In the blazing inferno, a young boy and a girl, both around twelve years old, stood face to face with twelve colossal demons. Armed only with swords, they braced themselves for the skirmish ahead. The boy's right eye gleamed a piercing yellow, while his left eye shimmered in a striking turquoise hue. In contrast, the girl was an albino with captivating red eyes.
Even though they were not demon slayers, they fearlessly charged into battle against the towering demons, their surroundings reduced to smoldering ruins.
———————————————————————
6 months later.
15th May, 1955.
This morning.
Chikafusa comes to meet Ren when he is engaged in training with another person.
"Ohayo, Hajime-San! Umm… who is he?" asked Chikafusa with confusion.
Ren smiles and says, "I'm glad you've fully recovered! This boy is a new demon slayer who joined right after you were admitted to the hospital."
Chikafusa looks at the boy. He showed no emotions and stayed silent.
"Oi Oi Oi! So you've made a new student. Very well!" Tsunenari comes out of nowhere and approaches the boy.
"Yoshimitsu-san, glad to see you again! It's been almost a year since you were admitted," responds Ren.
Tsunenari ignores Ren and appears in front of the boy. The boy seems gloomy with an emotionless face.
"Who the hell are you? What's with your face?"
The boy ignores Tsunenari which triggers him. "I ASKED YOUR NAME?!! YOU MORON!!!"
Chikafusa comforts Tsunenari, "Yoshimitsu-san, please calm down yourself!"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Tsunenari pushes him back. The boy confronts Tsunenari and says, "Don't worry, I'll handle this guy!"
Everyone is shocked to hear his words. "What will you do? Will you fight me? If that is so, go ahead, you scum."
Tsunenari swings his wooden sword and charges at the boy. "I AM… THE WIND HASHIRA."
WIND BREATHING 1ST FORM: DUST WHIRLWIND CUTTER
His speed breaks the sound barrier and destroys the surroundings. The boy calmly lifts his sword and stands silently.
WATER BREATHING 11TH FORM: DEAD CALM
"DEAD CALM?!! ISN'T IT THE PERSONAL BREATHING FORM OF THE FORMER WATER HASHIRA, TOMIOKA GIYU?!!" says Chikafusa.
The boy ceases all body movements and enters a state of complete tranquility, deflecting, blocking, and cutting any incoming attacks with imperceptible speed with his blade.
"What the— How is this even possible?!! How can someone use this technique?" thinks Tsunenari.
The clash of their wooden blades reverberates through the air, each strike delivering a thunderous force and shattering the swords with relentless power.
Tsunenari is completely shocked to see him stalemating and leaves in anger.
"Wow! You've matched a new hashira's skills. How did you perform the dead calm technique?" says Chikafusa.
"It took me some months to master the water breathing. I didn't think I was using it for the first time, that's weird," says the boy.
Chikafusa stares at the boy's face with astonishment, "Is it my first time meeting this guy? No... It's not... He looks like someone I used to know."
"I'm sorry, I am not feeling well," says Chikafusa.
The boy prepares to leave the training ground. Before leaving, he says without looking back, "My name is Kaito Kobayashi. Allow me to leave now."
Kaito leaves...
Chikafusa approaches Ren and says, "Hajime-San, I wanna tell you something. You may not believe but that's true."
"What's that?" responds Ren.
"I have been getting mysterious glimpses & dreams since I met you. According to those dreams, I had two lives. The first one is during the Sengoku Era, and the other one is during the Taisho Era. When you rescued me, it didn't seem like I met you for the first time—"
Ren interrupts him and says calmly, "Yamamoto-Kun, do not tell anyone about this."
...
"HUH?!"
"Ohayo! Yamamoto-Kun! Hajime-Kun!" Ai arrives in a formal black kimono. She has worn different clothes and makeup than before.
"Oh my, you are able to see. That's great!" Chikafusa is shocked to see her.
"I thought I was blind for my entire life until I found the correct way to use the final form of the Flower Breathing. And thank you for saving me, Hajime-Kun!" greets Ai.
Ren didn't expect her response, "Glad to see you again, Hanako-San! You've changed a lot, and I'm happy about it."
"C'mon, ya don't need to pay me respect. Call me whatever you want," says Ai, "Hajime-Kun, I wanna inform you about the mysterious boy who joined the corps yesterday."
"Oh, that guy? Is he alright?" asks Ren.
"I don't think so. He hasn't eaten anything since he joined the corps yesterday," said Ai.
Sometime later...
When Ai, Ren, and Chikafusa reached the mysterious boy in a dark room, they found him so weak that his bones were visible. The boy's right eye gleamed a piercing yellow, while his left eye shimmered in a striking turquoise hue.
"Hey! Are you alright?" comforts Chikafusa.
He has pale skin and the entire lower half of his face was concealed by tightly-wound bandages.
The boy looks curiously at them and says, "Who are y'all people? What do you want from me?"
"We have some riceballs for you. You seem so hungry," says Chikafusa.
The boy picks up the riceballs and says, "You look so annoying, but thank you. Now please leave me alone."
"Huh? Why though?"
"I like to eat alone. Please leave me now," says the boy.
Ai confronts the boy and says, "What's the matter? Don't be shy, we're not gonna eat ya."
"... Alright!"
The boy unmasks his mouth and reveals that his mouth has been slit horribly. It scares all of them and they decide to leave him alone.
"I'm sorry, we didn't know this about you."
They left the place...
....
"Bye bye! I'll see you later," Chikafusa waves his hand towards Ren and Ai and leaves.
"See ya later," says Ren and leaves as well.
Ai doesn't leave and follows Chikafusa. "Wait! Wait!"
Ai holds Chikafusa's hand and stops him. "Yamamoto-Kun, I wanna talk to you about Hajime-Kun."
"About Hajime-San? What's that?"
"Have you ever wondered why Hajime-Kun is always calm? If you look at his eyes, it seems lifeless. He has no pride, no motivation, no goal, and no desire. He is even more mature than an old man. I doubt if he already knew about us, that's why he never reacts to our nonsense."
Chikafusa says in astonishment, "He seems completely different from anyone like he has transcended the very concept of humanity. But it doesn't mean he is not even a human. He also has feelings like other people. When Inoue-San died, he was the saddest among us. He must have some goals and desires in his life."
Ai says in a severe tone, "C- could he be... a spy of an enemy team? That's why he always remains calm and observes us."
Chikafusa laughs nonstop, "Hanako-San, you must be kidding."
"Baka, how am I kiddin'?"
Chikafusa stops his laugh and says, "Hanako-San, do you still think about Inoue-San?"
"Hah?! Why is it so sudden? To be honest, the day when I almost died haunts me till now. I can't forget the sacrifice of Onee-Sama. I would be grateful if I died instead of her. I can never forget the day until I die...
The most embarrassing thing was when I hugged Hajime-Kun unconsciously. I would never do that, no matter how close he is." She blushes.
———————————————————————
10:20 P.M.
In the dead of night.
Naraka, the Upper Moon 6 approaches some demon slayers in a forest. With each footstep, the wind starts blowing faster and faster.
"Look! There's a demon! Attack!"
The demon slayers lounge at him but he is still standing.
SERPENT BREATHING 5TH FORM: SLITHERING SERPENT
He charges forth in a twisting and winding motion, curving his scythe in multiple directions to strike multiple targets at once. He instantly beheads all of them simultaneously.
But instead of a serpent, it resembles a dragon.
As he approached the fallen hunters, his long, sharp canines glistened in the moonlight as he began to feast upon the lifeless bodies.