February 4, 1914

Gyomei, Genya, and Vèro had just arrived at a corps safehouse in the middle of Sendai, having been sent up to find the safehouse where Emi Mochizuki was being kept. As they were scoping out possible locations throughout the city, a larger team was already being assembled to make the eventual rescue. The three had spent all morning scoping out several locations where unusual activity involving people who were possibly demons had been reported to the corps, but had little luck so far in finding them. However, they did find out that the group of demons who had captured Emi was possibly larger than the five men who had broken into Count Mochizuki's vacation home.

"I have reason to believe that we have at least one or two American Knights of the Moon among their ranks," Gyomei explained to the duo as they ate lunch together. "It seems as though the order to kidnap the count's daughter came from high up in the command structure of Kibutsuji's group, possibly from the American Progenitors themselves."

"My question is why they would target a count," Vèro pondered. "Sure, counts are pretty high up in the nobility in Japan, but surely they could have gone after a more high-profile target, like a marquess or a prince… Or maybe someone in the Imperial Family."

"Perhaps they want to test the waters with a count," Gyomei theorized. "Kidnapping someone affiliated with a family that's higher up in the nobility could attract too much attention too soon. Kidnapping someone in the Imperial Family would almost guarantee a heavy-handed response by the military."

"Fair enough," Vèro replied. "I'm not used to all this stuff about nobility. Canada has some, but they don't wield as much power as the nobles here, or any power really. America, of course, has no nobility, at least not officially."

"I'm not too into this whole nobility crap," Genya added. "Then again, my family was born poor, so why would I be?"

Vèro then handed him a bowl of rice and said, "I'm full. Do you want this last part of rice, Genya?"

Genya smiled and replied, "Sure."

As the two of them got to talking about the day they had together so far, Gyomei smiled and thought to himself, "Ah, young love. It's such a precious thing to see… Or in my case, hear. Either way, I'm glad to see Genya open up to someone so much. Vèro coming here was one of the best things to happen for him and his brother Sanemi."

Then, almost on cue, Sanemi himself walked into the room, having just arrived in Sendai. "Hey guys."

Genya, Vèro, and Gyomei all turned around in surprise and looked at him. Gyomei said to him, "Shinazugawa-san, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here to Sendai?"

"The Oyakata-sama sent me at the last minute," Sanemi explained. "We got some more info about who exactly is keeping the count's daughter hostage, and when he got it, he immediately sent me since he wanted another pillar up here. It's, uh… Yeah, this shit is bad. Really bad."

Genya asked his brother, "How bad are we talking?"

"We believe that Ambrose Powell Hill and Calvin Hodgeson are the overall commanders of this whole kidnapping operation," Sanemi explained as he set down a sheet of paper containing information he had written down from Kagaya. "They are the Seventh and the Twenty-Second Knights of the Moon respectively. That Hill guy is really concerning, since he was a direct subordinate of the Second Knight of the Moon, Stonewall Jackson, and he reportedly has an unusually strong Blood Demon Art for most American demons."

Vèro's eyes widened in shock. "There's gotta be at least fifteen demons involved in this operation, maybe even twenty if they're there. We'll need more slayers than what we have now if there really are two Knights of the Moon involved."

"The Oyakata-sama says he's gonna send up a group of six slayers. They should be here by the sixth."

"Hopefully," Gyomei replied to Sanemi. "Her captors remain true to her word to keep her safe until the deadline runs out. That poor girl must be so scared right now. Namu Amida Butsu." All of them then put their hands together and prayed silently for a few seconds, hoping that Emi was still alive, and maybe even safe and well, in her captivity.

In the evening, Genya was secretly following an American man dressed in a gray coat down a road in downtown Sendai. As the man carried a rather large bag containing something that Genya could not see, he thought to himself, "That bag is unusually large. The fact he's carrying it with his hands and not his shoulders is also odd."

The man said to himself in English as he then stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and opened up the bag, revealing that he was carrying medicines and some dismembered body parts, mostly consisting of hands, for food inside, "This better be enough for everyone. I don't feel like gettin' sent back out to get more supplies for the third time in a day."

"He said something in English," Genya thought to himself. "But I have no idea what exactly he said. It sounded like this is the third time he's been out today. What's he getting out here that they need?" He then rushed out of the alleyway to catch up to the demon man, and when he did, he put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him to the ground, startling him.

The demon man fell to the ground with a loud thud and looked up at his attacker, yelling at him in Japanese, "Who the fuck are you?!"

"Tell me where you're going," Genya demanded as he drew a wakizashi and put it up against the man's neck.

The man then revealed that he knew exactly what Genya was by asking him, "Why do I have to tell you, demon slayer?"

"So you've figured it out…" Genya then grabbed the bag that the man had dropped and opened it with his other hand. As he felt inside and grabbed something, he realized he had grabbed something fleshy and wet. What he pulled out soon answered what and why. "So… You had body parts in here?"

"Of course," the demon man replied. "A man's gotta eat somethin', after all."

They both then heard someone yell in the distance towards their direction. "Hey, what's going on over there?! Are you robbing him?!"

"I suggest we take this to a more secluded place," said the man to Genya.

Realizing he ran a high chance of being caught by the police if he stayed outside in the street with the demon man, he sighed and replied, "Fine." As the man stood back up, Genya told him, "Follow me. Act natural."

"Of course," he replied, picking up his bag and putting the hand that Genya had pulled out back inside. The two then nonchalantly walked away together as if nothing had happened, leaving those who had witnessed the event rather puzzled as to what was going on between them.

The same man who had called out to them just a few moments prior asked himself, "Is… Was… Does that mean it was nothing?"

Another man who had observed the confrontation on the sidewalk asked, "What the Hell was that all about?"

A police officer then ran up to the first man, asking him, "I heard there was a commotion around here. Is everything alright?"

"I… I guess so," the first man replied to the officer. "There were two people who I thought were fighting on the street, but then they both got up and walked away like nothing happened. It was weird."

"Are they still fighting?"

"No. They barely started when they stopped. Again, I have no idea what was going on."

Meanwhile, Sanemi and Vèro were walking along a rural road just outside of Sendai as a light snow began to fall on the ground. The two were also talking about training Vèro was undergoing with Gyomei, as well as the fact that though she was still Sanemi's Tsuguko, she had not trained with him much ever since they had returned from Chicago. "I know I've been busy with Himejima-sama," Vèro told him. "But when this mission is done, he actually told me to go back to training under you."

Sanemi replied, "He did, huh?"

"Yeah. He says I need to hone in my skills with the Breath of Wind. Unlike your brother, I can still use a breathing style, and he doesn't want my skills to atrophy even as I hone my skills as a demon eater."

"Right…" Sanemi then asked her as he stopped in the middle of the desolate road, "Say, Vèro… How do you feel about having that kind of connection with demons?"

"Connection? What connection?"

"You know, with… That whole 'eating demons' shit."

"I get that you're concerned," Vèro replied to him, understanding what he was getting at. "I would be too in your shoes."

"You know you aren't me," Sanemi reminded her.

"I know," she reminded him. "Our experiences are different, Sanemi. Even so… Before I knew I had this condition, I would have distrusted demon eaters myself. The idea that someone could eat a part of our enemy and temporarily almost become one… It sounds so absurd when you say it out loud."

"I can agree with that," Sanemi nodded. "I was… I guess I just couldn't process it when you told me, and then it was even worse when Genya told me."

"You were confused," Vèro replied. "I don't hold it against you."

Sanemi smiled and then told her, "You remind me of one of my sisters, you know."

"Which one?"

"Teiko," he replied. "She was always the peacemaker in our family before she died. She always tried to get her siblings to stop arguing, younger or older. She couldn't stand to see us quarrel. She would remind us that if anything ever happened to our mother, we would only have each other, since our father had died some time before. Apparently…" He then took a deep breath as he began to recall what he knew about her death. "Well, when me and Genya began talking again, one of the first things I asked him was what happened to Teiko."

"What happened to her?"

"According to Genya, Teiko was the first to die. Up to the very end, she shielded her siblings from our mother after she was demonized. She actually fought her, and she delayed her long enough for me to arrive and eventually kill her to save Genya. Without her, he'd be dead. I wasn't surprised one bit when I found out."

Vèro placed a hand on Sanemi's shoulder and asked him, "Would you say she died a hero, at least?"

Sanemi answered her with, "Yeah… Still would have been nice if the others lived, but… One living sibling is better than none. She was a better person than I was, I guess."

"I'm sorry that happened to you and your family, Sanemi." The two then began walking down the road again. "So, with all that said… What do you think abou-?"

Both of them then heard a loud crashing sound followed a few seconds later by a horrified and desperate scream come from down the road. Sanemi looked at Vèro and told her, "That question will have to wait. We gotta go."

"Agreed." The two of them then ran down the road as fast as they could, the evening sun setting in the distance. Both of them expected it to be a demon attack since it was almost night time, and as such, they both pulled their swords out.

As they reached a crossroads, they stopped. Sanemi asked, "Which direction did you hear the scream from?!"

Another scream from their right immediately answered the question Sanemi had asked. Vèro then noticed something in the distance down the second road and yelled, "I see something! Let's head down there!"

As they ran up to what Vèro had seen, they found a wrecked car that had swerved off the somewhat icy road and slammed into a tree. One man was slumped over the steering wheel, and based on the fact he was not moving and had numerous head injuries, appeared to be dead. Another man was seen on the ground, having crawled out of the wreck. "Help… Help…"

Sanemi told his Tsuguko, "Check the driver. I'll help the passenger." He then ran over to the surviving passenger and asked him, "What the Hell happened over here? How did you guys crash?"

"Water… Water…" The man then looked at a canteen of water that had seemingly fallen out of the car.

Sanemi, assuming he wanted water, ran over and grabbed the canteen before walking it back to the survivor. "Did you want your water?"

"No… No…"

"Huh?"

Vèro then told Sanemi as she checked the driver, "The driver's dead. He has a giant hole where his upper chest should be plus a broken jaw and a bunch of missing teeth. Even one of his eyes is gone. It's almost like someone reached in and ripped his heart out." Indeed, Vèro turned the driver's body towards Sanemi to show him where the hole in his upper chest was as well as the empty right eye socket. "This wasn't an accident."

"Ripped his heart out? What the fuck?" Sanemi then set the canteen down and walked over to Vèro, asking her, "What do you mean it's almost like some-?"

The survivor then screamed, startling both of them as he yelled in fright, "No! The water killed the driver! It attacked us!" He tried to crawl away from the canteen despite suffering extensive injuries to his arms and legs, yelling at it, "Get the fuck away from me! Don't you come out of there, you bastard!"

Sanemi began to realize what was going on with the water canteen and rushed over to try to grab it. "Oh shit!" Before he could grab it, however, a hand made of water suddenly emerged from the canteen and wrapped itself around the survivor's neck, quickly ripping the entire head off of the body and spewing blood everywhere on the ground and the remains of the car. Just as soon as it appeared, the hand changed form and began to surround the head, quickly consuming it in front of the two shocked slayers before disappearing back into the canteen.

Vèro said to herself in utter shock at what she had just witnessed, "Putain de sa mère…"

Sanemi yelled, "It's a fucking Blood Demon Art! It's contained entirely in that canteen!"

"But where's the actual demon responsible for it?!"

"I'm gonna find out!" Sanemi then ran over and swung down on the canteen with his sword, smashing it into pieces. However, when the canteen burst open, he found there was no longer any water inside. Instead, all he found was a large amount of blood mixed in with tiny fragments of flesh and bone. It was as if whatever was inside that had killed the survivor and also presumably the driver had vanished into thin air. "Where… Where the fuck did it go?! It was just here a second ago!"

"Did it vanish or something?!"

"Sure as Hell seems like it," Sanemi replied. "Wherever it is, we can't let it do this again!"

Inside an unoccupied warehouse Genya had broken into, he and the man he had confronted earlier walked in and began to discuss what would happen. "What's gonna happen is you're gonna give me that damn bag," Genya told him. "And then you're gonna tell me where you came from."

"No," replied the man as he set down the bag and pulled out a handgun. "You're gonna walk away and pretend this meeting didn't happen, demon slayer."

"If you don't tell me, I'm gonna take this sword and shove it right up your ass before I pump your body full of shotgun pellets." He then pulled out his sawed-off double-barrel shotgun with his free hand.

"I see you use a short sword," said the man. "Why not one of them katanas the others use? What about that shotgun of your's, too? What's the deal with that?"

"I got my own way of fighting your kind. Besides, having a gun makes our fight more equal since you have one yourself."

"Fair enough." The man then fired two shots at Genya, but both missed as Genya darted forward and fired a round of shot at the man. Most of the pellets hit him, causing him to recoil in pain before he pulled a knife and stabbed Genya, to which Genya replied by slicing his stabbing hand off with his wakizashi. "Agh, shit!"

Genya acted quickly and bit down on the man's shoulder, ripping off part of his clothes, skin, and muscle. "I hope I bit off enough to heal," he thought to himself as he quickly swallowed the flesh and even the cloth he had ripped off of the man's shoulder with his teeth.

The man yelled, "Are you a fuckin' lunatic?! What was that for?!"

Genya's stab wound in his stomach began to heal as he yelled, "I told you! I don't fight like most other demon slayers!" He then fired his second and final shotgun blast before charging at the man and slashing him across the chest with his wakizashi. By now, his teeth had begun to sharpen and his eyes had darkened significantly. "I'm a demon eater!"

"Demon eater?!" The man fired a third and fourth shot, both of them striking Genya and forcing him back a few feet, but neither bullet proved fatal, and his wounds soon began to heal. "No fuckin' way! You really are one of them!"

Genya then yelled as he licked blood off of one of his hands, "Tell me where you're keeping that girl!"

"What girl?!"

"The one you kidnapped from Count Mochizuki! Don't try to lie to me, asshole!"

"I have no ide-"

"Fuck you!" Genya then charged at the man and stabbed him with his wakizashi right in his lower chest. As the blade sank into his body, Genya demanded, "Stop fucking with me and tell me the truth, you bastard!"

"I…"

"Tell me!"

Realizing he was cornered, the man finally admitted, "Okay… Okay… I know what you're talkin' about, okay?"

"Then tell me where you're keeping her!"

"If… If I do…"

"Hurry up!"

The man yelled, "She's being kept at the Hoshino Mansion nea-" Before he could finish, however, something emerged from the bag he dropped and rapidly raced over to him. Genya removed the wakizashi from his chest as this thing, which seemed to be similar in appearance to water, wrapped itself around the man's neck. As the man screamed in fear, the water formed into a hand completely twisted his head off.

Genya yelled as the water began to retreat back into the bag, "What the fuck was that?!" He ran over to the bag and pulled out a small gourd of water, upon which he saw the water within once again begin to reach out. He quickly dropped the gourd on the ground and then pulled out his revolver to shoot it twice. The gourd shattered into numerous pieces, but the water quickly vanished upon it doing so. He said to himself in shock, "Holy shit… Was that a Blood Demon Art? If it was, whose is it?"