While the chaos on the mountain subsides, the remaining Hashira have begun to gather at the Ubuyashiki Estate for the emergency Hashira Meeting.
In the courtyard, Manjiro Asakura.
The Rumble Hashira is lying flat on his back on the engawa (porch), but rather than the hard wood, his head rests comfortably on the lap of Mitsuri Kanroji (Love Hashira). He is sound asleep in a patch of sunlight, one arm thrown over his eyes to block the glare.
Mitsuri is sitting stiffly, blushing furiously but looking torn between pure happiness and the panic of the situation. She pokes his cheek gently.
"Manjiro-kun... Manjiro-kun, please wake up," she whispers loudly, her voice trembling slightly. "Everyone is arriving! You can't be seen sleeping like this during the trial!"
Manjiro shifts, nuzzling slightly into the fabric of her uniform before cracking one heavy-lidded eye open to look up at her. "Mmm... your heart is beating so fast. Are you nervous, or do you just like being my pillow that much?"
Mitsuri jumps, her blush immediate and dramatic, but she's not genuinely upset. "M-Manjiro-kun! Don't be silly! You have to get up!" She gently pushes his head up, her hands finding the handkerchief to press against his cheek. "And you're drooling a little!"
Manjiro finally sits up, looking disheveled and blinking slowly like a cat. He accepts the handkerchief and rubs his face. "Thinking to himself how far he has come"
---
[FLASHBACK]
It all started when a pair of incredibly strong arms hauled him out of the rushing river.
Manjiro sat up, water dripping from his bangs, completely unbothered.
"Tch."
Manjiro looked at the sparkling river, then up at his savior with a look of mild disappointment.
Manjiro: "Are you the one who interrupted my drowning?"
Mitsuri Kanroji blinked, tears still shimmering in her lime-green eyes. She was kneeling beside him, her kimono soaked from the rescue. "I... I saved you! You were drowning!"
Manjiro: "Saved?" He tilted his head, wet blonde hair plastering to his cheek. "I wasn't in danger. I was trying to commit suicide."
Mitsuri sniffled, wiping her eyes. She had been crying before she even jumped in. fresh from a rejection where a suitor had called her hair 'strange' and her strength 'unwomanly.'
Manjiro looked at her, really looked at her. He saw the tear streaked face, and the vibrant, unique hair she was trying to cover with her hands.
He looked at her hands, which were trembling as she tried to hide her hair.
"Why are you covering it?" Manjiro asked softly, his voice dropping the playful annoyance.
"Because... it's weird!" Mitsuri wailed, the sound muffled by her palms. Her voice broke as she trembled. "The matches, the suitors... they all say the same thing. No one wants a wife with hair like a garish weed or the strength of an ogre. I'm just... a freak of nature!"
"A freak?" Manjiro chuckled.
"How incredibly dull those people must be," he murmured.
Manjiro extended his hand toward her. He slowly pried her hands away from her face, forcing her to reveal the vivid pink and lime-green locks. The wind swirled around them, making her hair dance like falling blossoms against the backdrop of the sky.
"Your hair is beautiful. To me," Manjiro said, his dark eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her breath hitch, "it's not weird... I like it"
Mitsuri's face flushed a deep, radiant crimson. For years, she had tried to dye her hair black and eat less to fit in. But in this one moment, she realized she didn't need to change. The very thing she thought would keep her alone forever had become the "thread" that pulled this strange, handsome man toward her.
"A-Anyway!" Manjiro clapped his hands, breaking the tension "...my priority was a clean suicide without troubling anyone. But now I've troubled you. The fault lies with me."
He patted his pockets. "I should apologize in some way." He pulled out his pockets. Empty.
He offered her a dazzling, completely shameless grin. "By the way, the river seems to have taken my wallet." He smiled charmingly. "I don't suppose you know a place with good food?"
[Flashback End]
---
[Canon Starting]
looking toward the gate where the Kakushi are carrying the prisoner in. "I sense a headache coming."
He stands up slowly, leaning heavily against a pillar just as the Kakushi drag the unconscious Tanjiro onto the gravel.
Tanjiro Kamado awakens to find himself bound, his hands tied behind his back, lying on the gravel in a sunlit courtyard.
The Kakushi who placed him there shouts: "The Pillars are now present!! "
Tanjiro is confused and panicked, as ten of the highest-ranking and most powerful swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps. Stared at him
(Tanjiro POV)
Tanjiro thought to himself: "Pillars...! What are pillars? What the heck?"
"Who are those people?"
"Where am I?"
Shinobu Kocho (Insect Hashira): Maintains a polite but firm demeanor, informing Tanjiro he is on trial.
Kyojuro Rengoku (Flame Hashira), was the first to speak, his voice booming. "There's no need for a trial here!"
"Protecting demons is clearly a violation of conduct! We can deal with it by ourselves! We'll decapitate every demon!"
Tengen Uzui (Sound Hashira): Expresses a desire to behead Tanjiro's sister "flamboyantly."
Tanjiro desperately protested, his voice strained. "Nezuko has never eaten a human! She controls herself! We fight demons together!"
Mitsuri Kanroji(Love Hasira) leaned forward, her heart-shaped pupils wide with sympathy. "Eeehh...We're gonna kill such a cute girl?" she whispered, her hands fluttering in distress. "My chest hurts. Oh so much."
Gyomei Himejima (Rock Hashira) the blind giant, murmured compassionately, silent tears already streaming down his face as he prayed.
Meanwhile, Muichiro Tokito (Mist Hashira) stood distracted, staring blankly at the sky as if none of this concerned him.
Obanai Iguro(Snake Hashira), glare at the silent Water Hashira, He criticized Giyu Tomioka(Water Hashira) sharply for defending Tanjiro and protecting the demon. Giyu remained utterly quiet, refusing to rise to the provocation.
Tanjiro bowed his head and pleaded for understanding, explaining that his entire reason for joining the Corps was to protect Nezuko until he found a cure. He insisted she had fought alongside him and would continue doing so.
Sanemi Shinazugawa(Wind Hashira), clearly irritated. He questions Tanjiro's belief, "You think a demon can resist their instincts?! Pathetic!"
Without waiting for a response, he seizes Nezuko's box.
Tanjiro panics instantly, shouting for him to stop, but Sanemi ignores him. In an attempt to prove demons are dangerous, he stabs the box, letting Nezuko's scent fill the air.
Tanjiro, enraged, charges at the Wind Hashira, screaming threats. Sanemi prepared to strike the boy down
Giyu Tomioka(Water Hashira) shouts, "The Master is coming!" which momentarily distracts Sanemi.
Capitalizing on the split second, Tanjiro leaps and delivers his signature headbutt to Sanemi's face, sending the Wind Hashira crashing to the ground.
The courtyard goes silent. Mitsuri stifles a laugh, covering her mouth.
---
Then, a chuckle breaks the silence, not even trying to hide it.
"Wow… headbutted," he mutters.
He glances at Tanjiro, clearly entertained.
"Kid's got guts. Poor timing, but good instincts."
Then, casually, he looks at Sanemi.
"…You okay? That looked like it hurt."
Sanemi, bleeding from his nose and furious, scrambles up to kill Tanjiro.
Before the Wind Hashira could draw his sword, Manjiro was already there. His hands on Sanemi's weapon wrist, preventing him from drawing his sword.
The transition was so fast that only Giyu and Gyomei might have seen.
"Easy," Manjiro murmurs, his eyes half-closed but radiating a cold warning. "The Master is coming... You're already causing a scene"
---