The Greek hashira chapter 3

(now back to the current demon slayer timeline, a couple months before the incident that made nezuko a demon)

Two years have passed since I had taken in Ayano to be my translator and my second in command, and in those two years the other members of the corps seemed to regard her as a great asset. Even Shinobu sensei appreciates her input when it comes to medicines and demon killing poisons. We found out that her job used to be keeping tabs on mainly the lower rank moon demons which explains why muzan would want her to have the ability to stay in the sun and would also explain why muzan hasn't eaten her.

Oh we also found out her sword belonged to Kanae Sensei which….well lets just say it took me a month to accept her for having Kanae's sword…it just didn't feel right at first cause I saw Kanae as more than just a sensei, she was like a sister to me and a best friend so to see her sword in another person's hands was just not right but I soon got over it. Shinobu on the other hand… I had to take sips from Ayano's drink just to make sure Shinobu didn't lace it with Wisteria poison she was beyond furious at this and was threatening to kill Ayano on multiple occasions which was not fun AT ALL for me cause I had to pin Shinobu to the wall with my spear till she calmed down.

Ayano had become like family to me and was more precious to me that jewels and gold, I loved her dearly and always kept her close to me, even though she may deny it and act all tough, I have a feeling she loved me as much as I loved her.

In that time as well, I managed to talk to Tengen about using some of his connections to get things from my homeland brought over as I was starting to feel a bit homesick.

"I will see what I can do Lord Nikolaos, in the meantime have you decided on a plot of land to build your estate you have been talking about?" Tengen asked me as we sat in the Master's manor eating toasted rice crackers while Ayano decimated tengen's wives in sparring.

The girl had improved greatly over the two years since I had met her and adopted some of my fighting style, carrying a small shield with her just in case and using some of my Pankration methods of sparring. I was lucky to have her.

I nodded my head and pulled out a map of the region and said, "Shinobu sensei said there was a good plot of land not owned by anyone and I had Ayano send a letter to the emperor about the land, it's not owned officially by anyone of power so I grabbed it before anyone else could take it up"

Tengen whistled and said, "I mean the area looks good too! Mount Natagumo is nearby which has been a hot spot for fishing and training demon slayers so if you want, we could make your manor a demon slayer training ground!"

I nodded my head and pointed to the area I had marked out and said, "its about 3 days walk from any major town, and more importantly its close the Asakusa"

Tengen raised his eyebrow and said, "following that lead your translator told you about?"

I nodded my head and said, "I have a feeling that Muzan is hiding there, and I trust Ayano with my life on this lead, if muzan is hiding out there I will find him"

Tengen laughed flicking his finger against my bronze chestplate and said, "pretty sure you stand out like a sore thumb though Nikolaos, I mean you refuse to wear normal clothes, you carry around a shield that could fit gyomei behind it and you carry a spear twice his size! You'll be a dead giveaway for muzan, speaking of, why don't you wear your Haori anyways? I mean Lady Shinobu went through great efforts to make your custom Haori worthy of you and your fighting style so why don't you wear it?"

I laughed and started to sweat saying, "lets change the subject Lord Tengen also don't let Shinobu sensei know I'm not wearing the Haori this late in the year and so close to winter, please she would kill me!"

I shutter to think of how Shinobu sensei would make my rehab more painful than it would need to be if I got sick. When I came back from my mission to discover what was poisoning the village and the one who was healing them, Shinobu sensei was…well let's put it this way while my wounds were healing she had "accidentally" cut up some lemon for me and some of the juices got on my wounds. I may be a big strong Greek but lemon in any open wounds is a pain that not even a spear to the chest could come close to that pain.

"Totally not changing the subject but, you may be right lord Tengen about me being seen but Ayano, Muzan wouldn't see her" I pointed to Ayano as she had Hinatsuru in a head lock while laying on top of Makio and I noticed Suma was pinned to a tree by Ayano's sword crying for lord tengen to help her out.

Tengen sighed and said, "if Ayano was one of my wives…."

I cut him off and said, "I would beat your head in with my shield if you took her from me, she is beyond valuable, she is my Muse of Aphrodite."

Tengen laughed at this saying, "wouldn't that make her basically Aphrodite? Quite a flashy thing to call her?"

I shook my head and said, "its bad luck comparing someone to the gods no matter how minor the god, it's a sign of great insult lord Tengen" before putting my map away along with some documents.

Tengen chuckled getting up and bowing to me saying, "I will use my connections I have to send for some builders to the plot of land just have a layout or an idea of what you want built and I'll have the gear you want sent your way…give them like 3 days to show up, so if my math is correct you should be there at the same time."

I bowed back looking at Ayano who was now boxing Hinatsuru like a Greek before getting behind her and suplexing her bringing a tear to my eye. The girl was as beautiful as Aphrodite, but she had the strength of Herakles behind her.

"Ayano, enough tormenting the shinobi, its time we leave, say your farewells and pack your stuff up!" I said walking over and picking up my helmet, Shield, spear and kopis.

Ayano smiled back at me giving me a thumbs up before running over to unpin Suma and sheathing her katana.

Ayano looked up at me and said, "So, Niko we got a location for our next mission?"

I shook my head and said, "no but thanks to some of Lord Tengen's connections and permission from the emperor we now have a place ready…sort of."

Ayano looked at me with a raised eyebrow and said, "Oh? Does this mean you and I could have some alone time finally without Shinobu Sensei banging on the doors for us to go to sleep? Granted its because of your snoring I bet but point still stands"

I chuckled before pinching her butt causing her to blush considerably and hit me on my arm, "howdareyoupinchmeonthebuttyoustupidjerkihateyousomuch Nyeh!"

She spoke so fast she ended up biting her tongue causing me to laugh even harder and say, "of course we'll final have a place of our own, however it won't just be our place, I talked to the master and part of the place will be dedicated to training new demon slayers for final selection."

Ayano whistled and said, "must be a big plot of land in that case if we'll have our own house and an area for training."

I nodded my head and said, "according to Giyuu and Rengoku sensei who both scouted out the area for demons just in case, the area is as big as three of the butterfly manor put side by side, so we'll have more than enough room for a private area for us and a training area for others"

Ayano smirked and said, "well now can't wait to see what you come up with for the training area and our home!"

I looked at Ayano who had translated all of that causing her to look up at me with a confused glance before I kissed her on her forehead causing her to blush and hit me on the arm some more as she blushed and called me an idiot.

Laughing I said, "such a cutie" before finally arriving at the site to see that the builders had already cleared away a lot of the trees and even made a path from the road to where the main gate would be.

Walking up I had Ayano translate for me as I told the builders I wanted things built in traditional Greek architecture using mudbrick and adobe for a large wall around the entire area, a large gate house in front of the wall big enough for a horse, along with diverting the river into the manor grounds so that I could have a nice pool in the back with freshwater fish coming through for a bit of fishing and breath training.

The builders then went to work on the main building, the main house was a three-story large house done in traditional Greek style of marble and mudbrick with wooden floor interiors and a Japanese style slanted roof so water wouldn't ruin the marble. The training house was made exactly like the butterfly manor's and set separately from the main house. We then had built a bigger house next to the training manor that was meant for the demon slayer Corp trainees and had loads of smaller training areas ranging from archery to a wrestling ring to even a place for chariot races. It may be extra but if a demon slayer couldn't ride a horse in this day and age, they had no right fighting at all.

Watching Ayano try and ride a horse was more than hilarious. Muzan had never bothered to teach her or any of the demons for that matter how to ride a horse so it would be an advantage for us when fighting at night. Though her skills were….lackluster as she had gotten kicked off, ran over and even kicked by a horse but still was to stubborn to give up till she finally managed to figure it out and successfully ride one.

Getting horses here was easy enough and soon after like a month of building stuff was already being carted in to the manor ranging from sets of Greek style armor, spears, shields, swords and even furniture and decoration.

Ayano couldn't help but mutter under her breath as she helped me move stuff around the room saying, "I can't believe I am doing this! Me, little ol me with tall tan and sexy who smells like rose petals and pine wood and yet he looks…"

She soon realized she was talking aloud and blushed even harder before putting the bookcase down, allowing me to do the rest of the work of getting a good bedroom set up. Soon demon slayer trainers would pour in, and I would even get my hands on some trainers from Greece who still practiced the old ways and who could teach the slayers new methods of fighting.

Some members of the later demon slayers would call me insane for these training methods and would leave what I dubbed The bronze Pavilion. However those who stayed would become great slayers and I even invited Urokodaki to teach here but he turned down the offer stating how his unorthodox methods of training were best suited for his mountain abode but that he was proud how I was restructuring the way demon slayers were trained and how often the slayers trained at the bronze pavilion made it through final selection and were way more humble and unafraid of demons. I prided myself on this as I had witnessed firsthand how terrified people were of demons even the demon slayers who gave an oath to protect people were afraid of the demons. This aggravated me beyond imagine and so I pushed the slayers who came to the bronze pavilion to the point of near death, training them to fight on horseback, wrestle one another in pankration style fighting and even archery.

The night after the Bronze pavilion was finished I walked around to the back where I had managed to have the builders set up a hot spring bath and took off my armor. The soothing feeling of the rocks against my feet, and the warmth of the heated water was a feeling foreign to me. Back home in Greece we didn't have hot springs like this, yes, we had warm baths and such but this, this was a soothing feeling I had never felt before.

I ended up falling asleep in the bath only to be woken up by Ayano who had walked into the bath house naked not realizing I was in here.

"ahhhh! Um oh jeez I didn't realize you were here! I am so sorry Nikolaos, god you have tight abs! wait what what did I say! Um, um, um! W-well its not like I was hoping to see you like this but!" she would stutter and get redder and redder before finally running away.

I stopped her saying, "by the gods Ayano just get in here! you said it yourself this morning after training you needed a bath so come over here and wash up, I'll help you with you back!"

Ayano blushed as I got out of the hot spring bath and helped her wash her back while she was beet red.

Soon though things got spicy and we ended up taking this to bed for the night where I held Ayano close in my arms as she whimpered in her sleep about Muzan…the girl seemed scared so I held her close and told her Muzan couldn't hurt her. This seemed to comfort her enough to fall soundly to sleep.

As I slept however my mind wandered to my family in Greece… I wondered if they were looking down on me with smiles as I had found my calling. My family were primarily pacifists and didn't even approve of me fighting in the Balkan wars…but if they knew I saved hundreds of people with my shield, and that I am saving people by saving demons…. would they still love me….

My family died due to an illness that took the lives of most of my village…and the last thing we had talked about was how they hated me for wanting to protect people by going to war…I never got to tell them how much they meant to me how much I loved them, and I wouldn't make the same mistake twice which is why I have remained in good standings with my new family, the other Hashira. As my mind wandered on these thoughts I fell to sleep ready for whatever the next days would bring.

One day while I was watching a sparring match between two of the slayers who had successfully gone through final selection, I was approached by Ayano who looked at me and said, "Nikolaos…we have been summoned to the master's mansion…"

I nodded my head and got up looking at one of the trainers and said, "we have been summoned, you are to continue training the slayers we will back when our mission is over"

The trainers looked over at us and bowed saying, "Lord Nikolaos, lady Ayano we wish you well on your mission!"

We bowed back and rushed over to the stable to find our horses and rushed to the manor where the master was waiting for us with Giyuu and Shinobu sensei which shocked me. Its been a while since I had seen either of them, this must have been a very important mission if they were sending in three hashira.

Shinobu smiled at me and said, "Nikolaos! I heard about what you have been doing! I am happy you made a great place to train slayers, and from what I have heard you based the training methods you use around the ones we use for rehabilitation and added in some of your own!"

I chuckled saying, "well I do have you and Rengoku sensei to thank for my methods, you two inspired me to add your methods to what I learned in Greece to make a grand place for slayers to train!"

The master then smiled and said, "I am pleased with how my children have grown stronger thanks to you Nikolaos, and Ayano Lord tengen has told me about how strong you have gotten under Nikolaos's training too, so I am beyond happy for you!"

Ayano bowed low and said, "thank you master, it warms my heart to see you in good health, I assume we have a mission?"

The master nodded and looked at us saying, "it would appear that most of my children have been killed…including those trained by you Nikolaos, you may very well find a member of the twelve Kizuki there, and it would seem I'll have to send in some hashira"

He then addressed us saying, "Giyuu, Shinobu, Nikolaos, and Ayano you are to deploy to mount Notugomo"

Shinobu sensei giggled saying, "if only all demons and humans could get along together like Ayano, wouldn't you agree Tomioka, Nikolaos?"

I shook my head and said, "if demons did get along I wouldn't be here in Japan hunting them down, Ayano is the exception, not the rule"

Tomioka agreed with me saying, "that's a pipe dream Shinobu we will never get along"

We then ran out of the manor and smugly me and Ayano ran over to our horses.

Trying not to laugh I looked at Shinobu sensei and said, "did- did you seriously walk all the way here!"

Shinobu looked like she was about to kill me when she said, "I hope you plan to give me and Tomika-san here a lift to the location it would be a shame if I accidentally added dropped lemon juice on your wounds the next time you come to the butterfly manor."

Shuttering I said, "fine, hope on sensei!"

As we rode Ayano got closer to me and said, "Niko you think it's a member of the twelve Kizuki?"

I nodded my head and said, "if it wasn't I'd be greatly insulted by how fast slayers trained by me fell in battle."

Shinobu smiled and said, "you seem to take great pride in your training Nikolaos, if it is a member of the kizuki…you think it may be a lower moon?"

I chuckled and said, "well it doesn't sound like Douma, maybe it is a lower moon."

Ayano chuckled and said, "I have been meaning to ask you, why do you not want to kill douma? He's an upper moon so if you kill him that could weaken Muzan's forces."

I chuckled and said, "well its just that I have a feeling that facing him head on would be suicidal even by my standards, that's why I just hit and run any chance I get, once I feel strong enough however I will challenge him and I will kill him"

Ayano giggled and said, "so you're not strong enough to deal with him?"

I shook my head and said, "I have a feeling that fighting him right now is not in my best interest."

I looked up and followed Kotoyami coming up to the mountain.

Leaving the horses, I leapt off and pulled my shield and spear off my back and hit them against each other readying myself.

Looking at Ayano I said, "Ayano, Muzan tasked you with keep track of the lower moons right? I assume you know whether or not this is one?"

Ayano nodded and said, "Mount Notugumo is home to Rui of the spider family, ranked at lower rank 5 he's dangerous in his own way and his blood demon art is being able to use spider threads, he's one of only two demons outside of Muzan himself who is allowed to turn people into demons using his blood, last time I checked in with Rui was about 4 years ago, and at the time the spider family was at 12 members, and out of all of them the one I would recommend worrying about other than Rui is the father, he's the bruiser of the family"

Grinning wildly I said, "good! Yes very good he will make for a wonderful opponent! Hahahaha!"

Shinobu sensei giggled and said, "well with this information I think this mission just got a lot easier!"

Ayano looked at me and said, "I can smell the blood in the air, its covered up by the smell of the mountain but there used to be 7 but as we got closer the smell of two demons went down"

I smirked walking alongside Tomioka and Shinobu saying, "5 demons versus 3 hashiras and a demon hunting demon, well this is bound to be a fun night!"

We then rushed through the forest coming across some of the dead demon slayers and I realized a couple of them were in fact trained by me…whatever did this to them, they were gonna pay.

Sighing I kneeled down to check for a pulse on one of them and shook my head before pulling out my pack of drachmae and leaving one in the mouth of the dead slayer.

"May the afterlife be kind to you and may this gold drachmae pay for crossing through the river styx" I muttered bowing to the soul before getting up.

Ayano came up to me and said, "I just got back from talking to Giyuu and Shinobu…there weren't any survivors over there either, a bunch of the new Mizunoto had joined the fight too…if this is a lower moon…"

I looked at Ayano and said, "they didn't stand a chance to begin with…lets go" before rushing off with Ayano.

Using Kotoyami I got in contact with Giyu and Shinobu sensei and we planned to split up, Ayano and I were to split up and Giyu and Shinobu would attack from the east and west. I stopped Ayano and gave her a quick kiss on her lips causing her to blush heavily and throw a rock at the back of my head.

I could smell something as we got farther up the mountain, another demon but yet this demon was…unique somehow like it was calmer somehow, this confused me like a lot as at first, I thought it was Ayano but it wasn't her it was something else which confused me.

As we rushed through the mountain, we heard the howling of a demon, and I could feel it. A demon with a will of fire, the fire of combat, and soon we reached a clearing and I saw it. a strong spider demon crushing the head of a guy wearing a boar's head with two jagged swords in his hands.

This excited me and I rushed forward shouting, "Ayano allow me to take the first blood, save the boar headed boy! Pantheon breathing 4th form! Speed of Hermes!"

With a rush of speed, I lunged forward as Ayano sliced the arm of the demon dropping the man giving me the opportunity to kill the demon shouting, "Pantheon breathing style 5th form burning chariot of Apollo!"

Rushing the demon and using him as a springboard, I leapt up in the air and readied my spear which caught on fire like the very sun. With a howl I launched it at the demon and watched as it pierced its heart and engulfed the demon in flames burning it and destroying it in the process.

Landing on top of the now disintegrating body of the demon I laughed hardily gripping my spear and shouting, "I claim this victory in the name of ares! Hahaha I hope whatever hell you end up demon is full of pain and despair!"

Ayano then looked at me and said, "do you always have to be so loud? Your just as bad as rengoku"

I chuckled and said, "true but your even louder at night" before winking at her causing her to blush.

The boar head boy looked at us with a sparkle all over him and I just looked back at Ayano and nodded for us to leave only for the boar headed boy to look at us and say, "hold on a second! I want you to fight me Mr spear guy and shit hair! You two beat a member of the twelve kizuki and right here and now I am going to beat you! if I can do that! That will make me the most powerful of all!" before striking a pose.

Grinning I looked at the boar boy and said, "you think you could beat me! Hahahahahahahaha I like your fire boy! It burns like that of a wild animal! You are a wild child indeed, yes, yes, I think you will make for a great opponent!" before getting ready into a phalanx stance.

What I said confused the boar head boy who looked at me and said, "oi what language is that! You sound super dumb, are you an idiot or something! Speak normal you idiot or else I will just ignore you and think you are weaker than me!"

This aggravated me and I shouted, "oi I did not just hear you insult my language you boar headed freak! Okay you wanna go! You wanna go! I'll give you the fight of a lifetime!"

Ayano gave us both a look of existential dread as she said, "oh my god he's multiplying… I'm gonna go on- WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHIT HAIR! I'll have you know my hair is a lovely shade of burgundy! How dare you call me shit hair I'll show you some manners boy!" while getting all angry.

I laughed and said, "hahahaha he got you there Ayano, now then let me end this quickly! Arrrrrghhhh!" Before lunging at the boar head boy bashing his head in with my shield knocking him over.

I was sad as he talked a big game, but he was down for the count allowing me to tie him up and leave him here.

"What a shame…it seems someone needs to train harder…and here I was thinking you could have made for a good opponent" I sighed.

Ayano looked at me and said, "Niko, there's a strange scent coming from the top of the mountain, we should go invest-"

Suddenly the boar head boy woke up and started shouting saying, "waaaaa! How the hell did you tie me up! And these knots are so strong! How did you kill a member of the twelve kizuki and what's with that shield its harder than Tanjiro's head! Wait what am I saying, I am the king of the mountain the strongest beast I can break these ropes- wait no I can't shit these ropes are tough GET ME DOOOOOOWWWNNNN!"

I chuckled and said, "I have a feeling Tomioka and Shinobu are having an easy time on their side of the mountain, a couple demons are dead judging by the scent, but I doubt that was Rui I just killed"

Ayano nodded and said, "that was the father I was talking about, though I guess he has gotten weaker cause you easily took him out"

Pretending to be insulted I said, "did you really think such a weak demon could take me down! I am insulted Ayano!"

Ayano rolled her eyes and said, "come on, I have Rui's scent he's farther up the mountain."

I nodded and we started our long march up the rest of the mountain, coming across Tomioka fighting a demon with white hair and pale skin. Rushing in front of the child I put my shield in front of the kid and shouted, "Pantheon breathing style 8th form Iron guard of Hephaestus!" and my shield turned into a bunch of shields all locked together in front of the boy covering both of us.

I then looked at Ayano and shouted, "the boy needs a medic!" and Ayano nodded and rushed over and started to use her medicine to bandage up the boy's skin and that's when I realized the boy, it was the boy I had ate lunch with almost two years ago, Tanjiro I think his name was.

I was in awe of the boy's strength and will of fire, he may have been hurt but I could tell he fought as hard as he could which excited me because it meant he worked his hardest to become a slayer, and yet there was something else about this boy.

"Tomioka finish him!" I shouted.

Tomioka nodded and said, "total concentration, water breathing, 11th form dead calm" before walking up to the demon and slicing his head clean off.

As the demon laid their dying Giyu and Tanjiro had this conversation that I blanked out on till I looked at Tanjiro and noticed he was also holding a girl, the woman who the scent belonged to! She- she was a demon as well!

Reacting I kicked Tanjiro away and pulled out my Kopis ready to kill her but Tanjiro grabbed the girl and said, "don't you dare hurt my sister!"

Shinobu seemed to notice this too as she suddenly shot forward trying to kill the demon too only to have Tomioka push the girl out of the way and guard her.

I looked at Ayano and said, "I'm gonna need a translation for this Ayano…I have a feeling shits about to go down and I don't want to attack the wrong person"

Ayano nodded and focused on the exchange.

Shinobu chuckled and said, "my, my Tomioka why would you defend a demon like her after saying that demons and humans couldn't get along…its things like which that are exactly why no one likes you."

Shinobu then pointed her sword at Tomioka and said, "now then Tomioka would you please move?"

Tomioka and I were still really confused as Tomioka said, "I don't…I don't think I am disliked."

This shocked Shinobu who said, "oh dear I am so sorry, are you just now hearing about this? I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to find out this way."

Confused I said, "but…I like Giyu sure he may be weird, antisocial, quiet, have a weird Haori, and act like a prick sometimes but I don't dislike him."

Ayano agreed with me saying, "yeah I don't dislike giyu either he seems like a good person!"

I then watched as Shinobu and Tanjiro had an exchange in Japanese, something about the sister being a demon and tanjiro saying something about the girl not hurting a single human and how Giyu was about to allow Tanjiro to run while he took on the three of us.

Shocked I shouted, "Giyu you idiot! You just broke the rules of the corps! Do you know what this means!"

Giyu nodded and fought the three of us with every ounce of his being before I put two and two together and threw my kopis at Shinobu pinning her to a wall.

"Ayano I need you to translate for me!" I shouted.

Ayano nodded and spoke for me as I said, "what if this demon is just another Ayano situation, a half demon half human made by muzan? And if she wasn't made by muzan what if her intentions are pure like Ayano's?"

This made Shinobu twitch as she said, "Nikolaos, you come over here right now and get me down from here, you know attacking a member of the corps is taboo and yet you attacked me anyways! Besides Ayano is a one in a million situation!"

Suddenly the crows flew by and shouted that Tanjiro and Nezuko were to be brought back to headquarters!

Grinning I looked at Tomioka and said, "I hope your instincts are right Tomioka or else both of our heads will be on the line."

So we left Mount Notagumo with the demon's killed and Tanjiro and nezuko in tow, in the back of my mind I could feel nothing but sorrow for the boy, when last we met he seemed so happy and calm and full of joy and yet now…. Now he looks miserable and full of regret. What had happened to him for him to turn out this way what demon turned his sister into what she is now. These questions flooded my mind like a tidal wave as we made our way back to headquarters with two members of the Kakushi to watch over Tanjiro and Nezuko. I looked around as we got into the Zen Garden and saw that the other Hashira had made it here too. Good, all ten of us were here.

Tanjiro was rudely woken up by a member of the Kakushi who looked at him and shouted, "you are in the presence of the hashira and a translator! Show some respect!"

Tegen looked at s and said, "I heard he was a demon slayer with a demon In tow, seems someone is following your example Nikolaos! What a shame though I was execting someone with more flare"

Rengoku sensei smirked and shouted, "we must see that this boy is put on trial to be judged! So it shall be!"

Muichiro was…well he was Muichiro staring at the clouds. Mitsuri was feeling bad for the kid talking about how he was protecting his sister and how tragic it was.

Ayano was more aggravated at the Kakushi stomping on his back saying, "oh! Why am I just the translator! Am I not important enough to be called Lady Ayano, or the tsuguko of lord Nikolaos! Come on you bastard answer me! Also, while you are at it would you please treat the boy with some respect!"

Tanjiro tried to speak but the Kakushi forced his head down and shouted, "shut up and speak only when you are told! Do you have any idea who you are in the presence of! These are the hashira and lady Ayano!"

Tanjiro looked in awe at all of us and Shinobu said, "this is the demon slayer headquarters, and you Tanjiro Kamado are to be put on trial."

Some of the demon slayers were all for killing the demon but Rengoku Sensei and Shinobu sensei were on my side about this as it was like what happened with Ayano and instinctively, I walked in front of Tanjiro with Shinobu sensei and Rengoku sensei and said, "I hope you all remember the headache that was dealing with me when I decided to defend Ayano right? Well, I will say the same about Young Kamado and Nezuko I think we should defend him and his sister."

They all started to speak in Japanese and Ayano gave me the cliff notes, Tanjiro and his family were attacked, the boy and his sister were the last of his family, she hasn't eaten a single human, Obanai wants to kill them, Gyomei thinks he is possessed, he wants to find a cure for her and she has never eaten anyone within the two years she has been a demon. Muichiro was curious about a bird.

Mitsuri was on our side as she wanted to wait till the master showed up which I agreed with, and Tanjiro wanted to have Nezuko fight by his side.

Then he showed up, the ever so "lovable", man who looked like a crazy dog with the weirdest eyes ever Sanemi showed up carrying the box young tanjiro carried around, this must have been the box that nezuko was inside.

Sanemi kept insulting the boy and then suddenly stabbed the box all the way through raising my eyes as I picked up my shield and spear shouting, "Sanemi! Put the box down you bastard!"

I watched in shock as Tanjiro rushed forward and headbutted Sanemi followed by Ayano lunging forward and kicking him in the nuts hard. I couldn't help but laugh before rushing forward myself to shield tanjiro from Sanemi before he could hurt the boy.

Before blows could be struck however the twins finally showed up and said, "the master of the mansion has returned" and instinctively I turned back and kneeled proper to the master, it did warm my heart to see he was still in good health and living as it meant we still had a leader.

"my beloved children, I thank you for coming here this day"

The master smiled at us, and Ayano translated for me that the master was happy to see us all here today at the meeting of the hashira and that it brought him joy to see all of us

Sanemi then forced Tanjiro's head down and said, "Master I am pleased to see you in good health."

The master then enlightened us on the issue with Nezuko stating that they have been sanctioned a couple of the slayers couldn't agree with it, but Tengen, Rengoku sensei, and Shinobu Sensei were okay with it as it was sort of like Ayano. The Master then produced a letter from urokodaki talking about how Nezuko had human reason still and that if Nezuko did kill a human, Tanjiro, Urokodaki, and Tomioka would commit seppuku.

They went back and forth before the master talked about how Tanjiro did in fact cross paths with Muzan which caught my attention as we all started to interrogate him about his meeting with muzan which shocked everyone!

I looked at Tanjiro and using Ayano to translate I said, "if Muzan is here! where did you see him last! What kind of strength does he have!"

We all interrogated Tanjiro in our own way and did whatever we could to try and gent information out of him when The Master finally quieted us all down and told us about how Muzan had sent pursuers after Tanjiro but now that he has finally revealed himself something must be happening, and with the way Nezuko is something grand must be happening to her that Muzan didn't see coming. We all had no choice but to agree with the master's orders. The only person who was against it was Sanemi who sliced his arm open and wanted to prove that nezuko was a true demon.

Sanemi laughed and allowed the blood to get on Nezuko's box. I see what he was trying to do, he was trying to goat her into attacking him that way he can kill her, sounds just like something Sanemi would do…I fucking hate that sliced up asshole and his cruel methods.

Tanjiro tried to stop her but Sanemi threw the box into the masters manor where it was nice and dark and started to stab the box over and over again while Obani started to crush Tanjiro's back with his elbow.

Sanemi did everything in his power to goat Nezuko into an attack. The girl looked hungry as she emerged from the box and Ayano looked worried but all I did was put my spear out to block her and shook my head.

"This is a time for Nezuko to prove herself, let's see what she does" I said looking back towards Nezuko and Sanemi.

I will admit though I was also enraged by the way Sanemi was handling this, he disrespected the master who had been so kind to us by entering his home without permission, he got blood on the floor, and more importantly he was leaving loads of cut marks from his katana in the floor this was disrespectful beyond a shadow of a doubt and I also wanted to get up there and beat the shit out of him but I wanted to also see how Nezuko would handle this.

Sanemi laughed at her, and I watched as Obanai dug his elbow deeper into his back and unsheathed my Kopis and was about to walk over to kick Obani off of Tanjiro but Rengoku sensei stopped me and shook his head no before I could make a move. I sighed in defeat and watched as Tomioka grabbed Obani's hand and pushed him away giving Tanjiro a chance to break his rope bonds and rush forward to his sister.

Nezuko turned her head away in disgust causing me to smile happily. There was something different about this girl.

The master then said this was undeniable proof that nezuko wouldn't harm humans. The master then gave Tanjiro the goal to prove themselves to everyone else by fighting as demon slayers, if he defeats a member of the 12 kizuki he would be accepted by all just like Ayano.

Tanjiro bowed and said, "my sister and I will defeat Kibutsuji rest assured we will strike him down and end this never-ending cycle of misery!"

This boy had some balls on him and while the rest of the other hashira tried their hardest to contain their laughter Ayano was rolling her eyes and I gave a hardy laugh at the boy. The embarrassment on the boy's face didn't help…at all and I laughed a bit louder earning me an ear pinching from Shinobu sensei who looked at me and shook her head and with a nod I contained myself.

Afterwards Sanemi and Obani were chewed out and Tanjiro was escorted to the butterfly manor for healing.

I will admit the member of the kakushi were really nervous around us bowing twice, once to the master and once to us before approaching Tanjiro and Nezuko and looking even more nervous when Tanjiro somehow broke out to demand a chance to headbutt Sanemi for every time he hurt Nezuko.

I gave a hardy laugh and said, "this boy has got a fire in him! I like that! I like that a lot! He will make a fine demon slayer one day!"

Tanjiro looked at the other Hashira and said, "forgive me for my rudeness but what is with that guy? I have no idea what he is saying."

Shinobu giggled and said, "oh this is the Greek Hashira, Nikolaos Aristokles, he's not from Japan, he grew up in sparta and came her a while back…he has trouble with the language, so he has a translator with him... and ironically enough that translator is also a demon."

Ayano waved her hand at Tanjiro and smiled saying, "I'm Ayano, Lord Nikolaos's translator I wish you and you sister luck as being a demon slayer is rough."

Tanjiro then went back to trying to argue with the master and was knocked out by Muichiro and dragged away allowing us to get back into the Hashira meeting.

End of chapter

Shinobu: and now time for a taisho era secret!

Shinobu: Nikolaos's favorite food just so happens to be Tempura shrimp and a bowl of white rice, whenever someone offers it to him he can't resist and becomes even more bubbly than he usually is!

Nikolaos: oi! Its because I had never tasted Tempura before! This stuff is beyond amazing! Hell I could eat it every day!

Shinobu: oh you glutton! Anyways next chapter! Chapter four the demon born of the Mycenaean era! Lets see what your capable of Nikolaos!