The Hamon Breather

Chance Encounter

I woke up early in the morning on my old futon. I shuffle out of my bed quickly and smoothen out my uniform. All the food at the house is rotten, and I threw my last riceball on the ground last night. I sighed before scrounging for any money in the estate and decided to set out to the nearest town. I'm not excited about it because people are definitely going to ask questions I don't want to answer, but I have to eat.

Knock, knock, knock.

I'm taken aback when I heard a knock at the door as I was ready to leave. It's daylight outside, so it shouldn't be a demon. I go to open it up.

"Hello, is this the Cujoh residence?" A blonde man with an American accent asks.

"Ah, yes. Why do you ask?" I question in return. In which he hands me a card.

"I'm with the Speedwagon Foundation. I was sent to find any news about the Cujohs' lack of correspondence." The man states as I look at the card. 'Speedwagon... I should have known he'd start looking eventually.'

"Well, I'm Keijo Cujoh. I just came home after leaving it for 2 years yesterday."

"May I ask why?" My hands tremble imperceptibly at the question.

"2 years ago... my mom and dad were murdered by a demon."

"! S-sorry, my condolences." The man apologizes for prying.

"And I'm saying demon in the literal sense of the word." I clench my fists and look the man in the eyes. "Demons are running amok in Japan."

"W-what?! You mean vampires, right?" The man says with a bewildered expression.

"No, they're demons. My parents were killed by one named Muzan Kibutsuji!" I grit my teeth as I hold back anger.

"I-I've got to report this! Where have you been for the last 2 years?" The man says with a solemn expression.

"I've been training to become a Demon Slayer. I've recently been inducted into the organization, and last night was my first mission."

"So that's why you were injured..." The employee nodded as one of his burning questions was answered.

"Caw! Mission for Keijo Cujoh. Follow me!" My Kasugai crow interrupts the conversation.

I sigh. "I've got to go, tell Speedwagon and Granny Erina that I'm fine. I'll be busy for the foreseeable future. You should be able to find out about the Demon Slayers with the foundation's resources." I squeeze my way past the poor guy.

"If you have to travel, make sure it's during daytime. And the only weakness you need to know about demons besides daylight is the wisteria flower." I say as I begin following my crow.

—

'This cut on my leg is getting annoying.'

I'd followed my crow for several hours as I walked toward my next mission. I made sure to stop by a town to stock up on supplies since I don't want to go hungry in the wild. My Hamon skills shot up after the last mission as the detector technique gave me some unique insights into how it flows.

'I need to strengthen my lungs some more too...'

I've been trying to unconsciously perform Hamon all of the time now, as that'll bring a wide range of benefits but, man, is it hard to always concentrate on your breathing. My thoughts wander like that until my crow squawks loudly into my ear.

"We've arrived. Caw! People have been mysteriously going missing around town. Caw! Good luck!" And with that, my crow leaves.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to investigate..." I sigh as I meander around the town. It looks normal right now... I guess I need to wait until night-time. I check into the town's inn and wait till night-time to investigate. The only thing interesting about this town is that it's built pretty close to the bottom of a cliff, meaning it's in the shade for the beginning portion of the day, until noon-ish. No wonder there's been demon activity here then.