"Nezuko, come over here!"
In a peach grove heavy with ripe fruit, Zenitsu ran carefree, holding Nezuko's hand.
"These peaches are delicious! Oh, I'll make you a flower crown with white clover. It'll be so pretty!"
"Mm-hmm! Make lots and lots for me!" Nezuko's pink eyes sparkled as she looked at Zenitsu with pure admiration. "Zenitsu-kun~"
"Yoo-hoo!!!"
He jumped up in joy.
.....
Wearing his boar's head mask, Inosuke strode proudly into a stalactite-filled cave, followed by Nezuko, who now had a pair of rabbit ears.
"Exploration team! Exploration team! We're the Cave Exploration Team!"
"Boss!!!"
"What is it, Underling Number One! Underling Number Two!"
Hearing the call behind him, Inosuke turned around.
A boy who looked strikingly like Tanjiro, but with raccoon ears and a tail, reported respectfully, "We smell a giant beast ahead! Bonpoko!"
"And I can hear it snoring too, cheep~" replied another boy who resembled Zenitsu, except with a wretched expression and mouse ears, bowing with utmost reverence.
"Alright! Ponjiro! Cheeitsu! Follow me! We're taking it down!!"
"Yes, Boss!!"
Under the boar boy's leadership, the exploration team charged excitedly deeper into the cave....
Of course, such a bizarre scene could never truly happen.
At this very moment, the two of them were sprawled crookedly across their train seats, lost in their own beautiful dreams.
That grotesque demon hand was leading the gaunt-faced children as they looked toward the sleeping Demon Slayer Corps members.
"Remember this. The dreaming demon slayers are the origin points. Every dream has boundaries."
"As long as you find the boundary and break it, you'll reach the dreamer's spiritual core. Do your best."
After saying this, the demon hand left the carriage on its own, leaving the children to cautiously tie their wrists together with hemp ropes formed from Blood Demon Art.
One particularly frail-looking boy suddenly coughed violently, wiping away the blood-tinged foam from his lips with the back of his hand.
".....Don't resent me. I'm really in too much pain...."
As he spoke, he picked up the rope that belonged to Tanjiro.
After silently counting down, he sank into Tanjiro's dream.
The wind howled with snow, the cold biting to the bone.
Tanjiro wandered aimlessly across a snowy plain, staring at everything before him in confusion.
"Where is this? Why does it feel so familiar...."
He drew his Nichirin Blade, cautiously guarding against possible danger, only to freeze in place the next second.
Not far ahead stood two figures who absolutely should not exist.
"Ah! It's Big Brother!"
"Big Brother's back! Did you finish selling the charcoal?"
They were the family he longed for day and night, the ones he would wake up crying from dreaming about: Shigeru and Hanako.
"Th-This can't be possible...."
The Nichirin Blade slipped from Tanjiro's hand. He was overwhelmed by an indescribable surge of joy, his body trembling.
"Ah! Big Brother!!"
Just as Tanjiro stood there stunned, he suddenly felt his body go soft.
Looking down, he saw his little brother Rokuta, dressed in thin cotton clothes, crash into his arms like a tiny cannonball.
Rokuta rubbed his icy little face against Tanjiro and giggled. "Big Brother, Rokuta missed you so much."
"Rokuta.... everyone...."
Tears spilled uncontrollably from Tanjiro's eyes, blurring his vision completely as he clutched Rokuta and cried his heart out.
"Ahh—!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I came back too late. I... I missed you all so much!!"
Seeing him cry like this, Shigeru and Hanako, who had been building a snowman, scratched their heads in confusion and ran back inside to call their mother.
"Oh my, what's wrong, child?"
A gentle voice sounded. Tanjiro forced open his swollen eyes to look.
His mother, Kie, gazed at him with concern. "Are you alright, Tanjiro? Are you hurt?"
"Mother!!"
Still holding Rokuta, Tanjiro threw himself into Kie's arms, making her laugh softly. "There, there. Were you wronged? Don't cry, child. Don't cry."
"Haha, Big Brother is acting spoiled too," Shigeru teased with a grin.
Hanako, who adored her big brother, frowned slightly and tossed a snowball at him.
"Hey! What was that for!"
"You're being annoying! Stop it!"
"Who's annoying!"
The siblings began bickering, drawing the attention of the second son, Takeo, who hurried out to see what was happening.
"Haha, you two made Big Brother cry, didn't you? I'll teach you a lesson!"
Saying that, he formed a snowball and joined the fray.
The Kamado family was always like this—noisy, warm, and harmonious.
"Welcome home, Tanjiro."
After calming Tanjiro down, Kie tied on her plain apron and began preparing food in the kitchen. "Let's make pancakes today. Tanjiro loves pancakes the most, doesn't he?"
"Ha! I want some too!" the little ones outside shouted eagerly.
"Alright, alright. We'll all eat together." Kie clapped the flour from her hands. "Hanako, pass me the sieve, please."
"I'll do it, Mother! Oh, right—where's Nezuko?"
Helping in the kitchen, Tanjiro suddenly looked around inside and outside the house, unable to spot Nezuko anywhere.
"Big Sister went up the mountain to gather wild vegetables."
"What! But it's daytime!"
Tanjiro shouted anxiously, only to freeze the next second.
Daytime... what about it...?
The stove crackled, popping bits of charcoal.
Tanjiro suddenly came to his senses and found himself standing by the river.
Huh? What was I doing? Oh right, I was fetching water for home....
He scratched his head in confusion and carefully lowered the bucket into the water, only to notice that his reflection in the river—
Was shouting at him?
[Wake up! Wake up!!]
Huh? With a splash, his reflection dragged him into the river!
[Wake up! This is a dream! We're under attack!]
Tanjiro felt like he had forgotten something, yet also vaguely remembered many things.
I was on the train... I was... hunting demons!!
[Get up! Get up and fight! Wake up!!]
.....
"Big Brother, if you're not eating the pickled radish, give it to me."
The Tanjiro who had just been yelled at by his reflection suddenly found himself back inside the house, eating lunch with his family.
Staring at Takeo's grinning face, Tanjiro froze.
"Why are you taking advantage of Big Brother again! Eat your own!" Hanako cut in, defending him as she argued with Takeo.
What is going on! This is a dream! This isn't real!!
Tanjiro's mind was in turmoil, screaming at himself inwardly.
How do I leave? How do I escape this dream?
Boom—!!!
Just as Tanjiro didn't know what to do, sakura-pink flames suddenly burst violently from his body!
This is—Nezuko's Blood Demon Art!
"The smell of blood.... Nezuko is hurt!"
Tanjiro shot to his feet, knocking over the bowls and chopsticks before him, startling his siblings.
"What's wrong with Big Brother?"
"It's your fault! Big Brother's angry!"
No! That's not it! Everyone, I'm not angry!
Heart burning with urgency, Tanjiro rushed out the door and ran toward the endless snowy plain!
The moment he stepped outside, the Nichirin Blade reappeared in his hand as if it had never fallen.
"Big Brother! Where are you going! Are you abandoning us!"
"This child, what's going on? At least tell Mother!"
I'm sorry... everyone. I'm sorry, Mother....
Tears streamed down Tanjiro's face, but he dared not look back.
He was afraid that even a single glance at his family's worried expressions would weaken his resolve to escape the dream.
He slashed at the empty air. The blade cut through the curtain of snow to no avail. His roar shattered the wind and snow, yet nothing changed.
Perhaps he could no longer escape. Perhaps he could no longer wake up!
Outside the dream, atop the head of the Mugen Train, stood a well-dressed young man with flushed cheeks.
"Hah.... How ungrateful. It was such a wonderful dream...."
He was the Lower Rank demon, Enmu!
Enmu controlled everyone's dreams, but he hadn't expected Tanjiro to realize the falsehood of the dream so quickly. It displeased him.
"It's useless.... You can't escape.... Hm?"
Within the dream, a gust of snow swept past.
[Tanjiro, raise your blade!]
[The thing you must cut... is right here!]
The voice of his father, Tanjuro, suddenly echoed from deep within his heart, causing Tanjiro to freeze with the Nichirin Blade in hand.
The thing I must cut....
He looked at the blade in his hand. Its surface reflected his gaze. The answer had already formed in his heart.
Will dying in the dream affect reality... Will my real self die...?
Will it be irreversible...?
Tanjiro didn't know. But he had no time to confirm it!
Nezuko is hurt. We're under attack by a demon!
Wake up! Tanjiro! Find a way to wake up!!
Do not hesitate!
Cut it down!
Tanjiro dropped to one knee, pressed the Nichirin Blade against his own neck, and let out a cry filled with fear and courage.
"Ahhhh—!!!"
Slash—!!
The blade fell.
On the snow, red blossoms bloomed.