The air was thick in Yoshiwara, the scent of incense tangled with something far more ominous—blood and silence.
Tanjiro, still undercover at Tokito House, was investigating a lead when something strange occurred. Just as he stepped into a narrow, lantern-lit alley between two courtesan homes, a figure passed by.
A boy, perhaps twenty at most, cloaked in deep, layered robes, his face hidden beneath a porcelain mask. His stride was silent, his aura unreadable.
"You are… interesting, Tanjiro Kamado," he said softly, not stopping, not even turning.
Tanjiro froze, heart thrumming. By the time he turned to look—the boy was gone. Not a footstep echoed. No presence remained. Only a strange sense of authority and pressure, like the presence of a Hashira—or perhaps something older.
Tanjiro stood in the alley for a moment longer before shaking the chill off his spine and continuing his search. The mission took priority.
Back in their assigned houses, each of the trio gathered their evidence. The clues pointed to one central figure—the renowned Oiran Warabihime, famed for her beauty… and the air of death that clung to her. It was soon revealed that Warabihime was in fact a demon: Daki, one of the Twelve Kizuki. Her silken sashes, her Blood Demon Art, allowed her to separate her body and control the district unseen.
Tanjiro confronted her first.
The battle erupted into the night sky, paper lanterns shattered, windows broke, rooftops were torn apart. Daki unleashed her razor-sharp belts, slicing through buildings as if they were nothing. Tanjiro countered with Hinokami Kagura, flames lighting the air with each swing. His movements grew faster, sharper, more refined—but the cost to his body was steep.
Zenitsu and Inosuke joined the fray when Daki's belt revealed it had swallowed Tengen's wives alive. They coordinated to free them, barely dodging the sashes' vicious whip-like attacks.
But then—the true terror emerged.
Daki's body, sliced cleanly in two by Tanjiro's blade, did not fall.
From her shadow, another demon rose—Gyutaro, her elder brother, fused to her by flesh and fury. His grotesque, twisted form and twin scythes emanated hatred. His speed was monstrous, his attacks laced with venom.
And worst of all, the two shared one life. Only by cutting both of their heads off at the same time could they be defeated.
Tengen Uzui joined the battle then, leaping through the fire, blades singing with sound and steel. He clashed with Gyutaro in a symphony of sparks and blood. Tanjiro and the others supported him with everything they had, even as their bodies screamed in pain and fatigue.
Daki's screams filled the district. Gyutaro laughed maniacally, his voice a mockery of humanity.
"Look at you… panting, struggling, pathetic," he snarled at Tanjiro as the flames of the burning district danced around him. "How can someone like you hope to kill a demon like me?"
Tanjiro's breathing faltered.
The flames consumed everything.
And still… they stood.