"Eek! There are demons on the train too, I don't want this!" Agatsuma Zenitsu collapsed, covering his head, rolling on the ground, completely ignoring the strange looks from the other passengers in the carriage.
Inosuke pointed at Zenitsu and said, as if it were obvious, "Wen Yi, you're too noisy!"
"I don't want to be told that by you!"
"Also, who's Wen Yi!" Zenitsu's eyes were bloodshot with fear. So many people in such a cramped carriage, what would he do if there was a demon!
He definitely wouldn't be able to protect everyone!
What to do! What to do!
I don't want to fight!
"Eek!"
"Alright, Zenitsu, quiet down! Shhh!" Tanjirou reminded him, getting up to bow and apologize to the people in the carriage.
Kyojuro Rengoku sat upright in his seat, his booming voice full of reassurance.
"Over forty people disappeared in a short time, and the Team members sent here also lost contact, so I, as a Pillar, came here!"
"No, I want to get off the train!" Agatsuma Zenitsu fell to the ground weakly.
A gaunt-faced train conductor walked into the carriage, asking everyone to show their tickets for inspection. Tanjirou placed Yoizumi's ticket in Yoizumi's hand. Although Yoizumi-nii and Nezuko were in a wooden box, Tanjirou had bought all the necessary tickets.
Yoizumi's blue eyes looked at the man.
There was a strange feeling here, a subtle sense of incongruity filling the carriage. He needed to be alert.
Everyone's tickets were checked. The conductor's voice was weak, "Thank you for your cooperation."
The lights in the carriage flickered, and Tanjirou frowned. There was a disgusting smell in the air!
The stuffy carriage and dim lights made people sleepy. The lights shorted out again, and in the darkness, people took it as normal.
His vision plunged into darkness, and when he opened his eyes again, Yoizumi found himself in unfamiliar snow. Snow again?
Where was this?
"Yoizumi-nii! What's wrong? The snow's getting heavier, let's go home quickly!" Tanjirou's voice suddenly appeared. Yoizumi looked in the direction of the voice, staring blankly at a younger version of himself than he remembered.
"Let's go!" Tanjirou smiled as he walked to Yoizumi's side and took his hand. The warmth in his palm didn't feel fake.
Little Tanjirou carried a bamboo basket of firewood, and Yoizumi also had a basket on his back.
Exhaling a cold breath, Tanjirou quickened his pace.
"It's cold, isn't it? Mom must have already prepared dinner and is waiting for us to come home. I wonder what we're eating today, I'm so excited~"
"Mm." Their footsteps were one deep, one shallow, and their footprints were quickly covered by the heavy snow.
So strange, I feel like I've forgotten something.
Nothing comes to mind.
Arriving at a wooden house, Yoizumi and Tanjirou entered and sat at the entrance. Nezuko came out from inside the house and brushed the snow from their heads.
"Brother and Yoizumi-nii, you've worked hard! I've boiled hot water, drink some to warm yourselves up."
Yoizumi reached out and took a cup of hot water Nezuko handed him. Steam was still rising from it. Taking a sip, his body, chilled by the cold wind, began to warm up.
Exhaling a warm breath, Yoizumi stood up from the entrance, naturally carried the bamboo basket on his back, and walked into the kitchen, stacking the firewood little by little.
"You've worked hard, Yoizumi. Dinner will be ready soon, go rest." Kamado Kie was busy, stir-frying vegetables in the pot, and casually picked up a chopstickful to Yoizumi's mouth, "Try it and see if it's seasoned enough."
The steaming food. Yoizumi blew on it, then opened his mouth to eat, chewing slowly and then nodding, "It's delicious."
"Good, Takeo, make the fire smaller."
"Okay~" Takeo, sitting by the stove, obediently used the fire tongs to pick out a few pieces of wood and put them aside, then looked at Yoizumi.
"Yo-nii, where's the big pinecone you promised to bring me?"
Facing Takeo's dirty little outstretched hand, Yoizumi thought for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a few uniquely shaped pinecones.
"Yay!"
Seeing Takeo's happy little face, Yoizumi also curved his lips and walked into the room. Hanako and Mao immediately surrounded him.
"Yoizumi-nii~ You're back."
He squatted down and patted both their heads. Little Rokkuta couldn't speak yet and was crawling on the floor.
"It's really warm at home, isn't it, Yoizumi-nii?" Tanjirou said as he walked into the room, picking up Rokkuta who was crawling on the floor.
Yoizumi's face held a gentle and soft smile.
"Yes, it's good here."
Nezuko walked in carrying two plates of stir-fried dishes and placed them on the dining table, then tapped Yoizumi and Tanjirou's foreheads.
"Big brothers haven't washed your hands yet, go wash your hands and eat!"
"Dinner's ready~" Hanako and Mao ran off together, almost bumping into Takeo, who was carrying rice with both hands. Takeo angrily said, "Don't run in the house!"
"Run! Takeo-nii is angry!" Mao shouted with a laugh and ran off with Hanako.
"Honestly." Takeo pouted and put the rice on the table.
Everyone washed their hands and sat down in their seats. Yoizumi looked at their joyous scene, feeling warm inside, and couldn't help but smile along with them.
"Wow, it's my favorite miso soup." Tanjirou held up the steaming miso soup, took a sip, and a happy smile spread across his face.
"Come, Yoizumi, eat too. I made your favorite tamagoyaki."
He picked up his rice bowl and took the golden tamagoyaki Kamado Kie placed for him, then used his chopsticks to put it in his mouth. The sweet tamagoyaki was swallowed with the rice.
"Delicious."
...The roaring train sped forward at full throttle. A man stood on the roof of the train, with short black hair with pink tips, wearing a Western-style long trench coat, a pale, sickly face, and the words "Lower Rank One" carved into his eyes.
He let the wind blow freely around him, even spreading his arms to feel the ferocity of the gale, and spoke with a feminine voice, curving his lips.
"To die in a sweet dream is truly a fortunate thing."
"And the two targets Muzan told him to kill are both on this train."
The demon slayer with the hanafuda earrings, the blond, blue-eyed demon... "How lucky, there's even a Pillar."
A hand wriggled and flew to his severed hand. That hand was strangely grotesque, with a mouth on the back and an eye in the palm.
He cupped his own cheeks with both hands, his sickly smile particularly eerie.
"As long as I kill them, Muzan-sama will grant me more blood..."
"Gently fall into it~"
"Gently fall into it~"
"Fall into slumber, and then never awaken from the dream again~"
Several children used ropes to tie down the unconscious individuals.
Breathe deeply and slowly, then silently count in your heart, and you can fall into slumber.
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