Far away from the Demon Slayer base.
Near a quiet village, Ai and Chikafusa stand together, scanning the horizon. Their faces are a mix of confusion and frustration—the landscape stretches endlessly, and there's still no trace of Ren Hajime.
Chikafusa sighs, shoulders drooping. "Hanako-San… do you really think we can find him like this?"
Ai folds her arms, staring at the empty fields. "I think so… If we try hard enough, maybe we can…"
He scratches the back of his head. "But Japan is huge. It's like looking for one rice grain in a field."
She puffs her cheeks slightly. "Well, we don't have a choice. Hajime-San might be wandering around. Maybe he's lost too."
Just then—a voice calls from behind them. "So, you two are here."
They turn. A man stands dramatically in a trench coat, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat, looking like a suspicious cross between a detective and a tourist.
Ai narrows her eyes. "…Who are you?"
The man adjusts his glasses, voice serious. "My name is Manabu. I need your help."
Chikafusa blinks. "Help? With what?"
Manabu takes a deep breath. "My daughter is missing. Can you help me find her?"
Ai tilts her head. "Okay but… where exactly did you lose her?"
Manabu deadpans. "If I knew that, would I need you?"
Ai's eyebrow twitches. She clenches her fist but forces a polite smile. We're wasting time here…
She bows slightly. "Sir, we apologize, but we're in a hurry. Please ask the police instead. They'll definitely help… Besides that, we're terrible at finding something. We're looking for someone lost too."
She turns. "Come on, Yamamoto-kun."
But Manabu suddenly steps in front of them, eyeing Chikafusa up and down.
"Mhm… You look perfect. You can definitely help me."
Ai frowns. "Mr. Manabu, please move aside—"
He cuts her off, not even looking at her. "I wasn't talking to you. You can go."
Her brows shoot up. "…Excuse me?"
Chikafusa speaks gently but firmly. "Please don't speak to Hanako-San like that."
Manabu shrugs coldly. "Why not? She's a woman after all."
For two seconds, silence. Then—Ai explodes.
Her teeth grit as she grabs his collar, shaking him like a ragdoll.
"WHAT?! What the hell does that even mean, huh?! Being a woman makes me invisible to you?!"
"Hanako-San!" Chikafusa rushes to calm her down, prying her off him. "Please! Don't strangle random people!"
She lets go reluctantly, steam practically pouring from her head. "Tch… unbelievable. These fossils still exist, huh? Men with brains smaller than pickles."
Chikafusa steps forward, polite but firm. "And you should apologize to Hanako-San for your tone."
Manabu tilts his head, voice flat. "…And who is she to you?"
Chikafusa answers without hesitation. "She's our strategist. Our leader."
Manabu pauses, then leans closer, whispering like it's some secret interrogation.
"Is everything… going well with your team?"
Both Ai and Chikafusa freeze, brows twitching.
Then Manabu smirks. "…I knew it!"
Ai's vein pops. She cracks her knuckles. "Shut up before I rearrange your jaw."
She grabs Chikafusa by the arm, tugging him away. "Let's go, Yamamoto-kun. This clown's not worth our time."
But Manabu stretches an arm out dramatically, blocking their path. "Yamamoto. You're the only one who can help me. Not even the police can do this. Leave this girl behind."
Ai's jaw drops. "…WHAT did you just say?"
Chikafusa looks torn. "Hanako-San, maybe we should… at least hear him out?"
Ai doesn't even turn around. "No need. We're leaving."
They argue for a moment—Chikafusa trying to reason, Ai shutting him down at every word.
Finally, Ai's patience snaps.
POW!
Her fist buries itself into Chikafusa's stomach.
"Baaarrffff—!" Chikafusa folds over, clutching his gut.
Ai fumes, voice sharp. "Enough! Now come with me and leave this foolish fossil before I completely lose it!"
She grabs his arm again, her grip so tight the veins on her knuckles bulge. Without sparing Manabu a second glance, she drags poor Chikafusa off like a prisoner on parole.
Manabu just stands there, muttering under his breath. "…Women these days… feral."
From the distance, Ai's furious voice echoes back. "I HEARD THAT!!"
As they were about to leave, Manabu's voice followed them, quiet yet sharp.
"At last… even you couldn't help me. But if that man were here… he would have."
Ai stopped mid-step. Slowly, she turned back, her eyes narrowing. "What are ya talking about? Who would help ya?"
Manabu's lips curved faintly.
"I speak of the greatest swordsman of all time. The legendary demon slayer…
Ren Hajime."
Both Ai and Chikafusa froze.
"H-Hajime-San?!" Chikafusa's voice cracked. "How do you… know his name?"
Manabu's tone softened. "Everyone in this village knows him. He saved us. He saved me."
Ai's pulse raced, her thoughts spiraling. He knows Hajime-Kun… and even knows about the Corps?! How?!
She stepped closer, voice trembling. "Tell me everything. How did he help ya? When? Where?"
Manabu adjusted his hat, his eyes distant. "You kids are Demon Slayers, aren't you? Then you must already know his power. Come—I'll show you."
They followed him through the village until they sat beneath an old persimmon tree, its roots knotted deep into the soil. Manabu lit his pipe, his voice turning into the rhythm of memory.
———————————————————————
Five years ago.
In this same village.
A quiet, peaceful morning that should have been like any other.
I had come from Tokyo with my daughter, only six at the time, to visit my aging parents. But something in the air was strange—like the whole village was holding its breath.
I found the people gathered in the square, whispering one name like a prayer.
And then I saw him.
A boy—tall for his age, yet carrying an aura unlike any human I'd ever seen. His presence… it was mythical. The morning sun spilled across him, and it felt as though even the light itself bowed to his form.
Ren Hajime.
At his side stood a delicate-looking child with the face of an angel but the eyes of a warrior—Kasumi Matsunaga, blade in hand, silent as a shadow.
The villagers cried out!
"Finally… Hajime-Sama has come!"
"Please, save us from that demon!"
I scoffed. My blood went cold with disbelief. "A demon? You people are still clinging to fairytales?"
My little daughter rushed toward him, but I pulled her back, trembling. "Don't go there!" I hissed, staggering in the shadow of the figure before us.
Ren's eyes, calm as still water, shifted to me. He stepped forward with a slowness that made the air feel heavier.
"…Will you grant us shelter for the night?" His voice was quiet, yet it carried like distant thunder.
I froze, then forced myself to speak coldly. "No. I know what men like you are. Cloaked in legends, spreading fear with tales of demons, calling yourselves heroes. And why—why do you still wander with that sword?"
My old mother snapped at me, voice trembling. "Manabu! Do you even know who stands before you? It is Hajime-San. The very heavens bless us with this chance!"
"Mother, stop it! He's still just a boy. This is superstition, nothing more."
Ren's lips curved faintly, though his eyes remained unreadable. His voice was soft, yet carried the weight of centuries.
"Superstition is the shadow left behind by truth. Demons are not myths. They walk in your night, whether you name them or not. But… we'll trouble you no further."
The words sank into me like stone into water. I could not answer.
He turned without another glance, the boy Kasumi following at his side. His steps were so steady, it felt as though the earth itself moved to make way for him.
"HAJIME-SAN! PLEASE! DON'T GO!" the villagers cried, begging, reaching out.
But Ren never turned back.
I was scolded, shunned even, for doubting him. But I didn't care. Not then. I thought I was right.
…But I wasn't.
When night fell.
I decided to leave for Tokyo. My parents begged me not to travel—warning me about the demon that haunted the outskirts. But I laughed them off.
Demons? Folktales. Nothing more.
As I walked the dirt path with my daughter's small hand in mine, I heard it.
—rustling in the bushes.
The night air turned heavy. My breath stopped in my throat.
Then it emerged.
A hulking, bloated figure. Flesh sagging, veins writhing beneath its skin. Eyes glowing an unnatural yellow, its mouth splitting into a grin far too wide.
My knees nearly buckled.
And then—
In the blink of an eye, it tore my daughter from my grip. Her scream split the night.
"MAI!!!" I shrieked. My voice broke.
The demon lifted her like a ragdoll, its teeth scraping along her hair. Drool dripped onto her face as it hissed, "I love children… I savor children…"
I charged forward—only for its massive fist to slam into me.
CRACK!
My arm shattered. I flew across the dirt road, crashing into the village gates.
The villagers gathered, panic spreading like wildfire.
"Where's Mai?!" I screamed, choking on blood.
They shouted back in fury. "Why did you leave at night?! We told you! The demon stalks the darkness!"
And then—
THUMP. THUMP.
The earth trembled.
The demon stepped into the village square, towering, grotesque, my daughter dangling from its fist like a broken doll.
"Papaaa!!" she screamed, tears streaking down her cheeks.
I clawed at the ground, broken bones grinding inside me, trying to crawl to her. Futile.
The demon lowered its mouth. Its jagged teeth clamped down on her dress, tearing the fabric.
The villagers shrieked, some trembling, others dropping to their knees in despair. I felt myself breaking—my child, my world, about to be devoured before my eyes.
Tears blurred my vision. My voice cracked into nothing.
It's over…
But then—
The demon froze.
Its grin collapsed. Its eyes widened, trembling—not in hunger, but in fear.
The air itself changed. The night wind howled as if retreating.
Behind the monster stood a boy bathed in faint moonlight, his blade glowing crimson like the pulse of a living heart.
Ren Hajime.
The villagers gasped, hope bursting through despair.
"It's Hajime-sama!"
"He came! He's here!"
Ren's gaze was calm, unshaken. His eyes—silent, timeless.
The demon stumbled backward, shaking. "N-no… not him… anyone but him!"
But before it could flee, Ren blurred from sight.
A crimson flash.
SLASH!
The sound was like thunder tearing through the night.
The demon's body split into countless pieces, dissolving into ash before it even hit the ground.
Ren stood amidst the silence, his sword dripping with fading embers of light. In his arms—my daughter, unscathed, trembling but alive.
He knelt, placing her gently on the ground before me.
"…Be more attentive next time," he said softly. His voice wasn't harsh—it was heavy, like the weight of truth itself.
I collapsed, sobbing. "T-thank you… Thank you for saving her… for saving me…"
But Ren only turned, the crimson glow fading from his blade.
"This is my duty. There is no need for thanks."
And with that, he walked into the night. Each step echoing like a hymn.
I watched until his figure dissolved into the darkness, carrying the silence of legends with him.
Even after I returned to Tokyo, even as my fortunes grew and my business flourished—
I could never forget that night.
The night when Ren Hajime saved my daughter.
The night when I realized demons were real.
And the night when the world's only hope was not a myth—but a boy with a sword.
———————————————————————
Now, Manabu finishes narrating his story. The tavern grows quiet again, the faint crackle of a lantern filling the silence.
Ai and Chikafusa rise from their seats.
"Hajime-San was really a legendary person… one in a millennium," Chikafusa murmurs, almost in awe.
Ai's chest tightens. She lowers her eyes, clutching her hands together beneath the table. Her longing for Ren feels like a hollow ache gnawing at her soul. But she steadies her voice, shaking off the weight, and looks at Manabu.
"You said your daughter is missing. Can you at least tell us something that might help us find her? A hint?"
Manabu leans forward, his tired eyes glinting with sorrow. "I suspect one person… My daughter had grown obsessed with a man—a cult leader. He brainwashed her. I saw it happening, but I couldn't stop her."
Ai's brows knit together. "A cult leader?"
"Yes," Manabu nods gravely. "She joined some unknown sect days ago. I tried to gather information, but… it was like chasing smoke. No name. No trace of where they gather. It was as if the whole thing existed in shadows."
Chikafusa rests his hand on the table. "Do you know anything at all about this leader? His face? His name?"
Manabu's voice lowers, almost breaking. "Nothing. Only that he has many followers already."
Ai straightens, forcing her tone calm. "Alright, Mr. Manabu… We will do what we can to find your daughter. But I can't promise when—or even if—it will happen soon."
Manabu exhales, his shoulders slumping in quiet defeat. "I understand… But I'll be waiting. If you ever find her, come to Tokyo."
He scribbles down his address, pressing the slip into Ai's hand.
Just before they leave, Ai pauses. "One last thing. How will we know it's her? What does she look like?"
Manabu's lips tremble into a faint, sorrowful smile. "You'll recognize her. Once you see her, you'll know."
Ai studies him for a moment, uneasy with the cryptic response. "Very well. We shall leave now."
They turn to go.
But Manabu suddenly mutters, almost to himself, "Anyway… I was talking to this boy…"
Ai stiffens, her patience unraveling. Her hand instinctively reaches for the hilt of her katana, but Chikafusa gently catches her wrist.
"Hanako-San," he whispers firmly.
Ai closes her eyes, draws a slow breath, then releases her grip. The two of them step outside, the night air brushing cool against their faces.
As they walked together through the quiet village road, Chikafusa finally asked, "Hanako-San… how are we supposed to find his daughter with so little to go on?"
Ai's gaze lingers on the sky. "It feels nearly impossible. But we have no choice—we'll try. Even if it takes time."
A tired half-smile ghosted at her lips, bitter as medicine.
"We set out for Hajime-kun, and instead the world keeps piling work on our shoulders. New missions, new bodies to bury, promises we didn't mean to make. I don't even know if I'll ever see him again."
Chikafusa hesitates, then asks the question he shouldn't. "We'll try... We can't just turn our backs. I shouldn't think this, but… what if Hajime-San is never found?"
Ai stops walking. Her heart clenches like a blade twisting inside her chest. For a moment, she can't breathe.
"…Then our efforts will be in vain," she says at last, her voice low and hollow. "And in the end… all of us will be slaughtered by the demons."