Although it was over two years early, Kocho Shinobu had already undergone a transformation following her sister's death two years prior.
She was no longer the short-haired tomboy. Instead, she kept her long hair styled up, secured with a large butterfly accessory. Her expression had also lost its former seriousness, replaced by a gentle, smiling demeanor like her sister had in life.
Even her tone of voice was similar.
It was as if she were diligently imitating her sister.
At this moment, Shinobu was the embodiment of a gentle older sister.
Although her height... was indeed short, it wasn't too short!
She was at least a solid 1.5 meters!
With shoes, maybe 1.51! Her weight was around 35 kg, about 2 kg lighter than in the future.
Right, she was only 16 now; she would be 18 when she appeared in the main story.
It was just...
'Huh? No height growth in two years? Just a 2 kg gain... Did that 2 kg go to a specific area?'
'Hmm...'
'Seems likely!'
Kaito concluded internally.
Don't ask how Kaito knew; with his perception abilities, Shinobu's image and all her physical data were displayed in his mind.
All he could say was...
A hidden powerhouse!
With room for growth too!
"Huh? H-Huh!?!?!"
Shinobu looked at the flying rock platform and Kaito standing on it, exclaiming in surprise.
For her, what was happening before her eyes was simply too miraculous!!!
'Who was this handsome guy?'
'How did he know my name? And it sounded like he had known me for a while!!'
If she had ever met Kaito, there was no way she would have forgotten!!
"Haha, jump up here first, okay?"
Luckily, the rock platform was illuminated by firelight, so Shinobu could see clearly.
Invited by Kaito, Shinobu couldn't help but hesitate. But looking at Kaito's warm, elegant smile, she didn't feel he was a bad person.
In that case, she'd jump up and see. The distance wasn't far anyway.
"Heave-ho... hmm... hello, everyone?"
Jumping aboard, she realized the rock platform wasn't occupied solely by Kaito. There were many others seated, all looking at her with curious eyes.
This made Shinobu a bit uncomfortable.
Unlike Kaito, who had a mix of social confidence and anxiety, she naturally became shy!
"Cough, hello, Kocho Shinobu. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kaito. However, I am not from this world."
"Eh!?!?!"
'Not from this world!?'
"Don't be surprised, don't get too excited. While a normal person would react that way, what I'm saying is the truth, not a lie. After all, I have no reason or interest in deceiving you."
"Um... that, Mr. Kaito, how do you know me?"
Looking around at the women and children, Shinobu felt it was better to continue talking to Kaito.
Misuzu and the others were also curious why Kaito would reveal his identity so directly.
"Well... I got to know you through my dreams. In a dream, I saw your sister, Kocho Kanae's, death. And then I saw you arriving. That's when I recognized you both."
"My sister... you, you know about that!? And dreams, being from a different world, you can dream about it too?"
Shinobu was stunned.
'What kind of dreams were these!?'
'To be able to dream about another world, and about events from two years ago!'
'I see, so Kaito met her through his dreams.'
Misuzu, Sayuri, and Kie thought.
'But that was strange. Wasn't it said that only people close to him, or those he knew, could trigger these visions? And they were supposed to be glimpses of the future.'
"Cough, I don't know why either. When I was 18, I had several dreams about this world, and about you and your sister."
"In one dream, you two took in a little girl, right? Her name was Tsuyuri Kanao, wasn't it?"
'Oh yes, yes!!'
Shinobu's heart was still reeling, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but nod vigorously.
At the same time, confusion stirred within her.
'But why did he dream about us?'
It felt like this man knew everything about her, which was somewhat unsettling.
"Ahaha, I don't know the reason either. It's like I was destined to meet you someday."
"I couldn't control this ability until I met them, and then I gradually understood the gist of it."
"Maybe my ability isn't about foreseeing the future of people I already know, but about people I'm destined to meet in the future, whom I foresee through dreams. Though judging by the timing, it seems to be about two years late..."
Kaito spoke without a hint of embarrassment, even adopting an apologetic and regretful expression.
This time, upon hearing the explanation, Misuzu and the others more or less accepted it.
After all, it sounded reasonable. Besides, Kaito indeed couldn't control his future-seeing ability, which came in fragmented pieces.
"Alright, let's talk about other things."
"Aside from me coming from another world, Misaka Misuzu, her daughter Misaka Mikoto, and Sawamura Sayuri with her daughter Sawamura Eriri, also come from other worlds, just like me."
"We came here because this lady, Kamado Kie, had a chance encounter that led her to know us from different worlds. After fulfilling certain conditions, we were able to visit this world."
Plausible and acceptable.
Shinobu looked at Kie. She sensed that her presence was indeed different from ordinary people.
At the very least...
She didn't seem like a helpless woman; she seemed to have some fighting ability.
As for Kaito...
Shinobu couldn't read him at all. She could only somewhat gauge Misuzu and Mikoto.
"I-I see... well, welcome to my world, I suppose?"
Shinobu couldn't help but make a slightly playful remark; she still hadn't fully processed this.
"Haha, Mrs. Kamado already welcomed us. I just didn't expect to meet you here. I suppose it's fate. Coincidentally, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
"Fate, huh..."
How to put it? Was it really?
She had simply been on her way back to Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters after completing a mission when she happened to sense a Demon and pursued it here.
Now, meeting someone from another world here who knew her through dreams made Shinobu wonder: perhaps it really was fate?