New approach
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Disclaimer: Same old, same old
Kimetsu no Yaiba I do not own.
On with the chapter!
It has been three days since the Final Selection began, in that time a good number of candidates has died at the hands of the demons inside the wisteria prison, some put up a fight before being defeated, some got caught off guard and didn't have a chance to fight back, some tried to run but were caught by whatever demon was chasing them.
Of course, there were those that didn't die at the hands of the demons and have managed to stay alive so far, some having an easier time than others.
In Kamado Tanjiro's case, he was doing fine all things considered.
After his victory against the Hand Demon he continued moving east in order to be under the sun as soon as possible. The next thing he did was find a source of water, luckily there was a river running down the mountain so he only needed to stay near it and water wouldn't be an issue and there were even some fish there so he could take care of the food problem as well.
He made sure to clean the wound on the left side of his forehead as well as he could but he didn't have any first aid kit since participants were only allowed their clothes and weapons during the Final Selection; nevertheless, he didn't feel bad so the wound shouldn't impair him during the rest of the test.
After drinking water and eating he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, demons couldn't attack him during the day and no demon would be reckless enough to try to move from shade to shade in order to attack a human.
Tanjiro would then wake up with a few hours of sunlight left and would use them to either grab some extra food and/or prepare for the night.
The second night, he realized that having a camp site was a bad idea, as four different demons attempted to attack him together, they didn't pose that much of a threat but if more demons attacked him together he could end up overwhelmed by sheer numbers so when the sun came up again, he used the time to move up the river so any demons that saw him the night before wouldn't find him in the same place.
During his third night, he only met a single demon so he tried to talk to it and asked him if it knew of a way to turn demons back into humans; the only answer he got were a bunch of noises that fit an animal more than a human before he was forced to cut off its head.
And as the fourth night was about to begin.
'Nezuko.' The Kamado thought of his sister as the sun began to set, giving the sky an orange hue. 'I'll find a way to turn you back into a human.' As the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains, Tanjiro repeated his vow and set off in hopes of finding a demon that could answer him.
Five days since the Final Selection began.
Away from Mt. Fujikasane, Sabito was sitting in seiza in the porch of the backyard of his manor with a pen in one hand and a paper on the ground.
To be exact, though, that wasn't really his house; one of the perks of becoming a Pillar is that you get a house of your own among the many properties that the leader of the Demon Slayer corps owned.
These properties are distributed among Japan in order to cover as much ground as possible. Some have been used for longer than others, whether because a certain family has had a member become a Pillar for several generations or because a former Pillar gave the property to his or her Tsuguko after retiring or, sadly more common, died and left the place to them in their last will.
The manors don't vary much in size and they're all made in more or less the same manner; with wood being the most used material, posts and lintels supporting a large roof that covers the whole structure, with the eaves extending beyond the walls, covering the outside verandas.
Inside the building, there is a small space just after the main door that is still ground level where anyone coming in can leave their footwear before going up the small step to the wooden floor that is the beginning of the house.
The main room is large enough to have at least ten people without feeling cramped and is also used for meals with the kitchen having enough space that three people could cook at the same time and be able to move around without issue.
Aside from that, only three rooms had anything in them, each belonging to one of the three people that reside in the house.
There was also a separate building, far smaller than the main house that is used for training.
While there were some differences between each Pillar's house, such as some of the buildings having their training grounds inside of the main building or the backyard being larger than others the basic structure was the same for all.
The main differences tended to come from how each Pillar personalized their home.
In the Water Pillar's case, he didn't give much thought to decorations, his house looking more or less the same as when he first arrived with all the basics that every Pillar's manor came with.
The only exception was the large backyard; just passing the veranda, the garden had several patches of ground covered with flowers in a way that it created paths around them so anyone walking around the backyard would have no choice but to look at them.
In all honesty, the garden wasn't made or even thought of by the current Water Pillar, that responsibility lay on the black haired girl currently making a flower crown on the backyard.
Letting out a sigh, Sabito looked up from the paper he had been writing on and looked at the sky.
"Are you worried about Tanjiro?" Makomo's voice brought him out from his musings and made him look at her.
"There is no point in being worried; there is nothing else we can do for him." The peach haired man answered.
"Right." The girl said with a nod. "So what are you sighing about then?" She asked with a grin.
"…alright, part of me is worried." Sabito admitted. "What about you? Wait, you don't have to answer." He said before pointing at the flower crown in her hands. "You wouldn't make such a sloppy job if you were focused."
Makomo could only giggle as she looked at the flower crown in her hands.
"Making them helps calm me down, even if they're not up to my standards." She said simply as she placed the crown on her head. "So, what are you writing?"
"Something that Tanjiro said made me think." The Water Pillar answered, Makomo simply began to walk towards him, waiting for her friend to continue. "I told him about how things went during the Final Selection for me and how I ran around saving everyone that was participating… and how most of them are dead now."
The black haired girl sat on the veranda and placed a hand on his shoulder in silent support, knowing that this is a sore subject for the Pillar.
"In any case, I told him that Demon Slayers can't afford to protect the innocent that can't protect themselves and other Demon Slayers at the same time, he answered that if you can't do it alone then you just have to ask for help."
Makomo gave a small, sad smile.
"That's a nice sentiment but it's not that simple, if they're too weak then a strong enough demon could kill any amount of Demon Slayers regardless of numbers."
"I know and, sadly, he will realize that in time but it got me thinking; what if Demon Slayers were divided in squads?" Sabito asked. "You know as well as I do that when more than one Demon Slayer is sent to the same mission is usually because of that particular mission; most of the time everyone is sent in solo-missions."
"There is a reason for that, you know?" Makomo began. "It's because a good number of demons aren't strong enough to warrant sending more than one person after them."
"I'm aware but… actually, here." Instead of answering, he offered her the paper he was writing. "I'll send this to Oyakata-sama tomorrow so he can read it; can you tell me what you think?"
Makomo hummed and nodded 'yes' before taking the paper from him and begin to read.
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"I have a few questions." She spoke after she finished reading.
"Yes?"
"First, why do you think this idea has merit?"
"A few reasons, actually, but if you're asking for the main one… then I'd say it's because, if successful, it should raise the survival chances of the Demon Slayers." Sabito answered seriously. "Especially for the new recruits, you know as well as I do that it's possible to pass the Final Selection simply due to luck."
"True." Makomo conceded. "But that also means that if someone that survived for that reason was sent to a squad they could be the proverbial weak link."
"Hmm, that's true." The Water Pillar muttered with a frown. "Then, how about this? For the new recruits, we'll send them on their first few missions along with a Demon Slayer of the middle ranks so they can assess them and, if necessary, help them survive."
"Why should we do that? Wouldn't that be detrimental for the people in the middle ranks?"
"…and this is why I asked for your opinion." The peach haired man thought out loud with a grin.
"Oh? Do tell." Makomo said, matching his grin.
"Despite how aloof you tend to appear, you're a lot better at thinking objectively than I am." He answered with a shrug.
"You're not that bad." The girl said back.
"Why, thank you; but I don't think you'll argue that you're better than me."
"You're right, I won't argue that." Makomo conceded as she moved a hand and patted his head. "But knowing your limitations is a sign of maturity."
"You say that, yet I can't help but feel you're treating me like a child." Sabito answered with a dry look yet he didn't make a move to make her stop. "Let's get back on topic… at the top of my head I can think of two reasons why sending a middle rank Demon Slayer to supervise the new recruits is a good idea." He raised one finger from his right hand. "First, it would serve to let the middle ranks that are used to fighting solo to begin thinking of how to fight with other people." He raised a second finger from the same hand. "Second, there is no way of telling how far the new recruits or lower ranks could go if given enough time; I almost died during the Final Selection and I ended up becoming a Pillar."
Makomo smiled and nodded her agreement.
"Fair points, it should be enough to convince anyone that disagrees, next…"
Back in the Final Selection testing grounds.
'It's the last night.' Kamado Tanjiro thought, already moving even before the sun finished hiding and his sword outside of its sheath.
While some would think that after defeating the Hand Demon the rest of the Final Selection would be easy, those people would have been wrong.
While certainly not as strong, fighting other demons for seven nights in a row took its toll on the red haired teen's body, not to mention that it rained during the fifth day, darkening the sky and effectively allowing demons to roam around during daytime, albeit not as recklessly as during the night.
While he rested as much as possible, he could only relax to a certain extent considering he was, quite literally, in the middle of hostile territory.
His clothes were covered in dirt, the wound on his head he got during the first night was covered in dry blood after it reopened during the fourth night and he hadn't had the time or energy to clean it again and his body was practically screaming for him to take a break, yet there was one thing that took precedence for him more than any of those facts.
'None of the demons would answer me…' He gritted his teeth at the fact that he wasn't able to find any clue as to how to turn his sister back into a human.
Literally every demon he encountered would attack him without a word and the few that talked only said things among the lines of 'I finally get to eat!' completely ignoring any words coming from the swordsman.
The only demon that held a conversation with him had been the Hand Demon but asking him was no longer an option.
'I'll have to ask other demons after I leave this place; I don't have any other choice.' Taking a deep breath, he stopped thinking about that for the time being and focused.
It may be the last night but he hasn't passed the Final Selection yet.
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Luckily, there didn't seem to be many demons around this night, whether it's because the other participants killed them or they were aiming at some other prey was anyone's guess but Tanjiro wasn't complaining.
Even so, he didn't allow himself to be at ease, he constantly checked his surroundings to make sure no demon was trying to ambush him. He trusts his nose would pick up any scents and alert him with time to spare but he didn't want to take any chances at this point.
'How much longer?' The Kamado thought, stopping for a second and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. 'If my memory serves me right, I should be close by now… eh?' Just then, he picked up a scent and looked up. "Wisteria?" He thought out loud, looking at the flowers that surrounded the entire area and sighing in relief. "I made it."
Allowing himself to relax, he sheathed his sword and began to walk down the stairs to the clearing where every participant that passed should be waiting.
.
.
At the clearing that served as the entrance to the testing grounds there were only two people that arrived before Tanjiro.
The first was a girl with black hair tied into a side ponytail with a butterfly ornament, she had purple eyes and was wearing a pink kimono; her left hand was raised and a butterfly was resting on top of her fingers. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any dirt on her clothes and her small smile seemed too relaxed for someone that just survived seven days in that mountain.
The other was a blond boy wearing a yellow haori with a triangle pattern, unlike the girl his clothes and face were covered in dirt but there weren't any visible wounds on his body. Tanjiro worried about his mental health, though, as he saw him muttering something to himself non-stop.
Ignoring them for the moment, he saw a table placed near one of the rocks with medical supplies on top, approaching it he saw a note that said 'for anyone that needs them'.
Thanking whoever left that there, he began to treat the wound on his forehead, cleaning it and then covering his head with a bandage.
By the time Tanjiro finished tending to his wound and moving to stand near the middle of the clearing, the sun began to rise and only one other person walked down the stairs.
He was another boy, around Tanjiro and the blond boy's height with inward-slanting eyes giving him an angered appearance, his black hair was styled into a buzz cut with a clump of messy hair left on the top of his head and a large jagged scar running over his right cheekbone from his ear to over his nose. He is wearing a purple, sleeveless yukata over a plain black shirt with long sleeves and white pants.
Much like the other two males, his clothes and face were covered in dirt but like the blond, there weren't any visible wounds on his body.
'Only four of us?' Tanjiro wondered, looking around in case there was someone else but to no avail. 'But there were at least twenty.' His mind went towards the boy he saved from the Hand Demon but it seems he had died at the hands of a different demon since he wasn't there. 'I couldn't save him.'
"I'm gonna die. I'm a goner." His thoughts were interrupted by the blond boy suddenly beginning to mutter to himself. "Even if I survive now, I'm gonna die in the end anyway."
"Welcome back." Two voices spoke in perfect unison as the boy and girl that explained the Final Selection a week ago walked to stand in front of the small shrine; a table was set up with a light purple blanket covering something on top of it.
"Congratulations."
"We're pleased to see that you're safe." The girl and the boy spoke in turn.
"So? What am I supposed to do now?" The boy with the scar asked rudely. "Where's my sword?"
"First, we shall issue you all uniforms." The white haired girl began. "We will take your measurements, after which your ranks will be engraved."
"There are ten ranks in all…" The black haired boy continued.
"Kinoe" The girl said first.
"Kinoto."
"Hinoe."
"Hinoto."
"Tsuchinoe."
"Tsuchinoto."
"Kanoe."
"Kanoto."
"Mizunoe."
"And Mizunoto." The boy finished.
"Currently, you are at the lowest rank, Mizunoto." The girl informed them.
"And our swords?" The boy with the purple yukata asked again.
"Today, we will let you choose the ore for your swords; however, the swords will take ten to fifteen days to complete."
"Are you kidding me?" The black haired boy complained.
"But first…" The white haired girl clapped her hands twice and suddenly everyone heard the sound of wings fluttering.
A moment later four birds descended from the sky, three were crows one landing on top of Tanjiro, the girl and the black haired boy's arm each while the blond boy got a sparrow, for some reason.
"We will now assign each of you your own Kasugai Crow." The girl said.
"Kasugai Crow?" Tanjiro repeated, getting over the initial surprise and looking at the bird perched on his arm.
The girl simply stared at the bird maintaining her smile while the boy with the scar seemed to glare at his and the blond looked dubiously at his own bird
"These Kasugai Crows can be used primarily for communication."
"Did you say 'crow'?" The boy with the yellow haori asked, looking at his bird. "Isn't this a sparrow, though?"
"Don't give me that crap!" The black haired boy yelled, scaring the blond and stopping any sort of answer they were going to give him.
He forced the bird off his arm and walked forwards while glaring at the two siblings.
"Who the hell cares about some stupid crows?" Without any warning, he hit the white haired girl on top of her head and grabbed her from her hair with his right hand so she was looking at him in the eye.
The girl simply stared at him, not making any sound despite just being hit.
"I want a sword, you hear? Gimme one right now!" He ordered, still holding onto her hair. "The Demon Slayers' sword! The color changing sword!" Before he could go on, he felt someone grab his arm.
"Take your hand off her!" Tanjiro said. "Or else I'll break your arm!"
The boy with the buzz cut glared at him with a 'are you serious?' expression while the blond seemed to debate whether he should do something and the black haired girl simply looked, her smile not wavering in the slightest.
"Who the hell are you?" The boy with the purple yukata sneered. "Let's see you try it!" He challenged.
The Kamado didn't answer, he simply took a breath and began to apply more force to his grip.
The black haired boy's expression quickly morphed into a pained one and he let out a grunt as the red haired swordsman did good on his threat, making him let go and take a few steps back while tending to his wounded limb, his expression a mix of pain and anger as he glared at him.
Tanjiro stood his ground, receiving the angry gaze and looking back with a stern expression.
"Are you finished chatting?" The black haired boy asked as if the two had just been talking about the weather.
When no one gave a response or argued, he removed the cloth on top of the table, revealing several pieces of ore.
"Now then, please select an ore." He said after walking to stand at the side of the table. "The steel for the sword that will annihilate demons and protect you will be of your own choosing."
The four walked up to the table and stared at the pieces of ore.
'They're asking us to choose, but how are we supposed to pick one out?' Tanjiro thought. 'I've never seen an ore before and I can't tell the difference anyway.'
"I have absolutely no clue." The scarred boy thought out loud, looking from one ore to the other, trying to decide.
'Should I just pick one at random?' The Kamado wondered when his nose picked up on something.
Out of all the ores on that table, one had a scent that he found more pleasant than the rest; he is not completely sure if this means its better but his sense of smell hasn't led him wrong yet.
With a mental nod, he approached the table and picked up the ore that 'called out' to him.
In an undisclosed location.
A man with black shoulder length hair, wearing a black kimono with a long white kimono jacket, the jacket having a pink and purple mist like pattern that starts around the waist sat calmly on the outside of a mansion, looking at the garden as a crow with a purple cord around his neck rested calmly on his arm.
"I see." The man said, his voice calm as he used a finger to caress the head of the crow. "As many as five of them managed to survive, huh? Excellent." A small smile appeared on his face. "The number of my children has increased again. I wonder what kind of swordsmen they'll become."
As the man thought out loud, a second crow descended from the sky and landed in front of him.
"You are Sabito's crow, is something the matter?" The man asked.
The bird moved forward a bit and showed his leg where two letters were tied.
"Let's see." He gently untied the first one and opened it- "Gghh-" Suddenly he grabbed his head with one hand, his calm expression replaced by a pained one.
He stood in that position for a few moments until the pain subsided.
"Ah… I guess light can no longer reach my eyes." He said calmly. "Amane, are you there?" The man called out.
Despite not truly raising his voice, a few moments later a door slid open and a woman walked in.
She has pale skin with dark eyes looking to be about her mid-twenties and with white hair tied in a ponytail and swept to the right with two strands let loose at the front and is wearing a light kimono patterned with flowers and a dark butterfly patterned kimono jacket.
"Did you call me, Kagaya-sama?" She asked in monotone.
"Sorry for bothering you, could you read this letter for me?" Kagaya said with a small smile.
The woman blinked once, a bit confused at the odd request but walked forward anyway.
It was when she was in front of him that she noticed it, her eyes widening slightly at the sight in front of her.
The man's face had a mostly pale complexion except for one thing, a large purple colored mark that currently spread to just above his nose, covering both his eyes and making it look as if his skin was rotting.
"Kagaya-sama, your eyes…" Amane trailed off.
"Yes, it seems that this curse has finally reached my other eye, I can no longer see." The man said with a calm demeanor that most wouldn't have at losing their sight. "That's why I asked if you could read this letter for me."
"…of course." She answered after a small pause and took the offered letter from his hands. "'Oyakata-sama, I hope this letter finds you in good health.'" The white haired woman couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the timing but continued after a second. "'I write this letter in order to inform you of an idea that I believe will benefit the Demon Slayer corps, on the second letter there is a detailed explanation of said idea as well as the reasons for it and why I believe it is beneficial. I trust you will judge its worth accordingly. Sabito, the Water Pillar'. That's all." She finished.
"I see, thank you." Kagaya said with a smile. "Could you read the second letter? I'm curious as to what this idea is."
The white haired woman took a deep breath, carefully keeping her expression neutral before moving to grab the second letter.
"Amane." The man called out before she grabbed it and raised his right hand, the woman took it with both of hers. "We both knew that this would happen eventually."
"I know, I just can't accept it with the same ease you can." She answered with a small, sad smile. "I shouldn't be surprised that I can't fool you and pretend everything is fine even if you can't see me."
Kagaya raised his other hand and closed the distance between them before hugging her.
No tears were spilled or words exchanged, they simply stayed in that position.
On the road towards Mt. Sagiri.
Kamado Tanjiro was tired, no, he was exhausted.
He had been more or less fine during the Final Selection but now that it was over, the accumulated fatigue began to takes its toll.
Despite this, he hadn't stopped moving after leaving the grounds for the Final Selection, using a tree branch as a makeshift cane to lean against and carrying a white bag with his uniform on it, he continued to move towards his home.
The sun was beginning to set and under normal circumstances, he would get there before nightfall. He was close to it by now, he recognized the path leading to Urokodaki's house, but, in his current state, it felt like he was on the other side of the country.
Before he realized, he fell to the ground.
'Even my uniform is heavy.' He thought, staying on the ground for a few moments. 'I wanna get home as soon as possible, but my whole body hurts.'
Taking another second to rest, he got back up and started moving again.
.
.
Just like he thought, the sun had set long ago by the time he could see his master's house.
"I made it." He thought out loud in relief. 'Just a bit further.'
Before he could even begin to move, the door of the house was kicked open, taking it off its hinges and making it fall to the ground.
The Kamado's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight.
Calmly walking out of the house, wearing her pink kimono with a black jacket was his sister.
"Hey! Nezuko!" He called out, letting go of his makeshift cane in his surprise. "You… So, you're awake?"
The younger Kamado didn't answer and simply began to run in his direction.
Tanjiro did the same but couldn't take five steps before his body reminded him that he wasn't in any condition to do so and he fell to the ground.
Grunting, he tried to get up but only made it to a kneeling position before Nezuko finished closing the distance and hugged him.
The swordsman quickly hugged her back and began to cry in relief.
"Why…why'd you fall asleep all of a sudden?" He asked between sobs, yet there was no reproach in his tone, just an overwhelming relief. "Never waking up once." More tears began to spill but he didn't bother to wipe them away and continued to hug her. "I was worried you were going to die, you know?!"
Urokodaki saw the scene and dropped the logs he had just got to approach the two siblings and he kneeled down to hug them.
"You came back to us alive." He said simply, a few tears of relief falling from his eyes as well.
Those words only made Tanjiro's tears renew as he returned the hug.
.
.
After finally calming down, Urokodaki helped Tanjiro to the bath so he could wash himself, left a change of clothes for him and went to prepare dinner and the first aid kit. Once he came back, the masked man changed the bandage around his head and the two began to eat. Nezuko had gone back to her room and was currently sleeping peacefully in the futon.
"Urokodaki-san, I encountered the demon you told me about during the Final Selection." Tanjiro said after he finished eating. "I defeated him."
If the older man wasn't wearing a mask, the Kamado would have seen the relief in his expression at hearing this.
"I see…" Sakonji let out a sigh and his shoulders sagged for a moment. "At last." Taking a moment to process this, he looked back at his student. "You did a great job coming back."
"Thanks."
"Since you did, I will tell you some more about demons, there wasn't any point before since you wouldn't find any demon like that in the Final Selection." The Kamado nodded and payed attention. "There are several kinds of demons, aside from those that morph their bodies, like the one in the Final Selection, there are those who use a special spell called the 'Blood Demon Art', this demons possess supernatural abilities." Urokodaki explained. "There is no way of knowing what type of ability these demons possess until you fight them and you will have to fight those demons, as well, from now on; it will be far more difficult than anything you've known until now." The man with the tengu mask let a smile cross his face. "Even so, Tanjiro, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Yes." The swordsman answered before looking at the room his sister was resting for a moment. "Um… I think Nezuko's not like the other demons, do you think it could be because of that Whatchamacallit Art?"
"No, I don't think so." He said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't call that an example of the Blood Demon Art; truthfully, there is no way of knowing since your sister is a special case, I would even say that she may be the only one of her kind." The older man took a moment to think. "I'm just guessing here, but it could be that Nezuko's recovering her strength by sleeping instead of consuming human flesh."
"I… see…" The Kamado shook his head and stifled a yawn.
"We can talk more some other time, for now you should go to sleep."
Tanjiro nodded, thanked him and did as told.
Four days later, Demon Slayer corps headquarters.
Sabito stood calmly among the other eight pillars, plus Giyu, in the garden that was usually used for meetings as he waited for Oyakata-sama to appear.
The garden was a large area with several small white rocks surrounding the main house in a square pattern, after the rocks the rest of the area was covered by trimmed grass and several trees were planted around.
All in all, the garden had a calming effect on almost anyone that entered it.
Silently, the Water Pillar looked around him towards the other pillars.
Standing with his arms crossed and smiling was the Flame Pillar, Rengoku Kyojuro; he is a man with yellow hair with red streaks and is wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniform consisting of a dark brown jacket with a white belt around his waist and baggy pants tucked into red bands of cloth around his calves, additionally he had a white yellow gradient pattern haori with red flame-like ridges at the end; he also had a katana sheathed at his waist with a flame like guard on the hilt.
Standing next to him and towering over most of the others present was Uzui Tengen, the Sound Pillar; he is also wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniform except that his jacket didn't have any sleeves and he had a head wrap featuring a plate covered with jewels of various sizes covering his head as well as a painting around his left eye consisting of five red large circles and five red small circles with his eye at the center and two swords held on his back.
Next was the only person taller than the Sound Pillar and truly towering over everyone else in the room.
Himejima Gyomei, the Rock Pillar, is a muscular man with black hair and a scar running horizontally along his forehead and, because of his blindness, his eyes lack any irises. He is wearing the standard Demon Slayer uniform along with a yellow-green haori on top, a large beaded necklace around his neck and his hands were together in prayer while holding prayer beads.
In contrast to the large man, the next was a boy no older than fourteen and the second shortest person in the garden.
Tokito Muichiro, the Mist Pillar, was looking at the sky with a somewhat vacant expression, his empty-looking mint-green eyes fixed on something up there. He is wearing the Demon Slayer uniform, although tinted slightly turquoise with longer, looser sleeves reminiscent of a kimono and no bands of cloth around his calves giving the uniform a more loose appearance by comparison. He has long, straight and black colored hair that fades to a pale turquoise the closer it gets to his waist with two clumps protruding slightly from each side of his head, a set of marginally shorter hair left down to frame his forehead and some unruly bangs over his forehead. Like Rengoku, he has his sword sheathed on his waist.
Resting on the branch of one of the several trees along the garden was the Snake Pillar, Iguro Obanai. A young man of short stature, just slightly taller than Tokito, with a light complexion and black hair, the latter fashioned to be choppy and layered with two strands of hair between his eyes. He also wears bandages around his mouth and has different colored eyes, his right one being yellow and his left one being turquoise; if it wasn't for the fact that he has a living snake constantly wrapped around his neck, his eyes would probably be his most defining feature. Aside from the bandages around his mouth, he wears the standard Demon Slayer uniform with black and white striped haori.
Unlike the previous two males, the next one was standing with his arms to his side and looking towards the mansion where the Demon Slayers' leader would show up from.
With his spiky white hair, large eyes and the multitude of scars around his face and body, most people would try to stay away from him. The seemingly permanent angry expression on the Wind Pillar, Shinazugawa Sanemi, didn't help things.
Like most of the others, he is wearing the standard uniform, except that his jacket is unbuttoned, revealing a few scars along his chest and he is wearing a white kimono jacket on top of it and his sword at his waist.
Next was one of the only two females that held the title of Pillar.
With a small blush across her face and with a hand covering her mouth giving her a somewhat shy appearance the Love Pillar, Mitsuri Kanroji, is a young woman with fair skin and round, light green eyes with a small mole beneath each of them. She has long, pale pink hair that fades into a neon green color at the halfway point and wears it in three thick braids, two falling in front of her and one behind her, with five shorter clumps hanging over her face as bangs.
She is probably the one that has modified her uniform the most, aside from Uzui. She wears a short skirt instead of the usual pants and her jacket is unbuttoned around the breast area to accommodate her chest size; on top, she wears a plain white haori. Aside from that, she wears a pair of navy blue thigh-high socks with a pair of striped lime green socks over them.
The other one was Kocho Shinobu, wearing the usual Demon Slayer uniform with her butterfly patterned haori and her hair tied with her butterfly ornament.
"Does anyone know why we were summoned?" Rengoku asked, looking around at the others.
"It is unusual for us to meet here out of the scheduled meetings." Mitsuri mentioned.
"I sent something via crow a few days ago, it may have something to do with that." Sabito chimed in, earning the others' attention.
"What did you send?" Iguro asked from his perch, opening one of his eyes to look at him.
"I'd rather wait until Oyakata-sama gets here to explain, it will save us some time." The Water Pillar answered.
"Do you know anything, Tomioka-san?" Shinobu asked the Water Tsuguko with her ever-present smile.
"No." Came Giyu's blunt response.
"Oyakata-sama has arrived." Two voices said in unison. They were two girls of short stature, big black eyes and shoulder-length white hair with a blunt fringe. They were clearly twins, with the only difference between them being the color of their kimonos, one wearing a dark blue colored one and the other a purple and green one, both with flower patterns, and a ribbon placed on mirroring sides of their heads; the one with the blue kimono wearing hers on the left side and it being yellow while her sister wore hers on the right and it was red.
At once, every Pillar formed a line, took a knee and bowed, while Giyu did the same a step behind and to the left of Sabito.
"So good of you to come, my beloved children." Oyakata-sama spoke as he walked forward to stand under the sun. "My apologies for calling you all so abruptly."
"No, we do not m-" Sabito's words died on his throat when he looked up and saw him.
Everyone else looked up, surprised at the man's sudden stop and then they saw it.
"Oyakata-sama… your eyes…" Kanroji trailed off, covering her mouth with one hand.
"Yes, I'm afraid I can no longer see." Kagaya said calmly.
The reaction at his words was the same for everyone; they clenched their teeth and/or hands in frustration while looking down, the only exception was Himejima who began crying and chanted a prayer.
"Do not concern yourselves; I had already made peace with this." The black haired man assured them.
Taking a deep breath, they all forced themselves to relax; not wanting to make their leader worry about them when he was the one that just lost one of his senses.
"Our apologies for the sudden outburst." Shinazugawa said.
"It's alright, I appreciate the sentiment." Oyakata-sama answered with a smile. "I did not call you here because of this, however." He turned towards the Water Pillar. "Sabito, I have reviewed the letter you sent, I believe there is value to the idea and I would like to put it into practice; I just wanted to ask for your opinions on the matter before coming to a final decision."
"What's the idea?" Rengoku asked.
"Would you like to explain?" Kagaya asked the peach haired man.
"Yes." Sabito answered with a nod. "In short, I proposed that the Demon Slayer corps should include squads on their rosters, not just sending individual people against demons or sending more than one person as just a one-time thing. I believe that with our current numbers we can afford to do this and that it would raise the survival rate of our members."
"Why should we do that? We have operated in the same way for centuries." Uzui said.
"Exactly, we have fought the same way for centuries and I don't see us getting any closer to ending this battle." The Water Pillar responded making the taller man let out a hum but he didn't argue.
"But what about the new recruits or low-ranking members? If they get in the way of their squad members then they will be a detriment." Rengoku chimed in.
"We will send them on a few missions with a middle-ranked member in order to assess them and to let the Demon Slayers that are not used to fighting alone learn how to fight with other people."
"I don't agree, we shouldn't waste our time with weaklings." Iguro argued, sending a side-glance to his fellow pillar.
"How do you know they will stay as such?" Sabito answered calmly, also looking at him from the corner of his eyes. "It's not as if we were all strong to begin with, I almost died during the Final Selection yet I ended up becoming a Pillar."
"Are you saying that anyone can become a pillar?" Shinobu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm saying that, if they survive their battles, Demon Slayers can only get stronger."
"Then they should do it the same way we did." The Wind Pillar said.
"Not everyone has the advantage of possessing a rare blood type, Shinazugawa." Sabito responded.
"Huh? What did you say?" The white haired man asked, turning his head to glare at him. "Are you implying that I became a Pillar because of my blood?"
"Don't put words in my mouth." The peach haired man answered, also turning his head towards him. "I have never questioned your skill but can you honestly say that you could have survived some of your earlier battles if it wasn't for your blood? Especially the ones before you learned about the Demon Slayer corps?"
Although he growled, Shinazugawa didn't say anything in response.
"Now, now, let's not get off topic." Kagaya chimed in calmly; the two stopped the staring contest and bowed their heads once more. "Are there any further questions?"
"Will a squad be assigned to the Pillars?" Himejima asked.
"At this point in time, I would say no." Sabito answered the taller man. "Most demons aren't strong enough to warrant sending a Pillar after them, sending a squad with a Pillar at the lead could weaken an area. I did suggest to leave the option open in case anything changes or if anyone would like to take a squad under their wing."
The Rock Pillar nodded, satisfied by the answer.
"Anything else?" No one raised their voice. "In that case, I'd like to hear your opinions on the matter."
"I can see the merits, I support this plan!" Rengoku declared first while nodding enthusiastically.
"I also give this my flamboyant support; at the very least I can't see any obvious demerits." Uzui followed.
"Hmm… I can't say I have anything to say against it." Shinobu said next with her usual smile.
"I don't mind either way." Tokito said with a bored expression.
"I will agree with what Oyakata-sama decides." Mitsuri gave her answer while smiling widely.
"I can't say I like this idea but I don't have a reason to oppose it either." Shinazugawa responded with a neutral expression. "I don't believe it will make a difference, though."
"I think the same as Shinazugawa, if you decide to go through with it, I won't oppose this." Iguro said next with a similar expression.
"While I am unsure as to how effective it will be, I do believe there is merit in trying, I give this idea my support." Himejima said before chanting another prayer.
Sabito stayed quiet, his stance in the matter obvious.
"And you, Giyu?" Oyakata-sama asked the only present Tsuguko.
"I will go along with what you all decide." The black haired man answered.
Sabito had to resist the urge to sigh at the response but didn't say anything.
"Then it's decided, I will begin preparations for how the squads will be arranged as well as to whom to send to supervise the new recruits." The leader of the Demon Slayers said. "Is there any subject you would like to bring up?"
Once again, everyone stayed silent.
"Then this meeting is adjourned; thank you again for coming."
You know something funny?
So far, every chapter I wrote for this story ended up short of reaching a certain part I had planned for it. For example: in chapter three, the original idea was to have the conversation between Tanjiro, Urokodaki, Sabito and Makomo at the cabin in that chapter but I felt it would get too long and I liked that other part to stop so I left it for the next one.
I'm not complaining, though, it means I already have at least a part of the next chapter more or less ready.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I enjoy reading your reviews so don't be shy about leaving one!
Until next time.
