"Have you seen a boy with Hanafuda earrings?"
"Huh?" The udon man turned around to find a haggard man standing in front of his stall. His kimono was ripped around his legs and his hair was dishevelled around his back. His eyes were scarlet red, and his nails were long and sharp. He appeared to be a very young man, no older than 29. The man's presence were scaring customers away from his stall, and night times were about the only time he gets good business.
The man sighed intimidatingly, inched his way slowly towards the udon man's stall, and whispered the question again. "Have you seen a boy with Hanafuda earrings?"
"Hanafuda earrings?" The udon man scratched his head. "Why would I see anyone wearing an old relic like that in the cities? Besides, I'm a busy man. I don't particularly stare at my customers faces when I make their food."
The man seemed irritated at the way he was responding.
"What do you want, sir? I could make you a bowl of udon, if you like."
"I'm not here for your marketing strategies!" The man suddenly yelled at the udon man, who flinched.
"Well, that's what you will get from an udon man. I only make noodles. If you want food, then stay. If no, then get out of here! You're scaring away my customers."
The man suddenly clutched the udon man's neck and squeezed it.
"Sir? Let (cough!) me go (cough!)" The udon man struggled to protest.
The man's long, sharp nails dug into his skin. Suddenly, the udon man's nails began to inject something into his neck, something slimy and foreign. The pain the udon man felt was unbearable. He was shrieking and screaming, repelling any living thing away from his small shop. His arms were flailing around, his legs kicking open air. Suddenly, everything stopped. The twitching, the kicking, the moving, even the pain. The udon man's eyes rolled up into his head, and he fell limp to the floor as his murderer dropped him, never to make another bowl of udon again.
"Weak, insignificant..."
The strange man walked away from the crime scene, as though he had nothing to do with it. His claws were free of blood, and his kimono free of stains. He walked over to a small abandoned house and sat there for some time.
"I'M STILL WEAK!" He yelled at himself suddenly, and kicked a nearby rock. "I can't convert! I can't turn anyone into demons! AAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!" He tore at his hair and yelled. Then, in a calmer, melancholic tone, he said, "and to think I was once the strongest demon king who ever existed!"
The man took some time to calm down and settle. Then, his mind began to work. If he was not wrong, it was 1928 and he was somewhere in the urban areas. The boy he was looking for lived in the less urbanized, agrarian part of the hills. He should go there. Also, it was some time since he died, meaning the boy had grown up now and he was a man.
No harm in assuming he is somewhere in his twenties, and he already has kids of his own. That makes things more interesting...
"My Lord?" The man found a meek voice somewhere to his right. He turned to find a group of bushes there.
"Who are you," the strange man barked, "and what do you want from me?"
The source of the voice emerged from the bushes- it was a small, insignificant piece of pity. His back was humped like he was crippled, and he had a potbelly. Currently, he was crouched in front with an expression of defiance. But when the strange man saw his fingers, he could see claws on them. Long, sharp, pointy claws. And his eyes- they were dark blue, with black slits for pupils. The signs of a demon!
The strange man perked up.
"Why have you come here? How haven't you perished yet?"
The man looked up to behold his gnarled face and crooked teeth. "I hid myself in the forest most of the time, so I managed to not get hunted. I fed myself on animals and the occasional human being to stay alive. And as for your first question..." At this instance, the man leaned forward and spoke in an ominous whisper.
"I know where to find the man you are looking for. I know where Kamado Tanjiro and his family resides."
"And if you give me permission, I can lead you to where he resides."
The strange man's eyes gleamed with vengeance that was long forgotten. Finally, he thought, finally I can get the revenge I deserve!
"All right, demon. Lead me to where he lives."
"Ohh, the honour's mine, Lord Muzan."