Youthful Blond Boy Won't Dream of a Prankster Demon

After leaving the Hand Demon's territory, Kiyohiko made his way through the gloomy forest.

The hunger in his belly was like a restless beast, clawing at the walls of his stomach every so often and reminding him of his current condition.

That was also why Kiyohiko was so desperate to run into someone and find Tanjiro.

Kiyohiko's regeneration seemed to have nothing to do with Muzan's blood. At the very least, he could say Muzan's name whenever he liked. The cost was that every time he regenerated, his craving for humans and blood grew stronger. If he didn't replenish himself in time, his regeneration would also gradually weaken.

And as luck would have it, he had spent an entire day fighting the Hand Demon as soon as he arrived. Every part of Kiyohiko's body except his head had regenerated more than once.

All I did was accidentally say the name of an era. Did he have to get that angry?

Just as he was complaining, a piercing wail tore through the night sky.

"Don't come near me! Aaaaah! I'll die! I'll really die! I'm not married yet! I've never even held a girl's hand! Waaaah! I want to go home! Grandpa, help me!!"

The voice was shrill and miserable, with a distinctly... noisy quality.

Kiyohiko's eyes lit up at once.

Those lines, those decibels, that voice-who else could it be but that man?

He pushed aside the bushes and, sure enough, saw a boy in a yellow haori patterned with triangles clinging desperately to a large tree. His face was covered in snot and tears as he frantically begged an enemy that wasn't there for mercy.

The sight of Zenitsu acting like such a coward suddenly stirred Kiyohiko's mischievous side.

"Hehehe..."

Kiyohiko deliberately lowered his voice, letting out a bestial growl from his throat. He silently circled behind the tree, then abruptly stuck his head out, his expression shifting in an instant into a hideous demonic grimace. He opened his mouth and shouted in Zenitsu's ear:

"Boo!! Dinner time!!"

"Eeeeeeyaaaaaah-!!!"

Zenitsu's scream shot up eight octaves, practically shattering Kiyohiko's eardrums. His eyes rolled back, and his whole body convulsed violently as if he'd been electrocuted. Then his legs kicked out, and he fell stiffly backward.

"Thud."

The world fell silent.

Seeing Zenitsu foaming at the mouth, completely unconscious, Kiyohiko couldn't help clutching his stomach and bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha! You scare way too easily! Hey, hey, wake up, yellow dandelion?"

Laughing, Kiyohiko walked over and gently nudged Zenitsu's calf with the tip of his foot. Seeing no reaction from him, Kiyohiko let his guard drop to its lowest.

"Tch, what an idiot, falling asleep and leaving himself at anyone's mercy... wait."

Kiyohiko's smile suddenly froze on his face.

Only then did the floodgates of memory sluggishly open.

Asleep?

At anyone's mercy?

No... it seemed I'd forgotten something. This guy... only got stronger when he was asleep!!

An unprecedented chill shot up his spine, and a sense of danger even more terrifying than when he faced the Hand Demon exploded within him.

Zenitsu's breathing changed as he lay on the ground.

His rapid, chaotic gasps vanished, replaced by breathing that was low as thunder, focused, and intensely rhythmic.

"Inhale-exhale-"

Electricity seemed to crackle through the air.

"Shit-"

Kiyohiko had just started to retreat when the figure lying on the ground vanished.

Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash.

A bolt of golden lightning flashed through the dark forest, too fast for even an afterimage to register on the retina.

Immediately afterward, warm liquid sprayed out.

Kiyohiko stood rooted to the spot, his vision suddenly tilting. He felt a chill on his neck, followed by a searing pain.

He instinctively raised a hand to feel it.

His neck... had been cut halfway through.

If he hadn't instinctively leaned back a centimeter just now, his head would already have rolled onto the ground to be kicked around like a ball.

"Cough... cough, cough!!"

Blood gushed from the cut, staining his cloth clothes red. But the next second, his terrifying demonic regeneration was forcibly triggered.

Thick white smoke rose from the wound as new tissue writhed and intertwined, reconnecting his severed windpipe, blood vessels, and muscles in just two seconds.

The aching itch and agony of his flesh knitting back together nearly brought Kiyohiko to his knees.

The culprit, Zenitsu, stood not far away, still in the stance of someone who had drawn his sword and struck. Then he fell onto his back, a snot bubble expanding and contracting beneath his nose as he slept soundly.

"Fuck you, asshole!!!"

Kiyohiko felt his freshly healed neck and pointed at the sleeping Zenitsu, cursing him at the top of his lungs without a thought for appearances.

"What's wrong with you?! I was just saying hello! Playing a joke! And you went straight for my neck?! The whole story almost ended right there, you know that?! It's fucking lucky it was me! Anyone else would be stone-cold dead by now!"

He stamped his feet in fury. That slash had not only injured his body, but also drained the little energy he had left.

The hunger in his belly instantly doubled. Looking at the boy before him, who smelled so enticing, Kiyohiko felt his eyes turn red beyond his control, and drool dripped onto the grass.

Bro, why did you suddenly start smelling so good?

"You got me..."

Kiyohiko slapped himself hard and forcibly tore his gaze away from Zenitsu's pale neck.

"I'm never casually scaring a mental patient again... what rotten luck!"

Kiyohiko crouched beside him and studied that familiar face by moonlight. The lingering phantom pain of his neck being sliced open still plagued him, making him grind his teeth.

"You really can't judge a person by their looks, looking like a yellow dandelion and all..."

He reached out and gently patted the tear-streaked face.

"Hey, wake up. The sun's shining on your butt."

"Pop."

The snot bubble burst.

Zenitsu Agatsuma's eyelids fluttered violently a few times before snapping open. The moment his unfocused eyes sharpened, the first thing he saw was Kiyohiko's face, deathly pale in the moonlight and wearing an eerie smile.

"Oh, you're awake, little blondie."

Kiyohiko deliberately lowered his voice and stretched his mouth into an extremely "kind" smile, revealing two pointed canine teeth.

"How should I thank you?"

Zenitsu turned to stone on the spot.

The next instant, Zenitsu's pupils shrank to pinpoints, his face went from pale to ashen, and the yellow dandelion blossomed. His mouth opened to an incredible extent, and deep in his throat, a scream powerful enough to shatter mountains and rivers began to build.

"D-d-d-d-demon, aaaaaah-!!!"

Just as the high-pitched scream was about to burst from his throat, Zenitsu's eyes rolled back and his body went rigid again, on the verge of passing out.

The smile vanished from Kiyohiko's face.

"Shit! Bro! Don't faint! Whatever you do, don't faint!!"