his senior brother never allowed him to touch.

Tanjiro's first reaction was, "It's so heavy, my senior's sword is so heavy."

My second reaction was, "This feels so familiar; it evokes a sense of familiar warmth."

The third reaction... Ouch! That hurts.

Covering the back of his head in grievance, Tanjiro looked at Shirakawa Yu with pleading eyes, "Why did you hit me!"

"Hurry up and do it, how much longer do you want to touch it!" Shirakawa Yu was very possessive of his food.

Let alone Makomo, he doesn't even want to take care of Nezuko anymore.

(｀⌒'メ) "Tsk, stingy!"

Tanjiro glanced at the Hand Demon, who was now unable to even scream and had no complete shape.

Without further delay, he held the knife in both hands and turned sideways to raise it horizontally.

"Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

When the cold blade finally embedded itself in his neck, the Hand Demon even felt a sense of relief.

However, this familiar move made him feel unwilling.

Urokodaki! Sakonji!

My whole life! You've ruined it all!!!

Filled with resentment and hatred, the Hand Demon... is annihilated!

Just as Tanjiro was staring blankly at the corpse of the Hand Demon gradually turning into ashes.

Shirakawa Yu had already snatched Makomo away, and even blew on the spot where Tanjiro had held her with a hint of disgust.

If it weren't for wanting Makomo to kill the Hand Demon with his own hands, he wouldn't have let Tanjiro touch it.

(￣ー￣) Tanjiro was speechless.

"Senior brother, what's next...?"

"Next!" Shirakawa Yu interrupted Tanjiro without turning his head, holding the sheathed Makomo sword.

With a lonely figure, a master slowly spoke, "Tanjiro, you've grown up! It's time for you to do some things on your own! You can't always rely on me!"

Tanjiro tilted his head, "Huh? What are you talking about, senior brother?"

"Ahem!" Shirakawa Yu coughed lightly. "What I mean is, you should walk the rest of the way on your own!"

Tanjiro sniffed, his eyes suddenly turning strange.

Staring—╬('-＿-｀)

"...Senior brother, you smell different... You wouldn't...want to dump me...and go find Kanao, would you...?"

Seeing Shirakawa Yu's back suddenly stiffen, Tanjiro immediately realized that he had guessed correctly, and he quickly reached out to grab him.

"No! Senior brother, you promised Master you would—"

"Color Breathing - Second Form - Fox Walk!"

next second!

Tanjiro stared blankly at the pink aura gradually dissipating from his palm, Shirakawa Yu nowhere to be seen.

"Senior Brother!!!"

A mournful cry from an abandoned child echoed through the forest.

Chapter 26 This coin, it's a setup for me!!!

Fujiiyama, near the summit.

Beside a clearing by a stream, covered with white wildflowers.

Kurihana Kanao stood quietly under an old tree, her light purple eyes gazing at the babbling brook under the moonlight, unconsciously stroking the polished coin in her hand.

She wasn't thinking about anything; she was just habitually spacing out and killing time.

Until a cheerful call came from behind.

"Yo, we meet again, Kanao~"

Kanao turned around and saw a handsome young man wearing a white haori with pink patterns, smiling a little too brightly, waving at her.

The person who arrived was none other than Shirakawa Yu, who had found her by relying on her sensitivity to women through her breathing techniques and the faint scent of their bodies in the air.

Kanao looked at him without saying a word, but her fingers were already lightly resting on the hilt of the sword.

Bai Chuanyu paused for a moment, then quickly stopped approaching.

"Well, being cautious is a good thing, but I mean no harm."

With that, Shirakawa Yu raised his hands high, "I just want to team up with you."

Team up?

Me?

...Yada! !

Kanao gave Shirakawa Yu a warning look, then turned and left.

Shirakawa Yu raised an eyebrow; he'd been rejected for the second time...

However, he did not give up.

Instead, he quickly followed.

"Don't rush to make a decision." Shirakawa Yu followed slowly, about five meters away from her.

This was a distance that wouldn't immediately make her wary and retreat, nor would it force her to draw her sword.

"Seven days is too boring to travel alone. There are a lot of ghosts in these mountains. It would be safer if we traveled together. If all else fails, you can flip a coin to decide?"

Kanao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she silently quickened her pace.

Clearly, Kanao knows how to refuse.

Not everything can be decided by a coin toss.

She doesn't need to agonize over or consider things she doesn't want to do or doesn't like.

That's normal, though.

If she really had to make every decision based on a coin toss, what if she just happened to meet a random stranger who said to her, "Please marry me"?

Does she have to pull out a coin and give the other party a 50% chance?

However, Kanao clearly had never encountered a shameless guy like Shirakawa Hare.

She had clearly expressed her refusal.

But the other person just followed her closely and wouldn't leave.

He's fast when she's fast, and slow when she's slow.

In short, I won't exceed the limit, nor will I leave.

He just hung quietly behind her.

Three minutes... five minutes... ten minutes...

Kanao finally stopped and turned to look at Shirakawa Yu.

This person is like a ghost; he walks without making a sound, and there's no breath at all.

Every time I thought he had left, I would turn around and there he was, still following behind me with a grin on his face.

You have to be wary of ghosts and also of him; it's very troublesome.

"If you find me annoying, maybe you can consider flipping a coin to decide whether you want to join me~"

Shirakawaha:（￣︶￣）↗

"If it's the opposite, I'll obediently leave."

Kanao was silent for two seconds, then slowly took out a coin from her pocket.

"Clang."

A crisp metallic sound rang out.

The coin fell, and she caught it steadily, covering it with her palm.

She moved her hand away and glanced at it.

——The reverse side.

She showed the coin to Shirakawa Yu, her face still bearing that calm smile, only...

The corners of her mouth seemed to curve slightly... by an extra 0.1 pixels?

Bai Chuanyu: "..."

He understood the meaning behind that subtle expression: See, you're having bad luck.

This girl... seems to be a little cunning?

Kanao took back the coin and stared intently at Shirakawa Yu.

The meaning is very clear.

Please keep your promise!

"Well~ was I rejected for the third time?" Shirakawa Yu shook his head with a smile, and turned to leave under Kanao's watchful (supervisory) gaze.

Commitment is important; it's about credibility.

Shirakawa Yu couldn't leave Kanao with the impression that he was untrustworthy.

So he left.