Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

"Starting tomorrow, I'll be patrolling somewhere else."

This is what Makijuro said.

This was a familiar notice. Lin Guang sat on the wall, dangling his legs in the air, and hummed.

Makijuro was not originally the person in charge of this area. He only came to support because a more powerful ghost appeared here. Later, he took the initiative to come to help and came to see this "poor" child who was sentenced to death.

Since Rinkou came here more often, he didn't run into Makijuro every time. Occasionally, he would meet other members of the Demon Slayer Corps, but he didn't know those people, so he wouldn't take the initiative to provoke them. Yuhu said that it was outrageous enough for a human to make friends with food, and he would definitely be scolded if he got to know more people.

Muzan never expressed his opinion on this matter. Rinko never lured anyone over, never revealed any news about Muzan, and even hid it well in front of Makijuro. This may be the reason why Muzan always turned a blind eye.

"Time flies so fast!"

Is it fast? Lin Guang asked himself.

Maybe it was quite fast, but I have no idea how long it took.

He had no idea how many times he had met Muzan and Makijuro. He remembered what they talked about and where they talked, but he couldn't remember when. He could only piece together some clues from the fragmented images and roughly figure out what season it was.

"When I first saw you, I had just become a Pillar not long ago, and in the blink of an eye, I've become a father!"

Makijuro's tone rose again. Rinkou still remembered this incident.

"In the end, you decided to call him Kyojuro, right?"

He asked tentatively.

"Yes! Rengoku Kyojuro! Ruka gave me a wonderful son!"

Ruka. Rinkou was no stranger to the name. In fact, he'd heard of the entire Rengoku family by now. Makijuro was very talkative, especially around him. Whether it was because he wasn't wary of children, or if he was just that way, Rinkou didn't know, but Makijuro always responded to his requests and questions.

As for Ruka, that was the part that Rinkou didn't ask about but still got the answer to.

Makijuro is very bad at hiding things, especially happy things. Rinkou still remembers that on the day Ruka agreed to become his wife, Makijuro looked as if he was glowing, and the hand that held his was frighteningly hot and the strength was astonishingly great.

Later, there was their getting along, the wedding, Ruhi's pregnancy, and the birth of the child.

Come to think of it, they had indeed known each other for a long time, so long that one of the children had already learned to talk and walk.

"I really want to bring him to meet you! But Ruka wouldn't let me bring him out. I tried to take him out before, but we were discovered right away! It was so embarrassing!"

"It's okay, maybe we'll see each other later."

Lin Guang tilted his head and spoke in a flat tone.

Makijuro paused when he heard this, and he looked up. The boy was sitting on the wall, his hands supported on his sides, his head raised, looking at the starry sky above his head.

He clearly remembered the boy's appearance when he was at his most embarrassed and vulnerable. Even though that scene had not happened for many years, he still remembered every scene clearly: the rapid heartbeat, the cold body, the unfocused eyes, the boy's voice as soft as a thread, the doctor's frown when he put him on the bed, the paper full of records, and the sentence "He probably won't live much longer."

Of course the doctor's words would not lie to him, but Lingguang was so stubborn. He lived for so many years in this fragile yet tenacious way. Even though his height had not increased and his weight was even lighter, his face was pale and his hands and feet were cold, he just worked hard to live and lived to this day.

He didn't know what made a boy sentenced to death struggle on the line between life and death for so long. Perhaps it was this expectation, the longing for the future, the expectation for the future, trying to ignore death, trying to ignore the fear, and only looking forward to a better future.

It is obvious that he is the one who inspires people like a flame.

"Yes! You will definitely have a chance to meet him in the future! Kyojuro will also join the Demon Slayer Corps in the future. If you see him, you will definitely recognize him as my son at first glance!"

Rinkou lowered his head because of this unusually confident statement, looked at Makijuro curiously, and jumped down from the wall, landing accurately on Makijuro's shoulder. The man reached out to catch him as if he had expected it.

"Does he look like you?"

"Yeah! It's okay to say they're exactly the same!"

When Lin Guang heard this, the only picture that came to his mind was a picture of a little owl standing next to a big owl, but he knew that was impossible. With such a unique hair color and appearance, it was impossible for another owl to be born exactly the same.

It's not a real owl.

----

Makijuro left resolutely, just like every time he said goodbye, he would give serious instructions, wave goodbye, turn around, and never look back.

Even if the road ahead is full of thorns, he will move forward without hesitation. Lin Guang has no doubt that perhaps his son will be as stubborn and passionate as he is.

After seeing Makijuro off, Rinko went to Muzan as usual to make sure he was completely fine.

"We've been here long enough. It's time for us to move somewhere else."

Muzan made a decision.

Then there would be no chance to see Makijuro, Rinko thought. If Muzan had changed places, Rinko would naturally not run in this direction specifically.

But this is indeed a very appropriate time.

Even though Makijuro had almost no doubts about him, there had been no changes over the years, and Rinkou could still detect the surprise that occasionally flashed in his eyes.

In his eyes, Makijuro grew taller and older day by day, his features changed from immature to mature, and occasionally he would see the stubble on his chin before parting. He had transformed from a young boy into a father, but Rinkou was still Rinkou, that child.

His life was paused at the very beginning of his memory.

It was indeed time to move on. Even Makijuro was surprised by him, not to mention the humans that Muzan knew.

"Where do you want to change to?"

"Asakusa."

This is a place name that Rinkou doesn't know, and it will probably be difficult to find it later.

"Rinko should be able to move around outside on his own now."

"Ah."

Lin Guang didn't know what this meant, he just gave an answer first.

"Then go out and have a look around by yourself. You don't have to stay by my side all the time. If you want, you can go back, but it's time for you to go meet some people on your own."

"Including humans?"

“Including humans.”

Unlike Yuhu, Muzan was not too surprised that he could get along with humans, nor did he object. Rinko felt that Muzan might even support it a little.

"If you can dig out Ubuyashiki's hiding place or some other secrets of the Demon Slayer Corps from the Demon Slayer Corps, it will only benefit me."

That made Rinko understand much better.

“But they don’t usually talk about that.”

He wasn't interested in any of that either.

"It doesn't matter. Just do your best."

Sometimes, it’s good not to have expectations placed on you. At least you don’t have to worry about how disappointed the other person will be if you fail to meet their expectations.

Muzan was just about to go talk to Rui about something, so Rinko didn't even bother going back to inform Rui.

"Anything you want to bring him?"

Muzan destroyed all traces left here by an "accident". Lingguang squatted beside him, looking at the moon that was about to set.

"Then. Just say I'll visit him often."

Muzan disappeared from his side, and Rinko crouched there, unsure of where to go.

He always did things for a reason, and now that he was really given the right to choose, he didn't know where to take the next step.

Go find the Jade Pot? Oh, no need to look for it, just shake the bottle and it'll come. Go find Akaza? But where is Akaza? Go find Kokushibo? No, he must be desperate to get into trouble...

Hantengu... I don't know where he is. Speaking of which, are there any upper-rank demons with fixed residences... like Yuukoku... and... No, let's just say Yuukoku.

Lin Guang raised his head and looked around, trying to determine the direction. When he found the general location, he started running. The wind in the windless night suddenly became windy as he ran, and the sound of the wind whistled past his ears.

He jumped high, intending to land on the distant eaves. His shadow was stretched very long by the moonlight, but this time there was no one else around him.

The separation that was not taken seriously may be the last time we see each other.

Lin Guang realized belatedly that for Makijuro, it would be very difficult if he returned here and never saw him again. He also heard that a family nearby had met with misfortune.

You would probably think that he is really dead.