September 29, 1913

As the meeting of the Demon Slayer Corps High Council commenced, Rantaro Eguchi started things off, much to the annoyance of several people in the meeting room. "I'm just gonna come out and address what we're all thinking about. I have raised this issue before, but it is not a good idea to have demons among our ranks when our job is to kill them all. Now you're proposing making one of them a Pillar?"

Obanai, not in the mood, replied back in a somewhat harsh tone, "Rengoku-san gave his blessing as he died, Eguchi-san."

"That foreign demon from America could be lying for all we know," Rantaro pointed out. "His little girlfriend and that boy with the demon sister would go along with it and lie on his behalf as well. It's difficult enough as it is to deal with demons in our homeland. We don't need demons from Korea or Taiwan or any of these other countries in Japan. Sending our slayers to areas outside of Japan and its Korean and Taiwanese colonies is just asking for trouble, and we already got it. I'm already hesitant as it is with helping out the colonies." His dismissal of concerns in Korea and Taiwan made the two Korean and one Taiwanese high priest uneasy.

Giyu turned to him and asked, "Why would they lie about something like that?"

"Because they stand to benefit from it," Rantaro replied. "Who knows? Maybe they helped that Upper Moon kill Rengoku-san."

Mitsuri then spoke up, angered by his accusation. "No, they didn't! How dare you accuse them of that! Also, why are you so dismissive of Korea and Taiwan?! They're part of Japan, so they need protection just like Honshu, Shikoku, Hokkaido, Kyushu, or Okinawa!"

"Everyone," Kagaya then calmly but firmly urged. "Calm down. I understand your concerns, Rantaro. I truly do. Many of the Pillars in this room would have shared your sentiment several months prior. However, they can all testify to the effort James has put into being a member of the corps."

"He's a wealth of knowledge on poisons," Shinobu testified. "Since demons in Japan aren't used to poisons from overseas, his introduction of compounds and plants from his homeland could be super beneficial to us since demons won't be resistant to it."

"Without him," Obanai added. "I wouldn't be with my wife right now. Aside from that, I just want to point out that I was raised with the Rengoku Family for many years after I was rescued. I was like the third son they never had, and of all the people here, I'm the closest link to Kyojuro. I always had his back, and he always had mine. If he gave Colby-san his blessing, I have no objections."

"Well," Giyu added. "Fifty years of demon-hunting experience certainly is longer than anyone else here. His kill count is also incredibly high. I'd say he knows what he's doing."

"I pray that this council comes to the correct decision," Gyomei added to the discussion. "From working with him and talking to his human granddaughter, I have zero issues with him becoming the next Flame Pillar."

Muichiro, who had been paying attention to the patterns in the walls around the room, then snapped back to reality. "Oh, right. Well, without him, I wouldn't have my Tsuguko, and we wouldn't have as powerful of an asset as a former Lower Moon demon in our ranks fighting against Muzan. I'll leave you all to ponder that simple fact."

Kagaya then announced to the council, "With all that said, I hereby appoint James Colby to the position of Flame Pillar, and to confirm this appointment, I will need a vote from the council in favor." As soon as he said that, the ten high priests and the eight pillars then all looked down at pieces of paper laid out in front of them and either marked them with a white paint brush for yes or a black paint brush for no.

Once everyone was done, Hinaki told everyone, "Thank you for your vote." She then went around and collected everyone's ballots before presenting them to her father. "Here you go, father."

"Thank you," he replied. After tallying them, he announced, "By a vote of 12 yes's to 6 no's, James Colby is now the Flame Pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps. He will be confirmed as such at the next Pillar Meeting. Susamaru will automatically become his Tsuguko as opposed to Kyojuro's Tsuguko."

Later that night, while nobody was paying attention, Kanao was stocking up on sun-absorbing ammunition, loading two revolvers with it before also loading two speedloaders. Tanjiro's words had motivated her to try to find her biological siblings and kill her biological parents. As she stored away a small throwing knife in her belt, she said to herself, "I'm gonna make them pay." She was not wearing her corps uniform, but instead was wearing the same outfit she wore to the Final Selection.

Just as she was about to leave, she quietly slipped a letter below Tanjiro's door. The letter read as follows:

Tanjiro,

I am going to find my siblings and rescue them if they are still alive. My parents are going to die by my hands regardless if they are or not for what they did to us. Don't tell anyone else about this. I should be back by the middle of the day tomorrow. Wait for me.

Kanao

As she left, Tanjiro was awoken by the sound of the letter being slid under his door. He groggily rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What the fuck… It's late at night…" He then got up, wondering what woke him up until he looked at the floor near the door and saw the letter. "Huh…" As he picked it up, he read the letter quietly out loud to himself. Once he finished, he sighed. "Kanao, what are you doing… This is dangerous…" He then remembered what he had told her and kicked the floor in frustration. "Damn it, me and my big mouth…"

As Kanao walked along the path away from the Butterfly Estate, she held the photograph of herself she had told Tanjiro about earlier close to her, thinking to herself, "I will find you, my long-lost brothers and sisters."

She then passed both of the Spider Twins as they returned from a night of demon-killing. Reiko was the first to notice Kanao, and waved to her. "Hey, Tsuyuri-san!"

Kanao ignored them, not even pulling her coin out for them. Rinji noted to his sister, "That's weird." He then called out, "Tsuyuri-san, what's going on?!"

Kanao then stopped in her tracks and turned around, asking them, "If you could turn back time, would you save your brothers and sisters?"

Both of the twins remembered the Older Spider Sister who had sacrificed her life to allow them to escape from Rui's clutches, as well as their biological siblings from their time as humans. Reiko sighed and replied, "Yes, we would."

"I can't do that," Kanao replied. "But I can try to find if there are any of mine from my piece of shit parents still alive for me to rescue." She then turned back around and continued on her journey, leaving the twins with more questions than answers.

Rinji asked his sister, "What was that about?"

"I don't know… Anyway, how many more injections from Colby-san's blood before we can walk in the sun?"

"Not a clue," Rinji replied with a shrug. "I hope it's soon."

September 30, 1913

Two and a half hours later, Kanao got off a train in the same town where Shinobu and Kanae had found her when she was just 11. It was now around 2:30 in the morning, and as she walked into the mostly empty town, she noticed activity in a tea house and walked over to it, and as she entered, several people sitting at tables turned to her, surprised to see someone new come in. Kanao paid them no attention as she walked to a waitress in the tea house and asked her, "Is the owner of this tea house awake?"

The waitress, surprised to hear her ask such a question directly to her, replied, "Oh, um… He should be upstairs in one of the rooms. He may be busy with a waitress right now, if you know what I mean."

Knowing that she was referring to prostitution and sex, Kanao nodded and calmly walked up the stairs to the second floor. She then pressed her ear against each door upstairs until she heard moaning and talking in one of them. With a few knocks, a man answered with, "Just a second!" A few seconds later, a man who was adjusting his pants answered the door, and upon seeing Kanao before him, said, "I didn't know another girl wanted a piece of me."

"I'm not here for sex," Kanao bluntly told him with a neutral smile on her face. "I have another man in mind for that. I'm here because I have a picture, and I need to find out if you have any information about it." She then showed him the picture. "Are there any slave traders around here?"

The man, who turned out to be the owner of the tea house, widened his eyes when he heard Kanao mention slavery. "Shhh! Don't say that! We could get in a fuckton of trouble with the police!"

"So you do trade in slaves," Kanao replied. "Good to know."

"I don't deal in slaves per se," the man replied. "These people sell themselves to me willingly and I use them for various things I need done. I don't mistreat them or kill them, if you're wondering about that."

"Do you recognize the girl in this picture?" She then produced a gun to get him to comply as well as her coin. "Answer me honestly, and it won't hurt your chances."

Realizing he had no other options, he sighed and conceded. "Now that you mention it," he replied. "I do. I sold her to some bald guy years ago. She wouldn't speak or do anything, so she was useless to me."

"Who was that bald man?"

"I can't recall his name," he admitted. "But I do know he comes around here sometimes. He should be here soon, in fact."

"Thank you," Kanao replied before she flipped her coin and let it land on the floor.

"But you said-"

"I said, it wouldn't hurt your chances." Kanao then looked at the coin on the floor and presented it to him. "Tails. Sorry." She then shot him in the head before running down the stairs. As she did, the waitress he had been having sex with screamed in fear and horror. "That was incredible," Kanao thought to herself as she ran outside, avoiding several people who were chasing after her. "I felt a giant rush pulling the trigger on that guy!"