A clear stream flowed along the winding mountain slope, making a crisp, pleasant sound. A tall young woman crouched down by the water, scooping up a handful of it to wash her face.
Beside her stood another girl who looked very similar to her. However, compared to the tall woman's slender height, this girl was somewhat petite.
Both had pinkish-purple eyes and wore the standard uniforms of the Demon Slayer Corps. The taller woman, however, also wore a colorful butterfly-patterned haori—one reserved only for the "Hashira" of the Corps. Her long hair fell to her waist, and at both ends she wore emerald-green butterfly hairpins edged in pink.
The smaller girl wore her hair short, styled in a taishō-era curled fashion.
The two had very different temperaments. The taller one appeared gentle, always carrying a soft smile. The smaller one, by contrast, seemed serious and composed, rarely smiling. Simply standing there, she felt as sharp as an unsheathed blade.
They were the Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho, and her younger sister, Shinobu Kocho.
"Sister, you let that demon die far too easily yesterday. For creatures like them, death shouldn't come so simply. Their flesh should be sliced away piece by piece, so they can truly experience pain…"
Shinobu spoke softly from the side as she watched her sister wash her face in the stream.
As if recalling the image of demons wailing in agony, Shinobu seemed to grow excited. A faint flush even appeared on her delicate cheeks.
Kanae glanced at her younger sister and lowered her head slightly, letting out a soft sigh.
"Those demons were once human too. After becoming demons, they are pitiful… and in pain."
"Sister!"
The younger girl snapped her head up, her eyes flashing with irritation. "They're no longer human. They've become demons. Sister, you're far too gentle—even toward demons."
Kanae looked at her without arguing. Instead, she gently took her sister's hand.
The anger in Shinobu seemed to soften slightly under Kanae's warmth, though she still turned her head away with puffed cheeks, clearly displeased.
She knew there was no changing her sister's nature.
Kanae tenderly pulled her sister into an embrace. She didn't mind Shinobu's fierce words—if anything, they only made her heart ache more.
Girls of Shinobu's age should have been living carefree lives under their parents' loving care. Yet Shinobu, driven by hatred for demons, had stepped onto the dangerous path of demon hunting.
If she hadn't taken this path, then in a few more years she would be of marriageable age. Perhaps she would meet someone she loved, marry, have children of her own, and live to old age with wrinkles lining her face.
Instead, she now walked the edge of life and death each day, never knowing whether she would die on the next hunt.
"If only my sister would stop hunting demons… If only she could let go of the past, pretend none of it ever happened, and live the life of an ordinary person…"
Kanae murmured softly, already beginning to regret allowing her sister to walk this road of no return.
Shinobu abruptly pulled away from Kanae's embrace.
"Sister, don't say such things again. I could never return to an ordinary life."
As she spoke, her hands clenched tightly, her eyes reddening.
"That night, a demon stole our happiness. I watched Father and Mother be killed before my eyes. How could I possibly pretend that never happened? How could I do that? How could I live like an ordinary person, pretend to forget everything, deceive myself, and begin some new life—the so-called happy life you wish for me?"
"I simply can't do that."
"And even if I could… how would that be any different from being dead?"
Hearing her sister's words, Kanae's eyes filled with pain. She could only hold Shinobu tightly—just like that night when a demon broke into their home. She had clung to her trembling sister in the same way.
If only, back when the demon invaded their house, she had possessed the strength she had now… perhaps things would not have turned out the same…
"In the future, please don't say things like that again," Shinobu insisted, her eyes reddened. "I don't want to hear it. I only want to kill every demon I see—one by one—until every demon in this world has been wiped out."
The girl clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were resolute, her voice filled with hatred for demons.
Kanae parted her lips, intending to say something more—but suddenly she looked up. A Kasugai Crow came flapping toward them.
Kanae raised her hand, and the crow gently landed on her wrist.
She removed the small metal cylinder tied to its leg and took out the letter inside to read it.
"Did something happen, Sister? Did they discover news about Upper Rank Three?"
Shinobu's eyes shone with excitement. For days now, she and her sister had been tracking information about Upper Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki. If they could kill one of the Twelve Kizuki—especially Upper Rank Three—it would deal a tremendous blow to demonkind.
Kanae shook her head, confusion flickering across her face.
"It concerns a town we passed through not long ago. They're asking whether we happened to slay a demon while passing through."
"Why would they ask that? We didn't find any demons in that town," Shinobu muttered.
They had only stayed there briefly and encountered none. If they had found one, that would have been better. She would have personally severed its head with her Nichirin Sword—and perhaps tested her latest poison before delivering the final blow.
Recently, based on demons' aversion to wisteria, she had extracted certain special components from wisteria flowers. She believed those components might possess the ability to kill demons. She had been waiting for a demon to test it on.
"It seems a small squad tracked a demon into the town, only to discover that one had already been slain," Kanae explained.
"Could it have been another squad passing by who killed it?" Shinobu suggested casually.
Kanae shook her head again. "Aside from us, no other swordsmen were carrying out missions nearby."
As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kanae had access to more detailed intelligence.
"Then who killed the demon?"
Now Shinobu was intrigued. "Ordinary people can't kill demons. Even powerful samurai from the old era would struggle against one without a Nichirin Sword—let alone slay it."
As she spoke, a faint smile finally appeared on her usually serious face.
"It couldn't possibly be that a demon used a Nichirin Sword to kill it, could it?"
The thought amused her. Given demons' instinctive hatred and fear of Nichirin Swords, they would avoid them at all costs. In all these years, she had never heard of a demon wielding one.
"It's impossible for a demon to use a Nichirin Sword. Those monsters who hide in the darkness would never dare to touch a weapon infused with the power of sunlight."
Shinobu's tone was firm and certain.
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