13. Home Again

Sunlight shone down on Shiro's head as he made his way up the hill. There was also a slight breeze that brushed against his cheek which helped keep his body cool in the midst of the sunlight.

As he neared his destination, a wave of nostalgia came over him as he recalled nearly two years ago when he first walked up this mountain as skinny as a twig.

Looking down at his lean and muscled body, no one would believe that he was the same kid from a year ago.

Finally, Shiro spotted a familiar cabin up ahead and a small smile fell on his lips. He ran a hand through his black hair and straightened his haori that covered his black demon slayer uniform. The least he could do was look a little bit presentable in front of the man who contributed to his growth.

Shiro heard a familiar chopping sound coming from the back of the cabin and he made his way around.

As he neared the yard, the form of his red-haired master came into view as the older man raised the ax and cut the wood in front of him. Minamoto raised his head and turned to the left, directly facing the teen.

His face twisted into a scowl.

"Why are you here?" the old uncle grumbled.

Shiro had to admit that he missed this rude tone. With a bright smile on his face, Shiro replied, "Nice to see you too, master. I see you have been well."

Minamoto scoffed and threw his ax on the tree stump by his feet, impaling it.

"I don't hear from you for weeks and only receive a letter that you're coming back. You've got a lot of nerve pulling that crap boy."

Shiro flinched and bore a sheepish expression. He was certainly at fault here.

"Ah, right. S-Sorry about that, master. I had something to take care of before I could spare a bit of time to write to you. I promise it won't happen again!" Shiro bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Tsk," Minamoto clicked his tongue.

For a moment, he eyed the boy assessing his changes and his eyes widened briefly. With an impressed undertone, the man commented;

"It seems you've grown incredibly strong. I heard about your feats at the Final Selection - it was impressive. To be honest, if I didn't receive a letter directly from headquarters, I doubt I would've believed it."

Shiro didn't take his words to offense. He knew Minamoto was just saying what he thought and it was logical for anyone to think that way. Shiro was a newbie slayer who managed to kill fifty demons at the Final Selection where the death rate was 90 percent.

Moreover, he also slaughtered one of the twelve kizuki. But so far, it was only a few people knew about it.

"What are you dawdling for? I believe it's time for the two of us to have a little chat," Minamoto said motioning to the cabin.

Shiro cringed at the tone his master used. It meant it was time for another long lecture.

"Um...actually I need to report to headquarters for something right now. But I will definitely come back here once I'm done!" Shiro stated as he began backing away.

"You little--"

"Bye master! See you later!" Shiro sped off back to where he came from.

"Oi!"

Minamoto shook his head and thought, 'Was there even a point coming here? That rotten brat...'

.

.

'Ah, that was close' thought Shiro as he reached the base of the mountain.

Minamoto's lectures were...brutal to say the least. That old uncle just knew the right words to use that would stab his soul to death. When Shiro first heard one of Minamoto's so-called 'lectures', he literally came out in tears.

'Yup, that is something I'd rather put off until the last minute. Then again, it's not like I was lying. I really do have to report to headquarters.'

Shiro didn't waste any more time and headed over to the location where the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarter's estate lay.

"Fufu, I'll be meeting all the main characters officially today. How exciting," he said with a soft grin.

'I hope our meeting goes well...'

- - - -

Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

The pillars were gathered together here for the trial of Tanjiro Kamado and his sister, Nezuko Kamado, a demon.

Tanjiro was currently tied up and being held down by the wind Hashira, Sanemi while Nezuko was in her box recovering from being stabbed up the same Hashira.

The Hashiras were all kneeling with their heads bowed as Ubayashiki's presence entered the veranda, accompanied by his daughters.

Sanemi was holding down Tanjiro's head, forcing his face into the pebbles. The Hashira was probably doing this extra harshly as revenge for the boy's earlier headbutt, which, to his shock, was way more painful than he thought it would.

Was the kid's head made out of rock?

"I see my cute swordsmen have gathered," the calm voice of Ubayashiki sounded. "Our members have gathered for the 'pillar meeting' that we hold every six months as per usual. I find this pleasurable."

"We find it most honorable to be in your presence, Oyakata-sama. We eagerly pray for much happiness upon you," Sanemi said solemnly. His former hot temperament was nowhere to be seen.

"Thank you, Sanemi," Ubayashiki replied taking a seat.

"Let me humbly say, there is a slayer present at the meeting by the name of Tanjiro Kamado who has brought a demon. I would like to explain this scenario," Sanemi said.

"Ah yes. I apologize if that surprised you. I am already aware of the existence of his sister as a demon and I have given the siblings my approval. I hope that you will all accept them as well."

The pillars were shocked and immediately voiced their disapproval.

Ubayashiki was about to say something when suddenly, a messenger entered the compound bowing his head lowly.

"A messenger is here, father," one of the Ubayashiki daughters said.

The pillars turned to look at the covered-up messenger.

"What is it?" Ubayashiki asked calmly.

"He has arrived, Oyakata-sama," replied the messenger immediately.

"Ah, so he's finally here. Bring him here would you?" Ubayashiki bore a small smile on his face.

The pillars noticed this and wondered who it was for their beloved boss to make that kind of face.

"Are we expecting someone, Oyakata-sama?" The Love Pillar, Misturi Kanjori, asked excitedly.

"Yes. I'm sure some of you have already heard of him," Ubayashiki answered vaguely.

This only made the pillars more curious about who was to arrive. They dared not say anything more and waited patiently.

A few seconds passed and eventually, a person entered the courtyard. It was a tall teenage boy with raven hair and golden eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. He had a handsome face and a toned physique.

The haori he wore was dark-colored with simple golden designs embroidered on the ends.

The boy was obviously Shiro.

He entered the compound and bowed respectfully toward the Hashiras before kneeling down to bow to Ubayashiki.

"I humbly greet Oyakata-sama," he said in a serious tone.

Ubayashiki nodded with a soft smile, "It's a pleasure to have you back here, Shiro-kun. Since you have returned from your journey earlier than planned, I take it has something to do with the trial of the Kamado siblings."

'What?' was the collective thought of the pillars as they stared at the boy.

Tanjiro too was shocked to see him and was confused when he heard Ubayashiki's words.

'What does his return have to do with Nezuko and me?'

"That is indeed the reason, Oyakata-sama. The siblings, after all, are an important part of the plan," Shiro said without batting an eye.

"If I may, Oyakata-sama, what does this boy have to do with the rule-breakers? His appearance is certainly flamboyant but his words make me question his flamboyance."

There was only one Hashira who'd use the word flamboyant in a normal sentence.

Ubayashiki turned to the direction the voice came from and said, "For that question, it is better if you ask young Shiro over here. I apologize for keeping it a secret but young Shiro and I have already made plans to draw out the remaining twelve kizuki and Kibutsuji."

This immediately sent waves of disbelief and shock throughout the pillars.

Shiro watched the changing expressions and thought; 'Hmm...this isn't really going how I pictured...'