You could almost hear the crickets chirping or even just them jumping with the amount of silence that had descended on the room that we were in.
"Oyakata-sama" Himejima said, not sure what else to say without coming out as rude or trying to protest what his Master has said.
"I know that it is short notice and we probably don't have time to fully announce it but Akatsuki Hikaru is now the Dawn Hashira, you have mastered your breathing techniques have you not?" Oyakata enquired, a small smile on his face.
"It's a lot more complicated then just mastering them but that can wait until later, I can use any of the techniques without any drawbacks anymore" I said.
"Not only that but we have four Hashira's vouching for your skills in combat though the only thing that pulled me up was your need to self-sacrifice but that isn't all that bad in itself" Oyakata-sama said.
"If that is your choice Oyakata-sama then we will stand by it and welcome Akatsuki-san" Himejima said and they all bowed towards me and I froze.
"Oh no, please you shouldn't bow to me, oh and also just call me Hikaru please" I begged, getting flustered.
"You're not still rejecting your family name are you?" Sanami asked and they all remembered back to when they first met me and I told them that I had disgraced my family name.
"No nothing like that. I just think that if we are fighting by each other's side then we should be able to call each other by name. Anyway, weren't we discussing the marks?" I questioned trying to leave this talk behind me.
'He isn't accepting that he is a pillar yet' Himejima thought.
'Oyakata-sama probably caught him off guard with that, he is still easy to fluster' Sanemi thought.
'So he has become a pillar, we will have to see if he lives up to it' Obanai thought.
'I am so happy for him, oh his friends are going to be so proud of him' Kanroji thought.
'If anyone deserves to be a pillar it is him or Tanjiro' Tokito thought.
'You have come so far from a boy that was bleeding out in the snow' Giyuu thought.
'My isn't this interesting' Shinobu thought.
"You are right, Muichirou, if you could continue, we will continue to discuss this later" Oyakata said, he wasn't going to let the matter drop until I accepted I was a Hashira now.
"I couldn't move during the previous battle because I got poisoned. I was using my breaths to try and delay the poison from circulating through my bloodstream but a boy who tried to save me nearly lost his life and my old memories came back. Then I got so angry that I lost complete control of my emotions. I think my heart rate went over 200bpm, and my body became burning hot. I think my body temperature went over 39 degrees," Tokito started.
"But can you move in that condition? That would've been life threatening" Shinobu said in shock.
"Well that's why I think it can be used as a screening test. Will you die or will you not? That's probably the difference between those who have the mark appear and those who do not" Tokito finished.
"A heart rate over 200bpm and a body temperature of around 39 degrees?" Oyakata parroted.
"Yes, when Kochou-san was treating my wounds, I apparently had a fever. The temperature recorded on the thermometer was about 39 degrees. My guess is that I had the same body temperature when the mark appeared" Tokito said.
'Oh I see now' Kanroji thought.
"Tch, so it's that simple huh?" Sanemi asked with a scowl.
"I envy those simpletons who can say this is simple" Giyuu said and I bit my lip to stop my laughter.
"What?" Sanami glared.
"Nothing," Giyuu said.
"So I guess getting a mark to appear will now be a high priority for the pillars" Shinobu said.
"It's not as easy as getting your temperature up and your heart going faster" I said and they turned to me.
"You said before Oyakata-sama that Tanjiro was the first person with a mark?" I said and he nodded.
"Sorry to say but you're wrong" I said moving off my knees and rolled my pants leg up until I was showing off the top of my left thigh. There circling my thigh was a mark that was a crimson red that looked like vines with flowers on them but the flowers were actually suns.
"I am sure that you saw in my final battle against Hantengu my body got covered in these marks, Tokito-san" I said.
"I remember that," Tokito agreed.
"Unlike Tokito-san, Kanroji-san and Tanjiro, I was born with this mark. My Kaa-san was born with a mark before me as was my Tou-san. The rest of my ancestors as well. You may think that this is a demon crest in a way you would be right. This is a mark that was branded onto Akatsuki Tsuki by Kibutsuji Muzan, to mark out the Akatsuki clan to any demon that was hunting them" I explained.
I decided to stay quiet while they seemed to process what I had just said to them but I was waiting for their reaction.
"Wait what?!" Kanroji yelled.
"Does that mean that we are related?" Tokito asked, his head tilted to the side.
"You're related to Tanjiro?" Giyuu said, confused. In fact all of them were confused if their aura's were anything to go by. Oyakata managed to get some peace back by putting his finger over his mouth and everyone went quiet.
"I believe there is still more to explain," Oyakata said.
"There is. Over the years there were some Akatsuki's that weren't born with red hair and golden eyes and their children wouldn't be either. Because of that they either were born with a mark like these ones or they had the ability to have one show up. Honestly it's complicated and even I don't know everything but don't worry we have too many generations in between us all to be considered related. The closest that comes to being related is Tokito-san and I but still too many generations" I said calming them down.
"So you're saying that you have to be a descendant of the Akatsuki clan to manifest a mark?" Sanemi questioned.
"No but it's a high possibility. Before Tokito-san mentioned having a temperature of 39 degrees. As you all know my body temperature is a lot higher than a normal persons. In fact even without a fever I have a temperature of 39 degrees and it only ever climbs higher not lower" I said.
"That is dangerous isn't it?" Giyuu questioned.
"You but it's a family trait along with using the Akatsuki style breathing techniques and a mild ability to control the sun and glow" I said.
"Seriously?" Sanami asked.
"I can confirm the higher temperature but the glowing and control over the sun, not so much," Shinobu said. From their aura's I could tell the only ones that believed me were Tokito, Kanroji and Sanami. Sighing I closed my eyes and concentrated before opening them. Almost everyone's jaws, except Oyakata, Amane and Giyu's jaws, had dropped. I was now glowing just like when I had been fighting against the upper moon demons. Glaring at the sun that was coming into the room by the windows it started to get brighter and hotter.
"Believe me now?" I asked as I let all of it go making the sun dim to it's normal shin, the temperature to drop and me to stop glowing. Unfortunately that seemed to have taken a lot out of me and I started to fall before Sanemi caught me.
"You shouldn't overexert yourself, you only just woke up" Shinobu scolded me.
"What I'm trying to say is that if you want to get a mark you are going to have to push yourself to death and pass it many times. You have all heard of my fights, seen my scars and yet only just recently has my mark fully activated. I have no way of knowing what you guys have been through so while I agree that trying to get marks to appear is a good idea, we should also work on just improving by ourselves as well" I said.
"I have to agree with Hikaru so we shall be holding training. The one thing that I have to say about the mark training is that those who have manifested marks must participate" Oyakata said and with that the meeting was dismissed.
"Oyakata-sama, do you mind if I talk with you for a moment?" I called out as I raced to catch up with him, the Hashira's or rather the other Hashira's were still back to their planning.
"Of course not, I owe you a lot, my child" Oyakata said.
"I know that training to get marks is the best way to get stronger and beat Muzan but there is something that I have to tell you about the marks, something I didn't want to tell the others" I explained.
"In that case come, we will have tea" He said as he gestured for me to follow him into a different room that had a table in the middle of it.
"Amane, would you please get us some tea and my medicine" Oyakata requested and she nodded, taking the children with her.
"Anyone who manifests a mark won't live past the age of 25" I said, deciding to just get it out.
"I see why you didn't want to tell the others this information, for now I do believe that you should keep this to yourself. I will tell the other Hashira when the time is right and they will decide if they wish to take that step" Oyakata said.
"Thank you, I should be going now. Thank you for you time" I said with a bow.
"There is something else bothering you, isn't there?" Oyakata asked and I froze.
"It's nothing to worry about, just something I am coming to terms with on my own. You don't have to worry" I smiled.
"Very well. I should remind you that you are now a Hashira and as such no later then a week you will be given your own residence, feel free to do anything you wish with it and have who ever you want in it. We also got the characters Akki Messatsu carved onto your blades" Oyakata said and I unsheathed both blades just enough to see the characters. Sure enough they were there, normally it would be different but now it reads destroy all evil demons, just like the other Hashira.
"You have earnt your place as a Hashira, you do not have to go through mark training but I would like to request that you do so that there is a high chance for it to spread" Oyakata said.
"Don't worry, I could do with some training and I am looking forward to what the other Hashira can teach me" I said.
"In that case, don't let me hold you back. But Hikaru. If there is anything worrying you please don't hesitate to let me know" Oyakata smiled gently and I nodded.
"I will, thank you for your time" I said with one last bow before I left. I headed back to the butterfly estate with my head spinning with so many thoughts I thought that they would break my skull.
As I got closer to the room that we had been staying in I passed Hanganezuka who complimented me on my swordsmithing as well as let me know he was the one to finish sharpening my short sword and carve the kanji into it. It also seemed rather upset but I could already tell that it was because of Tanjiro using his sword before it was ready.
"You people have been blabbing on and on for a while there," Genya's voice said as I got close to the door. He was probably resting in the same room which I was happy about, so I could make sure he was okay and let Sanami know. Even though he hadn't visited Genya yet I knew that he would be sneaking in each night while everyone was sleeping like when he was leaving me sunflowers and star shaped biscuits.
"Oh, sorry Genya. We're done now, sorry about the commo-" Tanjiro started. Hearing the scream that cut Tanjiro off as well as the loud crash I quickly rushed to the door and flung it open. Thankfully it was just Inosuke throwing himself through the window and not an attack like I thought.
"AGH! Inosuke, why'd you break the window! You dumbass! Kochou-sama's gonna kill you" Gotou, one of the Kakushi yelled, he had been visiting Tanjiro. Inosuke didn't answer and just continued to yell.
'I want a different room' Genya thought before he noticed me and I saw his aura perk up while also gaining a blush.
"Stronger! Stronger! Stronger! We're gonna have a super hard training session now! Lot's of strong people together to train and some hubble dubble I can't remember what they were talking about" Inosuke announced.
"What do you mean?" Tanjiro asked.
"No clue at all" Inosuke said with his arms crossed and his head held high.
"Oh....Okay" Tanjiro said and I couldn't help but chuckle a little, getting everyone's attention.
"Kiruha!" Inosuke yelled as he jumped on me wrapping his arms around me.
"Inosuke is probably talking about the Pillar training that Oyakata-sama has just announced" I said.
"That's right you were in a Hashira meeting weren't you? How did it go?" Tanjiro questioned. I glanced at Genya who was also watching curiously and sighed, better to get this over with I guess since they would know soon enough.
"Well we discussed a lot of things including this training plan and Oyakata-sama also announced that I was now the Dawn Hashira," I said. Just like when I had first heard the news everything went quiet and I was just going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"WHAT!" Inosuke, Tanjiro, Genya and Gotou yelled out. Yeah, that was the reaction that I was waiting for.
"I am now a Hashira" I said as I showed off the Kanji on my swords as well as the tattoo on the back of my hand that had been changed before I fully left Oyakata-sama's estate.
"That's amazing Hikaru, I knew that they would recognise your strength" Tanjiro beamed and his aura held nothing but happiness and a small bit of worry.
"Ah this doesn't mean your stronger Kiruha, you just wait I'll be Hashira in no time" Inosuke yelled while pointing at me, his aura was filled with happiness, respect and determination.
"I'm glad you made Hashira," Genya said and I looked at him. His aura was sad, happy, determined and worried as well.
"I'm sorry Genya, I know that you wanted to be Hashira but-" I started but got stopped when Genya waved his hand.
"Nah, I don't think I'm ready to be a Hashira, especially after watching you fight," Genya said.
"Nonsense, with some more training anyone can be a Hashira they just have to give their all. The only thing I'm really good at is getting hurt" I smiled.
"That's one of the reasons you're going to be a great Hashira. With all the scars you have, how many of them have your gotten because of yourself?" Tanjiro enquired. That stumped me a little as I thought about it.
"And I don't mean scars from when you cut yourself to use your blood" Tanjiro interupted.
"Well there's this....No, that was protecting you and Inosuke. There is....No, that was to protect Nezuko. How about....No that was Tengan.....Oh I know.....Wait I was protecting Hana there. That one....No, that was technically Tengan as well. Ah that one.....Protecting Tanjiro again" I muttered to myself but the others heard it.
"See? You can't think of any scars that you got because you were protecting yourself, all of your scars are because you were either protecting someone or you were taking the wounds for them. When you think about that, if you were in the field against a demon with no one around and no one to protect there is no way the demons would be able to touch you" Tanjiro said and I flushed.
"Ah wait, there are scars that I got for myself" I remembered as I held my scared hands up. There were a few cut scars from me and one from Sanami's balde where I had grabbed it but under that were scars.
"They are scars I got from training to be a blacksmith as well as training to be a swordsman," I explained with a bright smile.
'So innocent' Everyone in the room thought as they looked at me.
"Our argument still stands, you got all those scars because you were protecting people and therefore you will be an excellent Hashira," Genya said and I couldn't really argue with him when he looked at me like that.
"Either way you should get some rest, Hikaru. I know that Rengoku-san and Uzui-san will be by to visit you as soon as they hear you are a Hashira now and there is also the training to think of, they will want to start right away. Once our injuries are healed of course" Tanjiro said. I couldn't help but agree as I collapsed onto my normal bed and curled up. It wasn't long before small noises were coming from me showing I was asleep.
"He doesn't realize how strong he is, does he?" Genya asked while looking at me.
"He likes to downplay his skills but something tells me that is going to change soon" Tanjiro agreed. Inosuke was unusually quiet as he walked over to my bed before laying down next to me and pulled me into a hug so I was laying on his chest.
Just like that a special training session began, it was called 'Pillar training'. Those who ranked lower than pillars (I was an exception) trained with them one by one. Usually pillars would only train their 'successors' and no one else and that's because pillars were busy. Pillars had many things to do, like protecting their assigned regions, gathering information on the demons and improving their own swordsmanship. But since Nezuko conquered the sun with an Akatsuki blessing, the demons suddenly stopped appearing. It was like the 'calm before the storm' and because of that pillars only had to focus on night patrol and day training now. Zenitsu was sitting next to Tanjiro as he told him how the training was going.
"Oh I see, amazing!" Tanjiro explained while Zenitsu looked like he was ready to kneel over and pass out.
"No, it's not. It's horrible. It's a living hell. Who thought of this crap? That piece of shit should die," Zenitsu said.
"Hey! The secret trick to getting better is partnering up with people who are stronger than you! Confronting the strong will make you use your breaths more and make you even stronger!" Tanjiro protested.
"If you're gonna be that forward looking and positive then our friendship ends today! You're lucky that your bones are still broken so you can snore, snore, snore the day away! I'm the only one who has to deal with this shit now! You get what I'm feeling here!" Zenitsu screamed while biting Tanjiro making him apologise.
"Oh, Zenitsu. I forgot to say thanks," Tanjiro said.
"Don't talk to me bub" Zenitsu glared.
"No, no, wait a bit. I couldn't use one of my legs back when I was fighting Upper Moon four. But I managed to cut his head off thanks to the lightning breath trick you taught me before. I mean I wasn't as fast as you were of course but thanks. This is why having connections with other people actually does help us out. I'm sure everything you'll learn in Pillar training will help you reach a great future" Tanjiro said.
"Awww, you dumbass.. You really think that will make me feel better?" Zenitsu asked with a flowery aura showing he was feeling better.
'Oh he's feeling better' Tanjiro thought. As soon as Zenitsu was gone a crow came into Tanjiro's room and pecked his forehead before handing over a letter from Oyakata-sama that needed to be read now.
"Slow, slow, slow, slow! The hell are you people doing?! I got no clue! Your stamina is low as hell! This is just basic running, man. If you're gonna be this slow, beating an Upper Moon's gonna be a dream within a dream, okay? Hey, hey, hey. I didn't ask you to lick the ground. It's not break time yet so go for another round! Look at Hikaru, he has done twice as much running as you and he is not complaining" Tengan yelled while waving a kendo stick around. I was standing on my feet having run twice as much as the others and was accepting a drink of water from Hinatsuru.
"I'm glad that Tengan-sama met you Hikaru-san, in fact I'm glad all of us got to meet you" She smiled and I ducked my head a little. I wasn't exactly sure how to act around the three women who were making lunch. I had nothing against them or anything like that but Tengan was married to them and I was technically dating Tengan in a way, it was confusing.
"Little Sunshine" Tengan called out and I walked over to him only to yelp as he pulled me into his lap and put his chin on my shoulder, an arm around my waist.
"Once all of this is over we can talk about relationships but for now let's just enjoy ourselves" He whispered in my ear before nibbling on it making me squeak.
"Tengan-sama don't distract him" Makio scolded before she reached out and ruffled my hair.
"Yeah, Hikaru-san should focus on training and spend time with us after he has finished," Suma agreed. That's right, Tengan was only the first person to train with.
Pillar training: First, Tengan does the initial hazing via basic stamina training. Then Kanroji Mitsuri handles the hellish flexibility training and Tokito Muichirou deals with the quick movement training. Then the snake pillar focuses on sword skill revision. The wind pillar handles the infinite pounding training and the rock pillar trains muscle reinforcement. Though I was now a Pillar they decided it would be better if I trained with the others but they did offer for me to have my own training part but I decided not to do that. With this line up even the pillars got to improve by facing waves upon waves of swordsmen. If anyone's heart rate of temperature gets high enough for the mark to appear, then everyone wins. Those who already have a mark will train so they can continuously stay in the marked state. This was why I was training, I needed to get my temperature to get up a little more before I could activate my mark and once I did that I was going to continue to run laps with Tengan. Each area I was planning on doing normally before doing it with my mark so I was improving. I also had to be careful so I didn't over heat so each Pillar was going to make sure they had plenty of water around so that I didn't fall into the state I had after defeating Hantengu. As for the rest of the demon slayers, once every member of the demon slayers received the information about the marks they all became motivated to prepare for the upcoming fight. Except for one man.
Third person POV
"Excuse me. Tomioka-san. Hey. Hello. Giyuu-san, it's me. Kamado Tanjiro. Hey. 'Kay, going in," Tanjiro called out from the front of Giyuu's estate.
'Going in? No...He's going away. I must've misheard that,' Giyuu thought until the door opened and Tanjiro poked his head in shocking Giyuu.
"And so everyone's training, even Hikaru," Tanjiro said.
"I know" Giyuu said.
'So close' Giyuu thought as Tanjiro sat in front of him.
"Ah! So you knew already. Oh, uh, I'll be allowed to return to duty in seven days so can you train me when I'm out?" Tanjiro asked.
"No," Giyuu said.
"Why not though? I smell the anger in your body but why're you mad? Hikaru is also worried about you by the way" Tanjiro said.
"I'm mad because neither you nor Hikaru mastered the breath of water. One of you needed to become the water pillar" Giyuu explained.
"I'm really sorry about that. I've discussed this with Urokodoki-san before too. It's not rare to change breaths or create an offshoot of one and the breath of water is one of the basic breaths, so there are a lot of derivatives. Hikaru is a different story altogether but you'll have to talk to him if you want the full story" Tanjiro said.
"That's not what I was talking about. Someone has to be the water pillar right now because the water pillar is vacant and Hikaru is already the Dawn pillar" Giyuu said.
"The water pillar seat is vacant? Isn't that you Giyu-san?" Tanjiro questioned.
"I'm not the water pillar. Go away" Giyuu said before he walked away leaving Tanjiro there.
Tanjiro,
How are your injuries? Unfortunately there is a lot to do at the moment so I can't move from where I am at the moment. I want you to talk Giyuu but I do not have the time unfortunately. This is a very important time now. I want everyone to work hard as one, would you be willing to talk to Giyuu? I wanted to ask Hikaru as well but I am sure he is busy as he has just become a Pillar as well as training. I want Giyuu to stop turning his back on us all alone and face forward with us. Could you have a serious talk with him?'
That was what the letter Oyakata-sama had sent him had read and he accepted the request straight away. He kept talking about dull things with Giyuu all afternoon and night. He really just kept talking and talking and Giyuu was lost.
'Is this going to go on forever? If I talk to him, maybe he'll stop,' Giyuu thought. After the fourth day, Giyuu gave up.
"I never actually passed the final selection" Giyuu finally decided to talk to Tanjiro.
"Eh? The final selection as in the wisteria flower mountain one?" Tanjiro asked.
"Yes, back then there was a boy whose family got killed by demons just like me. His name was Sabito, I went into the selection with that peach haired boy" Giyuu started to explain.
"I was thirteen, we got along right away because we both lost our families and we were of the same age. Sabito had a strong sense of justice and he was a very kind boy. He was the only one who died in selection that year. He pretty much single-handedly defeated every demon on that mountain. Everyone aside from Sabito got accepted in that selection. I was injured by a demon who attacked me in the beginning so I was fading in and out. Then Sabito came and saved me, he entrusted me to another boy then headed toward another voice crying for help. When I came to, the selection was over, I was selected for surviving the seven days. But I am a human who couldn't beat a single demon and I was bailed out, can I really say I passed? I am not worthy of becoming the water pillar. I am not worthy of standing with the other pillars as equals. I'm not like them, I never should've had a place among the demon slayers," Giyu said while remembering what happened. Tanjiro listened and couldn't help the tear that slowly trickled down from his face.
"Just go take the Pillar training, that's best for you. I'll never get that mark....Maybe Sabito would've gotten it. Don't concern yourself with me anymore. It's a waste of time" Giyu said as he started to walk away from Tanjiro.
'I'm sure Giyuu-san thinks his death would be a good thing. I know how that feels so much that it hurts. How you want someone precious to you to survive longer than you do and if that person dies earlier or dies protecting you, then it feels like your flesh is being gouged out' Tanjiro thought as he remembered all the times that Hikaru had thrown himself in front of Tanjiro to take the wounds for him.
'Sabito, the boy who trained me in the misty mountains, the boy that Hikaru spoke to and knew the truth of. It was a weird experience, two people who were already dead saved my life. I see now. So Sabito and Giyuu-san were in the same selection. If Sabito had survived he'd be the same age as Giyuu-san. Wow, amazing. He actually saved everyone in his selection. I couldn't do that, I was too busy trying to protect myself. If Sabito was alive he would've been an amazing swordsman. And that's probably why Giyu-san thinks his own death would be a good thing. I get him. Because I thought the same thing. Rengoku-san, risked his life to protect us and nearly lost it. He is amazing, the strongest and nicest guy I know. He has managed to live a wonderful life and will continue to live it but he won't ever be able to use breathing techniques again. I thought it would've been better if I had been injured instead of Rengoku. Maybe he would've been the one to eventually beat Muzan but,' Tanjiro continued to think.
'He said he believes in us! Don't think about anything else except living up to it!' He remembered Inosuke's words when they had thought that they had lost Rengoku.
'Yeah, yeah, I know...I know. But I just don't know what I can say to Giyuu-san. No matter how ashamed or embarrassed you are, you have to stay alive. Giyuu-san may not accept it but he's a pillar now. No matter how much you badmouth yourself and no matter how much you remind yourself of the painful days. I know nothing about Giyuu-san so I can't blame him for anything. But...But...There's only one thing I really want to ask him' Tanjiro thought.
"G-Giyuu-san?" Tanjiro called out.
'Ahh, he's not stopping' Tanjiro realised.
"Giyuu-san...Isn't whatever Sabito entrusted to you keeping you two together?" Tanjiro questioned making Giyu stop.
Flashback
Younger Giyu was on the ground from where he had just been slapped by Sabito.
"S-Sabito" Giyuu said while holding his cheek.
"Don't say that you'd be better off dying ever again. If you do, you and I are done. We'll stop being friends. Your sister was supposed to get married the next day, and despite knowing that she hid you from demons and protected you. You have nobody else? That's an insult to your sister. You can't die. Ever. That life she lost to protect you? That future she left for you?" Sabito said with a glare.
Flashback over
'They're still with you Giyuu' Giyuu remembered his hand on his cheek.
'Ouch. I can clearly remember the impact and pain of getting slapped, why did I forget that? The exchange I had with Sabito was really important. I didn't want to remember. My tears wouldn't stop. Whenever I did remember I got so sad I couldn't do anything. Tsutako-nee-san, Sabito, sorry for being immature,' Giyuu thought as he remembered his sister and Sabito's smiles.
'Crap, he's not even twitching. Oh no, did I say something mean? Giyuu-san was already sulking a whole lot. Did I accidently give the final blow just now? I know, we should have a speed eating contest. Maybe if he wins he'll feel better and start training again? Maybe. I mean I still don't have permission to train so I can't partner up with him. Giyuu-san's a shy guy but we don't need to talk if we're eating. It's perfect. Though I wish Hikaru was here, he would know what to say' Tanjiro thought.
"Tanjiro, sorry for the delay but I'll go train as well-" Giyu said as he turned to Tanjiro.
"Giyuu-san, you want to have a cold soba eating contest with me?" Tanjiro offered, completely serious and missing Giyuu's words.
'Why?' Giyu thought.
"Also you should make time to talk to Hikaru and tell him about you and Sabito," Tanjiro said. While he had been trained by Makamo and Sabito, he wasn't actually sure what the two ghosts had done with Hikaru. Either way they went to the soba stall and started to have their eating contest.
Giyuu is now fully committed to joining the pillar training but meanwhile. Shinobu was walking through the walkway of her estate before she came to a room that had a small shrine set up in it. She sat on the cushion and was facing the shrine.
'Calm down and it'll be okay. Nee-san calm me down. Only immature people don't control their emotions. Immature people' Shinobu thought but the ticks on her face showed her anger even when she was smiling.
"Master, you're back?" Kanao called out as she bowed, a smile on her face.
"I'm going to train with the wind pillar now," Kanao continued.
"Okay" Shinobu said.
"Master, can I receive training from you after I'm done with the rock pillar?" Kanao requested.
"I cannot participate in this pillar training session," Shinobu said.
"Eh...Wh-Why though?" Kanao asked, a little lost.
"Kanao come" Shinobu said waving Kanao in from the hallway so that the younger girl was sitting in front of her.
"Uhhh...Err. I just want to train with my Master" Kanao said with a blush. This made Shinobu a little surprised before she smiled with a small blush of her own though hers was from happiness.
"...Kanao, you've really come around. Being honest with your feelings is a good sign. Maybe this is a good time" Shinobu said while Kanao looked at her confused.
"The demon who killed my sister, Kanae. How about I tell you, how to kill it?" Shinobu said while Kanao's eyes widened a tiny bit.
Elsewhere a crow was seen flying into a window of a normal looking room where a woman that seemed normal was sitting at a table reading.
"Good evening Tamayo-san. It's dangerous to leave the window open at night but the moon looks quite beautiful today. Very nice to meet you, I am Ubuyashiki Kagaya's messenger. You are rather good at hiding, it took me so long to find you that Ubuyashiki has gotten a lot better in that time" The crow said.
"How....Did you find this place?" Tamayo asked.
"People's connections. I looked up the old owner of this house that you brought. Then during the afternoon I kept watch over Yushiro-kun. I may have had special training but I'm just a crow. Nobody's going to be that vigilant of me. I don't plan on causing you any harm so don't be alarmed" The crow continued.
"So why are you here?" Tamayo asked.
"Hm. I sense a lot of distrust, understandable. I suppose it's hard for me to gain your trust like Tanjiro and Hikaru did" The crow said.
'What in the world are they planning? Ubuyashiki...Are you trying to deceive me?' Tamayo thought.
"And Yushiro?" Tamayo enquired.
"Don't worry about Yushiro-kun, look you can hear his footsteps from here" The crow said and sure enough they could hear the footsteps from upstairs.
"So how about we talk business then? There's someone among the demon slayers who is well-versed in demon physiology and pharmaceuticals. We would like you to join our research efforts and that includes looking into the changes within Nezuko. Can you work with us to defeat Kibutsuji Muzan? Please come to the Ubuyashiki estate" The crow requested.
'You want me, a demon, to go to the demon slayers' headquarters?' Tamayo thought.