A couple of weeks have passed and you've been sent to rather smaller missions every now and then, during this time your reputation grew as most of the Corp members referred to you as the 'Masked Slayer' since you were slowly getting stronger.
Every time you came back you always carried small gifts for everyone in the Butterfly Estate, especially for the little ones.
Shinobu would tell you to stop since you were spoiling them, but you kept on doing it anyway. Their happiness and innocence was something that you loved and it gave you even more reasons to come back alive.
After coming back from the town you went straight to see Shinobu who was in her office doing her official reports for the Pillar meeting that would be taking place in some days from now. "I'm truly starting to feel nervous about being summoned to this meeting now, what do I need to do or say there?" You asked her from the other side of the desk, she let go of the quill in her hand and looked directly at you. "First off, you should make your own reports of the most important sightings and sensitive information from the past 6 months. Everything involving Demons, Demon reports and even Corp members you've been able to presence in battle." she then got up and walked behind you, putting her arms around you, embracing you in a hug "And second of all, you don't have to be nervous about it. Oyakata-sama summoned you for a reason" she hugged you tighter, you just smiled gently at this.
"I guess you're right about that, and I do wish to see Rengoku-san, Uzui-san and Mitsuri-chan after so long. I'm kind of worried about the other Hashira though.." you said as you got up from your chair and grabbed some paper. "There's really no need to worry about it, well probably only Shinazugawa-san who gets heated pretty easily" she said as you laughed nervously and left to your room to start your official documents on the past six months. It was something tedious to do, especially since it was hard recalling all the events that happened in the last months. But after you started to recall everything that elapsed since you became a Corps member you started wiriting non-stop.
You knew that you weren't the best nor the strongest swordsmen, but you became a strong Tsuchinoe, enough to be able to fight lower moon leveled Demons and win, so now you knew why your input was important to Oyakata-sama.
After you finished you heard knocking on the door, it was Kanao who was sent by Shinobu to get you to eat dinner with all of them. When you looked out the window you noticed that it was dark outside which put you off for a moment since it took you all day to finish your report. You placed it in a folder and hurried to the dining room where everyone was promptly waiting for your arrival to start eating. You got embarrassed by this and sat down on your spot.
"Ara ara~ it looks like you have a lot to say in the meeting, (Y/n)" Shinobu teased you as you were red in embarrassment. "I just got kind of excited with the idea of writing my findings.. I also already sent it to Oyakata-sama" You silently said as you took a sip out of your drink, everyone just giggled and you started eating cold soba with salmon daiki that was made by Shinobu herself.
"...You made this!?" You asked surprised by how well it tasted, "Well of course, I know more than just poisoning and pharmaceuticals in case you didn't know" she smiled as she said. "But what's the occasion?" You said as you served seconds. "I thought it would be nice to have a little celebration for you. Like I said before, you are now an equal to us despite not being a Hashira" she smiled at you as she clapped her hands together, you started to blush.
"You make me really happy, you know?" You said unwittingly.
She just looked at you and gave off a sly blush, making her cheeks bright red, everyone else looked at the both of you surprised by what just happened. Aoi still had some feelings for you but knew that the two of you were a good couple and let it be.
"...(Y/n), I will head to Oyakata-sama's mansion a day before the meeting, just in case. Besides, we're relatively close to his estate" She explained to you as you were finishing up your food. You were confused as to why, but you didn't mind it at all, besides, there were still a few things that you had to do before heading out to the meeting.
You waited for everyone else to finish as well to start cleaning up the kitchen and dining room, once they did Shinobu stayed in the room with you a while longer. "Are you no longer busy?" You said as you were gathering all the dishes on the table, "I'm always busy, (Y/n). But I do enjoy my time with you as well." She smiled. "So the big meeting is in 4 days, huh?" You asked still nervous about the whole ordeal. "I know what you are thinking about, but I assured you that you will be fine. And everyone there is going to be acknowledge you as well, besides, you've already won five Hashira over, including me" She approached you, stood on a small chair and kissed your cheek. This was the most adorable thing you had ever seen, but you knew that if you said something about it you were most likely going to get hurt in a horrible way.
As you were finishing up the cleaning Okashī came through the window you had just opened and landed on your shoulder. "URGENCY.. UR-GEN-CY. GO KILL A BER-SERK DEMON NORTHWEST. NORTH-WE-ST." his yelling was as annoying as ever, but you were confused as to why you had a mission only days before the meeting. Despite this fact, you still had to go and finish this up quickly so you could head straight to the Ubuyashiki Estate right after.
You went to get your blades and mask and to mention what just happened to Shinobu who was preparing her own things in her bedroom to head out in 3 days from now.
"Oh my.. You have a mission? Now of all times.." she was concerned and confused as well, she calmly smiled and looked at you "Well it's best if you head out now before it's too late, (Y/n). Once you're done I will be waiting for your safe return with a small reward for you" She slightly raised her eyebrows as she looked at you. You immediately blushed like a madman and smiled "I will come back to you as soon as I can." You got close to her and kissed her goodbye.
You left running as fast as you could to the small village you were sent to so you could go back as soon as possible and not be late in the presence of Oyakata-sama who you respected so much. You were pretty sure the other pillars thought the same way about him and held him with such high esteem. This had to be an in-and-out mission so you didn't care about anything else.
Before you arrived to the town where you had your mission, you stopped quickly by a Wisteria House to get a free meal and go on your way. On your short stay you noticed a strange trio of Slayers that were in the premises as well: One has short, yellow hair of varying lengths, cutting off squarely at the ends where it fades to a darker orange color, that falls in front of his face in uneven bangs with white-triangle patterned, yellow and orange gradient haori. Another has ruffled, black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead, he also has a scar on the top left of his forehead, with his eyes as gentle as the warmth of the sun. He carried a checkerd green haori and hanafuda earings. And the last one... you had absolutely no idea what it was.
But they seemed to get along very well and were having fun, so you enjoyed their company for a moment.
While you were eating the young boy with Hanafuda-like earings approached you. "Would you like to eat with us so you won't be alone?" He smiled at you, you felt right away that this boy was a nice one. you got up and went to sit with them as you all ate.
"Hi! I'm Mitsuki (Y/n), Tsuchinoe. A pleasure to meet you three!" You said as you gently bowed.
"I'm Kamado Tanjiro, This is Agatsuma Zenitsu and Hashibira Inosuke. We're all Mizunoto! So that means you're our senpai" Both Tanjiro and Zenitsu bowed while Inosuke had a confused expression all throughout his body. You were kind of awkward because you couldn't really see Inosukes face.
After you were done eating you got up, bowed to them and put on your blood moon kabuki mask ready to depart and complete this once and for all. "I hope i'll see you some time soon on a mission or to eat again! Hope you get better soon young ones!". Zenitsu looked at you with his eyes wide open, astonished and as you left you noticed he pulled on Tanjiro's haori while yelling you were the Masked Slayer.
Three days had gone by very quickly, it took you one to get there, another to complete the mission and you were now leaving on the night of the third with much calm since you still had all night and part of the fourth day to arrive to the Ubuyashiki Estate. The mission was fairly easy mission, and you only came back with a slightly deep bite on your right arm due to the Demon's aggresive attacks, but it was nothing serious.You enjoyed the night as you walked down the lonely road infront of you, not that windy nor that hot. It was just perfect for you to stay calm, alone with your thoughts. You were just glad that it wasn't a difficult one.
Suddenly Okashī landed on your shoulder yelling louder than usual, it worried you.
"NATAGUMO MOUNTAIN! HEAD TO NATAGUMO MOUNTAIN. PRESENCE OF A LOWER MOON! EMERGENCY. E-MER-GEN-CY! TWO PILLARS WERE DISPATCHED. HEAD NOW!"
At this moment you ignored everything and ran at top speed, following Okashī to the destination you were sent to.
Once you arrived you immediately felt an eerie chill up your spine by just looking at the mountain. You knew something bad was going on so you hurried in through the West side of it. You were confused as you found many cocoon hanging from the trees so you opened two of them up only to find some of your colleagues decomposing in some kind of acid. You felt immediately disgusted and ready to avenge them. Even so, you kept on going to see who else you could find or help out.
You kept on going where you found many injured hunters and some nasty spiders with human heads. But they didn't try to harm you, instead they were crying so you let them be.
In the sky you noticed a house that seemed as if it was floating in the air, but instead it was hanging due to some strong almost invisible strings. On top of it was Shinobu, it seemed as if she were speaking with someone, she didn't seem to notice you, and you didn't want to stop there since she was already taking care of things. Instead you ran deeper into the mountain to see where you could be of assistance. Right when you were leaving the area you noticed many kakushi running in to do their job, you called some of them to follow you incase their were more injured on the way.
After going all over the mountain you found many corpses in different ways, showing that many different Demons were on this mountain. You were angered and confused as to why you weren't sent here to begin with. You absolutely knew you could've cleared the place with no casualties whatsoever, this made you feel guilty about your subordinates as you realized most of them didn't even pass from a Kanoto ranking. You jumped high in the trees to see what else you could find, to your surprise there was a young Demon girl hung from many threads badly hurt. This could only mean that another Demon had did this to her, so once you landed you hurried to that direction hoping to find whom ever did this and stop it once and for all.
You hurried there at top speed, jumping through the trees to make it there faster. As you were approaching you noticed another Corps member fighting a Demon with a broken sword which surprised you a lot. But sadly he was about to die slashed by many threads. Out of nowhere the threads and the Demon both burst into flames and when you looked up you noticed the girl Demon helping him out. You had never seen something like that before.
Luckily he cut off the Demon's head before he could get killed by it's attack. You took a breath in relieve since you could approach him with calm and help him out. You could only see him squirming on the floor towards the girl who was a Demon as well and this scared you since he would most likely be killed by her. The Demon who's head had been cut off was walking towards him, ready to finish him off with his next attack and you knew this well
"Blood Demon Technique: Cage of Murdering Eyes" the Demon yelled as a dome of his threads were surrounding the young boy, so you tried to make it there in time to save him, even so, you didn't know how he was still alive, even after being beheaded by a Nichirin Blade.
"Poison Breathing. Third Form: Flying Toxin" you then used the momentum of this stab attack to make it there in time, but before you made it there, Tomioka Giyuu the Water Pillar arrived at the scene saving him. Only then you noticed that the Demon was lower five and now all you could do is watch as Tomioka finished up the job.
As the Demon prepared for the next attack Tomioka did something that you never knew existed.
"Water Breathing. Eleventh Form: Lull" it seemed as if he didn't do a thing and all of the Lower Moon's threads were cut. And in a moments notice he cut off his head for good this time. Seeing this, you slowly approached Tomioka who was as calm as ever. "Tomioka-san, it's been a long time since I last saw you" You took off the mask momentarily as you said in a calm demeanor due to the current situation. "...It's you." Is all he said as you both turned to see the headless body walking to both the boy and the girl who were both on the floor and very injured, it looked like he wanted to reach them for whatever reason.
Out of nowhere you were invaded by the feeling of sadness, emptiness, shame. Then Tomioka approached them stepping on the Demons clothes.
"Don't waste any Sympathy on a Demon that devoured humans. It doesn't matter if it looks like a child.
It's still a horrendous monster that has lived for decades". This made you feel bad since you knew how it felt right before it died.
The boy didn't hesitate to reply to him "To avenge the people who were killed, to make sure there are no more victims, of course, I'll bring my blade down on any Demon's neck without mercy! But as for those whom being a demon meant despair, those who regretted their own actions... I will never trample on them" You could tell he was getting emotional as he was saying this. When you got closer to him you realized this was Kamado Tanjiro, the boy you met some days ago In the Wisteria House. The girl, the Demon, it seemed like it was his sister now that you looked at both of them correctly. Even if she was a Demon, she fought and saved her brother valiantly so you were unsure of what to do.
Tomioka seemed to recognize this boy as well when he got closer to him too. 'Could they have met in the past?' you thought to yourself.
Something in the wind didn't feel right, and both you and Tomioka noticed this as Shinobu came ready to go for the kill on the young demon girl. You stood in front of both of them as you parried her attack but still managed to get cut by her. Tomioka only stood on guard in case she was going to attack again.
"Ara~" Shinobu said as she landed. "Why would you get in my way (Y/n), Tomioka-san?" she said. "You just told me that we could never be friends with demons... How should I put this?" She looked directly at Tomioka with pure anger "That's exactly why everyone hates you, you know?" She added as she gave a small laugh.
This shocked all of you after she said that.
"All right, (Y/n)-san, Tomioka-san, please move out the way" After she said this you knew that she was mad at you too, she never calls you by an honorific anymore, unless she's angry.
Tomioka then looked dead at her and slowly spoke. "I'm not.. I am not hated" This reply made everyone there even more shocked, you turned to look at him, Tanjiro even raised his head after hearing this. Shinobu on the other hand was visibly pissed by this.
She simply sighed and smiled "Well, I'm sorry. You haven't even realized that you were hated, then? That was uncalled for. Please forgive me"
This was the last straw as now this even hurt Tomioka. Both you and Tanjiro looked at him as this would hurt anyone.
Shinobu then turned to look at Tanjiro "Little Boy!" Tanjiro answered immediately "Yes!".
"What you're protecting is a demon. I don't want you to get hurt, so please move away." she said putting her hand near her mouth as a mean to speak louder.
"Y-You're mistaken! I mean, you're not mistaken, but... She's my younger sister! So you see.." Tanjiro picked the girl up a bit as he explained. This confirmed what you were thinking a moment ago, it was his sister, and she did save him intentionally.
Shinobu frowned as she heard this, covering her mouth "Is that right? Poor thing" but then smiled again "In that case, I shall use a gentle toxin to kill her, so she won't suffer, all right?" she then readied her sword.
This made Tanjiro worried and scared. You quickly tugged on Tomioka's shoulder and looked at him dead in the eyes and he understood immediately after.
You turned to look at Tanjiro now "Can you move? Even if you can't, run and protect your sister. Tomioka will stay here, I'll be your backup.. Now Go!" you then got on guard with one blade as you were shielding Tanjiro.
He looked at both of you "Tomioka-san, (Y/n)-san.. Thank you and sorry for the trouble!" He then started running, you looked at Tomioka once again and ran behind Tanjiro. You then heard Shinobu say something "You know you're breaking the Corps rules, right?"
You quickly followed Tanjiro behind making sure that no one would intercept him. You looked behind as you heard the sound of blades clashing against each other. Then you kept on going, Tanjiro had already got a distance away from them and you were also left somewhat behind so you hurried back to reach him. You turned quickly behind only to see Shinobu up in the sky catching up, but luckily Tomioka grabbed her in a deadlock
When you caught up with him he was laying on the ground passed out and Kanao was there, sitting on top him. You knew this was your fault, but still tried to stop her. You saw the Demon girl named Nezuko shrink and start running away as Kanao quickly followed behind slashing at her. You intercepted Kanao and stopped her from following Nezuko.
"I know I'm breaking Corps rules, but I can't allow you to do anything to this girl!" You said as your blades clashed. Kanao, as always, didn't say a thing and just looked at you. You both stayed like that for a while until many Kasuagi Garasu flew around.
"Message! Message! Message from headquarters! Tanjiro and Nezuko are to be taken into custody and brought back to headquarters!" the crows started describing what both Nezuko and Tanjiro were wearing.
You and Kanao stopped immediately and sheathed your blades.
"Is she Nezuko?" Kanao asked as you confirmed it. Kanao left deeper into the mountain, who knows for what and you signaled the Kakushi where you were so they could pick up Tanjiro and Nezuko.
Daybreak came as you were leaving the mountain and started walking towards Ubuyashiki Manor, to the Hashira Meeting.
Once you arrived at the Manor the first thing you wanted to do was to hug everyone you knew, but after breaking the rules you were sure that something like this wouldn't be possible. Instead you formally introduced yourself to the Hashira that didn't know you, one by one, so they could at least know what you're function within the Corps is. "Ah i see, the famed Masked Slayer has joined us for a meeting" Himejima said. "I hope we can work together" he added.
After this you slowly and very ashamed approached Mitsuri, when she saw you she hurried to hug you very excited to see you after many months of not knowing how you were. "I'm so glad to see you again (Y/n)-kun! Especially here in the Hashira Meeting! By the way what are you doing here?" She curiously asked you. Rengoku approached you and put a hand on your back, determined as ever "It is obvious that my boy has became a fellow Hashira, and Oyakata-sama will mention this to us today!" He yelled in excitement. Uzui quickly followed by also patting your back happy by seeing you again "Oh my! Is this true? You've flamboyantly became a Hashira like us?!" He said clenching his fist in excitement.
You separated a little bit from them and tried to explain, but instead the 3 of them were discussing how you probably became one of them.
"Guys.. G-Guys.. Guys!" They all looked at you now. "I'm so glad to see you all, but I'm not a Hashira, nor close to becoming one. I'm a simple Tsuchinoe, but Oyakata-sama told me directly that he wanted to see me here in the meeting"
Mitsuri covered her mouth and was embarrassed for thinking that you were a Hashira. Rengoku looked at you with a bright smile "You may not have become a Hashira, but Oyakata-sama wanted you here for a reason so this means you've become an important asset to us. I'm very proud of you Mitsuki (Y/n)!" you felt honored, but knew that he shouldn't feel like this, especially after you broke the Corps rules.
"Don't worry what others think about you, (Y/n). I'm pretty proud to see you here if I do say so myself!" Uzui said as he pointed at him self with his thumb. During all the time that they were explaining Mitsuri was still hugging you.
You turned to see Shinobu who was pretty distant, both literally and metaphorically. You felt bad, and the cut that you got with Shinobu's blade was starting to hurt a bit. When everyone got close to smalltalk a little and whatnot you felt kind of awkward since you didn't know Tokito, Himejima, Obanai nor Sanemi.
Mitsuri then pulled you from the arm and got you closer to the talk, then Shinobu mentioned what happened in the mountain. Both you and Tomioka had broken the rules and many looked at you, especially since you were not Hashira and you were there only by special request.
Iguro looked at you in disgust after this "If I didn't like you back then, now it's even worse", this made you feel guilty and awkward as well. Shinazugawa looked at you with hate and started approaching you "Well, well, if it isn't the soldier who isn't even a Pillar. What should I care if you're the Masked Slayer. What are you doing? You don't even belong here unless you are a Pillar. Or do you want to become one right now!?" He started to get heated up and clenching his fists getting ready to fight you. You felt scared and started getting ready to fight too, until Himejima came to the rescue, standing in between the both of you. Shinobu was looking at the small confrontation worried as well
"Stop it, Shinazugawa. I'm sure Oyakata-sama has his reasons, let us wait for what he has to say", his voice was soothing and he seemed to be like a very nice man. Shinazugawa got angry and walked away from the group.
After a moment a Kakushi came by and dropped Kamado Tanjiro who was sleeping on the floor while everyone was waiting for Oyakata-sama to arrive.
Everyone except for Tomioka, Iguro and Shinazugawa were in the center of the garden. You stood in between Shinobu and Muichiro.
Uzui looked at him in confusion "What!? I heard he was a Demon Slayer with a Demon in tow, so I was looking forward to seeing someone flamboyant, but that's one drab-looking dude, huh?"
Meanwhile Himejima was rubbing his hands together, then Rengoku confirmed the situation "Yes! And now, we'll put this boy on trial! I see!", everyone else was silent.
Tanjiro tried to say something but the Kakushi slapped his head demanding respect in front of the Pillars. All of you were just looking at him then Shinobu got closer to him "This is the Demon Slayer's Headquarters. And you're about to be put on trial, Kamado Tanjiro-kun" she said. You could tell he was worried as of what was going on.
"Before we start the trial, why don't you explain the crime you've commi-"
Shinobu was then cut off by Rengoku, "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 shall behead him along with the demon!"
Your eyes widened after hearing this, you knew this was not okay, especially after his sister saved him.
"In that case, I'll be glad to decapitate him flamboyantly. I'll show you the most flamboyant bloodspray you'll ever see. I'm talking max flamboyance!" Uzui said as you were getting even more worried about Tanjiro, you thought that you had to speak up.
"Ah, what a pitiful sight this boy is. The poor soul.. I pity him for having been born at all." Himejima said with tears flowing down his face.
You turned to see Tanjiro who was looking for something but you didn't know what. Most of the Hashira were talking about beheading him, but he didn't care at all. Instead he was yelling out names as if he was searching for someone.
Then from the tree Iguro spoke up pointing at you. "Forget that. What will we do with both Tomioka and (Y/n)? Seeing them there with no restraints is giving me a headache. Based on what Kocho told us, they're just as guilty of breaking the Corps rules." he was annoyed as well "How will we deal with them? How should we make them take responsibility? What kind of lesson should we teach them? Don't you have anything to say?" He added. You then turned to see Tomioka who was further away from everyone, not saying a word. You also remained silent, and serious. At this point you had taken your mask off and showed your true face to those who didn't know you.
They all looked at you and Tomioka now except for Mitsuri who was looking at Iguro appreciating him. Then she turned to see Tomioka and did the same, finally she stared at you for a moment too.
"Oh where's the harm? They did come along without resisting. Let's come up with a penalty later." Shinobu said as she smiled.
"What I'm more interested in is hearing 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, he's broken the Corps rules" Shinobu explained since she was the only one who was actually interested in the reason behind Tanjiro's decision to carry Nezuko with him.
"Kamado Tanjiro-Kun, please tell us why" She added. "No reason to ask" Uzui said as he held his blades.
"You can take your time. Just tell us why." Shinobu said. As Tanjiro was about to explain he started coughing uncontrollably, most likely due to dehydration. With this in mind Shinobu approached him with a gourd and gave him water.
After he drank it, he started explaining the reasons as to why.
Everyone there didn't believe him, despite the fact that he explained as much as he could.
Mitsuri then interrupted "Don't you think it's wrong to keep Oyakata-sama in the dark of this? We should wait for him to arrive". Only Rengoku, you and Uzui heard this, but it seemed like they didn't mind it.
After Tanjiro gave his explanation to you, Shinazugawa came by with the wooden box Tanjiro carried on his back.
"Oi, oi.. What fun is cooking up here? A demon that helps humans? You know what we call that here right? A delusion, you moron!" He then stabbed the box and blood splattered out of it, followed by a muffled scream. "Shinazugawa-san, please don't take matters into your own hands" Shinobu said as she got up pretty angry and looked at him.
Tanjiro nearly lost it and ran towards him yelling and ready to strike, by the look of it Shinazugawa wanted this, "Stop it! Oyakata-sama will arrive at any moment?" Tomioka interjected getting Shinazugawa to lose focus, with this Tanjiro took advantage and headbutted him hard enough to make him fall on the ground bleeding through his nose. He got up incredibly angry ready to kill Tanjiro right there.
Right when he was getting ready to slash he was once again interrupted.
"Oyakata-sama... has arrived" once you heard that, you and all the other Hashira bowed in front of him in a line. Shinazugawa made Tanjiro do it as well by force
"Good morning, everyone. The weather is beautiful today. It pleases me that we've made it to our semiannual Pillar Meeting with no personnel changes." he said with his soothing voice.
"I am pleased to see you in good health, as well, Oyakata-sama. I fervently pray for your continued good fortune." Shinazugawa said, it was as if he changed completely in the small time that Oyakata-sama arrived. You were shocked by this.
Oyakata-sama thanked him by his first name. You felt sad since you wanted to be the one to tell him that.
"If i may.. Before we start the Pillar Meeting would you mind enlightening us about this swordsman, Kamado Tanjiro, accompanied by a Demon?" Sanemi asked Oyakata-sama.
"Of course, I apologize for startling you all. About Tanjiro ans Nezuko... I've sanctioned their situation. And I'd like you all to accept it" He replied. But many of the Hashira didn't accept this at all, mostly because your sole purpose was to eliminate Demons, and to let one like this on the go is what probably angered most of them, only you, Shinobu and Tomioka stayed silent after this.
As they were opposing to Oyakata-sama's wishes you confirmed what you were just thinking. Only 4 of you accepted this wish. For this, Oyakata-sama came prepared and his daughter read a letter that the previous Water Pillar wrote and sent to him about Nezuko. The part that most resonated was that in the case that Nezuko assaults a human, Kamado Tanjiro, Tomioka Giyuu and also him, Sakonji Urokodaki will atone by committing seppuku.
Even after the letter, Shinazugawa kept on opposing Oyakata-sama's wishes.
But Oyakata-sama is a very smart man, and is always one step ahead of him. "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." with this said Shinazugawa was getting visibly frustrated. "If you wish to reject this notion, you must offer an even more convincing argument. And don't forget that there's three people willing to give their lives for her." both Rengoku and Shinazugawa remained silent.
"Also, there's something I'd like to relay to you, my children. Tanjiro here has met Kibutsuji." everyone including you were surprised by this, you were only so close to seeing him, but for someone who barely even joined to have crossed paths with him was something unbelievable. Uzui said so as well. Everyone was pestering the poor boy with questions about Muzan, even you. Sadly he didn't respond to anything and Oyakata-sama silenced you all.
Oyakata-sama started explaining what occurred after Tanjiro's meeting with Kibutsuji. The main reason for Oyakata-sama to keep both Tanjiro and Nezuko is because with this the lead to Kibutsuji is getting clearer. After all this he pleaded with all of you tu understand the situation.
All but Shinazugawa accepted it to this point. "If it were a human, I'd be okay with letting it live, but not a demon! Not after all that we Demon Slayers have gone through in battle! Not after so many people have lost their lives! It's unacceptable!" Sanemi angrily said as he pulled out his sword and cut made a deep cut in his arm. "Oyakata-sama, I will prove it to you myself!"
He then got the box where Nezuko was in and started taunting her with his dripping blood. Tanjiro vas very angered and worried for what Nezuko could do.
Iguro advised Shinazugawa to go into the shade since she couldn't get out into the sunlight. So he jumped into the house and started stabbing her some more. Tanjiro yelled desperately for her but Iguro then stopped him by throwing his elbow into his back. You were worried about him and poked Shinobu a little bit so she could say something since she was closer to them and luckily she was seeing this as well. "Iguro-san, don't press so much" She said in a serious tone "I'm only doing so because he's trying to move" He replied. She then turned to Tanjiro "If you try to breath while your lungs are getting pressed your veins could burst!". Uzui heard this and got excited "Veins bursting!? Do it, i Want to see this!" Mitsuri only looked at him kind of worried.
Meanwhile inside Nezuko was slobbering but trying her best to not go for a bite, even though Shinazugawa kept on taunting her. You turned to see Tanjiro who was yelling applying pressure on his lungs "Tanjiro, stop!" You yelled. He then broke the rope he was tied up with and Tomioka pulled on Iguro's arm so he could let him go. Tanjiro then ran to the floor of the house and yelled at Nezuko to control herself. After a brief moment of calm Nezuko decided to look away, making Shinazugawa very surprised by this. And not only him, everyone present.
"What happened?" Oyakata-sama asked the daughters accompanying him, "Shinazugawa-sama taunted many times the demon, but she still turned away". After hearing this he looked at all of you "As you can see, this proves that she won't hurt anyone. Tanjiro, this proves that not everyone will approve of you. Go defeat the 12 Demon Moons and show your worth." Oyakata-sama said to him. He immediately postrated in front of Oyakata-sama then stood up a bit "Me and Nezuko, will end this chain of sadness and kill Kibutsuji!"
Oyakata-sama just looked at him "You're not strong enough to do that, why don't you start with a Demon Moon?" He said as gently as ever. Tanjiro turned red in embarrassment and all of you tried to control your laughter in front of Oyakata-sama.
"All of these swordsman have defeated a great deed of Demons, and some of them even killed one of the Twelve Demon Moons. This is why they're so respected, so please when you interact with them give them the respect they deserve.
And now that we're done with this, you may leave now" Oyakata-sama was saying. You then turned to Shinobu who was probably still mad at you "Why don't you send them to the Estate?" You asked. She just looked at you and then turned over to Oyakata-sama "In that case let me take them in my place. Take them away please!" She said as she clapped and two Kakushi went to pick both Tanjiro and Nezuko from there.
Once they were gone the real Meeting was about to begin, then out of nowhere Tanjiro came back running "Let me headbutt him! Let me headbutt him for every time he stabbed Nezuko!" The kakushi followed behind him very nervous, Muichiro then knocked him out with three stones. "Don't interrupt Oyakata-sama as he speaks. Take him away" He said very calmly.
"Tanjiro, send my regards to Tamayo" were Oyakata-sama's last words to Tanjiro as he left while the Kakushi were begging forgiveness from the Pillars.
---
"Now, let us begin our Pillar Meeting, shall we?" Oyakata-sama said as he was looking directly at you. "Many of you are unaware, but (Y/n) here is a very important asset to us. I have him under special orders directed only by me, or any of you who would like to request him. I have him on Pillar leveled missions and he never fails to bring us back good news, so he's here today with his own reports and findings" Oyakata-sama explained to those who still didn't truly understand your purpose in the meeting. Shinazugawa scoffed loudly and everyone noticed this.
After this everyone, starting by Tengen started giving their respective reports to what they have seen in the past 6 months, all the reports came with things in common: Demon presence was becoming higher, Demons were becoming stronger and more importantly, the swordsman quality was lowering. This was shown mostly in your reports since every mission that you have been sent on already had reports on swordsman being sent to the area before you, and losing contact with them. This was alarming since the Slayer Corps were only by the hundreds and Demons were appearing stronger than ever. After you showing this data even Shinazugawa agreed with you, which was very important due to the fact that this gave you more credibility, but it was kind of weird especially since he wanted to fight you just some hours ago.
"After the events of Natagumo Mountain I believe that we have to do something about the way we let the swordsman in. I believe that the cultivators should have a better sense of what they send us!" Sanemi said as you were all now inside the house. "I agree especially since during these months I've survived an encounter with Higher Moon two and almost had an encounter with Kibutsuji himself, Rengoku-san was there with me as well. Not only that, but I've handled my own against many Demons that could easily enter into the lower moon ranking. So there should be something that we could do to make sure our swordsman become stronger." you finished giving your input about the swordsman. "And about Demons, by personal knowledge I've noticed that many of the strongest ones come from the northern part of the country, so this could mean that Muzan could have been through these regions, or higher moons were turning people into Demons as well up here and here. " you said as you were showing the sensitive data on the map with different markings. "Even so, we should check the change in demon activity in theses specific regions" you showed the following parts on the map. Not only Oyakata-sama, but even Shinobu, Tengen, Rengoku and Mitsuri were surprised to see your growth in this short period of time. Even Himejima was impressed by your input on the situation.
"Namu Amida Butsu. I agree with what (Y/n)-san just said, something seems to have changed and I'm pretty sure it will keep on bringing winds of change" Himejima said with both his hands together. "You're right Gyomei. I have a feeling that the gears of destiny started to turn in our favor." He replied. "That is why I'm sure that we're ready.. Tengen Uzui, Shinazugawa Sanemi, Iguro Obanai, Kanroji Mitsuri, Rengoku Kyojuro, Himejima Gyomei, Kocho Shinobu, Muichiro Tokito, Tomioka Giyuu.. My children, I am positive that you are as strong as the swordsman of the first breaths and in our generation we will end this once and for all" Oyakata-sama seemed very sure about this, so you couldn't be pleased with where you were now, you had to become stronger, as close as you can be to a Hashira.
"Mitsuki (Y/n), don't think that I forgot about you. I have high hopes for you my child, keep going on this path and I'm sure you could also become a Hashira, but never waver nor falter", these words resonated in your heart. "I will do the best I can to help you Oyakata-sama. Thank you for this opportunity" You bowed down.
This meeting took all day long, it wasn't until nighttime that you were disbanded to your respective areas and homes. Before everyone left you went and approached Rengoku. "Rengoku-san.. I'm sorry for not being able to become your Tsuguko, I have now learned my own breathing form! But i would still love to learn the rest of the Flame Breathing Forms!" You said as you bowed. He smiled and put his hand on your head "Of course my boy! I will make sure of it!" He loudly said as he went his own way.
You then turned back to go look for Shinobu who was probably still angry at you. Even so, you hurried so you could reach her on her way back to the Mansion. Luckily she wasn't that far away from you, "Are you still angry at me for breaking the rules..?" You silently asked, she turned to look at you smiling "I should.. But after the meeting of today I guess I changed my mind, especially of that boy and his sister. I'm now glad that you stopped me from killing her... By the way, how's the cut you got from my blade? Does it not hurt? Do you feel the poison circulating?" She was worried yet curious of the effects on the human body.
"It does still burn a little, and the poison.. I think my body already decomposed it, which means I am becoming more and more resistant to poison. Either that or I'll wake up dead" You laughed, but she didn't find it funny. "I'm going to have to check you once we arrive" She said in a serious tone. "Do you mind if I sleep instead? I haven't been able to rest in 3 days and now I'm exhausted" you yawned as you said this. "Hmm.. No, now I'm worried that the poison could have an unknown effect which could cause serious injuries to your body" she closed her eyes as she said this.
"Of course i am joking, but I will have to see the effects the next day, alright?" you smiled in relief after hearing this. "I accept this with the condition that you and I sleep together tonight" she lightly blushed "Well.. That was unexpected. But I accept the condition" she walked closer to you and you held her hand as you walked.
"By the way, what do you think of Kamado-kun?" She asked. "I actually met him some days ago, when I was sent out on the mission prior to this one. But I didn't know that he carried his demon sister with him... More importantly, I find it hard to believe that Shinazugawa-san did not accept what Oyakata-sama wanted at first." you looked at her as you walked together.
"You must have forgotten. Most of us come from a troubling pasts, it is true that most of the Pillars have a huge resentment against Demons, but now that Oyakata-sama has accepted her, the rest will have to as well." She carefully explained you the situation.
"I wonder what he has to go through to be how he is now.." you were now thinking to yourself.
"Once we arrive I'll have to make medicine for those who have become spiders, so it looks like I have many things to do now. Meanwhile you should help out with the recovery of those who's condition improves." She smiled, and you loved seeing her smile so you accepted her request and walked happily back to the Butterfly Estate.
_____________________________________
SINJA: It is 5 am and i really want to sleep, I'm sorry If the ending seems kind of rushed. But anyway, i hope you all enjoy the story until now QwQ. Don't forget to vote and comment.
Next chapter will be half a mission, half canon story