June 7, 1913
"The next Final Selection for the First District will be held starting on July 12, 1913," James explained to Véronique, who had tied her black hair in a short ponytail. "I know ya know how to shoot guns, but you ain't never held a sword before like this."
"You're right," Véronique replied with a nod as she held a spare sword from the Rengoku Estate steady in front of her.
"Now," James continued. "Remember what me and Rengoku-san told you about breath styles. This is gon' be a crash course for you, so ya better learn fast."
"Alright," she said to herself in French as she took a deep breath in. "Focus… I need to concentrate."
As she charged forward and slashed at the air around her, also striking a practice target dummy, Kyojuro and Senjuro watched in amusement. "She can handle a sword well," Kyojuro noted to her younger brother. "I'd she keeps this up, she'll make a good addition to the corps."
Senjuro asked his brother, "Does she have to learn the Breath of Flames?"
"Not necessarily," Kyojuro replied. "Right now, we just need her to learn how to use any breath style. The first part of any form of breath training is concentration. Once she gets that basic part done, it's up to her as to which breath style she wants to use. I heard Shinazugawa-san was looking for someone to mentor in the Breath of Wind."
…
June 10, 1913
James and Susamaru accompanied Kyojuro at a Joint High Council Meeting at the Ubuyashiki Estate. They stood all the way to the end of the line, to the left from Kagaya's perspective, next to the only other Tsuguko at the time, Kanao and Mukago. As they all waited for the leader of the corps to arrive, James decided to try to make small talk with her, despite her almost never acknowledging him or his girlfriend whenever they visited the Butterfly Estate. "So, um," he started off. "Tsuyuri-san, how was your day today?"
Kanao initially ignored him as she pulled out her trusty coin from her uniform and flipped it. Once it landed on Heads, she turned to them with her regular neutral expression and replied, "It was like any other day. That trio of slayers staying with us are improving greatly, but they still have a bit of a ways to go before we can release them."
"That's good to hear," James replied with a smile. "I've wanted to see Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke back in action for a while now."
Then, all of them stopped as two of Kagaya's children stood at attention. Both addressed the crowd of nine Pillars, four Tsuguko, and twelve High Priests altogether, telling them in unison, "The Oyakata-sama has arrived. Standby to begin the meeting." The High Priests consisted of two priests loyal to the Demon Slayer Corps that were appointed by the head of the corps from each of the four districts of operations in Japan, plus two each from the Overseas Districts of Korea and Taiwan. They were all either Shinto or Buddhist priests. They had their own section of the High Council, where they performed several functions, including the confirmation of Pillar candidates appointed by the leader of the corps, as well as preparations for continuity of governance in the corps in the event of its leader's death.
As all twenty-three of them bowed down, Kagaya emerged and greeted them all with a warm smile. "Good to see all of you here. Let us begin the Joint High Council Meeting. Our first order of business concerns a potential Wind Tsuguko from Canada. Sanemi, may you explain?"
"Thank you, Oyakata-sama," he replied as he stood up. "Recently, a human relative of the Flames Tsuguko James Colby came to Japan. It was found out that in fact this relative was his daughter from a previous relationship, and one of his grandchildren expressed interest in joining the corps and living in Japan. Her name is Véronique Renaud, and she is a French Canadian girl of fifteen years of age. According to Colby-san, she is adept at firearms use, and is skilled at hunting animals. She has already undergone basic sword training, which myself and Rengoku-san can verify, and will be taking the First District Final Selection in July to become a full-fledged member of the Demon Slayer Corps. I am asking that the High Council approve of her becoming my Tsuguko pending her passage of the First District Final Selection."
Susamaru thought to herself, "When addressing the Oyakata-sama, Shinazugawa-san's way of speaking is completely different. It's like looking at two different people."
"Anyone else have anything to say to corroborate Sanemi's testimony?"
"I do," Kyojuro replied as he stood up. "Oyakata-sama, I can verify her excellent firearms use skills, and her sword training. As we speak, myself, my two Tsuguko, and my family are all training her, and she is showing great enthusiasm and progress. With a bit more practice, as well as guidance from Shinazugawa-san, she will make a fine addition to the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Very well," Kagaya replied. "A third person? Anyone?"
"I will speak next," James then answered up. "My granddaughter is a fine hunter of animals. While livin' in Canada, her father recorded a kill of over 0.6 miles, or about 1 kilometer, involvin' a deer, when she was only thirteen. She also has killed a bear at close quarters while huntin'. Bein' that she and her mother were both raised in a rural Negro farmin' community in Québec, huntin' is a way of life, and even many of the women did it. If, at the age she's at now and even before, she can remain calm enough to kill a bear that came within a few feet of attackin' her, I highly believe she'll be adept at huntin' demons."
"A kilometer killshot," Kagaya commented. "That's impressive at any age, let alone thirteen."
"If I may," then said Sang Young-Nam, a High Priest from the Korean Overseas District, as he raised his hand, his greying hair gently blowing in the wind. "How are we aware that this girl is a human? I thought it simply was not possible for demons to procreate, let alone have human children."
James sighed, realizing how ignorant many of the high priests could be. "As James explained before in another Pillar Meeting," Kagaya calmly told him. "It depends on the sex of the child, and in the Americas, demons can and do procreate. They would in Japan as well, but Muzan does not trust his own kind enough to release them to do so. James presumably engaged in sexual congress with a human woman, and thus had a human daughter. In his first true marriage in the 1890s, he had a demon son with a human female. Any human children of a demon will have only human children unless they procreate with a demon, and vice-versa." He was calm and polite on the outside, but on the inside, he was a bit annoyed at the priest for raising such a doubt. "I thought I went over this with that message I sent out," he thought to himself. "But I guess not everyone pays attention when they should."
…
After the meeting, James had begun talking with Obanai, who during the meeting had been informed that he would need to take another Pillar with him on a mission to a hot springs town due to heavy demon activity in the area. "Who do ya have in mind?"
"Kanroji-san, of course," he replied. "I always pick her for my missions. She's the closest person to me among the rest of them that aren't the Rengoku family."
"Makes sense," James replied. "You did always say that Rengoku-san and his little brother were like brothers to you, and Kanroji-san always dotes on you most of all."
"I guess you could say that," he admitted, a slight blush occurring under his bandages. "She's my best friend, Colby-san."
"Iguro-san!" Mitsuri herself then waved to both of them as she ran over. "Who did you pick to go with you on the mission?"
"You, of course," Obanai answered rather simply.
"Awwww, thank you," she replied happily, hugging him tightly. "I can't wait!" She then turned to James, feeling like he had been left out as she split from Obanai. "I feel like you're left out, Colby-san. Here!" She then hugged him out of the blue as well. "Hugs are nice, right?"
Obanai's eyes widened out of shock as James awkwardly returned the hug, trying desperately to not stare down into her half-bare chest, a product of her revealing uniform. "Yeah, they sure are…"
"Alright," Mitsuri then told Obanai as she split from James. "I'll meet you at your house tomorrow. It should take us another day from there to arrive at the resort town." As she walked away, she waved again and told him, "I can't wait to see you again, Iguro-san!"
"Same here," he replied before he sighed. "Don't mind the random hug she gave you. She's really friendly like that. With that said…" His tone then became much more serious. "Don't even think of even laying a finger on her. She may dress a certain way, but she is not easy or anything. Don't take advantage of her!"
James, confused, replied, "Iguro-san, I already got a girlfriend, though. All my sexual and romantic needs are fulfilled with Susamaru. Trust me, I'm all set. I noticed ya looked a bit peeved when she hugged me, though."
"I was not," Obanai denied. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
James, feeling he was hiding something, chuckled. "Ya know, I was once the same way about twenty years ago when I first met Julia, my wife."
Obanai, immediately realizing what he was implying, replied, "Shut the fuck up! I'm not hiding a crush on her! She's my best friend!"
"Bullshit," James playfully replied as Obanai's face lit up a bright red. "I can tell from a man's eyes and motions when they've fallen for a woman, and y'all hit every mark. I must say, you chose well, and you got a lot more patience than I do. I would've totally tried to get with Kanroji-san by now in your shoes. She's total wife material. I mean, look at 'e-"
"Enough," Obanai shushed him up by drawing a small knife from his uniform and holding it up to James' mouth. The mood had turned from humorous to dead serious in a matter of seconds. "Shut the fuck up right now. I got my reasons for not pursuing her. I agree she needs to find a good man to settle down with, but that man is not me."
James grabbed the blade with his bare right hand, managing to avoid cutting into his palm, and told him as he pulled it down from his face, "Then tell me your reasons. I didn't tell my wife I loved 'er for two whole years for my own reasons. I'd like to hear your's."
Obanai first looked around to see if anyone else was watching before pulling some of his bandages down to reveal part of his mouth. As he did, James saw massive scars on his mouth, indicating that someone had cut his mouth up from ear to ear. "Look at me, demon! I'm a monster, and my family was, too. I'm nowhere close to being worthy of being Mitsuri's husband, at least not in this life."
His line of reasoning, especially the last line, awakened something in James, and as Obanai put his bandages back in their normal position, he grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and pulled him in, telling him, "Right now, I don't give a fuck if you're the Snake Pillar. We're gonna have a serious talk right fuckin' now. Follow me." He then let Obanai go and grabbed him by his sword-wielding hand, dragging him to a corner of the walls of the Ubuyashiki Estate that was secluded by a tool shed.
"You have no right to talk to a Pillar like this," Obanai told him. "You're scum for treating your superiors so bad-"
James then punched a hole in the wall behind Obanai. "Shut the fuck up right now, Iguro Obanai, and listen to every fuckin' word I have to say in response to your 'reasons,' because every word in that little explanation you gave infuriates me, and do ya wanna know why? Because I had the exact same line of thought when I first met Julia!"
Obanai tried to move, but James grabbed him and was able to stop him in his tracks. "You're not me!"
"I was like you in more ways than you realize, son," James angrily replied. "Never forget that I'm older than you, a lot older, even if I don't look it! Don't you think I hated myself for a long time, huh?! I thought I was a monster unworthy of love, especially after I lost so many people I cared about and couldn't do a fuckin' thing about it! My mentor and my first love were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan for their skin color, and then my family in Minnesota was murdered by bandits when I was out one night! For the first two years I knew Julia, I kept my feelins' for her hidden, just like you are now!"
Obanai angrily yelled back, "Obviously you didn't hate yourself too much, because she was your fucking wife!"
"That's only because she got tired of waitin'," James yelled back. "She was gonna marry a man she didn't actually love, and I realized I was gonna lose her forever, so I finally manned the fuck up and grew a fuckin' pair of balls and told her I loved her. My time with 'er was too short, and it could've been longer if I told 'er sooner how I felt instead of waitin' two fuckin' years to do it!" He then paused and took a deep breath, his face reddened with anger. "And what's that shit about the next life, huh?"
"We all get reincarnated when we die," Obanai explained to him.
"Well I was taught differently," James replied. "You get one shot at life, and at the end, you go to Heaven or Hell and spend eternity there with God or Satan. Of course, that's the thing, Iguro-san. We don't fuckin' know what happens after we die! For all I know, either one of us could be right! You can't rely on waitin' for the next life if there's no guarantee you're gonna even have one!"
Those final words shook Obanai to the core, and both of them paused as they took it in. Obanai shivered slightly, completely at a loss for words. "I…"
"Look inside yourself, "James replied as he turned around and began to walk away. "You'll see I'm right. This mission could be your chance to finally tell 'er how you feel, and if I were you, I'd take it."
