First Meeting with Shinobu Kocho

"No, you can't kill him. He's my brother, and I won't allow you to kill him."

A young girl in a white pleated skirt spread her arms to block a man.

The man was completely enveloped in a mass of black smoke, making his form and appearance indistinguishable. Only two points of scarlet light glowed where his eyes should be. He was like a phantom, emanating an intense evil.

In the snow behind the girl lay a dying young boy.

He was covered in wounds, his white long robe already stained crimson with blood. The surrounding area was littered with dismembered human limbs. The blood had melted the snow, and together with the meltwater, it had frozen into ice.

The scene was so horrific, it was a true slaughterhouse.

"Qi An, that's enough. You've already killed everyone in the village. Let him go. If you spare him, I'll agree to anything you say."

The man, still shrouded in black smoke, slowly walked towards the girl.

The girl appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen. Her pretty face was flushed red from the cold, and her tears had frozen into ice crystals on her cheeks. Snowflakes landed on her head, quickly turning her raven hair white.

Facing the phantom-like man, the girl did not retreat an inch. Her gaze was resolute, devoid of any fear.

The man reached the girl and met her gaze. They stared at each other for a moment.

A demonic hand emerged from the black smoke. The sharp tip of its index finger gently tapped the girl's brow. Although it was just a tap on her brow, the fingernail of the demonic hand was clearly very sharp. A thin line of bright red blood trickled down the girl's nose.

The man retracted his hand and licked the blood-stained fingertip.

"What good would letting him go do? Look at him, do you think he can even survive like this? Why don't I turn him into a demon too? Then the three of us can be together for all eternity. You, don't you want to be with me forever?"

"Qi An, let Xiao Qi go. If you let him go, I'll be with you forever. You said it yourself, he can't live much longer in this state. Since that's the case, let him stay here. Whether he lives or dies is up to his own fate. Besides, I don't want him to disturb us."

The man remained silent, his two points of scarlet light fixed on the girl, as if considering the truth of her words or whether he should kill the boy.

Seeing that the man was silent, the girl continued, "I don't know what it's like to become a demon, but I imagine there's a difference between becoming one willingly and being forced. Qi An, Xiao Qi is my final request. If you kill him, I won't become a demon willingly. Of course, you could force me, but I don't know if that would meet your expectations."

"Are you threatening me?" The man suddenly leaned down, his smoke-shrouded face close to the girl's.

The girl didn't flinch or dodge, not even blinking. Through the smoke, she seemed to see the man she longed for standing in the darkness, watching her.

The man before her was not that man. The man before her was a devil.

"You can consider it a threat, but I said it's a request, and it's also the truth."

The eastern horizon showed the pale white of dawn. The sky was about to lighten, and the night was rapidly receding.

The man straightened up, turned his head towards the horizon, and the sunlight pierced the darkness like sharp blades, racing across the snowfield at an incredible speed.

The snow was blindingly white.

"Let's go."

The man let the boy go and extended his hand to the girl.

"Wait a moment."

The girl turned and went to the boy's side. She helped him up with effort and walked him to a large tree, carefully leaning him against its roots.

Looking at the dying boy, the girl couldn't help but shed tears of heartache. She unclasped the pendant from her neck and placed it in the boy's palm. She then raised her sleeve and gently wiped the blood and dirt from his face.

The boy's pale complexion carried an aura of death. It was clear that without timely treatment, he would die very soon.

"Xiao Qi, you must live well. Don't come looking for me, and don't think about revenge. Your sister only wants you to live, to live for both of us."

The girl gently caressed the boy's cold face, her immense reluctance transforming into tears that flowed freely. She knew that her departure was destined to be a final separation. The next time they met, she feared she would have become a monster unrecognizable even to her own brother.

The man walked behind the girl. "Alright, You. The sun is out, it's time for us to go. There's no need to be so reluctant. If he miraculously survives, you'll see each other again. However, I do hope he dies here. Otherwise, the next time we meet... hehe."

The next time they meet, perhaps he will see you as a monster, and you will see him as prey.

The girl ignored the man's neurotic laughter. She stood up expressionlessly, cast one last glance at the boy, then turned and took the hand the man offered, resolutely stepping into the black smoke.

The black smoke drifted towards the depths of the dark forest.

The boy shook his heavy head, mustering the last ounce of his strength to lift his arm, trying to reach for the retreating figure disappearing into the darkness. Alas, it was all in vain.

He could only watch as his sister walked further and further away, eventually merging with the darkness.

His arm fell powerlessly. He felt as if he too had sunk into the darkness. The surroundings were silent, as if he had fallen into a pitch-black ice cave, his body slowly sinking, growing colder and colder.

Not long after, the sunlight dispelled the darkness, but it brought him no warmth.

He felt himself continuing to sink, his consciousness growing increasingly blurred.

Suddenly, he smelled a faint scent of wisteria. The fragrance was exactly the same as the one from his sister. He thought his sister had returned, and his sinking body finally stopped.

"Sis...ter."

The boy desperately lifted his head. In his blurry vision, a beautiful butterfly fluttered down before him.

As his vision cleared slightly, the boy realized that what had landed before him was not a butterfly, but a person—a beautiful young girl.

Her smile was as warm as the spring breeze. She had beautiful purple eyes and smelled just like his sister.

"You... you're not my sister. Who... who are you?" After speaking, the boy weakly lowered his head and fainted.

"Huh? He's dead, he's dead, he's dead," a girl wearing a butterfly hair ornament and twin ponytails stood behind the purple-eyed girl, covering her mouth with her hands and letting out a startled cry.

"Aoi, don't make such a fuss. He's just fainted. Ah, what a pitiful child. Have the medical team take him back."

The purple-eyed girl was none other than Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira and one of the Nine Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps. The girl she called Aoi was Kanzaki Aoi, a medical staff member at the Butterfly Mansion and one of her few subordinate Demon Slayers.

Shinobu Kocho stood up and surveyed the small village, the scattered blood and severed limbs a stark, glaring sight against the bright snow.

A male Demon Slayer Corps member hurried up to Shinobu Kocho. "Miss Shinobu, we've searched everywhere. There isn't a single survivor."

"My, my, how tragic."

Shinobu Kocho smiled as if remarking on something trivial, but her purple eyes welled with endless hatred as she turned her gaze to the boy on the stretcher.

"Everyone else is dead, and you're the only one alive. Why would the demons let you go? It's not like your flesh and blood isn't tasty, is it? My, my, it looks like I'll have to discipline you properly again."