"Sister—"
When Shinobu Kocho arrived, what she saw was the young girl lying tragically in a pool of blood.
She stumbled to the girl's side, falling to her knees on the ground, trembling as she pulled the girl into her embrace.
The girl in her arms was exceptionally cold, thick blood flowing out continuously; Shinobu Kocho desperately tried to tear off pieces of her clothing to plug the wound.
However, it was all in vain... The girl named Kanae struggled to open her eyes, but those beautiful eyes were somewhat dim: "Shinobu... leave... the Demon Slayer Corps..."
"No, no, Sister, Sister, don't, don't die—" Shinobu Kocho's voice became unusually hoarse, like the sound of metal scraping.
"Listen to me... Shinobu... Shinobu..." Kanae struggled to organize her words, a faint wheezing sound escaping with her voice, "Shinobu... leave the Demon Slayer Corps..."
Her voice was intermittent, "Give up... revenge... Shinobu, Shinobu, can you... hear me..."
"Sister, Sister, don't talk anymore! Someone, someone please help..." The blood from the wound quickly soaked the clothes in Shinobu Kocho's hands into a dark red.
That incredibly viscous sensation made it difficult for Shinobu Kocho to breathe... "Shinobu... I only hope that you can be like an ordinary girl... find happiness... and then live until the end like an old lady... that would be enough..."
Large teardrops fell, Shinobu Kocho bit her lip, "No, no—what kind of demon, what kind of demon killed you!"
Even though they were dim and lightless, Kanae's pale purple eyes remained gentle.
She looked at Shinobu Kocho quietly, blood spilling from the corners of her slightly upturned lips... A deep sense of despair and powerlessness welled up in Shinobu Kocho's heart, and she spoke in an almost pleading voice: "Please... Sister, please tell me..."
Kanae's eyes closed gently; in the end, she still couldn't ignore Shinobu Kocho's plea: "That demon... had blood poured over his head, smiling innocently... his weapon was a... fan..."
As Kanae's breath gradually faded away, Shinobu Kocho's pupils dilated.
Overwhelming despair—
Pain like a sudden cardiac arrest—
Suffocation of fear and helplessness—
"Sister—"
—
In the pitch-black, silent night, Shinobu Kocho slowly opened her eyes.
"shi—"
The continuous chirping of summer cicadas persisted.
Shinobu Kocho sat up, the thin blanket covering her body sliding off: "I dreamed of it again..."
—
"It hurts—"
Takeshi woke up with a start, an incredibly intense, sharp pain coming from his chest.
He remembered clearly—he had been attacked! And he had been stabbed in the chest with a knife!
Just because he was a relatively good-looking minor influencer, he was stalked by an obsessive fan who ultimately adhered to the philosophy that if they couldn't have him, they would destroy him.
When he went to the supermarket, they stabbed a knife into his chest!
He pulled open the clothes at his chest, only to see a deep scar there!
"I'm not dead?!" Takeshi showed a look of bewilderment.
He clearly remembered that the knife had almost pierced through his chest; at that time, he couldn't even make a sound, but how—
He couldn't figure it out; his chest still throbbed with pain, making him frown deeply, and it took a while before he recovered.
"Speaking of which, where am I—"
It was only then that Takeshi noticed he was in a very strange place!
There were trees everywhere; how did he end up in a forest?
"Where... am I?"
Being in an unfamiliar environment made Takeshi feel extremely uneasy.
"Ah, my head!"
Just then, Takeshi suddenly clutched his head and fell to the ground in pain, curling into a ball.
As if hit hard by a hammer, he slammed his head against the ground, as if this could alleviate the pain.
Following that, a surge of memories that didn't belong to him flooded into his mind.
"Demons..."
"Flower Breathing..."
"These... ah!"
The pain lasted for an unknown amount of time; by the time it ended, Takeshi's entire back was soaked in sweat!
"What was that just now?!" Takeshi panted heavily, "Why would things from demon slayer appear in my mind? And... those sword techniques, as well as the Breathing Styles..."
Takeshi felt it was unbelievable; those memories just now were incredibly clear in his mind, as if... they were things that originally belonged to him... "Eh, eh, eh? Why—am I in a boy's body?!" A shocked female voice suddenly came from his mind! This gave Takeshi a huge fright—"Who!"
—
To explain what happened—
Kanae had originally died; her physical body had long been buried, but her soul had never been able to find the path to reincarnation.
Out of concern for Shinobu Kocho, she had always stayed by her side over the past few years.
Watching her beloved younger sister, Shinobu, slowly become stronger, and even creating a new branch—Insect Breathing—from the original Flower Breathing by combining it with the experience of her predecessors!
Flower Breathing is a branch of Water Breathing, while Insect Breathing is a branch of Flower Breathing, a further branch of Water Breathing.
Kanae was sincerely happy, but she also felt a hint of worry.
Especially when Shinobu Kocho became a Hashira and obtained the title of Insect Hashira, this worry grew even stronger.
After all, becoming stronger meant that the chance of encountering that demon would also be greater... but she was already dead and could only watch helplessly as everything progressed.
Until a huge circle of light appeared before her eyes.
"Am I finally... leaving?"
Kanae looked composed, "After all, I have lingered in this world for so long, it's time to leave. It's just... I still can't bear to leave Shinobu... and Kanao... I really want to watch over them..."
Her final words were left unfinished; Kanae sighed softly: "It's time to go... I hope they can live well..."
Kanae's soul entered that circle of light—
When she woke up from the void, she was actually in a boy's body!
This was everything that had happened!
Takeshi's eyes widened; he was absolutely certain that the voice just now had come directly to his brain!
It wasn't an illusion!
There really was a girl speaking in his mind, and—
Why did he feel like his chest was a bit swollen?!
Slightly protruding little bumps... "No—"
An androgynous high-pitched scream echoed through the forest—