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Hashibira Aoba is born in winter, child to two renowned scientists.
He cries a lot and is terribly shy. His parents, while kind, aren't here often and Aoba is often left to fend for himself. Strangely, he doesn't mind.
The thing about having parents more absent than present is that when you ask them something, they tend to give it to you, as if to remind you that despite their absence they love you.
So when Aoba -ten years old and curiosity blooming in his mind, who have for only company his baby brother crying in his crib and the nurse taking care of him- asks about his ancestors, it doesn't take long before things are given to him.
The boar mask is strange, and Aoba is a bit scared by it.
There are rumors in the family, about how Hashibira Inosuke grew up in the wild, raised by boars. He always thought it was nothing but a rumor, but as he stares into the fake blue eyes, he wonders.
(What kind of person was his great-grandfather?)
In Aoba's eyes though, the most interesting object is the old book written by Hashibira Aoi.
It is written in old japanese, and the paper is old and crumbling. But Aoba may be only ten, but he's determined.
(More than his looks, what Aoba inherited was Inosuke's stubbornness.)
It takes him a while to decipher the writing. He doesn't ask for help, not from his parents or from his teachers. For some reason, he wants to do this alone.
Finally, he manages to translate and understand the book well enough. And what he reads chills him to the bone.
(Agatsuma Zenitsu wrote the war as he lived it : with bloodshed and death and friendship and victories. It is a beautiful and sad story, but it is written like a story. And this is the reason why Agatsuma Yoshiteru didn't understand at first the depth of his great-grandfather's book. It is written like fiction.)
(Kanzaki Aoi didn't write like that. She didn't write about bloodshed and death and friendship and victories. She wrote cold, hard facts she learnt growing up in the Butterfly Estate. She wrote about poison, about how to kill and hurt and make sure your opponent didn't get up. She wrote briefly, mechanically, with numbers of casualities and with a clear handwriting.)
(Agatsuma Zenitsu wrote his book after the victory, when demons were a thing from the past and when life was assured. Kanzaki Aoi wrote it when Kochou Kanae died, when learning to fight was a necessity and when she wasn't sure if she would live to reach twenty.)
Aoba reads the story of his ancestors, and is terrified. It is only the small note written by his great-grandmother that calms him down. It's a simple note, but full of feelings.
Demons are dead. Shinobu-san didn't survive.
There are others notes, all small like Kanao-chan and Tanjirou are getting married or I'm going to have a daughter completed by Her name is Hashibira Shinobu.
This last note has traces of tears. Aoba flinches while reading it, because his grand-aunt Shinobu died a few years ago when he was still a baby. He wishes he could have asked her questions about her parents. His grandparents are all dead, and his parents don't seem to know anything, so Aoba breathes and resigns himself to search alone.
He grows up. Time passes quickly and he doesn't make any friend, doesn't know how. He is buried in his researches, guided by the few notes left by Kanzaki Aoi. He is particularly interested by the Blue Spider Lily.
Aoba asks his parents about it, because his great-grandmother makes it sound awfully important and surely something like that must have been found after all these years.
They don't know about it. Aoba frowns slightly, and goes back to his science project. At least he knows the name of the plant he wants to discover.
Botanist seems like a good job, anyways.
He's almost twenty-eight when he finally finds it, and he's ecstatic. His parents are proud of him, and so are the others scientists who used to say he was too young to have such an imortant position in the lab. He's proud, and happy, and it should have been okay.
But night comes, and Aoba stays awake, thinking about Aoi's words, written in this old book and blurred by the tears who fell on the papers.
Shinobu-san didn't survive. There are so many dead.
The Blue Spider Lily can allow them to walk under the sun.
And Aoba thinks of his parents's pride, of dead people's names written in a forgotten book and his little brother's shy smile appears in his mind.
He doesn't sleep well that night.
The decision, once made, is strangely easy to apply. His boss allowed him to take care of the flowers alone, since it is his discovery. So ensuring that his plan goes well is almost too easy.
The flowers wither slowly. Aoba watches them, and can't bring himself to care.
Better safe than sorry, after all.
Everyone is furious. His parents threaten to disown him, and his colleagues don't look at him anymore. His little brother tries to help, but he's still young and he doesn't deserve to be burdened by his older brother's choices, so the young scientist keeps his distance. It hurts, but Aoba remembers Aoi's book and fears and keeps going. He's pretty sure that demons don't exist anymore, but just in case. So that their efforts aren't ruined.
His life is hard after that. He's constantly criticized and mocked, and though he doesn't regret his “accident”, it still hurts.
He's all alone.
So when an old man appears on his doorstep, holding himself on a cane, he's quite surprised.
“Hello. Are you Hashibira Aoba?”
Aoba slowly nods, wary. The man seems too old to be a journalist, but you're never too careful.
“I knew your great-grandparents. Inosuke was an amazing demon slayer.”
Aoba's heart stops.
“An amazing what?”
Ubuyashiki Kiriya smiles serenely.
“I believe we have much to talk about.”