Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

"My name is Makijuro, Rengoku Makijuro, and you are a boy."

The small hand was held tightly in Makijuro's palm. Unlike his own calloused hand, the smaller hand was soft and smooth. It seemed that the child was well raised by a wealthy family. But how could such a child run out by himself in the middle of the night?

"Rinko. My name is Rinko."

Feeling the almost burning hand holding her, Rinko blinked. Not only did she like fire, she was also like fire...

Makijuro held Rinko's hand with one hand and walked slowly forward. Rinko noticed that his other arm had put the long sword back.

The blade hanging on his left side indicated his right-handedness, and his eyes, staring straight ahead, occasionally glanced around, clearly indicating vigilance. However, the presence of a Pillar-level ghost hunter here itself indicated the presence of a powerful ghost...

But in such a dangerous environment, they chose to put him on the right side as well. Are they worried that the child will be afraid of knives...?

"Rinko! What a great name! Rin means winter, right? Were you born in winter?"

Even Makijuro's voice sounded full of energy, like a burning fire, very passionate, more passionate than any living thing Rinkou had ever seen.

Akaza will definitely like this guy.

They might just get along.

"Yeah! Winter's coldness, night's light. That's what he said."

Lin Guang seemed to be infected by him, and his voice became a little louder.

Makijuro glanced at him, saying nothing on the surface, but his mind was filled with thoughts. The boy wasn't panicked by his lost situation, nor was he afraid of this unfamiliar area. He said he couldn't find his home, but he acted so relaxed, as if he were playing a game. Did he do this often? Or was he simply slow?

"He? Is he Rinko's father? It's a bit rude to call him that!"

What he was thinking was not expressed on his face, so Makijuro continued the topic.

"Yeah. He's my father. I don't mind calling him that, but he doesn't like me mentioning him in front of others. So if Mr. Purgatory asks me about my father, I can't tell him."

The boy noticed his gaze, turned his head and looked at him, his face showing an innocent and pitiful look, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Okay! I won't ask! But if you're still out this late, your father will definitely be worried! Let's help you find your home as soon as possible! Do you remember where your home is?"

Makijuro took Rinko through the buildings one by one. Every time they came to a fork in the road, Rinko would not hesitate, as if she was very familiar with the place. But after walking around, Rinko did not look like she had found her home.

The path they walked was nothing more than checking every household here in order.

"I don't remember. So I'm trying hard to find it."

Lin Guang's tone was sincere, and his expression changed from relaxed to slightly serious.

"If you pass by, Rinko would recognize you, right?"

Makijuro's words were incoherent. Rinkou tilted his head and thought about it along his lines. If he passed by the door, he could indeed feel Muzan's presence, or rather, "see" Muzan's presence. This was a little trick Akaza taught him. Even if he tried to hide deliberately, as long as he still existed, he could be found. It was like no matter how well he hid, as long as the eyes saw him, they would still be aware of his presence.

"If I pass by the door...it's possible..."

Rinkou had only said half of his words when Makijuro squatted down. Before Rinkou could say anything to him, Makijuro easily picked him up.

"Well!"

One arm could circle his body, and as the arm tightened, Rinkou was forced to lean on Makijuro's arms. The man immediately stood up, and his vision instantly became much higher, not only expanding his field of vision, but also his speed.

Before Rinkou could finish the second half of his sentence, Makijuro had already taken a step forward, with his other hand behind the boy to ensure he didn't fall.

This speed was not fast compared to his limit, but it was still more efficient than walking slowly just now. He was not going to just abandon the child here. There was no police station nearby, and he couldn't safely hand the child over to anyone.

The boy was still barefoot, and his hands were already very cold. Now his body was indeed cold when he was held. Makijuro had noticed before that the boy's face was paler than that of ordinary people, and he was relatively thin. If he continued to delay like this, he would definitely get sick.

"Then take a closer look. I'll pass by every door. I hope Rinko sees someone familiar and makes a sound!"

The boy he held up held his shoulders, blinked in surprise, and after listening to the explanation, looked at the roadside seriously.

-

This is indeed more efficient, whether it is finding a home for a child or patrolling the area to look for ghosts.

"Why did you stop suddenly..."

The sudden stop made Rinkou withdraw his gaze from the roadside. He looked at Makijuro and subconsciously prepared to turn around and look behind him, but the hand clasped behind his back increased its strength, preventing him from turning around.

"Don't look back."

Rinko stopped moving, but he gave up turning around without hesitation. Makijuro put the boy down, untied the haori, and covered him with it.

"Just stay here, don't move, close your eyes, cover your ears, and don't look back. Can you do that?"

Makijuro didn't look at him. Rinkou was standing at the edge of his vision. He didn't turn around or ask, but just nodded and responded softly.

"Ah."

Makijuro stood up, and the boy squatted down obediently, covered his ears with his hands, and closed his eyes.

"Good boy!"

The boy wouldn't hear his compliments, but Makijuro didn't care. The demon before him bared its fangs and claws, but he had already grasped the scabbard. He had been a little worried that it would be too late to find this guy after sending the boy tonight, but now it was all right. The other party had taken the initiative to come to his door, so how could he not treat him well?

"Breathing of Flame, First Form, Shiranui!"

----

It was late at night when there was a knock on the door. It was not the time for guests to visit, nor was it the time most people would choose to visit.

The maid thought about it and carefully opened the door.

There was no one at the door. As she looked down, she realized that it was this boy who had just knocked on the door.

"Are you lost, little brother?"

The boy didn't say anything, just looked up at her. After a moment, he tilted his head to look behind her. The maid turned around and found that the husband had come behind her.

"Sorry sir! Did I wake you up? This little kid..."

"Don't be nervous, it's okay. This kid is here to see me. Right, Rinkou."

The boy called Lin Guang still didn't say a word, but when the man stretched out his hand to him, he took a step forward and threw himself into the man's arms.

"You've worked hard. Go and have a rest. Leave the child to me."

The maid was about to say something, but looking at the two, one big and one small, she finally said nothing and turned around and left after bowing.

What a surprise! Her husband actually had a child? How had she never seen him before? This child actually came to her house in the middle of the night. Never mind. This wasn't something she could worry about. Her husband would make his own arrangements. She just had to continue doing her job.

----

"I'm glad you still remember our agreement."

"I remember it, but I didn't know how long three months was. Lei told me there was only one month left, so I set out immediately and searched for a long time."

Lingguang stood there obediently, letting the water wash away the dust on his body and the mud and sand under his feet. His wet short hair stuck to his head, which was not very comfortable. Lingguang subconsciously shook his head to splash water everywhere.

"Well, that's true. You've lost all concept of time since before. You don't even know how long you've lived."

Muzan ignored Rinko's puppy-like behavior and just grabbed a towel from the side and put it on the boy's head to prevent him from shaking off the water a second time.

"I don't remember. It's been a long time. Maybe hundreds of years?"

The boy raised his head with the towel on his head. His face was covered and he didn't know how to move it away. He muttered what he saw and felt along the way like a towel ghost.

There were fireflies on the road, rivers passing by, rice fields passing through, and what he called "lanterns" hanging very high up.

"Ah, I also met a ghost hunter who looked like an owl. He had big eyes and a very unusual hair color. He looked like a flame."

Only after hearing this did Muzan reach out and remove the towel from the boy's face.

"You met a ghost hunter."

"Yes, it looks like a pillar. There are words engraved on the sword. It should be the Flame Pillar... Hmm. The Flame Pillar."

Lin Guang tried to recall, and after confirming that he remembered correctly, he nodded and said "hmm" to himself.

"Yan... I haven't heard of it. It seems that you can even fool Zhu now, which is good news."

Muzan had heard Yuhu say before that Rinko could now deceive the Pillars' perception, but at that time Rinko had Yuhu as a cover, so it was not surprising that he was ignored. This time, he really relied on himself to deceive the Pillars.

Lin Guang sat quietly, letting Muzan play with him as he pleased, washing him, wiping him clean, and then changing his clothes, as if he was playing with a doll.

Speaking of which, he forgot to say hello to the other person when he left. Wasn't that a bit rude? But the other person was a ghost hunter, so it would be rude if he brought him to Muzan...

----

----

At the same time, after dealing with the ghost, Makijuro looked at the neatly folded haori on the ground and the missing boy, and tilted his head.

What about people?

Although his attention would indeed be more focused when facing a ghost, he shouldn't be so... that he would not completely fail to notice where such a big child went?

There's no blood around, and no other ghost scent. Ghosts are very territorial. If there's a stronger ghost here... there shouldn't be any other danger around...

"Have you remembered the direction of home?"

Makijuro quickly circled the area twice more, repeatedly confirming that the other party was not in danger. Then he scratched his head in confusion, accepting the possibility that he had actually overlooked the whereabouts of a child during the battle.

"You didn't even notice a child! You still need training! How shameful!"