3 days later.
In the demon slayer hideout.
The room was quiet, lit only by the morning sun bleeding through pale curtains.
Ai Hanako lay on a simple bed, her pale hand resting on her chest, eyes slowly blinking open.
"It's been… three days?" she whispered, her voice still soft from rest.
She sat up carefully, brushing strands of her hair aside.
"How… how did I even survive?"
Her gaze wandered to the bandages still loosely wrapped around her wrist. She touched them lightly, then swung her legs off the bed.
"I'm glad the others made it too… at least, I hope they did."
Later.
At Butterfly Mansion.
Steam wafted from her freshly drawn bath, the scent of jasmine lingering in the air. Ai stood before the mirror, grooming herself with precision and care.
Her delicate hands combed through her silken hair, now untangled and falling gracefully past her waist. She slid on her signature outfit—
A sleek, black dress with sheer floral sleeves and a soft violet haori that billowed slightly with each movement.
She adorned herself with moonlit accessories—a glinting crescent star hair clip pressed to the side of her head, catching the light like a celestial ornament.
Finally, she applied her signature crimson lipstick, steady and focused—
But halfway through, her hand froze.
A sudden thought struck her like a bolt of lightning. Her reflection stared back, wide-eyed.
"Wait…
Fuji-san and Agatsuma-san were on their way… when I collapsed…"
She slowly lowered the lipstick tube.
"Then… who saved me?"
Moments later.
She arrives at Fuji Estate— the Stone Pillar's Residence.
She stepped inside the training court, where Kenzo sat cross-legged among his disciples. His massive frame exuded quiet power.
Even while resting, he looked like an unmoving mountain.
When Ai entered, the mood shifted instantly.
"Th-the Flower Hashira?"
"What's she doing here?"
"Gods… she's even prettier in person…"
The disciples parted respectfully, eyes wide, voices hushed. Ai moved forward, graceful as moonlight.
Kenzo rose to his feet with a calm, respectful nod.
"Hanako," his voice rumbled like distant thunder, "I'm glad to see you well. Is everything alright?"
Ai offered a soft smile and a polite bow. "Thank you, Fuji-san. I didn't mean to interrupt your session."
"You're never a disturbance," he said. "Is there something I can do for you?"
She tilted her head slightly, tone warm but unwavering. "Just one thing… I want to know who saved us on Mt. Kage."
A small flicker came across Kenzo's eyes. Then, his answer came smoothly.
"It was me and Agatsuma-sama. We found you unconscious and handled the demon."
Ai's expression didn't shift, but her inner voice was sharp.
He's lying.
She smiled sweetly. "I see… then I owe you my life. For the second time."
Her gaze dropped to his forearm — a faint bandage, fresh.
Her smile faded slightly. "You're hurt."
Kenzo glanced at the wound. "Nothing serious. Just a scratch from that Upper Rank demon."
Ai didn't respond immediately. Her mind spun.
"There's no way. That demon's strength was on par with mine — if even that. If Fuji-san truly fought him… this injury shouldn't exist."
Her voice, now softer and shaded with curiosity, pressed further.
"Forgive me, but… could you describe that demon's appearance again? My memory of the battle is hazy."
Kenzo froze— a half-second too long.
His thoughts raced.
"She suspects something. She wasn't supposed to remember this soon… let alone question it. She mustn't know about Hajime yet."
Kenzo's voice lowered. "Hanako… we can speak about this later. Right now, I have training to attend."
She bowed her head again, this time more slowly. "Of course. I apologize for intruding."
As she walked away from the estate, the wind brushed through her hair. Her footsteps echoed faintly on the wooden path.
"Something's wrong. Fuji-san wouldn't lie unless he was protecting someone… or hiding something far greater than me."
She clenched her hand softly around her haori.
"That demon… wasn't Upper Moon 5, was it? Then… who saved me?
And what power is strong enough to make even Fuji-san afraid to speak?"
As Ai walked, deep in thought, she suddenly froze. Her fingers tapped her chin, her eyes narrowing.
"There are only five people alive who could've defeated that demon at Mt. Kage.
Fuji-San.
Sato-San.
Agatsuma-Sama.
Rengoku-San.
Tohru-San.
Fuji-San and Agatsuma-Sama lied to me.
Sato-San is retired. Tohru-San was never there. And Rengoku-san… is dead."
A gust of realization surged through her chest.
"Then who killed that demon?"
She froze, heart hammering.
And then another realization struck her like thunder.
"WAIT—Rengoku-san was stronger than that demon! If that Upper Moon couldn't have killed me, how could it possibly have killed him?"
Her breath caught. Her heels pivoted, and without hesitation, she broke into a sprint.
Moments later, she arrived at the gates of the Ubuyashiki mansion.
There he was—the new Oyakata-sama.
Young. Serene. Radiant in his stillness, like a calm moon in a stormy night.
Surrounded by loyal slayers and aides, his presence remained as composed as ever. But when he saw her approach, something flickered in his eyes.
"Hanako," he said softly. "You're here… at this hour?"
She knelt, breath short but voice firm. "Oyakata-sama. I need to speak with you. Privately."
The other slayers exchanged glances. Oyakata-sama studied her face—serious, focused, burning with quiet urgency.
He nodded. "Come. Speak your mind."
She moved to sit across from him on the floor, folding her legs neatly beneath her.
No hesitation.
"Oyakata-sama… please tell me the truth."
Her voice was low. "How did Rengoku-san die?"
His expression shifted.
"Rengoku-san's crow reported his death. We found his body—decapitated. It was… clean. Precise."
Ai's brows knit.
"That doesn't align with what we saw at Mt. Kage. That Upper Moon… his technique didn't use a sword. His claws were too wild, too imprecise. He couldn't have made such a clean cut."
She looked him in the eyes.
"That demon wasn't strong enough to kill Rengoku-san. I fought him. Fuji-san and Agatsuma-san fought him. We all lived. But Rengoku-san— he died?"
The room turned cold.
"Which means…" she continued, eyes flashing, "someone else was there. Someone far more powerful than Upper Moon 5."
Oyakata-sama's hands trembled. His calm mask began to crack.
"You're suggesting… there are demons even stronger than the current Upper Moons?"
Ai nodded slowly. "Yes. Demons we haven't encountered—or demons hiding among the Twelve Kizuki with ranks above what we assumed."
Oyakata-sama exhaled shakily. "But if so… why haven't they revealed themselves until now?"
"They have," she whispered. "But we weren't ready to see them."
Then he said something that made her blood run cold.
"Upper Moon 5 defeated four Hashira that day. You. Kobayashi. Yoshimitsu. And Nameless."
Ai blinked. "Nameless-kun?"
Her tone sharpened. "I haven't seen him since that battle."
Oyakata-sama's face turned pale.
"He… he was found later. Near death. He was nailed to a tree. Giant iron spikes through his limbs. Still breathing… barely."
Ai's voice dropped to a whisper. "That wasn't Upper Moon 5. That was someone else. Someone more sadistic… and stronger."
She stood slowly, heart pounding.
"There wasn't just one demon on that mountain. Not two. At least three. Maybe even more."
"One of them beheaded Rengoku-san—too clean, too precise. Another crucified Nameless-kun—brutal, theatrical. And the last one fought us. A decoy."
A heavy silence fell like a curtain.
Oyakata-sama's fingers dug into his robes.
"This… changes everything."
Ai's eyes glowed faintly, cold as frost.
"Yes," she said. "We're being hunted. And they're already ten steps ahead."
Her mind spiraled. Thought after thought clashed in her head like waves in a storm.
"Fuji-san and Agatsuma-san lied. They didn't kill Upper Moon 5."
Sato-san? Retired. Tohru-san? Never even there. Rengoku-san? Killed by someone else entirely. Someone terrifying. Unknown. Someone who shouldn't exist."
She tried to steady her breathing, but a chill crept through her chest.
"Let's call this demon X. Whoever X is… even the strongest Hashira couldn't defeat him. Fuji-san and Agatsuma-san were injured. Rengoku-san was killed. So how… how did we survive?"
Then, the thought she'd been avoiding hit her like a knife to the heart.
"Unless… someone stronger than all of them was there. Someone the records have forgotten. Someone who vanished."
Her hands fell to her sides. Her arms felt weightless. Her eyes widened, losing focus, like the ground beneath her had crumbled.
Oyakata-sama saw the change in her face—her sudden stillness, her trembling fingers, the way her breath caught in her throat.
"Hanako… What is it? What happened?"
She couldn't look at him.
Her voice was almost inaudible, as though the words pained her just to speak.
"…Oyakata-sama. Do you still believe… that Hajime-san is alive?"
His eyes widened. His jaw parted.
"Hajime…" he whispered. "But he… he vanished. He was presumed—"
He froze.
"…Wait. That actually makes sense. That would explain everything. It's possible—no, it's very possible—he's still among us."
But before he could say more, Ai stood abruptly. Her head bowed, her expression hidden beneath a curtain of hair.
"I shall go now," she said. Her voice was flat, barely holding together. "Thank you… Oyakata-sama."
She turned. He reached out instinctively, as if to stop her—but his hand faltered in the air.
She walked out.
She walked without direction, without sight, without thought. Just movement.
The sky didn't matter. The path didn't matter. She didn't notice the people she passed. Their voices were muffled. Her mind was somewhere far away.
Eventually, she reached her mansion.
She entered her room and closed the door behind her.
Then she sat.
At the edge of her bed, still in her uniform. The world outside continued to spin.
But inside, everything stood still.
And then, the silence broke.
A single tear slid down her cheek. She didn't even feel it until it fell onto her hand.
Her lips parted, and her voice came out cracked, raw, and full of longing.
"…You're still alive."
Another tear followed. And another.
"I know it was you that day. You saved me… I felt it."
She brought her hand to her chest.
"So why…?"
Her voice trembled, collapsing under the weight of grief.
"Why are you hiding from me?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper, trembling with every word.
"…Why won't you come back?"
And with that… she broke.
Tears fell freely, quietly, as she sat in the dim silence of her room.
She clutched the bedsheet tightly, her knuckles white.
"Hajime-kun… Why did you leave the Corps?"
Her voice trembled with pain.
"If you knew the pain your absence caused, you never would've gone. If you knew how we suffered without you… how I suffered…"
She drew a shaky breath.
"You were our heart. Our hope. The one we all looked up to. But maybe… maybe you never stopped to think about how I'd live without you. Maybe you didn't know… that I loved you."
Her words fell like broken glass—soft, but sharp enough to bleed.
"When we were young, I hated how bright you shone. I wanted to be that light too, someone others could depend on. But no matter how hard I tried… I was always chasing your shadow. I thought I wanted you gone—just so I could breathe."
A pause, long and aching.
"But deep down… I just wanted to be close to you.
I only understood my feelings the day you saved me from Lower Moon One. Even when I looked at you with resentment… you protected me. Every time.
You were strong… but kind. Distant… but gentle. Admired by everyone, yet so humble. And beautiful…"
She exhaled shakily.
"So painfully beautiful. That's what made me fall."
She wiped her tears, but her reflection in the mirror betrayed her—red eyes, ruined mascara, a face worn by years of quiet ache.
Still, she sat tall. Composed. As always.
"I started finding excuses to be near you. Just a few more minutes… a little more time. I saw a future with you, Hajime-kun. I could almost feel it—our life together. It was everything to me."
Her voice turned to a whisper.
"Then… you vanished.
No farewell. No message. Just… gone. Like you never existed.
I cried for days. Nights. I begged for answers no one had. And when it hurt too much to breathe, I thought of ending it."
She closed her eyes tightly.
"But somehow, I kept going. I wore the mask they needed. The strong, calm Flower Hashira. The head of the Butterfly Mansion. The woman who never falters."
She opened her eyes again—no less broken, just better at hiding it.
"But I know the truth. Deep inside, I'm just a girl who was left behind when she needed love the most.
I was approached by countless people, but none of them were you. So I chose to wait."
Her voice steadied, soft but unwavering.
"I don't know if you'll ever return. Maybe I'll wait forever. But I won't give up…
Because I believe… one day, we'll meet again."