A rather peculiar trio made their way down a small road on the outskirts of Hiraoka County.
On a sweltering hot day, a handsome young man carried a figure on his back, completely swaddled in a thick coat with not an inch of skin exposed.
Trotting behind them was a cute black Shiba Inu, looking thoroughly unimpressed with the whole situation.
"Isn't that young man hot?"
"Forget him, the person on his back must be boiling. Wrapped up so tightly…"
The whispers of the passersby naturally reached Shinichi's ears, but he paid them no mind.
As for who he was carrying, that was obvious.
Shinobu's transformation had come from Lee; although she had conquered the instinct to harm humans, she still couldn't walk in the sun.
Through the thick fabric of the coat, Shinobu gently traced circles on his back with her finger, her voice a mischievous whisper in his ear.
"So, how did everyone react when I disappeared? Did my sister cry? Does that grumpy Sanemi actually have a soft spot for you? Oh, what a shame I missed seeing Yuichiro cry; I bet he was adorable."
Shinichi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
It was as if becoming a demon had flipped a switch in her.
Not only was she a little taller, but her original teasing nature had been refined into a masterclass of playful torment.
She wasn't even hiding the fact that she wanted to see her own student cry.
Still, he answered her questions one by one.
"Yuichiro was devastated. He was only fourteen after all. But with the comfort of his very caring master, he managed to pull through."
"Oh? Is that so?" she purred. "What about you, Shinichi? Did you cry for me?"
He couldn't see her face, but he could practically hear the wicked, curved smile in her voice.
"Me? I… No. Why would I cry? I'm not that fragile," he answered, his voice a little too stiff.
"Aww, so I'm not that important in your heart, Shinichi-kun? My, and here I thought we had something special. I suppose it's best we keep our distance when we get back. We wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea~"
"No—Shinobu, please, can you stop playing around?" he pleaded. "Who did you even learn this from?"
"Awoof!" The little Shiba Inu following behind them let out an exasperated bark, as if to say.
'Can you two annoying lovebirds please just get on with it!?'
Upon arriving in town, Shinichi immediately bought two tickets for the next train to Tokyo.
The private compartment would allow him to seal the windows so Shinobu could finally get some fresh air.
As they went to board, a train attendant moved to check on the heavily bundled figure on Shinichi's back, but his wrist was caught in a firm grip.
One threatening glare from Shinichi, followed by the flash of a police officer's ID, and they were quickly ushered aboard with the warmest of welcomes.
Click.
After tightly closing the compartment's blinds, ensuring not a single ray of sunlight could get in, Shinichi carefully unbuttoned the coat.
A purple shadow flashed past him, and he was suddenly knocked off his feet, stumbling back onto the plush sofa-like seat.
"Shinobu? What are you doing?!" he asked, surprised to see her hugging him tightly, her butterfly wings fluttering behind her, her eyes glowing a deep, intense purple.
But he soon understood.
"Hungry," she stated, a simple expression of a primal, biological need.
"Hungry?" Shinichi was stunned for a moment.
He couldn't exactly order from the dining car.
She was like him now, able to draw energy from other demons.
But where was he supposed to find a demon on a moving train?
His eyes darted around the compartment, and then… he saw it.
Maru-ni who was happily stretching in his seat, suddenly felt two unfriendly gazes fall upon him—a greedy one from Shinobu, and a strangely scrutinizing one from Shinichi.
"Arf!?"
'What do they want!?' Maru-ni trembled, especially under Shinobu's stare.
She looked at him like he was a perfectly cooked sausage.
'Hey! I'm a dog, not a hot dog!'
Shinichi quickly snapped out of it.
Maru-ni was family.
He reached out and gently pressed his palm against Shinobu's face, turning her head away from the terrified dog.
Since there was no other choice…
"Alright, Shinobu," he sighed, offering his own arm.
"Just… be gentle."
A strange, tingling numbness spread up his fingers as he felt his own vitality being drained away.
It was an odd sensation, but not entirely unpleasant.
He heard Shinobu hum happily, saying that it tasted very good, with a faint fragrance of wisteria.
…
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A gentle knock came from the compartment's wooden door.
"Sir? Would you be in need of any service?"
"No, thank you. We're fine."
"Hehehe, are you quite sure?" the voice outside purred, its tone shifting from polite to frivolous.
"Accepting our service comes with certain… benefits. For example, information… about the Demon Slayer Corps…"
Before the voice could finish, the door exploded inward.
BANG!
A green blade, wreathed in a terrifying purple mist of poison, shattered the wood.
The tip of the sword stopped just shy of the gray-skinned figure's neck, the combined murderous intent of two Hashira freezing him in place.
Shinichi's amber eyes locked onto the figure outside the car, and his pupils shrank.
"Upper Rank Six!?"
He recognized the demon immediately—the unassuming, gray-skinned creature in a train crew uniform, a smarmy confident smile plastered on his face.
It was Kamaro.
"My, my. Forest Hashira and Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps," the demon chuckled, completely unfazed by the blade at his throat.
"How fascinating. To think that we are all of the same kind, yet find ourselves on such opposite sides."
"Same kind?" Shinichi said coldly. "The only thing we have in common is that I'm about to send you to the underworld to join the rest of them."
He didn't hesitate.
With a snarl, he slashed downward, while Shinobu thrust her own poison-laced blade forward.
"Now, wait just a—"
BOOM!
The entire train car shook violently.
As an Upper Rank, Kamaro was not so easily dispatched.
Just as their blades were about to connect, his body melted into a pool of shadow, seeping into the floor as if he'd prepared for this exact attack.
His voice echoed from the shadows, still laced with that infuriating, casual amusement.
"No need to be so excited, you two. Don't you remember what I said? Are you interested in discussing that information about the Demon Slayer Corps?"