Demon Slayer: Dragon Hashira#46/47: Comatose, Tanjiro Hunted by Hotaru Haganezuka

Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters

"CAW! Dragon Hashira Kaidō and Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku jointly repelled Upper Rank Three! CAW! Zero casualties—everyone survived! Dragon Hashira Kaidō critically injured!!"

The crows circled Headquarters three times, their cries echoing at maximum volume.

Shock rippled through the Corps members below.

"What?? Kaidō-kun is... Shinobu, quickly!" Kanae urged, her face paling.

"I'm on it, sister!" Shinobu replied instantly, already moving.

"Those Upper Rank bastards... one day I'll settle this score!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's expression turned vicious upon hearing the news.

"Upper Rank Three, huh?" Tengen Uzui crouched on a rooftop, processing the information. "That flamboyant kid Kaidō and Kyojuro teamed up and only managed to repel him..."

After a moment, a grin spread across his face. "Kid, you're seriously flamboyant. Looks like I need to step up my game too. Next time, we'll fight side-by-side and flamboyantly cut down an Upper Rank together!"

"Obanai, Kaidō-kun will be okay, right?" Mitsuri Kanroji clasped her hands to her chest anxiously.

"He'll be fine..."

Obanai Iguro replied, though his visible eye flashed with deadly intent. "If anything happens to him, I'll personally hunt down that demon and take its head."

Giyu Tomioka listened to his crow's report in silence. After a long pause, the barest hint of a smile touched his lips. "As long as he's alive..."

Gyomei Himejima gazed toward the distant horizon, hands clasped. "Namu Amida Butsu... Upper Rank Three's power was beyond expectations. Kaidō, you must recover."

—————

Ubuyashiki Estate

"Kaidō, Kyojuro... my children, you have worked so hard,"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's voice was warm despite his underlying concern. "Not only did you protect over two hundred passengers, but you also repelled an Upper Rank demon. Amane, once they have recovered, we shall visit them together."

"Yes, Master," Amane replied softly.

—————

Butterfly Mansion

"Hurry! Dragon Hashira and Flame Hashira are critically injured—emergency transport to the Butterfly Mansion!" Kakushi members rushed forward with stretchers, their movements urgent.

Tanjiro and the others were also carried on Kakushi backs, heading swiftly for treatment.

Inside the Mansion, Kanae directed the chaos. "How did Kaidō-kun and Kyojuro get hurt this badly?? Quickly, bring them inside! Shinobu, help me!"

"I am not important—treat young Kaidō first! His injuries are far worse than mine!" Kyojuro insisted, even while being carried.

"Understood! Aoi, Kiyo, Sumi, Naho—Rengoku-san and the other four are your responsibility!" Kanae ordered.

"Yes, Flower Hashira-sama!" they replied in unison, scrambling to prepare beds and supplies.

—————

When Retsuki heard her brother had returned, joy flooded through her, quickly followed by icy fear when she learned he was gravely injured. She sprinted from Kaidō's estate toward the Butterfly Mansion, heart pounding.

She searched frantically through the bustling building.

"Aoi-nee! Where is my brother? How is he? Is he okay?? Tell me where he is!" Retsuki grabbed Aoi's hands, tears streaming down her face, her small body trembling.

Kaidō was her only family now, the thought of losing him was unbearable.

"Retsuki-chan, do not worry! Flower Hashira-sama and Insect Hashira-sama are treating him right now,"

Aoi squeezed her hands reassuringly, trying to project calm. "We are overwhelmed with patients. Help us—it will let them focus entirely on saving Dragon Hashira-sama!"

"I understand!" Retsuki agreed without hesitation, wiping her tears. She knew what needed to be done.

—————

That Night—A Luxurious Estate.

Akaza knelt respectfully on one knee outside a second-floor balcony, reporting to the child-like figure inside. "Lord Muzan, I have come to report."

The child was Muzan Kibutsuji, currently disguised as someone's young son.

"Did you find it?" Muzan asked, his pupils instantly turning blood-red, radiating malice.

"I conducted a thorough investigation but found no concrete leads," Akaza reported dutifully. "I was unable to locate the legendary Blue Spider Lily. And then—"

"And then you failed to kill those two Hashira because you had to flee the sunlight, correct?" Muzan's voice was ice.

Akaza remained kneeling, silent.

"Akaza, you seem to have misunderstood something," Muzan continued, his tone turning venomous. "I want the Demon Slayer Corps annihilated. Wiped from existence so they can never interfere with me again!"

"But what did you do? You did not find the Blue Spider Lily. You did not kill those two Hashira. You did not destroy the Demon Slayer Corps!" His voice rose, sharp with displeasure. "Not only that, but you were humiliated by the same Demon Slayer Doma let escape!"

"You were even struck by a swordsman who is not even a Hashira while fleeing! AKAZA!! I AM DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED!!" Muzan tore the book in his hands to shreds.

Overwhelming pressure crashed down on Akaza, his body began cracking, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.

After a moment, Muzan regained his composure, looking down at the kneeling demon. "It seems even Upper Rank Three has begun to decay... You are dismissed."

"Yes, Lord Muzan." Akaza vanished into the shadows.

Akaza reappeared in a nearby forest.

Three Nichirin blades were embedded in the ground before a tree. One was Tanjiro's intact blade. The other two were broken—a greatsword with only the blade remaining, and a crimson blade snapped clean in half.

Staring at Tanjiro's sword, rage built inside Akaza. He threw a single punch, shattering it into pieces.

"Your face... I will remember it. Next time we meet, I am caving your skull in!!" Akaza's expression shifted as he thought of the other Hashira.

"And that white-haired boy... I cannot believe you reached the Supreme Territory. I am looking forward to our next encounter. What will you be like then?? Hahaha!!" He disappeared again.

<><><><><><><><>

Two Weeks Later—Butterfly Mansion

Two weeks had passed since the Mugen Train incident.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke had recovered enough for limited movement but remained under observation before rehabilitation could begin.

Kyojuro, having only sustained minor fractures and superficial injuries, was instructed to rest for another two weeks. He readily agreed, requesting permission to visit his family estate the next day, which was approved.

"Tanjiro, are you okay?" Zenitsu asked, noticing Tanjiro's unusually dejected mood. For once, his concern seemed genuine.

"Zenitsu... am I too weak?"

Tanjiro stared at the still-unconscious Kaidō in the bed beside Kyojuro's empty one. "If I were stronger, would Kaidō-san have avoided getting hurt like this?"

In the original timeline, Kyojuro's death had plunged Tanjiro into despair.

Now, Kyojuro had survived with relatively minor injuries, but Tanjiro blamed himself instead, consumed by guilt over his perceived weakness contributing to Kaidō's critical condition.

"Young Kamado, do not blame yourself,"

Kyojuro's voice, though gone from the room now, echoed in Tanjiro's memory from earlier. "Young Kaidō was fulfilling his duty as a Hashira. If I had been alone, I would have done the same."

Kyojuro understood the truth. If not for whatever affliction struck Kaidō, the two of them might have stalled Akaza until dawn, perhaps even defeated him. But he also worried about the darkness that had emerged from Kaidō.

"Rengoku," Tanjiro had asked before Kyojuro left, "what kind of person is Kaidō-san? I feel like there is something... different about him."

The memory of the suffocating scents—fury, hatred, bloodlust—radiating from Kaidō during the battle haunted him.

"Mm! Young Kaidō is incredibly strong and quite mysterious," Kyojuro had replied thoughtfully. "But everything he has done has earned the Demon Slayer Corps' respect and admiration."

He then recounted Kaidō's feats: becoming a Hashira in under a month, delaying the Master's curse, slaying Upper Rank Five, reviving Kanae Kocho and his own mother... Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke had listened in disbelief, though Kaidō's various impossible feats somehow made it all seem plausible.

—————

The Next Morning – Rengoku Estate

Kyojuro knocked on the door of his family home. His younger brother, Senjuro, answered.

"Big brother! Welcome home!" Senjuro's face lit up with pure joy.

"Mm! Senjuro, I am back! Are Father and Mother here?"

"Yes. They have been waiting for you."

Inside, Shinjuro and Ruka Rengoku sat formally on the tatami mats.

"Father, Mother, I am home!"

"You are back... thank god you are back!" Shinjuro's eyes glistened, relief evident in his strained voice.

"Kyojuro, come here," Ruka smiled gently, beckoning him closer. Kyojuro knelt before her, and she pulled him into a warm embrace. "Kyojuro, you did wonderfully."

"No, Mother—please do not say that! If not for young Kaidō, I might have—"

"Both you and that boy are my pride," Ruka interrupted softly. She felt incredibly fortunate, without Kaidō, she would not have been revived to see her family again. She thought of him as another son.

At that moment, Kyojuro's Kasugai Crow flew in through an open window.

"Master summons! Master summons!" It raised its leg, revealing a letter tied to it.

Shinjuro carefully removed the letter and read it. Most of it contained Kagaya's words of comfort and concern, concluding with a request for both Shinjuro and Kyojuro to attend a Hashira meeting in three days.

"Please tell the Master that in three days, I will bring Kyojuro to the meeting," Shinjuro instructed the crow.

"Understood! CAW!" The crow departed.

—————

Back at the Butterfly Mansion

"Retsuki-chan, you need to rest too. You have not slept properly in over two weeks. If your brother wakes up and finds out, he will be heartbroken,"

Aoi gently scolded, watching Retsuki carefully wipe Kaidō's face.

"I am fine, Aoi-nee. Compared to what oniichan has done, this is nothing." For two weeks, Retsuki had barely left Kaidō's side, resting only briefly with her head on the edge of his bed when exhaustion claimed her.

Zenitsu watched the adorable girl's devotion. Jealousy and envy churned inside him. 'Tanjiro has a cute demon sister—fine! But why does Kaidō also have an adorable sister looking after him like this??'

If he knew Retsuki had once been Lower Rank Six...

—————

Ubuyashiki Estate—Three Days Later.

The Hashira assembled for the special meeting. Shinjuro and Kyojuro arrived last.

"Everyone, good morning!" Kyojuro greeted cheerfully.

"Oh my, good morning, Rengoku-san, former Flame Hashira-sama," Shinobu replied with a smile.

"Haha! You all look spirited!" Shinjuro's gaze found Kanae. "Kanae-san, how is young Kaidō?"

"Kaidō-kun is recovering, but he has not woken up yet," Kanae answered softly.

"I see. I pray he recovers soon."

"The Master has arrived!" the twins announced.

Everyone dropped respectfully to one knee.

"Good morning, my beloved children. Shinjuro-san, thank you for attending," Kagaya greeted warmly.

"Master, you honor me. Though retired, I still wish to contribute however I can."

"Today's meeting concerns the Mugen Train incident and Dragon Hashira Kaidō. Kyojuro, please report."

"Yes, Master." Kyojuro recounted the events, including the details of Kaidō's berserk transformation.

Silence followed. The Hashira absorbed the information. Upper Rank Three's power was immense. If he alone was that strong, what about Two and One? Kaidō's transformation was equally shocking—fighting evenly with such a monster.

"So... it finally emerged..." Kagaya murmured thoughtfully.

The meeting continued until the afternoon. Before dismissing them, Kagaya asked Shinjuro to temporarily manage Kaidō's patrol zone, which he accepted without hesitation. Kagaya also asked Kanae to cover Kyojuro's territory while he fully healed.

—————

Two Months Later

Time flew.

Two months passed.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke continued their rehabilitation training. But Kaidō remained unconscious. Kagaya, Ruka, and Senjuro had all visited, offering prayers for his recovery.

Following Kyojuro's earlier advice, Tanjiro visited the Rengoku estate again to inquire about Hinokami Kagura. Seeing Tanjiro's earrings and appearance, Shinjuro immediately recalled the legacy of Sun Breathing and explained what little he knew.

Tanjiro, however, knew nothing of this, only that his father, Tanjuro Kamado, had passed the earrings down with instructions to preserve them.

Shinjuro searched the family records but found key pages missing. Embarrassed, he promised to help Tanjiro uncover the truth.

Leaving the Rengoku estate, Tanjiro spotted a familiar, terrifying figure.

"Haganezuka-san! How have you be—" His greeting turned into a yelp of horror.

Hotaru Haganezuka stood before him, two swords strapped to his head, gripping two more in his hands, radiating pure murderous intent.

"H-Haganezuka-san!!"

"YOU LOST YOUR SWORD?? YOU BRAT—YOU DESERVE DEATH!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

"I AM SORRY! I AM TRULY SORRY! AHHHHH! SOMEONE HELP MEEEE!"

Haganezuka charged, dual blades flashing. Tanjiro bolted.

And so began another legendary chase around the Butterfly Mansion grounds, hunter and hunted locked in their cycle.

Tanjiro eventually scrambled up a tree, only for Haganezuka to spot him moments later, resuming the relentless pursuit. From morning to noon, noon to sunset, without pause.

If Kaidō had been awake, he likely would have found a comfortable spot on the wall, munching an apple, and enjoyed the show.