It Doesn't Make Sense
And soon he found it when Yuu was halfway down a steep slope and Yuichiro hadn't even stepped on the slope.
'Now!' He quickly turned in the direction of the nearby village and ran with all of his strength.
'I need to get away and call for help!' Yuichiro thought as he looked back and didn't see Yuu chasing him, so he thought that he lost him but as soon as he looked in the front.
"MMFPH!" A big hand grabbed him by the face and lifted him off his feet, soon he was able to see the person who did it.
'How did he?!' Yuichiro was shocked that Yuu was already in front of him, not to mention, 'I can't break free!'
Yuichiro was thrashing around as he tried to hit Yuu with his legs or use his hands to peel off Yuu's hand but it was all futile.
"Moving around will not help," Yuu's voice only strengthened Yuichiro's thoughts, it wasn't possible to get away from his grip.
But in the next instant, Yuu let go of his hand and Yuichiro fell down on the ground gasping for air.
Looking at Yuu, Yuichiro understood.
'I can't run away, he'll catch me in no time,' Yuichiro didn't even feel like testing it again.
"Now listen to the reason we are here," Yuu was about to explain but Yuichiro already knew.
"I know already, the white-haired woman from before told us that we were the descendants of some Legendary Swordsman who hunted Demons," Yuichiro said and Yuu nodded.
"That makes things easier, Both you and your brother are coming with us to the Demon Slayer corps," Yuu said flatly and…
"No, we don't want to, you only want to use us as tools," Yuichiro said in an angry tone, he didn't want to do it.
He didn't want to hunt demons, he didn't care about saving people and didn't care about what his damn ancestors did.
All he cared about…
"And so what? Did I ask you to agree?" Yuichiro froze in place when he heard Yuu's cold voice.
He looked up and saw his cold gaze which caused him to tremble even more.
"What can you do if we want to use you and your brother as tools?" Yuu asked but Yuichiro couldn't say anything.
"Can you defeat me? Can your brother do it? If I want to take you too away from here by force …What can you do?" Yuu continued with his cold tone and Yuichiro was able to understand.
'H-He's different from them,' Yuichiro was reminded of Amane who came over a few times during last month, and Kanae who had come with Yuu, both of them were soft-spoken and had a gentle nature, it was clear once someone looked at their eyes, But one glance in Yuu's eyes and he was able to tell 'He's serious.'
"So, now keep your mouth shut and listen, the real reason we want to take you and your brother to the corps," Yuu explained to Yuichiro once again that he was a descendant of a legendary demon slayer that the corps has been searching for.
'I know that already,' Yuichiro knew that, but he couldn't say it out loud since Yuu didn't look like he'll care for his complaints.
"But it isn't us alone that is searching for you," Yuichiro's eyes widened as soon as he heard that, "Yes, the demons are also looking for you."
"T-The Demons aren't real," Yuichiro said since he had never seen one himself.
"I see, what of a bear?" But he was stumped when he heard Yuu's question, "Can you defeat a bear if it shows up?"
"D-Don't talk ridiculous things," Yuichiro had been roaming this mountain since he was a toddler, there has never been a bear around here.
"Do you think a bear won't show up here just because it hasn't shown up yet? That's naivety, It won't ask you before coming in your house and ripping both you and brother into shreds," Yuichiro couldn't argue with Yuu but the latter was far from done.
"You live so far away from the village, what would you do if thieves show up and attack you when you are asleep? What'll you do if you and your brother get a deadly disease while living here? How will you get proper treatment without a doctor?" Yuichiro once again froze as soon as he heard that but Yuu wasn't stopping.
"What will you do if your brother falls off a cliff? Can you save him?" Yuichiro started trembling.
"S-Stop…" Yuu heard Yuichiro's whimper but his face did not change.
"I can go on for an hour stating the ways you and your brother can die up here without even mentioning the demons, Now think what will happen if they are real," Yuu squatted down in front of Yuichiro and looked at him.
"There are too many ways to die and they are all unexpected, no matter how careful you are, and no matter how much you plan, you and your family can die at any time, You surely understand that," Of course, Yuichiro understood, he lost both his parents in a blink of an eye.
Both of them were gone before he could even make sense of what happened.
That is why…
'I don't want Muichiro to die…' Yuichiro didn't want to lose his brother which is why he was rude to Amane.
He didn't care if demons were real or not, he was sure that the job would be dangerous that is why he chased her away.
He was trying to do the same today, he just wanted to chase them away, he just wanted them to leave him and his brother alone, and that was why he couldn't even hit Yuu with rocks even when he walked straight toward him.
"W-What do I do?" Yuichiro asked while tears streamed down his face.
"…There is only one thing you can do when there are too many dangers," Yuichiro looked up and saw Yuu.
His face didn't look cold anymore and neither was his voice chilling, it was neutral now.
"W-What?" Yuichiro couldn't help but ask, he felt like he'll get an answer if he asked Yuu, he looked like the type of person who thinks with his head.
'You can only save yourself, you can always build the relationships again, as long as you are alive that is all that matters…' These words kept on ringing in his ears even now, he was hearing them every time he closed his eyes.
It was almost like a curse but…
"You just need to get strong enough so that you can protect your brother from everything, whether it is the bear or the disease," Yuu said and Yuichiro wiped his tears.
"That doesn't make any sense," But this was the first time Yuichiro saw a small smile on Yuu's face.
'You see Smirnov when it comes to certain stuff...' Yuu could hear another voice in his ears, but it wasn't like the voice from before, this one was filled with warmth and care.
"When it comes to certain stuff you want to do, it is alright if they don't make sense," Yuu could see his own reflection in Yuichiro when he heard this sentence for the first time.
He was also confused when he heard it for the first time.
'Did you also smile like I am doing right now when you saw me confused back then?' Yuu wondered, he was still unsure what his friend meant by those words. It didn't make any sense to him, it still didn't, but…
Yuu was able to understand some of it just before he died…
'And now…' Yuu stood up and looked at the dark clouds covering the sun, 'I think I understand what you meant that day.'
***
"So, after Tachibana-sama slashed the neck of one demon and pushed the other one back with great force," Kanae was telling Muichiro about the battle at Yoshiwara while they were sitting outside of the house because…
"Then what happened?" Muichiro was fully mesmerized by the story, he was really interested in it, and when he heard that both Yuu and Kanae were demon slayers he couldn't help but ask about their experiences.
"Well, after that… look they are back," Kanae who was about to continue pointed behind Muichiro because she saw Yuichiro and Yuu coming back.
"Nii-san, are you alright?" Muichiro ran straight towards Yuichiro looking worried.
"I am fine, worry about yourself don't run you always trip and then cry," Yuichiro snorted.
"I-I don't," Muichiro denied but it was true, as a kid he did fall down a lot, even now he fell down a few times when he went into the forest with Yuichiro.
But Yuichiro then looked at Kanae which made Muichiro panic a little.
"B-Brother don't shout at her, Nee-san isn't a bad person,"
'Kocho-san already got him,' Yuu knew that Kanae wasn't aiming for any of this, it was just her nature.
"…I know that already," Muichiro looked a little shocked hearing what Yuichiro said but he was happy that his brother wasn't being mean anymore.
"Miss…" But Yuichiro turned his head to Kanae who smiled, she already knew what Yuuichiro was going to talk about.