Demon Slayer : Breath of The Forest

"A demon has been spotted in the village of Kawakita Town, Nishikawa Prefecture! Requesting Hashira-level slayers Shinichi Moriki for support! Caw!"

In the room, a pair of heterochromatic eyes that had been peacefully closed suddenly snapped open!

***

On the carriage heading to Nishikawa Prefecture, Shinichi cheerfully teased the fat Maru-ni, who could no longer be called "little Maru-ni" anymore.

Under the "care" of the Kakushi Corps' cafeteria staff, Maru-ni body had become like an inflating balloon.

He no longer resembled a Shiba Inu—there was now a worrying trend toward evolving into another species (a pig).

Shinichi had completely given up on making Maru-ni lose weight.

Whatever, fat was fine, as long as Maru-ni was happy.

"Blockhead Shinichi, there wasn't much explanation for this mission, and it doesn't seem like we're dealing with a particularly strong demon. Why do they need your support? Aren't Hashira usually very busy?" Beside Shinichi, Shinobu Kocho asked in confusion.

During this time, Shinobu had practically become inseparable from Shinichi.

It had almost become common knowledge within the Demon Slayer Corps—if you couldn't find The Forest Hashira, just go to the Butterfly Mansion and ask Shinobu. She definitely knew where he was.

Hearing Shinobu question, Shinichi quickly grabbed Maru-ni wriggling tail before leisurely explaining.

"Normally, I wouldn't have time, but there are always exceptions. The situation in Kawakita Town is a bit special. The intel I received is more detailed than what you were given.

"It's not just about a demon appearing there. The key issue is the kind of people being abducted. According to survivors' descriptions, the demon seems to only target the elderly or those in poor health, rarely attacking others."

"We all know demons usually prefer women and children, followed by young adults. But a demon that exclusively preys on the elderly? That's bizarre. Most demons wouldn't have such a preference, which is why I volunteered to investigate."

Shinobu finally understood and nodded before returning to studying the intel in her hands.

Bathed in the sunlight streaming into the carriage, Shinichi rubbed Maru-ni head while glancing at Shinobu.

'Shinobu looks kind of cute when she's all serious...' he thought involuntarily, staring at her delicate face.

But he quickly snapped out of it, shaking his head and muttering under his breath.

"No! Shinichi Moriki, what kind of nonsense are you thinking? Can't you be serious? Though... Shinobu really is cute..."

"Blockhead Shinichi, what are you mumbling about?" Shinobu frowned slightly, her slender eyebrows knitting together as she looked at him in confusion.

That you're really cute—Shinichi almost blurted it out but managed to hold back at the last second, preserving The Forest Hashira dignity through sheer reflexes.

"Nothing. I was just saying that even though Maru-ni getting fatter and looks more like a pig, he's still cute."

Maru-ni: "???" (Innocent victim here. Is there no justice? Bullying a poor, speechless dog like this—who's the real dog here?)

Shinobu glanced at the fat dog lying in front of Shinichi, who for some reason suddenly looked wronged.

Her nose twitched slightly. "Is that so? I think you should encourage Maru-ni to lose some weight, Blockhead Shinichi. A normal Shiba Inu shouldn't be this fat—it's very unhealthy."

"Is that so? Then why do you feed your goldfish so much that they get fat, Shinobu? They look like little meatballs."

"That's different! Goldfish are supposed to be chubby—it makes them cuter. If you can't bear to do it, just hand Maru-ni over to me. No, wait, even my sister wouldn't have the heart to starve him. But if you give him to me, I'll definitely slim him down!"

Shinobu Kocho planted one hand on her hip and pointed confidently at Maru-ni with the other.

The clever Maru-ni widened his eyes and immediately looked at his owner—only to see a flicker of consideration in Shinichi gaze.

Maru-ni: Oh no!

Chatting and laughing along the way, Shinichi and Shinobu soon arrived in Ishikawa Prefecture by carriage.

As they stepped down, Shinichi wide blue-green battle robe slightly concealed the two Nichirin Blades of differing lengths hanging at his waist.

Shinobu, too, wore a short white haori that covered the unusually slender and lightweight Nichirin Blade at her side—distinct from those of ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members.

Beneath their haori, both wore the standard black Demon Slayer Corps uniform.

Their attire still drew curious glances from passersby as they entered Kawakita Town in Ishikawa.

After all, Kawakita was unlike other open, bustling cities. In this still somewhat conservative area, the style of the Demon Slayer Corps was a rare sight.

Soon, Shinichi and Shinobu reached the village rumored to harbor a Demon.

To gather information, they split up—Shinichi would investigate the Demon activities while Shinobu questioned families whose elderly had been abducted.

The village called Kippei was isolated, with little interaction with the outside world.

Nearly every household consisted of farmers living simple lives, the most advanced technology was the electric lights in a few homes.

Stepping into it felt like traveling back in time to a village from a century ago.

At first, gathering information seemed like it wouldn't be difficult. But to their surprise, the locals—even the families who had lost their elders—didn't seem to take the matter seriously.

One household even rudely shoved Shinichi out the door when he came asking, snapping.

"Mind your own business! This is our affair! Outsiders shouldn't meddle—unless you want an Oni coming after you!"

With that, they slammed the door in his face.

The baffling encounter left Shinichi scratching his head.

Though he came up empty-handed, Shinobu on the other hand, made significant progress.

In one home, a middle-aged man who had lost his father in his seventies sorrowfully shared a story with Shinobu.

It turned out that for centuries, a legend had passed down in Kippei Village, elders who reached the age of seventy would transform into man-eating Oni—in other words, Demons.

To prevent this, the village had maintained a tradition for hundreds of years—either driving elders nearing seventy out of their homes or abandoning them in the mountains to fend for themselves.

[A/N : this practice is really happen in japan back then, idk if they still doing it now]

"This is so disgraceful and ignorant! How could they?!" Shinobu was furious.

But the man only smiled bitterly.

"Who wouldn't agree? But why does everyone do it? There's only ever been one reason—poverty! There's never been enough food to go around, let alone for the elderly who can't work."

In fact, this was originally just a legend.

Over the past century, with the advancement of productivity and sufficient food supply, coupled with government control, such outdated customs gradually disappeared.

However, who would have thought that recently, trouble has arisen again.

Shinobu Kocho looked at the man bitter expression and quickly pressed.

"What happened?"

"There really is a demon appearing."

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