Accidental Difference

Second Half

—START—

-3rd Person POV-

"It is in your hands now to work towards the marks now" he finished saying. "Whether you want to achieve it or not it's up to you"

That had been the closing statement of the Patron of the demon slayer corps before leaving.

"Do we know what we are doing?" Tokito asked once they were sure they were alone.

Iguro looked at the kid. "The sensible thing is for all of us to try and awaken it" he then turned his attention to the only marked one. "but how is the real question"

"The drawback is quite terrifying, I wish for you to not suffer the consequences" Gyomei's tears began as he spoke, as the oldest one here and the only one past 25 they weren't sure what the mark would bring him.

"What other choice do we have? If we want to kill those shitty upper demons then we need more strength" Sanemi growled at the implication of not trying to get them.

"Things haven't changed in hundreds of years" he had seen a lot as they looked for the right information in the archives of the Ubuyashiki manor, so Tomioka was somewhat informed of the situation from a larger perspective.

"as much as we save people, we aren't really doing anything if we don't strike the source, is that what you're trying to say?" Kocho immediately picked up on what Tomioka had tried to say.

The Hashira hummed in acknowledgement. "having marks again is a change for the better...a good demon outside of Kibutsuji's control is a thing" Things definitely weren't the same as previous generations.

A clap coming from Uzui was a surprise and even made Mitsuri jump a bit. "I get what you're trying to say, it's not like back then" Himejima too had noticed if his expression was anything to go by.

six years ago there were only four Hashiras in duty, Himejima, Tengen, Tomioka and Kanae.

It has taken another three years for new Hashira to be endorsed.

All of them worked hard carrying the weight of a transition period as the older Hashira died or retired and the new ones weren't ready for the role just yet.

Out of those four Himejima and Tengen had an edge over the other two in being more experienced, while Tomioka and Kanae struggled with the duty of covering for all their territories since they has only one year of experience or less.

They understood better how no matter how many demons they killed, more would always come, even taking into account that demons were incredibly rare.

In fact the only reason they hadn't just dropped dead after months of running from mission after mission was the rarity of their enemy.

It was a monotonous cycle.

As it probably had been for most other generations, it was a stalemate where they found themselves on the back foot...yet no one could do anything to change it.

Even the eldest Kocho who spoke of befriending a good demon couldn't achieve the change she wanted and in the end, she fell at the dawn of the new generation.

"Times are changing for once" Gyomei agreed, then he started getting up from the floor. "What we need is to be strong enough to handle that change and use it to make a difference" he had stopped crying and now was standing in front of all Hashira bar Tomioka, who was behind him.

"The marks appear through being in contact with another marked one and achieving the conditions you said right?" they would have accepted the weight of the mark before, but now that acceptance was a determination that burned in light of the opportunity they had.