Tanjiro doesn't know how or when he got here.
But if there was one thing he knew as he gazed up at the people who stood before him, radiating a powerful, mystic aura, it was that he was in grave danger.
It was kind of funny; he had expected his last moments to be the cause of a demon, but no, instead they were at the hands of his own kind.
He let out a sound of distress, a simple "ah," as the group loomed over him like a giant boulder ready to drop off his head. He swallowed and peered up with red, fearful eyes.
"Bummer~" One moans disappointedly.
Tanijro takes in the man's eccentrically grey to white hair. He seemed young enough; was it a family trait like his hair?
The man's head is tilted high with pride; his shoulders and arms are heavy, akin to tree trunks.
Tanjiro's eyes flicker over every part of him in utmost confusion before the man speaks again, this time in a tone thick with dissatisfaction as he trails off, "I heard he was a Demon Slayer with a demon in tow, so I was looking forward to seeing someone more flamboyant..."
He soon realizes, sluggishly, that the man (Tomioka-san, his mind fills in) who saved him, his sister, and Takemichi that night are also present. His eyes flicker over to him as the other's gaze is turned to the floor.
He appeared apathetic outwardly, but Tanjiro could smell his worry and fear.
And as Tanjiro's gaze pans to the man, he also finds Sabito and Makomo standing beside Tomioka-san. Their faces were staid and calm, with Makomo's dawning a smile and Sabito's a scowl.
Tanjiro tries to ignore the way the sour scent of their irritation hits his nose like the candy at one of his favourite small shops back in his village.
"Yes! And now, we'll put this boy on trial! I see!" With a smile, the fiery one says with his arms crossed.
While the pink-to-mint-haired woman beside him pressed her finger to her lips in despondency and admiration. If Tanjiro could read her mind, it might have gone something like this:
"To think that he's been protecting his sister, who's now a demon..." and "What a beautiful sibling bond! How brave!"
Not that he was complaining, nor did he even know if he was right or not. His eyes blatantly ignored the wide slit in her uniform.
Tanjiro blinked, "Wh-who are these peo -" before a hand flashed above his head, slamming it into the dirt as he asked.
The man above him hissed, "Don't open your mouth just yet, you moron!"
"Just who do you think is standing before you?!" He cursed as Tanjiro blinked away the tears in his eyes from the pressure on his already spinning head.
"You're in the presence of the Hashira!"
There was that term again, Hashira. What was a Hashira, and were they the people standing before him? That certainly made sense, and they did seem strong enough to be pillars of this organization.
Better yet, where was he? He had no memory of this place; the bamboo walls and the wooden plank floor that reeked of pine held no meaning for him.
Then, a feminine voice sounded out above him again, and he shuffled to look at them. "This is the Demon Slayers' headquarters." With a contradictory smile, the woman with black hair said it coldly.
Her glower was a dagger against him: "And you, Tanjiro Kamado, are about to be judged."
Tanjiro could feel the nausea build up in him as her words registered, and his palms started to get clammy as he let out a small, pitiful cry.
"Oh... "
The woman cocks her head, "Before we start this trial, let us first discuss your cri-" "There is no need for a trial!" The fiery man cuts her off, still smiling.
"N?" She sounds, and the man continues, "Protecting a demon is a clear violation of the code!"
"Therefore, we're going to behead him along with the demon!" he declares boisterously.
Tanjiro can feel his heart drop and his dizziness increase at the man's cruel words, not only the way he happily says them. The white-haired man loudly agrees with him; if Tanjiro squinted his eyes, he could see sparkles.
"In that case, I'll be glad to decapitate him flamboyantly." He twiddled his weapon on his back, "I'll show you the most flamboyant blood spray you'll ever see. I'm talking max flamboyance."
Then Tanjiro can hear the rubbing of wood against each other. As he looks up, the tallest and most behemoth member of the group rubs the wooden ball necklace he wears around his hands as tears stream down his face.
He mutters in a deep, emotional voice, "Ah… what a pitiful sight this boy is, his poor soul..." he hums, "I pity him for even being born."
Tanjiro's eyes moved around, looking for any sign of Nezuko, Inosuke, Zenitsu, Murata, or anyone he knew in general, ignoring the chides of the man above him.
Then another voice resonated above him, "Forget that." They silenced the rest, asking, "What will we do with Tomioka?"
They sounded irked. "Seeing him there without any restraints is giving me a headache. Based on what Kochou told us, Tomioka is just as guilty of breaking Corps rules."
"Don't even get me started on those two slayers and his supposed counterpart"
Their voice was almost slippery in a way as they questioned their comrades, "How will we deal with them? How should we make them take responsibility?"
He droned "What kind of lesson should we teach them?"
"Don't you have anything to say, Tomioka?" The man questioned, "and, Sabito was it?"
Turning to the group in question, they remain silent as they examine him. The butterfly girl speaks up: "Oh, where's the harm?" She smiles. "They did come along without resisting."
Before looking down at Tanjiro, she said, "What I'm more interested in is hearing this boy's story."
"The reason he's going on missions with a demon in tow despite being a Demon Slayer," she said, twirling a lock of hair in her fingers. "I'd like to hear the reason from the boy himself. Needless to say, what he's done is against the Demon Slayer Corps rules."
Her smile sharpened. "You are aware of this, right?"
"Ah..." Tanjiro let out.
He can hear the grumbling of her comrades beside her: "Take your time." Tanjiro opened his mouth; his throat felt tight, and the flesh rubbed against itself, dry and uncomfortably.
"Hah... Kuh... She's my... younger sis-" He cuts himself off with a violent and loud cough, and in a moment he finds a gourd pressed up to his lips as he tastes water.
His mouth salivates as he gulps the liquid down quickly.
"My... My sister got turned into a demon, but she's never devoured anyone! She never has and never will! She'll never hurt humans, no matter what!" Tanjiro cried out, but another Hashira clicked his tongue.
"Spare us your absurd ravings. If she's family, no wonder you're defending her."
The tallest of the group spoke up again. "Ahh… She's been possessed by a demon. Let us kill this poor child immediately so that she can be liberated!"
"No!" Tanjiro cried out again, "P-please listen to me, I became a sword man to sure her."
His head pounded at the pressure, "It's been two years since she hasn't devoured a single human!"
"Your story is spinning in the most drab way possible, idiot," the tall, white-haired man sighed. He huffed, "Don't give us lip service; prove it to us with max flamboyance."
Then the mint-haired woman shyly entered the conversation, "E-excuse me?" She called out to grab the others' attention: "I do have my doubts, you know. I just can't imagine the Master being in the dark about this situation."
That caused everyone to pause and think.
"Do you really think it's okay to deal with him without his permission?" She asked, and the fiery man beside her hummed, "Yes..."
Tanjiro was startled by the loud thumps of feet, and his gaze was drawn to the newcomer holding Nezuko's box in his hands. Their scowl was feral, nearly severing their face as they opened their mouth.
"Oi,oi!" They called out. "Is that the moron Slayer who has a demon with him?"
Tanjiro's point of view went slanted as he tried to keep a grip; his ears were fuzzy, and his eyes had gone white. His mouth opened, and words he couldn't mentally process spewed out.
His heart hammered violently in his chest; he could feel it in his throat and ears.
There is a cry that is ripped from his throat, and before he knows it, Tanjiro falls onto the ground, agitating his already pounding headache.
As the man above him sneers and groans, Tanjiro can feel a liquid dribble softly into droplets on his skin. "Damn you!" He hears someone curse but doesn't bother to see where it comes from as he runs over to Nezuko's box, or at least tries to.
Then it's an elbow slamming down on his spine, causing him to let out a whistle-like sound from his throat. "Guh-" he chokes, yet the voice above him fizzles out into nothing for him.
Then it's silent.
Belatedly, he hears two feminine voices calmly stating, "The master has arrived."
Tanjiro turns his head and squints, seeing the people on the porch's covered area as mere blobs of colour. Tanjiro tries to lift his head to get a better glimpse and is instead shoved back into the dirt.
"Mm…" The man murmurs softly, "Good morning, everyone." The Hashirah reciprocates his kindness.
"The weather is amazingly good today." He starts, his voice calm and cool; it helps ease Tanjiro's heart and mind as he aimlessly listens in.
"I wonder if the sky is blue." The master rhetorically asks, before looking down again, "It pleases me that we've made it to our semi-annual Hashira Meeting with no personnel changes."
The man holding his head down swallows as he greets the man on the platform, "Greetings, Master, I pray feverishly for your continued fortune."
"Thank you, Sanemi." The master graciously accepts the other's salutations; the name used sounds very familiar, and the man's grip tightens on his head.
"If I may, Master, may I ask about this swordsman?" The man asks formally, "Kamado Tanjiro, accompanied by a demon?" Tanjiro's eyes widened, and surprise ran through him.
The man above him had before held no semblance of intelligence or logic, but now he's talking so calmly and professionally.
"Yes, I've already sanctioned their situation." The Master kindly stated, rousing a round of disagreement from Hashira. The man holding his head down growled, "The Demon Slayer Corps' mission is to annihilate demons."
"I request that you penalise Kamado, Tomioka, and all the other Slayers involved!" He demanded as politely as he could.
"The letter, please?" The master looked at the girl beside him.
The girl nodded and rustled a sheet of paper as she stepped forward. "This is a letter received from a former Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki." She shook the sheet. "I shall read you an abridged version."
"Please allow Tanjirou to be accompanied by his sister, a demon." She read, "Even in a starved state, she never devoured humans, and this has held true more than two years later. Although the situation seems somewhat far-fetched, it is an indisputable fact."
Her smile made Tanjiro's skin crawl: "In the event that Nezuko does assault a human, Tanjirou Kamado, as well as..."
"Sakonji Urokodaki, Giyuu Tomioka, Makomo, Sabito, and Takemitchy will atone by committing ritual suicide."
Tanjiro squinted his eyes closed. "Hah,"", he let out, resisting the urge to cry as the man above him cursed. "So, what if they commit ritual suicide?" his gripped tightened painfully, "It's no guarantee! Not by a long shot!"
The fiery man loudly agreed: "Shinazugawa is right! If she kills and devours a human, there's no coming back from that!"
"You do have a point." The Master reciprocated the man's point, much to the Hashiras glee. "But," he cuts them off, "we also can't prove that she will attack humans."
"Someone who wishes to object must present a compelling argument." The master stated, smiling softly, and the Hashira went silent.
"And, Kamado here, had encountered The Demon King himself."
The air went tense, and soon all Hashira turned to the boy on the floor. The man gripping his head lifted his head off the ground and began to shake him roughly.
"Oi! Tell us what he looked like!" He demanded, but the Master chuckled and waved his hand away, silencing everyone.
The awkward and tense silence was broken by someone speaking again.
"M-Master if I may, who is this Takemitchy in the letter?" Kanroji spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to her.
Tanjiro went rigid, yes, where was Takemitchy? His gaze darted all over the place before settling on the body, quiet and still, tucked into the dark corner of the porch.
"Takemitchy…" He whispered. "Ah, yes, Takemitchy is my soon-to-be student, assuming the Kamados pass their test," the Master smiled.
Tanjiro gapped, Takemitchy, the head master's personal student? What had happened while he was away.
The man holding his head sneered, "Master!" he cried, "You can't be serious, you're taking in a traitor!"
"I see that, Sanemi," The man started, "but, unlike the others, Takemitchy didn't have a hand in aiding Tanjiro's escape attempt."
"Instead, while he only had the knowledge, he had been in a coma for most of their endeavours."
"I'm sure Sabito and Makomo can attest to that, can't you two?" The Master turned to the two, who stood silently beside Tomioka-san, they nodded softly.
"No..." Shinazugawa whispered, and Tanjiro thought his head might crush like a watermelon in the man's grip as the pressure grew. "If it were human, I'd be okay with letting it live, but not a demon!" he shouted out, appalled.
"Not after all that we Demon Slayers have gone through in battle! Not after so many people have lost their lives!"
The man abruptly let go of his head and jumped to his feet. Tanjiro's head shot up in fear and apprehension as he heard a sword being drawn from its sheath.
"It's unacceptable!" He screamed, and Tanjiro winced. Before starting the horror, a steward turned the blade on himself and slashed his arm, with blood quickly gushing out.
"I'll prove to you, master, that all demons are the same and will never change!" He stated with a feral grin as his feet stomped on Nezuko's box, heavy and strong, and the wood began to splinter.
"Oi, Demon, sink your fangs into this!" he laughed darkly, almost pshycotically, "Don't hold back!"
The man above spoke up, "There's no use doing it in the sunlight; throw it in the shade."
"Master, please forgive me for my impoliteness," Shinazugawa said as he exhaled and lifted the box, tossing it roughly into the shade. "Nezuko!" Tanjiro cried, watching with wide eyes filled with fear as the man stabbed his sword through the wood.
"Stop It!" Tanjiro yelled, trying to lift himself up, and his elbow landed on his back again. He couldn't breathe; the pressure on his spine was pressing painfully on his lungs.
Nezuko slowly drew herself out of the wooden cage as the man threw the box's hinges upward. Tanjrio could notice the copious amount of saliva and drool that dripped on the patio floor.
The man's feral grin sharpened: "Yeah, doesn't that smell so good, Demon?" He asked, pushing his bloodied arm into her face, "I know you just want to take a bite, don't you?"
Tanjiro doesn't know what happens next; as his head goes light and his eyes close against his will, the voices around him are fuzzy and inaudible.
When he awakens, he's being carried by The Kakushi. "Ah?" he asked confusedly and laggardly, and the man holding him scoffed. "You and your sister won; she didn't attack the Wind Hashira." They muttered under their breath as they explained.
"Not that she could without dying."
"Ah, wait, where is she?" Tanjiro abruptly stiffened and began to shake the man's back, causing him to shout, "Oi!" "What the hell, calm down!" they shouted at him.
"Please let me headbutt him as many times as he stabbed Nezuko!"Tanjiro looked at them, who looked back at him like he was crazy. "Are you mad?" they yelled at him.
"Head butting isn't against the rules, right?" he asked irritably as they looked at him.
So, sure, Tanjiro might have overreacted just a slight bit, but in his defense, how should one act after their sibling is assaulted by a man over five years older than them?
He chewed his lip as he bobbed up and down on the older man's back before they stutteringly came to a halt in front of a fancy mansion. Tanjiro's eyes sparkled; this place was way bigger than his tiny home back in his village.
let alone the sheer swarm of butterflies that swarmed the place—not that it bothered him. His eyes blinked as one lightly landed on his head.
"Hello! Is anyone home?" They called, and Tanjiro raised his head to see if anyone was nearby. "Hello!?"
"Geez, there's no one here," they said, clicking their tongues. They jostled him slightly and said, "Oi, get off now and walk." Tanjiro strained; his body ached like hell, and it had to be from him barely managing to heal before plunging into battles.
"Hah-" He huffed, his movements stiff as rocks, and tried to switch his breathing to the one he used to heal himself faster, though not significantly faster than normal; he was still perfecting it, that's all.
Tanjiro eyed the mansion. "Hm," he hummed, "now that I think about it, this place was called the... butterfly." He trailed off, his face scrunching up as he struggled to recall.
"Ah, there," one of the men called out, and Tanjiro turned to look at where they were facing. His eyes widened as he took in the person in question. "Look, it's Master Kanao Tsuyuri!"
Tanjiro stared, unrestairned and unmigitated, his eyes filled with awe and a hint of fear.
It was the same girl that body-slammed him the other night, or was it last night? He couldn't remember. "Hey," the man called again, and Tanjiro turned to look at him.
They huffed amusedly, "Somebody's forgotten how they got stomped on by Master Kanao last night." They joked about his situation.
"A Tsuguko is a swordsman trained by a Hashira." Tanjiro blinked again. "Only the ones with mind-blowing skills and talent get chosen." He explained, before the other gushed, "She's a girl, but she's so cool!"
"Forgive us, Master Kanao, we were to be brought here by Master Kocho Shinobu!" they say as they enter with a stiff bow in front of the girl.
"May we please enter?" They inquired, but the girl simply smiled back, still projecting a false sense of calm as she pulled a coin from her pocket and began to twiddle with it.
"Can we?" they asked after a brief awkward pause as Tanjiro stood rigidly behind from them, almost as though tucked away into a corner.
Then, from behind them, another unfamiliar voice struck through the air, causing them to jump: "And who are you?" Tanjiro flinched as he came into eye contact with a girl at least his age, if not older.
Her hair was in pigtails; her eyes were wide and blue; but her facial expression was strict and stern, more than he expected from someone so young.
"We were ordered by Master Kocho!" They relay, and the girl huffs, "You've brought an injured person, right?" She asked, and as they nodded affirmatively, she sighed, "Please, come this way."
"Ah..." they mutter before straightening up and saying, "Hai!" and following after her.
Tanjiro doesn't comment as the man pulls him closer and lifts him up, almost as though he were as light as a feather, and trudges along. The halls of the manor are neat and sleek as they welcome them.
Tanjiro eyes dart around; no sign of dust or muck is to be seen. Just as he is about to say something, a familiar whining voice bounces through the walls:
"Five times!" they shriek.
Tanjiro blinks before a smile graces his face as they urge each other closer. The door opens, and he is greeted by a long room, wide and big, probably bigger than his house, with neat rows of fancy steel beds that more often than not cost a fortune.
"I-I gotta take these two times, a day?!" Zenitsu's screeching voice hollers. "And for an entire month at that?!"
He shakes his arms up at the two girls standing beside him. "Look!" He gestures wildly at his legs and arms, which are covered nearly entirely by the pyjamas he wears.
"Look, my arms are fine! I can still swing my sword properly, can't I?" Zenitsu rhetorically asks the two. "I don't think I need to drink this nasty medicine!"
The girl beside him visibly wilts a bit as his volume increases, yet Zenitsu's eyes only prickle with more tears. "Please stop shouting," she kindly asks the boy, and suddenly Tanjiro feels a bit ashamed at the other's antics.
"He's still making a fool of himself, ey?" sighs the girl who led them here, bone weary and exasperated.
"Hey! Hey!" Zenitsu shrieks. "We've told you numerous times; if you continue this, we'll tie you up, seriously!" snaps Aoi.
"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro calls out softly, sweat dropping as the other's head snaps toward him from behind Kakushi, who tensed.
Zenitsu hastily gripped on to the Kakushi's uniform, huffing and sobbing with sweat trickling down his face and snot clogging his nose. "Ey!" The Kakushi cries in disgust, clumsily dropping Tanjiro to his form, though somehow managing to save his fall with a bit of last-minute grabbing.
Tanjiro hissed at the pain in his legs, and he kneeled onto the cot's soft, silky sheet. "T-tanjiro," he sobbed, and Tanjiro fixed his gaze on him. "Are you okay?" he asked, and Zenitsu shook his head.
"No!" he cried out, huffing childishly and waving his hands about. "I got stung by this stinky spider, and the poison hurt like crazy, okay?" he explained unhelpfully. "And now I have to drink this nasty medicine to get my strength back or something!"
"And this girl hasn't stopped yelling at me, help me!" shifted the Kakushi awkwardly, "Oi, don't look at me, I can't do anything."
Tanjiro blinked. "Is that why your arms seem shorter than normal?" Zenitsu sniffled, "Yeah! That guy that helped me apparently saved me from having to take this medicine for even more time, but still!"
Tanjiro hummed, "And where is Inosuke?" He asked, "And Murata-san."
"Eh, I don't know anyone named Murata, but Inosuke's right there," he said, motioning to the quiet and prone form of Inosuke beside him.
Tanjiro gaped. "Wah," he thought, "he's so quiet I didn't even notice him!" gasping the red-haired boy turned to the other, "Inosuke, I'm so glad you're okay!" He shuffled towards him, "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you." Tanjiro apologized, but Inosuke still hadn't even looked at him.
"Yeah, yeah," Inosuke sighed through his mask.
Tanjiro blinked, confused, "Eh, what happened to your voice?" Behind him, Zenitsu sniggered. "I heard he yelled his throat until it was raw during that fight with the father demon; now he can't talk."
"I don't know about you, but I like this version of him; he's so soft and gentle," Zenitsu chuckled.
"Wihihihi!"
Tanjiro cringed at Zenitsu, asking, "Why are you laughing in such a creepy way?" Inosuke grunted, "I'm sorry for being so weak."
"Ah, no Inosuke, it's not your fault." Tanjiro consoled. "Hang in there! You'll be in tip-top shape soon!" he cheered Inosuke on.
Behind them, they could hear Zenitsu beginning to fret, and as Tanjiro moved to settle into the bed beside them, he sighed, "Zenitsu… Inosuke… Thank goodness… You're alive."
Today he would go to sleep early, and tomorrow he would begin his recovery. Tanjiro closed his eyes. His mind began to wander toward the trial this morning.
The master had said Takemitchy would be taken in as his personal student. He pursed his lips in thought. Tanjiro muttered incoherently, "Just what did Takemitchy do?" What had happened in Tanjiro's absence?
As he scrunched his eyes shut tighter, Tanjiro wondered if they'd ever see each other again.