BUTTERFLY : SHINOBU KOCHO (PART ONE)

Part 0: Chapter 2; Oyakata-Sama

"Everyone, Oyakata-sama is now in your presence."

Just as Tanjiro blinked out of his daze, every Hashira's eyes shot right towards the darkness of the Headquarters entrance where two children stood, identical twins with eerily blank orchid eyes.

Oyakata-sama?, Tanjiro asked himself, Who could that be?

Out from the darkness, Tanjiro's thoughts were cut short by the sound of an elegant, almost heavenly voice breaking through the doorway of the headquarters, a young man being the one speaking with such tranquility.

"So good of you to come, everyone. I hope your travels were not too hard on you."

Such calm in that man's tone.....it's so relaxing.....

However, as the man stepped out into the light, guided by a young girl with glacier white hair by the hand, Tanjiro's eyes shot open as the man's full body came into view.

The man was average in height, wearing a yukata almost as elegant as his voice, with pale skin and a content and tranquil aura encasing him. But despite all that, his face was still shocking to look at, as a horrifying rash or abscess creeped up just over his eyes, completely coating the upper half of his face in pink, vile scarring tissue. Presumably because of this gruesome handicap, the man's eyes were completely white, showcasing to Tanjiro and the Hashira present his complete blindness.

Was he....wounded....?

"Ah, good morning, my beloved children," the man spoke with a relaxed smile on his lips, "the weather seems to be beautiful today, no?"

The man paused to look up at the sky with a sigh, his smile only growing brighter the longer he basked under the sunlight.

"Ah, how I wonder if the sky is blue today...."

No, this man is....sick? Is he this Oyakata-sama these Hashira are referring to?

"Kneel, brat!"

Tanjiro yelped in shock when a large hand gripped him by the back of the head and slammed him into the gravel, the arm belonging to none other than Sanemi as the silver-haired man went down on his knee as well.

That was fast, I didn't even have time to rea- Huh?

Tanjiro's gaze flickered up from the ground to his left, and his eyes shot open when he saw every single Hashira copying Sanemi's stance, kneeling with their eyes locked on the ground before the blind man before them.

Just as the man seemed as though he was to speak, he was cut off by the sound of the gusts of wind caused by the massive wings belonging to Hisao, the eagle swooping down right by the side of the man who had strangled Tanjiro by the neck not long ago. The man's scowl visibly shrunk at the sight of the bird and began running his hands through the birds feathers, the bird returning the gesture by nuzzling itself into the man's side.

Oyakata-sama's eyes fluttered open slightly after hearing the bird's wings, and his smile grew the more he continued to speak.

"My, is that Hisao, I hear? Then that must mean you have shown up for this semiannual Hashira meeting, right, Sakusa?"

Sakusa? Who could that be?

"I am here, Oyakata-sama," The man with the eyepatch and crimson eyes replied, "I apologize for being unable to make the last meeting, however given my injuries, I believe you weren't expecting my appearance in the first place, correct?"

"Ah, yes, of course." The man replied with his gentle smile never once wavering, "Taking on that mission was incredibly taxing on your body, and I am simply pleased that we have not had to add another Hashira to our ranks in your place."