"It is now morning! Wake up!"

All of them, except Tanjiro, woke up in the darkness wondering who was screaming at them. Kagami slowly sat up from her futon rubbing her face and belting out a large yawn. Inosuke beside her, who had his arms sprawled and one leg in the air, immediately stopped snoring and snapped awake. Zenitsu's eyes were closed, drool pouring out of his mouth, and he was still half-asleep when he sat up mumbling sleepily to himself. Tanjiro simply turned to the voice, not affected by drowsiness, and got on his knees.

At the entrance, after moving from the hospital ward to their new room, sat Tanjiro's Kasugai crow. "The casualties of the Mugen Train are increasing. More than 40 are now missing. You are to join Kyojuro Rengoku on site. Head west at once! At once!" The crow explained the situation quickly to them.

"Kyojuro Rengoku? That's the Flame Hashira, right?" Kagami asked Tanjiro curiously.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, he is. He... He was also one of the ones adamant on my execution," Tanjiro chuckled nervously in the darkness with Kagami smiling along sheepishly. He then stifled his chuckle and spoke, "If he needs our help, it's not our place to ignore him! Come on! Let's get ready!"

"But it's still dark out! I don't want to-!" Zenitsu immediately began to cry out but Kagami pounding her fist on top of his head forced him to stop.

They spent much of their morning just gathering their things. Aoi was kind enough to have sewn their Demon Slayer uniforms and their haoris back together throughout the duration of their stay, even going so far as fixing Nezuko's box. The stitching was immaculate and she could hardly see where it had torn and ripped from her fight on Mount Natagumo. Carefully bundling her clothes together, placing her new Nichirin sword and her mother's book in her stack, she stood and walked out of her room.

As she walked down the halls, Kagami heard footsteps and saw their shadow coming from the other connected hallway. As they came up to the corner together, she stepped off to the side to give them space. It might not have been enough because they harshly bumped into her shoulder and walked right past her.

Looking back at it quickly, she realized it might've been on purpose. Kagami was too good in a mood for it to ruin her day so she only spared them a glance but gasped.

The person who bumped into her was a boy who looked eerily familiar. She recognized the sleeveless purple yukata over the olive-green tinted Demon Slayer uniform he wore. He's the boy from Final Selection! The one who man-handled the white-hair girl that was congratulating them after they survived the required 7 days on Mount Fujikasane. The boy looked much taller than she remembered; he practically towered over her! His hair had grown longer in a mohawk style with the strands more visible around his neck. He also bulked up in such a short amount of time. She could see his muscles accented by his uniform. The one thing that didn't change was his large frown, the large jagged scar under his eye, and the furrow of his eyebrows. It didn't disappear nor relaxed since the last time she saw him.

Although, his aura... There was something weird about it, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

Kagami wanted to say something. It felt weird seeing him again and not talking because of what happened after Final Selection, with Tanjiro nearly breaking his arm and her threatening to slice it off.

She raised her hand and spoke, as nicely as she could, "Nice to see you again! I hope you're doing well!"

He suddenly went rigid in his step and shook in his spot. She looked at him strangely but faltered when he slowly turned around. A large blush spread across his face and his eyes widened seeing her hand raised in hello. Why did he look so nervous or flustered? He didn't say anything but it looked like he wanted. However his lips shook in protest. Whatever he meant to say, he couldn't and continued to briskly walk away from her.

Was he... Was that a blush?

Kagami just turned away and continued on walking, shrugging to herself. It was a weird encounter but not one where she would lose sleep over it. She needed to continue to prepare and leave for the Mugen Train.

Tanjiro smiled and greeted Aoi doing laundry in the garden. He just finished explaining he, Kagami, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were heading out for battle already.

"You're heading out now?" She asked turning to him. The stern look on her face never left, she usually wore it every part of the day, but even so he was always able to sense how much she cared for all of them. For their need to grow stronger. "It was only for a short time, but I'm glad we got to spend that time together. Good luck to you! You take care now!" She spoke with the nod of her head.

Tanjiro nodded his head as well, speaking, "Thanks so much for looking after us when you were so busy! Thanks to you, we can go back into battle!"

Aoi turned her back to him and towards the dry hanging linens, fluffing them up. She didn't turn around to thank him or say something else. At least not for the moment. He stared concernedly at her when she didn't speak, quietly grabbing and pulling the linens from where they hung, and into the basket beside her. When she did, she sounded sad and ashamed, "No need to thank me. After all, I survived Final Selection only by luck. Since then, I've been too afraid to go into battle, so I'm a coward."

"None of that matters!" Tanjiro quickly protested with a gasp. He thought back to the training, the medicine, and the way she took care of them when she didn't need to. She went above and beyond for all of them. She truly does care for them and Tanjiro could see it plainly. He was glad he could call her his friend. "Since you kindly helped me out, Aoi, you're a part of me now. And I'll carry all of your emotions onto the battlefield with me! All right! If I get hurt again, I hope you'll look after me!" He turned around with a chuckle and began to rush away with a smile and the wave of his hand.

Tanjiro ran around the property, looking for the familiar smiling face, and found her sitting by herself.

"There you are! Hey, Kanao!" Tanjiro greeted with a large smile. She turned her head at him and watched him quietly as he ran up to her, speaking, "We're heading out now! Thanks for everything!"

She closed her eyes and gave him a small smile. That was it. She didn't say or do anything else. Tanjiro stood there waiting for her to speak but immediately felt awkward when she didn't. He nervously kept standing there when nothing else happened, just the two of them smiling. He thought he should've gotten used to her not speaking to him but he always wanted to have at least one conversation with her.

Kanao then brought out a small coin from her pocket.

"Hey! What's that?" He asked eagerly hoping to strike a conversation.

She didn't answer. Instead, she flipped the coin high in the air and they both watched it twirl. As it fell back down to the ground, Kanao caught it and placed it against the top of her hand, removing her hand to reveal 'tails'. She turned her head to him and smiled, speaking, "All I did was follow my teacher's instructions. There's no need for you to thank me. Goodbye."

Tanjiro smiled brightly and nearly cheered in joy. She actually talked to him! Of all the times he tried to talk or converse with her about anything, she'd usually smile and walk away. It made Tanjiro pretty sad but he never gave up or treated her any differently! If she didn't want to talk, that was her choice but Tanjiro made it his goal to make her speak at least once to him! And now she did! Her voice was so pretty and light too, it made his heart beat faster than he thought it would!

"What was that you just flipped?" He excitedly asked her pointing at the coin.

"Bye for now."

"Money? It says 'heads' and 'tails', huh? Why did you flip it?"

"Farewell."

"You sure made that thing spin!"

Tanjiro took a seat beside her and continued smiling widely at her, happy and joyful they're actually speaking. Kanao smiled and held up the coin she flipped, explaining, "I flip this to decide when I haven't been told what to do. Just now, I decided whether to speak to you or not. Heads meant I wouldn't, and tails meant I would. Since it came up tails, I spoke to you. Goodbye."

"Why don't you decide for yourself? What do you want to do, Kanao?" Tanjiro kindly asked her.

Her smile never faded or faltered. She simply answered, "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters to me, so I can't decide for myself."

"I don't think there's anything in this world that doesn't matter," He spoke gently then placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "I guess... the voice in your heart is just really soft. Sure, following orders is important, but..." He mumbled to himself before something clicked in his head. Everyone has the ability to care for something but Kanao is such a shy and quiet girl. She decides to speak on matters, that weren't orders, she doesn't deem important on a coin. If she put all her faith and trust into it, then perhaps he can do something to help her express her emotions and thoughts! "Hey, can I borrow that?"

When she handed it to him, Tanjiro ran into the open clearing in front of her. "Okay! We're going to use this to decide!" He chuckled holding up the coin. "Whether or not you're going to listen closely to the voice in your heart from now on!"

With a smile, he flipped the coin and watched it soar high then higher into the air!

"Whoa! I flipped it way too high!" He screamed out nervously. Watching the tiny silhouette against the cloudy, bright blue sky, he shouted at Kanao quickly, "Heads! Let's make it heads! If it comes up heads, Kanao, you're going to follow your heart!"

Tanjiro got ready to catch the twirling coin from the sky when a gust of wind suddenly blew it away!

"Huh? Hey! Where did it go?" He gasped frantically searching the sky and air. He whipped his head back and forth taking a few steps to the left then the right! He nearly tripped over his own feet looking for the coin when he finally laid eyes on it again! "I found it!" He exclaimed racing to where it was falling. He swiftly caught the coin and placed it in on the top of his hand keeping it covered. "You see that, Kanao? I got it!" He chuckled turning to the bright eye curious girl.

As he walked back to her, her large purple eyes watched him curiously, confused, and intently. They shook at the hand covering the answer of the coin: The answer to following her heart.

He slowly lifted it to reveal... heads!

"It came up as heads!" Tanjiro cheered jumping in the air. His heart lifted in his chest and sent a spiral of jovial emotions through him. "Here you go!" He determinedly spoke holding out the coin for her.

Her eyes landed shakily on the coin in his fist. When she slowly reached out for it, Tanjiro couldn't help but grasp her hand with both of his. Kanao gasped and watched him with wavering eyes, and he swore he saw small stars, stars he hadn't seen before, twinkle in them. Happiness, resolve, and determination flared in his core looking into them. He smiled widely down at her, pressing the coin gently in her fingers, speaking with joy, "Good luck! It's the heart that drive people. So, your heart can grow as strong as you need it to!"

Then, he saluted her teasingly, chuckling, "See you later!" before running away.

When he was about to round the corner, he heard her small voice behind him plead, "H-How did it come up heads?"

Tanjiro swiftly turned and saw Kanao standing before him. Her shaking hand held her coin tightly and her wavering eyes hesitantly met his. The thought of following the tiny voice in her heart, the voice she couldn't hear, must've frightened her. She relied on that coin for so long that the idea of no longer using it was foreign. For the coin to come up heads when she was more than likely hoping for tails...

Tanjiro gently smiled and answered, "Just by chance. Although, if it were tails, I was going to keep tossing it over and over until it came up heads! Haha! Take care of yourself!"

With one last wave, and smile, Tanjiro rounded the corner and left.

Tanjiro had the utmost faith in Kanao. She was one of the strongest people he knew and he knows she would, someday, allow the voice in her heart to speak out loud. She just needed a little push to show that there is meaning in life, that there are some things that matter, and he knows that she will soon be able to express what does matter to her.

Kagami felt relieved to be back in her uniform! She did a small twirl, her red glittering haori flowing behind her majestically with her brand new Nichirin sword secured at her waist, and laughed in delight. All of them were back in their uniforms; Tanjiro donning his signature black and green checkered haori, Zenitsu with his yellow and white triangle-patterned haori, and Inosuke, as usual, was not wearing a shirt at all! Something about clothing messing with his senses.

They all stood determinedly in front of giant gourds that were easily as tall as them! She remembered being intimidated by such size but now she was stronger, faster, and even better than before! She will break that gourd!

All at once, the four of them blew, blew, and blew as hard as they could into them!

"You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!" Kiyo, Fuji, Sumi, and Naho cheered in encouragement from the sidelines.

Kagami's head went light, her lungs began to choke, and her cheeks puffed out of her face, but she will keep going! She will not give up and fail! Then, almost miraculously, all of their gourds exploded at the same time! They shattered into a million pieces and all of them cheered in happiness and joy! She knew they could do it!

"Here you go! We hope you defeat a lot of demons!" The four girls smiled and spoke in unison handing them a basket of rice balls.

"Thank you," Kagami and Tanjiro spoke kindly ignoring Zenitsu and Inosuke as they began to fight alongside them. The former was screaming at the latter for grabbing and chowing down the snacks they were supposed to ration on the way to the Mugen Train.

"I told you not to eat it now!" Zenitsu screamed at Inosuke grabbing his throat and strangling him.

Inosuke didn't fight back. Not necessarily. With his hands holding a generous amount of rice balls, he turned and screamed in Zenitsu's face, "Shut up!" before continuing to eat.

"Someone should teach you some manners!"

"I told you to SHUT UP!"

Kagami watched Zenitsu and Inosuke with a tired look and let out a small sigh. When Tanjiro began to move away, she followed closely behind him, not wanting to deal with those two at the moment. She noticed him smiling and her eyes landed on two familiar figures. "Hey, Tomioka, Tenshi!" She greeted them with a small wave.

Tomioka and Tenshi stood off to the side of the Butterfly Mansion watching them quietly. Their faces were etched with no emotion. Just the usual stoic and stern gazes she had come to know. "Are you heading into battle now?" Tomioka asked them nonchalantly.

"Yes, sir," They answered.

Tenshi regarded them slightly. Her yellow eyes pierced theirs, running along their body as if she were assessing them, when she spoke, "We heard you've mastered Total Concentration, Constant. That is a magnificent accomplishment for low ranks such as yourselves. You should be very proud, but do not let yourselves become overconfident or arrogant. You should continue training, continue getting stronger, and become the best you can be. It will help you in dire situations in your coming battles, whenever they may be."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you," They spoke in unison again.

Kagami smiled at her savior, at the woman who placed everyone else's needs before her own, but Tanjiro looked at the two Hashira like they were family. Like what they've done in the past, or are currently doing, melted his heart. His eyes wavered, they even sparkled, and the kind smile on his face never left when he began to speak, "Tomioka, Tenshi... About Nezuko, thank you very much. I had no idea you were putting your life on the line. I just don't know how I can ever thank you."

Tenshi's emotionless facade fell at his words. Her eyes widened slightly and the small frown she held faded. A tiny smile spread across her lips and she gazed kindly down at them. "It was... my pleasure. Just promise you would continue to look out for your sister. That is all I need from you," She softly spoke.

Unlike Tenshi, Tomioka didn't show any emotion. He simply turned away from them and said, "You can thank me by doing good work. Our mission as Demon Slayers is to kill demons. That is all. Got it?" Then, he disappeared in a flash without waiting for an answer.

"Don't mind Giyu. We're leaving for a mission ourselves," Tenshi sighed out, then explained in a serious tone, "Young women have been going missing in large quantities in the larger cities. This is an anomaly we haven't seen in quite a while. We believe it's the work of demons but haven't decided if a Twelve Kizuki is involved. Unfortunately, there haven't been any traces or any signs of one, nor of any survivors. Witnesses reported seeing the young women leave the cities in a trance-like state. They recall hearing music coming from the forests but nothing too special for them to care about."

Kagami stared at Tenshi strangely and felt she was having a sense of deja vu. Trance-like state, music, moving on their own, it was as if she had heard of it before... or felt it. But why... Why can't she remember?

Tanjiro gulped, "It must be serious if they're sending the two of you."

"Indeed," Tenshi agreed nodding her head. Then, she turned away, speaking, "I must be off. Giyu must be far ahead of me now. But, before I do," She turned to them and a slight blush crept along the bridge of her nose, "Please give Rengoku my regards."

Just as quick as Tomioka, Tenshi disappeared.

Kagami wanted to speak more with Tenshi about her mission. Long ago, back at the mansion with the Wisteria Family Crest after her encounter with Kyogai, she had fallen in a weird trance-like state. Granted, she couldn't remember any of it, just bits and pieces Tanjiro had helped her put together. What she thought was a couple minutes outside had actually been hours! She didn't remember time flying so fast or what happened between then. She had lost consciousness and somehow moved on her own from the pond to the gate.

It was strange. Very strange. Though, she couldn't dwell on it. Not then. She would have to tell them about it later.

Kagami and Tanjiro quickly headed back to their friends and rejoined them. Zenitsu and Inosuke finally stopped fighting and were being doted on by their four tiny assistants. "Please take care!" They cried.

"Oh, no! You're all heartbroken to say goodbye to me, aren't you? I can stay behind if you'd like!" Zenitsu squealed blushing madly with tears in his eyes.

Sumi stepped up and said kindly, "Zenitsu, while you're on your journey, please try to learn to be considerate and respectful of girls, okay?"

His tears and blush disappeared, and he answered quietly, embarrassed, "Yes, ma'am."

"I'm feeling giddy," Inosuke dreamily gasped out, bubbles and stars twinkling around his body, as he held the basket of whatever rice balls they had left.

"But you do feel a little sad that I'm leaving, don't you?"

"We're not sad!"

Kagami, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke did one last check and immediately took off down the road waving goodbye to their four favorite assistants. They ran towards their current mission, towards the Mugen Train, where many people have gone missing in such short amount of time. They ran as fast as they could to meet up with Mr. Rengoku through valleys, past fields of crops and vegetation, and through a small city to get to what the Kasugai crow called a train station.

She had never heard such a place. Another modern day city she's never been to yet, perhaps. It was a strange name but she hoped the people were kind and helpful. Also, she hoped it wasn't as crowded as Asakusa to the point where it'd be hard to find Mr. Rengoku.

They reached the train station by the time the sun was setting below the horizon, painting the sky and world in a deep yellow and orange hue. Their eyes widened seeing such a weird looking building. It towered over them easily and spread out so wide the rest was obscured by the surrounding forest! They tentatively walked inside, their eyes scanning the immaculate, desk, shelves, and benches that lined the main room. Many people sat down and lingered, reading newspapers or chatting to each other, looking as if they were waiting for something.

CHOO! CHOO!

"What was that?" Kagami gasped hearing a loud whistle that rang throughout the entire air.

They raced towards the exit and immediately froze in their steps. Sitting in front of them past the protective rails was a long metal beast! It was very huge, very long, and very big! She could feel the burning heat rise from its body, smell the burning coal in the air, see steam billowing out in large gusts, and the metal reeking off of its body! The entirety of it was completely metal; the main core, its head, and even its wheels! It was adorned with so many gadgets she didn't know what the hell they were. Pulling behind it were multiple more almost just like it except she could see windows lining the walls, seats inside, and people waiting. It was transporting people to and from areas.

Is that what they called a train? She thought the Mugen Train was a city! Not a metallic beast that allows people to walk inside and sit down! It wasn't a demon, it couldn't be! It gave off no aura or nothing she could perceive at the moment. Was it friendly or foe? That was her ultimate question.

CHOO! CHOO!

That thing! It was producing the noises again! Did they make it angry?

"H-Hey! W-Wait a d-damn minute!" Inosuke gasped out in either sheer shock or confusion. "Wha... Wh-What... the... What the hell is this thing?!" He screamed out in horror. His entire body shook and trembled violently from just laying his eyes on the ghastly thing. "W-Wait! Could it be...?! I've heard of such a being! The lord of this land! The ruler of this land! See how long it is?! So intimidating! No mistake! It looks like it's asleep right now, but don't let that fool you!"

Zenitsu looked at him as if he were a stupid child. "It's a train. You've never see one?" He huffed out annoyed.

Inosuke slammed his hand over Zenitsu's face, shutting him up as he gasped, "Keep it down! Or you'll wake it!" He then placed his hands on the hilts of his swords, growling, "I'll lead the charge to take it down!"

"No, Inosuke! It seems friendly! Look at all the people its allowing to enter and exit its body at will! It's obvious they respect it greatly and honor it by not attacking it. We should treat it with the same courtesy. We don't want to do anything that'll make it mad!" Kagami spoke grasping his arms to keep him from doing anything rash.

"Inosuke, stop!" Tanjiro demanded stepping up. He gestured a hand to the metal beast and gently spoke, "You never know, this might be the guardian spirit protecting this land. So we shouldn't be attacking it carelessly."

Zenitsu looked at all three of them with the same annoyed expression, huffing, "Uh, I said it's a train. You two have never seen one either? A vehicle for transporting people? I swear, you country bumpkins."

Tanjiro froze and took one more glance at it. "A train? So, is that what the crow was talking about?" He asked Zenitsu but stopped.

Their curious eyes fell on Inosuke as he calmly walked back towards the doorway where they came from. He turned around, faced the metallic beast known as the train, and pumped his arms up. They gasped when steam billowed out of the nostrils of his mask so fast and so harshly, hearing him scream like a maniac, "WHOOOO! READY OR NOT, I'M COMING THROUGH!"

He raced forward and slammed his head into the side of the train!

"Stop it! You're embarrassing us!" Zenitsu immediately screamed in fury.

FWEET! FWEET!

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Look! These four have swords! Arrest them!" Two men in uniforms holding wooden batons, like the ones from Asakusa, screamed angrily racing hastily over to them.

Zenitsu immediately grabbed her, Tanjiro, and Inosuke, screaming at the top of his lungs, "NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD! NOT GOOD! RUN FOR IT!"

Except they didn't exactly need to. The three of them laid limply in his grasp, eyes wide, as their bodies flew in the air behind him, wiggling in the breeze. Those men in uniforms couldn't keep up with his fast speed not even when they tried chasing them around the station the Mugen Train was resting in. From sunset to the moon rising in the sky, Zenitsu kept them from getting caught by the hands of those whistle-blowing uniformed men but she didn't understand why.

When they finally lost the police, whoever they were, they took cover behind a pillar at the very end of the station. "We went through hell because of you, Inosuke! Say you're sorry!"

"Oh, yeah?! Well, explain to me why we had to run from those guys in the first place!" Inosuke demanded.

"We the Demon Slayers aren't officially recognized by the government," Zenitsu huffed down at him clencing his fists. "So, we can't actually walk around carrying our swords openly in public. They wouldn't believe us even if we explained about the demons, and it would only stir confusion."

Kagami scoffed in disbelief, "So there's people out there who don't even know about the existence of demons? Because the government hides the truth from them?"

Tanjiro looked saddened when he spoke, "But we're trying hard to help everyone."

Zenitsu sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "It's the way things are. For now, let's hide our swords on our backs."

Inosuke laughed and struck a pose. He showed off the swords inside his pants resting against his back, but it was still clearly visible to them all.

"We can totally see them. Put on some clothes, idiot," Zenitsu scoffed.

CHOO! CHOO!

They gasped when the train made that noise again and began to immediately blow steam from every part of its body. While they had waited, or ran specifically, it stayed quietly in its place. Now, she can hear something moving and grumbling coming from within. The ground beneath began to shake slightly as its wheels began to slowly turn, pushing it forward.

"Oh, no! The train's leaving! Are the police still around?" Zenitsu shrieked.

Kagami watched the train pick up speed tremendously fast, frantically speaking, "We have to go either way!"

"AHAAAA!" Inosuke laughed out loud excitedly. He jumped in the air, kicking his leg out, and began to chase after it! "Here I come, master of the land! I'm going to take you on!"

Kagami and Tanjiro quickly took that as their cue to follow him with Zenitsu reluctantly close behind them! Because they mastered Total Concentration, Constant, they were able to catch and keep up with the speeding train in mere seconds. They jumped on to the small platform at the end of the very last cart it was pulling. All the while the police had found them and tried to give chase. Except the train had already left the station and they were no match for the beast's immense speed.

The train station's lights immediately became tiny like the stars in the sky, the wind blew by their bodies fast, ruffling their hair and clothes, and the beast hummed to a small rhythm it produced underneath their feet. For the moment it was quite... peaceful. To feel the wind in her face, to see the beautiful night sky twinkling with stars, and being with her friends, whether it was standing there or being up to no good, made her happy. Even though they were there on a mission to hunt down a demon with Mr. Rengoku, it was moments like that she needed to cherish.

"Tanjiro..." Zenitsu spoke up above the silence. "Are you sure about bringing Nezuko along? Wouldn't the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters be the safest place for her?"

Their eyes landed on the box Tanjiro carried on his back where Nezuko was sleeping peacefully within. The box he never left anywhere without. Tanjiro didn't seem worried at all, instead he continued smiling. That smile of kindness was made stronger with a hint of determination. He turned and looked down at the box, speaking softly, "It's fine. Wherever we go, Nezuko and I will always be together. We're never going to be apart again... Never again."

Kagami gazed into his determined eyes... and smiled.

Everything he's been through, everything he's done, it was all for Nezuko. His little sister who is trying so hard to turn back into a human. He will succeed. They will succeed. They will defeat the Twelve Kizuki, create a cure for her, and defeat Muzan Kibutsuji once and for all. No more innocent people will die at the clutches of demons. At his hands. She will avenge her parents, Tanjiro will avenge his family, and bring comfort to the lives and families destroyed.

They will defeat him... together.