*Asura's POV*

"You stay." Kenji said as I turned around.

"Why?" I asked clenching my left hand and making sure that everyone else gets the signal to run if things are fishy.

I could probably take on everyone in the room easily but a fight against Dozens was exactly what was turning out to be my bane. I wasn't that good at taking care of mobs and really hadn't practiced a Breath Form to counter this issue.

"There's a letter for you from Headquarters." Kenji the guard leader said and produced said letter from a cupboard before resuming his seat and motioning me towards mine.

"Sure. Hey guys before going to sleep make sure to throw the rotten acorns away,they went bad a few days ago." I said back to the group.

It was a code word, meaning to throw away unnecessary baggage and run fast as fuck at my first signal.

I had prepared some measures against such a situation, cause at the end of the day Nezuko was Tanjiro's little sister and in turn a friend of ours. All of us had agreed to put our weight behind getting her to safety first and foremost.

"The ones in the sack?" Inosuke asked and I could see he was tense, he wasn't wearing anything on the upper portion of his body so his emotions were much more pronounced due to the tensing of muscles.

"Nah the ones we picked up long ago, I believe they were with Haku in a little pouch?" I said feigning a yawn.

Another code for such scenarios, Haku was the one with the best eyes and after me the one I trusted to keep the group safe and form a plan if we were seperated.

The timeline and the sack just meant to get out without me. I'll meet up if possible but currently I was a sack and inconsequential.

"Sure." Tanjiro said and all of them left the room.

"Now can I have that letter?" I said sitting down.

Kenji didn't reply and instead kept staring at me.

'Should I give the signal?' I contemplated after a minute of waiting for him to say something but decided against it. It won't be wise to jump into decisions.

"I know what's in that box your friend has." Kenji finally said as he stared at me with Hawk eyes.

'Well there goes the cover up story of it being used to carry the cremated ashes of the family.' I thought before focusing back on the conversation.

" And what exactly is in which box?" I asked.

Better to confirm if we were talking about the same thing rather than blundering. I didn't want to give up my secrets just cause some 20 year old was staring at me with Hawk eyes. I'll rather fight than let one of my friends be captured and killed.

"The one with the Hanafuda earrings boy." Kenji said before stopping and looking at me expectantly.

'He expects me to break? Or is he checking loyalty to the Corps?' I contemplated sitting in silence but after a while of waiting it was clear Kenji wasn't gonna continue the conversation until I had given an answer.

"Yes, he has his little sister in that box. And yes she's a demon but I want to stress this Hard, she hasn't hurt a single human till now and we've been constant travel companions for months, I don't think she'll hurt any human. Willingly or unwillingly." I said coming out with the truth.

At this point I was sure he knew. How? No fucking idea. Maybe he had a great nose too but it was better to not lie so I presented my argument and hoped that Kenji the Guard leader was a rational man.

The Hiraishin Kunai poking at my knee told me he was either a rational man or due to his next words he was gonna be a dead one.

"Hmm, save those words for the Hashiras." Kenji said casually.

I hurt my neck with how fast I turned around to look at the whole room. I wasn't Hashira level. Not by a long shot,Shinobu was weaker than me in raw strength but she was also the fastest of the Hashira and poison probably worked just fine on me.

"They're not here. They have sent this for you." Kenji said getting back my focus as he slid a letter and a vial across the table.

'Oh god please let it be something good.' I thought as I shakily picked up the letter and began reading. 

'Asura Hashibira

You're accused of the crime of hiding and helping a demon, for this you would face immidiate execution.'

My forehead started to sweat heavily but I forced myself to continue reading.

'But considering your contributions to the Corps and three Hashiras supporting your cause you've been allowed to present your reasons at the Headquarters of the Corps within the next fortnight.

We wish you the best of luck in your endeavours and hope that you still wield your blade for the annihilation of Demons.'

My eyes widened at the letter and my hands shook as I wiped my forehead.

"There's more on the back of the letter." Kenji said before descending into silence.

'There's fucking more!' I screamed internally as I turned the letter to read the other part of the letter. 

'With this letter is a vial that has been created from the raw materials provided by you, I do not know how capable you are of such duties but I wished for you to see some results of your efforts first hand.' I read the letter internally and sweated again.

Why the fuck were they talking as if I already had a Death Sentence on me. I began to question how much of the meeting would be a fair presentation of the arguments and how much of it would be me walking into a Death Trap with 6 Hashiras waiting to claim my life.

'There's something more. Something doesn't seem right.' I mused not noticing Kenji who had completely become battle ready.

I was missing something. Something important.

'Fucking what?' I looked around the letter, rereading it front to back. Stressing over all the words but something was nagging me.

I moved my head to look over at the vial and suddenly everything made sense. 

_____________

Authors Note: Hmm wonder what's in the Vial. 

Well I'm watching Game of Thrones. I've read the books, I've read the side material, I've read the comics, I've read the supplementary material to that as well and I'm also aware of every single ASOIAF theory in existence (Might seem like a bold claim but I'm really really aware of literally everything.)

So now I'm watching the show probably will only watch till season 4 (Mostly because of Kit Harrington as Jon Snow and Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Nymeros Martell)

So yeah. I'm also watching House of the Dragon.

Join the Patreön for more regular author's notes with fun stuff and to read ahead while fuelling my addiction of reading lore and books (I still don't remember the map of Essos by heart dammit).

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Hope everyone has a nice Day/Night.