Thick clouds obscured the sunlight, casting a hazy veil over everything around.
Two figures trudged along a path completely blanketed in snow.
The one leading the way, Tanjiro, chatted cheerfully with Giyu behind him.
Though not particularly talkative, Giyu occasionally responded with brief remarks, making their interaction quite harmonious.
Not long before, at Tanjiro's request, Giyu had agreed to visit his home.
Tanjiro had mentioned something very important concerning Shinichi, so after daybreak, the two bid farewell to Saburo halfway up the mountain and set off together towards the Kamado household.
Crunch, crunch.
The soft snow made pleasant friction sounds underfoot—until suddenly, the noise ceased.
Both Tanjiro and Giyu halted in their tracks.
The bright smile on Tanjiro's face froze instantly.
"Blood... Why do I smell fresh blood? That direction... it's my home!" Tanjiro's pupils constricted sharply as his smile vanished completely.
Thud!
The bamboo basket on his back was flung onto the snow.
Like a madman, Tanjiro sprinted towards his house, leaving Giyu momentarily stunned by the abrupt change.
But stunned or not, Giyu had clearly seen the panic on Tanjiro's face.
Instinctively sensing something amiss, he gripped his Nichirin Blade and swiftly caught up.
The reckless, all-out sprint in the freezing cold quickly drained Tanjiro's strength.
His lungs burned as if sliced by knives, his legs grew numb and his breathing became erratic as he gasped violently.
Yet he refused to stop.
The closer he got to home, the thicker the stench of blood in the air became.
Tanjiro dared not—and could not bear—to imagine its source.
But his exhausted body slowed him down.
"No... can't stop... I have to get home! Can't stop!" he gritted through clenched teeth.
Then suddenly, his feet left the ground as his balance vanished and the scenery around him blurred into rapid retreat.
"Giyu-san?!" Tanjiro exclaimed, realizing he'd been scooped up mid-run by the waist.
Carrying Tanjiro effortlessly with one arm, Giyu moved at incredible speed without so much as a flushed cheek.
His expression remained calm as he stared ahead.
"Point me towards your home. I'll take you there."
"Giyu-san!"
*****
Carrying gifts specially purchased at the market, Shinichi walked along the familiar path, wondering what to say when he saw the Kamado family.
"Maybe I should've brought Yuichiro along. But that brat's been training hard with Muichiro lately," Shinichi muttered to himself as he hurried onward.
With the snowfall ceased, the road bustled with travelers—many harried-looking peddlers pulling carts and wagons of all kinds.
Shinichi, lost in thought, suddenly collided with a figure coming his way without realizing it.
Thud!
"Ah, sorry, my bad. I wasn't paying attention," Shinichi instinctively apologized, momentarily stunned.
However, the person he bumped into gave no response, merely pausing briefly before turning away and walking off without a word.
The figure wore a black top hat and was clad in a pristine white suit that stood out elegantly against the snowy surroundings.
Zap!
An almost imperceptible arc of electricity seemed to flicker in the air.
Shinichi, who had turned his head, suddenly froze as if struck by a paralysis spell.
Thud!
The gifts he had prepared for the Kamado family slipped from his hands, scattering sweets and smoked meats across the ground.
His heterochromatic eyes widened abruptly, their round pupils instantly narrowing into slits.
In the next moment, an overwhelming surge of life force erupted violently from every pore of Shinichi's body.
That crimson gaze, that familiar cold aura and the face Shinichi would never forget in his lifetime.
"MUZAANN!!!"
Shinichi's sudden roar of fury on the street stunned the passersby, who gaped at him in shock.
What followed was perhaps the most astonishing sight they would ever witness.
A Nichirin blade, gleaming red and green, was unsheathed in an instant.
The surging blue-green light coalesced into the form of a colossal dragon, its raging momentum whipping up swirling snowflakes from the roadside.
For a fleeting moment, the sky seemed to unleash another heavy snowfall.
Before the stunned eyes of over a dozen ordinary onlookers, the phantom-like blue-green dragon appeared to let out a deafening roar as it charged towards the figure in the white suit with earth-shattering force.
"Hmph~" A mocking smirk curled at the corner of Muzan's lips beneath the black top hat.
His cold face showed not a trace of panic, even as the devastating attack bore down on him from behind.
"Disgusting insects." Muzan's blood-red eyes flashed with intense, savage killing intent.
He had noticed Shinichi on the street earlier and recognized the Demon Slayer Corps uniform beneath his battle robe.
However, having just discarded a bloodstained suit, Muzan couldn't be bothered to change again.
Nor did he care to engage with a random Demon Slayer he encountered.
Dealing with such pests was supposed to be the job of the Twelve Kizuki—otherwise, what use were those worthless subordinates if he had to handle everything himself?
What Muzan hadn't expected was that this insignificant insect he'd ignored had not only detected him but also recognized his identity.
(Note: Muzan does not recognize Shinichi at this time. The events of years past have long faded from his memory—he doesn't bother remembering every insignificant insects. Though Upper Moon Two, Doma, had once fought Shinichi, the Upper Ranks hadn't gathered in over a century, leaving no opportunity for Doma to report to Muzan. Moreover, Muzan neither cared to nor enjoyed summoning Doma. Previous battle intel had only been briefly relayed by Nakime, hence Muzan's current reaction.)
*****
"Nezuko!"
Splash!
Tanjiro struggled free from Giyu's grasp and stumbled towards the figure lying in a pool of blood.
"No! What happened!?" Tanjiro's face twisted in unprecedented horror, his eyes even splitting at the corners from sheer shock.
But the moment he lifted his blood-soaked sister into his arms and turned around, he was met with a scene straight from hell.
The once warm and peaceful wooden house had now become a slaughterhouse.
Blood—blood everywhere—crimson blood staining every inch of the house.
But what shattered Tanjiro completely were the figures sprawled lifelessly in the gore.
"Takeo... Hanako... Shigeru... Rokuta... Mom... No, NO, NOOO, AHHHHHH!!!!"
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