The morning sunlight streamed through the shoji windows of the Butterfly Mansion, painting golden lines across the tatami floor. Outside, wisteria petals drifted lazily in the soft breeze, their faint fragrance mingling with the aroma of steamed rice and grilled fish, as the recovering Demon Slayers gathered for breakfast.
At the long table sat Kamado Tanjiro, Agatsuma Zenitsu, and Hashibira Inosuke, each wrapped head to toe in fresh bandages.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, every part of me hurts!" Zenitsu groaned dramatically as he sat down, clutching his stomach. "Even breathing hurts! And why is the medicine so bitter?! Are they trying to kill me before the demons do?!"
Tanjiro smiled kindly, pressing his hands together before his meal. "That means your body's healing, Zenitsu. Pain means you're getting better again. And the medicine may be bitter, but it's helping you recover. We should be grateful to Aoi-san and the others."
Inosuke slammed his palm against his chest. "Food! Bring me more food! I need meat! I am the king of the mountain!"
Zenitsu winced. "You sound like a dying boar, so please stop talking!"
"Hah?! Say that again, yellow coward!" Inosuke barked, puffing up his chest.
Tanjiro chuckled softly. "You're improving, Inosuke. Your voice sounds a lot less painful today."
Just then, the door slid open. Aoi Kanzaki entered, balancing a tray of food. Her face was slightly red, no doubt still flustered from what she'd accidentally seen last night.
When Shinobu-sama told her to bring dinner to the "new guests," she hadn't thought twice. As someone used to tending patients, she often entered rooms without knocking.
After last night, however… she had firmly decided she would never make that mistake again.
Tanjiro, ever perceptive, noticed her distracted expression immediately. "Aoi-san? Are you feeling all right? You look… a little flushed."
"Eh? Ah, n-no, I'm fine!" she stammered, waving her hands quickly. "Just a little tired, that's all. We, um, have two new guests staying with us since yesterday, so I've been a bit busy."
"Guests?" Zenitsu froze mid-bite. "W-Wait, guests?! What kind of guests? They're not from the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Aoi shook her head. "No, they're foreigners. Shinobu-sama said they're from another land… they fight creatures similar to demons."
Tanjiro's eyes brightened like a child hearing a new story. "Really?! Demon Slayers from another country? That's incredible! Are there demons overseas, too? Do they use breathing techniques as well?"
"I don't know much," Aoi admitted, fidgeting with her apron. "But apparently… they fell from the sky right after the Hashira meeting yesterday."
"Fell… from the sky?!" both Tanjiro and Zenitsu exclaimed in unison.
Tanjiro tilted his head, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "How did they do that?"
"I don't know," Aoi said honestly. "I only saw them for a moment."
Zenitsu leaned in eagerly, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "You saw them? What do they look like? Are they tall? Scary? Weird?!"
Aoi's face turned an even deeper shade of red as last night's memory flashed in her mind. "N-no! They're… actually very polite! And—um—well, they're both… very good-looking! That's all!" she blurted out before hastily fleeing the room, tray clutched tightly in her hands.
Zenitsu jumped to his feet, waving after her in panic. "W-wait! Tell us moreeee!" he wailed, his voice echoing through the hallway as Aoi disappeared around the corner.
Inosuke snorted loudly. "If they're strong, I'll fight them!"
"No fighting, Inosuke," Tanjiro sighed, smiling patiently. "They're guests."
As they spoke, the door slid open again, this time revealing Kocho Shinobu, followed by two unfamiliar figures.
The room fell silent.
Akira's white hair caught the morning sunlight, almost glowing, while his purple eyes shimmered faintly like distant stars. His presence was calm yet commanding, as if the air itself recognised his existence.
Following him was Erika, her golden-blonde hair gleaming softly, her blue eyes clear as the morning sky. Even at first glance, everyone in the room could tell they were different.
Tanjiro's nose twitched instinctively. "Their scent…", he thought. "He smells like a wolf… and she smells like… roses tinged with blood?"
But Zenitsu was the one who looked the most shocked.
The moment his eyes landed on Akira, his expression froze. His supernatural hearing was so sharp that it could pick up the faintest sound; he could even hear the heartbeat of everyone in this room, but for some reason from Akira, he couldn't hear a single heartbeat from Akira.
Even demons had heartbeats. But the boy standing before him had none.
Zenitsu's face drained of colour. His lips trembled.
"T-TANJIROOO!" he shrieked, pointing at Akira with a shaking finger. "T-that guy, he's a ghost! A GHOST, I TELL YOU! SAVE MEEE!"
He immediately dove behind Tanjiro, clutching his clothes and wailing like a terrified child.
Everyone in the room froze, eyes wide at the sudden outburst. Even Akira blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the dramatic reaction.
Shinobu tilted her head slightly, her usual calm smile unwavering. "A ghost, you say? Zenitsu-kun, what do you mean?"
Zenitsu pointed a trembling finger at Akira. "He…he doesn't have a heartbeat! N-none! Not a single beat!"
Tanjiro looked astonished, and even Inosuke stopped eating mid-bite. For Zenitsu, whose hearing could detect even the faintest vibration, this was no small statement.
With his snow-white hair and starlit violet eyes, Akira looked almost ethereal, with his otherworldly handsome looks. To Zenitsu, he might as well have been a spirit wearing a human form.
Even Akira, who had been quietly taking in the scene, blinked in surprise. "Oh, right… I forgot about his hearing thing".
Shinobu chuckled softly. "Ah, yes, Uzui-san mentioned that too. You have no heartbeat. We didn't have the chance to ask why yesterday… so, would you mind explaining?"
"It's nothing dramatic," Akira said casually. "It's nothing special. I used to have a heart, too, but I lost it in a fight about seven years ago. So… no heart now."
The room fell silent again. Even Inosuke blinked.
Shinobu tilted her head slightly, still smiling. "How… fascinating. But tell me, Akira-san, how exactly is someone supposed to live after losing their heart?"
Akira shrugged. "It's not that different. If someone loses a hand or a leg, they can still live, right?"
"But people die when they lose their heart," Shinobu countered.
Akira grinned faintly. "Just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right."
Shinobu blinked. "Oh? And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I have something else that works as my heart," Akira explained casually. "Like a prosthetic. An artifact that replaces it."
Shinobu's curiosity deepened. "A… prosthetic heart? How intriguing. I'd love to study it sometime."
"I'll explain later," Akira said, waving a hand. "Right now, I'm hungry."
Shinobu exhaled softly and turned to the others. "Everyone, these are Akira and Erika. They're from another country, and they're not human. But they're also not demons, so please treat them as our guests."
Everyone looked even more stunned.
Tanjiro leaned forward curiously. "Not human? Then… are you demons?"
"Nope," Akira said simply. "It's complicated, but you can think of me as a magician. And Erika here is..."
"I'm a dhampir," Erika said calmly. "Part human, part vampire."
She was someone who usually hid that part of her, but recently, she'd decided to accept who she was, especially if she wanted to stay beside Akira.
Tanjiro blinked. "Vampire? What's that?"
"I'll explain as we eat," Akira said, taking a seat with Erika and Shinobu. From thin air, he pulled out something glowing.
Everyone froze again.
Akira looked around. "What?"
Erika sighed softly. "Everyone's surprised because you just used your inventory."
"Oh." Akira looked down at the glowing item. "This is just basic storage magic. I can store anything I want."
Shinobu's eyes sparkled with interest. "I see… And what is that glowing thing you just took out?" she asked, pointing to the object, a blue glowing jelly-like bar.
"This?" Akira held it up. "My supplement. My metabolism is extremely high; I'd normally have to eat fifty people's worth of food in a meal. But this keeps me full."
Tanjiro sniffed curiously. "It smells… really bad. Is that edible?"
"Not for humans," Akira said. "But don't worry, I can eat the inedible."
He took a bite of the glowing Energy Bar Alpha, his face twisting at the taste, but he still finished it like nothing was wrong. Only after that did he start eating the normal food.
As they ate, Shinobu turned to Erika. "So, Erika-san, you'll be starting training today, correct?"
Erika nodded. "Yes. I want to get stronger as fast as possible." Indeed, she would be trained by the Love Hashira, who seemed unusually excited to teach her how to better control her ribbons.
"Very good," Shinobu said with a smile. "Mitsuri-san will be instructing you. She seemed quite… enthusiastic about teaching you."
Erika looked slightly flustered. "She did seem very happy…"
Then Shinobu turned to Akira. "And what about you, Akira-san?"
"I can train myself," he said with a grin. "But I'd like to read all your records on demons and breathing styles first. Shouldn't take long."
Shinobu's expression didn't change, but her voice was laced with amusement. "All of them? That would take days, even for a scholar."
Akira leaned back confidently, smirking. "There's no such thing as impossible."
Zenitsu, who had been oddly quiet this whole time, stared at him, internally panicking. "Who the hell is this guy?! Why's he so good-looking?! Is he trying to flirt with Shinobu-san?! What if he meets Nezuko-chan? No, no, he can't meet Nezuko-chan! He'll definitely flirt with her too!! I'm doomed!!!"
Akira suddenly turned to Shinobu again. "Oh, Shinobu-san, these people are recovering patients, right?"
"Yes," she said. "They're all recuperating from their last mission."
Akira's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "I see… Then, would it be all right if I observe their treatments and rehabilitation? I have a feeling I can learn something valuable from it."
Zenitsu gulped. "What the heck is he planning…?"