"...what if there's no afterlife? What if humans made this concept to keep themselves going with relief that at least in the end they'll be at peace with their loved ones? Just that"
Tanjiro was taken aback by this question, maybe it was his ins...
During the Hashira meeting at Demon Hunter headquarters seeing everyone being against him and his sister disheartened Tanjiro. The pillars agree to kill Nezuko, punish him, and even Tomioka for supporting them in the first place, even after Master Oyakata asked the other pillars to excuse the siblings and give them a chance.
Until Master Oyakata informs them about the letter sent by the former water pillar who has been the mentor to Tanjiro, current water pillar Giyu Tomioka, and even took care of the controversial demon girl Nezuko in the meantime. He confirms that within two years Nezuko hasn't devoured a human and she never will. And if in case she ever does so, the girl's brother Tanjiro Kamado, water pillar Giyu Tomioka and he will commit ritual suicide, Seppuku.
Hearing such a bold vow of Mr Urokodaki, and seeing the willingness of Giyu to sacrifice himself for Tanjiro, he starts shedding tears. Even the other pillars started to think about the situation in a positive way but still, they had doubts and just couldn't accept a demon as a member of the demon slayer corps. Sanemi Shinazugawa, the wind pillar who already has been violent to Nezuko doesn't seem to be satisfied with the argument at all, stating that though these three are willing to give up their lives, still the life that demon would take couldn't be brought back, to which the flame hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku agrees. Master Oyakata then asks Sanemi to bring an even more valid argument because three people giving up their lives isn't a small thing either.
Sanemi apologises in advance for his 'discourtesy' and proceeds to the shed behind Master Oyakata along with the box Nezuko rests in. Seeing this Tanjiro went for Sanemi but Serpent Hashira Iguro Obanai held him down to the ground. Sanemi stabs Nezuko several times and even flaunts his blood wrenched arm in front of her but Nezuko controls herself and turns her head to the side in disgust. Everyone saw a demon saying no to human blood, every hashira was surprised, Master Oyakata was satisfied, Giyu and Tanjiro were relieved and a certain someone's memories flashed in front of their eyes along with a sense of astonishment, curiosity and pride.
The pillar's meeting ended that evening where Master Oyakata asked every hashira present there to grid up their lions since twelve Kizuki has appeared and been killed. Hence the chances of the appearance of an upper moon become high and they should prepare themselves accordingly. After the meeting ended everyone headed to their mansions.
SHINAZUGAWA ESTATE-prior midnight
Wind pillar Sanemi, unlike the whole day, was calm right now, preparing to rest for the night and start the new day with his everlasting energy. He always keeps his nichirin sword at his pillow side in case any emergency occurs. His calmness left him when he sensed something queer in his surroundings, the pressure of the air around him was making him stiff. With a single blow of wind three out of four lamps in his room get extinguished, just except the one he was sitting beside. Before he could even react he felt his hands being pinned behind his back, the hair from his occiput being pulled tightly and a voice whisper talked to him, "don't you dare linger your damn shadow on Nezuko Kamado again." As the entity drifted away from him Sanemi got a hold of his reflexes and intended to follow them, but all he could catch was a glimpse of a glow that got reflected by the moonlight. He couldn't process what just happened, he is a pillar, why couldn't he react to the sheerness of that entity. He tries to remember what he just felt and saw, and a realization makes him open his eyes wide in shock and uncertainty. Since the lamp beside him was still on, he could see some parts of the entity in the mirror just in front of him. he remembers seeing a particular sign below the pit of their neck. He rushes to the library where records of previous wind pillars are kept soundly, he turns the pages swiftly yet carefully to find the meaning of a particular symbol which every demon hunter is always warned about since they join as students. turning the pages forward and backwards he finally finds the page, but to his despair, he could just find the picture with just a single phrase written below it.
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The sign with a sun and a crescent moon gave the impression of an eclipse, and all that was written, a single sentence, "The one who dares to investigate, quarrel or communicate shall become worthy of the wrath of the souls of their fellow fallen demon hunters."
Sanemi's subtle panic has been now taken over by his curiosity and confusion. At an instance, he calls for his crow and sends a message to the fellow pillars to gather information about this sign from the book of records of their respective former pillars and wait till sunrise the next day. He was so much into his thoughts that even after lying down he couldn't sleep, all the time he was worried, curious and asking himself why just he couldn't move a finger even when his sword was in his range. Sanemi couldn't know when the sun was up, his crow has come back already which means every hashira knows about the incident that happened last night.
The pillars meet up again to discuss what they found out and what could further be done about the situation. But, to everyone's surprise, every hashira record book had information about that eclipse looking symbol but every book said the same thing about it. Hence they collectively decided to put their doubts in front of Master Oyakata, maybe he could enlighten them about the situation.
As Master arrives everyone wishes him his wellness and Sanemi Shinazugawa puts the situation in front of him, which brings a smile to the master's face and he says, "Sanemi, maybe it was a sign for you to start respecting your juniors and accept them with your heart, and don't think about it much, if it had to cause any harm it would've done it already. But in future if the circumstances do take a life-threatening turn, you're a hashira, you know what to do, and whatever you choose to do I'll be proud of your choices, my beloved children." he raises his face towards the sky and continues, "...and about that eclipse sign you asked me about, if the events keep getting complicated you might get enlightened about it yourself. After all...the sun rises with his own pace, you can't drag him up."
The pillars bow down to Master, thanking him to relieve them for now but the discontent of not getting a clear answer was apparent on their faces.
Time passes by and the death of Flame pillar Kyojuro Rengoku, the appearance of upper moons and the retirement of Sound Pillar Tengen Uzui makes everyone forget about this incident and the significance of this eclipse mark until a sight crosses paths with them again, and make them ask the same question, and give rise to some new questions as well.
