The game begins with the Shiftling protagonist, Hide, being awoken from a recurring nightmare and after saving a villager, finds a mysterious letter leading them to Jusanzakura. Clearing the village of both yōkai and bandits, Hide fights the giant Yokai, Mezuki, and succeeds but begins to lose control of their yōkai power until Tokichiro, the sender of the letter, saves them. The two befriend each other and enter the employ of Saitō Dōsan, also meeting the demon hunter, Mumyō along the way, but shortly after, Dosan's successor, Saito Yoshiatsu, rebels. Hide and Tokichiro attempts to save Dosan, but when Dosan realizes that Hide is their child, he sacrifices himself so that they can escape.
