62. Mitsuri's Growth

"Well, this is going to be our first mission together."

Putting Haru's pain aside, Kotaro was naturally happy to be paired with Mitsuri for the first time, and Mitsuri was equally excited about it.

"Yes! Let's do our best, Kotaro-sama!"

Now that she was paired with Kotaro-sama, Mitsuri was determined to show her progress! She pumped her fists with a smile, and both of them walked toward the place inhabited by the Lower Ranked Demon.

But before they could…

Thud!

A small child running by accidentally fell after bumping into Mitsuri. Mitsuri turned around, and the child, feeling the pain, started crying.

"Are you alright?"

As she knelt down to check, the child's mother came over and snatched the child into her arms, shooting a glare at Mitsuri.

"Hey, don't touch my child!"

"S-Sorry, I was just—"

The mother's sudden outburst flustered Mitsuri, and before she could give a proper reply, the mother fired off a number of questions.

"Why is your hair that weird color? And you're carrying a blade?"

"Um—"

"You must be a kidnapper!"

At this moment, Kotaro noticed Mitsuri was no longer beside him and heard the commotion behind him.

'What is happening?'

He walked closer, only to hear the accusations being thrown at Mitsuri. Damn! He moved forward to intervene—

"Sorry! But your son was crying because he fell down! And my hair is like this because I ate a lot of sakuramochi when I was a child. Heehee, isn't that weird?"

Before Kotaro could step in, Mitsuri raised her voice and cheerfully explained to the woman and her child. The mention of sakuramochi calmed the child, as no child dislikes sweets.

"Sakuramochi?"

"Yes. I ate a lot of it, and my hair turned pink. How is it? It's a bit weird, but it's still cute, right?"

Now that the tears had stopped, the child looked at the beautiful lady in front of them and felt that the pink hair really suited her.

"Hmm! It's really cute!"

"Right? My husband also thinks it's cute!"

Mitsuri placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest as she proudly mentioned her husband liking her hair.

'Mitsuri…'

Kotaro, who witnessed everything, was speechless. It might seem insignificant, but it made Kotaro's eyes grow wet. Being with her, he knew how insecure Mitsuri had always felt about her looks. That's why, when the mother commented on her hair, he had wanted to step in to ensure she was okay. He was ready to console her, to assure her that she wasn't weird.

But now… it seemed he didn't need to do that.

Mitsuri had learned to accept herself. Yes, she was unique. She was different. She was weird. But…

That's what made her Mitsuri Kenshin.

A happy smile bloomed on Kotaro's face as he watched Mitsuri bow and bid farewell to the mother and child with her usual bubbly smile.

"It seems I was worried for nothing. Are you seeing this, mother?"

Kotaro looked up at the sky, filled with countless stars. The stars are always watching over them, and he felt that his mother was somewhere among them.

"Mitsuri, she's grown up."

…

"Kotaro-sama, is everything alright?"

Mitsuri was confused, finding Kotaro-sama more cheerful than usual. There was a happy atmosphere around him. Not that she didn't like it, but the sudden change made her a bit puzzled.

"It's nothing. I'm just proud of you, Mitsuri."

"Huh? W-Why are you praising me out of nowhere, Kotaro-sama?!"

The unexpected compliment caught her off guard. Still, Kotaro-sama being proud of her made Mitsuri giddy with happiness.

'Yosh! I'll defeat the demons and get more praise from Kota—!'

Boom!

A loud sound reverberated, and the ground shook from the explosion. All the civilians nearby started to panic and scream, creating more chaos.

But unlike the civilians, the demon slayers and Kakushi tensed up. This explosion meant only one thing…

"Mitsuri, let's go."

"Yes!"

The fight against the Lower Ranked Demon had begun!

…

"Kotaro-sama, let's go help Rengoku-sa—"

"No!"

Kotaro stopped Mitsuri from running impulsively. This battle against the Lower Ranked Demon was for Kyojuro's promotion to Hashira. But that wasn't the reason Kotaro didn't want to interfere. It was because Kotaro had complete confidence in him.

"Kyojuro will handle it. I believe in him!"

He was Kyojuro Rengoku, the future Flame Hashira. He might not be the strongest Hashira, but he was the most reliable. He was the one who protected the weak because it was his duty. And he never neglected his duty.

Moreover, if Kyojuro lost here, he would never become the Flame Hashira in the future. So there was no problem on his side.

And if that was the case, then the priorities changed. What should he and Mitsuri do?

"Mitsuri, that explosion… I'm not sure, but there are probably more bombs. And since the demon is fighting Kyojuro, he can't set them off himself. They must be time bombs."

As special as Blood Demon Arts were, Kotaro doubted a demon would have something as complex as bomb creation and remote activation. If they did, it wouldn't be a Demon Blood Art but a Stand!

So the demon must be using man-made bombs. And the fact that he was here, fighting Kyojuro, meant the bomb exploded on its own—it was a time bomb.

Moreover, how could a demon stop at a single bomb? There must be more time bombs planted in different locations.

Kotaro wasn't completely sure, but it was a well-educated guess.

So, he and Mitsuri should evacuate the civilians as fast as possible and ensure the time bombs didn't cause further damage.

"Mitsuri, help the civilians evacuate."

"Y-Yes!"

"And Haru?"

The Kasugai crow swooped down and perched on his shoulder. Now that a demon attack had begun, other matters had to be set aside. It was time to work together.

"Alert the others. There are likely more time bombs planted in different locations. Tell them to find and disarm them!"

Caw!

Haru cawed and took off, working according to Kotaro's instructions.

Now is the Demon Slaying time!

===

A/N:

How is the chapter? By the way, if you didn't know, this fight is shown in a spin-off manga titled Kimetsu no Yaiba: Stories of Water and Flame.

Since Kotaro hasn't seen the spin-off, he is unaware of it.