Tamayo and Yushiro

When Chinatsu and Tanjiro stepped out of the inn, the crow flapped its wings happily. Following its cries, they made their way to a deserted corner, where it opened its beak and spoke in a human voice.

"Next is Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture! There are rumors of a demon lurking there!"

Having delivered its message, it hurriedly flapped its wings and flew away, giving Tanjiro no chance to talk to it.

"That's so amazing. Sis, how do you think the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters trains crows to speak like that?" Tanjiro murmured curiously as he watched the crow disappear into the sky.

"Who knows? There are plenty of absurd things in this world," Chinatsu replied casually. She turned toward the direction the crow had indicated. Their next destination was no ordinary place. If events followed the original story, they would encounter the Demon King, Muzan, disguised as a human in Tokyo.

Fighting him was out of the question. The Demon King might have been scum, but he was still the strongest being after Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Even if all the current Pillars fought Muzan together, he would crush them effortlessly.

"Tanjiro, let's go."

"Okay!"

Chinatsu and Tanjiro set off for Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture. Fortunately, it wasn't far from here. In the original story, Tanjiro had left in the morning and arrived at night, but at their current pace, they reached Asakusa just as the sky began to darken.

Their first impression upon arriving was sheer astonishment. Compared with this place, even calling the little town at the foot of the Kamado family's mountain the middle of nowhere wouldn't have been an exaggeration. It felt as though they had suddenly leaped forward several hundred years.

Although the sky hadn't gone completely dark, the electric streetlights were already on, their gleaming light illuminating the town. Trains rolled past from time to time along the tracks on the ground. Tanjiro's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight. He was truly Tanjiro-struck.

"H-have towns really... developed this much already?" Tanjiro muttered, his mouth hanging open.

Tanjiro desperately wanted Nezuko to see the sights before him too. Unfortunately, it wasn't completely dark yet, and Nezuko seemed to be asleep at the moment.

The city's scents were all mixed together. Tanjiro had expected it to be extremely difficult to pick out a demon's scent. He only gave it a casual try, but that attempt yielded a result.

"Sis... I smell a demon... I... think? I'm not too sure. It should be a demon's scent," Tanjiro murmured uncertainly.

This was the first time he had ever been so unsure. Normally, he could identify any scent he picked up, especially since a demon's scent was so distinct from everything else.

Chinatsu was surprised by his reaction. Tanjiro had actually caught that demon's scent. She hadn't expected that.

"Whether you're right or wrong, let's go take a look first."

"Yeah, you're right."

Tanjiro nodded. If he wanted to know whether his nose had made a mistake, he just had to go to the source of the scent and check for himself.

Chinatsu and Tanjiro set off at once. Picking up speed in the dense crowd was difficult, and they also risked being stopped and questioned by the patrolling police.

After squeezing their way through the crowd, they arrived outside a pharmacy. Tanjiro narrowed his eyes slightly and said gravely, "This is the place. There are lots of medicinal smells mixed in, but that isn't what's making me uncertain."

Tanjiro insisted that a few medicinal scents weren't enough to throw off his nose. The demon scent he had picked up really was unusual.

Chinatsu nodded, then stepped into the pharmacy. The moment she entered, she and Tanjiro spotted their targets.

A girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen, elegant and ladylike, was buying medicine with a very stern-looking boy.

As Chinatsu and Tanjiro looked toward them, the pair quickly noticed and turned to face them.

"They're demons!"

"They're from the Demon Slayer Corps!"

Tanjiro confirmed that the two before him were demons, while the stern boy recognized the sheaths of the Demon Slayer Corps' Nichirin Blades at Chinatsu's and Tanjiro's waists.

Both sides immediately grew tense. Only Chinatsu beside Tanjiro and the girl beside the hotheaded boy remained calm.

"Wait, Yushiro. They're different from ordinary Demon Slayers." The girl swept out an arm, stopping Yushiro, who was ready to attack at any moment.

The girl's ethereal eyes rested on Chinatsu. She sensed a very unusual scent from her. It felt somewhat demonic, but the human part was stronger.

"Are you... one of us? No... the one in the box on this boy's back is one of us, isn't she?" the girl said softly.

Since they were in a pharmacy with ordinary people around, she couldn't use the word "demon" outright.

Tanjiro watched the pair warily. He had no idea what the female demon before him was thinking. If Yushiro beside her hadn't been radiating such intense hostility, Tanjiro might have calmed down and talked with her...

"This isn't a convenient place to talk. If you're willing, could you both come to our residence? I don't think you would regret it."

The girl's voice was very gentle, and every word and gesture exuded a ladylike grace. She was on an entirely different level from Chinatsu, who merely pretended to be a lady.

Hearing that they were being invited to a demon's residence, Tanjiro looked hesitant. He turned toward Chinatsu, hoping to see what his sister thought, only to find her face expressionless and unreadable.

Tanjiro: What is Sis thinking?

Yushiro: This woman... something's off about her.

Chinatsu: Hehe~ Things are moving this fast? I was just wondering how to make friends with Tamayo and the others, but she's sent a friend request herself. Nice~

Outwardly, Chinatsu gave a faint smile and said, "Then please lead the way. My brother also said your scent was different from that of ordinary demons, so I'm very interested in you too."

An unusual scent?

Tamayo and Yushiro turned toward Tanjiro beside Chinatsu, surprised and puzzled. To think he could actually smell their aura-what kind of nose could do that?

Tamayo then politely led Chinatsu and Tanjiro toward her residence. Along the way, Yushiro, who served as her attendant, kept glaring fiercely at them.

After passing through an illusory wall, the two followed Tamayo to her residence, a large three-story mansion.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tamayo, and this boy is Yushiro. Though we're both demons, we've broken free of Muzan's control. We're now hiding from his search while looking for a way to defeat him."