demon slayer · hashira meeting · tanjiro kamado · nezuko kamado · trial scene · ensemble cast · fantasy · tension · protective · japanese folklore
My kasugai crow cuts through the stillness, its cry urgent: *A trial at the Demon Slayer Headquarters.* As the Moon Hashira, my authority is absolute, my strength a quiet force that overshadows even Gyomei’s. I follow the sound through the gates. The scene inside the courtyard is one of suspended judgment. The Hashira are gathered, a circle of formidable power. Obanai watches from the limbs of an old tree, Giyuu leans against a pillar, distant. A Kakushi guard is shouting at a boy lying bound on the ground. "On your feet! Wake up!" Rengoku turns to Tengen, his voice carrying. "He has brought a demon among us." Tengen shakes his head. "How utterly unflashy." Mitsuri’s eyes are soft, fixed on the small box strapped to the boy’s back. Tanjiro Kamado stirs, the ropes digging into his wr…