Headquarters meeting: Children, trust me!

Kirishima Bupai watched Shinobu Kocho's purple-clad figure rapidly recede, shrugged helplessly, and followed.

The two walked silently through the forest at night, one behind the other, accompanied only by their footsteps and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The next morning-

Faint morning light dispersed the thin mist over the courtyard of the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

Only a scattering of figures stood in the clearing for the Hashira Meeting; just a few Hashira had arrived early.

Kirishima Bupai let out a huge yawn, slowly rose from the stone block in the corner, and stretched as though trying to pull every muscle and joint loose.

"Ugh, down again..."

He glanced at the system panel in his mind that only he could see: [Points: 1825].

He had squandered nearly all the points he earned slaughtering his way through Spider Mountain yesterday. It was all the fault of that damned shop and its dazzling array of modern delicacies.

That pig's trotter rice from his memories, rich with braised fragrance, fatty and tender, its meat falling off the bone, and that glossy, fragrant chicken feet rice...

After tasting the flavors of the future produced by the system, the plain food of this era tasted like wax.

He rubbed his protesting stomach and sighed. "Yamato, oh, Yamato, looks like you'll have to wait a little longer... Once I get you, I'm definitely going to have some fun in other anime worlds!"

He deftly spent 35 points, and a serving of pig's trotter rice instantly appeared in his hands, covered in rich sauce and topped with an enormous whole pig's trotter and a thick fried pork cutlet.

The rich aroma of meat spread overpoweringly through the air.

While there were still few people around, he quickly slipped behind a thick old tree and began wolfing it down without a shred of decorum.

"Wow! Lord Void Hashira, you got here so early!" an energetic voice rang out.

Mitsuri Kanroji came skipping over, her pink-and-green eyes sparkling as she stared at the corner of clothing sticking out from behind the tree. "Lord Void Hashira, your outfit makes you look even more handsome today! So trendy, like a model!"

She cupped her cheeks as she spoke, making no attempt to hide her admiration or infatuation.

"Hmph!" Not far away, Obanai Iguro, perched on a higher branch, gave an extremely displeased snort.

His bandaged face turned toward Kirishima Bupai, his eyes as sharp as knives. Even Kaburamaru, coiled around his neck, flicked his tongue with a hiss.

Utterly unconcerned, Kirishima Bupai swallowed a mouthful of soft rice and poked his head out from behind the tree, his cheeks bulging.

Meeting Iguro's eyes up in the tree, he lowered his voice teasingly. "Hey, hey, are you lovebirds having a spat? Why are you so far apart? Had a fight?"

"Pfft-cough, cough!"

Obanai Iguro, who had been drinking water, nearly choked. His cheeks beneath his bandages instantly turned scarlet, and even the tips of his ears flushed red.

Flustered, he shouted in a hushed voice, "Y-you're talking nonsense! Shut up! Go eat your food!"

"Umu! Young Kirishima! Enjoying your breakfast with such vigor again today!" Kyojuro Rengoku's booming voice broke through that little moment of romantic tension.

He strode over, his flame-patterned haori particularly dazzling in the morning light, his brilliant smile seeming to shine all on its own. "Up so early! You must be brimming with boundless energy today as well! What an invigorating day!"

Tengen Uzui also made a flamboyant entrance, his jeweled earrings sparkling as he surveyed Kirishima Bupai's thoroughly modern casual outfit. "Hmm, as flamboyantly fashionable as ever! Except..."

As he spoke, his keen gaze shifted toward Shinobu Kocho, who stood quietly nearby with a gentle smile. "...Shinobu, why are you looking at this flamboyant young man with such frightening eyes?"

"Didn't you two just get back from a mission together?" Tengen Uzui was clearly somewhat baffled, and as soon as he finished speaking, he began looking the two of them over again.

His words instantly drew everyone's attention to Shinobu Kocho and Kirishima Bupai, who was still busily shoveling down rice.

The curve of Shinobu Kocho's smile did not change in the slightest, and her voice was as soft as a breeze brushing over flower petals. "My, Mr. Tengen, whatever do you mean? What dangerous look?"

Her purple eyes curved into crescents, yet her gaze drifted toward Kirishima Bupai. "There was just a little mishap during yesterday's mission. A certain [incomparably ferocious demon] caught me off guard and attacked me, so certain places are still aching a little, that's all."

As she spoke, she very naturally rubbed the outer edge of her shapely bottom with her right hand, as though merely adjusting her haori.

"Pfft-cough, cough, cough!"

Kirishima Bupai nearly choked on the pig's trotter in his mouth and began coughing violently, his face bright red, half from choking and half from embarrassment.

After finally catching his breath, he cleared his throat and looked up at the sky, his gaze wandering. "A demon? Cough, cough... I don't know. I don't know anything... Hmm, lovely weather today..."

"Damn it!!! Let me go! Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts! Let's have a fair fight! Aaaaaah!!!" A ghostly, howling roar approached from the distance, instantly shattering the delicate atmosphere.

Tanjiro and Inosuke were being escorted over by members of the Kakushi.

The treatment the two received was worlds apart...

Tanjiro's hands and feet had only been bound with rope as a formality, and he could still stumble along on his own, his face full of worry.

As for Inosuke...

He resembled a human rice dumpling, tightly trussed up from head to toe in tough rope, able only to writhe frantically on the ground like a giant spring worm.

As he struggled, hot white breaths kept billowing from beneath his boar's-head mask, and his mouth continued pouring out noise.

At the same time, sounds of an argument came from another direction.

Sanemi Shinazugawa strode over impatiently, conspicuously carrying the wooden box containing Nezuko.

Several Kakushi members bustled anxiously around him, pleading, "Lord Wind Hashira! Lord Wind Hashira! Please! Put the box down! You're making things very difficult for us! The Master's orders were..."

Sanemi Shinazugawa completely ignored the noisy Kakushi around him.

His vicious gaze stabbed almost tangibly into Tanjiro as he was escorted over, then into Kirishima Bupai hiding behind the tree.

The Hashira immediately focused on Tanjiro and the conspicuous box.

"Oh? So this is the swordsman traveling with a demon?" Tengen Uzui raised an eyebrow, his flamboyant tone carrying scrutiny.

"Sheltering a demon when you're a Demon Slayer is utterly absurd!" Obanai Iguro said coldly.

"Umu! Though I don't know the circumstances, a demon's very existence is a threat!" Kyojuro Rengoku's expression was grave.

"Lord Void Hashira, don't tell me you've been taken in by a demon's appearance?" Mitsuri Kanroji set aside her infatuation as well and looked worriedly at Kirishima Bupai.

"The serpent is right. Void Hashira, softheartedness will only lead to disaster. Release a tiger back into the mountains, and it will eventually devour someone!" Gyomei Himejima pressed his palms together, his heavy prayer beads clacking softly.

Facing everyone's doubts, Kirishima calmly pulled a Snickers bar from his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and began crunching away.

He swallowed the sickly sweet energy bar and brushed the crumbs off his hands, his tone as composed as ever. "Trust me this once, everyone..."

"Tanjiro's younger sister, Nezuko, is a demon, but she has never harmed anyone. She hasn't in the past, she won't now, and she certainly won't in the future. She's special."

"Ridiculous!" Sanemi Shinazugawa roughly planted the wooden box on the ground, his lips spreading into a vicious smile.

Sneering, he bared his sharp canine teeth and pointed at Kirishima Bupai. "Did you get your head caught in a door? Or is your brain clogged with paste? What demon in this world doesn't eat people? How can you even spout such naive bullshit?!"

He panted, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly finding Kirishima Bupai's insistence infuriating and absurd.