Demon Slayer: The Strange Demon

by Blackdrag-rose

Interlude: Meeting the Hashira

As Pinkamena followed the two Hashira out of the forest, where she quickly learned that the Water Hashira was called Giyu Tomioka and the Insect Hashira went by the name Shinobu Kocho, they were joined by a fair number of Kakushi, which was the name of those dark clothed figures she and Tanjiro had seen after the Final Selection, and the other female Slayer that she had spotted. The last member of their group was called Kanao Tsuyuri and, based on what she could tell, she and the Kakushi were expecting to find a number of wounded Slayers, who would be taken to a place called the 'Butterfly Mansion' to be healed, which was where they would be taking Zenitsu and Inosuke, not to mention any lesser newcomers who arrived before the Hashira did. Of course such a thing caused them to glance at her, as Giyu knew she was a Demon thanks to taking a few days to watch her while she was training to master Sakonji's Breathing Style, where Pinkamena informed them that she would let the wounded go when they were outside the forest, as they were safe in her domain and she could verify that none of them were bleeding out. As she expected both Shinobu and Kanao didn't believe what she was saying, which was understandable since she had a feeling they knew she was a Demon as well, but for the time being they seemed to relax a little, keeping their eyes on her in case she did something stupid, all while the latter signaled for the remaining Kakushi to regroup at the area they were heading to.

Once they were out of the forest, however, the group stopped and the Hashira turned towards her, where Pinkamena took a few seconds to gather her power and summoned the gateway back to her domain, giving the Kakushi time to enter it and find that she was telling the truth, that the wounded had been placed in a state of slumber, preventing them from bleeding out, and they moved to tend to them without delay. Of course Shinobu informed her that she also had to hand over Tanjiro, as he was guilty of harboring two Demons, a violation of the code that the Corps lived by, something she refused since she had seen what happened back in the area she fought Rui in, as she had a feeling that Shinobu or Kanao would knock him unconscious if he tried anything. Her argument was that there was no other way for one to leave or exit her domain, not without her permission on the matter, so the Hashira didn't have to worry about Tanjiro making a break for it, but, once again, her words were met with silence as Shinobu stared at her, though she did stop Kanao from using her blade on her. In the end Giyu said it was a good thing, since the crows wanted all three of them to be brought to their Headquarters and this meant they didn't have to waste time in running after those who might try to flee, causing Shinobu to sigh before going along with it, allowing them to depart from Natagumo Mountain and head for the area that the head of the Corps happened to reside in.

It was easy for her to see that both Shinobu and Kanao didn't trust her, in fact they had a hard time believing that she was a Demon, meaning Chaos World was affecting them as well, but despite the former's attempts to tear Giyu down earlier it did look like she trusted his judgement and that lead to the latter following suit, even though the tension between them still existed, which she decided to ignore for the foreseeable future.

While they did that Pinkamena also found that the Kakushi were carrying all of the small spiders, the people who had been turned into spiders anyway, with them as well, meaning they might have a way to treat them as well so they could return to their previous lives, or whatever they were planning on doing, though she hoped it wasn't killing them, since it wasn't their fault they had been caught up in this situation. Of course one of the Kakushi tried to restrain her arms at one point, though Giyu informed them that it wasn't necessary, due to Pinkamena cooperating with them and not trying to run from them, even though she was sure that she might be able to flee if she put her mind to it, causing the figure to return to his duties and fell in with the rest of his group. From what she learned the shadowy group were those not blessed with the talents of a Slayer, meaning they couldn't wield a blade like Tanjiro and all of the other Mizunoto, but that didn't stop any of them from applying themselves to the Corps and learning how to help them, even if it meant sticking to the shadows and cleaning up after the fights the Slayers had with the Demons. She learned that they were basically a stealth group and that they learned all sorts of skills to make themselves useful to the Corps, be it tending to wounds, binding bones, lifting heavy objects, and whatever else the Kakushi had to do to make sure the public wasn't aware of the ongoing battle that was raging during the nights, even coming up with excuses as to what happened, so people didn't get frightened by all the disappearances and sudden attacks.

In the end Pinkamena turned her attention to what was going to happen next, as they were being taken straight to the one person that many in the organization knew about, in a sense, but hadn't seen since joining the Corps, making her take a moment to wonder what sort of person she and Tanjiro might be meeting, though given that two Hashira were here she had a feeling that meeting the others might be next on the list, causing her to turn her head towards the road once more as she wondered what might happen next.

---

It took them some time to reach the area that the Butterfly Mansion rested in, a rather nice place that was some time from where Natagumo Mountain rested, which reminded Pinkamena of Kyogai's mansion when she thought about it, and the Kakushi made sure that every wounded Slayer was placed in a bed, so they could be tended to and then discharged once they were healed. She found that Tanjiro had been knocked out after the battle with Rui, though it didn't stop some of the hidden forces from wrapping ropes on his arms and locking them behind his back, causing her to sigh for a moment, while she made sure that Nezuko was safe inside her box before removing her from the area of her world that she had been put in earlier. Pinkamena considered stepping in and stopping them from doing such a thing to Tanjiro, but right now she felt that getting in the way might be the worst thing she could do, especially since they were heading for the area that the rest of the Hashira were in, so she said nothing as Tanjiro was tied up and a pair of Kakushi took Nazuko's box for later, as she might be the topic of discussion. Once that was done she and Tanjiro were taken to another part of the area the mansion was in, an area hidden from sight and seemed to require knowing the path to find it, meaning that locating whoever lead the Demon Slayer Corps would be an ordeal and incredibly hard for Muzan's forces to do.

The area they eventually ended up in seemed to be an estate or mansion of some kind, which seemed to be common with the people of this land, only it was far more elegant and peaceful, as it had a garden, some trees, and a few other things that would allow someone to live in peace, though they dropped Tanjiro in the area in front of where one would sit and left him there for some time, allowing her to stand there as well.

In the following moments she discovered a few other people in the area as well, a young male with an enthusiastic smile on his face and whose hair seemed to be designed to look like fire, a curvaceous female with pink hair that ended in green tips and her uniform was partly open in the front that exposed the sides of her breasts, and a tall male who was muscular and had an odd headband with a few stones on it, though he had an odd marking over his left eye, like a flower made up of points and nothing else. There were three other figures in the area, a short male who had long black hair that turned to a mint green at the ends and seemed to be staring off into space, the second being another fall male who looked more like a priest than someone who fought Demons for a living, with the prayer beads around his neck and hands, and the third of the trio was another male who wore some wrappings around his mouth area, he had a right yellow eye and a turquoise right eye, and he seemed to enjoy sitting in a tree, with a little white snake with him. In addition to them, along with Giyu and Shinobu, there was one other figure present, who disappeared shortly after their arrival, but she noticed that he was a muscular male who liked to show off his scarred chest, as his jacket was open, though he had short spiky white hair, so he had to be one who didn't care for his own life or something. She knew that these had to be the Hashira, who scattered all over the mansion as they waited for someone to arrive, but, at the same time, she could see that they were focused on her as Giyu and Shinobu joined them, no doubt either wondering who she was or knowing what she was and had to be ready in case she tried anything foolish.

The Kakushi who was assigned to watch over Tanjiro informed her that the enthusiastic male was Kyojuro Rengoku, who was the Flame Hashira, the curvaceous female was Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, the guy with the metal headband was Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, and the male who was staring into space was Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira. After that they moved onto the priest, who was Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, before revealing that the guy with the snake was Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira, and the scarred male was Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira, though he had no need to tell her about Giyu and Shinobu. Pinkamena could tell, with just a glance, that they were all powerful, especially since they were the Hashira, who stood as the strongest members of the Demon Slayer Corps, and even if she fought one of them she had a feeling that, without Chaos World, it would be a match she might lose if she wasn't careful, as even with her Chaos Breathing there was no guarantee of victory. In fact, based on how they looked at her, it was easy to tell that of the nine assembled Hashira, who were scattered all over the garden of the mansion, Sanemi was a person she had to keep an eye on, as he seemed dangerous and the most likely to draw his blade and attack if he realized that two Demons were nearby, so it made her a little worried for Nezuko.

Of course it was possible that this was what he was doing right now, seeking out Nezuko so he could run her through and behead her, or at least keep her contained and then kill her right in front of Tanjiro whenever he woke up, but she kept her senses up in case he came after her and tried something, or if any of the other Hashira tried something.

One thing Pinkamena noticed while she waited was that everyone had their guards up as well, as each one seemed to take a moment to glance at her, either out of curiosity or sensing that she was dangerous, where she suspected that one of the Kakushi must have informed them of what happened in Rui's domain, all while Giyu maintained a straight face. The rest of the Hashira were definitely different than the rest of the Demon Slayers she had seen, their presence was impressive and she was sure that they could probably knock out any Mizunoto if they were capable of using energy to show their foes just how strong they were. Such a thing would be true for her, the Lower Moons, and the Upper Moons, including Muzan when she considered her true target, but for now she was focused on what the Hashira might do when they figured out that she was a Demon and not a Human like them, all while feeling some familiar eyes on her. She was sure that the kids from the Final Selection, the siblings that had welcomed her and the others, or at least more of their family members, as they had to be important to this organization if they were the ones who awarded the survivors with the ore that went into making their Nichirin Blades.

Eventually the Hashira discussed what they had been told, focusing on Tanjiro and the fact that he was carting around a Demon, meaning they either had no idea Nezuko was his sister or they didn't care, which seemed to be a rule in the Corps, even though some had to capture Demons for the Final Selection, and eventually some turned on her slumbering friend, to the point where Tanjiro woke up and noticed what was around him.

"Tanjiro Kamado, this is the Headquarters of the Demon Slayers, and right now you are on trial," Shinobu stated, barely giving him time to register what was going on right now, as the last thing he had to recall was that Pinkamena fought and killed Rui, before the arrival of Giyu, all while the rest of the Hashira moved around a little as Tanjiro stared at the brand new faces that were in this area.

"There's no need for a trial." Kyojuro said, his tone revealing that he was positive that they could do whatever they wanted to Tanjiro, with no consequences, and given the fact that the Hashira were the nine strongest Demon Slayers, save for one based on what Sakonji told her over the years, she was sure that no one would question anything if they cut Tanjiro down where he was resting, "Protecting Demons is a clear violation of conduct. We can handle this by ourselves, without needing our leader. We will decapitate every Demon we come across!"

Pinkamena sighed as she listened to the conversation unfold, as Tengen was of the opinion that they should just remove Nezuko's head in a 'flamboyant' manner, Mitsuri seemed conflicted over the situation, Gyomei claimed that Nezuko was a shoddy child for being given such a fate, and Muichiro stared at the clouds. Obanai seemed to have a headache because of the fact that Giyu wasn't bound and forced to the ground like Tanjiro, meaning they must have discovered the fact that he hadn't killed Nezuko the first time he found her, two years ago, a time that Pinkamena had heard about during their two years of training. Shinobu, however, was fine with this turn of events, as Giyu had come without causing trouble, likely due to the fact that he and Sakonji must have told the leader of the Corps about Nezuko, something they hadn't told the rest of the Hashira about, but the Insect Hashira wanted to hear Tanjiro's story, before they executed him and the Demon that he was carting around. Tanjiro started to talk and found that he was in need of water, which Shinobu provided, claiming that it had painkillers inside it, before he quickly gave them a rundown on the important facts about his sister, that she hadn't eaten a single person and he knew that she would never do such a thing, only to be stopped by several of the Hashira, just as Pinkamena expected of them.

Apparently they seemed to think that Tanjiro was lying to them, with Obanai claiming that he didn't trust his words while Gyomei claimed it would be best to just kill them and end their suffering, Tengen said his story was going around in circles, and Mitsuri mentioned that they should wait for 'Oyakata-sama' to arrive, whoever that was, before Sanemi, as Pinkamena expected, stepped out with two Kakushi and held Nezuko's box in one hand.

"So, you're the idiotic member whose been lugging around a Demon," Sanemi stated, where Tanjiro focused on him as a frown appeared on Pinkamena's face, as out of all the Hashira that were present, and what little she knew about each of them, Sanemi was the one she didn't like right now, in fact she was sure that he might be the one she would grow to hate if she spent more time near him, "What the hell were you planning on doing with it? And why the hell did you bring that girl with you? She's not involved with what's going on right now!"

"Oh trust me, you couldn't be more wrong." Pinkamena remarked, though she had to admit that Sanemi's comment was a good one, as none of the others had said anything about her in the time they had been here, most likely waiting for one of the two Hashira who knew her to say something, but it seemed like they were waiting for Oyakata to arrive before saying anything about her.

"Do you kiddos really know nothing about Demons?! You can't fight with them, to protect Humans... it's impossible, and both of you are morons for thinking that way!" Sanemi replied, once more showing Pinkamena that people couldn't see her true nature, that her Blood Demon Art was hiding what she really was, before he gripped the handle of his blade and drew it, drawing the attention of everyone to what he was doing.

In that moment he pierced the box, stabbing Nezuko in the process since blood started to gather in the lowest point and droplets were forming, though in that moment Tanjiro burst forward and rushed Sanemi, who pulled his blade out, but as he avoided the sword swing, by jumping into the air, Giyu informed them that Oyakata was arriving. Such a thing opened a hole in Sanemi's defenses for a few seconds, as he glanced at the other Hashira as he said that, where Tanjiro headbutted him and knocked his foe to the ground, which pleased Pinkamena since it punished the annoying Hashira a little. It also caused Mitsuri to let out what seemed to be a chuckle of some kind, one that she crushed and it came out as a 'pff' sound, something that she apologized for when several of the other Hashira glanced at her, all while the remaining Hashira were focused on Tanjiro. In that moment Tanjiro informed Sanemi that if he couldn't tell the good Demons, potential allies that would help the Corps take down Muzan, from the bad Demons, those who gladly killed for the sake of killing, than his next action should be to quit being a Hashira, something that really pissed off Sanemi, as he claimed that he was going to rip Tanjiro to shreds.

Before anything happened, however, a young girl, identical to the one at the Final Selection, appeared in the building that was nearby and informed them that Oyakata had arrived, which caused the Hashira to gather in a line nearby and knelt like they were meeting a king, though as Pinkamena joined them, after Sanemi growled at her, she found that the figure was a light skinned individual with shoulder length black hair, a male figure, and he had a purple curse mark over his face, like it was rotting him.

"Good morning everyone... we have some really nice weather today. Is the sky blue?" the figure asked, where Pinkamena found that he was blind, no doubt due to the sickness that was slowly covering his body, and even Tanjiro, who Sanemi happened to be forcing into the ground so he could bow his head as well, could see the person in question, and he had to feel pity for him, all while two young girls escorted him to his seat, "Our members have gathered for the Pillar Meeting that we hold once every six months, as per our customs... I find this pleasurable."

"We find it most honorable to be in your presence, Oyakata-sama, and we eagerly pray for much happiness upon you," Sanemi said, where Pinkamena could tell that such a thing was a rehearsed saying for the Hashira to say, as she could see that Mitsuri looked like she wanted to say the welcoming statement, while the others remained silent and wanted for their leader to say something to them.

"Thank you, Sanemi." Oyakata replied, where the girls helped him sit down in the area that he usually sat in when they had a meeting like this, showing Pinkamena that his illness must have crippled him to the point where he was unable to do all sorts of things on his own, though at the same time she had a feeling that 'Oyakata' was just a title and made her wonder what his true name might be.

"Let me humbly say that there are two soldiers present in this Pillar Meeting that have brought a Demon with them... may I explain the scenario to you?" Sanemi inquired, once more confirming Pinkamena's thoughts on the matter, the Hashira respected the figure in front of them and looked to him for guidance at times, but she also knew that Oyakata was aware of their existence and the fact that Tanjiro had two Demons near him.

"I see. I'm sorry that they have surprised you all like this, but I have given my approval for Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, not to mention Pinkamena." Oyakata stated, something that not only confirmed her thoughts, given what she had seen and heard over the years, but also surprised the Hashira who happened to be around them, while her friend was pleased to hear that the leader of the Corps approved of his sister's existence, "So I want everyone here to accept them as allies in the fight to take down Muzan and his Kizuki."

Sure enough most of the Hashira stated that they respected Oyakata with all their hearts, but most couldn't fathom what he was saying and disapproved of his order to spare Nezuko, in fact Mitsuri seemed to be the only one to accept his will, all while Giyu and Shinobu seemed to think about the situation they were in, and Sanemi wanted nothing more than to punish Tanjiro for his 'crimes'.

"I understand your opinions, and this might help you understand my decision." Oyakata said, no doubt referring to a letter that Sakonji had sent during the two years she and Tanjiro had spent under his wing, all while beckoning to the girl that was on his right, something that caused everyone to focus on what they had to say and if they should care about what had helped him come to this decision, "Now, the letter."

"We received this letter from the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki,," the girl said, where she quickly pulled out the parchment in question and opened it so she could read what she had read to their leader when it came in, though that did make Pinkamena wonder what her mentor might have written to his former boss, besides telling him about the fact that Tanjiro had two Demons with him, "and I will read an exert from it... 'please forgive Tanjiro for being with two Demons. Nezuko has a tenacious spirit and retains some Human reasoning... even when she's starving she refuses to eat Humans, and has stayed that way for the last two years. Pinkamena, on the other hand, is a rebellious soul who refuses to do as a normal Demon would do... in fact, when you meet her, you may not see her as a Demon, but what I say is true. If by any chance that Nezuko ends up attacking someone, Tanjiro Kamado, as well as Sakonji Urokodaki and Giyu Tomioka, will cut their own stomachs open as an apology'."

"Why should we care if they're willing to kill themselves? Let them do it and rot for all I care... there is no guarantee that she won't kill someone." Sanemi stated, as while Tanjiro felt tears coming down the side of his face, due to being unaware of the trust and faith that had been placed on him, by both his mentor and senior, several of the Hashira still weren't even remotely convinced by the letter.

"Sanemi is correct... if she kills and eats someone, nothing will change and the person in question will be dead." Kyojuro added, showing them that he agreed with what his fellow Hashira had said, though at the same time Pinkamena was sure he was thinking about something, no doubt Tanjiro's connection to the former and current Water Hashira, since they were putting their lives on the line for him and Nezuko.

"You have a point, they can't guarantee that she won't attack anyone... but you can't guarantee that she'll attack someone either." Oyakata said, where Pinkamena found that he continued to have the same patient smile on his face, like he was used to dealing with children or something, all while taking a moment to consider the words that had been said after the girl had read an exert from it, "The truth is that Nezuko has been living without eating Humans for a little over two years, and because of her two people, in addition to her brother, are also putting their lives on the line, while Pinkamena, well, is far different from the rest of her kind... and to deny this letter, well, the deniers would have to present something more substantial. Besides, both of them have come into contact with Muzan Kibutsuji."

His statement caused a barrage of questions from the Hashira, as in all of them were suddenly interested in the pair since they had come into contact with the Demon King and each one was eager to learn anything about their foe, as it might give them an advantage over Muzan, but that was when Oyakata raised one of his fingers and the Hashira reigned themselves in almost immediately.

"Based on the reports, Kibutsuiji sent Demons to kill Tanjiro and Pinkamena, who managed to shake off their pursuers," Oyakata continued, showing them that he had more to say on the matter, allowing everyone to understand that there had to be a reason behind the Demon King's decision and, more importantly, that it might have influenced Oyakata's decision, in regards to Tanjiro and Nezuko, "It is hard to say if the reason is because he was tying up a loose end, or if he felt that it was best to remove them from his sight, but for the time being I don't want to lose the tail that he has shown us... and I'm sure he targeted Nezuko as well. Something unexpected has happened for our foe. Do you understand?"

In that moment Sanemi, claiming that he still didn't understand because that meant allowing certain Demons to survive for a time, before he drew his blade and sliced open the side of his right arm, as if he was going to draw Nezuko out to make them listen to him, though that was when Obanai informed him that he couldn't do it in the sunlight. Sanemi, taking a few seconds to ask Oyakata for forgiveness for his upcoming rudeness, flashed forward and dragged the box into the shade of the building, putting him behind the leader of the Corps, where he dropped the box on the floor and proceeded to stab it a few times. It was clear that he was trying to provoke Nezuko into moving, all while Obanai elbowed Tanjiro and kept him on the ground, preventing him from rushing to his sister's aid, and he even taunted her with words before kicking off the door of Nezuko's home, something that was followed by Tanjiro's sister emerging as she glared at Sanemi, who raised his bloodied arm for her to snack on. Pinkamena knew exactly what his plan was, he wanted to make her attack him so they could void the letter and kill her, and she could see that Nezuko's mouth happened to be watering, though Tanjiro broke the ropes on his arms through sheer force and Giyu grabbed Obanai's arm before he could do anything, allowing him to make his way to the edge of the area and call out his sister's name.

Such a thing resonated with Nezuko and she forced herself to turn away from Sanemi, who seemed utterly annoyed by her actions, where one of the young girls informed Oyakata that she was refusing to do anything and turned down the blood in front of her, even if Sanemi's smelled differently to Pinkamena, and the Leader of the Corps was pleased by this turn of events. Of course he informed Tanjiro that many would still refuse to accept his sister, despite her ability to hold back and not attack Humans, so his proposal was for him to cut down the Kizuki, namely an Upper Moon if he could manage it, as if he did something like that than the rest of the Corps would respect his word more and would accept Nezuko as well, as for right now hunting Kibutsuji was impossible. He only spoke about it because Tanjiro claimed that he'd hunt down and end the Demon King, causing many of the Hashira to either chuckle or hold in their emotions for the time being, though as he did that, and Tanjiro lowered his head, Pinkamena noticed Nezuko pouting in her box as Oyakata informed Sanemi and Obanai to stop bullying their juniors. She was impressed by the figure, commanding respect from the Demon Slayers while clearing having a sickly body, and knew that his words were true, if Tanjiro proved himself he would earn the respect of the Hashira and the rest of the Corps, meaning it was possible to do what he had said and have everyone accept Nezuko, a fair goal for him to work towards.

"Now then, with the topic of Tanjiro and Nezuko finished, we're moving onto the topic of Pinkamena," Oyakata said, as he knew they had mentioned her several times since the discussion had started, in fact the letter had mentioned her, just as a number of others that came from Sakonji, though in that moment he suspected that Sanemi and the Hashira were turning to face the individual he had named, "Do you have anything you want to say before we start?"

"Yes... Awaken, Chaos World." Pinkamena replied, where the Hashira watched as the symbol on her left hand glowed for a few seconds before she summoned the crimson barrier that would cover the entire mansion, preventing people on the other side from seeing or hearing what was going on inside while taking everyone into her personal world.

The upcoming conversation was going to be important, and what she had to say needed to be kept between them, hence why she was activating her Blood Demon Art, though as she did that both Sanemi and Obanai shivered for a moment, no doubt worried about what might be coming their way, but for now she focused on the conversation and what it meant for her war against Muzan.

Comments

[Fluffy-Boi]

Ooooo! Pinkamena Flexing!