You first met Genya under less-than-ideal circumstances.

The mission had gone south quickly. You’d been separated from your Kasugai crow, and the demon—some horrific, fast-healing beast with multiple mouths—had cornered you in a rotting shrine outside the village. Just when you thought you’d be ripped apart, he showed up.

Shotgun blast. Sword flash. Silence.

You blinked through blood and dust to see a tall figure towering over the demon’s body, smoke rising from the barrel of his Nichirin gun.

“…You good?” he grunted, not looking at you directly.

You could only nod, breathless. He turned, already walking away before you could say thanks.