|•| 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚂𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚛 |•| 𝕂𝕟𝕪 𝔽𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

XXVI

     "It's arms..", Tanjiro muttered as he observed the doll. "Why are there six?"

   "It's arms? Well, according to my dad.. This doll is modelled after an actual swordsman.", Kotetsu said.

   "Yeah, and his real name is actually Yoriichi Tsugikuni.", Kiyomi added, her eyes sparkling in amazement.

    "It is? How did you know that? This dates back to the Sengoku era.", Kotetsu asked. Kiyomi flinched as she sheepishly smiled.

  'Not again..'

   "Well, I've red many books about him! He was the first person to actually almost kill Kibutsuji Muzan.", she explained, surprising the two.

   "Woah... You mean it's more than a hundred and three years old?! How has it not broken after all this time?!", Tanjiro said.

   "Its construction is so superb that we can't hope to achieve that level even now. If it breaks, we can't fix it anymore.", Kotetsu explained, his expression turning sad, "My dad died suddenly, and I don't have siblings, so I have to be the one to fix it. But I don't have the talent to fix blades or dolls..."

  He started trembling, trying not to cry, but failed when he was comforted by Kiyomi.

   "So that's why... I see, I see...", Tanjiro frowned, pitying the boy.

   "This person.. is amazing. He's just as young as I am... But he's talented...", Tanjiro looked at Muichiro as he was fighting against the doll.

   "Well of course!! That boy is the descendant of the 'sun breath' users!", someone boasted behind, startling them. Kiyomi huffed after accidentally inhaling too much air from surprise. They turned to look at who spoke, seeing a crow with long eyelashes.

   "He's a genius! He's completely different from you. Hohohoho!!", The crow laughed.

   "He is! He's really amazing and cool!", Kiyomi added, her eyes full of adoration.

   "Kegh, you're not that bad! I like you!", The crow nodded as she flew on Kiyomi's head.

   "Thanks. You're pretty too!", Kiyomi complimented. The crow huffed in satisfaction, full of pride.

   'I thought she would act like a b!tch, but I was wrong!', she thought.

   "Tokitou-kun's crow? The sun breath is the original breath, so he's really amazing.. But he doesn't use the sun breath..", Tanjiro said which somehow offended the crow.

   "Shut the hell up! I'll gouge your eyes out!!", The crow flew towards Tanjiro and bit his cheek harshly.

   "Aggghh!!", Tanjiro grunted, "Oh! The dream I saw!! I saw him in a dream!!", He exclaimed.

   "What? You're a total moron. Have you ever come to this village before?", The crow scoffed, flying back to Kiyomi's head, "So you know a warrior from the Sengoku era? How old are you?", She added, Tanjiro froze for a minute with a cute and determined face, before sulking.

   "Sorry about that... I must look weird...", Tanjiro sulked as Kotetsu panicked.

   "No, no!! Maybe it's a memory that was passed on? It's a common saying in my village. Appearances aren't the only things that are inherited.", he explained, trying to cheer Tanjiro up.

   "So the dream you saw must have been your ancestor's memory!", Kotetsu finished along with Kiyomi's agressive nods of agreement.

   "Ridiculous! Riiiidiculous!", The crow huffed out. Tanjiro pitifully smiled with a single tear leaving his left eye.