14 Demon Slayer: Floating Comment

"Kid? Hey, kid!"

Haruto jolted awake, his body trembling. The phantom pain of his bones being crushed in his final moments lingered, dragging a soft groan from his lips.

In front of him stood the innkeeper, a look of unease etched across his face. "Are you sick? A heart attack?"

It took a while for Haruto to shake off the residual agony that clung to his nerves. His pale complexion matched the silver of his hair. Recognizing the setting, he took a deep breath and steadied himself before asking, "What... What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" the innkeeper said, relieved but exasperated. "You just walked in, and before you could say a word, you collapsed! If I hadn't caught you, you might've cracked your skull on the floor!"

Haruto wobbled as he pushed himself up. His head spun slightly as he processed the situation.

So, it happened again…

Each time he died, the timeline reset to the moment before his death.

Exhaling sharply, he stepped outside the inn and glanced across the street. A sign, partially obscured, creaked in the breeze, and whispers of unsettling rumors floated through his mind.

Two demons.

One was the slippery, lurking near the baths, while the other—a bull-headed, octopus-bodied demon—remained elusive. The bull demon had paralyzing venom in its tentacle suckers and mysterious Blood Demon Arts to boot.

What was their connection? Why did the bull demon only appear after first was slain?

Haruto dismissed the thoughts with a shake of his head. For now, he had a more pressing priority—food.

Returning to Banseisha Inn, he approached the counter.

"What's on the menu today?" he asked, pointing at the display case brimming with seafood. "Sea bream? Snow crab?"

The demons could wait. First, he needed to fill his stomach.

Giyu Tomioka arrived in Hirano a bit later, guided by his loyal crow. "Another Demon Slayer has already arrived ahead of you," the crow reported.

"Who? Where are they now?" Giyu pressed.

The crow fluttered his wings apologetically. "I'm old, Giyu. I don't know everything."

Resigned, Giyu wandered the streets aimlessly until the commotion at a bustling inn caught his attention.

"What's going on here?" he asked a bystander.

"A showdown!" the man said excitedly. "An out-of-town kid is challenging Hachi Fujiwara!"

"Hachi Fujiwara? The famous glutton of Hirano?"

"Yeah! The guy who ate 200 sea bream sushi in one sitting. They say even sumo wrestlers can't out-eat him!"

"Who's the challenger?"

"Some silver-haired kid. Handsome, too!"

Silver hair. Handsome. Gluttonous.

The pieces clicked in Giyu's mind, forming one name: Haruto Takanashi.

Giyu sighed, hefting his sword as he wove through the crowd like a fish swimming upstream. Inside, he spotted the participants.

Hachi Fujiwara, a sumo-sized man with a traditional chonmage topknot, was drenched in sweat as he devoured sushi with manic determination. Around him, the chefs worked at lightning speed, their craftsmanship taking a backseat to sheer volume production.

Across the table sat Haruto, his white hair flowing freely. Compared to Hachi's frenzied eating, Haruto was calm, methodical—one sushi after another, each swallowed effortlessly.

Giyu's lips twitched as he watched the scene.

Hachi, what were you thinking? There's no way you can win.

He recalled the legendary tales of Haruto's appetite. On Mt. Fujikasane, he'd consumed over twenty boxes of eel rice without breaking a sweat. On Mt. Sagiri, his meal of twenty-four arm-length pickled fish left others in awe.

And after all that, Haruto still had the energy to practice Flame Breathing drills.

This boy's stomach wasn't just deep—it might as well be another dimension.

The match was reaching its climax. Though Hachi was significantly larger, anyone with eyes could see he was nearing his limit. Haruto, on the other hand, looked like he could eat a hundred more sushi pieces without batting an eye.

"Give it up, Hachi!" someone in the crowd yelled. "You'll kill yourself at this rate!"

Fueled by misplaced pride, Hachi scooped rice directly from a bucket and crammed it into his mouth. Haruto, startled by the reckless act, hesitated. Before he could decide whether to match the move, Hachi froze.

"He's choking!" someone screamed.

"His stomach and throat are completely blocked!"

Hachi's eyes glazed over as his face turned beet red.

Seriously? If you can't eat anymore, just stop! Haruto thought, rushing forward to help.

Before he could act, Giyu stepped in. With a calm but firm demeanor, he poured water into Hachi's mouth. When that failed, he flipped his sword and struck Hachi's abdomen with the hilt.

A few solid hits later, Hachi coughed violently, regurgitating sushi and rice all over the floor.

The crowd erupted into cheers and murmurs of relief. What had started as a lighthearted contest had nearly turned fatal.

"Giyu?" Haruto's eyes lit up. "You're the one assigned to this mission? Have you eaten yet?"

He pushed a plate of sushi toward Giyu, who glanced at the mess on the floor and shook his head.

"I'm not hungry. What happened here?"

Haruto chuckled. "It's a long story. This guy came out of nowhere, insisting we have an eating contest. Said the loser would pay for the winner's meal…"

Now, it seemed Hachi had lost more than his appetite—he was out cold, unable to even cover the bill.

After the dust settled, Haruto paid for his meal. The innkeeper, grateful for the influx of customers, waved him off.

"Thanks to you, business has never been better!"

Haruto smiled, dropping a few extra coins. "Then could you prepare some takeout? And a box of baby formula."

He still needed to help Saori, the widow caring for her infant daughter, Rika. Without provisions, they wouldn't survive the night.

Back on the road, Giyu followed Haruto to the Asai household. Saori's wary demeanor hadn't changed.

"When did you arrive?" Giyu asked.

"Around noon," Haruto replied, noting that Giyu's hair had grown slightly longer since they last met.

"I sent you letters. Why didn't you reply?" Haruto complained. "I even wrote a few more, thinking the first ones didn't reach you."

"Makomo took them," Giyu said with a shrug. "She said your stories were nonsense anyway."

"Makomo?"

"She found out you saved Sabito. Now she wants to make you her role model."

The sun was setting, painting the sky in hues of red and gold. Giyu's tone turned serious.

"What's this about missing fishermen?"

Haruto's expression darkened. "It's a long story. Have you ever heard the legends of the Geisha Demon and the Bull Demon?"