The day before, Kirimori Yuko had lied to the samurai from out of town.
Yesterday, she told him everything was fine. But in the neighboring village, it was true that villagers had recently gone missing. There were even rumors that someone had discovered gnawed remains deep in the mountains. Word was that a man-eating bear had come to the hills.
However, since the hunters of their own village were able to return safely, everyone preferred to believe it was just a "distant horror story." They would sigh and discuss it over dinner, but that was the end of it.
For Kirimori Yuko, however, it was different. Her younger sister lived in Nogi Village, and she happened to be nearing her due date. Already anxious, she shared the matter with her husband, who was a hunter. But he simply frowned and told Yuko not to talk too much.
He was not entirely unaware of the bear trouble himself; he just didn't want to discuss it with his wife. In a rural village where superstition flourished, people were prone to believing that "speaking of forbidden things brings them to your door at night" or "talking of calamity invites greater disaster." He planned to personally fetch his sister-in-law in two days. Until then, it was best not to discuss such unlucky matters.
So, when Kuguruma Natsunishi appeared, Kirimori Yuko, like the other villagers, instinctively chose to conceal the events of the neighboring village. Even though a voice in her heart whispered that it might not be a bear, nor bandits... she feared that acknowledging the anomaly would drag her into something more terrifying, or lead to relentless questioning by the samurai, shattering their peaceful life.
It wasn't until the next morning, when she saw the young samurai still meticulously inquiring at the village entrance, that her mind changed. The focus in his eyes was worlds apart from the perfunctory, lackluster attitude of official constables. Coupled with her growing concern for her sister's safety, she finally took the initiative to tell Kuguruma Natsunishi the truth.
"Whether it is a bear, a bandit, or something else... please, go and have a look," she lowered her head, her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes. "My sister is about to give birth. If you are nearby, she might be safer."
Even if it was just a samurai wandering around the vicinity, it would put her mind at ease. Not to mention, this man was a secret policeman from the big city.
Kuguruma Natsunishi thanked her and immediately asked for specific details about the bear disaster. In his view, since the plot line had been pushed to this point, how could it possibly be a regular bear? It was definitely a demon.
Unfortunately, Yuko's knowledge was limited. It wasn't that she was unwilling to speak, but she spent her years tending the village, and her information came mostly from fragments of conversation from her husband and the village women. When Kuguruma Natsunishi suggested speaking with her husband, she looked troubled. She hadn't wanted to cause him trouble.
However, her hesitation ultimately crumbled under Kuguruma Natsunishi's next threat. Kuguruma Natsunishi said softly, "Madam, you wouldn't want your sister to encounter a bear, would you?"
She froze for a moment before finally choosing to lead Kuguruma Natsunishi to find her husband.
Kirimori Kuro was a sturdy, middle-aged man. When he saw his wife leading a strange young man into their home, his face immediately darkened. It wasn't until he heard Yuko explain that this was a "samurai" here to investigate the bear trouble in the neighboring village that his expression softened slightly.
But the suspicion in his eyes remained. Even though his wife specifically mentioned the man's status as a "Special Police Officer," Kuro was full of disdain. In his eyes, big-city police were mostly useless drunkards who knew only how to put on airs; coming to the countryside to investigate cases was just a formality to pad their achievements.
Had they ever caught a bear? Thinking they could hunt a bear just because they carried a few swords—how naive.
"A bear isn't something a brat with a sword can handle," Kuro said, crossing his arms with the arrogance characteristic of a seasoned hunter.
Kuguruma Natsunishi didn't offer much explanation. He simply turned and drew his blade.
A flash of steel.
He cleaved straight through a boulder beside the hunter's house, splitting it in two. The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror.
Kuro's words stuck in his throat. In the next moment, he bowed deeply, his attitude undergoing a complete 180-degree transformation.
"Samurai-dono! Hontoni sumimasen! Just now, I was blind and foolish!"
Nodding, bowing, apologizing—it was all done in one fluid motion. Were Tokyo police... all this terrifying nowadays? What else could he say? The man had drawn just one sword and sliced through a rock. If he drew all three... he didn't dare think further, feeling a chill run down the back of his neck.
"It is Special Division 9," Kuguruma Natsunishi corrected calmly.
"Yes! High-ranking officer of the Tokyo Public Security Special Division 9 Demon Slayer Mobile Unit! Please forgive my previous insolence."
Actually, I preferred your arrogant look from before. Want to bring it back? Thought as he might, Kuguruma Natsunishi didn't make things too difficult for the man. Instead, he sheathed his sword and asked for the details of the bear disaster.
"Excellency, it is true that no one has gone missing in our village recently. But across the eastern mountain ridge, in Nogi Village... things have indeed been unsettled lately." He lowered his voice. "At first, it was just a tenant farmer who went out alone and vanished. A few days later, an old man living solo on the mountain disappeared as well."
"The oak door of his house... it was torn to shreds. Looking at the claw marks, it was definitely not any bear common to our mountains. Several of us hunters went up the mountain together to search..."
He paused, glancing at Yuko inside the house. Waiting until his wife took the hint and turned to brew tea, he continued, his Adam's apple bobbing as he recounted the gruesome scene he had witnessed.
"It definitely wasn't bandits. The bodies... they weren't just gnawed. They were torn to pieces, intestines dragged all over the place. It was... just like slaughtered livestock being ravaged by wild dogs."
He closed his eyes; the wide-eyed stares of the dead, frozen in terror and pain, seemed to be right before him.
"We waited there until the sun dipped west, but even as it turned dark, we never saw that bear. Although we didn't encounter it, I'm certain it must be a demon-bear that has tasted human blood. Only a bear that knows the taste of humans would actively approach a village and attack people." The hunter's face bore a trace of resentment. "I don't know where it came from or how many people it has harmed."
"Perhaps it's a demon?"
"A demon? Like the monsters from the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?" The hunter froze for a moment, then chuckled. "Please don't joke, Excellency. Aren't those just stories to coax children?"
Kuguruma Natsunishi remarked casually, "It's not quite the same. Think of it as... a 'Bear Demon' that has gained supernatural powers."
The hunter wanted to argue further that monsters didn't exist, but remembering Kuguruma Natsunishi's strike—powerful enough to belong in a legend—he opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing. Could it be that the stories told by elders about Shuten-doji and Yama-uba were actually true?
Come to think of it, was this Special Division 9 Demon Slayer Mobile Unit the government's secret group of experts responsible for exorcising monsters? He felt as though he had discovered a great secret. He cast his gaze toward the three Nichirin Swords at Kuguruma Natsunishi's waist. Perhaps these three blades, like the legendary Dojigiri Yasutsuna, were divine weapons meant for slaying monsters.
Master Kang III, Jinmai-Kiri, and Tong-Yi Maru: "..."
After clarifying the exact location of Nogi Village, Kuguruma Natsunishi declined Kuro's offer to accompany him. His Kasugai crow landed on his shoulder as he turned and stepped into the deepening twilight. He left the hunter couple standing in their sunset-drenched cottage, silently watching him depart.
"That samurai is truly extraordinary..." Kuro murmured, rubbing the mirror-smooth surface of the split boulder. If he had swung his axe at it, the blade might have chipped, let alone creating such a smooth, perfect cut. "The Tokyo Demon Slayer Mobile Unit... if we ever run into a monster in the future, at least we know who to ask for help..."
"Yuko, go and slaughter the fattest hen in the yard. Tonight, when his Excellency returns, we must entertain him well."
The woman, however, watched Kuguruma Natsunishi's back as it gradually vanished into the forest. She whispered, "Kuro, I have a feeling that gentleman won't be coming back..."
"Nani! You mean he can't defeat that monster?!"
"Idiot! I mean that after he kills the Bear Demon, he will leave!"