Once again, a shorter chapter but it's a bit of a setup. Anyways, the next chapter that gets released is going to be the last for a bit, since on Aug 17th I move back on campus and the 18th, College starts again. There'll probably be adjustments in the posting schedule then, so sorry about that. Also sorry that it's late again, life is hard.
News on the attack on the Smith Village reached the Pillars' ears quite quickly.
Musashi and Kyojuro had both been too far away to help, though Kanroji had been close enough to be able to, which certainly was a relief. Of the outcomes from the battle at the Smith Village, the most startling was the newfound information of Nezuko's resistance to the sun. Her human mentality was coming back, according to the reports, and she could say small phrases without trouble.
But no matter how interesting or impressive, it was beside the point.
An Emergency Pillar Meeting had been called by the Master.
Tokito and Kanroji were up on their feet again, and without Uzui, their numbers were nine, but all of them made it to the estate without hesitation.
Shinaguzawa was irritated as they waited, annoyed that he hadn't gotten to fight any Upper Moons, though Iguro had told him that it wasn't like they popped up like the common ilk. Himejima was been silently praying, sitting at the head of the group with his head bowed and hands together. Both Musashi and Kyojuro glanced at each other as Iguro and Shinazugawa were glowering at each other— They were both glad that the two Pillars managed to make it out unscathed, but to hope to meet an Upper Moon?
Akaza had been a trial, though that had been partially the fault of Musashi for not using Six Realms Five Planes: The Divine Figure of Kurikara right from the gate. That said, if Shinazugawa or any of the rest of the Pillars were to encounter a Moon who was a Slayer previously on their own? Well, it could get... messy.
"It's good that you two are alright, nonetheless," Musashi voiced, smiling a bit at Kanroji and Tokito. "Ahh, If we were a day later then we could've helped."
Kanroji giggled. "Don't worry too much about it, Musashi," she said as Tokito nodded silently.
She smiled again as Himejima's prayer beads rattled a bit. "We should proceed with caution, however," he rumbled, "Uzui's retirement is regrettable and while it is noble indeed that both Kanroji and Tokito were able to defeat an Upper Moon each, losing more Pillars would cause a problem as of now."
"Umu," Kyojuro agreed, nodding. "Though that seems as if that's why we're gathered today!"
The rest of the pillars nodded, lapsing into silence before sitting up straight and orienting themselves to face the doors as they opened. Ubuyashiki, along with Amane, Kiriya, and Kanta entered.
In unison, the Pillars' hands hit the tatami flooring as they bowed.
"It is most honorable to be in your presence, Oyakata-sama," Himejima said calmly, head bowed. "We pray for your safety in these times."
The blind, but no longer cursed, man smiled gently as he sat in front of him, Amane at his side and his children sitting on either side of their parents.
"Thank you, my children," he said as the nine of them sat back up. "I'm sure you have all heard, but we now have another demon who has conquered the sun among our ranks," the man started the meeting off and Shinazugawa, Iguro, and Tomioka tensed slightly as they caught the word 'another' in the sentence. Tokito seemed to be more alert upon hearing it, and both Kanroji and Kocho startled. Himejima, Kyojuro, and herself didn't move. They were the only three who already knew, after all. They would be breaching the topic later.
"Kibutsuji Muzan has most likely altered his goals to go after Nezuko Kamado so that he can conquer the sun himself," the Master continued, "The time for an all-out battle is approaching."
Shinazugawa opened his mouth to speak, most likely to ask about what Ubuyashiki meant when he said 'another' but Amane put her finger to her lips as her husband continued on. The Wind Pillar snapped his jaw shut, gripping his fists against his legs as he grit his teeth.
"We also have had reports of strange marks appearing on Kanroji and Tokito during their battles against Upper Moons Four and Five," he said, tone level and calming the agitated Wind Pillar. "I would like to ask you two about how you got those marks and what the conditions to obtain them are."
Kanroji and Tokito both startled.
"Marks?" the Love Pillar asked and Ubuyashiki nodded.
"Yes," he said, "During the Sengoku Era, there were some swordsmen of the Breath who were one step away from ending Kibutsuji Muzan… and they all had marks that resembled Demon Crests."
Musashi's eye widened as shock rippled through the Pillars. Himejima didn't look all that surprised, but then again, neither did Kyojuro. Most likely, knowledge of the Marks had been passed down through the Flame Pillar's family.
"Why haven't we heard of these 'Marks' before?" Shinazugawa asked, scowling a bit. Kyojuro hummed, thinking before he answered in the Master's stead.
"Many people were brooding over not gaining their Marks," the Flame Pillar said, his lips drawn into a frown. "Stories of the Marks have been in my family for generations, but only a handful of Demon Slayers were able to have theirs appear. Eventually, knowledge of them vanished."
Amane nodded. "The last swordsmen recorded to ever gain the Slayer Marks was a man known only to the Slayers as Tajima no Kami. Records show that he worked alone and fought alone, very little about him is known aside from that..."
She trailed off as a sudden pressure made the Pillars turn and Musashi tensed, her brows furrowed. Forcing calm, she recomposed herself with a slight glint in her eye. "Yagyu Munenori was a Demon Slayer here, then, that's good..." she said at the questioning look, keeping her voice level.
"Ah, so you met him, Musashi?" Ubuyashiki asked and she nodded, reaching up and lightly brushing her fingers over her eyepatch.
"Yeah… I did," she said with a nod, "The Saber of Empireo. One of the fiercest fighters I fought in Shimousa…" she ran a hand through her hair. "A human who fought alongside the Demon Swordsmen. His... story there was interesting. You would've never thought that a stiff, rule-following guy would ever take such a dark path just so he could fight me a second time!"
She laughed a bit, rubbing the back of her neck before she sighed. "Well, I'm glad that here, old man Tajima decided to stay with the humans." Her smile fell. "But that's beside the point. Oyakata-sama and Lady Amane, I apologize for interrupting."
"No need to apologize," Ubuyashiki said gently, smiling. "Nonetheless, we know very little about these Slayer Marks, but there is one thing we do know. Once one Slayer has the Mark on them, the others around them start to resonate. As of now, though, the person who first had the mark was not any of the Pillars here, but rather Kamado Tanjirou."
The Pillars glanced at each other. Shinazugawa's brows were drawn into a frown as Tokito nodded, seeming to be proud of that fact.
"When we asked him," Lady Amane started, "He had a hard time explaining how he received those marks. We could have simply left it at that, but then we got word that two of the Pillars had received similar marks."
The white-haired woman bowed a bit. "So please inform us, Kanroji-sama, Tokito-sama… how it is you got your marks."
Kanroji instantly perked up, nodding. "O-okay!" she said, taking a breath. "So, like, back then, my body was like, super light!" she started, "And, Uhh, uhhh…" she brightened, seeming to suddenly find the words she was looking for.
"It was like baaaam! And durrrrr and budaah! And then my heart went badum badum, and my ears went screeeeee! And tinkle tankle too!" the Love Pillar exclaimed.
Musashi stared at her, silent as the others in the room did the same. How the hell were they supposed to figure out what that meant? Iguro pressed his index finger and thumb to his forehead as he shook his head, sighing silently.
It only took a few more moments of silence for Kanroji to realize that no one knew what she meant, the woman bowing with her forehead to the floorboards.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I'll go hide in a hole now…"
'They're exactly the same…' Musashi thought, patting her fellow pillar with a sympathetic smile. Tokito shifted, frowning a bit.
"I wasn't aware of any marks," he said, drawing the attention to him as he spoke. "But I did notice some significant changes while I was fighting… I will tell them to you now."
Next chapter will be longer
M2R: Thank you
RedBurningDragon: That is true. The Apoc Servants were all new, so the only ones we really can go off of are Nero, Artoria, and Gil— but he doesn't count. And honestly, I didn't pay much attention to Last Encore.