Chapter 16: How Innocent
This time, it was Yoriichi who stood frozen in shock.
Akito... that child... is dead...
He looked at Akira with trembling eyes, locking onto his gaze. Akira's expression was calm—deceptively so. But in that stillness, Yoriichi clearly saw the deep despair and searing pain hidden within.
He had known that something tragic must have happened to push his disciple to become a demon, but never did he imagine Akito was already gone.
That child was so kind, so gentle—anyone who met him couldn't help but like him. Even a stranger would've been moved by his presence, and Yoriichi had long regarded Akira and Akito as his own family.
The news of Akito's death felt like a hand had gripped his heart and was crushing it.
But what made it even worse was that Akira—Akito's own brother—must have witnessed his tragic death, helpless to stop it.
And I, as his master… wasn't there for him. I wasn't there to offer him even a shred of comfort when he needed it most.
The guilt and regret in Yoriichi's heart swelled like a tidal wave.
"Akito... was he killed by a demon?" Yoriichi asked, his voice hoarse with grief.
Akira clenched his jaw. "No. He wasn't killed by a demon." He spoke each word slowly, deliberately. "He was killed by the Demon Slayer Corps."
"What!?" Yoriichi's head snapped up, disbelief etched into every line of his face.
Akira gave a bitter smile. "How laughable, Master.
We gave everything to the Demon Slayer Corps. We risked our lives to destroy demons. I lost both of my arms in service to them. And yet… they exiled me. Harassed me. Hunted me. And in the end… they killed Akito.
My brother didn't die at the hands of demons. He was murdered by humans—by the very comrades we once trusted. That irony… it makes me feel like a joke."
"No, Akira, it's not like that..." Yoriichi began, wanting to argue—but Akira cut him off.
"Do you know, Master?" Akira's voice was heavy with bitterness, his smile one of quiet sorrow. "When I stood at the edge of despair, ready to give up, the one who reached out his hand to me—the one who gave me hope—was the very thing I once hated: a demon."
His voice dropped. "Looking back… my life was a failure. I never had your strength or your natural talent. I lived in your shadow, a shadow I could never escape. If Lord Muzan hadn't appeared, I would've died at twenty-five, alone and broken.
But thanks to him… I found new purpose. I stopped grieving over Akito's grave and started fighting for justice—for revenge. He gave me the strength to go on."
Akira paused, eyes distant, lost in painful memory.
"Once, I hated demons with every fiber of my being. I vowed to slay every last one, to bring peace to this world. But now… I see the truth. It wasn't the demons who ruined me—it was the Demon Slayer Corps. It was the very people I trusted most.
And the one I once saw as an enemy… became my salvation."
Yoriichi fell silent, conflicted. For the first time, doubt crept into his heart. Perhaps… he now understood why Akira chose to become a demon.
Akira exhaled a long breath. "I've imagined this reunion countless times.
I wanted to apologize to you. I wanted to say I'm sorry… for disappointing you, for bringing you shame.
I strayed from my original path and took a road of no return. But I don't regret it. Even if I had to choose again… I would walk the same path."
He looked up at Yoriichi, his face calm. "Thank you for everything you taught me. With Akito gone… you're the only family I have left. If you want to kill me, do it now. If I die by your hand, I believe Akito would understand."
He stared directly into Yoriichi's eyes. Yoriichi saw the pain, the anger, the loss. He also saw sincerity.
"But if you choose not to kill me… then please, don't stand in my way.
I will avenge Akito. Everyone who turned on us… who betrayed you and me as master and disciple… I will make them pay."
With that, Akira turned and walked past Yoriichi.
Yoriichi's hand tightened around the hilt of his Nichirin Blade.
He looked at his disciple—so changed, so hardened. The scent of blood clung to him like a second skin—a scent Yoriichi detested.
And yet… his eyes were still the same.
The blade in Yoriichi's hand trembled. He gripped it tighter, then loosened, then tightened again. But in the end… he could not raise it.
He stood there, unmoving, as Akira walked by.
Just before Akira reached the exit, Yoriichi finally spoke.
"Akira... you can avenge Akito, but why… why did you kill innocent people?"
Akira stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Master," he said softly. "You're so innocent. Just like Akito.
Tell me… who defended him?"
Yoriichi fell silent and sighed.
He turned to look at Akira again, his expression full of sorrow and conflict. "Promise me this ends here. Please… no more."
Akira stared toward the distant Water Hashira. "It will end… when he's dead."
Yoriichi inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry, Akira. I can't let you keep going down this path."
He summoned strength to his limbs. In an instant, an invisible pressure enveloped Akira, halting his steps.
Akira's foot, mid-step, hesitated… then dropped heavily to the ground.
In that same moment, a pitch-black chain slithered out from Yoriichi's legs, wrapping around his body.
Yoriichi's eyes narrowed. "Akira… you..."
"If you break the chain… I die," Akira said, voice calm. "The choice is yours, Master."