Kimetsu no Yaiba doesn't belong to me. This story is a translation of another fanfic of mine. I hope you like it!

The recent events had forced Ubuyashiki to organize an emergency meeting with the Pillars. The appearance of Kibutsuji after more than three centuries of eluding them was an opportunity that the Head of the Demon Hunters was not going to let slip away.

They had no indication that he would reappear, and he was concerned about the interest he had shown in the two sisters, although it was not surprising to him. He tightened his lips, serious and, with the help of his two eldest daughters, continued to advance towards the room where the meeting would take place.

There were already the nine Pillars and the two apprentices who had encountered the Demon King waiting there. He wanted to hear in person what they had to report.

As soon as they saw him, the eleven knelt down and looked down as he approached and, with the help of Nichika, one of his daughters, sat on the red cushion that was there. He increasingly relied on his family to move around, and although the fact that his enemy had finally appeared was a relief, he doubted that he would see him defeated; the disease would end his life before that.

"Good afternoon, my dear Pillars," he greeted with a slight smile. "It must be a beautiful day today."

"We're glad to see you, boss," Shinobu replied immediately. The fact that he was there before them was a relief. The decomposition marks on his face covered him almost completely by now, although none of those present would ever have the audacity to verbally point that out.

"What is the reason for this meeting, my boss?" Sanemi intervened, voicing the question that most of the Pillars had in mind. "And why are those two here?"

Without flinching, Ubuyashiki turned his head towards the voice of the Wind Pillar. "Sumiko Kamado and Kanao Tsuyuri encountered Muzan Kibutsuji during their last mission, in the city of Asakusa."

That statement made the attention of seven of the nine Pillars focus on the two young women, and a barrage of questions began.

"What does he look like?" Uzui asked, as he was closest to the two.

"What was he doing there?"

"What are his powers?"

"Did you fight him?"

Everyone seemed to want to ask something, and the silence of the girls was starting to bother them, which increased their insistence to know the answer.

"But do you want to answer already!?" Shinazugawa was the first to lose patience. It was at that moment that the leader decided to intervene and put an end to that interrogation. Just by putting a finger from his right hand to his lips was enough.

Kanao observed this with surprise. She knew the Pillars from the times they had passed through the Butterfly Mansion, but it was the first time she had seen something so simple be enough to calm them down. She looked at the leader of the demon hunters with respect. He must be a great person to achieve something like that.

"Can you explain what happened?" Kagaya asked kindly.

Sumiko, after exchanging a quick glance with her friend, began to tell everything that had happened that night, trying not to leave out any details.

"So, despite having him right in front of you, you did nothing," commented Sanemi, irritated, although he was not the only one who felt that way.

"What did you want them to do?" Shinobu wanted to know, although she still smiled a little, her tone of voice denoted that she was in a bad mood.

"Well, what do you think?" Sanemi looked at her annoyed by that absurd question.

"It would have been suicide," argued the Insect Pillar. She was sincerely grateful that Kanao was still alive. If she lost anyone else, she didn't know what she would be capable of doing.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Kyojuro, noticing how tense her partner was.

"Our job is to kill demons," Obanai commented, serious. "We don't run away. Their behavior has been that of cowards."

Uzui frowned slightly at hearing that. Running away to preserve one's life was not cowardly in his eyes.

"Well... if they hadn't managed to escape, we wouldn't even know what he looks like," muttered Mitsuri, nervous. She didn't like seeing her companions argue.

"Exactly!" Rengoku took the opportunity to give his opinion. Kagaya cleared his throat a bit to put an end to that discussion before the others could intervene.

"The important thing is that Kibutsuji has finally appeared. And we can't waste this," he said decisively.

"Do you have a plan, boss?" Uzui asked, interested.

"As far as we know from his recent actions, he has a special interest in the Kamado family," explained Kagaya calmly. "I don't know his motives, but I would be surprised if he doesn't show up again in the future. For now, it's best to stay alert and act as usual, at least until we have more information."

Sumiko shuddered at the thought of it, recalling the helplessness she had felt that night. But at the moment, there was something else that made her even more uncomfortable: the smells of those present there.

Most of the Pillars, with some exceptions, reeked of hatred and resentment. Although she had grown somewhat accustomed to it thanks to Rengoku and Kocho, nothing could prepare her for what she found here.

Of all the Pillars, those who exuded the most negative emotions were those of the Wind and the Snake, to the point of making the atmosphere eerie. Sumiko was sure that if they had been in a closed room, she wouldn't have been able to stand it.

She glanced sideways at the boss. That man was perplexing; although he appeared calm, the scent he emitted betrayed his true feelings. Was she the only one who had noticed that? She wondered mentally, or perhaps they already knew, she couldn't be sure.

"Moving on to another topic," the man said. "We have received concerning reports. There have been too many deaths in the vicinity of Mount Natagumo. I have sent several teams to investigate the area, but if the situation continues like this, it is possible that one of the Twelve Moons is the cause."

"Do you want us to intervene if that's the case?" asked Shinobu, understanding what he meant immediately. He nodded.

"I can't," Uzui confessed immediately. "I already have an important mission at hand."

"It's within my territory," Tomioka interjected, serious.

"I'll go too!" Rengoku exclaimed enthusiastically, remembering what his apprentice had to do.

"Perfect, if your intervention is necessary, I'll let you know," the boss concluded, ending the matter.

Warabihime watched silently from her window as the events unfolded below. She barely cared; it wasn't an unusual conversation, given the location they were in.

In the pleasure district, it was normal for men to come to sell a woman to the various brothels in the area. Anything was fair game to try and pay off debts, she thought as she moved away from the window.

She approached the mirror and checked that her makeup was properly done and her hair was tied up correctly. She smiled a little; as an Oiran of the Kyogoku house, she had to welcome the newcomer.

She descended the stairs elegantly and headed to the entrance of the house. There, the couple who ran the business and a young girl were waiting.

Warabihime forced a friendly smile as she approached the three. She had been mixing with people like them for so long that things like this had become simple for her.

"Oh, Warabihime," called Omitsu, the owner of the establishment. "This is Suma. She'll be working here with you from now on," she introduced the new arrival, who smiled a little and waved.

"Pleased to meet you!" the newcomer responded enthusiastically. The oiran raised an eyebrow; for someone who had just been sold to a place like this, she had a too cheerful attitude. Was she foolish, perhaps? Well, it didn't really matter for now, she didn't seem like a threat, although time would tell.

"Likewise," Warabihime maintained her friendly facade until the two women left, leaving her alone with the owner.

"I'm glad to see you're ready," he commented. "The customers will start arriving soon."

The woman nodded, erasing her smile and adopting a more reserved expression. She turned around and went back to her bedroom.

She closed the door and sat on the floor to wait. For the moment, she had not been found by the demon hunters. Of course, she had been as cautious as possible, always trying to cover her tracks, and doing anything that might make the humans in the area suspicious.

She hoped that when they did find her, they would at least have the decency to send one of the Pillars. The last one she had killed was more than ten years ago.

Her musings were interrupted when the bedroom door opened slowly, and the woman focused her attention there immediately.

Suma breathed a sigh of relief once she was alone. Getting in there had been easier than she thought at first. She couldn't deny that she was very nervous and unprepared for a mission like this.

But there she was, she told herself, trying to relax a bit. She was a shinobi, a person prepared for risky missions. This was nothing out of the ordinary.

Discover who the demon was and where it was hiding. Easy and simple, right? She hoped it wasn't a powerful one, although her husband seemed to be convinced otherwise.

She shuddered at the thought, and her nerves went into full gear again. She didn't feel prepared at all. Hinatsuru and Makio were better at that, more capable of something like that, she... she just wasn't cut out for it.

She suppressed the urge to cry as best she could. She regretted giving in so easily, but Makio was so determined to have her participate that she was unable to refuse. In fact, if Makio were there, she would be scolding her already for the kind of thoughts she was having.

She clenched her fists and tried to calm down. She couldn't disappoint them. Besides, if they didn't find the demon, it would continue to feed on humans. They had to stop it as soon as possible.

Senjuro said goodbye to his brother and Sumiko. The girl had been assigned a new mission, and after what happened when he left her alone, the Flame Pillar was more determined than ever not to make that mistake again. He also promised himself not to touch alcohol again.

He had apologized countless times to his student for that. And she had forgiven him right away, but he still felt responsible.

"We have to meet another Mizunoto," Rengoku commented. "It might be someone from your class."

Sumiko nodded, hoping he would be as friendly and nice as Kanao. In fact, she hoped to become his friend. But for now, all she knew about him was his name: Zenitsu Agatsuma.

She wondered what kind of breathing style that boy would use.

"Do we know anything about the demon?" she asked instead, looking at her master.

"Nothing beyond the fact that it hides in a house near a road and attacks those who pass by at night," he replied. "It's one that has recently appeared in that area. I don't think it's too strong."

"Rengoku..." Sumiko thought carefully about how to proceed, not wanting to offend him. "This time, I'd like to take care of the demon. I know I haven't been able to before, but..."

"I understand perfectly!" the man interrupted, smiling slightly. "I promise not to intervene this time!"

"Thank you."

The encounter was not at all as the girl had expected. Although Zenitsu had seemed like a friendly person at first sight, that only lasted until the introductions were over and the other hunter began to whine, claiming that he did not want to die.

"I didn't want to be a demon hunter!" Zenitsu complained, ignoring his surroundings.

Sumiko was silent, looking disappointed at the spectacle he was making. Rengoku was not particularly comfortable in that situation either.

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not a freak!"

"Can we go and take care of the mission now?" Sumiko asked, not wanting to spend any more time there.

Rengoku looked uncertainly at the boy, but nodded. The house they had to go to was not too far away and the sooner they took care of it, the better.

They started walking, following the Pillar's crow, and soon Zenitsu began to protest about it, not wanting to be left alone.

Zenitsu looked confused at his companions. He had finally calmed down and was following them in silence, focusing on the sounds he could hear. They were helpful in getting to know the two demon hunters.

And he quite liked the sound they emitted. The girl's showed kindness, though he could also perceive sadness and determination. While the sound of the Flame Pillar revealed a certain sense of justice, mixed with regret and some doubts, something that was quite strange to Zenitsu.

But what worried him most of all was the sound coming from the basket on the girl's back. It was definitely a demon, but why wasn't the Flame Pillar doing anything about it? He wanted to know the reason, but lacked the courage to ask.

"Agatsuma," Sumiko called out to him, smiling a little. "What breath style do you use?"

"Call me Zenitsu, please," the boy asked before answering. "I use the Thunder style. And you?"

"The Flame style."

"One thing... do you guys not hear a drum?" Zenitsu murmured, looking around, even more uneasy than before.

Rengoku and Sumiko exchanged a glance and both shook their heads, they hadn't heard anything. The place was pretty quiet, now that they noticed, they couldn't even hear the owls that should already be active at that time.

"I don't hear anything!" exclaimed the Flame Pillar and Zenitsu made a face of annoyance, the volume was so loud it caused him some ear pain.

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" murmured the girl, with the silence there would be no way to miss such a sound.

"I have a pretty sharp hearing," explained the boy, seriously. "And I don't usually make mistakes with these things."

"We should focus on the mission, we're almost there," Rengoku said seriously, seeing a house that matched what they had been told about two hundred meters from where they were.

At that distance, though slightly, the presence of demons inside could already be felt. And panic took hold of Zenitsu again.

"You'll protect me, right, Sumiko!?" he yelled. "I don't want to die, I'm too young!"

"If you're so afraid, it's best if you stay here," the bluntness with which Rengoku said that caught the other two off guard, leaving them unsure of what to say. Demon hunters risk their lives on every mission. If you're afraid to die, this isn't the place for you.

Zenitsu stayed still, paralyzed by what he had just heard, while Sumiko looked at him, unsure of what to say to soften her master's words, as true as they were, tact was never Rengoku's strong suit.

"Let's go, Kamado," Kyojuro said, resuming the march, and after hesitating, she followed. Although she kept casting furtive glances back, worried about her companion.

Upon entering, the first thing they saw were the corpses of two small children. They had bite marks all over, and one of them, the girl, was missing an arm and part of her leg. Both had their faces frozen in an eternal expression of terror.

"We arrived too late," murmured Sumiko as Rengoku approached the bodies and, kneeling down, closed their unfocused eyes. Zenitsu just trembled, his teeth chattering with force.

The sound of a drum resonated through the house and the three looked in that direction.

"It's the same sound as before!" exclaimed Zenitsu, while Sumiko removed the basket from her back and lifted the cloth that covered the top. The boy backed away when he saw that the demon came out of there, but he realized that Rengoku was calm, although that did not calm him at all.

For a demon, it had a completely human appearance, with fangs and claws being the only thing that betrayed its true nature. But the sound it emitted, although similar to Sumiko's, had something he didn't like.

"Oh, Zenitsu, she's my sister, Nezuko," Sumiko introduced her seriously as the four of them advanced through the narrow corridors of that huge house.

Nezuko looked at the boy curiously, although she soon lost interest and grabbed Sumiko's hand.

"Why are you traveling with a demon?" His voice trembled, but he needed to know now.

"She's my sister," Sumiko repeated, without stopping. "I'm looking for a way to cure her," she explained seriously.

But it wasn't her he was hoping to get an answer from. If that man was really the Flame Pillar, why was he allowing this? As far as he knew, such behavior was considered treason within the Corps.

"We'll talk later, now is not the time," Rengoku didn't seem too willing to give explanations, he noticed.

They were checking the rooms, looking for the demon, and in more than one, they found bones of previous victims. Every time something like this happened, the sound Rengoku emitted became more hurried.

Sumiko also seemed affected by this, the boy thought as he looked at her. The young woman clenched the free fist, quite furious.

Nezuko tensed at that moment and stared at the other end of the hallway. She made her size increase and took an attacking position, standing in front of her sister.

"Damn meddling demon hunters." A demon had just appeared down the hallway, right where the young girl had been looking.

Zenitsu took a step back, frightened, while the newcomer brought his right hand to the drum he had on his left shoulder and tapped it gently, causing the door to the room where Rengoku was examining the bodies to close before the Pillar had time to realize what was happening.

Rengoku looked up, surprised by the sudden slam of the door. After standing up, he walked towards the door and opened it. He furrowed his brow as he realized he was in a different hallway than before and there was no trace of the three young people.

He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, he had been careless, but he had also not heard anything and none of them had alerted him to the presence of the demon, as a Pillar he was supposed to be up to par, something he had not yet achieved.

He started walking, he would look for them. The house shouldn't be too big, or so he hoped.

Zenitsu trembled in pure terror, sitting on the ground, too scared to move. He wanted to help, but his body wouldn't respond at all. At least it seemed like the other two were managing well on their own, even if they were just dodging the demon's claws every time he hit the drum in his stomach.

They couldn't get close to him while he was attacking that way and he wasn't giving them any respite.

When one of the claws was within inches of reaching Sumiko, Zenitsu stood up, hesitant. What kind of image was he giving, cowering in fear while the two of them were trying to fight?

Fortunately for them, at that moment, two more demons arrived and started arguing with the one attacking them, causing him to lose all interest, for the moment, in them.

Sumiko quickly advanced towards him, followed by Nezuko. "Let's go, let's find Rengoku."

"But... "

"Let's take advantage of the distraction," insisted the hunter. "We need a strategy."

Zenitsu, just to get away from there, from the danger, agreed immediately and the three of them quickly left. Besides, he felt safer if they were with the Pillar. He would protect them, surely he could take out the three demons in a snap.

They stopped in front of one of the rooms to catch their breath. At least they were okay, Zenitsu thought.

Nezuko looked at him angrily. He hadn't done anything to help them, at that rate he was only going to be a nuisance.

"If there are three of them, we're going to have problems," murmured Sumiko. "If it were only one, Nezuko and I could handle it."

"I-I could take care of one," the boy ventured, though he didn't sound at all confident.

"And why haven't you done it before?" accused Nezuko, frowning.

"That doesn't matter now, Nezuko," her sister admonished her immediately. They couldn't argue in that situation. "Let's see if we can find Rengoku. Even if we have to search every room."

The other two nodded. It was, for the moment, the best they could do.

They had been at it for a while when they opened one of them and found a young boy with a boar's head. He had two swords and was standing on top of one of the demons, which was lying on the ground. Its head was missing and the body was already starting to decompose. The boy was laughing heartily, as if he found all of it very amusing, and shouting things that made no sense to the other three.

"Hey! That thing over there is a demon, right?" the boy asked, pointing one of his swords at Nezuko.

Before the others could respond, he charged at them, and Sumiko had just enough time to move her sister out of the way.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the boar-headed boy shouted, annoyed.

"She's my sister, I can't let you kill her!" Sumiko responded, putting her sister behind her.

They couldn't fight against other demon hunters, but she wouldn't allow him to kill Nezuko either.

"I don't care!" the boy shouted, charging at them again. However, before he could get close, Rengoku appeared behind him and hit him on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

"Are you okay?" the Pillar asked, serious.

"Y-Yes," they both responded.

Kyojuro took the two swords from the unconscious boy and put them in the sheaths he had on his own belt, then took them off and kept them for himself.

"We encountered three demons," Nezuko said, changing the subject.

"You haven't eliminated them," Rengoku noted, not accusingly, just stating the fact.

"We were outnumbered," Sumiko admitted, feeling a bit ashamed. "And at least one had a blood demon technique."

The Pillar raised an eyebrow, incredulous, and looked at Zenitsu, understanding what had happened.

"Doesn't matter, we can handle them now without a problem," Rengoku smiled again.

"Although the boar boy took care of at least one of them already," Zenitsu commented, before they all ran off.

"Even better! One less problem!"

Nezuko watched, smiling slightly, as her sister effortlessly decapitated one of the demons. They had come across one with a long arrow-shaped tongue that slithered across the ground. Sumiko had easily defeated him using the first form of the Flame Breathing technique.

But they weren't finished yet, thought the demon. The most powerful one was still left, the one with a blood technique.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Rengoku. "We can take down the last one without any problem!"

Of course, the Flame Pillar sounded as enthusiastic as ever, something that no longer surprised Nezuko at this point.

The three followed him as he ran, trusting that he knew the direction they needed to go.

Rengoku stopped in front of one of the rooms and looked at the others. He nodded and burst open the door, and the four of them entered.

There, in the center of the tatami-floored room, was the drum demon. Devouring the body of a child.

He clenched his teeth in annoyance at being interrupted. He dropped the corpse and stood up, easily measuring two meters tall, Zenitsu thought with fear.

"Why are you always bothering me?" hissed the being, irritated, and tapped the drum on his right shoulder, causing the room to rotate in that direction.

Zenitsu slammed into a piece of furniture on his side and was left breathless for a few seconds. Nezuko and Sumiko had no better luck, although Rengoku landed without any problems, perfectly controlling his fall.

They didn't have time to recover, as the demon played one of his drums again. He wasn't going to give them any respite, the boy realized, as the room rotated to the right again. This time, the fall was softer as they landed on the ceiling.

The four of them looked up, the demon was still in the same area, unaffected by his technique.

"Careful!" Sumiko shouted as she saw the demon play the drum on his stomach.

The claw appeared where they were standing, and they had just enough time to dodge it, although Nezuko wasn't fast enough and ended up losing one of her arms, the left one. She screamed in pain, her body's ability to regenerate not preventing her from feeling it.

"Nezuko!" her sister shouted, seeing blood dripping from Nezuko's stump.

"I'm okay," the demon tried to calm her. "I'll recover."

Sumiko nodded and glared at the other demon. How dare he do that to her sister!?

The demon played two consecutive beats on his left shoulder drum, causing all four of them to crash to the ground, unable to use anything to cushion the fall.

Nezuko helped her sister to sit up. She was holding her side, and it wouldn't be surprising if several of their ribs were broken from the impact.

They dodged the demon's attack again. It would be almost impossible to get close as long as it kept doing that.

Sumiko separated from her sister. It's better to take advantage now, she thought as she ran towards the demon with her sword unsheathed.

"Flame Breathing," said the young woman as her sword was engulfed in flames. "Third form."

She cleanly beheaded the enemy, and the head rolled to a stop in front of Rengoku, who observed the demon seriously. He could see the symbol of the Sixth Lower Moon in its left pupil, although it was crossed out, a sign that it had been expelled from that group.

Inosuke abruptly woke up when cold water was poured on him. As soon as he felt the chill on his skin, he started to curse at the perpetrator. In front of him was a man with blond hair and red tips.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled in a bad mood.

"You're wearing the bottom part of the demon slayer uniform," the other pointed out, ignoring his protests, "and two nichirin katanas."

"What the hell do you care?"

"It's against the rules to attack your fellow demon slayers," Rengoku pointed out. The boy had gone there with the intention of killing him earlier.

"You're not the one to tell me what I can or cannot do!"

"I'm your superior and I'm afraid that behavior like this must be punished," Rengoku said, thinking about how to make him reflect, although for now, the best thing would be to confiscate his weapons, just in case. "Who was your instructor?"

"I learned on my own!"

"And how did you get the swords?" Rengoku continued to interrogate him.

"I stole them from a fool who was in the mountain where I live!" the other confessed. He had just made the situation worse, and the Pillar didn't know if he hadn't realized it or didn't care.

"The punishment for the infractions you've committed will be decided later," Rengoku pronounced.

Genya was breathing heavily, he was having another asthma attack. He had tried to use the Breath of Rocks and immediately his lungs had been affected and he began to feel short of breath, he was suffocating.

He grabbed his inhaler and put it to his mouth. He pressed the top and tried to calm down while the medication took effect and the asthma attack subsided.

"You shouldn't keep doing that," Himejima admonished him as he approached. "You know your body isn't ready for it."

"If I want to be a Pillar, I have to master at least one type of breath."

The Pillar of Rocks said nothing, but looked at him with some pity. He felt sorry for that boy, being asthmatic as he was, he would never become a Pillar. It was an unattainable dream for him.

"Let's continue training," he said instead. That he wouldn't reach that rank didn't mean he was a complete failure and he planned to keep training him.

See you soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! I would love to hear your thoughts!