Nearly a week had passed since Shinichi joined the Hashira Training.
After a few stumbling starts, the nightly sessions had found their rhythm.
The forest behind the manor had become a sanctuary for the exhausted Demon Slayers.
"So this is the feeling of Forest Breathing," Tanjiro said with a sense of wonder, sitting cross-legged on the grass with his hands open to the sky.
"It's truly amazing."
"Comfortable is what it is," Zenitsu grumbled from his spot next to Tanjiro, where he was lying spread-eagled on the ground.
"It would be great if I could just lie here forever. Ugh, I really don't want to go back to that crazy wind guy's training tomorrow. He's actually going to kill me." He wiggled his arms and legs, as if trying to soak up more of the soothing vitality from the earth.
"Hahaha! The weakling Zenko only knows how to be lazy!" Inosuke, wearing his boar mask as always, leaped to his feet and planted his hands on his hips.
"The fresh air here is nice, I guess, but I'd rather be rubbing my blades against a demon's face!" His powerful muscles gleamed in the moonlight.
As the trio and the other Slayers settled into their practice, a dark shape streaked across the sky.
An inconspicuous Kasugai Crow, flying with frantic speed, flew over their heads and landed clumsily on Shinichi's shoulder as he sat before them.
The little crow looked like it had flown through a monsoon.
Its feathers were soaked and matted, and its small chest heaved violently.
It had clearly pushed itself to the absolute limit to get here.
Seeing its state, Shinichi reached into his pocket for the small pouch of dried fruits he kept for moments like this.
He offered a piece to the bird, curious about what could warrant such urgency.
The next second, the world fell away.
The crow's words, squawked in a rapid desperate voice, shattered the tranquility of the night.
"Hiraoka County! Suspected sighting… Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho! Inform Forest Hashira, Shinichi Moriki! Investigate at once!"
The message hit Shinichi like a physical blow.
The words exploded in his ears, and the shockwave rippled through the clearing, stunning Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, and every other Slayer who had been peacefully meditating moments before.
"What did you just say!?"
Shinichi shot to his feet instantly!
The dried fruits in his hand scattered to the ground, forgotten.
The calm mask he always wore cracked and fell away, his amber eyes blazing with a chaotic storm of disbelief, shock, and a desperate, terrifying joy.
The gentle, vast vitality that had been healing and guiding the Slayers suddenly turned volatile.
The peaceful energy became a crushing, heart-pounding pressure that spread through the clearing, a stark reminder that the forest is not only a source of life but also a place of primal, murderous power.
"News about Shinobu? She… she was seen?! In Hiraoka County!?" Shinichi's voice trembled.
He gently but firmly took hold of the exhausted crow.
"What's the source?! Where, exactly!?"
Startled by Shinichi's overwhelming aura, the crow flapped its wings weakly, its report coming out in intermittent gasps.
"Urgent… urgent call from the Kakushi! Sighting… near the abandoned textile factory… western suburbs of Hiraoka County! Description… purple hair… butterfly hairpin… and… and…"
The crow's tone became uncertain, filled with a fear of its own.
"And a strong… demonic aura! A terrifying demonic aura! The report says… several low-level demons in the area… were… instantly dissolved! As if… melted by a deadly poison!"
'Demonic aura? Dissolved by poison?'
With a sound like a thunderclap, Shinichi's body erupted into a streak of green light.
He shot out of the training ground, a blur of motion under the shocked and worried gazes of his students.
"Did that crow just say they found the Insect Hashira?"
"It sounded like it. Did you see how fast the Forest Hashira left?"
The Slayers murmured amongst themselves, but Tanjiro stared at the spot where his mentor had vanished, his expression deeply troubled.
"Shinichi-senpai…" he muttered.
"He smells of fear. And sorrow. It's like… he's been carrying this terrible secret all by himself."
…
When Shinichi burst into the training grounds of the Tokito twins, they both stopped mid-swing, confused by his sudden, frantic appearance.
Yuichiro lowered the wooden sword he'd been sparring with and approached cautiously.
"Master? What's wrong? You look…"
Shinichi took a ragged breath, forcing a sliver of calm into his racing mind.
But the longing, the desperate need to know, was a current of magma flowing through his veins, threatening to shatter the last dams of his reason.
He couldn't wait.
Not another second.
He opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto his disciple with an electric intensity.
"Yuichiro!" he cut in before the boy could ask another question.
"Master!"
The familiar, commanding tone made Yuichiro instinctively straighten his back, as if he were a new disciple once more.
"The special training… I'm leaving it in your hands!" Shinichi's voice was firm, but laced with a hint of a plea.
"Use the methods I taught you. Guide the others. Help them continue to feel the vitality of the forest."
"Ah? Master, what's happened? Are you leaving?" Yuichiro asked, bewildered.
Shinichi quickly relayed the crow's message, his words clipped and urgent.
"Hiraoka County!?" Yuichiro's eyes went wide.
He had been there that day.
He had seen the demon's fist pierce Shinobu's chest.
As much as he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't imagine how any human could survive that.
And when he heard about the demonic aura… a horrifying guess began to form in his mind.
"Master," Yuichiro said anxiously, his voice dropping.
"If this is really news about Shinobu-san… then you know what that could mean, right? She might be…"
"I have to go!" Shinichi's voice was like steel, cutting off his student's words.
He knew what Yuichiro was thinking.
"I don't care what she's become. I will find her, and I will bring her back!"
His gaze fell on Yuichiro, filled with a deep, heavy trust.
"I'm leaving this place in your care. Until I return… protect the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Before the words had even finished echoing in the air, Shinichi's form dissolved into a stream of emerald green light, too fast for the naked eye to follow. In an instant, he was gone.
"Master…" Yuichiro stared into the empty night, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.
He could feel the crushing weight of his master's pain and the heavy responsibility that had just been placed on his shoulders.
"Brother…?" Muichiro's quiet voice brought him back to reality.
Yuichiro looked at his younger brother's concerned face and slowly uncurled his fists.
He would honor his master's choice.
And, just as he'd been asked, he would protect the Demon Slayer Corps until he returned.
"Muichiro," he said, his voice now steady and resolute.
"You'll be in charge of our training for a while."