Dreams Unfulfilled

"Little Bean, come over here!"

In a peach orchard laden with fruit, Zenitsu held Mameko's hand and ran carefree:

"These peaches are delicious! Oh, and I'll make you a wreath of white clover; it'll be so pretty!"

"Mmm! Make me lots and lots!" Mizuko's pink eyes sparkled as she looked at Zenitsu with adoration: "Zenitsu-kun~"

"Yoho!!!"

He jumped up happily.

.....

Wearing a boar's headgear, Inosuke, accompanied by Nezuko with rabbit ears, strode confidently into a stalactite cave.

"Expedition team! Expedition team! We are the cave exploration team!"

"Boss!!!"

"What's wrong! Henchman Number One! Henchman Number Two!"

He heard someone calling from behind and turned around to look.

A boy who looked remarkably like Tanjiro, but with raccoon ears and a tail, respectfully reported, "The scent of a giant beast is coming from ahead! Bangpoko!"

"I can still hear snoring, chu~" Another boy responded. Although he looked a lot like Zenitsu, he had a lewd face and rat ears, and his attitude was very respectful.

"Alright! Bangjiro! Chuuichi! Follow me! Let's take it down!!"

"Yes, boss!!"

Led by the wild boar boy, the expedition team rushed headlong into the depths of the cave...

Such a strange scene could not possibly have actually happened.

At this moment, the two of them were lying crookedly on the train seats, having their own sweet dreams.

The hideous demonic hand was now leading the withered children, looking towards the slumbering Demon Slayer team members:

"Remember this: with these dream-hunting ghost hunters as the starting point, dreams have boundaries."

"As long as you find the boundary and break it, you can find the core of the dream's owner's spirit. Keep it up!"

After saying that, Ghost Hand left the carriage on his own, leaving the children to carefully tie their wrists together with the hemp ropes made of blood demon magic.

A boy who looked exceptionally weak coughed violently for a while and wiped away the bloody foam with the back of his hand.

".....Don't blame me, it really hurts so much..." he said as he picked up the rope that belonged to Tanjiro.

With a silent countdown, he also sank into the other person's dream.

The wind and snow howled, and the cold was bone-chilling.

Tanjiro wandered aimlessly across the snowfield, looking at everything before him with a puzzled expression:

"Where am I? This place looks so familiar..."

He drew his Nichirin Blade, cautiously guarding against any potential dangers, but the next second he froze in place.

Not far in sight were two figures that could never possibly exist.

"Ah! It's my brother!"

"Brother's back! Did you sell all the charcoal?"

Those were his family members whom he longed for day and night, and who would wake up crying whenever he dreamed of them: Shigeru and Hanako!

"This...this is impossible..."

Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. He was overwhelmed with unbelievable ecstasy, his body trembling.

"Ah! Brother!!"

Tanjiro, who was staring in disbelief, suddenly felt his body go limp.

Looking down, he saw his younger brother, Liu Tai, wearing only a thin cotton coat, crash into his arms like a small cannonball!

He rubbed his cold little face against Tanjiro and giggled, "Brother, Rokuta missed you so much."

"Rokuta... everyone..."

Tears welled up uncontrollably in Tanjiro's eyes, blurring his vision. He then embraced Rokuta and wept bitterly.

"Ah—!! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm late, I...I missed you all so much!!"

Seeing him crying like that, Shigeru and Hanako, who were building a snowman, scratched their heads in confusion and ran back home to call for their mother.

"Oh dear, child, what's wrong?"

A gentle voice rang out, and Tanjiro, his eyelids swollen from crying, looked up.

His mother, Aoi, looked at him with concern: "Are you alright, Tanjiro? Are you hurt?"

"Mother!!"

Tanjiro hugged Rokuta and rushed into Aoi's arms, making her chuckle: "Alright, alright, have you been wronged? Don't cry, child, don't cry."

"Haha, even your older brother can be cute." Shigeru looked at Tanjiro, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and teased him with a smile.

Hanako, who idolizes her brother, was a little unhappy and threw a snowball at him.

"Hey you, what are you doing!"

"You're so long-winded! Stop messing around!"

"Who's being ridiculous!"

The two siblings started arguing, which caught the attention of the second son, Takeo, who was inside the house, and he quickly came out to see what was going on.

"Haha, you two made Big Brother cry, didn't you? Watch me teach you a lesson!"

As he spoke, he piled up snowballs and began attacking the two little ones.

The kitchen family is a noisy yet warm and harmonious place.

"Welcome home, Tanjiro."

After calming the agitated Tanjiro, his mother, Aoi, put on a simple apron and began preparing pastries in the kitchen: "Let's make pancakes today. Isn't pancakes Tanjiro's favorite food?"

"Ha, I want some too!" The little ones outside heard their mother's words and quickly chimed in.

"Alright, alright, let's all eat together." Aoi smiled and clapped the flour off her hands. "Hanako, could you get me the sieve?"

"Let me do it, Mom! Oh, and where are the beans?"

While helping in the kitchen, Tanjiro looked around the house and the surrounding area with a puzzled expression, but he couldn't find Nezuko anywhere.

"My sister went up the mountain to pick wild vegetables."

"What! It's daytime!"

Tanjiro shouted anxiously, but then froze the next second.

Daytime... What happened during the day...?

The fire crackled and popped, scattering tiny specks of charcoal.

Tanjiro snapped back to reality and found himself standing by the river.

Huh? What am I doing? Oh right, I was going to get some water for the house...

He scratched his head in confusion, carefully lowered the bucket into the river, only to find his own reflection in the water...

Is he shouting at himself?

Wake up! Wake up!!

Huh? He was pulled into the river by his own reflection with a splash!

Wake up! This is a dream! We've been attacked!

Tanjiro felt like he had forgotten something, but he also vaguely remembered many things.

I think I'm on a train... I'm... summoning ghosts!

[Get up! Get up and fight! Wake up!!]

.....

"Brother, can I have the pickled radish instead of the other way around?"

Tanjiro, who was just yelling angrily at his own reflection, suddenly found himself back in the house, having lunch with his family.

Tanjiro was stunned when he saw Takeo's smiling face.

"Why are you taking advantage of your older brother again! Can't you just eat your own food?" Hanako, still defending her brother, interrupted the shameless Takeo and started arguing with him.

What's going on?! This is a dream! This can't be real!!

Tanjiro was in turmoil, desperately shouting to himself in his mind.

How can I leave? How can I escape this dream?

boom--!!!

Just as Tanjiro was wondering what to do, cherry-red flames suddenly burst into flames on his body!

This is! Mizuko's Blood Demon Art!

"The smell of blood... Nezuko is injured!"

Tanjiro practically sprang to his feet, knocking over the bowl and chopsticks in front of him, startling his younger siblings.

"What's wrong with my brother?"

"It's all your fault! Your brother's angry!"

No! That's not how it works! Everyone, I'm not angry!

Tanjiro was extremely anxious and rushed out of the house in a panic, running towards the depths of the boundless snowfield!

After he ran out of the house, the Nichirin Blade reappeared in his hand, as if it had never fallen.

"Big brother! Where are you going! Are you abandoning us?!"

"Child, what's wrong? Tell your mother!"

I'm sorry... everyone, I'm so sorry, Mom...

Tanjiro wept uncontrollably, but he dared not turn around to look.

He was afraid that if he just glanced at the worried looks in his family's eyes, his determination to escape the dream would weaken!

He swung his sword at the void, the blade cleaving through the snow curtain to no avail, and his roar shattered the wind and snow but did nothing to change anything.

Perhaps he can no longer escape, and he will never wake up!

Outside the dream, atop the engine of the Infinite Train, stood a young man in a suit and tie, his face flushed.

"Ha... what an ungrateful fellow, it was such a wonderful dream..."

He is the Lower Moon Demon Moon, Enmu!

Nightmare manipulated everyone's dreams, but he didn't expect Tanjiro to realize the falsity of the dream so quickly, which made him somewhat unhappy.

"It's no use... You can't escape... Huh?"

In the dream, a gust of wind and snow blew by.

[Tanjiro, raise your sword! 】

What you must sever... is right here!

Tanjiro Kamado's voice suddenly resounded from the depths of his heart, causing Tanjiro, who was holding the Nichirin Blade, to freeze in place.

What I must sever...

He looked at the knife in his hand, its blade reflecting his gaze, and he already had an answer in his heart.

Will dying in a dream affect reality...? Will I die in reality...?

Is it beyond repair...?

Tanjiro didn't know, but he didn't have time to confirm!

Midouzi is injured! We've been attacked by evil spirits!

Wake up, Tanjiro! Find a way to wake up!!

Don't be confused!

Cut him down!

Tanjiro knelt on one knee, placed his Nichirin Blade against his neck, and let out a cry filled with both fear and courage:

"ah--!!!"

Whoosh—!

The blade slashed down.

Red plum blossoms bloom on the snow.