Chapter 28: The Swordsmiths Village
Following the Kakushi's instructions, Tanjirou went to the house to greet, who he assumed was, the village's chief.
"I came to introduce myself." he explained to the blacksmith standing at the door.
"Hello there." an elderly, short, man greeted him, "I am the chief of this village, Tecchikawahara Tecchin. Very nice to meet you. I may be the shortest in this village, but I am also the best at my craft. Now, bow your head so low it touches the mat." he said.
"I am Kamado Tanjirou." he said, practically slamming his forehead on the mat, "Very honored to meet you!"
"What a good boy. Now come over here and take some karinto."
"Thank you so much." Tanjirou sat closer and accepted the basket, starting to munch on one.
"Hotaru's gone missing right now. We're doing our best to look for him, so please be patient."
"Hotaru?" Tanjirou blinked.
"Yes. Haganezuka Hotaru."
"What a cute name."
"I'm the one who gave it to him. But he keeps badmouthing me since he says it's too cute."
"That's pretty sad."
"He's always been like that, ever since he was a child. He always throws tantrums right away and then he disappears off somewhere. Sorry about that."
"Oh, no, no! I'm the one who mishandled his swords, either by breaking, losing or chipping them."
"No, you're wrong. It's his fault for making a sword that can actually break."
"Once we find him, we'll seize him and bring him over. So don't worry about anything." a swordsmith said, punching the air.
"Please don't be so violent…" Tanjirou worried about his swordsmith's safety.
"I heard that your body still hasn't healed completely to be sent into the field, yet. So if Hotaru doesn't forge your sword by then, I'll have someone else do it." the village chief said, "The hot spring in our village does wonders for the body. So please, spent some time and relax there."
"Ah…thank you, but I am afraid I will have to decline that first offer, Tecchikawahara-san. He might not like me very much, with how I mistreat the swords he makes for me, but Haganezuka-san is my swordsmith. I can not accept someone else's sword."
The village chief was quiet for a moment.
"He chose a good Slayer to forge swords for." he said in the end, "Go to the hot spring and we'll tripple our efforts to find him."
'I hope they don't fight each other.' Tanjirou thought worried.
A swordsmith led him to the path to the springs, informing him that he'd be preparing his dinner at a nearby building.
"The hot spring is at the top of this hill." his guide pointed, "I will be preparing your meal down here." he pointed to a building to the side of the path.
"Okay." Tanjirou agreed, "Thank you."
Half way there, someone else came running down from the springs.
"Aaaahhhh, it's Tanjirooooouuuuu-kuuuuun!" came the distressed voice of the Love Pillar, "Tanjirooooouuu-kuuun!"
"Ah! Kanroji-san, please be careful!" he exclaimed, "Your chest is going spill out!"
"Listen, listen!" Kanroji-san practically fell to her knees, crying before him.
"Watch out!" Tanjirou worried she hurt herself.
"I got ignored! I greeted him and he ignored me!"
"Who did?"
"I don't know! I asked his name, but he didn't answer! Isn't that just cruel? I'm a Pillar! Now all that good energy I got from the hot spring is completely gone." she cried.
Tanjirou smiled kindly, sniffing the air.
"It looks like they'll be done with dinner soon. It smells like they used rice with matsutake mushrooms, too." he tried to console her.
"Really?! Are you serious?" she beamed, before taking off towards the dinning hall, singing a happy tune.
Tanjirou smiled after her, listening to her singing as she went.
'She hasn't changed.' he smiled and continued on his way.
It wasn't long before he reached the spring.
'Whoaa, it's so big!'
Suddenly, something hit his forehead.
"Ow." he caught it as it fell, 'A tooth. Who would lose a tooth?' he wondered, worried.
He look around only to see the very familiar mohawk of one Shinazugawa Genya.
"Ah, Genya! Hello!" he greeted him.
"Drop dead!"
He remembered Genya wasn't a particularly friendly person, but Tanjirou had always hoped they would eventually get along.
So he got in the hot springs and tried to make small talk with him.
"It's been so long. How have you been?" he asked.
"Don't talk to me!"
Only for Genya to push his head underwater and leave.
'I thought I could break through to him and be friends, since we both were naked in the spring, but… Man, relationships are hard.' he thought looking at the sky.
He sighed and closed his eyes.
The sun had set when he took the way to the dinning hall, where he found Kanroji-san still there.
"That's impressive, as always, Kanroji-san."
"You really think so? I didn't eat that much today, though."
"I'm gonna eat a lot to get strong one day, too." he smiled, "Oh, yeah. The boy you met earlier at the spring was someone from my batch. His name is Shinazugawa Genya."
"Oh! Is that so… That'd mean he's Shinazugawa-san's little brother, right? But he told me he didn't have one. Maybe they don't get along? That's so tragic."
"Oh, are they…? Why would they?"
"Well, I have five siblings and we get along fine. And so do you, right?"
"Yes!" Tanjirou smiled.
"I don't know. Maybe the Shinaguzawa brothers are just really scary."
"Can't be that." Tanjirou said thoughtfully, as he continued eating, "And Genya has yet to come here. I would love to sit and chat for at least a little bit."
"Looks like he isn't coming. And he told the villagers he won't eat at all. Maybe he brought something with him." Kanroji-san suggested.
"…I hope he's okay. I'll bring him some leftovers."
"Yeah! Great idea!"
The two of them gathered some food on a tray and started making their way towards Genya's room, Kanroji-san singing and leading the way.
Upon reaching it, though, they found it empty.
"Genya-kun isn't here." Kanroji-san said, disappointed.
"Kanroji-sama."
Just then a Kakushi called Kanroji-san, informing her that her sword was almost ready.
"Your sword will be done very soon. We would like you to come to the workshop so we can make our final touches."
"Awww. It looks like I have to go now."
"Okay, then. Don't worry about me. I'll see you off."
"It's fine. I'll probably be called in the dead of the night." Kanroji-san said, with a smile.
"No, but… Well, okay, then… Uhh… Stay safe."
"Tanjirou-kun. I don't really know if we'll be able to see each other alive next time, but let's just do what we can. You survived a battle against an upper Moon. That's already an incredible learning experience. Practically speaking, there's nothing more valuable than experiencing something like that. That's equal to five or even ten years of intense training. You're definitely a lot stronger now than the last time I saw you, Tanjirou-kun."
"Thank you very much." he bowed his head, "But I still have a long ways to go. I only 'won' because Uzui-san helped me. I will work harder than ever, so I can beat Kibutsuji Muzan and his demons." he said determined.
That seemed to excite Kanroji-san.
"Tanjirou-kun, you got permission to stay here a little longer, right?"
"Ah, yes. For now…" he started, only to stop when a small cough came from behind Kanroji-san, making her glance back. The Love Pillar leaned very close.
The Kakushi seemed to be embarrassed to have to remind her.
"I heard there is a secret weapon in this village that lets you get strong. Go look for it, okay?" she whispered in his ear. Then she drew back and followed the Kakushi, "Later!" she waved.
Tanjirou smiled, head slightly bowed down, as his hands were occupied.
'What is it with women and leaning too close?' he wondered with a blush, 'Shinobu does it all the time to get to me. And now Kanroji-san, too? Though, Kanroji-san's was for sharing information, while Shinobu is being playful.'