Act One: Night Rain Relay Station · The Lost Bell. The rain fell like shattered blades, slapping against the eaves.
The rain fell like shattered blades, slapping against the eaves.
“Why does it have to be now, of all times, aaaaaah! It was right there just a moment ago!”
Zenitsu was on the verge of tears. He yanked at his own hair with one hand while clutching the wooden box on his back with the other, pacing anxiously in front of the relay station like a sparrow with its feet scorched by fire.
The night curtain was thick as ink, and there was no one around. Zenitsu suddenly realized he was standing alone in the heart of the darkness, his throat tightening, his toes gradually stiffening.
『No one... What if a demon suddenly pops out...? No, no, no, that's impossible, right...?』
The moment the fearful thought surfaced in his mind, he shook his head desperately, trying to dispel the lingering shadows in his thoughts.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew through the alley entrance, and faintly, the sound of a bell carried through the air.
Ding-ling—
Zenitsu's eyes widened instantly: “The bell?! Nezuko r34's bell! It must have fallen off somewhere along the path we took!”
In an instant, all his fear and anxiety transformed into an urgent desire to find the bell. Zenitsu took a deep breath, securing the wooden box more tightly on his back. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally took that step forward with determination.
『Scared? Of course I'm scared to death. But what I'm even more afraid of is—』
He glanced back at the box on his back, as if he could see the sleeping girl's face through the wood.
『If her bell is lost, she'll definitely be so sad... That kind of expression... I-I don't want to see it, aaaaaah!』
With that thought, Zenitsu squeezed his eyes shut tightly, and his feet erupted with lightning-like speed, charging toward the direction where the bell's sound had faded into the alley.
“Aaaaaaaaah—!”
His voice tore through the silence of the rainy night as he ran wildly along the slick cobblestone path, his steps light and swift as if treading on bolts of lightning.
—But the moment he dashed into the alley entrance, the scene before him abruptly shifted.
The rain curtain froze like torn paper, and the surrounding streets, houses, even the sky, seemed sliced apart by mirrors, folding into bizarre, distorted shapes.
Ding-ling, ding-ling—
The bell rang again, but this time, the sound turned utterly eerie, echoing with a shrill, mocking laughter in the air.
“If you can't find the bell... she'll hate you, won't she?”
His reflection in the mirror suddenly grinned, its smile grotesque and icy cold.
“You're afraid of being hated by her, aren't you? You're scared to death, aren't you? Hahaha...”
Zenitsu shuddered violently, his legs going weak. He hugged the box tightly, backing away step by step:
“What a joke... I-I'm not scared! It's just an illusion... I'm a Demon Slayer!”
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, the reflections in the mirrors all bared mocking smiles in unison:
“Hahahaha, liar.”
Zenitsu's heart pounded wildly, his body trembling uncontrollably. Just as he was on the verge of total collapse, the wooden box on his back vibrated gently.
The next second, a warm flame seeped slowly from the cracks in the box, forming a faint fiery pattern on the ground, pointing toward the depths of the mirror labyrinth.
Inside the box, Nezuko r34 seemed to sense something, letting out a soft whimper.
Zenitsu's racing heartbeat steadied in an instant.
『That's right... I'm not alone.』
He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, lifting his gaze to the darkness deep within the mirrors. For the first time, his eyes burned with resolve.
“Wait for me, Nezuko r34. I'll definitely find that bell.”
But in that very moment, the illusion seemed to latch onto the soft spot in his heart, the mirrors beginning to warp and reflect another scene—a warm, secretive hallucination where Nezuko r34 was no longer the slumbering girl in the box, but instead crawling out slowly, draped in thin fabric soaked by the rain, her damp strands of hair making her pinkish skin glow softly in the dim light. Her eyes half-lidded with a hazy longing, she reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Zenitsu's neck.
Zenitsu's body stiffened instantly, his breathing turning ragged. He knew this was an illusion, yet he couldn't resist the sensation transmitted from her fingertips—Nezuko r34's skin was as smooth as silk, carrying a slight chill that quickly melted into warm adhesion under his body heat. Her breath brushed against his ear, soft as a feather's caress, laced with a faint cherry blossom scent, making his throat bob and a wave of heat surge through his chest.
『This... this isn't real... But why does it feel so vivid?』 Zenitsu's mind was a whirlwind, fear and desire intertwining. He felt her fingers trace lightly over the nape of his neck, that subtle friction sending electric jolts down his spine, making him tremble involuntarily. Her body pressed closer, her soft curves molding against his chest, each breath causing that warm undulation to sync with his own, as if inviting him to go further. Zenitsu's hands instinctively steadied her waist, his fingertips brushing the skin beneath the thin cloth—warm and supple, yielding elastically under his touch, sending his heart thundering like drums, his blood boiling within.
Psychologically, he desperately told himself this was a trap, yet he couldn't help but indulge in this intimacy—he feared losing her, feared her disappointment, and this hallucination seemed to promise that surrender would grant him this tenderness forever. Her lips grazed his earlobe, the moist touch setting his entire body ablaze, his mind flashing with countless forbidden images: her whimpers no longer mere calls, but laced with breathy seduction, making him imagine stripping away that layer of fabric, feeling every secret inch of her body. His senses amplified—the rain's patter a distant murmur, the mirrors' laughter a low, coaxing whisper, urging him deeper into surrender.
But just as he teetered on the edge of losing himself, Nezuko r34's whimper echoed again from the real box, soft yet firm, like a clear spring washing away his fog. The illusory her began to blur, and Zenitsu shook his head fiercely, shoving away the phantom embrace, his chest heaving, face flushed crimson.
“Wait for me, Nezuko r34. I'll definitely find that bell.”
With those words, Zenitsu's feet once more erupted in thunderous speed, charging toward the direction guided by the fiery pattern.