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Kamado Tanjiro was in pain from the previous fights he was in and the person holding him down in front of the Hashiras was not helping. He felt like he couldn’t breathe or center himself as the pillars went on and on about how he and his sister were not trustworthy. Talking out loud about which one of them they would kill first or if they would just need to kill his sister.
The one with flaming hair and the loudest one with a jeweled headband were the loudest in their desire to cut his sister’s head off.
Tanjiro pleaded and begged for them to listen to him about how his sister was different. She never ate a human. She never attacked a citizen! She never had a drop of human blood. His sister was nothing like the demons they had fought before, yet they would not listen. They kept saying either he was guilty and trying to hide the truth from them. If only they knew he sucked at lying!
Tomioka was in the crowd but the butterfly woman that smelled like hidden anger and medicinal supplies was standing slightly in front of him like she was blocking him.
In the middle of his begging, a silver haired man appeared out of nowhere with Nezuko’s box. A sadistic grin stretched across his face while a person tried to get him to put the box down.
“Is this the demon slayer who has a demon with him?” The silver haired man asked.
“Shinazugawa, please don’t act out of line this way.” The Doctor said, her silent smile slipping at the edges as she reprimanded the stranger.
Shinazugawa grinned as he ran his word through Nezuko’s box. He could hear his sister groan inside, a spurt of blood erupting from the punctured wood.
Tanjiro was standing before he knew it, bucking the person holding him down off of him. He rushed toward the man with his head down and his hands still tied behind him as some of the pillars made surprised noises at his sudden escape. He jumped and slammed his forehead right into the scarred man’s face.
They both fell to the ground and Tanjiro did not waste time as he draped himself over his sister’s box. The scarred man stared at him in distaste. The spiky white haired and unimpressed gaze spelled out trouble as the Hashira stomped up to him.
“The master has arrived.”
Tanjiro suddenly found himself dragged off his sister’s box and his face pushed into the ground.
“I pray for your good fortune,” Shinazugawa said, their hand tightening against his scalp when he tried to move out from his grip. “Before we start the Hashira meeting, would you mind enlightening us about this situation?”
“Right. I apologize for not informing you all about this discourse of Tanjiro and his... demonic family.” The master’s soft voice washed over the courtyard. “I received a letter from a former Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji. Please read it, my daughter.”
One girl with white hair unrolled the scroll with a painted smile. “Please spare Tanjiro and Nezuko. Even in a starved state, she never devoured humans, and this has remained true more than two years later. She survived by resting her body through slumber. If Kamado Nezuko eats human flesh, Urokodaki Sakonji and Tomioka Giyuu will atone by committing seppuku.”
Several pillars started to protest at this.
“We can’t guarantee that they won’t attack humans. We can’t prove the fact if any of them refrain from devouring humans for this long means they won’t ever do so.“ The master commanded attention with his words. “But I have more news to share with all of you conceding young Kamado. Kamado Tanjiro has met Kibutsuji.”
The master's words only made the pillars’ voices rise once again in astonishment and disbelief.
“Ha? What does he look like?” His face got pushed into the ground harder by the scarred man. “What is his stronghold?”
“Kitbutsuji has sent pursuers after Tanjiro. We don’t not know the full reason as to why he is a target. But it might have something to do with the demon sister he has. I believe something is happening with her that Kibutsuji never saw coming,” the master continued as his daughters remained at his side. “And from the letters, Nezuko seems to be different since she has never eaten human blood. She has only slept, yet she has shown to have such strength.”
“I can’t accept this!” Shinazugawa said. Tanjiro struggled to turn his head to watch his expression. “Not after all that we the demon slayer have gone through in battle! Not after so many people lost their lives. I can provide the evidence myself that we have a right to distrust this.”
“Hmm.” The master hummed, taking his words into consideration. Then he made a sound of agreement. “Go on. This will provide the evidence many of you need to relax with their presence.”
Tanjiro felt Shinazugawa’s hand leave his hair as another set of hands pinned him down to the ground harshly. He coughed at the force as the hashira was guided to bring the box into the covered room away from the sunlight. Tanjiro watched the hashira move with Nezuko’s box even as his face was squished against the hard rocky ground.
He yelled out in protest as Shinazugawa stabbed into Nezuko’s box again.
“Nezu-gah!” The back of his throat was grabbed from the back as fingers dug into the sides of his neck. The pain in his body became overwhelming by how hard the fingers were pressing into him. The sound of a snake hissing invaded his ears as Shinazugawa sliced his arm open.
Blood started to leak onto the wooden floor of the open room as everyone watched. Shinazugawa hovered his arm over the box to drip blood directly into the holes he made into the box before he stepped away with a confident grin.
“Hey demon. Come out here and get it. I know you want to,” Shinazugawa said.
The wooden door opened up to reveal his sister with her pink robes drenched in blood whether it was hers or Shinazugawa’s blood that dripped onto her. He tried to look up to see his sister’s face or shout out to her to help her focus but his face was shoved into the ground.
“Iguro. Hey Iguro. You’re digging into him far too hard,” the woman with the strained smile reprimanded. “Ease up a bit please.”
The hands holding him still loosened only slightly enough for him to breathe as calmly as he could manage in this situation which was making all his nerves stand on edge.
*
Kamado Nezuko could barely focus on the pain radiating from her torso as a tantalizing scent filled the air. It made her eyes focus on the source of the gorgeous smelling red dripping down from someone’s arm. Were they spilling wine just for her?
No, that was something else... She can’t drink from that, she couldn’t but the red liquid was so promising.
Nezuko tried to focus on the body in front of her, squinting and she tried to work her way past the hunger urge building up inside her.
It wasn’t an enemy. It was... It was—
The image of that short black hair and pleading puppy eyes looked up at her. Her baby brother, Rokuta, was right there with teary eyes. The scene of a wine jar spilling out from beside him faded into nothing as she focused on that heavenly sight of her baby brother.
Oh, he looked so upset. She should do something to help him cheer up.
Nezuko charged forward in a blink to pick up her baby brother under his armpits. Noises erupted from around her. Ah, there was a celebration happening in their town. Maybe that is what overwhelmed her brother.
Don’t worry, Rokuta, big sister knows you like being carried when you get like this. She wouldn’t forget
*
The hands that were holding Tanjiro jumped back, allowing him to stand up right as the pillars started to protest. He saw exactly what they were worried about.
His sister was holding the pillar aloft in her hands with a certain look that looked so familiar to him. He could hear Tomioka trying to calm everyone down, rushing to stop two of the pillars from rushing into the open room. Tomioka was trying to say something about the hypnosis that Urokodaki had done while Shinazugawa was busy gloating that he knew that the demon wouldn’t be able to resist his blood.
That cocky attitude changed quickly as he saw that familiar fond look on Nezuko’s face as she immediately cradled Shinazugawa like she used to with a Rokuta.
“HAH?!” Shinazugawa yelled.
One of the Hashiras with pink and green hair started to laugh so hard she couldn’t contain herself behind her hand. The pillar with flaming hair was staring hard at the scene with a fixed smile yet a very confused gaze as he tilted his head.
The woman with the butterfly pin raised her hands up towards the pillar in a calming motion. “Shinazugawa, calm down.”
“Daughter, what is happening?” The master called out as Nezuko swooped Shinazugawa on her back and started using her haori as a makeshift sling to support his weight.
Shinazugawa was not quiet about this at all, trying to reach his sword but kept being blocked by Nezuko’s hands. “WHY IS THIS DEMON TRYING TO CARRY ME?”
The master’s daughter gave no indication she cared about the pillar’s current situation as she relayed their situation to her father. “Nezuko ignored Shinazugawa’s blood entirely and is now attempting to wrap him in a sling to carry him on her back like one would a small child.”
The master smiled, ignoring the sounds of Shinazugawa being swaddled. “Ah, so now it’s been proven that the Kamado family won’t attack humans, right? I’m sure that after this, there are some that still won’t accept her. But for now, leave the siblings be.”
Tanjiro started to laugh at the indescribable expression on the pillar's face. He leaned against the open room’s ledge to watch the scene continue to unfold with a smile on his face.
A lot of the pillars were just watching as Nezuko, the demon they wanted to see punished so badly, gently swayed on her feet in an attempt to calm down the angry grown-up child on her back.
“CAN’T ONE OF YOU DO SOMETHING?”
Tanjiro won’t. The only thing he will do is make sure Shinazugawa gets another headbutt and a swift kick to his groin for what he did to his sister. But he was sure that one of the pillars will eventually help him before Nezuko drops him to sleep to recover from her injuries.
But for now, he would let his sister punish him unknowingly through this humiliating scene.