Sango smoothed out her hair as best as she could, shouldered her Hiraikatosu, and followed Kocho out of the courtyard, alongside Miroku, Tanjiro, and Kirara. Tanjiro's sister Nezuko was left at Butterfly Estate, as several people, according to Kocho, still did not fully trust her.
Now they were heading to the Slayer Corps headquarters, where hopefully this would all be cleared out.
Kocho led them down the road for awhile until they came to a town. Some distance from the town was an elegant manor house, hidden in a bamboo forest. Kocho went up to the house, which was guarded by several Yakushi, and gave the password, and they were let in.
The courtyard was very large, and had a pine tree on the left. Sango saw a few other people standing about as well. The one closest to them, a girl with pink and green braids with a very large chest size wearing an odd kind of uniform, waved and ran up to Kocho.
"Hello, Shinobu-san! I haven't seen you in a while!" she said happily, squeezing Shinobu in a hug. Miroku stepped forward but Sango elbowed him back. Stupid perverted monk...
"You saw me a few weeks ago, remember?" Kocho said sweetly. "But it's nice to see you too." She turned to Sango and Miroku. "These two are the strangers that we're going to interview."
"They showed up two days ago and they say they're from the Sengoku Era." Tanjiro explained. "So we are trying to find out where they're from."
The girl gasped and stared at Sango."Really? That's so cool! Nice to meet you, I'm Kanroji Mitsuri, the Love Pillar."
Miroku opens his mouth to speak but Sango discretely yanked him back by the ear, then smiled back at Kanroji. "Hello, I'm Sango, and this is my cat Kirara. She's a two-tailed yokai cat."
Kanroji stared for a moment, then squealed so loud Kirara jumped. "She's. So. CUTE!!! Can I pet her? Please?!?!?!"
"Um, alright..."
The buxom girl with pink hair swept up Kirara into a tight hug. "Aah, she's so FLUFFY! And her little ears, and little paws, they're so cute! And her two tails are so soft! It's too cute!!!"
"She is very excitable." Kocho explained as Kanroji cuddled and squeezed Kirara, who squeaked nervously. Sango nodded hesitantly. "Ah, I see..."
Another person approached, this one a tall man with shocking flame-colored hair. He wore the usual uniform, brown in color, and a white cape with fire patterns. The whole effect was startling, but the man's smile looked friendly.
"Hello!" he said loudly as he came near. "I'm Rengoku Kyojuro, the Flame Pillar."
Sango introduced herself and Miroku, adding that she was a "Demon Exterminator" and that Miroku was a monk. Kyojuro looked very intrigued. "A Demon Exterminator? I've never heard of that! So what kinds of demons do you kill?"
"Well, mostly just small annoying ones..."
"Small and annoying demons are still demons! Oh, by the way, Kocho, Kanroji, there's two others here under suspicious circumstances."
Sango and Miroku exchanged a glance. Someone else was here? Could it be one of their friends?
"Do you think it could be Inuyasha or Kagome?" she whispered.
"No, maybe not." Miroku whispered back. "Probably not... but we'll see." Turning to Kocho, he asked in a curious voice, "How many Pillars are there, Lady Kocho?"
Kocho smiled and tilted her head to one side. "There are nine of us, and as I've said, we are named after the Breathing style we use. But it's very strange, there are only six here, and it's time for the meeting to start... "
There was no time to figure out who was missing as a messenger crow (Sango had learned to recognize them) flew overhead and cawed out "It's time for the meeting!" At once the Pillars and Tanjiro went to the one of the larger buildings on the right, the door of which was opened by a small girl with white hair and uncanny purple eyes. Sango and Miroku quickly followed.
Once inside they all seated themselves at a long table. Beside Rengoku was a boy with yellow hair wearing very odd blue and red clothes. Probably the stranger Rengoku was talking about. He looked very uncomfortable. The only other one in the room who looked out of place was a girl with long purple hair hiding in the corner next to a man with a black and white striped jacket.
A noise startled her, but it was only a sliding door being opened. A short, slender man wearing a white and purple robe entered. He was clearly ill--the upper half of his face was covered with livid scars, and his eyes were pale, blank gray. Sango realized this man was blind. And his disease was in some way related to demons--she could tell from the vague miasma hovering about him.
"His aura feels like he's infected by a demon." she hissed to Miroku, who nodded, eyes still locked on Kanroji. Sango groaned internally and elbowed him.
The sick-looking man sat down at the head of the table, flanked by two girls identical to the one that let them in. They look similar to the man--probably family. Sango remembered Kocho telling her about the Ubuyashiki family who ran the Slayer Corps.
The sick man spoke. "Is everyone here?" Even though his voice was very quiet, it was strong and regal.
The very tall man wearing a green cape sitting at the other end responded. "Six of us are here, Oyakata-sama. The ones missing are Tomioka, Tokito, and Shinazugawa."
Ubuyashiki thought for a moment, then spoke. "Do you know where they might be, Himejima?"
The tall man shook his head. "No. Shinazugawa was out on a mission two days ago, and we haven't seen him since. Tomioka and Tokito should have been at home."
"Ah." Ubuyashiki nodded. "And are the strangers here?"
"Yes, all of them."
"Alright." Ubuyashiki turned to the rest of the group. "Please, tell me about them."
Shinobu spoke. "I'll go first. Tanjiro was out buying some herbs for me at the apothecary, when he encountered these two strangers."
"They smelled different, and they had a demon cat with them." Tanjiro cut in. "So I apprehended them, and when I did, they said they are from the Sengoku Era."
Everyone reacted. Rengoku said "WHAT!", the short man in black and white glared at them, Himejima turned to stare (although he was blind), the other tall man with a jeweled headband yelled loudly, and even Ubuyashiki looked intrigued.
"Could they please introduce themselves?" Ubuyashiki asked.
Miroku nodded, an imperceptible sweat drop rolling down his face, and cleared his throat. "My name is Miroku, and I am a monk. And this is my companion Sango, a Demon Exterminator. Oh, and, um, that's Sango's two-tailed cat-yokai Kirara." The cat had jumped on the table and was walking back and forth.
"A yokai?"Ubuyashiki said gently. "She doesn't burn in the sun?"
"No, we found that this cat is immune to sunlight" Shinobu resumed. "And they say the yokai they are used to are all immune."
"Hold up a minute!" the man with two large swords on his back. "Used to? You mean these guys have met demons before?"
"I am a Demon Exterminator, after all." Sango replied.
"Eh...you don't look really tough, as flashy as your weapon might be." the man said quizzically, cocking his head to one side. "You sure you're strong enough to cut a demon's head off?"
"Excuse me, Uzui-san, but I can't cut a demon's head off either." Kocho said sweetly. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions."
"But why Demon Exterminator?" the man named Uzui, snapped. "And I've never heard of yokai outside of old wives' stories."
"It could be that yokai are a different kind we haven't heard of before." Rengoku mused. "And that the Demon King uses this name to confuse us." He turned to Ubuyashiki. "Didn't the Demon King already exist in the Sengoku Era?
"He did." Ubuyashiki answered. "He existed since the Heian era."
Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. Demon King? Could they be talking about Naraku?
Uzui picked up Kirara by the tail. "Weird little cat. But those two tails are sure stylish--ouch!" He quickly dropped Kirara when the cat nipped him. Sango reached to pick her up but Kirara was suddenly seized by the short man in black and white. Sango noticed suddenly that he wore bandages on his mouth and a white snake around his neck, and that his eyes were different colors. From the way he moved, his right eye, which was yellow, probably couldn't see well.
The man held up squeaking Kirara by the tails. "So she's immune to sunlight?" He moved her into a beam of sun. Kirara squeaked wildly. "I see. But if she's still a demon..." His right hand twitched--
In a flash he had moved for his sword but Sango beat him to it. With her swipe of her arm she drew her own blade and blocked his hand from reaching his sword hilt.
Every Pillar leapt to their feet (even the blind one--his hearing must be very good) and drew their own weapons. Miroku stood up behind Sango, his staff jingling. Ubuyashiki did not so much as blink. It was really starting to creep Sango out.
The man in black and white turned to Sango without saying a word, hand frozen an inch above her sword tip.
"Put Kirara down!" Sango snapped.
"I'm not going to kill her. I'm only going to see if she regenerates." the man answered coldly, reaching slowly for his hilt.
Sango pushed her sword tip closer. "She won't, she's only a yokai."
"It would be better if you put you sword down." Kocho interjected, raising her own blade. "I don't want to harm you, but if you keep moving..."
"Put. Kirara. Down." Sango repeated.
"Iguro, it's only a cat!" Kanroji pleaded. "She can't harm us!"
The man looked at Kanroji, hesitated for a moment, then put Kirara down. "Alright." Sango snatched Kirara back and sheathed her blade. Thank goodness none of them had seen Kirara transform yet. The others slowly put their weapons back and returned to their seats.
"But can the cat regenerate?" Rengoku asked.
"No, the yokai of our world cannot regenerate." Miroku explained. "Well, most of them. You see, yokai are like spirits or ghosts, but in solid form. They can be killed like a human or exorcised. A few powerful demons can regenerate their bodies, but those are rare."
The Pillars nodded and talked among themselves for awhile. Sango looked over at Miroku and saw that he was nervous. Was he thinking about his Wind Tunnel, and what the others would think?
"As I understand it" Ubuyashiki said, "you two are from the Sengoku era, and are familiar with demons called Yokai, that are essentially different from Oni."
"That's right, Ubuyashiki-sama." Miroku replied. "Allow me to understand--Oni are evil beings created by the Demon King, who became an Oni through some kind of medicine?"
Ubuyashiki nodded. "Yes. Only the Demon King and his most high ranking subordinates can turn a human into a demon."
Miroku went on. "And these Oni need to eat humans for nutrition, and cannot go into the sun?"
"That is correct."
From what she had heard these were not the animalistic beings Sango was used to exterminating, but malicious, evil creatures. She shuddered. Naraku's evil touch still lingered on her.
Miroku opened his mouth to say something, then evidently decided against it. Nobody spoke for a while.
Ubuyashiki spoke. "Now that we have cleared up this matter, we will move on to the next one.
Iguro, the man in black and white, cleared his throat. "I'll go next." Beside him was the shy-looking girl from earlier. On closer inspection, this girl also had weirdly blank grey eyes, but she could obviously see. She wore clothes that were fit for action, and Sango could see a knife pocket at her belt. Who was this?
"Pray tell us, Iguro" Ubuyashiki said quietly.
"I finished my mission." the man, Iguro, began. "And I was heading back when I heard a strange noise and went to investigate. This girl was being attacked by a low-level demon. I went to help her when I saw she was using a strange ability to combat the demon, and managed to weaken it greatly before I killed it."
Ubuyashiki looked intrigued, as well as the other Pillars. "What type of technique was it?"
"She was not using weapons." Iguro continued, to the surprise of almost everybody, Sango included. "Instead, she was hitting the demon with her palms and using some kind of force."
A force? Was this girl a Yokai? No, didn't seem like one.
"Her name is Hyuga Hinata," Iguro explained, and she is from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire."
"No such country!" Uzui declared at once, prompting everyone to shush him.
"And the oddest thing, Uzui-san,"Iguro said in a curious voice, "She says she's a Shinobi."
Uzi's grin froze, then vanished. "A what?"
Iguro continued explaining that this girl came from a village of Shinobi, and that the technique she used, the Gentle Fist, was passed down in her family.
"Sounds like a technique from the mainland" Miroku said under his breath.
The Gentle Fist, it appeared, targeted the Chakra, or energy, in an individual. While Iguro was speaking, the girl, Hinata, continued staring at the ground nervously. Sango felt a little sorry for her.
Upon questioning, Hinata said the year where she came from was 2005. She also showed them a map of her country--Uzui was right, there was no such place. That was according to Ubuyashiki and his daughters, however--Miroku and Sango had never seen a map of the whole world, and neither had almost everyone.
"So no chance of coming from the mainland" Sango whispered. "And no chance of her knowing anything about Kagome and the others."
Miroku sighed. "Our leads are getting nowhere."
Now it was Rengoku's turn. "My story is almost exactly the same as Iguro's-- I was heading home when I met this kid." He gestured at the yellow-haired boy Sango had seen earlier. "He said he was lost, and that his hometown was Musutafa city."
"No such place!" Uzui declared again loudly, ending with the same "SSSHH!" from everyone else.
"And what is his name?" Ubuyashiki asked.
The boy spoke. "Uh--I'm Kaminari Denki. And I'm from the year 2034."