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✦ EPIPHANY - BY -C3NTURIES ✦
― "LET IT BE, OBANAI." kagaya's calm voice sounded, stopping the serpent pillar in his tracks.
"but, okayata-sama, he just interrupted you." obanai protested.
"young tanjiro is yet to understand how everything around here truly works. he did not have a malicious intent. my beloved child, you do not need to berate him." kagaya smiled.
obanai returned to his original place kneeling on the ground in line with the other pillars, and looked down.
"as you wish." he whispered.
kagaya nodded kindly, and turned to address all of the hashira.
"now, my children, let us begin the hashira meeting..."
to mitsuri, his voice trailed off as she got lost in her own thoughts. her thoughts were about the serpent pillar, obviously. she adored how loyal and dedicated he was to the corps, and how much he respected okayata-sama. not only that, she just adored him. just him as a person, as an existence. it may not have been obvious to him yet, but mitsuri would die for him.
"...and we are all aware that there is a possibility we will come face-to-face with muzan himself if we keep young tanjiro as a demon slayer. therefore, i request that you all look out for him and make sure others treat him with respect. however as well as that, make sure to remind him to treat you all with respect too. you, my beloved children, deserve more respect than anyone else in the corps. so don't be afraid to remind people of that."
mitsuri carefully looked down the line to the serpent pillar, whose hands were shaking like he had just stepped into the arctic circle. unbeknownst to her, he was questioning kagaya's very words.
'do i really deserve respect? after everything i've seen, everything i've done... i don't deserve this much.'
as much as mitsuri wished she could wrap him in a hug and tell him everything was going to be okay, she couldn't do anything that would interrupt kagaya. luckily for her, the meeting was short and concluded rather quickly. as the hashira adjourned, mitsuri assumed her usual hyper-positive expression and almost tackled her fellow pillar to the ground.
"oh, hello, kanroji-san." he laughed slightly.
"ugh, iguro-san, i've told you, you can call me mitsuri now!" she jokingly frowned.
"then at least call me by my first name too." he protests.
"fine then!" mitsuri pretends to be annoyed. "obanai-kun, you seemed nervous at the hashira meeting..! are you okay?"
"i'm alright, don't worry about me." obanai waves dismissively.
"awe, but, obanai-kun.. you always seem so serious and unmoved... seeing you like this makes my heart fill with sorrow!" mitsuri frowns sincerely this time.
