Chapter Text
“Iguro-san’s training was the most difficult,” one of the lower ranked demon slayers said. He was talking to his friends. The younger man explained every part of the Serpent Hashira’s swordsmanship skill training. “I don’t know how the master let him get away with tying up the new recruits. Or how he was even able to tie 20 of them to posts without someone interfering.”
Mitsuri gasped, mortified by what she was hearing. Had Iguro-San really done that? For what purpose could he possibly need to do that? He was a kind man. There had to be some reason he did it or maybe the slayer was lying. She ate her last bowl of soup and set it on the stack she made. She grabbed her sword and walked to the Serpent Hashira’s house over a mile away.
His house was modest compared to the others. He didn’t spend a lot of time here and it was only him and Kaburamaru in residence. She knocked on his door. He probably wasn’t home. When no one answered she turned away. She would have to ask him the next time she saw him.
“Kanroji-San,” his smooth voice addressed her from the shadows. “I was in the back training.” The white snake was draped over his neck and he was wearing a traditional white top and black pants. His uniform and haori must be inside.
“Is it true?” She blurted out. He tilted his head in question. “Did you tie the other corps members to posts? For training?” His eyes widened under the moon before his gaze narrowed. “Did you do it?” She repeated the question, this time angry with him. She felt her blood simmer.
Slowly, he nodded.
“Why? What possible reason could you have for tormenting them? They’re younger than us!” Mitsuri cried out, tears brimming her face. “The old are meant to protect the young! They’re our comrades.”
“They’re not suited for this kind of life. Every year the recruits get weaker and weaker. They may have passed the final selection, but they will die fighting any of the Upper Moons. They have to learn their place,” Iguro said coldly.
“That’s not true. Tanjiro, Inosuke, Kanao, and Zenitsu are all very strong. Tanjiro has faced three Upper Moons and lived,” she countered.
“Tanjiro? You’re on a first name basis with him?” His eyes twitched. What was wrong with that?
“Yes, he’s my friend,” she said. Iguro-San folded his arms. “The recruits are still learning! That's what this training is for. You can’t just tie people up and use them like obstacles. They could have been hurt,” Mitsuri chastised him.
“But, they weren’t,” Iguro retorted. The snake hid his face over his friend’s back. “The other slayers who passed my training had an extra incentive to be better. We need only the best beside us when we fight Muzan and his Moons.”
Mitsuri’s jaw clenched. She knew others said he was callous and serious, but she had never seen this side of him. She didn’t like it.
“You can’t do that to them! How would you feel if someone tied you up and kept you there for the whole day?” Mitsuri tried to make him empathize with the others. His gaze lowered before shutting tightly. His shoulders slumped as if downtrodden.
“Kanroji-San, you need to leave,” he said with a sigh. “This conversation is over,” he shifted his eyes down.
Was he upset to be confronted? He had been the one to act rudely towards his fellow corps members. Her blood boiled. Now he meant to dismiss her.
“It’s not. You didn’t answer my question. How would you feel if you-“ she attempted to ask again. His eyes narrowed as he met her gaze now.
“If I was forced to live in captivity? The back of my neck would tingle in fear every night. I wouldn’t know why I was there. No one ever explained it. Everyday I would hope to be released and no one would give a damn about the boy in the cage. I would feel defenseless, scared, nervous, and betrayed. The people I was supposed to trust put me there,” Iguro-San spat out the words.
Bitterness lacing every word with venom dripping. Mitsuri took a step back. He was going deeper than she expected. It was dark and scary.
“Tormented day in and day out without any idea of why they put me there. The sounds outside the cage coming from my captors at night that kept me awake. I would never know peace until I escaped. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Iguro-San glared at her. His hands were clenching and unclenching.
Mitsuri opened her mouth to speak. Instead the dark haired man walked past her and opened his front door. He slammed it shut without even a goodbye. She stood outside not realizing what exactly she had done to anger him other than confront him about his actions.
They could talk tomorrow about it.
In the morning, Mitsuri led her students through their flexibility training. They were complaining about Tengen’s running regiment. The retired Hashira loved to yell and get his students moving.
At lunch time, she saw Iguro-San standing beside the Wind Hashira. His two toned gaze found her as soon as she entered the dining hall. She held her head up high and her nostrils flared. The Love Hashira turned her head away from him to grab a tray of food.
“May I have a word?” Iguro-San said when he finally approached her table. There was only one other slayer at the table and they left when he showed up. Mitsuri nodded and the Hashira sat down across from her.
“I should not have been so harsh,” he met her gaze. “Last night, you struck an old memory of mine and I acted out. It was uncalled for especially when you were looking after the others. I will refrain from tying anyone else up for future lessons,” he said. She assessed him before answering.
“I appreciate it, but that doesn’t change the fact that you did it. If you mean it you should apologize to the ones you hurt,” Mitsuri wrinkled her nose. “You’ve always been so kind. I don’t understand why you did it.”
He inhaled deeply and slowly. He closed his eyes, trying to find the words. “They had to learn they wouldn’t survive a fight against an Upper Moon if they could so easily be taken down by me,” Iguro said. “It doesn’t dismiss what I did, however, if I was able to convince one of them to leave I would be satisfied. Fighting an Upper Moon is a death sentence for most slayers, even Hashiras.”
Mitsuri stopped eating and stared at him. He meant it. He had been trying to scare the younger ones to leave the corps and live a life outside of demons. It did not excuse what he did, but his motives were sincere.
“I almost died fighting Upper Moon four. If it hadn’t been for Tanjiro killing the main body I would have perished,” she admitted. At the mention of the young water breather, Iguro’s eyes narrowed and he glanced around the dining hall. “He and his sister are the reason we’re beating the Upper Moons and he is a new slayer. If you scared someone else with his type of potential then you would be hurting the corps as a whole.”
“He’s strong, I give him that,” Iguro said begrudgingly. Mitsuri smiled at that. It was the closest she would get to an apology. Her anger subsided and she spent the rest of the lunch hour talking to him.
“What memory did I strike?” Mitsuri asked towards the end. He looked away.
“My childhood. I’d rather not discuss it here,” he shifted his gaze to the crowded room.
“Do you want to come over tonight then?” She asked. “Then we can talk about it.” She smiled at him. He agreed and left without another word.