Chapter Text
Looking back on it, the cough began a month before the semi-annual Hashira meeting. The issue was hardly pressing. Giyuu had been through much worse. A cough was child’s play. He could distinctly remember a particularly nasty broken finger. Kocho was unable to reset it completely, and now his pinky finger was permanently set at an incorrect angle. And he’d nearly lost an arm from the elbow down once.
At first, Giyuu had thought it was allergies. And then it grew worse again, about three days after he accidentally crossed paths with Shinazugawa on a mission. He had invited Shinazugawa to lunch as a show of solidarity. Kocho said people did not like him because he did not talk, so he attempted to remedy the issue. Instead, Shinazugawa spat a rejection in his face and turned on his heel, leaving Giyuu to step into the little restaurant by himself.
Two weeks before the meeting, he began to suspect something was wrong. Five days was the most soreness in his throat normally lingered. It had been fourteen now, and he hadn’t exerted himself massively on the last mission he took. In fact, the last three or so had been fairly light. Most of his work fell to patrols.
He briefly considered visiting Kocho, seeing as she was the least occupied slayer at any given time, but there was no need to bother her over something so minor. He briefly reprimanded himself for even allowing the thought to cross his mind. Taking minutes from Kocho’s day for a stupid sore throat was foolish. Instead, he dropped by the small tea shop not far from his Estate whenever possible. His mother had always insisted tea was the best for something like this.
-
He and Kocho moved as fast as they could, but the sun set long ago and visibility had lowered drastically. It was one of the definite disadvantages demon slayers faced when doing their job, as demons often had acute visual awareness in the dark while the opposite was true for humans. He knew many lower-rank slayers that had fallen victim to demons merely because they were unable to see incoming attacks.
But Kocho pushed forward, taking the lead. It was an emergency response, after all. Behind them, Giyuu could hear the near-silent footfalls of Tsuyuri, Kocho’s tsuguko. Kocho had seen it fit to bring her as the Master said that it was most likely a lower member of the Twelve Kizuki, a demon suitable to test her abilities against. Besides, if Tsuyuri was able to slay the Lowermoon, that would get her halfway to being qualified for the Hashira rank. After that, it was down to simply carrying out missions, and Tsuyuri had already been responsible for upward of twenty demon kills according to Kocho. Her number would likely be higher if she was not so busy at the Butterfly Mansion, overseeing it in Kocho’s absence. Further back, several groups of Kakushi were trailing. Obviously, in the case that there was a large and violent demon, it was going to be the Hashira’s job to take it down so the danger could be dealt with as quickly as possible, after which the Kakushi were sent in…to clean up the area.
From what they had been told there was a large demon presence on the mountaintop and several groups of low-ranking slayers had disappeared there. The most recent team sent had yet to send word so more extreme measures were being taken.
Not to mention, the night air was cold and his throat quickly began feeling unpleasant, and then downright painful. It wasn’t enough to interrupt his Total Concentration, but it was certainly becoming a persistent annoyance. Perhaps he had been trying the wrong types of tea.
The mountain came into view sometime later, large and looming. The moon was bright enough to cast some sort of view on the arching trees. They stretched toward the sky with thin, skeletal limbs, and large trees that would likely block most of the light dripped from the branches.
They reached the base quickly, and Giyuu noted with distaste that there were thick clouds of fog rolling through the trees and enveloping the ground. That would lower what little visibility they already had dramatically. It seemed the Twelve Kizuki was determined to disadvantage them as much as it could.
They left the Kakushi at the base in compliance with the info they had received from the few slayers who made it off the mountain. The demons living there resembled spiders, and one of the slayers with a viciously broken arm had recounted the tale of being controlled by webs. It seemed they were able to manipulate human bodies. Thus, it wouldn’t do to bring Kakushi onto the mountain until the demons were dead, both to keep them and others safe.
He and Kocho only paused briefly to instruct the Kakushi, and then Kocho had an extremely succinct conversation with Tsuyuri before appearing at Giyuu’s side. “Let’s go.”
They breached the tree line quickly, and the mass of Kakushi vanished behind the vegetation. The trees were even worse from within the forest itself, and the grass reached knee height in some areas.
Only around two minutes into their advance, the smell of blood slammed into the both of them. Neither he nor Kocho reacted, each maintaining their own carefully blank facades. This was how it always was between them.
Four slayers were strewn across the forest floor. Two of them were twisted at odd angles, several of the limbs obviously pushed past human limits. A third had been stabbed with a nichirin blade, likely by one of their compatriots.
“The Spider silk,” Kocho said, and he nodded his agreement before kneeling down and removing the blade from the body and laying it at the slayer’s side. Kocho hummed, and his eyes shifted to her.
Her eyes were trained in the air, locked on several of the sprawling branches above. “There is the silk.”
He squinted. Thin white threads were dangling over dozens of the branches. “Spiders. Small ones.”
“Yes,” she replied. “The victims likely did not know they were even ensnared. Until it was too late, of course.” Her eyes fell to the bodies.
“Were you acquainted with any of them? There don’t seem to be any survivors around here…” Kocho said. “We were informed that several rookie Mizunoto had joined this battle but…they might be dead by now don’t you think?”
“Let’s go,” he replied instead of answering her question. Giyuu rarely knew the recruits who died and often didn’t bother looking in the first place. Murata was perhaps the only one in the lower ranks who he was distantly aware of. It was smarter to keep them nameless, faceless. It was better.
The duo took off into the forest once again, Kocho in the lead.
“Isn’t the moon lovely?” Kocho questioned, making conversation as they moved. “Since we’ve been given this joint mission, let’s try to get along.”
The two had worked together on missions before, back when Kocho had first ascended the ranks. Only two. And then she had become preoccupied with the Butterfly Mansion and began dividing her time between medicinal studies and patrols. It was rare for her to even go on missions these days, really.
“My only concern is slaying demons.”
“How cold-hearted of you.” Her other words were left unsaid. What of saving others?
Not long after, she spoke again. “All right, then, let’s split up here. I shall proceed from the West.”
“Very well.”
Kocho broke off immediately, choosing a direction and disappearing within a moment. He welcomed the silence. Kocho was perhaps the Hashira he was closest with, but the two had a very…situational bond. She behaved when they were on missions together, and he was one of the few she would seek out at Hashira meetings, but they did not keep in contact.
Of course, Giyuu didn’t keep in contact with much of anyone. So it wasn’t personal.
Since Kocho was heading West, he would take the East. There was no point in forging straight up the mountain. That was where the non-Kizuki demons would be stationed, prepared to intercept invaders. And it was likely the most heavily trapped. Between the moon and the fog, it was hard to tell exactly which direction he was heading in, but Kocho had seemed confident in her directional abilities.
The forest was dead silent. Not even a cricket was chirping. Giyuu followed suit, altering his stance so his footsteps were completely silent.
The spiderwebs in the area had thinned out significantly, proportional to the distance he wandered from the main path.
He saw two more bodies, one twisted beyond repair and the other hanging lifelessly in the trees. Giyuu left them for the moment, offering them a silent apology for being unable to prevent their death. Or even offer them an honorable burial
The air changed as he passed another corpse, this one smashed into a tree. The back of the girl’s skull had caved in. At least it was quick.
It took Giyuu a moment to pinpoint what exactly had changed, and then the familiar noise registered. He stopped moving forward, surveying his surroundings. There was water in the distance. Slayers would likely congregate at water if they wanted to avoid the spiders; then again, the spider webs had almost completely disappeared now. The only ones left seemed to be sentinels, traps set to alarm the puppet master of someone’s presence.
He headed in the direction of the sound, eyes scanning the forest. It had to be a fairly large body of water, because it wasn’t the lazy rush of a stream. This was a river, undoubtedly, albeit a slow-moving one.
No noise outside of the water, though. So there likely weren’t demon slayers in the area. As the tree line thinned, he noticed several damaged or uprooted trees. One trunk was splintered across the rocks, and another was stuck on a small plateau in the middle of the river, a jagged crack tracing it lengthwise. Something had ripped these trees from the ground. Or something.
The breaks were fresh, as well. He dropped to the ground to inspect a handful of snapped branches and found most of them were still green and unweathered as they would’ve been on the forest floor.
To his right, somewhere down the bank, he heard rocks clashing against each other, and then there was a mighty roar. Giyuu was gone in an instant, running just along the tree line.
He saw the demon first, pressing something against a tree. He caught the glint of metal. A slayer, then, and judging by their choked sounds, a slayer near death.
He unsheathed his blade.
When he was smaller, unpracticed, slicing through a demon felt akin to trying to chop a tree down. Now the muscle and sinew gave way with little fight, smooth as butter. The demon’s arm hit the ground with a thud and rounded on Giyuu, roaring with contempt. He wasted no time.
As it began disintegrating he checked its eyes. There was no symbol. The only thing on its face was a manic grin decorated by spider-like pincers. This demon was no Kizuki.
There was heaving behind him, and the smell of rotting meat slammed into Giyuu with a force. He turned, thinking he may have misjudged just what the demon was attempting to kill. Devouring a corpse, perhaps?
He turned, and abruptly stopped, perplexed. Giyuu’s fingers were tight on his blade, wrapped right above the tsuba.
The creature that was emitting the smell of a dead animal was very much alive.
A boy, he realized, judging by his heaving chest. He held a blade in each hand, both horribly disfigured by sharp indents.
There was blood leaking from underneath the…boar head, and it had clearly spilled out the snout as well. The fur beneath the boar’s nostrils and eyes were matted with fresh blood, a dark crimson in the moonlight.
He stared at the dead-eyed mask, perplexed. Was this what the younger ranks were dressing like…?
There was a heavy exhale from inside the mask, and then another cough, likely spewing more blood out of his throat, and then his grip on the blades tightened with vigor. “Fight me!
-
He deemed it safer to tie the boy up, in the end. It would almost definitely be a risk to bring him back into a battle, judging by the amount of blood he had lost. And Giyuu would be cutting back in toward the center of the mountain, so that would ensure no demons would be able to find him without first facing Giyuu himself.
It was significantly less difficult to locate the next attack. Pink-red flames exploded under the tree’s cover, and he briefly wondered about the hue. Rengoku’s fire was orange-yellow.
The ruckus would draw both demons and demon slayers in, so it was a simple decision. He would end the battle quickly and ensure the slayer’s survival. Too many had already died on the mountain.
A yell echoed through the trees, and he distractedly took note of the silken strings in the trees increasing, although they seemed to be inactive.
It wasn’t the white string that drew his attention, though.
A demon stood in the center of a small clearing, hands weaving blood-red silk. It had been emitted in a deadly spiral.
Giyuu saw the slayer next, a boy lying motionless on the ground. For a moment, it seemed like he was dead. But a demon had no reason to attack a corpse.
Which meant it was Giyuu’s duty to protect him.
The demon and the slayer seemed to be engaged in conversation, but that wasn’t worth his attention.
The Lower Moon was.
As he landed on the edge of the clearing, the blood silk moved, and the boy screamed, head tilted up to face his incoming demise.
Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm.
The ground around him turned to water. A perfectly still surface, and a perfectly still slayer, to the eyes of onlookers.
The first hint of red appeared, and he blinked. It took only a moment for the string to begin pouring, fluttering past his head and landing on his haori. It brushed across his fingers, caused ripples on the surface of the water.
The Kizuki stumbled backward, terror written across its face and mouth open in a yell. The beginnings of more thread spouted from his fingers, and Giyuu stepped forward.
As with the other Spider demon, it took a single swipe.
The sound coming from the Kizuki’s throat was silenced in an instant, and the dead silence that followed was interrupted only by the thump of the body and head hitting the ground. Separately.
With a single glance, he confirmed his identification once again. Lowermoon 5.
For a moment, Giyuu gazed at the face of the disintegrating demon. It had the body and face of a young boy, no more than twelve. Tears were welling up in its eyes, spilling over its half-there nose and into the grass.
He turned away.
The slayer had moved, no longer lying motionless. He had lowered himself over another figure, one hand wrapped around whoever was below him and the other grabbing the Lowermoon’s clothes, now empty. The remnants of a creature who had killed hundreds.
Anger surged through a distant part of his mind, one he tried not to acknowledge, and he stepped on the fabric.
The slayer, a boy in a checkered haori, looked up. His eyes flickered to Giyuu’s face, equally surprised and afraid.
It was a girl below him. Her hair was splayed out on the ground, and there was leaking slowly from several wounds on her arms. He would tend to her in a moment, when the boy move.
“Don’t waste sympathy on a demon who has devoured humans. It doesn’t matter if it looks like a child. It’s still a hideous monster that has lived for decades.”
No matter how virtuous someone had been in their life, it was wiped away when they turned. Kindness replaced by cruelty.
Instead of removing his hand, the boy’s brow furrowed, and his mouth opened in a snarl, “To avenge the people that were killed…to make sure there are no victims…of course I’ll bring my blade down on any demon’s neck!” Giyuu frowned as he listened to the boy shove the words out of his ragged chest. “But as for those for whom being a demon meant despair, those who regretted their own actions…I will never trample over them! Because demons were once human too! They were humans, just like me!” The boy’s hand tugged at the fabric beneath Giyuu’s foot, insistent. “Please move your foot!”
He stood in silence for a moment, tracing the planes of the boy’s face. It was an admirable sentiment, though a foolish one. Demons were still demons. Regret would not wash the blood from their hands.
The girl on the ground twitched slightly, and something glistened for just a moment in the moonlight. Fangs.
The memory slid down his spine like ice, unpleasant. Bloody snow and the slam of an ax in wood.
This place was not safe for the girl.
His point was proved almost instantly, when the click of a sword registered to his left. Kocho’s poison. Butterflies emerged from the bushes, soft wings dancing, and he took one glance at the brother and sister on the ground, bleeding, before his decision was made.
Kocho shot out of the vegetation at the same time Giyuu stepped in front of them, sword low to deflect her attack.
There was a sickening clash as their blades scraped against each other, and then she vaulted over Giyuu’s head.
Kocho’s blade appeared clean, but it was dripping in wisteria poison. If the girl was stabbed, she would die.
Giyuu hurriedly readjusted his stance, and there was a strangled gasp from underneath him.
Kocho’s head was tilted ever so slightly, eyes fixed on Giyuu. They would appear serene to anyone who was just meeting her, but she was an expert at disguising her true feelings on a matter. And she certainly wouldn’t be happy about his protection of a demon.
“Oh, my.” The boy stiffened below him, arms wrapped around his sister like a vice. “Why would you get in my way, Tomioka? After telling me that we could never get along with demons…How should I put this? That’s exactly why no one likes you.”
The insult meant nothing to him. Giyuu was already aware no one was fond of him.
The situation with the demon girl was complex. She didn’t smell of bloodlust, and it seemed as though she was still protective of her brother. She was probably still outside Muzan’s control. And that meant he had to get her out of there alive. Kocho was unlikely to take his side.
There was only one viable course of action. He needed to give the boy as much time to rest as possible and then hold Kocho at bay.
“I’m not…I’m not disliked by people.” It was a blatant lie, but Kocho wasn’t privy to his feelings on the matter, so she wouldn’t be able to call his bluff immediately. The boy was trying to wake his demon sister now, shaking her gently back and forth.
For a moment, Kocho seemed taken aback by the response, and then she smiled, “Well, I’m sorry. It seems you hadn’t realized that people don’t like you. I shouldn’t have said anything. My apologies.”
He was very aware. The only Pillars who regularly drifted to him were Rengoku and Kanroji, and they were hardly a good jumping off point.
He didn’t respond, grasping desperately for any way to divert Kocho’s attention for a moment more, but it was too late.
“Young boy,” she called, tone deceptively sweet. The boy’s head shot up, eyes wide.
“Yes?” His voice wavered.
She leaned forward as if relaying a secret, one hand cupped to her mouth, “What you’re protecting there is a demon. I don’t want you to get hurt, so please move away.” The warning was obvious, and Giyuu could tell the boy was brimming with anxiety. His eyes bounced between Kocho and Giyuu nervously.
“You’re mistaken! I mean, you’re not, but…she’s my little sister!” He was desperate, voice cracking as he tried to get the point across, “She’s my little sister, so, you see…”
Kocho’s expression remained perfectly masked. Giyuu couldn’t read her at all.
“Is that so?” Her hand drifted to her mouth in concern, or at least in a feign of it. “Poor soul…In that case, I shall use a gentle poison to kill her so she won’t suffer.” With a flick, Kocho sheathed her sword and tampered with the handguard for just a moment. Presumably to alter the poison. With a gentle smile, she lifted her blade.
The boy was getting desperate, eyes searching for an escape route.
“Can you move?” he asked, and the boy’s head whipped around. His mouth remained shut. “Make yourself move even if you can’t. Take your sister and run.”
He blinked, jaw dropping, and then scrambled to his feet shakily. He picked his sister up off the ground, and Giyuu noted with some confusion that she looked much younger than she should.
“Tomioka…Sorry for the trouble!” he said, and Giyuu frowned. The boy had remembered him? With a final cry of thanks, the pair disappeared into the bushes.
Giyuu watched from the corner of his eye, until they were out of sight, and then he turned fully to face Kocho, who was staring into the trees.
Her eyes shifted slowly to Giyuu, a touch colder than they had been a moment before. “Isn’t that against Corps rules?”
He didn’t have time to answer before Kocho was on him, blade cutting through the air faster than the average human could hope to follow. He raised his own, once again parrying her. “I see you’re dead serious, Tomioka. Who would’ve thought a Hashira would ever defend a demon?”
No one. But no one else knew of the girl’s true state besides himself and Urokodaki. Perhaps even the Master, since he was often acutely aware of every threat present within the Demon Slayer Corps.
Shinazugawa and Iguro would have his head if Kocho didn’t get him first. He had no doubt there would be a reckoning if he managed to make it off the mountain.
“Whether you’re dead serious or not, I’m not going to join you in stalling for time.” She was gone with little noise, leaping high into the air. Giyuu watched for a moment and then made his choice. He leapt.
She became aware of his presence only moments later, turning back to look at him as she danced across the branches of the trees. “Is that your attempt at keeping up with me?”
Something flagged in his brain. Glancing around, he saw only trees and grass. Kocho was leading him to or away from something. If she truly wanted to escape his sights, she could. With a powerful step, Kocho shot through the tree cover and cleared it by nearly forty feet. She was giving her advantage up. “I don’t mind you trying to stop me, but don’t forget about the other one!”
That was what he had forgotten to account for. Tsuyuri was somewhere on the mountain, and she wouldn’t hesitate to take the boy down in order to kill his sister. But Kocho was ultimately the bigger threat, taking account of her Pillar status. They had a chance of escaping Tsuyuri, but they would never be able to evade Kocho.
He mimicked her actions, pushing himself off a branch. Unlike Kocho, he set his momentum lower, meaning he’d be on collision course with Kocho, who was drifting through the air. She was only distantly visible, a single black spot against the stars overhead, but that was enough.
Grabbing her was easy. She was quick and agile, but Giyuu trumped her significantly in terms of physical strength. The issue would be when they hit the ground and Kocho had full control of her arsenal. She was the trickiest Pillar, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to have several tricks up her sleeve.
As they broke back through the tree cover, heading down this time, Kocho attempted to grab a nearby branch, but he managed to wrestle her away. They hit the grass with a thud, and Giyuu checked to ensure her blade wasn’t easily within her reach.
“Tomioka.” His eyes drifted to her face. Whatever she had to say would not be good. “Tomioka, are you listening?”
He ignored her, instead glancing up at the moon. They had less than two hours to dawn. The demon girl was running out of time. Kocho shuffled at his side, testing her range of motion.
“Since my attack was justified, I don’t believe it could be construed as a violation. But what you’re doing is against Corps rules. You’re preventing me from slaying a demon. Just what are your intentions here?”
He turned his attention to her finally. Upon seeing her sickly-sweet smile, Giyuu lost any motivation to speak.
“Don’t you have anything to say? This is your final warning. Give me a reason at least.”
He considered it. If Kocho could be convinced it would clear him of any wrongdoing, and the demon girl would be able to stay at the Butterfly Mansion in relative safety. It was worth a try.
“As I recall, it was two years ago—”
“Please don’t start some long, rambling story that far back in time. Are you being spiteful? Are you perhaps still angry that I pointed out that people didn’t like you?”
He barely withheld a frown, annoyance shooting through him. Why ask if—
He heard a shing, a sound like that of a blade being removed from its sheathed.
She has asked to distract him.
Her foot arced up, shining silver.
A blade in her shoe.
He flinched backward, but there was no way to extricate himself from Kocho quickly enough. She was wrapped around his arm, plastered to his side, holding him in place.
He—
A piercing caw interrupted them, and the blade froze less than an inch from his left eye. He let out a shaky exhale, one Kocho undoubtedly felt.
“Message! Message! I have a message from headquarters! Tanjiro and Nezuko are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters!”
He released Kocho from his grip. She wouldn’t be a threat if the Master wanted them alive. And neither would Tsuyuri.
“Tanjiro and the demon, Nezuko, are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters!”
Tanjiro and Nezuko.
He would do what he could to keep them safe. Nezuko hadn’t devoured anyone, of that much he was sure, and the Kizuki had injured her. She was no threat, especially with the boy, Tanjiro, by her side.
Kocho shot him a look, calculating. She would have questions.
“Bring them back! Bring them back! Tanjiro, dressed in a checkered haori, with a scar on his forehead! Nezuko, a demon girl with a bamboo muzzle! Bring them back! Bring them back!”
He glanced up at the moon once more and then began walking South. Kocho followed close behind, trailed by the two crows, both watching the Pillars with curious, beady eyes.
She was back to smiling, the perfect picture of serenity.
Pain welled up in his throat, and Giyuu paused mid-step to cough. His throat was still sore, likely from the frigid air. For a moment, he thought he tasted blood on his tongue, and then he swallowed the cough back down. He must have been imagining things.
They heard the Kakushi before they saw them, milling about at the base of the mountain anxiously. Kocho sighed. “I suppose I’ll go deal with them.”
He nodded. He would need to tell them where the boar-headed boy was.
“Tomioka,” she said, stopping. He glanced over at her. “I hope you have a good explanation for protecting a demon.”
“I do.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she nodded. “Very well, then. If you would contact the Master, I will direct the Kakushi. There are injured to tend to.”
She stepped out of the tree line and caught the Kakushi’s attention, offering directions to dozens of smaller groups. There were several slayers suffering from poison, apparently.
Giyuu waved a young man with brown hair down and told him of the boar child’s location before stepping to the side of the clutter and watching.
It took nearly ten minutes before Tsuyuri appeared. She had the Kamado boy, Tanjiro, on one arm. His body was limp, feet dragging along the ground.
On her other shoulder was a wooden box. That would be Nezuko.
Giyuu was the first to notice her, and he hurried over to help her carry Tanjiro. Tsuyuri handed him over easily and readjusted the wooden box on her arm as Giyuu took Tanjiro into his arms.
Broken jaw, probably concussed, but he seemed fine. He had a pulse, and that was what mattered.
“Kocho will want a mission report,” he said. “Leave these two to me."
Her eyes were blank, almost void-like as she passed Nezuko’s box off to him as well, and then she turned her attention to Kocho, who was just finishing up in her issuing of directions.
Kocho turned to give him one last glance, eyes tracing over Tanjiro’s unconscious form and the container at his feet. She shook her head and turned away, disappearing into the forest.
-
It took two days for the Hashira to assemble completely. Kanroji had been on a mission and Kocho had been managing the numerous injured or poisoned slayers who had been safely transported to the Butterfly Mansion.
Giyuu spent the first day at his Estate, resting before the sh*tstorm that the meeting would be, and then he spent the next at the Ubuyashiki Estate, presenting his evidence and taking his pledge of honor before the Master. His life for Nezuko’s.
Shinazugawa and Rengoku, who were both already present when Giyuu arrived, shot him suspicious glances. They had undoubtedly heard whispers of the demon girl and her brother, but they likely didn’t know of his involvement. Of his decision to spare the girl twice and obstruct Kocho from doing her job.
His throat burned.
Himejima came next, and then Iguro and Kanroji, together. Tokito and Uzui arrived in quick succession. Kocho was the last to make it. She had undoubtedly been busy collecting the various accounts of what had happened on the mountain and administering antidotes as soon as possible.
He stood away from the others, eyes alert. The Kakushi brought Tanjiro out around five minutes after they had all assembled—save for Shinazugawa, who had wandered off after talking to Iguro. He was still unconscious, and his hands were tied behind his back. Lying face down on his broken jaw could not have been present, but the boy made no move. Likely unconscious then.
It took several tries to wake Tanjiro up. The Kakushi started by gently shaking him, but it escalated to shouting in less than a minute as each of the Pillars watched on with curiosity.
“Wake the hell up, will you?!”
That one finally did the trick. Tanjiro’s eyes fluttered, adjusting to the sun. He glanced over at the Pillars with glazed eyes. And then the panic set in.
He looked around in some alarm, gawking at the Hashira, confused and scrambled for grip slightly on the gravel, trying to push himself off the ground. The boy was undoubtedly concussed, and it showed in the way his movements faltered when he turned his head too quickly, the motion dizzying him.
“Bummer,” Uzui said, sounding genuinely disappointed. “I heard he was a demon slayer with a demon in tow, so I was looking forward to seeing someone flamboyant.” He gave Tanjiro another onceover and winced. “That’s one drab-looking kid, huh?”
Rengoku’s voice split the air, and Tanjiro’s head swiveled to face him. “And we’re here for this boy’s trial! I see!”
That confirmed his suspicions, then. The Pillars had heard rumors, but some, like Rengoku, were still somewhat in the dark regarding the situation.
“Wh—Who are these peop—”
The Kakushi slammed Tanjiro’s head down into the gravel, completely disregarding the concussion, “Don’t speak just yet, moron! Just who do you think is standing before you? You’re in the presence of the Hashira!”
When he lifted his head again, the boy still looked dazed and dizzy, eyes unfocused as they danced from Pillar to Pillar. It crossed his mind briefly that Tanjiro might not even know what the Hashira were. If he trained under Urokodaki for two or so years, he only would’ve started properly taking missions a few months before. Slayers rarely found out what the Hashira were at the lower ranks because it simply wasn’t important.
Tanjiro’s case was an exception, however.
Kocho, ever calm and collected, took a gentle tone with him. “Before we start the trial, why don’t you explain the crime you’ve comm—”
“There’s no need for a trial! Protecting a demon is a clear violation of the code! We’re within our rights to deal with him on our own! We’re going to behead him along with the demon!”
Kocho gracefully ignored the interruption, face unmoving as ever.
Uzui joined in with Rengoku’s sentiment, as was to be expected. The two held similar ideals and their personalities meshed well. It was only fitting they would be friends.
“In that case, I’ll be glad to decapitate him with style. I’ll show you the most flamboyant blood spray you’ll ever see. I’m talking max flamboyance.”
Tanjiro’s confusion had started to lift now, settling more into fear. He had nothing to worry about so long as Giyuu was there. He would intervene if anyone tried to kill Tanjiro.
“Ah, what a pitiful sight this boy is. The poor soul…I pity him for having been born at all.” Ah, Himejima. Ever sympathetic. His hands were pressed together in prayer, tears dripping steadily down his cheeks.
Kanroji failed to chip in, eyes flickering between the Hashira and Tanjiro. Conflicted, then. Tokito was similarly silent, although that was likely because the boy had not been listening the entire time, instead gazing up at the sky. Iguro remained silent, content to watch the proceedings. His snake was wrapped around the branch, tongue flickering. Even its eyes were trained on Tanjiro, waiting to hear his defense.
Tanjiro, who was not answering. He’d gone back to looking around, searching for any sign of Nezuko. The girl would be safe. The Master had instructed the Kakushi to move her to a dark corner of the estate and keep the box closed.
One of the Kakushi began muttering to Tanjiro, gesturing at the Pillars. His eyes were wide, likely somewhat distressed by Tanjiro’s disrespect of their ranking. Not that Tanjiro knew any better, seeing as no one had filled him in on the situation.
“Let’s put him out of his misery.” It was Himejima who made the suggestion, rubbing his prayer beads.
“Right!”
“Let’s do it. Flamboyantly!”
The Kakushi yelped this time, “Hey!”
Tanjiro was still ignoring the Hashira, now beginning to try and fight his way to his feet. The Kakushi to his right was holding him down while the one on the left began scolding him.
“Nezuko…” he said, and the Kakushi withdrew for a moment, confused. “Nezuko, where are you?”
There was no answer from the silent courtyard. Giyuu understood why the Master had chosen to keep the demon girl from the meeting, but her absence meant Tanjiro would be on high alert, likely panicked.
“Nezuko! Zenitsu! Inosuke! Murata!”
Giyuu startled slightly, eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise. He hadn’t seen Murata on the mountain and it was impossible to tell who was who when the Kakushi finally got them all down the mountain. Half of the slayers were wrapped head to toe in white bandage, and the other half barely looked like themselves, ragged from days of paranoia and grief.
Iguro spoke up this time, voice echoing through the garden from above. “Forget that. What will we do with Tomioka?”
The disdain in Iguro’s voice was obvious. He chose to stare at Tanjiro rather than make eye contact with his fellow Pillar. “Seeing him there without any restraints is giving me a headache.”
His lip twitched downward. As if he would ever hurt any of them.
“Based on what Kocho told us, Tomioka’s just as guilty of breaking the Corps rules. How will we deal with him? How shall we make him take responsibility? What kind of lesson shall we teach him? Don’t you have anything to say, Tomioka?”
His mouth remained glued shut. The Master would explain everything. It would sound better coming from him. The Pillars trusted the Master. They didn’t trust Giyuu.
“Oh, I think it’s fine. He did come along without resisting. Let’s come up with a penalty later. What I’m more interested in hearing is this boy’s story. The reason he’s going on missions with a demon in tow despite being a Demon Slayer…I’d like to hear the explanation from the boy himself. Needless to say, what he’s done is against the Demon Slayer Corps rules. You are aware of that, aren’t you?”
She waited until he made eye contact with her, fear now dominating his features. “Kamado Tanjiro. Why are you traveling with a demon when you are a Demon Slayer?”
Uzui placed a hand on one of his cleavers, “No need to ask.”
Kocho ignored him, all her attention on Tanjiro. “You can take your time, just tell us why.”
Desperation practically oozed from Tanjiro’s words when he answered. “She’s my…She’s my young—” before the words could form, his voice dissolved into a coughing fit. Kocho stepped forward and uncapped a jug. “It looks like you need some water. Your jaw is injured, so please drink slowly. It contains a painkiller so you’ll feel better.” Tanjiro took the jug and drank some of it, causing a long silence. “Your wounds have yet to heal, so please don’t overdo it. Now then, Tanjiro Kamado…”
“That demon is my sister! While I was away my family was attacked by a demon, and when I got home, they were all dead! My sister was turned into a demon, but she’s never eaten anyone. She never has, and never will! She’ll never hurt humans no matter what!”
It was a far-fetched story at best and downright unbelievable at worst. The Pillars, who were all intimately aware of the cruelty of demons, would undoubtedly take him for a liar.
Iguro cut in, “Spare us your absurd ravings. If she’s family, of course you’re defending her. I can’t trust a single word you’re saying. I, for one, don’t believe you."
“He’s been possessed by a demon. Let us kill this poor child immediately to set him free,” Gyomei agreed.
“Listen to me, please! I became a swordsman in hopes of finding a cure for Nezuko! It’s been more than two years since Nezuko became a demon! And in all that time, she’s never devoured anyone!”
“Your story’s just spinning in circles, idiot. She hasn’t devoured anyone and she isn’t going to? Those are just words, so prove it to us and impress us.”
“What was that bird again?” Muichiro muttered. A few of the Pillars shot him glances but brushed it off quickly.
“Excuse me?” Kanroji’s voice was timid, somewhat unsure. It was her first time speaking in the meeting, which was unusual for her. “I’m not sure about this…but I don’t think that the Master isn’t aware of this. Should we really deal with him on our own?”
It stalled Rengoku and Uzui’s momentum, both backing off slightly. The Master was almost never out of the loop, so it would be presumptuous to judge Tanjiro without his input.
“Shouldn’t we at least wait until he arrives?” she asked, fingers twisting nervously in her braids.
Tanjiro took the pause in conversation as an opportunity to barrel on with his argument. “My sister…My sister will fight by my side! She can fight as a Demon Slayer to protect humans! So please…”
Gravel skittered, and all eyes moved to the edge of the porch.
Giyuu’s eyes widened, and suddenly Tanjiro’s anxiety seemed like a valid reaction.
Shinazugawa had arrived.
His haori was open, jagged scars visible to the world. HIs hair was sticking up, more ruffled than usual, and there was a manic gleam to his eyes. HIs green-tinted blade rested on his left hip.
There was a horribly familiar box in his hand.
“Well, well, I see there’s some fun brewing here.”
Tanjiro startled, head whipping in Shinazugawa’s direction. It took less than a second for understanding to set in. Nezuko was now in the hands of one of the most demon-averse members of the Corps.
Shinazugawa turned a brazen grin to Tanjiro, “Is that the idiotic Corps member who brought a demon along with him? What the hell are you trying to pull here?”
Giyuu hadn’t been anxious before. He had no doubt the other Hashira could be convinced to wait until the Master arrived.
But Shinazugawa was a wild card. A wild card who was in possession of Nezuko.
A Kakushi was hot on the Wind Pillar’s heels, panicking. “This won’t do, Lord Shinazugawa! I must ask you to put down that box!” Their hands were trembling, voice pitched up an octave.
Kocho’s eye twitched, a vicious smile on her face, “Shinazugawa, please don’t act out of line.”
He ignored them, attention still focused on Tanjiro. “What about this demon, kid? You think that she can fight as a Demon Slayer to protect humans? You know what they call that?”
His right hand dropped to unsheath his blade with a hiss of steel and Kanroji cringed backward, eyes worried.
“Completely impossible, you fool!”
The blade plunged straight through the wood, and each of them heard the disgusting sound of flesh being torn. The tip of the sword emerged from the other end of the box painted crimson, blood leaking from the slats of the box.
For a moment, Giyuu considered unleashing his own sword, but that would only serve to anger Shinazugawa. They had to hold out until the Master arrived. If Shinazugawa actually tried to kill Nezuko, Kocho would likely intervene.
However, Kocho was not the one to move.
With a loud hiss of pain, Tanjiro finally staggered to his feet, pushing off the ground in a burst of speed. His hands were still tied behind his back and the gravel almost sent him sliding to the ground, but he made the first two steps and was off like a bullet. “Anyone who hurts my sister, Hashira or not, I won’t let you get away with it!”
Shinazugawa cackled, cleaning his bloody blade with a spin, “Is that right? Good for you!”
Pain bubbled up in Giyuu’s chest, burning through his lungs and up his throat.
“Stop!”
He felt at least ten pairs of eyes turn to him, wide.
Ah. They’d never heard him yell.
“The Master will be arriving soon,” he said, turning his gaze away. He didn’t want to look them in the eye.
Shinazugawa’s head tilted slightly, as if he was confused, and then they were all shocked back into motion when Tanjiro launched himself off the rocks and descended on Shinazugawa from above, mouth open in a snarl.
With a short, aborted motion, the Hashira attempted to slash at the boy. Were he attempting for a fatal hit, it would have fallen, but Shinazugawa had been trying for Tanjiro’s knee. Instead, he hit empty space, and Tanjiro struck down like lightning. Their heads crashed together with an echoing slap, and both reeled backwards, dazed.
Shinazugawa stumbled, a hand on his forehead, and hit the ground. His blade fell as well, bouncing on the rocks with a resounding clang.
Nezuko’s box hit the gravel, still leaking a stream of blood. It had soaked through some of the boards completely now, dyeing them a dark brown reminiscent of sap.
Tanjiro landed facedown, broken jaw colliding with the ground roughly. Giyuu winced.
Shinazugawa was unlikely to take Tanjiro’s attack well. He had already been on edge before, but now the Pillar looked downright murderous, glaring knives past the hand on his forehead.
Kanroji giggled, and then, upon realizing what she had just done, attempted to disguise it as a sneeze. “Pardon me.”
Tanjiro scrambled to his feet, placing himself steadfastly between Shinazugawa and Nezuko, who was still making quiet, reedy noises of pain in her box.
“Damn you!”
“If you can’t tell the difference between good demons and bad, you shouldn’t even be a Hashira.”
Each of the Pillars held their breath, waiting to see how Shinazugawa would retaliate.
“You little…” There was blood trickling from Shinazugawa’s nose, over his lips, and off his chin. “I’ll destroy you!”
Giyuu choked a little on a cough, eyes smarting at the slight burn. He hurriedly covered the noise, grateful none of the Hashira had turned to look at him.
Shinazugawa had leveled his blade with Tanjiro’s eyes, the sword's tip aimed straight toward the crease between the child’s eyebrows.
The tension was interrupted, however, when two of the patio doors slid open. Giyuu glanced up, eyes landing on the two eldest Ubuyashiki daughters, if he remembered correctly. It was always difficult to tell the difference.
“The Master has arrived.”
The Master was in the doorway, a serene smile on his face. Although in the shade, he seemed to radiate a gentle light. He was their leader, after all.
His daughters helped him forward, hands in his.
“So good of you to come. My beloved children…” The two girls shut the doors and then led him to the edge of the porch, where he could face the Hashira. Even if the Master had lost his sight some time ago, he still had an uncanny sense of direction, especially when it came to the Pillars.
“Good morning, everyone. The weather is strikingly nice today. Perhaps with a blue sky?”
It was a shame that he could no longer see, Giyuu thought. The Master took it upon himself to know the names and faces of each of the slayers, so he could properly thank them for their service. Now he could no longer fulfill that duty, constrained to only know their names and accomplishments since his sight had gone.
“It pleases me that we’ve made it to our semiannual Hashira meeting with no personnel changes.”
Each of the Pillars dropped to their knees, offering him the utmost respect. Shinazugawa took it upon himself to slam Tanjiro’s head to the gravel. Not bowing to the Hashira was an offense, but neglecting that duty in the face of the Master would be similar to politely requesting a murder sentence.
He turned his attention completely to the Master’s words and winced slightly. If things were to go incorrectly, there would be a personnel change. If Giyuu had misjudged somehow…
Shinazugawa spoke, voice even and low with reverence, “I am pleased to see you in good health as well, Master. I fervently pray for your good fortune.”
Hashira meetings were the one time a year where the Pillars heard Shinazugawa truly submit to someone else, offering only his respect. No biting remarks or insults. Giyuu supposed Shinazugawa loved the Master—most of the Pillars did, anyhow. Giyuu was, perhaps, the exception.
His chest ached.
“Thank you, Sanemi.” The man’s tone was gentle, doting.
Giyuu had once had that kind of love, that of a father.
He associated it with the sound of chiming laughter, the smoky smell of burning timber, and the feeling of warm cloth on his skin, fighting off the cold outside.
Those were bygone days now.
“If I may, Master…Before we start the Hashira meeting, would you mind enlightening us about this swordsman, Kamado Tanjiro, traveling with a demon?”
The Master nodded slowly, voice dipping back into something more official. “Right. I apologize for surprising you all. About Tanjiro and Nezuko…I’d sanctioned their situation, and I’d also like you all to accept it.”
He could practically hear the other Hashira tensing, and someone shifted uncomfortably on the gravel.
Hypothetically speaking, Giyuu could see three or four of the Hashira accepting the proposal, taking the Master’s words at face value.
Kanroji would, certainly. She wasn’t stupid in any sense, but Giyuu was well aware of her reverence for the Master. She was willing to trust Master Ubayashiki’s words completely, even if he was requesting something that seemed completely outlandish, because her loyalty was her most admirable trait besides her optimism.
Tokito, perhaps. He was a quiet and withdrawn child who had undoubtedly suffered great pain, and the Master had been the one to save him from that agony, if what Giyuu had heard was correct. Despite his amnesia, the Master and his wife, Ubuyashiki Amane, remained two of the very small handful of people Tokito could put a face and name to, undoubtedly because of his respect for them. Besides, he was largely uninvolved in the politics of the Demon Slayer Corps, like Giyuu.
Kocho would undoubtedly listen, he knew. She would be hesitant, but she was well aware of the Master’s intelligence. Kocho was independent, a solitary spirit, but above all else she was logical. If anyone were to see Nezuko’s value, it would be her, no matter if that value was purely scientific.
Shinazugawa…would not be pleased.
Himejima was the first to break the silence, deep voice cutting through their thoughts. “Even though it’s what you request, Master, I cannot consent to it.”
Uzui followed without hesitation, “I, too, must firmly oppose! A Demon Slayer traveling with a demon is unacceptable!”
“I shall do whatever it is you wish, Master,” Kanroji’s statement was a welcome one. Her voice was light and cheerful, despite the weight of her decision. Giyuu made a mental note to greet her kindly next time they crossed paths, rather than brushing her off as he often did with the other Pillars. Kanroji was a sweet soul, who wanted nothing more than to find solace with other people.
“I’m fine either way…Since I’m going to forget anyway.”
“Although I respect you with all my heart, that’s an incomprehensible notion, Master! I oppose it with everything I’ve got!” Rengoku’s was a claim Giyuu could have predicted, but it was a letdown nonetheless. Giyuu would say he and Rengoku were…amicable, at least, so to stand on opposite sides of such a divisive issue was immensely disappointing.
“I won’t trust them,” Iguro said, spitting fire. “I won’t trust them. In the first place, I loathe demons.”
“The Demon Slayer Corps mission is to annihilate demons. I request you to punish both Kamado and Tomioka.”
Giyuu tried not to think of his blade, where the kanji had been carefully molded. Annihilator of Demons, but it loomed in his mind, pushing to the forefront. It was true that he had committed treason, by rules of the Demon Slayer Corps. But… it was also their job to save as many lives as possible, was it not? And Nezuko’s life was one that was still in the balance, one he could save.
It was for that reason that Giyuu knew without a doubt that the Master would not punish him. The Corps would not be the one to cause his harm, at the end of the day. After all, he had made a vow to take his own life should Nezuko fail her test. It was already generous of Ubuyashiki to allow him this much.
It was a mercy, really. To take Giyuu’s life would be blood on another Pillar’s hands. They needn’t bother with someone below their station.
Master Ubuyashiki sighed quietly, although not in a disappointed manner. Just resigned. “Then, the letter.”
“Yes.” The child to the left, who had a beautiful purple ornament in her hair, withdrew a letter from her sleeve. “This letter arrived from a former Hashira and current trainer, Urokodaki Sakonji. I shall read you an abridged version.”
Everything went silent.
Giyuu thought he could feel his finger twitch, a nervous habit, but that would be nonsensical. What did he have to be afraid of? Death? No. Giyuu would face it head-on when the time came, even if that meant driving a blade into his own stomach, bleeding shame.
“‘Please allow Tanjiro to be accompanied by his sister, a demon. Because of her resilient spiritual strength, Nezuko has retained her human reason. Even in a starved state, she refused to eat people, and this has held true more than two years later. Although the situation sounds outlandish, it is the indisputable truth. Should Nezuko ever attack a human, Kamado Tanjiro, as well as Urokodaki Sakonji, and Tomioka Giyuu, will atone by slicing open our stomachs.’”
Heavy silence fell over the courtyard, and several pairs of eyes drifted to him. Giyuu glanced up through his hair where it had fallen over his face, could see Shinazugawa’s face stretching into a scowl.
Tanjiro shifted nervously, head still pressed into the gravel, and Giyuu had a feeling the boy was searching for him.
“So what if they commit seppuku? If they want to die, then rot to death for all I care!”
The words were undoubtedly aimed at Tanjiro. Shinazugawa was looking down when he said them, shoving Tanjiro’s face into the rocks.
But Giyuu was unable to swallow, lips parted. He felt sick, an ache igniting deep in his chest, spreading through his veins like wildfire.
His throat closed up, and pain shot up his esophagus, making him choke on the ache.
Tears burned under his eyelids, and Giyuu fought with all he had to keep them from falling, dripping onto the gravel where anyone could see. The ground underneath him was blurry
The bitter taste of copper filled his mouth, and he flinched slightly, realizing he must have bit his tongue. For a moment, he thought of lifting his hand to his face and wiping his lips clean of any stray blood that may have spilled onto them; instead, he gritted his teeth and his hand stayed frozen to the ground save for the twitch of a finger.
Shinazugawa barreled onward, “It doesn’t guarantee anything!”
And Giyuu couldn’t argue with that. But Urokodaki was a retired Hashira. He had been at the peak of the Corps for almost seven years before collecting too many injuries to safely continue and being honorably discharged.
His life meant something.
“Shinazugawa is right! If she kills and eats a human, it’s irreversible! The dead won’t come back!”
But Nezuko can save people too, he thought. She had been on missions with Tanjiro already, and had been with Tanjiro’s friends. She would have devoured them, exhausted from battle and unable to fight back, if she wanted to.
The Master acquiesced regardless, “You do have a point.”
“In that case…”
Rengoku interrupted, “Master!”
“We can’t guarantee that she won’t attack humans. We can’t prove it. That said…we also can’t prove that she will attack humans. The fact is that Nezuko has refrained from devouring humans for more than two years, and also that there are people staking their lives on her. To reject that…those who reject it must offer an even more convincing argument.”
Shinazugawa looked as though he’d been slapped, rage building by the instant. His knuckles were white where he was clenching his fists, almost the same shade as his hair, and Tanjiro’s head was almost certainly being shoved into the rocks with immense force.
The Master continued, “Do you all intend to do so? Also, there’s something I’d like to relay to you, my children. Tanjiro here has crossed paths with Kibutsuji.”
It was a genius distraction.
All eyes turned to the boy and away from the wooden box, still soaked in blood.
“No, impossible!”
“Even when no Hashira has ever crossed paths with him?”
“You mean this kid?...What did he look like? What about his abilities? Where was he?”
Tokito leaned forward, eyes burning. “Did you battle him?”
Shinazugawa yanked Tanjiro’s head back and forth, frustrated that the boy wasn’t spilling details like a fountain. As if he hadn’t been shoving the boy’s broken jaw into the ground moments before. “What was he doing? Did you find his lair? Hey, answer me!”
“Shut up! I asked him first! First, tell us about his abilities!”
The Master brought a finger to his lips and everyone went silent in the blink of an eye, returning to their knees. Tanjiro breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Kibutsuji has sent pursuers after Tanjiro. Though his purpose may simply be to silence him, now that Kibutsuji’s shown his tail, and we’ve grabbed it, I don’t want to let go. I also believe something’s happening to Nezuko that Kibutsuji never saw coming. Can you try to understand?”
There was silence, and then Shinazugawa protested once again. Giyuu wished he would be quiet. And he wanted Shinazugawa to let go of Tanjiro. “No, I do not understand, Master. If it were human, I’d be okay with letting it live, but not a demon! Not after all that we, the Demon Slayers, have gone through in battle! Not after so many people have lost their lives!”
Giyuu swallowed the last of the blood in his mouth down and wished again that Shinazugawa would shut up. He wasn't bad most of the time, fairly amicable and friendly with the other Hashira on the rare occasion they gathered—a fact Giyuu was intimately aware of, though he seemed the only exception to Shinazugawa’s kindness—but he was refusing to see reason, even after the Master had asked him to accept Nezuko’s situation twice. It was true that they’d also suffered great loss at the hands of demons, but this was different.
Nezuko had saved lives, including Tanjiro’s on several occasions if his friends were telling the truth. Yet Shinazugawa was more concerned with the fundamental reality that she was a demon, ignoring that she had always been different from the rest of their kind if the testimonies were to be believed. Her nature may have been that of a demon, but her behavior was far from the violence expected of her kind.
Giyuu knew it better than anyone, having seen her protect Tanjiro on the mountain.
“It’s unacceptable.”
The Master nodded, acknowledging Shinazugawa’s point, but it did nothing to erase Shinazugawa’s frown. That was never a good sign. His words had ceased, and he instead chose to unsheath his nichirin blade. Kanroji gasped and Tanjiro flinched violently, head whipping up faster than lightning. Shinazugawa brought the sword to his arm and pressed it down.
Blood rushed to the surface, a stream of it rushing around the sides of his forearm and then dripping onto the ground. Shinazugawa had appeared frenzied in his action, but the cut had been precise enough to prevent any further injury.
Giyuu eyed it warily, his tongue swiping across his teeth. It would be unwise for him to speak since his mouth would undoubtedly be stained pink, but the blood was sickening to look at with the copper taste in his own mouth.
The Master, who was turned toward Sanemi’s voice, and the entire line of Hashira were focused on Shinazugawa, giving him their full attention.
“Master! I will prove it to you myself! The sheer ugliness of a demon!”
“Sanemi…” the Master trailed off, recognizing that no amount of arguing was going to stop the Wind Pillar now. He had a point to prove.
If Giyuu were braver, or if they were on equal standing, he would admit he admired Shinazugawa’s willpower. But Giyuu was a coward, and he could hardly call himself a Hashira, so he held his tongue and watched wide-eyed as Shinazugawa’s eyes fell on the wooden box.
He’d only been so brazen once before, the first time Giyuu had met him. When he yelled at the Master in front of the Pillars, spitting fire. He’d stared in shock then, bearing witness to perhaps the bravest expression of emotion he’d ever seen. Now, Giyuu wished he would stop. He was tempting a demon that could bring about three people’s deaths.
Giyuu’s life was hanging ever so delicately in the balance, and Shinazugawa was jumping up and down on the other side of the scales.
Shinazugawa shoved the box to the ground and lifted his bleeding arm over it. The coppery liquid sank into the wood, and he taunted, “Hey, demon! It’s time to eat! Sink your teeth into this!” Tanjiro began to struggle on the ground, panicked. “No need to hold back. Just show us your true colors and I’ll obliterate you right there!”
Tanjiro, still wriggling back and forth in an attempt to escape Iguro’s grasp, called out to Nezuko desperately.
“Shinazugawa, it’s no good doing it in the sunlight. We have to go into the shade or the demon won’t show its face.” Iguro’s voice was low and contemptful.
Shinazugawa conceded the point. “Master, please forgive this discourtesy.” And then he lunged forward into the shade of the Master’s pavilion. The Wind Pillar slammed the box containing Nezuko to the ground and shoved his sword directly into it without an ounce of hesitation.
“Stop it!” Tanjiro screamed, and Giyuu winced. Iguro slammed his elbow into Tanjiro’s back in an effort to shut the boy up. His arm came up at the same time Sanemi’s did, reared to plunge back into the box.
“Come on out, demon!” The sword plunged downward again, and there was a pained scream from inside the box. “Come and get the human blood you love so much!” When there was still no aggressive reaction, Shinazugawa placed his foot on the box, jostling it slightly. He then lowered his sword to the latch and tugged upward, flipping the door open.
Slowly, Nezuko rose from the box. She was hunched over and turned away from the Pillars, but her movements were unsteady. Everyone watched closely as blood continued to leak from Sanemi’s arm.
Everyone held their breath, eyes glued to the scene before them.
“Nezuko!” Tanjiro yelled again, and the girl shuddered. She turned, facing toward Shinazugawa, and there was an undeniable glint of hunger in her eyes.
“Come on, demon! You know you want it,” he taunted.
Somewhere down the line, he heard Kocho say, “Iguro, you’re digging into him too hard.” Tomioka’s eyes slid to the side. Iguro was still bearing down on Tanjiro, pressing an elbow into his lungs. “Please ease up a little.”
“I’m only holding him down because he’s trying to break free,” Iguro replied.
“Kamado, if you use any breathing techniques while your lungs are being squeezed, your veins will burst.”
Uzui echoed, “His veins will burst! I like it! Sounds flamboyant!” He made a fist in excitement, “Come on! Burst ‘em!” Nezuko trembled, and saliva began to leak from her mouth.
Himejima started muttering again, probably a prayer about souls and peace of some sort. He was also crying, as per usual.
Nezuko breathed heavily, heaving in an effort to hold herself back. Shinazugawa simply laughed at her, waiting for her to make the slightest move in attack. Tanjiro continued to struggle, much to Iguro’s discontent.
“Kamado?” Kocho asked, looking over at him. Tomioka watched in silence as Tanjiro managed to snap his rope bonds. Iguro lifted his elbow again, preparing to hit him, but Giyuu was up in a moment. He grabbed Iguro’s wrist, and the Serpent Pillar glanced up at him, disgusted. Tanjiro scrambled to his feet and dashed toward the porch. The other Hashira watched, unmoving.
“Nezuko!” Tanjiro yelled. The girl twitched as if she was reacting to his voice. Kamado made no move to climb onto the porch or interfere beside his outburst. There were several tense moments before Nezuko decidedly huffed and turned her head away. Shinazugawa gasped, stumbling back a step in surprise. The tension faded from Tanjiro’s shoulders and he sagged against the porch.
“What just happened?” the Master asked.
“The demon girl turned away in disgust. Although she’d been stabbed three times by Shinazugawa and despite the flaunting of his bloody arm in her face, she restrained herself and did not bite.”
Shinazugawa gritted his teeth, and Giyuu could practically feel the anger radiating off of him from his spot next to Obanai. Here’s to hoping that anger wouldn’t be directed at him in a few minutes.
The Master spoke, “So now, it’s been proven that Nezuko won’t attack humans.” Tanjiro breathed another sigh of relief.
Iguro tugged his wrist from Giyuu’s grasp, turning away quickly. “What do you think you’re doing, Tomioka?”
“Tanjiro…” the Master said. “Nevertheless, some may still view Nezuko unfavorably. You must prove it to them starting now. That you and Nezuko can fight as Demon Slayers. That you can be useful.”
Tanjiro bowed quickly, immediately pressing himself to the gravel, but stayed silent. None of the Pillars moved.
“Go out and defeat a Twelve Kizuki,” the Master commanded. “Do that and you’ll be accepted by all. And your words will carry more weight.”
Tanjiro rose slightly. “I…Nezuko and I will defeat Muzan Kibutsuji! Nezuko and I will do it for sure! Strike with the blade that will break the chain of despair!”
The Master smiled warmly and tilted his head to the side, “As you’re not ready for that yet, Tanjiro, let’s start with defeating a Twelve Kizuki, alright?”
“Yes, sir,” Tanjiro replied, significantly redder. Kanroji stifled a laugh. Kocho politely covered her mouth as well, averting her eyes.
“It goes without saying that the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps have phenomenal skills. After training themselves to death, they have defied it, and they’ve also defeated members of the Twelve Kizuki.”
Rengoku nodded, “A good attitude to have!”
“That is why the Hashira receive respect and are welcomed by others. So, Tanjiro, mind your manners when you speak.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The Master turned, “One more thing. Sanemi…Obanai…Don’t torment the younger ones too much.”
“As you wish,” Iguro replied, looking not at all apologetic.
Sanemi dropped to one knee and set his blade down, “As you wish.” Nezuko side-eyed him from her box.
“Tanjiro, we have concluded our business with you. You may step back.”
Kocho raised her hand, “In that case, please allow Kamado to stay at my mansion.” Tanjiro froze, undoubtedly taken aback by Kocho’s hospitality, especially since the Hashira had just been calling for his head. She clapped her hands, “All right, then! Please take them away!” Two Kakushi appeared, shooting a quick apology and bowing to both the Hashira and the Master, before grabbing Nezuko and Tanjiro and sprinting away.
“Now then, let us begin the Hashira Meet-” the Master began to say.
“Hold on a second!” Tanjiro came running back around the corner of the building trailed by both members of the medical team. He threw himself to the ground. “Please allow me to head-butt that man covered in scars! I gotta–”
“Shut up!” A Kakushi scolded.
“I gotta head-butt him as many times as he stabbed Nezuko!” If the act wasn’t blatantly disrespectful, Giyuu would have cracked a smile. “Head-butting won’t be a violation of the Corps rules!”
A Kakushi hit him on the head, “Shut up! Settle down, now!”
“Let go of me!”
“Cut it out!”
Tokito picked up a rock and flicked it at Kamado, hitting him directly in the forehead. He tossed another in his hand as he muttered, “Interrupting the Master is quite rude.”
“We beg your pardon!” The Kakushi apologized profusely, before rushing away again.
“Just leave, now.”
“Yes, sir!”
Before they were around the corner, the Master called, “Tanjiro! Give Tamayo my regards.”
-
“Just as you’ve all reported, the demons’ carnage has increased more than ever. Meaning that the threat to human life is greater than it’s ever been. We must bolster the ranks of the demon slayers. What do you all think?”
Shinazugawa took the lead, as he usually did, “The incident on Mount Nagatumo made it very clear. The caliber of Demon Slayers has dropped tremendously. Most of them are useless. The trainers must be blind. You’d think they could at least tell if someone’s competent or not.”
Uzui laughed gleefully, “Well, that kid today sure seemed competent. He did land that flamboyant blow on you, Shinazugawa. He’s got potential!”
Sanemi tsked. Kocho cut in, “The more the human population increases, the harder it becomes to control and unify them. Not to mention that the times have changed considerably in this era.”
Himejima, tears still running down his face, said, “Other than those who’ve had their loved ones brutally massacred and joined the Corps, or those of distinguished pedigree who have hunted demons for generations, to ask anyone to harness as much or even greater resolve and drive to produce results would be cruel.”
“Still, considering that boy ran into a Twelve Kizuki so soon after joining the Corps…He may have the power to draw them!” Rengoku interjected. “Even we rarely get the chance to confront one! It makes me envious!”
“Agreed. But the fact that the Lower Five made such a drastic move probably means that Muzan is nowhere near Mount Natagumo. After all, as in the case of Asakusa, whenever Muzan wishes to hide something, he creates a clever diversion to throw us off.”
The Master lowered his head, “It’s really quite frustrating. But those demons are still freely devouring humans, gaining strength and surviving. For the sake of those who have died, there is only one thing for us to do. I believe that, with you who are present today, the Corps’ Hashira, I’ve assembled the finest unit since the first Breathing swordsman of the era. Uzui Tengen. Rengoku Kyujuro. Kocho Shinobu. Kanroji Mitsuri. Tokito Muichiro. Himejima Gyomei. Shinazugawa Sanemi. Iguro Obanai. Tomioka Giyuu. My children, I look forward to your success.”
Giyuu stared forward, unblinking. The gathered Pillars were certainly stronger than they had been when he first joined their ranks, and they were undoubtedly stronger than Urokodaki’s generation, which was composed of only four swordsmen. To claim they were the strongest since the feudal era was immensely high praise.
They were dismissed not long after. Tomioka slipped out, away from the group. Shinazugawa sent him a scowl as he went, eyes following Giyuu’s escape from the estate. Kocho stayed behind for a few minutes to talk to Kanroji, but she appeared at his side not long after, when the Ubuyashiki home was already out of sight and he was deep within the Wisteria trees.
“Tomioka.”
He glanced over at her, “Kocho. What do you need?”
“When you mentioned an event that occurred two years ago on Mount Natagumo… was that when you met the Kamados?”
He contemplated for a moment if it was worth entertaining the question. Considering their situation had been sanctioned and Giyuu wasn’t currently bleeding out on the ground, it would likely be okay to tell her the details.
“I was assigned a mission to investigate scattered disappearances in the mountains. I was on my way to the town itself when I smelled blood.” He inhaled, and he could practically feel the biting cold in his fingers, the sting of snowflakes on his cheeks. “When I arrived, Tanjiro had already fled with Nezuko. He had carried her away, undoubtedly trying to get her to a doctor. She was the only one alive.”
The scene had been disgustingly gruesome. None of the family were actually consumed, unlike the victim’s of a normal demon. The blood came from superficial wounds, injuries sustained when they tried to flee or take cover.
He didn’t flinch until the demon scent hit him, finally overcoming the horrible tang of fresh blood.
It slammed into him like a train, and he stumbled slightly in the snow, reaching out to steady himself on the side of the home.
He remembered the name coming to him in the haze, the thought burning him. Kibutsuji.
Giyuu crouched and plunged his hands into the snow to clear his head. It would undoubtedly bite him later, and the action was foolish, but Kibutsuji had been in the home recently, and if Giyuu was quick… perhaps he could find a clue.
He’d noticed the tracks in the snow a few feet away easily, only barely filled in by the heavy snow.
“I pursued them into the forest,” he said. “The boy had formidable strength. He’d managed to make it quite far into the forest, in snow halfway up to his knees and carrying his sister. When I spotted them, Nezuko was attempting to devour Tanjiro. He’d only stopped her by making her bite down on an ax handle.”
Kocho frowned, “She was violent at first?”
Giyuu hummed noncommittally, “Not for long. By the time I made it close enough to strike and she realized what was happening, she was protecting Tanjiro. Before I could cut her down to protect Tanjiro, she was defending him, shielding him with her body.”
“The intent to protect a family member from external harm was enough to make her stop, despite various demons killing their own family without hesitating…” Kocho was a thousand miles away, eyes distant. “And she continued protecting him?”
“I didn’t give her the chance. The first chance I got, I knocked her unconscious and began testing Tanjiro to see if he was fit to become a Demon Slayer.”
“And then she slept for two years,” Kocho murmured. “How amazing.”
Giyuu glanced at her. She was undoubtedly running through the various experiments she was going to run, thinking of one hundred different possibilities in a matter of seconds.
She blinked, breaking out of her stupor. “I suppose I need to apologize. For not listening to you on Mount Natagumo. The meeting may have gone smoother if I had let you speak.”
“Very well.”
Kocho nodded. “Well, I best be off then. There are dozens of injured Slayers that I need to tend to. Good evening, Tomioka.”
She was gone before he could say goodbye, her butterfly haori fluttering behind her.
He ran a tongue along his teeth, wincing at the lingering feeling of blood, sticky and heavy in the back of his throat.
It was likely he had just cut his throat, or gotten a bloody nose. He had bigger issues to worry about. With a sense of finality, Giyuu turned, pushing the issue from his mind.
