The Hashira's pasts

"Oh? It was Mr. Himejima who saved you back then, so there shouldn't be any difficulties, right?"

Kyojuro crossed his arms and asked with some curiosity.

Shinobu Kocho opened her mouth, about to explain, when Gyomei spoke first:

"Amitabha... I refused their request to join the Demon Slayer Corps back then!"

"Huh? Why?" Mitsuri turned her head to look at Gyomei Himejima, then to look at Kanae and Shinobu.

Shinobu Kocho said, "At first, Mr. Himejima thought we were just acting out of momentary anger. Besides, we're both girls, and girls are generally less skilled in combat than boys. So he rejected us, hoping we could live as ordinary people instead of as Demon Slayer!"

Hmm, Mr. Himejima is indeed very gentle!... Mitsuri looked at Shinobu Kocho and continued to ask:

"And then what happened?"

"Later, we stayed at Mr. Himejima, preparing food for him and cleaning his house every day!" Shinobu Kocho continued.

"And then Mr. Himejima was moved by you and let you join the Demon Slayer Corps, right?" Mitsuri asked excitedly.

"No!" Kanae shook her head, then seemed to recall the funny incident from back then, and chuckled, "At that time, Mr. Himejima was furious, thinking we were playing house with him, and then he gave us a new challenge!"

Furious?... Sanemi couldn't help but look at Gyomei again and again.

"Huh? Why is that!" Mitsuri said with dissatisfaction, then realized that the person she was talking about was sitting inside the room, so she quickly raised her left hand to cover the corner of her mouth and cautiously looked at Mr. Himejima.

Seeing that the other party didn't seem to care, she breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Shinobu Kocho and Kanae, and asked:

"So what difficult problem did Mr. Himejima pose to you later?"

"Then Mr. Himejima brought out a rock that was almost twice the height of us and told us that if we could move that rock, he would let us join the Demon Slayer Corps!" Mr. Himejima Shinobu Kocho said.

After saying that, she gestured with her hand, trying to tell everyone how tall the rock was.

Noticing her movement, Gyomei slowly spoke:

"No need to gesture, that rock is about 1.8 meters tall!"

Hearing Gyomei's words, Obanai frowned and turned to Shinobu Kocho, asking:

How old were you at that time?

"My sister was 12 years old then, and I was 6. What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Shinobu Kocho looked at Obanai with a puzzled expression.

"So you actually managed to push it through in the end?" Obanai frowned, looking at Kanae and Shinobu with some confusion.

He put himself in that situation and realized that, given his circumstances, he would have absolutely no chance of passing that test at that age.

Let alone himself, even the currently recognized strongest, Mr. Kato, and the second Mr. Himejima, could not possibly move a stone of that size at that age.

Therefore, he couldn't understand how the two sisters had passed the test.

Could it be that someone else introduced them?

"I'm curious about that too!" Kyojuro nodded seriously.

"What's so strange about that? It's just a rock. It's a bit big, but it's not like you're supposed to lift it. Moving it should be relatively easy, right?" Mitsuri said matter-of-factly.

A moment later, seeing that everyone was looking at her, Mitsuri realized that she was different from ordinary people and silently lowered her head.

"Guomeina Sai..."

Kanae smiled gently and took over the conversation, not letting everyone's attention linger on Mitsuri for too long.

"Of course, we couldn't move it with our strength alone, but we dug a hole under the rock, inserted a piece of wood, and pried it open!"

Obanai nodded slightly.

"I see..."

"Ha, what a brilliant use of your intellect to overcome this challenge!" Uzui exclaimed in admiration.

"Yes, this is indeed very magnificent!" Kyojuro echoed in praise.

"Mmm-hmm! As expected of Megumi and Shinobu!" Mitsuri nodded repeatedly. "And then you became Mr. Himejima's disciples?"

At this point, Mitsuri seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly stopped, saying somewhat strangely:

"That's not right. Mr. Himejima practices Stone Breathing, while Megumi's Flower Breathing is Breathing Style derivative of Flame Breathing, and Shinobu's Insect Breathing is a derivative of Water Breathing Style..."

"Why is that?" Mitsuri asked Kanae and Shinobu with a puzzled look.

"Different talents..." Gyomei said slowly.

"Different talents?" Mitsuri turned her head to look at him in confusion.

"My Stone Breathing isn't suitable for them, and while Kanae Kocho doesn't have any physical weaknesses, Shinobu Kocho is too weak in terms of strength, so I introduced them to different trainers!" Gyomei Himejima explained slowly.

"Oh~, I see!" Mitsuri nodded in sudden understanding.

"Well, that's how we successfully went to train under the instructors, then took the Mount Fujikasane exam, and finally got here!" Shinobu Kocho continued.

"Hui~! Ren~! I never thought we'd almost not meet again. Thankfully, you two passed the test in the end!" Mitsuri said with lingering fear.

"..." Teiichi couldn't help but lift his teacup and take another sip. "I'm not worried, so why are you worried?"

"Yes! Although there were some twists and turns in the process, fortunately, the final result was good!" Kanae chuckled, bringing their story to a close.

"Well..."

Just then, Gyomei Himejima sighed softly, and everyone who heard the sound turned to look in that direction.

"Actually, I didn't intend for you to pass the test at that time, which is why I arranged that stone for you!" Gyomei said slowly.

"Is it because you just said you didn't want them to join the Demon Slayer Corps out of momentary anger?" Kyojuro asked loudly.

"That's one reason, but not the only one..." Gyomei said heavily.

"More than that?" Uzui asked curiously.

"Hmm!" Gyomei responded heavily, then said, "Actually, I've always been particularly disappointed and disgusted with children! And they... they just happened to be children back then!"

"You're particularly disappointed with children?" Obanai's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked intently at Gyomei.

The others also looked at Gyomei with suspicion.

Gyomei was the first among those present to join the Demon Slayer Corps; everyone who joined could see him.

His image is largely that of a strong, kind person who easily empathizes with others' experiences.

And now, this same person is telling them that he's disappointed and disgusted with children?