"Promise me you won't hurt him, alright?"
That woman's voice again...
"Of course not, Sister. This isn't harming him at all… it's all for—"
Who? That sticky, chilling voice… what are they talking about…
Am I… dreaming again…
Ever since releasing the name of Nugata, Asuka felt that many things had begun to change.
The attacks of Demons seemed to slow in his eyes. The conditions of the people around him became easier to perceive through his spiritual pressure, allowing him to judge their next movements more intuitively.
Most importantly, he had begun to dream—long, long dreams.
Back when he struggled to survive in the streets and alleys, sleep had been a luxury.
He had to remain alert and guarded at all times, lest someone strike while he was most vulnerable.
For fourteen years, he had hardly ever slept soundly. He would often jolt awake the moment he drifted into shallow sleep. It wasn't until the two years in Hayama that this improved somewhat.
And now, he dreamed often.
He dreamed of a boy wearing a straw hat, whose arms could stretch endlessly. He dreamed of a blond ninja with a forehead protector, gathering a brilliant blue sphere of spirit particles in his palm.
These dreams had no pattern, no origin—like fragments of real people and events that had truly happened, appearing out of nowhere in his mind.
Among them, one figure appeared most frequently.
A woman.
He could not see her face clearly. All he could make out was her shoulder-length dark green hair and a loose, pale green kimono. She was always clutching a baby, weeping without end.
Asuka twisted the neck of his bodiless form and looked around in a daze.
Classical walls painted with pine trees. Carefully crafted tatami mats. A faint fragrance of incense lingering in the air.
So familiar…
"But I know… the other children… they all died, didn't they…"
The woman suddenly trembled and whispered to the mist-like figure before her.
"I don't care about your ambitions… but this child, you absolutely must not—"
"Sister, please stop making a scene," the shadow said coldly. "This child was never yours to begin with. Even maternal love should have its limits."
A hand reached out, roughly tugging at the baby's swaddling cloth, drawing out a wail of crying.
As the cry echoed, Asuka felt his head splitting apart. The entire world began to collapse.
In the next instant, the Japanese-style room shattered. He seemed to fall into an abyss, plunging endlessly toward deeper darkness…
Bang!
After who knew how long, Asuka felt himself land on something soft, like a cloud. He rose groggily.
This space was far more expansive, filled with dazzling brilliance everywhere. The light was so piercing he could barely open his eyes.
Amidst all that radiance, he vaguely saw a familiar face.
Wasn't that Shinobu Kocho…
"Sister! Don't go! Sister!!"
Shinobu Kocho's voice trembled. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, drop by drop falling onto the bloodless cheeks of the woman cradled in her arms.
The woman resembled Shinobu Kocho—she wore a butterfly-shaped hairpin as well. So weak she could barely speak, tears flowing just the same.
"Little Shinobu… leave the Demon Slayer Corps…"
"I hope… you can live happily like an ordinary girl… I hope you grow old with white hair… live a long life…"
"No!!"
Shinobu Kocho roared as she grasped the woman's cold hand. Tears burst from her eyes as her emotions surged.
"I will never leave! I will avenge you, Sister!"
"Sister! What kind of Demon did this to you?! I will never let him go!!"
"....It was a demon... with blood spilled on his head... who used dual fans...."
The woman's voice grew fainter and fainter. In the end, she seemed to squeeze the words out with the last of her strength.
When she finished her final word, her arm fell limply. Not a trace of life remained.
"Sister!!!"
Shinobu Kocho buried her face against the woman's neck, her shoulders shaking violently. The entire mental space of Asuka trembled with her grief.
Who is this? Shinobu-senpai's sister? Why am I dreaming of this scene?
Is this the source of her anger?
That overwhelming hatred toward Demons—even an ordinary person would be deeply shaken witnessing it.
Suddenly, the Shinobu Kocho who had been crying over the corpse lifted her head. Though her face was streaked with tears, her reddened eyes still carried that gentle smile as she looked at Asuka.
"Are you alright, Asuka-san?"
Huh?
Asuka felt his consciousness jerk violently. The dream world twisted along with it.
Shinobu Kocho's voice echoed through his mental world, growing louder and clearer.
"Ugh—!!"
Just as he was about to be swept away by the sound, Asuka suddenly opened his eyes and gasped sharply, his body springing upright.
"Oh my!"
At the same time, a light figure leapt back gracefully, avoiding Asuka's suddenly rising head.
Turning his head in surprise, Asuka found Shinobu Kocho standing inside his room.
"It's already noon, Asuka-san," she said with a smile. "You didn't come for training, so I came to check. It seems you were trapped in a nightmare again."
Training… right.
Since the Hashira meeting that day, seven days had passed.
For these seven days, he had been staying at the Butterfly Mansion.
The first three days were spent training footwork with Shinobu Kocho. The next three days, he trained sword exchanges with Muichiro Tokito.
He had originally wanted to spend one day learning Flame Breathing, but Shinobu Kocho felt that such high-intensity Hashira-level training was already sufficient. It was more important to leave a day for recovery.
"Sorry… did I scare you?" Asuka wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, embarrassed by his loss of composure.
If Shinobu Kocho hadn't reacted quickly, he might have hit her.
She didn't seem to mind, only speaking with concern.
"Asuka-san's nightmares are lasting longer and longer. That's not a good sign. Could it be the training is too exhausting?"
Since Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayer Corps members injured on Mount Fujikasane were being treated at the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu Kocho had been working here as well instead of going on missions.
At night, aside from checking on the children practicing [Total Concentration · Constant], she paid special attention to Asuka's condition.
As she said, his nightmares had been growing longer.
At first, they were brief murmurs in his sleep. Now, they were severe enough that he needed external force to wake up.
"It's fine. It'll get better after some time."
Looking at Shinobu Kocho's smiling face, Asuka found it impossible to reconcile her with the girl in the dream who had screamed herself hoarse.
He adjusted his collar.
"Thank you… Shinobu-senpai. We can begin training."
Is he really alright?
Shinobu Kocho studied the vein still throbbing at his temple and sighed inwardly.
She had already learned a bit of Asuka's past from Master:
A wandering boy believed to possess Natural Breathing, able to fight Demons with a broken blade… taken in by the Hayama training institute, where he trained several times—no, dozens of times—harder than ordinary people to grow stronger…
What obsession lay in his heart, driving him to push himself so desperately?
A moment later, Asuka had changed into his training clothes. Holding a wooden sword, he stood in the field.
Dozens of green bamboo poles were slanted and interwoven, each tied with bronze bells. Scattered copper coins lay across the ground.
His training was simple:
Weave between the bamboo poles, avoid triggering the bells, and collect the scattered coins.
During this, Shinobu Kocho would continuously throw small stones from around him to disrupt his movements.
If he was hit, he had to start over.
In training, Shinobu Kocho did not hold back. Each hit left another bruise on Asuka's body—this was to sharpen his sense of danger.
"I hope you'll be injured a little less today, Asuka-san," she said with a gentle smile, tossing a pebble lightly in her hand as she watched him.
"It's fine. Come at me with everything you've got."
From the corridor not far away, besides the female members of the Butterfly Mansion and the young swordswoman Asuka had met that day, three noisy figures were sitting and watching him.
"Good afternoon, Asuka-san!!"
"Huh? Training again? Do you have to do something that difficult every week?"
"Hmph! Hey, Bird-boy over there! I want to join the training too!!"