If there was a worse situation for Tanjiro to be in, he'd gladly hear it from you at this point.
Under the wary gaze of the Corp's strongest members, Marechi Blood dripping out infront of him allowing his overly sensitive nose to pick up the scent, right after his draining fight with Lower Moon 5.
His body was screaming at him to just begging, yelling at him to eat the source, sink his teeth into the guy's flesh and devour, consume for energy, the taste.
Consume the human.
DEVOUR THE SOURCE, GIVE ME THE SAVORY TASTE.
CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME, CONSUME.
Tanjiro winced from the realization, the direction his instincts were dragging him towards, unconsciously his body was tugging hard at the cuffs, their rattling obvious to the naked ear.
"F-For Nezuko…! For Nezuko! Nezuko!", Tanjiro could only chant to himself to keep himself stable, but every thought he'd make that took too long to complete would eventually just develop into the same instinctual response, eat.
The first time he was exposed to Marechi he could decently handle it, the scent wasn't very strong and there were several masking odors, but this time around all Tanjiro could smell was the sickly sweet scent of human blood enhanced by his demon senses, and Marechi.
Meanwhile, Nezuko was forced to watch as her brother was being tortured so brutishly infront of her, in between her terrified gasps for air she managed to mutter "...Stop… Please..." before her condition worsened.
"Hm? What was that, young lady?" Kyojuro had said, having realized the girl was trying to speak.
"...S… S-STOP IT, HE DOESN'T DESERVE THAT!" she suddenly yelled out, limbs furiously tugging at her constraints as she attempted to come to her brother's aid, she couldn't bear to see him in such a state, his very senses used against him and treated like some rabid monster that has already long lost all normal human reason and morality.
While tugging, she suddenly felt a strong stinging sensation in her back, soon realizing it was one of the Hashira that was digging their elbow into her back, pinning her to the ground, "Shut up, will you? We're tired of waiting." they had said, "N-NO! PLEASE!" Nezuko begged again, the sharp sensation intensified as the Hashira increased the pressure, Nezuko was again forced to watch her brother's state worsen.
"...N-Nezuko!" Tanjiro mentally winced as his body kept viciously tugging at his own constraints, before anyone realized it the first harsh snap echoed through the garden, Tanjiro's legs had been freed from their cuffs, but the boy didn't make an effort to stand up, he was clearly using his mental strength to pin himself to the floor while his arms continued to unconsciously tug at their own cuffs.
"No need to hold back, Demon. Show us your true colors and I'll destroy you right away." Sanemi taunted, still flaunting his arm infront of the Demon Boy that was clearly using what strength he had not to give in, in retaliation Sanemi flicked his arm, sending some blood flying right at the Demon Boy who groaned and winced in response, "Come on, I'm giving you some food, so dig in!" he taunted again.
"Iguro, you're digging too hard into the girl." Giyu worded while looking at their skirmish, "But she keeps trying to break free. Y'know?" Iguro flatly responded as he kept up the pressure.
"Kamado, if you try to use Breathing Techniques while he's compressing your lungs, you'll rupture blood vessels." Shinobu said while looking at the girl with genuine concern, but this didn't exactly get the response she wanted as Tengen just found the idea to be very interesting, with Mitsuri looking at him with a little discomfort, "Rupture blood vessels!?" he suddenly blurted out, "That sounds cool! Good! Do it! Rupture 'em!"
"Poor, weak, pitiful child. Namu Amida Butsu." Gyomei took the time to say as the young girl was grunting from where she was pinned.
Blood kept dripping, and it only got harder and harder for Tanjiro to resist his instincts, especially now that there was some blood right on his face.
"T-This smell…! It's clogging all my senses…! All I can smell is blood, I might just give in…!" the boy thought as his body kept groaning and his instincts only grew louder.
I WANT IT.
GIVE IT TO ME.
I WANT TO TASTE THIS BLOOD, FEEL IT FUEL ME, FEEL IT SLIDE DOWN MY THROAT.
STOP RESISTING, GIVE IN ALREADY, YOU WANT IT.
"N-No…!" Tanjiro managed to say under his breath, mentally cursing himself and his instincts, "No…?" Sanemi asked in return, having heard the squirming Demon speak, "What do you mean, no? You don't want it you say? Don't make me laugh, come on already, dig in!"
LISTEN TO HIM.
DIG IN.
Tanjiro kept wincing, squirming, resisting as best as he could, it was hard, the hardest challenge he had faced thus far, by far.
But he'd keep resisting for as long as his morality remained in check, in response to his body and his involuntary biting at air, he stuck his tongue out and flinched when it was severed clean, the system shock giving him newfound strength to resist, but he knew his instincts would only come back for seconds and it would be stronger than before, there were a few gasps from the Hashira, who all responded the same way to the boy's actions, seeing him so determined to not dig in.
But it only infuriated Sanemi, he flicked his arm again, sending more blood splattering all over Tanjiro's body, and more importantly his face.
A single action that completely overrode his system shock, he could feel his tongue regenerating in seconds as his body kept moving involuntarily, unconsciously still tugging at his cuffs, he stood up and Sanemi chuckled at the sight, "Now we're talking, come on, get a bite, one is enough to sentence you to death."
And then a second metal snap, Tanjiro's arm cuffs had been broken.
His body was freed, and it meant he only had to hold himself together further, it put him on the edge entirely, his body wanted him to eat, begged him at this point, was forcing him to move and there wasn't a whole lot he could do.
"Onii-chan!" Tanjiro suddenly heard, through all of this his sister was still cheering for him, a shock of clarity struck him, momentarily locking everything else out but that sweet yet desperate voice.
He knew what he had to do.
His body snapped out of it, continuing to move against the boy's will, before gripping Sanemi's shoulders tightly, drool was leaking from his mouth like a waterfall, Tanjiro was putting all his force into his neck, forcing it to bend back, Sanemi's grin widened and he let out another chuckle, "Go ahead, we'll be done waiting." he said.
Nezuko couldn't bear to look, this was it, her brother's senses would finally bite him in the back and force him, he'd be decapitated and she'd be executed soon after, she closed her eyes and tensed, waiting for everything to transpire, tears leaked from her eyelids, "We failed, Onii-chan…" she thought, "...Why us? Why you? Why do you have to suffer like this…?"
A hard bone-like crack filled the air, followed by a deep thud, then another softer one, that was it, the sound of Tanjiro's neck getting sliced apart, the thud of his body and then his neck, it was over.
"...That's… Pretty flamboyant, not gonna lie." she heard Tengen say as everything remained silent, then someone else spoke, "To think he'd go to such lengths, hm! He's something else afterall!" Kyojuro followed up.
What had happened? Her morbid curiosity was killing her right now, Nezuko had to see, she slightly opened her eyes and caught Sanemi's form, sitting on the garden with his arms next to him, keeping him upright in a sitting position, wait, what happened?
"What happened?" The Master asked, it was time for Nezuko to hear what happened, too.
"The Demon Boy had headbutted Sanemi off the patio, before sitting back down, it seems he has unconsciously licked the blood off of his face, however." one of the children responded, "That is an acceptable compromise." the Master said in return.
Tanjiro flinched after realizing it, the savory taste in his mouth that fueled his body with new energy made him want to vomit, he shuffled away from the still-present pool of blood and covered his nose, his eyes were bouncing around the area, not knowing where to look at now, he actually gave in, he'd get killed now, right?
"It seems the Demon Boy has realized his actions and has retreated from the blood still present on the patio, shielding his nose with his arms to block out some of the scent." The Master's child relaid, "In that case, I think it has been proven that Tanjiro does not wish to attack humans, let alone eat flesh or blood." The Master said after, followed by a shocked silence, in the moment Iguro's grip loosened and with new vigor Nezuko broke her own restraints and broke free of Iguro's grasp, she sprinted over to Tanjiro, and began to comfort him, hugging him tightly yet gently, the boy hugged back soon after, beginning to cry somewhat from the harsh trial he had been put through.
"You did it, Onii-chan." Nezuko said.
"Nezuko, nevertheless some will still view Tanjiro unfavorably. Proof was needed and now we have it, so… Tanjiro will remain as part of the corps, and will fight alongside his sister. Defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki, if you do they will accept your words and recognize the value of your presence." The Master said after, his voice calmed the two siblings down further until Nezuko realized something, "...Defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki…?"
"W-Wait!" Nezuko suddenly said, "We already did that!"
There was another silence, Nezuko turned her head back to face the other people present in the area, the Hashira staring at her with shock on their faces, "On Natagumo Mountain, there was one of the Twelve Kizuki, right!? W-We fought them, we defeated them! Lower Moon Five!"
"Oh. That's right! We never actually encountered the Twelve Kizuki member on the mountain, and I did see a disintegrating Demon body next to them on the ground when Giyu and I found them to retrieve them." Shinobu chimed in, now all eyes were on her and she just smiled in response.
"Is that so?" The Master asked.
"Y-Yes! And I- We swear we will kill Muzan, too!" Nezuko responded right after, "You're not ready for that yet, how about we stick to the Twelve Kizuki for now, right now we can't prove too much, so how about you hunt down another?"
Nezuko went red right after, managing to stammer "Okay…" before she locked up entirely, Tanjiro chuckled a bit from behind her as he let go of their hug.
"No, no no no! I mustn't laugh!" Mitsuri thought to herself as the Master continued, "It goes without saying that the Hashira are incredibly talented, Through laborious training they have improved themselves and defied death… And defeated a member of the Twelve Kizuki. That is why people respect and warmly welcome the Hashira. Nezuko, you must be careful how you speak."
"Uhm, okay…"
"And Sanemi, Obanai. Please don't be so rough on the younger members.", the two Hashira gave the Master their confirmation, "Now then, may I get some alone time with the two children?" The Master asked, earning more silence before Kyojuro spoke up, "Master, with all due respect, I think it's still too dangerous to be alone with a Demon."
"In that case…" The Master simply responded, he nodded to his children who began guiding him again, this time off the patio and into the clear harsh sunlight, he sat down not too far away from the patio again, "That can be easily resolved." he said after, Kyojuro's comment had been shut down completely.
The Hashira stood up, bowed, and left the Master alone with the Kamados.
"Now then, now that we have some alone time please sit infront of me." The Master said, the Kamados complied, getting up from their position and walking over to the Master, sitting back down infront of him on the patio.
"Tanjiro, I'm aware of the hardships you faced on the mountain, and the things you were forced to do there.", Tanjiro turned away, averting his gaze in shame as he realized where the subject was going, "...And I don't hold it against you, you held out all that time, even going as far as to sabotage them in secrecy. You truly are something special.", Tanjiro perked up when he heard that, returning his gaze onto the Master, "T-Thank you…" he uttered causing the Master to smile in response before he clapped his hands and the Hashira suddenly returned in an instant, taking the Kamados off guard completely, did they hear?
Shinobu practically immediately chimed in after the Hashira returned, "The Kamados can wait at my mansion." she said, getting a totally confused response from the Kamados right after, but before anyone could even try to complain, she clapped her hands, "Okay, take them away, please!" she said.
A group of Kakushi rushed in immediately, grabbing Nezuko while clearly wary of Tanjiro, she was dragged off pretty much instantly.
Before Tanjiro could protest or respond for that matter, he felt a large blanket be thrown over him, one of the Kakushi firmly shoved him a bit into the blanket, after which it was closed like a bag, which was soon carried off aswell.
"Well, that concludes the Hashira Meetings, thank you for coming today." The Master said as the siblings were dragged off to wherever the Kakushi were taking them to, earning a silent laugh from Mitsuri, "Sorry…" she said.