A/N: Long-ass chapter with several changes.
And thanks to Dark Princess Ayane for her letting me use her fanfic idea in this chapter! (More details in the end)
"Message! Message!"
Giyuu's heart skipped several beats at the sudden announcement, coupled with Shinobu's surprise attack at him which occurred almost at the same time.
"I have a message from headquarters!" The crow declared, circling the area just above their heads.
He still dared not look away; the blade at the base of Shinobu's shoe was just a few inches away from his face and even though she had stopped for now due to the crow coming in, he knew her better.
"Tanjiro, Nezuko and Miyasha are to be taken into custody and brought back to the headquarters!" The crow yelled, making him finally look towards the crow.
'To the... headquarters?' Shinobu's eyes widened; this was the first time something like this had ever happened.
"Tanjiro, Nezuko and Miyasha are to be taken into custody and brought back to the headquarters!" The crow repeated as finally Giyuu released Shinobu from his hold, "Tanjiro, dressed in a checkered haori, with a scar on his forehead! Nezuko, a demon girl with a bamboo muzzle! Miyasha, a civilian woman with white kimono!"
Shinobu immediately moved away from Giyuu, looking at him warily for a few seconds as the crow repeated his announcement to bring them back again and again.
'Who is Miyasha, I wonder...' Shinobu sheathed her sword, watching her fellow Hashira doing the same.
"Bring them back! Bring them back!" The crow yelled in the background as both the Hashiras started moving forward without any further exchange of words.
'To the headquarters...' Shinobu pondered on the crow's announcement, 'But why? Was Oyakata-sama aware of this...? And who is the third person the Kasugai menti—' Shinobu's thoughts were interrupted suddenly when she noticed Giyuu deviating from the path.
"Ah, Tomioka-san," she sweetly started, her irritation with his earlier behaviour leaking through her voice, "The path to leave this mountain is in this direction."
Giyuu didn't answered her — as usual — making her even more annoyed by each passing minute.
"Where are you going, Tomioka-san? Trying to escape?" Shinobu asked directly, slowly following him through the forest as he walked through without giving her any proper answer.
'What is he doing...'
"Tomioka-san, if you don't come with me quietly, then I may have to restrain you." She warned seriously, almost going to reach out to him when he answered.
"To her."
"What?"
"She is injured." He softly started, still walking forward with his indifferent expression, "So, I'm going to retrieve her."
"Retrieve whom?" Shinobu asked in mild curiosity, trying her best to bury her growing irritation. Instead of answering, Giyuu merely glanced at her, making Shinobu even more irritated with his lack of answers.
But before she could demand anymore answers from him, they reached a clearing in the forest. It was very evident that the clearing in the forest wasn't a natural one- uprooted and broken trees littered the edge of the clearing and she could easily see a... person tied and hanging from a tree branch.
'He... doesn't feels like a demon.' She frowned, moving towards the hanging body before noticing that her apparent partner had shifted towards the other side.
"Where are you go—" Shinobu's eyes widened slightly when she noticed the other body.
'Is she the third person the Kasugai was talking about?' Shinobu wondered as Giyuu kneeled down beside the fallen girl with white kimono.
She moved towards her as well; silently watching as Giyuu covered the unconscious girl gently with a haori and cautiously gathered her body into his arms.
"Ara, ara, Tomioka-san," Shinobu started as she watched the male stand up with the injured female in his arms, "What are you doing? She's injured— let the Kakushis handle her."
Giyuu looked down at the unconscious body in his arms- she looked a lot smaller now, quite younger than before as well with her smooth expression. He adjusted her carefully in his grip, trying his best to make her head rest on his chest.
Shinobu noticed this, silently moving forward as she adjusted the unknown female's head over his chest and helped him reform his grip on her so that he won't injure her further.
"Who is she, Tomioka-san?" She soberly asked with an unreadable expression, "Why are you carrying her?"
"Oyakata-sama told me to look after her." Shinobu's head snapped at his answer, a lot of things suddenly making sense.
"Is she the one who was...?"
"Yes." Giyuu simply answered, looking down at the unconscious female again. Shinobu followed his gaze, seeing her in a new light this time.
'That is why she is called to the headquarters...' She finally deduced, her eyes softening as she noticed blood running down her lips, 'She doesn't look much older than me...'
"Oh!" A sudden voice made them look back; two Kakushis had arrived the scene and upon noticing the Hashiras, they immediately bowed.
Shinobu waved their greeting away, as they finally got back to inspecting the male tied down from a branch.
"Is he a demon...?" One of the Kakushi wondered out loud.
"He is not." Giyuu replied, grabbing the Kakushi's attention, "He is wearing a mask."
"H-Hai, Hashira-sama!" The Kakushi replied as he and his partner instantly started untying the male slayer.
Giyuu said nothing further, moving back towards the direction they came from, now with the female in his arms. Shinobu quietly followed after him, only stopping once to turn back when she noticed the day break.
The first rays of sunlight made Shinobu's lips curve into a small smile; after such a horrific night, the coral shade of the sky made it almost seem heavenly.
Shinobu gently checked Miyasha's pulse, noticing how cold her hands were.
Her face twisted in a slight frown as she looked down at the unconscious female lying in front of her, 'She needs proper medical attention, but...' She looked around herself, noticing again that any Hashira (aside from herself and Tomioka) were yet to arrive.
It was very early in the morning when the message came in— all the Hashiras were summoned early for their semi-annual pillar meeting, most likely because of the bizarre case of a slayer carrying a demon with himself onto his missions.
Unfortunately, since this woman — Miyasha was her name, wasn't it? — was also asked to be retrieved for the meeting, Shinobu couldn't treat or even look properly into her wounds.
'Hopefully she can be treated soon...' Shinobu feared that the way she was losing blood, she may go into hypovolemic shock by the time the meeting even started.
She suspected for the girl to have at least a few broken ribs, if not several other broken bones. The blood on her kimono also suggested that she was wounded somewhere; alas, Shinobu could do nothing but tightly secure the blue stripped haori around her small figure.
'She needs to be warm or else her body will go into shock even faster.' Shinobu let out a silent sigh, slowly moving away from the young girl in front of her.
Now that she thought about it, Miyasha looked almost of her own age— maybe a bit taller, but almost her height nonetheless. Perhaps she could arrange some fresh kimonos for her; especially since her own was soaked in so much blood that the red overpowered the natural white of the kimono.
Her expression darkened again as she was reminded of her severe injuries.
"Shinobu-chan!" She heard her fellow female Hashira call her name, making her finally look away from the bleeding girl.
She noticed the two new arrivals approaching her— the Love Hashira, Kanaroji Mitsuri, casually jogging towards her while the Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai, cautiously staying back as he eyed the unknown female in the headquarters.
"Ohayo, Mitsuri-chan." Shinobu greeted politely, before smiling at the Serpent Hashira in the back, "Ohayo, Iguro-san."
"Ohayo, Shinobu-chan! Who is she?" Mitsuri asked as she approached near her fellow Hashira, noticing her kneeling beside an unconscious female, "Is she the demon slayer who...?"
"No," Shinobu denied, finally getting off the ground as she answered, "She is a civilian who was found injured during the mountain mission."
"Eh?" Mitsuri's light green eyes widened, "Is she alright?" She instantly asked, looking down at the young female lying on the ground.
"She i—"
"If she's injured," Obanai suddenly started, "What is she doing here?" He directly asked, his tone rather demanding as he eyed the unknown figure lying on the ground beside the female Hashiras.
"Oyakata-sama had sent a message for her retrieval." Shinobu answered honestly, focusing her attention onto adjusting the unconscious female's position against the edge of the porch, to which Mitsuri volunteered as she noticed Shinobu struggling.
"Then, why isn't she restrained?" Obanai demanded, strangely feeling that he was missing something. Somehow, somewhere, this woman didn't feel right and he just couldn't shake that feeling off.
"Because she is injured, Iguro-san." Shinobu replied as they were done readjusting her posture, "Not only that, but she is unconscious as well. That is why I denied the Kakushi restraining her."
Obanai, unfortunately, didn't look much convinced. However, he didn't comment any further as he climbed the tree to claim his favourite spot on the branch.
"I wonder why Oyakata-sama called her here..." Mitsuri mused out loud, staring directly at the unconscious female's face.
'She's so adorable and beautiful!' Mitsuri thought with a slight blush, noticing the rather innocent looking face the female had.
"That's not the important question." Obanai started again as he glared at the figure standing away in his far right, "The main question here is what did Tomioka do?" He turned to Shinobu, his bi-coloured eyes boring into her violet ones, "Did he stopped you from killing that demon, Kocho?"
"Yes, he protected the demon, who is the sister of the demon slayer carrying her." Shinobu answered shortly, peering at Giyuu just as the other two Hashiras did, "Though, he refuses to answer any question regarding why he did so."
Obanai glared at the Water Hashira; but before he could say anything about him, the sound of approaching footsteps cut him off.
He shifted his glare off of Giyuu to the offending arrivers— noticing the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro, approaching the yard with the Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen, in his tow.
"Ohayo, minna-san!" Rengoku greeted everyone, before focusing his gaze on the unknown female just as the Sound Hashira beside him did, "Ah, is she the slayer carrying a demon with her?"
"No, she's not." Shinobu denied again, repeating the same thing she did to Obanai, "She's only a civilian who we found among the survivors of the last mission. Oyakata-sama had sent a message to retrieve her along with Tanjiro, the demon slayer who you are talking about, and Nezuko, the demon he was carrying."
"She's only a civilian? How disappointing..." Uzui commented, peering at the unconscious female in front of them, "But why is she here? Why do you think Oyakata-sama asked for her?"
"Oh! Maybe to recruit her as a demon slayer?!" Mitsuri exclaimed, shying away instantly when she noticed everyone staring at her.
"That might be so." Shinobu agreed as she turned to look back at the unconscious female, "Some of the survivors of the last mission mentioned a doctor treating them— many of them have severe injuries, and could've died if they hadn't been treated."
"You think she is the doctor?" Rengoku asked, his eyes shining in admiration at the deed this civilian female had possibly done.
"I do." Shinobu simply replied, "Although, I am not sure."
"If she saved those demon slayers as a civilian in the demon's nest, then she's very flamboyant!" Uzui exclaimed.
The corner of Shinobu's mouth twitched at the Sound Hashira's encouragement, before Obanai interjected with his perspective on the topic.
"Or maybe the quality of the demon slayers have dropped really low." He commented from his position on the branch, "There were many casualties in the mountain mission, weren't there? And it wasn't even an Upper demon moon."
Everyone agreed with his statement, though no one vocalized their agreement on it.
"Um," Mitsuri hesitantly started, looking away shyly as she grabbed everyone's attention, "Are we here to discuss the penalty for that slayer...?"
"It does seems so." Shinobu answered sweetly.
"Then, where is he?" Rengoku asked good-naturedly, his gold-red irises focusing on her.
"I believe that the Kakushis would bring him here in a few minutes." Shinobu replied.
"Eh?" Mitsuri tilted her head slightly, "He's not here yet?"
"No, he is being transported along with the other survivors of the mountain mission."
"Then, how is she here so..." Mitsuri looked back at the unconscious female, "...early?"
"Well, Tomioka-san carried her here." Shinobu answered sweetly, making everyone turn to the Water Hashira in surprise.
"Tomioka carried her?" Obanai asked in disbelief, his heterochromatic eyes narrowing in suspicion, "What relation do you have with her, Tomioka?"
Giyuu didn't even seem to hear his question.
As the Serpent Hashira's annoyance grew with the Water Hashira, others heard yet another pair of footsteps.
'Hopefully this turns out well.' Shinobu wished, as she saw the remaining two Hashiras entering the headquarters along with a Kakushi following them with Tanjiro on this back.
"Wake up." The Kakushi called, "Hey, I said wake up!" He discreetly peeked at the Hashiras near him before vigorously trying to wake Tanjiro up again, "Wake... Hey! Hey you! Wake up! C'mon! How long are you going to sleep?! Wake the hell up, will you?"
Slowly the young demon slayer came to his senses, his eyes opening wide as he noticed someone calling at him.
"Bummer~" a voice disappointingly started, "I heard he was a Demon slayer with a demon in tow... So, I was looking forward to seeing someone flamboyant, but that's one drab-looking dude, huh?"
"Ume! And now, we'll put this boy on trial!" Another voice echoed near him.
"Wh-Who are these peop—" Tanjiro started, though the Kakushi near him pushed his head back onto the ground.
"Don't open your mouth just yet, you moron! Just who do you think is standing before you?" The Kakushi reprimanded him somewhat loudly, "You're in the presence of the Hashiras!" He declared, confusing Tanjiro as he was not yet familiar with the term, yet alone the significance of it.
'Who are these people exactly?' He thought, his head and vision still muddled from just waking up, 'Where am I now?'
"Before we start the trail," Shinobu started, Tanjiro immediately recognizing her as the lady from before, "Why don't you explain the crime you've comm—"
"There's no need for a trail!" Rengoku interjected, surprising Shinobu.
"Eh?"
"Protecting a demon is a clear violation of the code!" He declared confidently, "We're within our rights to deal with him on our own! We're about to behead him along with the demon!"
Uzui agreed, as he enthusiastically added, "In that case, I'll be glad to decapitate him flamboyantly. I'll show you the most flamboyant blood-spray you'll ever see. I'm talking about max flamboyance."
Mitsuri, however, looked conflicted over all this.
'Ehh? You'd kill such an adorable child?' She thought with despair, 'That pains my heart! It fills me with anguish!'
"Ah, what a pitiful sight this boy is." The Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei, said as tears streamed down his face, "The poor soul... I pity him for having been born at all."
However, the Mist Hashira, Tokito Muichiro, didn't seemed to be focused on the ongoing ordeal at all; instead, he stared at the clouds overhead.
Tanjiro's head slowly cleared as the memories of the previous night flooded in; his eyes widening as he remembered about his sister being attacked.
'Where is Nezuko?' He looked around in urgency, his mind racing with thoughts and worries about his sister and his friends.
"Hey you..." the Kakushi started, looking down at the fallen boy beside him, "The Hashiras are speaking. What are you looking at?"
"Hashira..."
"These are the nine highest-ranking swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps." The Kakushi finished, finally making Tanjiro realize the significance of the position.
"Let's put him out of his misery..." Himejima started, to which Uzui immediately replied, "Yeah! Let's do it flamboyantly!"
"Nezuko..." Tanjiro's mind was still stuck on one thing, "Nezuko, where are you?" He asked to no one, gradually dragging his upper body up into a sitting position.
"Nezuko!" He called out, his head spinning from him suddenly sitting up, "Miyasha-san! Zenitsu!" He turned his gaze around, trying to spot his companions in his immediate surroundings, "Inosuke! Murata-san—"
Tanjiro's eyes widened as he noticed Miyasha's figure lying there against the porch to his right, "Miyasha-san!" He called out her name again, his tone a strange mixture of relief and worry.
Though, before anyone could question him about it, Obanai's voice rang through the yard, "Forget that. What will we do with Tomioka?" He questioned, Tanjiro finally spotting the source of the voice sitting on top of a tree branch, "Seeing him there without any restraints is giving me a headache." He pointed at the man standing on the further right of the Hashiras, "Based on what Kochou told us, Tomioka's just as guilty of breaking the Corps rules."
Tanjiro's eyes drifted towards the direction the striped-haori man was pointing at, "How should we make him take responsibility? What kind of lesson should we teach him?" He asked rather eagerly, "Don't you have anything to say, Tomioka?" He questioned the Water Hashira, who didn't reacted either way.
'No...' Tanjiro thought guiltily as he looked at Giyuu, 'Because of me, Tomioka-san...' His eyes then shifted towards Miyasha, his heart clenching in guilt as he stared at her unconscious form, 'Even Miyasha-san...'
Everyone turned to look at Giyuu, though, not really expecting much of a reply from him.
Mitsuri, however, admired Obanai's usual approach before turning to Giyuu and admiring him as well.
"Ah, where's the harm? He did come along without resisting." Shinobu amiably defended, "Let's come up with a penalty later."
"What I'm more interested in," she continued, "Is hearing this boy's story. The reason he's going on missions with a demon in tow despite being a Demon Slayer... I'd like to hear the explanation from the boy himself. Needless to say, what he's done is against the Demon Slayer Corps rules." She said, before turning to him, "You're aware of that, aren't you?"
Tanjiro looked at her with flickering gaze as she softly called out his name and asked his reasoning for the criminal conduct again.
Uzui gripped the hilt of his swords, "No need to ask."
"You can take your time." Shinobu ignored Uzui, "Just tell us why."
Tanjiro's heart was beating rapidly as he tried to speak— but he soon started coughing due to his throat feeling strangely dry.
Shinobu approached him as she retrieved her water bottle, "I do believe you need some water." She kindly offered him her bottle as she kneeled in front of him. Tanjiro instantly bit the mouth of the bottle and flipped it, gulping as much water as he could with his hands bound behind his back.
"You've injured your jaw, so please drink slowly." Shinobu advised, "It contains a painkiller; so, it will make you feel better."
Tanjiro gasped loudly once he was done drinking, drops of water could still be seen dripping down from his chin.
"The demon is my younger sister." Tanjiro announced sincerely, "While I was away, my family was attacked by a demon... and when I reached home, they were all dead!" He looked down at the ground, his eyes turning moist as he continued, "My sister turned into a demon, but she's never devoured anyone! She never has... and never will! She'll never hurt human, no matter what!" Tanjiro boldly declared, which somewhat agitated Obanai.
"Spare us your absurd ravings." He interjected, his eyes glinting down at Tanjiro, "If she's family, no wonder you are defending her. I can't trust a single word you are saying. I, for one, don't believe you."
"If her being his family is the issue," an unknown voice echoed, "Then, could my word count on the ground of me not being related to them?" Bluish-violet eyes greeted their sight as they turned to the source of the voice.
Miyasha smiled kindly at the attention she received, trying to keep her face devoid of any emotions she was actually feeling at that moment— because if anything she was feeling right now, it was that she shouldn't be here at all.
'Where did I mess up?' She ruminated, still keeping a general eye contact with the Hashiras standing in front of her, 'What should I now—'
"Miyasha-san!" Tanjiro suddenly called out her name, his voice almost cracking at the end.
Miyasha turned towards the worried slayer, smiling softly in reassurance as she gave a slight nod towards him.
'Don't worry, I'm fine.'
"And who are you?" Obanai's question snapped her attention back to the present. She tried to find the face to the voice and found the speaker sitting rather leisurely on a tree. She smiled softly at him, all the while thinking her answer through before she even opened her mouth.
Giyuu watched the whole scene by the corner of his eyes, avoiding to show any kind of interest in them— the other Hashiras were already suspicious of his relationship with them, and the last thing he wanted was to make it harder on them by showing interest in the overall situation.
"I am Sarota Miyasha, a... travelling doctor, if you may call me so." Miyasha introduced herself with a small smile, forcing herself to relax her posture, "Please forgive me for my earlier rudeness, Hashira-sama."
"You know we are Hashiras?" Shinobu asked, her dark violet eyes meeting Miyasha's slightly bluer ones.
"Ah, I do." Miyasha replied simply. When she didn't give any further information, Shinobu pressed her by asking her how she knew about them.
"I heard the term as I was waking up." She told the half-truth, "But I assure you, I did not receive any further knowledge other than that."
Miyasha then closed her eyes and took a deep breath; her heart was thundering in her chest and her head had a very sharp ache that she just couldn't ignore.
'It's not the time for that.' She reminded herself, opening her eyes immediately to avoid any suspicion building up against her, 'I can't lie to them— they'll know immediately if I did, with all their enhanced abilities and experience.' She turned to look towards Tanjiro once more, checking him for bleeding or any physical injuries, 'The only way we can get out of it unharmed is by sticking to the plot or at least answering as honestly as I can.' She looked away from him once she was sure he didn't had any severe injuries— the only ones visible were the cuts on his face.
Unfortunately, her presence here had already started altering many things.
"What did you mean by your first statement, Sarota-san?" Shinobu asked amiably, but Miyasha knew better. She was pushing her for answers, trying to decipher who she was.
"As I stated earlier, I'm a travelling doctor, Hashira-sama." Miyasha started lightly, keeping the smile on her face small and kind, "I came across Tanjiro-kun several weeks prior to his recent mission— when he was injured and had several broken bones. As a token of gratitude for him helping me, I had decided to travel along with him onto his missions until he fully recovered. During that period, I had come to the knowledge of him carrying a demon despite being a slayer of those creatures himself; but not even once did the demon attacked or hindered any human in her presence— even when I was treating some in front of her."
Her smile widened involuntarily as she added, "As a matter of fact, Nezuko-chan even went as far as protecting the human in her near vicinity— almost treating them like her family, if I were to speculate."
"Do you even know what demon slayers stand for?" Obanai spat out, his eyes narrowing at the only non-slayer in the yard, "Or even what a dem—"
"Please listen to us!" Tanjiro cut him off in desperation; he couldn't stand anyone insulting Miyasha because of him, "I became a swordsman so that Nezuko could be cured! It's been two years since Nezuko became a demon, and she hasn't devoured a single human in all that time!" He confessed, looking directly looking into Shinobu's eyes.
"Your story's spinning in the most drab way possible." Uzui stated, his eyes shifting from Tanjiro to Miyasha, "The fact the she hasn't eaten anyone does not means she won't from now on— her protecting a few humans won't account for if, or when she attacks one in hunger. Don't just give us your lip service— prove it to us with max flamboyance."
'He didn't reject our claim of her not eating anyone...' Miyasha noticed as she caught the Sound Hashira's gaze, 'Is he considering our side...?'
"Um," Mitsuri started, shifting her eyes away to the ground as she spoke, "I do have my doubts, you know. I just can't imagine Oyakata-sama being in the dark about this situation."
She raised her gaze up to notice everyone staring at her, "Do you really think it's okay to deal with this without his permission?" She asked to no one, staring right up ahead as everyone pondered on her very valid question, "Shouldn't we at least wait until he arrives?"
"My sister..." Tanjiro started, his voice getting louder with every word he spoke, "My sister will fight with me by my side! She can fight as a Demon Slayer to protect humans! So please..."
"Oi, oi," a deep voice interrupted, grabbing everyone's attention to himself, "I see you have some fun brewing here."
Giyuu stared at the new arrival by the corner of his eyes, not letting any emotion cross his face as he kept watching the whole situation play out.
"Is that the moron slayer who has a demon with him?" The Wind Hashira, Shinazugawa Sanemi, asked rhetorically as he held the wooden box in his left hand, "What the hell are you trying to pull here?"
Tanjiro's heart thundered in his chest as he noticed the box Nezuko was in; Miyasha as well was feeling something similar to Tanjiro as she watched the plot play before her.
"This won't do, Shinazugawa-sama!" A panicked Kakushi followed him, asking him to leave the box as politely as she could, "Please, would you mind putting down that box?"
Shinobu finally stood up from her kneeled position— her expression turning graver and she faced the Wind Hashira, "Shinazugawa-san, please don't act out of line." She subtly warned, hoping that he would understand.
'Shinobu-chan looks pretty angry! That's so unusual!' Mitsuri thought, blushing slightly as she stared at the Insect Hashira's back, 'She's so cool!'
"What did you say about that demon, kid?" Sanemi ignored Shinobu, focusing only on Tanjiro as he continued, "That she can fight as a Demon Slayer to protect humans? You know what we call that...?" He asked softly, while taking out his sword and yelling, "A total delusion, you moron!" He then proceeded to stab it through the wooden box without any hesitation.
Blood poured out of the other end of sword as it pierced through the box, in turn, piercing through Nezuko as well. Miyasha's heart stopped for a second as Tanjiro stood instantly and approached the Wind Hashira.
"Tanjiro—" she called out, but was ignored as Tanjiro yelled in anger.
"Anyone who hurts my sister..." he started, his blood boiling as he continued staring at the pierced box, "Hashira or not, I won't let you get away with it!"
"Tanjiro!" Miyasha called out again, "Calm down! Don't do anything rash—"
"Is that right?" Sanemi chuckled sarcastically as he drew his sword out of that box, flinging it through the air to get the blood off of it, "Good for you!"
"Stop it!" Giyuu finally interjected, his expression twisted with worry and anger, "Oyakata-sama will be arriving soon!" He declared, making Sanemi distracted just for a second as Tanjiro yelled and sprinted towards him.
Sanemi swung his sword at him at the last moment, but Tanjiro avoided it by jumping high up in the air, before bringing his head down on Sanemi— effectively slamming his forehead onto Sanemi's head, making blood pour out of the Hashira's nose.
Everyone stared as the two males who fell down after the ordeal; the whole thing happening so suddenly that it took everyone a few seconds to comprehend it.
Mitsuri let out a short laugh— immediately apologizing and covering her face when everyone turned to look at her in confusion.
Giyuu, however, was not amused— and neither was Miyasha, as she glared at the two slayers on the ground.
'I can't do anything here though...' She bitterly thought, 'This is the plot playing out... I can't change it... I shouldn't change it... But...'
Tanjiro placed himself in front of the wooden box— clutching its straps in both his palms as Sanemi recovered from the blow Tanjiro dealt on his head.
"If you can't tell the difference between good demons and bad demons," Tanjiro snapped, "You should just quit being a Hashira!"
"You little..." Sanemi glared at the young slayer in front of him, "I'll destroy you!" He declared with a menacing smile as he picked up his sword.
'No...' The dread in Miyasha's heart spread to her entire body as she watched the white-haired male ready to swing his sword down on Tanjiro, 'Absolutely not—'
Shinobu's eyes widened as a blur passed by her— her eyes following Miyasha as she blocked Sanemi's swords with her closed fans and placed herself between the Wind Hashira and the bound slayer.
'Such speed...' was the first thought that crossed Shinobu's mind as she watched the bleeding woman push Sanemi back with all her strength and immediately kneel down in front of Tanjiro as she opened her fans defensively.
Tanjiro's eyes widened as he stared at Miyasha's back in front of him— the smell of blood from her was stronger than ever as she covered him protectively from the crazed Hashira.
'Miyasha-san...' Tanjiro's eyes watered as the bittersweet smell of her love and protectiveness for him wafted to his nose, 'I'm sorry for dragging you into this...'
Sanemi stared at the unfamiliar female in front of him, his mind baffled at her sudden appearance. Her fierce bluish-violet eyes met his own— and just for a moment, he was reminded of the wisteria growing along the garden near the headquarters. She completely covered the boy with her figure, holding what seemed like a fan made from nichirin blades in front of her in defense.
He even noticed her hands tremble slightly— which she did as well, immediately seizing it as she stared back at him with a strange fire in her wisteria-coloured eyes.
'Who the hell is she?'
"Please..." she softly requested, not moving her eyes away from his own, "Please refrain from injuring him any further, Hashira-sama."
She could feel everyone staring at her— but Miyasha couldn't care less. Tanjiro was her only priority at that moment, and she won't let anyone hurt him. No— not even on her dead body.
'I can't risk it, God fucking dammit.' She cursed as she aggressively stopped herself from her involuntary shivering, 'My being here has already changed things— I can't fucking risk it being any worse in any way possible.' Not to mention that she didn't remember this scene being the part of the manga at all— what if her being here actually had made Sanemi behead him, if she hadn't stepped up in time?
Just as Miyasha suspected, almost everyone was staring at her in surprise— everyone except the Insect Hashira, who was staring directly at the Water Hashira in suspicion.
'He knew she had weapons...' Shinobu concluded as she went through all that happened this morning— him covering her with a haori, carrying her to the headquarters and even going as far as gently laying her down on the ground when Shinobu asked to look at her once.
But the question was why did he do that— Shinobu didn't restrain her due to her injuries, and she accepted that as a blunder on her part to not check her even once for her weapons; but why didn't Giyuu said anything about it? Why was he going this far to protect her...?
Before anything further could happen, two girls with white hair came into the open room in the mansion and declared the arrival of 'Oyakata-sama', making everyone turn towards them.
Oyakata-sama slowly approached the yard from within the mansion, his footsteps so soft that it couldn't even be heard.
"So good of you to come..." he softly started as he became more and more visible, "...my beloved children."
Tanjiro suddenly felt someone gripping his right arm; as he looked up to who it was, he noticed bluish-violet eyes staring down at him with a strange seriousness.
"Wha—"
"Bow." She commanded, leaving no room for him to argue as she dragged him beside her. As he followed her direction, he noticed that every single one of the Hashiras were kneeling down on one knee and bowing in respect of the 'Oyakata-sama'.
His eyes shifted towards the female in his right, noticing how Miyasha bowed in a similar manner.
'She noticed and adapted so quickly...' Tanjiro thought as he shifted his attention towards the new arrival.
The girls quickly closed the doors just as the man in black kimono arrived and immediately moved to guide him to the porch by holding his hand.
"Ohayo, minna." He greeted everyone with his soothing voice, "The weather is amazing today. I wonder if the sky is blue." He wondered out loud, before moving his gaze around the yard, "It pleases me that we've made it to our semi-annual Hashira meeting with no personnel changes."
'Wounded.' Was the first thing that popped up in Tanjiro's head when he came face to face with the new arrival, 'No, is he sick? So, that man's the Master?' He wondered, as the Wind Hashira started speaking.
"I am pleased to see you in good health as well, Oyakata-sama." Sanemi said sincerely, "I fervently pray for your continued good fortune."
"Arigato, Sanemi." Oyakata-sama replied, a small smile playing on his lips as the two girls helped him sit down on the porch.
'I wanted to say that...!' Mitsuri thought shyly, 'I wanted to offer my greetings to Oyakata-sama, too!'
"If I may Oyakata-sama," Sanemi started, finally looking up to the older male sitting on the porch, "There is a slayer present in the Hashira meeting today by the name of Kamado Tanjiro, who has been travelling with a demon for past few missions. Would you allow me to explain the scenario?"
Tanjiro stared at the white-haired man in surprise— the way he behaved a few minutes ago and the way he behaved now were so drastically different that Tanjiro almost couldn't believe the formal yet polite words that came out of his mouth right now.
"I see." Oyakata-sama serenely started, "I apologize for startling you all. About Tanjiro and Nezuko... I've sanctioned their situation. So, I want everyone here to accept them." He declared, surprising every single demon slayer present there.
"Ah... even if it's what you desire, Oyakata-sama..." Himejima started, joining his hands once again and bringing it closer to his chest, "...I am reluctant to give consent."
Uzui pointed towards himself and declared his disagreement as well, "A demon slayer travelling with a demon is unacceptable— even if the demon hasn't devoured anyone, yet!"
Miyasha sighed at his statement; she didn't know why she expected anything different from him.
"I will abide with all your accordances, Oyakata-sama!" Mitsuri replied sweetly, while Tokito off-handedly replied, "Either way's fine with me... since I'm going to forget anyway."
"I don't trust them." Obanai blatantly declared, "We all hate demons to begin with."
"Although I respect you from deep within my heart," Rengoku's tone was honest and firm as he declared, "But that's an incomprehensible notion, Oyakata-sama! I completely oppose this!"
"The Demon Slayer Corps' mission is to annihilate demons. I request that you penalize both Kamado and Tomioka!" Sanemi made his opinion clear.
Miyasha silently observed as Giyuu and Shinobu refused to give their views— Giyuu's opinion was very obvious by then but Shinobu's...
'She really wants to give them a chance, huh?' She mused as she kept her head down and avoided any kind of attention on her for the while, 'Hopefully, it's not just because of her sister's views...'
After a beat of silence, Oyakata-sama asked for a letter from the girl on his right.
The girl took out a letter from her floral printed haori and started reading an extract from it after announcing that the letter in her hand was written by the former Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji. Tanjiro's eyes widened as he heard his teacher's name.
"Please allow Tanjiro to be accompanied by his sister, a demon." She read, her voice as clear as the sky above them, "Because of her resilient mental strength, Nezuko has not lost her human emotions. Even in a starved state, she never devoured a human and this has held true more than two years later. Although the situation seems somewhat far-fetched, it is an indisputable fact. In the event that Nezuko does assault a human, Kamado Tanjiro, as well as Urokodaki Sakonji and Tomioka Giyuu will atone by committing seppuku."
Tears dripped from Tanjiro's eyes as he stared at the stoic Water Hashira— his heart warming over once again as he realized that he wasn't standing alone in all this.
Even Shinobu looked at Giyuu in surprise, not believing how much he was putting on line for this boy and his sister.
"So, what if they commit seppuku?" Sanemi spat after a beat of silence, "If they want to die, then they can rot to death for all I care! It's no guarantee! Not by a long shot!"
"Shinazugawa is right!" Rengoku agreed, "If she kills and devours a human, there's no coming back from that! The people who got killed will never come back!"
"That is very true." Oyakata-sama agreed as well, "They can't guarantee or prove that she won't attack people, but you can't prove she'll attack someone either."
A wry smile appeared on Miyasha's face as she watched everything unravel— even if she didn't want to be involved in all this, she couldn't deny that she was enjoying watching this happen while being a spectator in the front row.
"The fact that Nezuko has refrained from devouring humans for more than two years and also that there are three people risking their lives for her; to reject this notion, those who reject it must offer an even more convincing argument." Oyakata-sama continued, "Do you all have the will to do so?"
Sanemi and Rengoku remained silent; they didn't had any convincing argument against that yet, but Sanemi refused to give up.
"Also, there's something I'd like to relay to you, my children." Oyakata-sama informed, "Tanjiro and Miyasha here, have met Kibutsuji."
Miyasha's heart dropped when she heard her name leave his lips— everyone's sudden attention on her and Tanjiro made her feel even more queasy than she was already feeling.
"That's impossible!" Uzui blurted out in disbelief, "We Hashiras have never even come into contact with him...! And these two...?!"
Everyone turned their gazes at the two of them— burning curiosity filled their eyes as questions came flooding out while Mitsuri fell down on the ground in surprise as she tried to turn to them.
"What did he look like? What about his powers?" Uzui enthusiastically asked, giving no time for them to reply, "Where did this take place?" He even stood up in excitement, standing just behind Rengoku as everyone leaned towards the pair with questions.
"Did you battle him?" Tokito asked as well, his tone rather innocent and curious.
Before anyone could ask anything further, Sanemi grabbed Miyasha's right arm — who was sitting just on his left — without a moment's notice and jerked her towards him as he demanded the answers to his own questions.
"What was Kibutsuji doing?" He asked viciously, his hold tightening even further as he gazed at her with a crazed look, "Did you find his strength-hold?" He directed his question to the bound slayer on her left.
"Shut up! I asked them fir—"
"—We didn't fight him!" Miyasha firmly stated, glaring at the Wind Hashira once she recovered from her surprise, "Do you really think that demon would even waste his energy fighting us— let alone, even using his full powers on us?!" She fiercely jerked her arm away from the scarred-man, feeling a bit light-headed as she continued glaring at him.
Oyakata-sama pressed a finger to his lips— effectively simmering down the excited Hashira's into silence. Everyone bowed their heads again; giving Miyasha and Tanjiro a break from the flood of questions.
Miyasha's frown loosened as the attention went away from her— her lips even twitched when she noticed Giyuu helping Mitsuri to sit back up.
"Kibutsuji had sent pursuers after Tanjiro." Oyakata-sama explained, "Though his purpose may simply be to silence him, now that Kibutsuji's given himself away for the first time, I don't want to let go."
"And this goes for Miyasha as well." Miyasha's heart skipped a beat when he said her name, "I believe coming across a dokuchi after so many years not only stands to be disadvantageous for him, but also unexpected, especially accounting for the unforeseen changes seen in Nezuko at the same time. Do you understand?"
'What did he called me?' Miyasha's mind raced with thoughts; her hands becoming even clammier and her head muddled as she her breath gradually shortened, 'Dokuchi? Poison blood? Does that means he knows about my bloo—'
"No, I don't understand, Oyakata-sama." Sanemi growled, pulling Miyasha successfully out to the current situation, "We can let humans live, but not demons. I cannot give my consent! Not after all that we demon slayers have gone through in battle! Not after so many people have lost their lives!" Sanemi's body shook with anger as he relayed his next words, "It's unacceptable!"
'He is not wrong...' Miyasha mused as she gazed at the male in her right, feeling slightly calmer than before, 'But he's not right either... at least about this one.'
Without a moment's notice, Sanemi took out his sword and sliced open his arm, making everyone's eyes widen at his sudden act.
"Oyakata-sama!" Sanemi called, rising his wounded arm up as he continued, "I will prove it to you myself— the sheer ugliness of a demon!"
"Sanemi..."
Sanemi stood up from his kneeling position— instantly pulling the wooden box lying in the back and stepping on it as he pushed it to the front in everyone's clear view.
"Hey, demon! It's time to eat!" He snarled, letting his blood drip off of his wound onto the box, "Sink your teeth in this!"
"Nezuko...!" Tanjiro watched in horror as the blood dripped on the box, causing Nezuko to make scratching sounds from within.
"No need to force yourself to hold back. Just show us your true colours and I'll obliterate you right here!"
"Shinazugawa," Obanai called him, "You can't do it in the sunlight. The demon won't come out unless you go to the shade."
"Oyakata-sama... Forgive me for my rudeness." He apologized before leaping into the house, effectively finding a shaded place for Nezuko to come out. He then proceeded to throw the box carelessly on the floor, immediately moving to stab his sword through it.
"STOP IT!" Tanjiro screamed, attempting to stand up before Miyasha held him back.
"Calm down, Tanjiro!" She almost hissed, her face twisted in an angry frown but he could still smell the worry from her, "Don't just jump into it like an idiot! You'll just get your sister and yourself in even more trouble if you do anything like that right now— if you trust her even a little bit, let her prove herself without any of your interference!"
Tanjiro reluctantly nodded, even though he disagreed with her— he knew what she said was right and that she would never want any harm upon them, but... He hesitantly looked ahead, watching silently as Sanemi finally opened the box, releasing Nezuko out of the box.
Everyone watched with rapt attention as Nezuko stood up from her box.
"Nezuko..."
"What's the matter, demon? Come on!" Sanemi taunted her, watching menacingly as saliva dripped from her muzzled mouth, "You know you want it."
Nezuko stared at the wounded hand in determination and self-control— but it wasn't the blood she was seeing.
'She's my sister!' Nezuko heard her brother exclaim in her memories as he cradled her in his arms protectively while the snow fell, 'She's my younger sister! She's different! Though, I don't know how it happened!'
'Younger... sister?'
Nezuko could still remember her family so clearly; her sickly father sitting in the kitchen to give her cooking mother company, Shigeru playing with Takeo and Hanako as Rokuta tugged her kimono, asking to be carried—
And finally... Tanjiro-nii-chan...
Protect humans.
'Humans are to be protected and saved. Never hurt them.' Someone whispered to her, 'I... will never hurt them.'
Tanjiro's resolve crumbled as he watched Nezuko's determined, but struggling expression. He started moving towards her again, but this time, it was the Serpent Hashira who stopped him.
In a blink of an eye, Obanai slammed down the bound slayer and pinned him under the pressure of his elbow, making the young bound slayer gasp painfully.
Miyasha moved forward to free Tanjiro from Obanai's grasp, but froze when she felt Nezuko's demonic aura inflate.
On pure instinct, she went to grab Obanai's haori— but he moved aside instantly, causing her to instead focus on Tanjiro and drag him away from his current position.
Within the next second, the wooden box Nezuko was in before, came flinging down on where they laid just a moment earlier.
Miyasha stared at the box for a solid two minutes while the others stared at a huffing and sweating Nezuko, who still looked very agitated.
"Nezuko..." Tanjiro softly whispered her name, noticing how she turned to him after glaring at Obanai.
Nezuko's shoulders sagged in relief as she stared at her brother, tears involuntarily leaking from her eyes from relief as she noticed her brother and Miyasha being relatively safe and unharmed.
"Nezuko...!" Tanjiro's yell and him moving off from her side finally made Miyasha come back to her senses, though her eyes still portrayed a huge amount of disbelief at the whole ordeal.
'This... was definitely not in the plot...' Miyasha thought as she watched Tanjiro sit at the edge of porch, trying to comfort his demon sister as she cried.
"No, Nezuko! Don't come out in the sunlight!" Tanjiro yelled as he noticed her moving towards him, "You'll get burned if you do! I'm fine, I'm fine..."
Sanemi looked at the pair of siblings with outmost surprise and confusion— not only did the demon girl ignore his marechi blood, but also proceeded to focus on her brother entirely instead of her own well-being.
"What just happened?" Oyakata-sama asked his two daughters once he heard the commotion die down.
"The demon girl threw her wooden box at Iguro-sama as she noticed him pinning her brother down painfully." One of the white-haired twin replied, while the other continued for her, "Although she'd been stabbed three times by Shinazugawa-sama and despite his flaunting of his bloody arm in her face, she restrained herself and did not bite. She turned to worry about her brother's well-being instead."
"So now, it's been proven that Nezuko won't attack human, right?" Oyakata-sama asked good-naturedly before turning towards where he heard the bound slayer at the edge of the porch, "Tanjiro, please forgive me for making your sister cry." Tanjiro blinked in surprise at the sudden apology, "Your sister has shown a huge amount of determination and restrain, but unfortunately there still may be some who can't accept Nezuko even after this. You must prove it to them now starting now, that you and Nezuko can fight as Demon Slayers. That you can be useful."
Tanjiro immediately moved backwards and bowed, feeling like... like he was warm and floating.
"Go out, defeat a Twelve Demon Moon and you'll be accepted by all. It will give more weight to your words."
"I..." Tanjiro started in high spirits, "Nezuko and I will defeat Kibutsuji Muzan! Nezuko and I will do it for sure—"
Miyasha shook her head at his high goal, smiling softly at the lovingly-stupid boy.
'You still need more training for that, doofus. At your current state, you are not even ready to face a Demon Moon on your own.' She thought, amused and slightly embarrassed for him as Oyakata-sama pointed the same thing out to Tanjiro.
Almost all the Hashiras either let out an amused grin or a short chuckle as Tanjiro tuned red at the realization.
"It goes without saying that the Hashiras of the Demon Slayer Corps have phenomenal skills." Oyakata-sama continued, "After training themselves to death, they have defeated the Twelve Demon Moon and have defied death itself."
"Yes!" Rengoku agreed, "That's a good attitude to have!"
"That is why Hashiras receive respect and preferential treatment. So, Tanjiro, mind your manners when you speak." Oyakata-sama concluded.
"H-Hai, Oyakata-sama."
"One more thing," Oyakata-sama started again, "Sanemi, Obanai— don't torment the younger ones too much." He amiably scolded, "And you shouldn't make a girl cry."
Miyasha instantly covered her mouth to avoid the laughter escape through her lips— Sanemi and Obanai's faces were comically red and she just couldn't help herself from having a laugh or two.
And the same went for the other Hashiras who almost had a same reaction as her.
"Right!" Rengoku agreed, a sly smile curving on his lips, "You should never make any girl cry!"
Shinobu genuinely let out a few laughs at that, amiably adding how one should be punished for this.
Miyasha shook her head at the bizarre ordeal, thinking how the plot came to this. Was it because she was here? Or was there some other reason?
'How much am I really effecting the plot?'
"Tanjiro, we have concluded our business with you." Oyakata-sama declared with an amiable smile, before vaguely turning towards his left hand side, "Miyasha?"
Miyasha's heart dropped when she heard her name leave his lips— the reality of her own position as well as her intrusion finally coming back to her.
"Welcome to the Demon Slayer Headquarters." He smiled at her warmly, "Although... it may have been a bit late for that. I hope you forgive me for not welcoming you earlier."
'What the hell is happening here...?' Miyasha silently stared at the older man, trying desperately to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, 'If there is anyone up there, please give me some strength to handle this.'
Hey there, folks!
The 'Nezuko throwing the box on Obanai' idea came from the fanfic "A Sister's love and care" on by Dark Princess Ayane! Of course I have adapted it according to my own story but some of the elements remain the same! So, if ya wanna read the original version, go ahead and do so!
Also, please forgive me for the lateness of this chapter— I didn't expect it to take this long; or even be this long.
Though, hopefully you enjoyed it! I'll be updating the next chapter and the last part of this arc within the next two days; so, stay tuned!
Now, let's move onto the review replies!
Einklley: Okay, okay, you actually gave me a very dope idea to solve this paradox of a relationship— and no, I ain't showing her to be a widow or something before she married Muzan. And that's cause of two reasons; the first one being that remarriages were not that common in that era in the whole of Asia, not just Japan and especially if we are talking about a widow with a child— she was instead expected to dedicated the rest of her life to her child and her husband's family and all that. And even if I account for the divorcee, that'll be even rarer since broken marriages are still condemned in Japan at this time; during that era it would have been a massive issue. Trust me, I had to do a whole lot of research on Japanese history because of this fanfic alone, lol. The second reason is that I don't wanna start that trap hole and neither would you like that, trust me. Remarriages were rare but did happen and even that was to unite two powerful families and stuff and that's a rabbit whole I ain't gonna jump in. Instead, I have an even better idea (thanks to you, dear!) but one thing I did wanna say— don't underestimate the extent that demon can go to find the blue spider lily :'V
samuelpatricio96: Aww, thank you for the reassurance, dear! The thing is, I really wanna stay true to the manga— at least as much as I can xD But I'll do remember it!
Onigiriri: Thank you for supporting me here as well, dear! And I really hope you find this chapter exciting xD
And that's all for this chapter, folks!Thank you so much for your reviews! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well!
Please review if you want to— I love reading from you guys, and honestly, it motivates me like no other :D
Stay safe and stay healthy!
