Chapter Text
It was a completely ordinary day, and everyone was doing their own thing. And then it suddenly went dark in front of their eyes, and then when they woke up, they suddenly found themselves in some kind of space.
"What?! WHAT THE FUCK...?!" growled Sanemi loudly, jumping up first. He frantically looked around, but he didn't see anyone except people gradually recovering, scattered all over the room, and one demon, Nezuko, who looked around in confusion, sleepily purring. Her confused pink eyes looked at him, and then she crawled up to Tanjiro, who a second later jumped up on the spot with a loud cry.
"What's going on?" his loud cry woke Zenitsu and Inosuke, who also jumped up, looking around in surprise. And the others did not lag behind them, only now beginning to realize exactly where they were.
"Ah, where are we?" Mitsuri asked excitedly.
"I don't know. But it doesn't look like it's dangerous here." said Obanai tensely, who also looked around. Kaburomaru hissed in agreement, probing the air around him.
"What a strange place!" said Rengoku loudly, also looking around. Of course, he was also nervous, like the others, but the absence of danger allowed him to relax a little.
"Why are we even here? Does it have to be like this?" Tokito asked, not particularly interested. He didn't remember much anyway, so he couldn't tell if they should all be in this place or not. That's why I asked.
"Ara-ara, I would like to know who invited us here..." said Shinobu with a very frightening smile. Probably, if she got to that person or demon right now, he would either be scared to death or dead.
Himejima frowned, muttering a prayer to himself. He probed the space around him with his gut, but he did not find any demons or at least some danger. It's just that there are a lot of people who were talking nervously or arguing loudly, shouting over each other.
"Oh, so that's what the dream I had recently was about..." thoughtfully drawled Kagaya, who was just getting up from his seat with the help of his wife.
"Master!" the Hashirs said together, kneeling before him.
"It's all right, relax, my children." he smiled gently and kindly at them, nodding in greeting. "I think there is no danger waiting for us here. I had a dream today in which I was told that something like this could happen."
"We understand, Master!" they said loudly in one voice, still not getting up from their seats.
"I am glad that you are so attentive to my words. However... Where is Giyuu? he asked softly, as if he knew perfectly well that there was no Pillar of Water. Only now the others looked around and realized that this besyachy idiot, who was constantly standing alone somewhere and irritated them with his appearance alone, was not there. Hashiras was already much more carefully examined, but he was not in the whole room.
"We don't know, Oyakata-sama."they were forced to admit when they realized that Tomioka really wasn't there. However, he would never disrespect the Master, although knowing him, anything could be expected from him.
"Is that so?" His soft smile became sadder for a fraction of a second, and then returned to its former serenity. "Then I think we can only wait to figure out what kind of place this is and where my other child is."
"All right, Master." They bowed again. Then he and his wife leisurely walked to the sofas, which seemed to have been installed specifically for them all, given the number of sofas and people in the room, and then sat down there. Then the rest of the Harshiras sat down behind him, choosing places that were more pleasant to them.
Gemei was sitting with Muichiro, who continued to look disinterestedly at the ceiling opposite, just as he had done with clouds before. Considering that there were an incredible number of different patterns on the ceiling, he probably had something to look at.
Uzui was sitting with his wives, who apparently also appeared here. They were just arguing furiously about something among themselves, which made Hashira Sound somewhat depressed.
Mitsuri thought for a long time, but still settled down next to Shinobu and Kanao, who were talking quietly about something, looking very peaceful.
Sanemi sat down next to Iguro, who was just looking admiringly in the direction of Kanroji, which he had a very good view of. Hashira Wind rolled his eyes and snorted, looking condescendingly in his direction. He was so obvious in his infatuation...
Rengoku sat down with Senjuro, who smiled gently at him. Brothers in their own world, happily smiling at each other. He looked around anxiously, but his father was nowhere to be found. This caused him to exhale slightly in relief, albeit barely noticeably.
"Urokodaki-san?" Meanwhile, Tanjiro found his mentor, who was sitting quietly on one of the sofas. "Do you know where you are?"
"No idea." he shook his head. He's only seen one of his students, and he doesn't like it. Where is Tomioka? He hadn't seen this child in years. Since he passed the selection and Sabito died, this child has never visited him. Of course, sometimes they exchanged letters, but usually they did not contain more than four lines. Of course, he missed this child, although he understood the reasons why Tomioka could not bring himself to show himself to him. He was terribly traumatized even before he met him and Sabito. Sabito's death simply compounded these injuries.
Perhaps he shouldn't have let them go to the selection at all.
This still remains one of his biggest regrets.
"I don't know where we are, but I don't hear anything dangerous." he shares the Zenitsu with them, and then screams in fright when Inoske suddenly pounces on him from behind, squeezing tightly.
"If you think about it that way, I don't smell anything dangerous either."
"Mmm! Mmm!" Nesuko stretched out in agreement, throwing up her hands. Zenitsu immediately looked at her with hearts in his eyes. She was really lovely, and he never tired of admiring her.
"Ha ha ha! Kamaboko, Zetsu, let's go sit down!"
"My name is Kamado Tanjiro!"
"And my name is Zenitsu!"
"Well, that's what I'm saying!"
"No, you called us completely wrong!"
Genya, who was looking at it curiously, was about to take an empty seat, but suddenly Tenjiro noticed him and dragged him away with them. As a result, together they occupied the largest sofa that was in this room at all. Although, it was probably because they were still teenagers, so they didn't take up much space. Even the youngest Shinazugawa, who was the biggest of them, was sitting normally.
The other people who were also in the room also began to slowly sit down. Probably, they thought that since Hashira did not panic, then they should not panic either. Jigoro limped slowly towards the Urokodaki, leaning on his stick. However, before he could sit down, Zenitsu immediately ran into him with tears and hugs. As a result, he had to calm down his second disciple by looking around. Kaigaku was nowhere to be found. It made him frown, even though he couldn't tell what the actual problem was. Finally, when Agatsuma quieted down, he returned to his friends in embarrassment, and Kuvajima sat down next to his old colleague, with whom they still kept in touch, although they had not been hunting demons for a very long time.
Finally, when everyone was seated, suddenly a voice came from everywhere and out of nowhere at the same time:
"It's nice to see you all here. You're probably wondering what you're doing here and why you're here at all."
Immediately there was a terrible hubbub, when many tried to shout over each other to find out exactly what was going on. However, suddenly, some invisible force took away the voice of these people, from which a terrible tense silence reigned in the room.
"I'm sorry, but I had to do this. You see, I need you all to hear me, and in this kind of noise, it's probably easy to miss important information."
"Then please tell us why we are here and what are we going to do?" I politely asked Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who was one of the few who kept his voice.
"The right question! You see, I'm the one who has to entertain everyone. However, due to some circumstances, I have not had the opportunity to do this for a long time. So, of course, I was terribly bored. And that's why I decided to gather you all in this place to react to someone!"
"I'm sorry, but what is a reaction and how should we do it?" Jigoro asked, puzzled.
"Oh, you just need to look at that black square on the wall." The voice replied calmly. "An image will be displayed on it, and you will be able to see everything. Imagine that this is something like a performance for you."
And then they all noticed that there really was a huge black square on the wall, which they had not noticed before. Moreover, all their sofas were arranged in such a way that it was convenient for everyone to look at him.
"Also, a menu will now appear to the right of each of you. Take it in your hands. With it, you can wish for any food or drink you want. All you have to do is think about him mentally. However, there are other drinks in it that you have never seen before. You can also order them. However, we immediately warn you that there is no alcohol."
Someone has already grabbed a piece of paper and ordered something for themselves. And then he looked with surprise at how the dish or drink really appeared in front of him. They were delighted.
But still, someone was heard grumbling about the fact that it is impossible to perceive something like this on a sober head. However, it subsided quite quickly.
"By the way, it is forbidden to use violence against anyone in this room. So you won't be able to touch or hurt anyone if you suddenly decide to harm them."
Maybe someone wanted to try to do something similar, but in this place no one took the risk. Although, maybe Sanemi would have done something like that, but Obanai and the presence of Oyakata-sama stopped him.
"We understand you. So... you said we would react to someone. What is a reaction?" Urokodaki asks politely.
"Oh, you're just going to be told someone's story and you're going to look at it. Of course, I'm just curious what emotions you will experience when you see her."
"Then who are we going to react to?" Kagaya asks, but he already has a guess. Nevertheless, he speaks. "And can you tell me where another one of my children is? I still don't feel him around me."
"Oh, he'll come when he's ready to meet you." says the voice. And then he explains. "Of course we will respond to it."
And, as if knowing that someone is still doubting, he explains:
"Today you will be reacting to Tomioka Giyuu. Or rather, his past."
"What?! At this arrogant asshole?!" Sanemi shouts angrily. Well, rather, he would have shouted if his voice had been returned to him. Obanai frowns with displeasure, not understanding this choice. The Hashira of Water was the most boring and unpleasant person he had ever seen. Himejima mutters prayers softly, although he is very surprised. Tokito glances disinterestedly at the ceiling, still looking at the patterns. Mitsuri gasps in surprise, and Shinobu raises his eyebrows.
"Ara-ara, so Tomioka-san...?"
Rengoku raises his eyebrows because he is also surprised. He tried to talk to him several times, but Giyuu always ignored him. In the end, he just gave up trying.
"Tomioka?" Urokodaki frowns. On the one hand, he wants to refuse, because he considers it wrong to look into the past of this child without his consent. On the other hand... If he finds out what happened to him, will he be able to help?
"Well, after all, he's the most interesting of you." the voice laughs, and it sounds terribly unpleasant. "I'm looking forward to what kind of emotions you will give me as soon as you find out about everything..."
"Is he the most interesting?" others couldn't help but think.
If we assume that the voice somehow sees the past of each of them, then what was it in Tomioka's past that the voice called him the most interesting?
"Well, it's not that I need your consent, since you don't have a choice anyway." the voice snorts. "However, this is all for the benefit of Tomioka Giyuu himself. After all, wouldn't it be better for him if, thanks to me, he could finally let go of the past and let new friends into his world?"
No one says anything, but it seems that vote anyway.
"Then, let's get started!"
...
...loading...
...She is their mother in every sense...
...although there is no blood relationship between them.
"What the...?"
"A mother who is not a mother?"
"She's a mother, but she didn't give birth to them. And educates."
They spend all their time together...
...although they are not relatives.
"What kind of place is this?"
Himejima sighed, remembering the temple where he looked after the children. He's pretty sure it's about the same place. Of course, he doesn't know exactly how he can see it all, but he can.
An ordinary day, full of pleasant little things...
This gracious house... shelter.
It seemed that nothing could disturb the peaceful peace of this place.
"That is, did something disturb the peace?"
"Could it have been demons?"