Demon Slayer: Taking Care Of Tanjuro's Wife And Daughter

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**Blue Spider Lily**

The Blue Spider Lily, an elusive flower sought for millennia but never found, is the key to Kibutsuji Muzan's immortality. To discover it, Muzan has created countless demons, sending them on a relentless search. However, the chaos caused by these demons led to the formation of the "Demon Slayer Corps," a group dedicated to eradicating them.

Among the Twelve Kizuki, Gyokko has been tasked by Muzan himself to locate the Blue Spider Lily. Gyokko, who idolizes Muzan, has tirelessly hunted for it over the years. After centuries of searching and gathering clues, he is convinced the flower is nearby.

However, despite scouring the surrounding mountains, Gyokko cannot find it.

"Where is it? Damn it! The Blue Spider Lily must be here!" Gyokko growled in frustration. "I've searched everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found. How will I face Lord Muzan if I fail?"

Clutching his head in agony, Gyokko felt the weight of his failure.

Meanwhile, Ryuji had just finished dealing with a group of bandits. After taking their possessions and disposing of their bodies, he hurried away. Instead of returning home immediately, he went to the market to buy some essential items.

Having just moved to this city, Ryuji was short on supplies. Fortunately, being in a bustling city made it easy to find what he needed, as long as he had money. Originally, he didn't have enough to furnish his new place, but after looting the bandits, he had more than enough.

The city was lively during the day, full of people coming and going, the air filled with chatter and activity.

But beneath the surface of prosperity, Ryuji saw the darker reality. Along his walk, he noticed several beggars kneeling in the streets. Some were young children, carrying heavy loads, and would be beaten if they stumbled.

Clearly, the wealth in this city was concentrated in the hands of a few, while the majority struggled just to survive.

As Ryuji passed a girl kneeling and begging, his steps faltered.

The girl held a broken bowl in her hands. As he paused, she looked up, revealing a dusty, dirt-covered face. Her clothes were ragged, one foot was bare, while the other was clad in a torn shoe.

Yet what struck Ryuji the most were her eyes—a pair of striking pink and purple irises.

Unlike other beggars, who would plead with passersby or cry out for sympathy, the girl remained silent, like a mute.

Ryuji's gaze shifted around. There were a few other beggars nearby, watching him with interest as he stood in front of the girl.

Instead of giving her money, Ryuji walked to a nearby stall and bought a few warm buns. He returned and placed them in the girl's bowl.

He knew that if he gave her money, she likely wouldn't be able to keep it. The other beggars would take it from her. But food? That might be different.

As the steaming buns fell into her bowl, the girl's eyes widened with longing. She licked her dry lips, clearly hungry. But she didn't eat. Instead, she clutched the buns to her chest, not caring that the heat was burning her hands. She quickly wrapped them in her tattered clothes.

Then, without saying a word, she bowed deeply to Ryuji before hurriedly running off in one direction.

As she passed by the stronger beggars, her small frame visibly shrank, but none of them stopped her. Perhaps they deemed the buns not worth the effort. Or maybe Ryuji's presence was enough to dissuade them.

Watching her disappear into the distance, Ryuji frowned, deep in thought.

There was something about the girl's pink and purple eyes that stirred a memory. Could it be a coincidence? It seemed impossible.

The girl he was thinking of—Kanao Tsuyuri—was delicate and beautiful. The filthy beggar girl he had just met was worlds apart from the Kanao in his memory.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Ryuji decided to follow her.

The girl was extremely cautious, frequently glancing around as if sensing someone was following her. Her pink and purple eyes seemed unnaturally sharp, and several times she almost spotted Ryuji.

This only made him more certain. The resemblance to Kanao was undeniable.

Before long, the girl reached a dilapidated house and pushed open the door. This was clearly where she lived.

The neighborhood was a squalid slum, with a foul stench hanging in the air. The streets were littered with filth, and one had to be careful not to step in excrement. Nearby, women dressed in rags stood at the doors of crumbling homes, soliciting business. They were likely prostitutes of the lowest order. From some of the houses, the sounds of beatings and curses could be heard.

It was a true portrait of poverty.

Ryuji followed the girl into the house, careful to remain unnoticed.

Once inside, he saw the girl approach a wooden bed, where another child lay. This one was even more frail, her body covered in whip marks, some of them still fresh and bleeding. Others had turned into infected sores.

"Sister, I'm back," the girl said softly, her voice a rare sound. It became clear to Ryuji that she wasn't mute after all. She simply didn't speak unless it was to someone she cared about.

The girl carefully unwrapped the buns, presenting them like treasures, and gently placed one near the lips of the sickly girl on the bed.

The scene before Ryuji was heartbreaking.

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This thinner little girl didn't have the same pink eyes as her elder sister but ordinary black eyes. However, her eyes were slightly dull.

When she saw the steamed bun near her mouth, the thinner girl suddenly seemed energized. She immediately opened her mouth and devoured it hungrily.

Her older sister, swallowing her own saliva, gently stroked her head and whispered, "If you eat well, your body will get stronger... you'll get better."

The thinner girl ate a few more bites, and finally, with a satisfied smile, she stretched out her thin little hand and grabbed her sister's tightly. "I'm sorry, sister. I was so hungry... I ate everything. But... I'm so full! I've never eaten this much before..."

Her hand gradually weakened.

In the end, it fell limp.

The older sister clutched her sibling's now lifeless hand tightly, holding onto it like a wounded kitten clinging to its dead sibling, seeking warmth in the darkness.

For the first time, Ryuji, who had been following them from behind, witnessed such a scene and felt an indescribable sadness in his heart. Just moments ago, he hadn't actually planned to save the girl.

It was just... hopeless.

Even if he had intervened, it wouldn't have helped. He wasn't a doctor, after all.

The older girl probably knew that her younger sister had passed away—just like their older brother and sister before.

She wanted to cry, but found herself unable to.

She was in pain, but it had become so routine that she couldn't even recognize any emotion besides pain.

Her once pinkish-purple eyes gradually grew numb.

It seemed as though the last spark of light was fading away.

For reasons he couldn't explain, Ryuji silently appeared behind the girl, watching her kneel on the ground, dazed. He stayed there quietly for a long time.

Her plight made him sigh and filled him with a strange sense of heartache.

In his world, girls her age would be full of youthful energy. They would be lovingly cared for by their parents, sent to school, and studying in spacious classrooms. They'd be living in safety and comfort...

But not here.

He could see that not only had the girl's sister been beaten badly, but this girl, too, was covered in bruises and injuries.

Yet, unlike her deceased sister, none of the wounds on her seemed to be fatal. It appeared that the truly deadly blows had been avoided.

But it wasn't likely that whoever hit her had spared her intentionally. Judging by the severity of her injuries, her abuser was merciless and probably wouldn't have cared if she had died. So it seemed more likely that the girl had dodged the worst of it herself.

She looked like a puppet, standing there lifelessly.

Ryuji reached out gently, stroking her head, smoothing her tangled and dirty hair.

"If you want to cry... then cry," he said softly, looking at her empty eyes.

The girl didn't cry. She just stared ahead, blank and expressionless, like a puppet. With the last person she loved now gone, it was as if her life had lost its final glimmer of hope, plunging her into complete darkness.

Ryuji wasn't sure how to comfort her.

No words could heal the wounds on her heart.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the body of the thinner girl on the bed. Her tiny body was riddled with scars. Her skin was paper-thin, her bones protruding, and her cheeks sunken...

What kind of monster could do this?

Truly unforgivable.

Especially seeing the once lively pink-purple eyes of the girl turn cold and deadened, Ryuji couldn't suppress his growing anger.

He didn't consider himself a good person—he was, in fact, quite selfish.

Yet, the scene before him stirred something within, causing ripples in his heart.

After all, no one should be left alone.

"Little one, how about I take you away from here?"

Ryuji crouched down and spoke gently to the girl.

But she didn't respond. She stood there, vacant, like a puppet disconnected from the world.

Seeing this, Ryuji sighed helplessly.

He wasn't surprised by her lack of response.

Children her age are emotionally vulnerable and fragile. Such sudden blows and a cruel fate aren't things a young girl can withstand easily.

So, it's easier for her to close herself off.

To stop struggling. To stop fighting.

The sound of unsteady footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by drunken mumbling.

The girl, who had remained unresponsive until now, flinched as if electrocuted. Fear flickered in her eyes as her frail body shrank back instinctively.

Fear.

It was obvious this reaction had long been imprinted on her body.

Ryuji stood up, his gaze shifting towards the door, narrowing slightly.

A sloppy-looking man staggered inside, a bottle of wine in hand, reeking of alcohol.

Upon seeing Ryuji, the drunkard froze, leaning against the doorframe and pointing a wobbly finger at him. "Who... who the hell are you? Why... are you in my house?"

His words slurred from too much alcohol.

Ryuji remained silent, pulling the girl behind him protectively.

He felt a tug on his sleeve.

Looking down, he saw the girl clutching his sleeve tightly, her small body trembling with fear.

"Is this the man responsible for all this?" Ryuji thought to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" the drunk man snarled, growing irritated by Ryuji's silence.

Suddenly, the man hurled the bottle of wine at Ryuji.

Ryuji calmly tilted his head, letting the bottle miss and smash against the wall behind him, the sound of shattering glass echoing through the room.

The girl flinched and trembled at the noise, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Sensing her fear, and recalling the torment she must have endured, a dark anger simmered within Ryuji.

With a swift motion, he was in front of the drunkard in an instant, delivering a brutal kick.

"Thud!"

The man was sent flying out the door, crashing into the yard with a pained scream.

The agony seemed to sober him up, and the drunken haze lifted. Seeing Ryuji approach him step by step, his face turned pale with fear.

"Please! Forgive me! Forgive me!" The man knelt on the ground, groveling, his vicious demeanor replaced with trembling fear.

Ryuji stopped in front of him, pressing his foot down on the man's hand.

"Aaaah!" The drunkard screamed in agony as his fingers were crushed.

"Mercy! Please spare me! For the love of the gods!"

Ryuji gazed at the man's distorted face, twisted in pain, and the terror in his eyes.

A man like this would only beg for mercy from someone stronger but would show cruelty to those weaker.

"That girl... who is she to you?" Ryuji asked coldly.

"M-my daughter... she's my daughter!" the man stammered in response.

Ryuji stood there in silence, staring at the man in disbelief.

He never imagined there could be parents so heartless in this world.

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