Eira and Asumi rested at the Butterfly Mansion ever since the incident. They spent the whole day sleeping, the past day had drained them physically and mentally, so much so they slept through the whole day.
Shinobu was the Insect Hashira, the owner of the Butterfly Mansion, she was very pretty, with her hair always tied back with two strands coming forward.
Eira couldn't help but sense an undying feeling of anger always coming off her. It was confusing as Shinobu never showed any signs of anger. Eira couldn't stop looking at Shinobu's actions. She was also a rare case, a person who seemed one emotion but was actually another. Eira found it so weird,
As for Ali's incident, word spread across the corps quickly, the whole incident was extremely crazy to think about, so many things happening at once. An Upper Moon being spotted. A Hashira's student dying and being turned into a demon. Eira worried as a Hashira meeting for this incident was called, and herself and Asumi were invited as witnesses.
Eira gulped. Barely a day has passed, and they were given no time to mourn or rest. Shinobu promised them a safe place at the Butterfly Mansion for however long they want to stay. With that sentence, they departed from the Butterfly Mansion to the meeting place. Eira and Asumi found comfort in this sentence but they were still on edge, all the Hashira in one place. Eira was sure her senses would be overloaded. Regardless, she was concerned with what the topic would be. Eira looked at Asumi, Asumi was no different, eye bags under her puffy eyes. Asumi was tired beyond her capacity, Eira could slightly hear sobbing at night. And now she was called as a witness. Eira was sure Asumi didn't want to talk about Ali anymore than she already had. Her sweet pink soul once bright was now dull.
About 5 hours after they departed from the Butterfly Mansion, they reached the meeting place. A impressive residence, complete with small patches of grass and a small foundation. But they weren't having the meeting inside as eira learnt when tugged by Asumi. They entered the residence. The room was dimly lit, with the master, Ubuyashiki, sitting in the middle with his two sons beside him.
Eira felt a great calmness as she looked at him, his eyes resting and a small smile passive on his face. A tranquil deep purple, it was immediately overshadowed by the hulking auras of all the powerful Hashira. Some felt unbearably red and bold, some were bright pink with innocence, some were absolutely yellow and bouncing with flashiness, her senses fluctuating between being somewhat scared to feeling calm. Eira took a deep breath.
They all sat. Asumi slightly gripped Eira's hand as they sat, Eira looked at Asumi, who looked like she was on the verge of tears already.
A Hashira with bright orange hair spoke first. The Fire Hashira, Rengoku. "So. Let us address the elephant in the room."
He spoke with great charisma, he showed great formality, Eira instantly admired him, as if it was a passive decision. The next to talk was the master himself.
"Sanemi... Your student had turned into a demon. We won't go as far to say you must commit any punishment. But we must know. Will this student become a great danger to our corps?" He spoke calmly, his eyes rested, a beautiful white colour, cursed with a certain disease Ubuyashiki was blind and the disease was slowly killing him. It had gone through generations of his family. Eira gulped, waiting for the Wind Hashira's response. She knew that Ali's strength was great, and he would pose a threat if he got powerful as a lower moon.
"No. I don't believe so. I know Ali. He won't pose any threat to the Demon Slayer Corps. He has a strong set of morals, a set that would make him feel unbearable guilt. If anything he would try kill himself as soon as he found out he was a demon. Even if he doesn't, he would pose no threat to demon slayers." Sanemi replied, gritting his teeth, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt and anger. As if it was his fault, had he not trained Ali hard enough?
Asumi gripped Eira's hand tightly as she heard this sentence. Asumi couldn't imagine it, Ali killing himself. Would he do such a thing? Even if he was a demon? Eira put her hand up and spoke.
"I was by Ali's side for the past 2 months. And he has a very strong determination, I think he would... try to become a human again somehow. Even if it was impossible. He has a strong will." Eira's heart thumped in her chest as she felt all the eyes of the Hashira look in her direction. These were the most powerful people in the corps. And they were all in one room. Eira gulped, a silence swept the room, Eira's eyes frantically looked around the room.
A Hashira cleared his throat, The Sound Hashira, Uzui. White hair and flashy attire make him glimmer even in this dark room. He leaned forward as he bluntly stated.
"How do we know this kid's alive anyway? Maybe he killed himself as Sanemi said"
Another silence. This time it was broken by a soft voice.
"Ali's…. still alive, look." Asumi pulled her flower out of her hair. And showed the Hashira. They keenly leant forward to see the flower.
A handful of them knew what the flower was. A woman with green and pink hair whispered into the ear of Shinobu.
Eira felt relieved that Asumi had somewhat saved her.
Half an hour continued of idle chat, more discussion away from Ali's incident. As promised, when the meeting was over, Asumi and Eira were escorted to the butterfly mansion. The sun shone as if the situation was still bright. Eira watched Asumi walk in front of her.
"I guess I didn't think about it much because a lot of things distracted me. But Asumi... She's probably really hurt." Eira thought. Eira looked to the ground and kept walking. She thought about the meeting, and how Asumi sort of stuck up for her. Eira's eyes widened at a realisation of something. Asumi had shown the flower to show that Ali was still alive. Eira covered her mouth, the flower Asumi shared. Wasn't with some boy back at her village. It wasn't with some dream boy Eira made out. It was Ali.
Eira stared at the flower at the back of Asumi's hair, it had some new meaning to it now. Eira's eyes watered, Ali wasn't just a friend to Asumi. That would've even been a little easier to handle for her. But Asumi had lost her love. Eira wanted to burst out in tears, she wanted to grab at Asumi's legs and apologise for acting like it wasn't a big deal. She wanted to fall to the floor and scream her heart out. All these thoughts rammed at Eira like a train of race cars hitting Eira's body again and again. She couldn't stop thinking about it, even in the dead of night. When everyone slept, Eira was reminded again and again. Ali.
Eira stood up from her bed, Asumi was to the right of her, sleeping. Eira went outside, admiring the beautiful residence as she walked around. All of a sudden that familiar feeling of heavy anger appeared behind her.
As Eira turned around, he was confronted by a smiling Shinobu. Eira couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, the bright red of fresh anger always lingered on Shinobu, it never disappeared. Eira gulped and felt curious.
"Are you... angry at something?" Eira asked nervously.