^ Chapter 14 - Hashira Trial ^

"So it is true...somehow he is able to withstand the sun…"

"Something like this has never been seen before, right…? It's...weird, but kind of cool..."

Tanjirō shifted slightly in his sleep as the feeling of an empty stomach and a slight headache started to make themselves known. He had always made sure to eat enough so that the hunger he always felt wouldn't be as bad, but since he had never gotten the time to eat anything while on Natagumo Mountain, his empty stomach was making it hard for him to not think of human flesh.

The voices paused for a moment when they thought that he was going to wake up, but when he remained asleep, they resumed talking or whispering to one another while observing him. Only one voice was recognizable to Tanjirō's subconscious, and that was Shinobu's, since her voice was the sweetest out of the bunch alongside another feminine voice.

"He looks exactly the same as any one of us would look like, no deformities or anything. Totally not flamboyant."

"I could care less about what the brat looks like, why are we even here talking about this again…?" asked another voice in a lighter, albeit disinterested tone.

"Let's not be hasty, we were summoned here for a reason."

"The poor child...he must be cursed by a demon's bloodlust every second of every day…"

Tanjirō was starting to recall what had happened before he had passed out, how Shinobu had caught up to Nezuko and him, leading to an almost disastrous encounter that could have ended in their deaths. She had been the woman whom he had talked with at the Wisteria home before he left for Natagumo Mountain with Zenitsu and Inosuke.

Shinobu had looked shocked to see that he was the young man that she had spoken too that night as well, which led to an awkward exchange that took away from the time that he could have spent explaining himself to her before he had passed out. If he had just willed himself to stay awake for a little while longer, maybe whatever situation that he was in could have been different. How close was she? He could hear her voice, which meant that she had to be somewhere nearby, but he was still kept in the embrace of sleep that he wasn't quite sure.

"Get up. Hey, come on, I saw you move, wake up." the closet voice spoke to him, a man's voice. "Wake up."

Tanjirō stirred at the voice, making a little groan as he moved his arms and dragged a knee up slightly across what felt like small pebbles. The man asked him to wake up again, but when Tanjirō still didn't open his eyes and instead grunted a little, he frowned and raised a fist up while giving him a firm nudge in the side with his knee.

"Oi, come on! Are you gonna sleep all day?! Get the hell up already!"

Tanjirō gasped and his eyes shot wide open, his head lifting up off the ground to instantly take in the situation around him. He was in a garden, a beautiful one at that, laying down on his belly with his arms tied behind his back with a thick, burly rope, and standing next to him was a Kakushi member that he didn't know. The man looked a little agitated based on the way he looked at him with his eyes and the wrinkles in his brow, but that was the least of his worries.

"The Hashira are present!" he exclaimed, using a hand to direct Tanjirō's attention from himself to the gathering of individuals standing a few feet away from him in a single file line, shoulder to shoulder.

Every single person was unique in their own way, from the manner in which they dressed alongside their Demon Slayer uniform, to their weapons, to their overall appearance in general. One man stood taller than the rest with his hands cupped together in a prayer, a large scar present on his forehead above a face that looked quite sad with tears rolling down his cheeks. Another had yellow and red hair that looked like he was on fire, as well as wide eyes full of spirit that matched his confident smile perfectly.

As his eyes went down the line he saw Shinobu herself standing among them, her sweet smile and her diminutive size standing out among the group since she was the shortest of them all. When she saw his shocked gaze fall upon her, Shinobu smiled just a tiny bit more, before Tanjirō made a quick glance at all of the other individuals as a slight breeze blew through the garden.

"Bummer. I heard about a demon within our ranks traveling with another demon, so I was looking forward to seeing someone flamboyant…" muttered one of the taller men with white hair kept in a ponytail that stuck out from his white, tightly wrapped headdress. He fixed his eyes on Tanjirō and crossed his arms, giving him an unimpressed feel. "But man, that's one drab-looking dude."

"H-Hashira…!? What is even a Hashira? What's Shinobu-san doing with them?" thought Tanjirō frantically, trying to grasp the situation as he kept looking from one person to the other. "Where even am I?"

"Mm! Now that the boy's awake, we shall put him on trial!" announced the flaming hair man, crossing his arms as well. Tanjirō was stunned at the passion behind his voice, before he instantly froze up. Trial? What trial? Why is he being put on trial?

Another one of the smallest people in the group, a boy that was even younger than Tanjirō with long black hair that ended in pale turquoise, wasn't even paying attention and was looking up at the clouds moving through the sky above them instead. He had a sort of empty look to his eyes, appearing as if he was completely detached from the world.

"To think that they're both demons...and yet he still was protecting his sister at the risk of his own life…" thought the woman with pink and green hair kept in three thick braids, two over her shoulders and one running down her back to her waist. She had a sympathetic look on her face, and even blushed slightly as she looked down at Tanjirō. "Now that's beautiful sibling love...how brave!"

Tanjirō was so overwhelmed that he had no idea what to really think or say, his eyes settling on Shinobu again with a hopeless expression. Shinobu's smile lessened a bit when she remembered what he had told her the previous night before he had passed out from exhaustion, and she could still feel the same aura coming from him even now. He was scared and shaken, being confronted by those around her so suddenly after waking up, but not once did he feel the need to attack them out of this shock.

She was certain that with some effort, the ropes that were tightly wrapped around his wrists that bound his arms could be snapped at any point by the slayer, but he didn't try once. He remained there on the ground and didn't make any attempt to escape or lash out, he was just confused and wanted to seek answers.

"W-What is-"

"Quiet! Don't open your mouth just yet, you moron!" hissed the Kakushi as he smacked Tanjirō's head back onto the ground, causing Shinobu to frown a little.

"Just who do you think is standing before you?" asked Gotō as Tanjirō grunted a little once he let go of his head, allowing Tanjirō to lift his head back up again to look at the men and women properly. "You're in the presence of the Hashiras!"

"Gotō-san, be more careful with him…" thought Shinobu before she stepped forward, smiling softly again. "This is the Demon Slayers' headquarters. And you're about to be put on trial, Kamado Tanjirō-kun."

Tanjirō blinked at the explanation again, and it was right then where the realization finally set in. He was a demon in a Demon Slayer uniform, traveling with another demon. That's going against practically everything that the Corps was founded upon, he was a stain on the reputation of the Demon Slayer Corps, and as such, he was being held accountable for it by the Hashira. He didn't know what the term actually meant, but considering the way he was sharply reprimanded by Gotō, they had to be of high importance in some way to the Corps.

That thought alone, if these were as important as he were meant to believe, he came even more nervous at what could be done to him. He wanted to know where Giyū was, he knew that he could vouch for him if he was given the chance to speak. He hoped that Shinobu would do something, because even with the short time he had with her, he was praying He and Nezuko had made enough of an impression to affect her opinion of them.

"Before we start the trial, why don't you explain your-"

"There's no need for a trial!" exclaimed the man with the flaming hair, completely cutting off Shinobu. She frowned a little at him and Tanjirō even felt that it was a bit rude to interrupt her like that, especially because of how nice she sounded. "Protecting a demon is a clear violation of the code, but being a demon alone is enough to warrant a decapitation! Mmn! We're clearly within our rights to deal with him on our own!"

A snort came from the man with white hair, Shinobu looking past the first Hashira to him as he brought a hand to the side of his hand and gazed down at Tanjirō as if he were the more superior person between them.

"In that case, I'll be glad to decapitate him flamboyantly." he spoke with authority and flare. "I'll show you the most flamboyant blood spray you'll ever see! I'm talking max flamboyance!"

Tanjirō's skin crawled and he looked even more terrified than before, shrinking away from the two men and their declarations of death to him. The girl with the pink and green hair could see how worried he was getting and developed a saddened expression for him, her heart even beginning to ache.

"Ehhh…? We're going to kill such a cute boy? He looks the same as Shinobu...ahhh! I don't think my poor heart can take this…!"

"What a pitiful sight this is...the poor soul. I pity him for having been born at all."

Tanjirō's eyes flashed to the tallest man with the scar across his forehead, his ears and the manner in which he looked as if he was praying for him causing him to feel a slight bit put off by his words.

Why was he the one crying and praying for him? If he truly pitied him then why wasn't he doing or saying anything to stop the other Hashira from saying all of their threats to kill him? Even Shinobu wasn't saying anything, but Tanjirō wasn't even sure that she could since everyone seemed to just speak over her without taking into account her own opinion. And again, where was Giyū in all of this?

Tanjirō looked at Shinobu for a brief moment before the terror that gripped him was overcome by the next realization that hit him like a truck. Where was his sister? He was here, but Nezuko was nowhere to be found.

"Where is she? Where's Nezuko?!" he thought, frantically whipping his head left and right anxiously to try and find where her box was in his field of view.

"Oi, what are you looking at?" murmured Gotō with a glance down at Tanjirō. "These are the nine highest-ranking swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps."

Tanjirō brought his gaze back to Shinobu and the four other Hashiras, sweat dripping down his forehead as the worry set in again. So it was true, these people with Shinobu were the most powerful slayers inside of the Demon Slayer Corps. One question he wanted to ask though was where were the other four Hashira? Including Shinobu, there were five Hashira standing before him for his supposed trial. The tallest man with the scar and prayer beads, Shinobu, the short boy with black hair, the man with the flaming yellow and red hair, and the second tallest man with the white headdress.

He wanted to ask, but as he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice cracked and he coughed a little bit from how dry his throat was. Not only had he not eaten anything since his stay at the Wisteria home, but he hadn't even had anything to drink either. A starving and thirsty demon among a group of the most powerful swordsmen in the whole Corps, it was a dangerous combination that made him really focus on keeping his urges at bay.

Thinking more about the Hashira, he was finally reminded of an off-handed discussion that he had with Urokodaki back when he was still training with him, when he was asking the old cultivator about the Corps and its workings. The ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps were comprised of a ten rank system, from the lowest tier, the Mizunoto, to the Kinoe at the top. Above even them existed the Hashira, a group of individuals who far exceeded any one within the lower ranks on their own. They were called "pillars" for a reason, because on their own they served as the support pillars for the entire organization. They were bonafide forces of nature, not to be trifled with.

"Let's put this poor child out of his misery...as much as it pains me to say that…"

"Mmn! I agree!"

"Yeah, let's do it. Flamboyantly."

Shinobu frowned a little again as she looked at the other Hashira, tapping her foot lightly on the ground as she waited for a chance for her to speak. She had been rudely interrupted and hadn't had the opportunity to speak her piece yet, which irritated her a tiny bit because she felt that was the case because she was the smallest of the group.

Tanjirō then reminded himself of his sister and how important it was that he find her, that he make sure she's okay and not in any danger. Zenitsu and Inosuke's state of being popped into his mind as well, and with a grunt he turned himself over and looking around again with a worried expression on his face.

"Nezuko...Nezuko! Zenitsu! Inosuke! Murata-san!?" he cried out, Shinobu looking back at him with slightly wide eyes.

Even in a situation with literally no odds in his favor, where one slip up could lead to his demise and the demise of his sister, he still pushed aside thinking of his own well being in favor of those that he knew, including Nezuko.

It made her feel even more regret at having to put Tanjirō through an ordeal such as this, because she could feel how sincere he sounded with his cries for his sister and friends. She opened her mouth to try and get the situation under control, but again she was prevented from saying anything by a new voice that came from somewhere above them off to the right.

"Forget that. What will we do with Tomioka?"

The voice drew Tanjirō's attention towards it and saw a new person lounging on the branch of a nearby tree with an albino snake curled around his neck and shoulders, the snake's red eyes staring at him along with the green and yellow eyes of the person themselves. He wore a black and white striped haori as well as bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face.

He lifted a hand up and pointed at something to Tanjirō's right, across the garden, and when he turned his head he finally saw Giyū standing in a corner of the garden with his back slightly turned towards them, his eyes looking down at a flower bed.

"Seeing him there without any restraints like the brat is giving me a headache. Based on what Kochō told us, Tomioka's just as guilty of breaking the Corps rules." spoke the serpent man, his finger remaining firmly pointed at Tomioka in an accusing manner. "How will we deal with him? How will we make him take responsibility? How are we gonna make him suffer?"

Tanjirō felt a little angry from how harshly the man was speaking of the person who had saved him and his sister twice now, first from each other two years prior and second from Shinobu in the forest.

He figured that it was because of protocol that Shinobu had to give a report about what happened, so Giyū's defense of Tanjirō and Nezuko from her attack had to have been brought up sooner or later. Still, he felt angry regardless because if Giyū and the man in the tree were here, that meant they were both Hashira, and if that was true, why were they being so harsh with one another? Weren't they supposed to be allies?

"Don't you have anything to say, Tomioka?" demanded the man, narrowing his eyes as his snake hissed and flicked its tongue once.

Giyū didn't say anything and didn't raise his gaze up from the flower bed, instead staying where he stood apart from the other Hashira as if he were an outcast from the group. Tanjirō grit his teeth and felt guilt grip his heart as he looked at Giyū, his expression turning softer.

Because of him, even Giyū was in trouble with the Hashira now because of defending him. He didn't blame Shinobu for telling the truth, she was just doing her job, but that didn't change the fact that it was still his fault for the trouble that his twice-over savior was no in.

"Iguro-san, you're so persistent as usual, like a snake…So persistent and wonderful…~!" thought the green and pink-haired girl, smiling and blushing a tiny bit as she looked at the serpent-carrying Hashira. Then she turned and looked at Giyū with the rest of the Hashira, her smile softening from the more passionate one. "Tomioka-san, all by himself at a distance...how cute!"

"Don't be so harsh, Iguro-san. He did come along without resisting." said Shinobu, finally speaking up as she put on a smile again while looking back up the tree at Iguro. "We can figure out a punishment later."

With a begrudging snort, Iguro shrugged and returned to lounging about on the tree, his gaze falling back to Tanjirō at the same time as Shinobu's did. Her smile softened once her eyes met Tanjirō and he felt a little warmth come back to his cheeks and body from it, the hope that she wasn't as quick to agree on killing him still alive.

Now that she had the stage again, and all eyes were on her, Shinobu finally felt like she was back in control of the situation and took a breath as she gathered her thoughts.

"More importantly, I'm far more interested in hearing Kamado-kun's story." she spoke, Tanjirō's eyes widening and his heart fluttering as a wave of relief washed over his body. She was going to let him explain itself, like he had wanted to! "How he became a demon, the reason why he remained in the Corps and went on missions with another demon, his sister...I'd like to hear the explanation of it all from him."

Shinobu maintained her smile, and felt a warmth grow in her chest at the relieved expression she saw develop slightly on Tanjirō's face, telling her that the fear and terror he was feeling was going away. If she were in his position she thought that she'd probably react the same way to being put under such scrutiny by the Hashira.

Plus, she herself was curious perhaps more so than any of the other Hashira, aside from Giyū, because she never got to hear it from Tanjirō on Natagumo Mountain. This was her chance to hear his story, because after seeing how docile Nezuko had been once Tanjirō told her she wasn't a threat, even when he knew she could have killed them both if she wanted to, she hadn't been able to stop thinking of the reasons why. She wanted to know the truth.

"Kamado Tanjirō-kun...please, tell us how you became a demon, and why did you stay with the Corps despite being one? And why were you traveling with another demon?"

The Hashira with the embezzled head dress and sleeveless Demon Slayer uniform smirked as he leaned back somewhat, reaching with his muscular arms over his shoulders to grab the connected handles of his blades.

Clearly he was one of the Hashira that didn't want to waste time with Tanjirō and would rather get this whole interaction with him done and over with.

"There's no need to ask," he said firmly, with a tinge of disgust laced in with his words. "Let's just kill him now."

Shinobu glanced his way for a brief moment, showing mild irritation, before she looked to Tanjirō again and continued to smile while silently urging him.

"You can take your time. Just tell us why."

Tanjirō was silent for a few moments as he licked the roof of his mouth with what little saliva he had, hearing some birds chirp in the distance, and feeling another small breeze pass over the garden and through his hair. It wouldn't be enough to say that he felt intimidated, being in front of the Hashira like this.

But if there was one thing that he could count on to keep himself from being totally afraid, aside from his own will and Giyū's presence nearby, was the reassuring smile that Shinobu was giving him.

"The demon with me...she's my...she's my-ghakh!" Tanjirō started to say before his dry throat constricted and he started to cough and hack, his body writhing from each vicious cough.

He didn't think he was that thirsty until he had tried to talk, but now he knew just how much he needed a drink. His thirst and hunger told him he needed a human, but as he coughed he steeled himself against those thoughts and just kept coughing.

"Stop...thinking that...not now, not here!"

As he kept coughing, Shinobu realized he must need something to drink, so she pulled a gourd off her belt and removed the cork from the mouth of the gourd. Under the gazes of the other Hashira, she approached Tanjirō and placed a hand on her right thigh as she kneeled down in front of him.

When his coughing fit finished, Tanjirō wheezed a little and lifted his head up, only to see Shinobu's smiling face just a foot away from his. Gotō, who was kneeling behind Tanjirō's right shoulder, had a wary gaze as the two looked at one another for a few moments, before she offered him the water-filled gourd.

"I do believe you need some water...right?" she said, Tanjirō holding her gaze for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. With an almost motherly sense of care, she then held the mouth of the gourd up to his lips and helped him drink the water.

This of course drew a couple of nasty glares from the Hashira, particularly from Iguro and the headdress Hashira, while the flame haired Hashira and the tallest Hashira remained relatively indifferent. As Shinobu helped Tanjirō drink, she felt a sore of ease fall over her body, as if some unknown doubts or reservations that she had upon approaching him had been done away with. The memory of their somewhat uncomfortable situation when Tanjirō had passed out entered her mind briefly, and she felt herself smile a little more as she watched him.

"It seems like he really is different...anybody can see or sense that he's a demon, yet he's acting as human as any one of us...just by how hungrily he's drinking this water, I'm sure he's feeling the hunger for human flesh as I'm thinking of this, yet he's holding himself back…"

Tanjirō didn't stop drinking until all of the water inside of the gourd had been drained, when he removed his lips from it and leaned back again, breathing heavily for a few moments since he hadn't even thought to breath while drinking. Shinobu put the cork back into the gourd and returned it to her belt, before resting her left hand on her left knee and relaxing.

"Now then, Kamado Tanjirō-kun...go ahead and tell us."

Tanjirō took a few breaths to steady himself, having taken the time while drinking to think about what he was going to say, before raising his head up and looking her in the eyes. Again, she didn't see or sense any malice or deception radiating from the young man's gaze. It was the entire lack thereof. Just like when they had met for the second time at Natagumo Mountain.

"The demon with me is my younger sister…! While I was away in town, where I lived, my family was attacked by a demon and when I returned home...they were all dead!"

Shinobu's eyes widened slightly when Tanjirō began telling them of his life, particularly focusing on his sister over himself. A few of the Hashira behind her also paused for thought at how close Tanjirō's voice was to cracking at the story retelling, the emotion of sadness and regret clearly evident in his eyes.

"My sister got turned into a demon, but she's never devoured anyone! She never has and never will!" he proclaimed, making a pained expression as the imagery of his house filled with the corpses of his family flashed in his mind like lightning. The image of Nezuko growling at him, pouncing on top of his and threatening to rip out his throat. "She'll never hurt humans no matter what!"

"Even before explaining or defending himself, he'd rather try to prove to us that his sister is safe...even when he's hardly in any position to do so…" Shinobu thought, her smile fading as she listened intently.

"Please, spare us your absurd ravings. For starters, of course you'd defend her, if she's your family." hissed Iguro from his tree while waving a limp finger at Tanjirō, his gaze like a pair of daggers. "Secondly, you're completely avoiding the fact that you're a demon too. You have no ground to stand on to make an argument like that. How many people have you devoured while pretending to be one of us? And even if your words had an inkling of truth, I for one still wouldn't believe you."

"Aah...this moves my heart to tears…" murmured the tallest Hashira while crying again. "Both of them have been possessed by demons...let us kill these poor children immediately so that they can be liberated!"

"Listen to me, please!"

Shinobu and the Hashira all jumped slightly when Tanjirō raised his voice, a hint of slight frustration mixed in with his voice when he called out to them. A couple of them even reached for their weapons on sheer instinct, ready to slay him if the need arises, but being so close to him and having seen him before allowed Shinobu to remain calm and not even budge.

She could feel how much Tanjirō cared about what he was saying, she could tell that he wasn't in any position to prove himself to them. He cared most of all about his sister and wanted more than ever to try and get them to listen to his story, and from there anything could happen.

"I became a swordsman so that Nezuko could be cured! It's been two years since Nezuko became a demon, and in all that time, she hasn't devoured one human! As for myself, I…" Tanjirō exclaimed, stopping himself momentarily when he thought of Tamayo and Yushiro, how telling the Hashira could lead to them being in danger. He swallowed once and apologized to them mentally, before he steeled his resolve to continue. "I was turned into a demon to save my life, when I was attacked...I didn't want to leave my sister behind, so I was turned into a demon so that I could still try to cure her!"

"By who?" asked Shinobu, drawing Tanjirō's gaze to her as he closed his mouth for a second before lowering his head.

"I...I'm not sure if I can say...it would put them at risk…"

"Your story's spinning around in circles in the most drab way possible. The fact that she hasn't eaten anyone, that she won't from now on. That you got turned into a demon, that you haven't eaten anyone." remarked the Hashira with the headdress as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't just give us lip service. Prove it to us with max flamboyance."

Tanjirō tensed his jaw muscles up for a moment before he growled and stared at the Hashira with a rather harsh stare, enough that it actually made him raise an eyebrow in anticipation.

"Fine! I was turned into a demon by someone other than the creator of demons! You know why?! Every demon he ever creates gets created with a curse that kills them if they say his name! I've seen it happen!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, the Hashira immediately taken aback by his outburst and the tone it was at. Gotō was about to reprimand him for speaking in that manner to them, but one glance from Shinobu told him otherwise and he relaxed, keeping his eyes firmly on Tanjirō as the young slayer growled, flashing them with his fangs. "And you wanted me to prove it? Fine! KIBUTSUJI!"

Tanjirō yelled the name out loud enough for the birds in the trees at the far end of the garden to squawk and fly off in a rush, the Hashira all watching close as if to see what he had said about the curse that killed demons even occurred. One second passed, nothing. Five seconds, still nothing.

When Tanjirō was still kneeling there before them, having calmed down after his little outburst, the Hashira when the headdress shrugged and the smug look on his face lessened somewhat as if he was acknowledging it as an act of "max flamboyance". At least, that's what he hoped it was.

"Mmn! I still find it hard to believe that you're a demon not made by Kibutsuji!" exclaimed the flame-haired Hashira confidently. "We'd need another demon to say his name in order to prove it! Until then, you're still not trustworthy!"

The pink and green haired girl had been silent up until then, with even Shinobu not knowing what to say to that statement, before the former raised her hand up a little to her lips and blushed lightly while glancing left and right.

"U-Um, excuse me? I do have my doubts, you know, but...I just can't imagine Oyakata-sama being in the dark about this situation…" she said quite timidly, her statement drawing the stares of the other Hashira, Shinobu excluded, to her. "Do you really think it's okay to deal with him without his permission? I-I mean...shouldn't we at least wait until he arrives…?"

Tanjirō, who had returned more or less back to normal, looked at the young woman standing between the sleeveless Hashira and the flame-hair Hashira once those two had humphed a little and lost a little bit of their edge.

When their eyes met, the woman gave Tanjirō a tiny little smile and a little nod, silently telling him that, like Shinobu, she wasn't as quick as her male peers to enact death on him and whatever else they had in mind for his sister. He gave her a little nod back before looking at the rest of the Hashira again, tiny little sweat droplets still rolling down his forehead.

Taking their silence as an opportunity for him to speak again, Tanjirō sucked in a breath before proclaiming to them that Nezuko could fight by his side as a Demon Slayer. That the both of them could serve the Corps as slayers despite being demons themselves and protect humans, just like the Hashira could.

Shinobu was taken aback again by Tanjirō's own passion, and for a split second as she was looking at this slayer before her, she could see her older sister sitting there rather than him.

"I wonder if...like he said that night...if there's a chance he…" she began to think before footsteps were heard on the pebble walkway approaching them.

"So-!"

"Oi, oi, seems like there is some fun brewing here."

Tanjirō was cut off by the new voice and he looked left, gasping when the man the footsteps belonged to stopped a few meters away from them with a shit-eating grin on his face and a pair of wild eyes that shot clean through Tanjirō's body. Having a fit yet slender body, covered in scars from past battles, and an unbuttoned slayer uniform with a white long sleeved shirt over top, this guy definitely had to be another Hashira.

What got Tanjirō's heart pumping was when he saw, in the man's left hand hoisted up in the air like some kind of trophy, was Nezuko's travel box. The new Hashira smirked more when he noticed Tanjirō's eyes focus on the box and he shook the box a little like a rattle. Tanjirō grit his teeth at that, before the female Kakushi partner of Gotō came running around the corner of the house behind the man and panted while hunching over.

"Please don't, Shinazugawa-sama!" she pleaded, the man not even paying attention to her as he kept rattling the box. "Let go of the box please!"

"This is just what we needed…" Shinobu thought, frowning a little as she imagined the little girl inside of the box having to deal with the constant rattling as if her box was a christmas present. "Not…"

"So you're the dumbass that thinks he can be part of the Demon Slayer Corps when you're a demon too?" asked the Hashira with a wicked grin, a slow chuckle following soon after. "What the hell were you even thinking?"

The female Kakushi noticed Shinobu kneeling down in front of Tanjirō and she bowed while apologizing to her, Shinobu waving a hand to tell her without speaking that it was fine. At least she hoped it was going to be okay.

Once she did that though she dropped her smile entirely and stood up from the pebbled ground, staring at Shinazugawa as the man smirked and stopped shaking the box. It was easy to tell that she wasn't having any of his shenanigans, and to Tanjirō he could see that no one else was used to her not smiling either.

In fact, he thought he could actually smell something that was lying underneath, a hidden emotion that he remembered Shinobu keeping under wraps when he had first seen her. He hadn't been as skilled with his nose back then as he was now, after Natagumo Mountain, so now he was able to for sure tell that she was hiding something behind that smile of her's. He just had to hope that he'd make it out of this situation alive with Nezuko in order to find out.

"Shinobu-chan looks pretty angry! That's super unusual…! She's so cool!" thought the blushing girl while glancing at Shinobu.

"Shinazugawa-san, please don't act out of line." stated Shinobu calmly while keeping her tone and expression in line, with little to no emotion showing. It was strictly business, she wanted to get her point across straight and firm to Shinazugawa.

Of course Shinazugawa again didn't bother to listen to her, and as the female Kaksuhi slowly crept back out of the situation at the urging of her partner, the Hashira chuckled to himself as he maintained his gaze on Tanjirō.

"What'd you say about this demon here, brat? That she can fight as a Demon Slayer to protect humans, like you?" he asked while reaching across his body to his opposite hip, gripping the top of his sword scabbard with his right hand while smiling menacingly. "You know what we call that?"

Shinazugawa let the question sit in the air for a brief moment, his lips curling up a tad bit more before he popped his sword out a little with his thumb and gripped the handle tightly. Tanjirō's heartbeat stopped at the move, while the Hashira then dropped Nezuko's box and grabbed it again by the carry straps.

"A totally bullshit delusion, dumbass!"

Shinazugawa then swiftly pulled his blade out while holding Nezuko's box out with his left arm out wide, giving himself enough room to draw his green-tinted sword, and then impaled the box clean through. A sharp feminine grunt came from inside the box as the blade pierced through Nezuko's left shoulder, the blood splatter that exited the opposite side of the box with the tip of Shinazugawa's blade clearly evident of that.

Tanjirō's eyes widened and his whole body tensed up, Shinobu remaining silent as she stared at Shinazugawa while her heart tightened up a little bit. Gotō then flinched when Tanjirō then picked himself up from the ground and ran a few steps at the Hashira, coming to a stop with his rage-filled eyes blazing clean through him. His heartbeat was through the roof, and his fangs increased in length along with his fingernails as his hair started to stand on end like a cats. The tips of his horns even began protruding out of his head as his partial Demon Transformation began, which was enough to make a few Hashira reach for their blades again in case Tanjirō decided to attack.

"Anyone who hurts my sister...Hashira or not...I won't let you get away with it!" he snarled, a few veins beginning to bulge out from his forehead

"Khehehehahaha…" cackled Shinazugawa as he drove his blade deeper into the box, causing Nezuko to grunt and whimper more, before he forcibly ripped his blade out entirely and swiped it once through the air to splatter her demon blood onto the ground, which evaporated instantly from the sunlight. "Is that right? Good for you!"

Tanjirō's jaw tightened even more and his hands clenched so much that his fingernails pierced his skin, causing blood to seep through his fingers. Shinobu was shocked at how the Tanjirō she had met on Natagumo Mountain, who felt so kind and caring, could grow this enraged in an instant because somebody harmed his sister.

Thoughts of her own sister entered her mind and she realized that if that were her, and her sister was in the box being mistreated by Shinazugawa, she would have certainly reacted the same way. She wasn't fully expecting Tanjirō to then roar like some wild animal and charge straight at the Hashira with blinding speed, despite his arms being restricted.

"Stop it! Oyakata-sama will be arriving soon! " bellowed Giyū, speaking for the first time in the meeting, to try and stop the two from fighting one another, but it was already far too late.

His cry did cause Shinazugawa to hesitate for a brief moment however, which in that time Tanjirō had been able to rapidly close the distance between them. A flash of green was seen as Shinazugawa swiped at Tanjirō with his sword with the intent to behead, since the other Hashira had been too slow to react, but he gasped when Tanjirō flawlessly jumped over his sword without losing any momentum. He was wide open now, with one hand occupied by holding Nezuko's box, and with Tanjirō practically on top of him, all it would take is one bite with his razor sharp teeth to condemn him and his sister to death.

Realizing this, Tanjirō swallowed his immense rage for the Hashira right then and clamped his mouth down shut as hard as he could before his skin around his forehead turned a dark red as he activated his Blood Demon Art, just for this one time to really make it hurt.

"Kekkijitsu - Tetsuchi Yoroi!"

"A Blood Demon Art?!" thought Shinobu as a gasp resonated among the Hashira, before Tanjirō then swung his entire upper body down and smashed his forehead straight down onto the man's own forehead with a loud crack.

The reinforced impact of his headbutt was enough to force Shinazugawa to drop not only his sword, but Nezuko's box as well, and send his face rocketing down into the pebbled walkway with a resounding boom that left a crater a couple feet wide. A loud grunt came from the Hashira once his face was planted into the pebbles at break-neck speed, while Tanjirō landed on his side as he dispelled the hardened iron blood from his forehead while breathing heavily.

Shinazugawa had left himself open to Tanjirō, and the opportunity for him to harm him with his teeth had been there. Despite that, and his more ravenous hunger than usual plaguing him because he hadn't had anything to eat, Tanjirō had instead given him the headbutt of his life and knocked him down flat.

It was silent for a second or two before a snort was heard from the Hashira, with their eyes except for Shinobu's falling on the green and pink haired girl as she covered her mouth and face with her hands while blushing as she held back her laughter.

"P-Parden me…" she murmured, her shoulders shaking a little back as she bit her lip behind the cover of her hands.

They were drawn away from her by the sound of footsteps and they watched Tanjirō quickly run in front of Nezuko's box and take a wide defensive stance, standing between it and the recovering Shinazugawa. Still in his partial Demon Transformation, Tanjirō growled at him and bared his fangs like a female animal of any predator kind would while protecting its children.

"D-Damn you…" grunted Shinazugawa as he slowly picked himself up, coughing and spitting out some blood while covering his nose and mouth. "You...bastard…!"

"Even though Tomioka ran interference, he still landed a blow on Shinazugawa…" thought Iguro from his perch after sitting up once Tanjirō had headbutt the white-haired Hashira. "Now he's just protecting the box and refusing to attack…"

"If you can't even tell the difference between good demons and bad," snarled Tanjirō, visibly struggling to contain his own rage towards Shinazugawa while standing his ground in front of Nezuko's box. "You should just quit being a Hashira all together!"

Shinazugawa, now visibly pissed off, finally picked himself up off the ground with blood trailing down from his broken nose and forehead and growled at Tanjirō while grabbing his sword with narrowed, bloodshot eyes.

"You little…" he said, the tip of his blade leveling itself right next to Tanjirō's exposed neck. Despite that blade being Tanjirō's death staring him right in the face, he maintained his stance and didn't even move an inch. "I'll destroy you!"

"Oyakata-sama has arrived."

Two feminine voices speaking in unison, belonging to a pair of small girls with white hair, large purple eyes and dark blue kimonos with purple flower designs and a maroon obi, pierced through the the tense air, causing all eyes to turn towards them and the door from which the back porch of the home led inside.

Tanjirō's own anger was dispelled as from inside of the darkened interior, a man in his early twenties with black hair styled in the same short bob as the two girls, with his clothes consisting of a simple black kimono with a white kimono jacket over it that had a pink and purple mist-like pattern around the lower back and waist. As he came further into view, Tanjirō's eyes widened and a pain struck his heart when he saw that the man's entire face above his cheekbones and nose was consumed by some kind of pinkish-purple affliction that made it look like his skin was rotting. He presumed that because it covered his eyes it left him blind, which was confirmed when the two girls then held him by the hands and walked him to the edge of the back porch.

"It's so good for all of you to come." said the man, his voice as calm and as gentle as a flowing stream. "My beloved children…"

The girls walked the man they referred to as Master out from the shade of the roof so that he could feel the sunlight on his face, making him smile a little more than he already was. He lifted his head up towards the clear blue skies above, his blindness making him impossible to see how beautiful it was, but that didn't stop him from imagining it regardless.

"Good morning, everyone. The weather is truly wonderful today, I'm sure...I wonder if the sky is blue?" he asked, the tone of his voice and the way in which he spoke causing a calm unlike any other to wash over Tanjirō, penetrating his very soul. His partial transformation halted and he returned to normal, his eyes wide in awe of this man. "It warms my heart to know that we've made it to our semiannual Hashira Meeting with no personnel changes."

"Wounded...no...is he sick?" inquired Tanjirō to himself while observing the man after closing his mouth. "So this man's the Master? Master of the entire Corps…?"

Before he could even continue that thought, he felt Shinazugawa's hand press his hand against the back of his head and forcibly push him down onto his stomach, pinning him to the ground with surprising strength, before taking a kneeling position with his head bowed. Having recovered from the headbutt by cleaning himself up with his arm sleeve, he had then forcibly put his nose back into place after it had been broken.

Tanjirō grunted, coughing a tiny bit from how quick the Hashira was, before he opened his eyes after impact and gasped silently at the sight he saw. In line with Shinazugawa kneeling shoulder to shoulder, heads bowed out of obedience and respect, were Shinobu, Giyū, and the rest of the Hashira. To see such widely revered individuals in such a way before a man such as the one standing on the porch with the two girls, it was an eye-opening scene to say the least. In the few moments it took for the Hashira to organize themselves in that manner, Gotō and the other Kakushi quickly vacated the area since they weren't really allowed to be among them at this time.

"I am pleased to see you in good health as well, Oyakata-sama." spoke Shinazugawa like he was a completely different person. Calm and regal? Wasn't he threatening to kill Tanjirō just a few moments before? "I fervently pray for your continued good fortune."

"Thank you, Sanemi." replied the man, his eyes moving in the direction of Shinazugawa's voice.

"Sanemi Shinazugawa…" Tanjirō thought with a slight grunt as he moved his head back to be able to properly see the man standing on the porch. "If even this guy acting like this around him, then this guy has to be the real deal…"

"If I may, Oyakata-sama...before we start the Hashira Meeting, would you mind enlightening us about this swordsman demon, Kamado Tanjirō, accompanied by another demon?"

Tanjirō frowned a tiny bit while wishing he could have knocked more sense into Sanemi, since he was still referring to his sister as a mere demon and not as the person she was. Again he wasn't expecting Sanemi's formalities to be so refined after the show he put on a minute prior to the Master's arrival, since to him the first impression was that he was nothing by a brute.

The Master maintained his warm smile as he closed his eyes and nodded slowly, recognizing Sanemi's question as a valid one.

"Right. I apologize for startling you all with this development. About Tanjirō and Nezuko...I've sanctioned their situation." he said as he moved his gaze down towards the path below, not looking at any one of the Hashira in particular. "And I'd also like all of you to accept it."

The Hashira, except for Giyū and Shinobu to an extent, looked shocked at the Master, with most of them opening their mouths and not being able to say anything, while the youngest-looking member maintained his detached expression on his face.

It took a few moments of silence for the Master's words to sink in before the largest of the Hashira gently clasped his hands together with his red beaded necklace between them, fresh tears emerging down his cheeks as he slowly shook his head side to side.

"Even if it's what you desire, Oyakata-sama, I cannot agree to it."

"I'm flamboyantly opposed as well!" stated the Hashira with the headdress with flare as he pointed to himself. "A Demon Slayer traveling with a demon is bad enough, but the Demon Slayer in question also being a demon is unacceptable! Completely drab!"

The Hashira with the pink and green hair smiled happily and clasped her hands close to her cheek while swaying a bit side to side, happy to oblige with the Master's words. "I shall do whatever it is you wish, Oyakata-sama~!"

"I'm fine either way...since I'm going to forget anyway." said the youngest Hashira with a shrug.

Giyū kept quiet and maintained his steady gaze forward, since his opinion on the matter was already clear to the Master and to Tanjirō, since he had been the one to send him to be trained as a Demon Slayer in the first place and allowed his sister to live.

Shinobu however was feeling far more conflicted than she revealed outwardly. Remaining silent, she was thinking about the ramifications that could come to the organization should they allow two demons to stay within the ranks. It went against the code of conduct and rules of the Corps, but if the Master officially sanctioned them, then wouldn't it be fine? To add onto that, she's seen Tanjirō's dedication to his sister and the goal to cure her, even if it does seem impossible, and by her own deductions alone she's determined more or less that he isn't trying to fool them at all.

A demon who's feasted on humans before wouldn't just faint from sheer exhaustion like he did when they met on Natagumo Mountain. Demons don't require sleep like humans do, since their unique chemistry allows them to function off human flesh and blood alone, without the need for other things. For him to fall unconscious like that in the middle of a conversation, that had to mean something wasn't right.

"Which begs the question...if he's never devoured a single human...how is it that he was able to utilize a Blood Demon Art?"

Iguro meanwhile made his opinion clearly known, just like the two largest Hashiras in the group, by glaring down at the pinned Tanjirō and pointing at him with yet another accusative finger. "I won't trust them. I won't trust them at all. I loathe demons in the first place already."

"Although I respect you with all my heart, that's an incomprehensible nothing, Oyakata-sama!" proclaimed the flame-haired Hashira with a proud smile and passionate gaze. "Mmn! I oppose it with everything I've got!"

"The Demon Slayer Corps' mission is to annihilate demons. I request that you penalize Tomioka, and allow us to execute the two demons!"

The Master slowly nodded his head after hearing all of the thoughts and opinions of those who spoke, while thinking of what Shinobu could have been wondering, before he nodded his head one more time and let out a satisfied sigh.

Then he began to do something remarkable, something Tanjirō could only expect from the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps. He began listing off the individual names of those who were in attendance, one by one, as if they really were his very own children, in the order in which they spoke.

"Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyōmei...Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen...Love Hashira, Kanroji Mitsuri," spoke the Master, the two tallest slayers saying nothing when their names were called, while the young woman with pink and green hair smiled happily. "Mist Hashira, Tokitō Muichirō...Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai...Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyōjurō...Wind Hashira, Shinazugawa Sanemi."

Muichirō remained relatively aloof, since he didn't really care either way about what happened, while Obanai, Kyōjurō, and Sanemi all flinched a tiny bit at their names being spoken by the Master. He then lowered his gaze slightly and smiled still as he nodded his head one more time again.

"I've heard all of you, even if you did not speak...Shinobu, Giyū...I understand your feelings on this situation. Perhaps, It's proper you hear from another."

"Another?" questioned Tengen, before the Master looked down at the girl to his right and asked her to bring out a letter.

She obliged and reached into her kimono to retrieve a neatly folded letter, one that had been opened previously. She pulled the accordion-folded letter and looked at the parchment for a brief second, then looked at the rest of the Hashira who were silently waiting in anticipation.

"This is a letter received from a former Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki." said the girl, Tanjirō's eyes widening when his and Giyū's master's name was mentioned. "I shall read you an abridged version."

The girl then returned her eyes to the letter and cleared her throat, reading over the contents one time and recalling her memory of repeating it to the Master upon its first arrival, before she began to speak.

"Please allow Tanjirō to be accompanied by his sister, and to remain a member of the Corps. Because of her resilient mental strength, Kamado Nezuko has not lost her human emotions. Even in a starved state, she never devoured humans while Tanjirō trained under me for two years. I have strong reason to believe in Tanjirō's word when he told me that he has done the same, resisting the urge to attack humans for the sake of his sister. Although the situation seems somewhat far-fetched, it is an indisputable fact. These two would never harm a human."

Tanjirō's heart leapt in his chest as the girl read out loud the abridged version of Urokodaki's letter, he and the Hashira listening intently with every word. Giyū of course had read a similar message, so he knew what was next, but as for Shinobu, hearing this made her doubt her preconceived notion about Tanjirō even more. In fact, she was even beginning to feel a warmth, a kind of happiness, in her chest from what she was hearing. A former Hashira, a human, vouching for the credibility of those he cared for, when one was a demon or both, she didn't know for sure, it made her think of her sister's dream and how at this very moment, she was beginning to see it take shape before her very eyes.

"In the event that Nezuko or Tanjirō do assault a human, then Kamado Tanjirō, Urokodaki Sakonji, and Tomioka Giyū will atone by decapitation and committed seppuku."

Tanjirō gasped silently when the letter ended, and his eyes went to the Water Hashira himself, who didn't move or make an attempt to make eye contact with him. He knew though that he could feel his stare, and he thought he could see a tiny little smile appear for a second before it was gone again.

That alone was enough for him to begin to shed tears of joy, seeing how even while not there with him, his master was still by his side regardless of what kind of situation he was in. Mitsuri was swooning a little by just how brave and incredible the letter was, which brought her some stares from Tengen and Kyōjurō again. And Shinobu, though shocked slightly by Giyū's name being in the mix, looked down at the crying Tanjirō and couldn't stop herself from smiling softly as well.

Sanemi, on the other hand, lowered his gaze somewhat and closed his eyes, maintaining his hand firmly pressed on top of Tanjirō's head. Clearly he wasn't satisfied yet, and Obanai next to him was in the same boat as him with the expression he had on his face.

"So what if they commit seppuku? If you want to die, then rot to death for all I care! It's no guarantee! Not by a long shot!"

"Shinazugawa is right!" exclaimed Kyōjurō, nodding his head. "if either of them kills and devours a human, there's no coming back from that! It won't bring back the people who were killed!"

The Master once again, having heard them, nod his head a few times while maintaining his calm and peaceful composure. "Yes...you do have a point."

"In that case…"

"Oyakata-sama!"

"We can't guarantee that they won't attack humans after this meeting. For all we know, Tanjirō could be holding himself back solely because he is among you, the Hashira. We can't prove it. That being said…" the Master began, gazing down on them once more. "We also can't prove that they will attack humans."

Shinobu lowered her head and smiled a tiny bit more while Sanemi sucked in a breath and grit his teeth, his other hand clenching somewhat from the answer that challenged both he and Kyōjurō's claims right on the money.

"The fact that Nezuko has refrained from devouring humans for more than two years, that her brother who is also a demon has taken on that task, and also that there are two other people risking their lives for them. To reject this notion, those who reject it must offer an even more convincing argument. Do you all have the will to do so?"

Sanemi, Kyōjurō, Tengen, Obanai and Gyōmei all tensed up when the question was directed solely to them, since Mitsuri had agreed and Muichirō was indifferent either way. Giyū's actions and the letter alone was proof of whose side he was on, which left Shinobu the only Hashira who had yet to cast her own vote on the situation.

"Also, there's something I'd like to relay to you, my children." the Master said, regaining their focus as well as Tanjirō's. "Tanjirō here has met Kibutsuji himself."

A/N Part one of the Hashira trial, down! One more to go! :D Also we've officially caught back up to the ORIGINAL starting point of this fic! Crazy right? Man, what a mistake it would have been if I had skipped over all of the amazing content that came before this!

Anyways! At the behest of one of you guys, I'm going to put another disclaimer here about the age of our boy Tanjirō.

In my story, Tanjirō is not the canon age of 15. In this story, he is the age of 18, the same age as Shinobu, but younger because he is a July birthday, compared to Shinobu's February birthday.

I also bumped Zenitsu's age up to 17, and Inosuke Im still thinking on, it will come up in the story at some point I think if I havn't already mentioned it, but it's safe to assume he's either 17 or 18, like Zenitsu and Tanjirō. :)

Anyways! That's that, hope I cleared up any confusion! Gotta have a proper Tanjirō x Shinobu after all :D

With that, that is all for you today! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a fav, a follow, and a review if you haven't done so already. I wanna hear what you have to say! Thank you so much, love all of you guys! :D

Translation(s):

Kekkijitsu - Tetsuchi Yoroi

- Blood Demon Art: Iron Blood Armor