Note: Giyuu was supposed to be somewhere in this chapter but I feel like I'll probably put him in the next chapter? Or future chapters? He'll make his appearance soon since he'll play an important role. The "disembodied voice" will be explained soon too.

I'm anxious on what's going to happen next in the manga. I hope this doesn't go the 7 Deadly Sin route.

After the encounter with an unknown demon whom she presumed was Shinobu, Kanroji Mitsuri goes to the Butterfly estate to deliver the news herself. The anxious Love Pillar paced back and forth, weighing on her decision to either forfeit or proceed. She couldn't properly decide since she believe Kanao wouldn't easily accept what she had discovered.

(Did I do right thing? Tell Oyakata-sama alone but not the other Pillars. Now I'm going to tell Kanao-chan!)

Mitsuri paced around faster, her indecivness and anxiety gradually growing until to the point she surrendered on the ground.

"Am I even sure at what I saw? I mean that demon poisoned my eyes and besides dead people can't come back to life. That's way too freaky!"

Mitsuri rolled on the ground, unable to understand who she had faced that night. She doubts herself either what she saw was real or just an illusion that her hindered vision created. While the Love Pillar remained uncertain, Kanao, who had just returned from a mission, spots the eccentric Pillar outside the estate.

(That Pillar...)

Recognizing the pink-haired Pillar rolling on the ground, Kanao slowly approached the unaware Mitsuri and the moment she gently tapped her shoulder...

"Eek!"

Mitsuri jumped out of the ground like she's ready to spring into action. Though she quickly calmed down upon seeing it's just Kanao...who is confused to what has gotten into her.

"K-Kanao-chan...?"

"What is Mitsuri-san doing rolling in front of the estate?" Kanao tilted her head

"Ah well...you see...there's something I need to tell you...but it feels so complicated! I really feel like Kanao-chan isn't going to believe me"

"I'm not going to believe you?"

"I was on a mission, then...then this demon..."

"Would you like to tell me about it over a cup of tea? I feel like this is a long story"

"Yes...!"

Kanao invited Mitsuri inside the Butterfly estate so the Pillar may calmly explain what she's aiming to tell Kanao while they are having tea.

"So what's this about a demon?" Kanao gently blows on her hot tea

"I think the demon I saw is Shinobu-san!"

Without a second thought, Mitsuri skipped from the beginning and immediately told Kanao what she had discovered. A shocked Kanao fell silent, clearly she heard Kanroji Mitsuri say she met a demon who she believed was Shinobu.

(Ah! I got too anxious and told her immediately! I was supposed to let her know slowly)

She wanted to inform Kanao in a slow pace so she may not be shocked, Mitsuri had discarded it out of nervousness to tell the tsuguko of the deceased Pillar whom she presumedly met as a demon.

"I...I don't understand. You said..."

"Let me explain from the beginning. It started when I had to deal with a bunch of demons who gathered in one place"

With a calm exhale, Mitsuri regains her composure and this time, she aimed to explain what she had just revealed from the beginning.

"So that's what basically happened..."

(So Master could still be alive...but...)

"Kanao-chan?"

"Kanroji-san...are you sure on what you saw. Is my Master...really alive?"

"Well...when I tried asking her if she's Shinobu-chan, she keeps denying it and she keeps running away until she eventually run away"

Mitsuri felt depressed just remembering how the demons that distracted her allowed the demon Shinobu to escape. She tried to pursue Shinobu but she had quickly fled the area in an unknown direction.

(If the demon was really Master...then she probably don't want to fight a former comrade so she ran away)

Deep inside Kanao, she would like to believe that the demon Mitsuri encountered was indeed Shinobu. She lost Kanae to the demons and the same thing happened to Shinobu.

"I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have told you this. Shinobu-san was like a big sister to you, isn't she?"

"She was..."

(Waaaahh! I made Kanao-chan all sad...!)

Kanao's mood turned gloomy in an instant and Mitsuri now regretted letting Kanao informed on her encounter with the unknown demon.

"Ooooiii! Hamanao, do you guys have any meat? I'm starving!"

Kanao snapped out of her gloom and Mitsuri jolted when the brash and loud Inosuke screamed at the top of his lungs while Zenitsu carries him by holding both of his arms while Tanjiro held by the leg. It looked like Tanjiro and Zenitsu were delivering a stretcher rather than an injured Inosuke.

"U-uhm...what's going on?" Kanao is confused at how they brought Inosuke

"I'm hungry! Give me food!"

"Shut up, you stupid boar! Worry about your broken bones first!"

"That's right. You were reckless and almost got crushed by that demon. You may be flexible but you're not invincible" Tanjiro added

"Huh?! Like a fatass of a demon can take down Inosuke-sama!"

Inosuke struggled and wriggled so much that both Tanjiro and Zenitsu dropped him on the ground. Inosuke's injuries then rang, the excruciating pain of having half of his body broken made him writhe in pain but of course he's holding himself from screaming.

"You're a mess again! If it wasn't for these two, you'd be dead already!" Aoi came and scolded him

"Shut it, midget! You can't even fight a bear!"

"Then let me toss you to a bear so it can shred you to pieces!"

Their quarrel continued even as the trio Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho drags Inosuke who's twitching from his injuries.

"H-how was your mission?" Kanao stuttered to ask Tanjiro

"It went fine thanks to Zenitsu passing out and taking down the huge demon we fought"

"I didn't took down anyone. I got so scared I passed out!" Zenitsu denied

"You must be tired. Why don't I get you some tea? Kanroji-san and I were just having tea" Kanao invited them

(Uwaaah! It's like I'm getting couple's vibe from these two)

Mitsuri blushed as her heart beat faster seeing how close Tanjiro and Kanao are, even comparing them as a couple.

"By the way, it's nice to see you again, Kanroji-san" Tanjiro then switches his attention to Mitsuri

"W-well, it's nice to see you kids doing fine"

"Are you here to treat your injuries too, Kanroji-san? We had to drag Inosuke hear since he kept insisting he's fine and don't need little girls to take care of him"

Tanjiro gently laughs even while he hears Inosuke's faint screaming and screeches in the background.

"W-well...I just came to tell Kanao-chan something important. I-I was taking my leave anyway..."

"Kanroji-san, will you tell them too?" Kanao grabbed Mitsuri's haori

"Are you sure, Kanao-chan?" Mitsuri whispered

"The truth us, the four of us we're in a mission not too long ago. I thought I saw master in the town when I saw her figure right in front of me"

"You kids saw her too?"

"S-saw what?" Zenitsu nervously asked

"Let's all have tea first before I tell what happened during my last mission"

Confused, both Tanjiro and Zenitsu looked at each other for a moment. Tanjiro gladly nodded while Zenitsu reluctantly shrugged his shoulders. While Inosuke's injuries is still being treated, all four of them sit by over a cup of tea before Mitsuri relays what she told Kanao to the two boys.

"This is about Shinobu-chan so I don't think you guys won't believe or understand what happened during my last mission"

"Please tell us all the details if it's about Shinobu-san" Tanjiro is prepared for any surprise

Mitsuri is reluctant to reveal the details of her last mission outside of Kanao and Ubayashiki Kagaya since she never even told about this to the other Pillars, specially Obanai.

"Hear me out. I was sent to dispatch demons hiding deep within a forest and the freakiest thing happened...!"

Slamming the deal, surprising Tanjiro and making Zenitsu let out a short cry, Mitsuri mustered enough strength to reveal the events of her last mission, an encounter she couldn't believed she experienced of all people.

"Kyaaaah! Are you telling me a dead person came back from the dead?! Not even Demons can do that!"

At the mere thought of a deceased person being alive again like nothing happened, freaked Zenitsu out as he feared fighting the undead just as he feared demons.

"There's something I didn't tell anyone, not to Kanao or Zenitsu and Inosuke"

"Tanjiro?" Kanao is confused

"Kanao, remember when we were chasing a demon that used poisonous mist too. Its abilities hindered our eyes and confused my sense of smell for a moment"

"Yes! I remember that. What about it?"

"The truth is...before the demon got away, it had Shinobu-san's scent. Even while chasing it, I recognized the scent"

"What?!" Zenitsu's jaw dropped

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!" Kanao suddenly burst out

"...!"

"I-I'm sorry... it's just that it's about master we're talking about"

Kanao quickly apologized for raising her voice on Tanjiro when he revealed an important information he kept ever since that certain mission. Tanjiro smiled as he is a good-natured boy and understood that Shinobu was both a mentor and older sister to Kanao.

"T-that means Shinobu-chan is back from the dead?!"

"You don't have say it out loud!" Zenitsu looked like he's about to cry

"Calm down. We don't know that yet. We don't know whether a dead person can come back as a demon" Zenitsu forced Zenitsu to sit down

"I-I might be mistaken. I mean the demon made my eyesight all weird and bad" Mitsuri nervously laughed

"That's right! The demon could have Kochou-san's stuff so you thought it was her smell. For all we know, some scary demon might have taken her haori!"

Zenitsu refused to sit down and jumped out then he tried to come up with a rational reason behind why Tanjiro caught Shinobu's scent when they faced the unknown demon.

"You could actually be right but the smell was...genuine. When I got close to the demon, I quickly recognized the scent of anger. It was the same scent Shinobu-san had"

"If it's Shinobu-chan but as a demon then...we have to cut off her head. I mean it's our job but I don't think I would cut off Shinobu-chan's head"

"We don't know anything yet but I want to know more"

"Waaaahh! I can't tell the other Pillars since they won't hesitate to cut off her head like with Nezuko-chan! Specially if it's Shinezugawa-san!"

Mitsuri rolled on the ground, already feeling guilty that she decided to keep what they know a secret from the other Pillars, fearing they would immediately hunt down Shinobu and eliminate her immediately.

"Before the other Pillars realize, we'll find her and find out the truth" Tanjiro made his decision

Kanao nodded, their determination moved Mitsuri's loving and gentle heart that she felt like embracing the two in her partially bare chest.

"Whaaaa?! We're going to find this demon?! Are you serious?!"

"Of course! We'll track this demon and find out if it's really Shinobu-san!" Tanjiro is indeed serious

"Tanjiro, I don't want to go demon searching. Every single of them freak me out-"

Tanjiro grabs the trembling and whining Zenitsu's shoulders and straight right into his eyes with a menacing aura.

"Eeeek! Alright, alright, I'll come along too!" Zenitsu is intimidated into agreeing

"I wish I could help you but I have my duties as a Pillar"

"It's alright, Mitsuri-san. You telling this to us and keeping it a secret to the other Pillars is already a big help to us. I'm glad that it was you and not the other Pillars" Tanjiro smiled with gratittude

"Aaah! You're just so kind and bright, Tanjiro-kun! Whoever you marry is sure to be a lucky woman"

Mitsuri quickly pulled Tanjiro who is caught off-guard and embraced him tightly, making Zenitsu a bit jealous seeing how Tanjiro's face is being rubbed on Mitsuri's chest. As if implying something, Mitsuri quickly turned at Kanao and winked at her but the latter is clueless to her implication. The tsuguko didn't understand that Mitsuri was implying her since she supports the two's close relationship.

"Monitsu, Gonpachiro, get me out this hell!"

Inosuke tried to flee but he fell down with face first on the ground while the Butterfly estate girls forcefully drags Inosuke who clawed and desperately clutched on the ground. For someone as loud and brash like Inosuke, he gets surprisingly weak against any 'treatment'. It may be a sudden interruption, but at least the four got a good laugh out of it.

Two days later

While Inosuke still recovers from getting his entire body crushed and Zenitsu being scolded by All for stealing snacks again, Tanjiro sits by Kanao and enjoy the peaceful afternoon.

"The other day, what Kanroji-san said...do you think master is still alive?"

Kanao mustered enough courage to ask a heavy question to Tanjiro. Kanao has her doubts and fears but she feels comfort speaking with the trio.

"I'm not sure, Kanao. We all know Shinobu-san died at the hands of demons...but I caught her scent during that mission"

"..."

"If Shinobu-san is indeed alive, she may not be the same one we know"

"Is it because she might be a demon? And like other demons, she will eat humans...and we will have to kill her"

Kanao's hands tensed up, fearing for the worst case scenario. Kanao viewed Shinobu as an older sister too and she doesn't know whether she could bring herself to kill Shinobu if she were to face her as a demon.

"Kanao, you're not alone in this one. You have the three of us: me, Inosuke, and Zenitsu"

"Tanjiro..."

"If the time will come we find out Shinobu-san is alive as a demon, we will be there for you"

"T-thank you..."

Seeing Tanjiro support her and his smile as bright as the sun, Kanao's heart raced and her cheeks reddened.

"You don't have to think too much about it right now, Kanao. None of us are sure if it's possible so that's why you don't need to constantly think about it"

"I know but...it always reminds me of how I was on the mission where master died"

"I see. So you still blame yourself for what happened"

"I know it's not my fault but I wished I could have done something"

"We all wished the same thing, Kanao. If we could just turn back time to bring back those who we lost"

"Tanjiro..."

Kanao knew Tanjiro had lost her family to demons and his sister had become a demon. He is someone who suffered great loss, continued forward without ever losing his kindness. It's one of the reasons she admires him.

In an unknown location

Residing in a house concealed by a Blood demon art, the demon doctor Tamayo examines a feral demon chained tightly to a bed. Bound and gagged, the demon squirmed and let out muffled growls.

"Tamayo-sama..."

The worried Yushiro stayed closed to Tamayo and never let his guard down even for a single second. Contrastingly, Tamayo is rather calm while examining the demon up close. She didn't worry that the demon might break free and attack her as she is focused on studying the demon's case.

"Not only innocent humans are turned...but even demon slayers too..."

Demon slayers trained themselves for the sole purpose of exterminating demons that preyed on humans and for them to turn into demon themselves is both and tragic. Tamayo understood this, her heart ached at the sight of a demon slayer reduced to a wild and mindless demon.

"How can they turn demon slayers into demons themselves. No demon slayer would voluntarily let themselves to become what they want to destroy"

"Do you see this, Yushiro?"

Tamayo points at the large tear on the abdominal part of the demon slayer's uniform. The blood on the tear's edges had been dried for hours or even for a whole day but it was the only damage on the uniform.

"This demon slayer had suffered a mortal wound. Perhaps before his cells has died...he was turned"

"So...he was turned when he died?" Yushiro raised an eyebrow

"This boy was probably turned into a demon against his will"

Tamayo doesn't believe the demon slayer right before them is someone who voluntarily became a demon but Yushiro irs someone who believes even demon slayers would allow themselves to become demons in order to survive.

"Demon slayers train themselves to fight demons, pushing their physical limit and brightening their senses. A demon slayer who is turned into a demon can get stronger faster than an average demon"

"Now that I think about it, since they keep strengthening themselves as humans they'd keep growing stronger as demons but faster. If a Pillar was somehow converted into a demon..."

Yushiro shakes his head, not wanting to imagine what kind of monstrosity will a demon-turned Pillar would be. Pillars attained their position and status by proving their skills and talents in combat.

"If someone like a Pillar who is turned into a demon is left alone even for a short amount of time, that kind of demon will progress faster than an ordinary demon"

"..." Yushiro swallowed his breath

"Whoever is converting these demon slayers into demons couldn't be Kibutsuji himself as after hundreds of years...he never done this before"

Tamayo knew what Muzan is capable of and what kind of man he is so she doesn't believe that someone who sought immortality and feared the first demon slayer would bother himself in turning demon slayers as his minions.

For the night, Shinobu manages to restrain herself from preying on humans with cannibalizing on other demons slowing and keeping her hunger at bay.

Even without a breathing style, you can handle average demons but there will be a time where you will face stronger demons like the Demon Moons

The voice took the shape of a vague and indistinguishable humanoid demon. The "child" is somewhere around the figure of Kanao, estimating the demon may be the same age as Kanao in terms of physical appearance.

"I know that but I couldn't do Flower breathing the same way my sister did"

Is it because you don't know how to use it or you don't want to use it? You learned it but you couldn't do it

"What are you trying to say, demon?"

Unless you can use a breathing style, you wouldn't survive against an Upper Moon

"..."

Well unless you can use my breathing style which I'm sure will prove very useful against your old friends and probably even other Upper Moons

"Your...breathing style...?"

I told you a few days ago that you're not the only one who could use a sword. I thought you're weak, not deaf

"Impossible! You can use a breath?! A demon can't use a breath"

Shinobu swung her arm, refusing to believe that a demon is capable of using breath styles that Demon slayers uses.

While I'm not on the same level as my master, I'm more than capable of dealing with a Pillar by myself but I got bored enough to give up my old self. Well...just a single Pillar since two or more are too much...

"...?"

Shinobu, you can grow stronger if you just work with me, but you have to become a real demon

"I will never do that! I'd rather let one of the demon slayers kill me than eat humans and kill my former allies"

The more you remain stubborn the more you make me regret having to deal with you and your friends that night. I really should have ran away back then...

The demon shrouded in mystery shook its head and expressed her disappointment towards Shinobu whose deep and rooted hatred for demons keeps her from embracing her demon nature.