A Few Things at the Butterfly Mansion (Part Two)
Giyu Tomioka sat cross-legged properly at a small square table.
His deep blue eyes were fixed on the large iron pot, without even blinking.
"Tap tap tap..."
Next to him, Shinobu Kocho was chopping green onions!
"Click!"
He chopped the cleaver in his hand onto an innocent scallion, and his purple eyes were filled with resentment that seemed to overflow.
"I said, Mr. Giyu-- "
While chopping scallions, Ren spoke in her signature sarcastic tone.
"You're supposed to be a dignified Water Hashira, yet you just sit there waiting for my sister to feed you. Don't you think that's beneath your aloof swordsman dignity?"
She chopped the scallions incredibly fast!!
Giyu turned his head slightly, looking very intently at the chopped green onions that Shinobu had cut.
"Won't."
"Kanae's cooking skills are excellent; waiting for delicious food is a sign of respect for it."
He paused, his gaze falling on Ren's fair hand.
"And your knife skills have improved as well."
"..."
The kitchen fell silent for two seconds.
Shinobu Kocho's hand, holding the kitchen knife, froze in mid-air.
All the sarcastic and sarcastic remarks he had prepared were abruptly swallowed back down by this unexpected remark.
Is this guy... complimenting me?
He actually noticed all my efforts over the past year?
A blush crept onto Ren's face.
She hurriedly lowered her head and swept the chopped scallions into the bowl.
"Hmph! At least you have some sense, you big idiot."
Ren muttered something under her breath, without even realizing it herself, but the sourness in her tone had lessened considerably, replaced by a hint of unconcealed sweetness.
Kanae Kocho, standing in front of the stove, saw all of this.
She held the soup spoon, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly, her eyes full of doting affection.
This piece of wood has really come to its senses...
Not only can he catch his own straight ball steadily, but he can also easily handle his sister's awkward and arrogant attitude.
"Okay, sorry to keep you waiting!!"
Kanae presented a large blue-and-white porcelain bowl to Giyu.
"I'm starting!"
Giyu put his hands together in prayer.
Next, Lord Water Hashira transformed into a heartless, emotionless rice-eating machine.
"Snoring..."
As he ate each mouthful of hot food, a visible pink halo appeared on his usually icy face.
Watching him eat so heartily, Kanae rested her chin on her hand, her pink eyes filled with tenderness.
If she could, she really wanted to cook for him for the rest of her life.
After finishing three large bowls of rice, Giyu finally put down his chopsticks, completely satisfied.
Thank you for your hospitality!
He pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, feeling as if the chill that had accumulated in the deep mountains and forests over the past year had been completely dispelled by this meal.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them moved to the spacious wooden corridor in the backyard of the Butterfly Mansion.
The afternoon sun shines warmly down, and brewing a pot of refreshing tea to aid digestion creates a tranquil atmosphere that makes one want to lie down and take a nap.
Kanae skillfully leaned back to Giyu's right.
Although she didn't rush into his arms like she did at the main gate,
But the distance between the two had long exceeded the boundaries of ordinary friends, their shoulders lightly brushing against each other.
Ren sat opposite them, holding her teacup. Although she was a little jealous, she had already gotten used to the pink aura between the two of them that no one could break into.
"Speaking of which, Mr. Tomioka, you skipped work for a whole year to retreat to the deep mountains and forests to recuperate, and quite a few things happened in the Demon Slayer Corps."
Giyu put down his teacup, his deep blue eyes looking at her, signaling her to continue.
"The first change is in high-level combat capabilities."
Ren's tone became slightly more serious.
"Sanemi Shinazugawa, that volatile maniac covered in scars, passed the Master's test half a year ago and was officially promoted to [Wind Hashira]!!"
"And then there's Obanai Iguro, that weirdo with a white snake wrapped around his neck all the time. He also successfully advanced three months ago, filling the vacancy of the [Serpent Hashira]!!"
Upon hearing those two names, Giyu immediately pictured the corresponding faces in his mind.
One is a white-haired, fierce-looking rabid dog that seems ready to kill at any moment;
The other one is a man with heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one green, who speaks in a sarcastic tone and has a sharp tongue who finds fault with everyone.
"Their swordsmanship is indeed very distinctive!!"
Giyu quickly retrieved the combat data that the two had previously displayed in his mind.
"Shinazugawa's lower body strength is solid, and the destructive power of his Wind Breathing is astonishing. Obanai's movements are unpredictable, and his Serpent Breathing can launch attacks from incredible angles!!"
"With the addition of two Pillar-level fighters to the Demon Slayer Corps, humanity's chances of defeating Muzan have increased even further."
Hearing Giyu's sincere praise, Ren raised an eyebrow.
Before Ren could even open his mouth to agree, Giyu added expressionlessly:
"However, compared to Upper Rank, they're still a bit lacking!"
"..."
Shinobu Kocho, who had just thought that this blockhead had improved his emotional intelligence, almost spat out his mouthful of hot tea.
"Mr. Tomioka, your habit of humility hasn't changed at all."
Ren rolled his eyes dramatically and couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.
"At the next Hashira Meeting, whatever you do, don't say that in front of Shinazugawa. I'm afraid he'll get so angry he'll draw his sword and kill you right there at the Ubuyashiki Estate."
Kanae chuckled softly, covering her mouth. She knew Giyu was simply stating a physical fact and wasn't joking.
While the three were chatting...
A slight sound suddenly came from the wooden floor at the corner of the corridor.
Giyu's ears twitched slightly.
He turned his head, his gaze falling on the end of the corridor.
A little girl with a single side ponytail and a pink butterfly hair accessory was standing there quietly.
The little girl was wearing a miniature version of the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, with a white cape over it.
She looked only eleven or twelve years old, but her purplish-red eyes showed no trace of the liveliness that belonged to that age.
Those were completely empty eyes.
She stood there quietly, motionless, like a delicate doll that had been discarded.
"Ah, Kanao, you've come."
Upon seeing the little girl, Kanae's eyes softened instantly, and she smiled and waved to the little girl.
The little girl named Kanao did not react at all.
She stood still and slowly raised her right hand.
Giyu keenly noticed that a plain copper coin lay quietly in the little girl's fair palm.
A light flick of the thumb.
"Bite--!"
The coin tumbled a few times in mid-air, making a crisp sound, before landing steadily back in her palm.
Kanao glanced down at the direction the coin was facing.
Front!!
Only after confirming the result did she take a step forward, slowly walk up to Kanae, and bow slightly.
"Master... hello."
Kanao's voice was very soft, seemingly without any intonation, as if she were mechanically completing a pre-programmed task.
Then, she turned her head and looked at Giyu Tomioka sitting next to her.
She held up the coin in her hand again.
It bounced up and then fell.
This time it's the opposite!!
So Kanao said nothing, only staring at Giyu with her empty eyes.
"Giyu, this is my new Tsuguko, Kanao Tsuyuri I adopted this year."
Kanae reached out and touched the little girl's cheek tenderly, pulled her to sit down beside her, and turned to look at Giyu, her voice full of pity.
"Shinobu and I bought her from a human trafficker."
Kanae recalled the scene of their first encounter, her gentle brows furrowing slightly.
"She suffered inhuman abuse from a young age. She was starved, beaten, and verbally abused; her parents even sold her off like livestock."
"In order to survive that desperate situation, her brain activated a self-protective mechanism, shutting down all emotions and senses."
She felt neither pain nor sadness.
"Even more serious is that she has completely lost the ability to 'make her own decisions'."
"Without explicit instructions from others, even if she's starving, she won't take a bite of the food in front of her, and even if she's bitten by a vicious dog, she won't run away."
At this point, Shinobu Kocho put down her teacup, a flash of anger crossing her purple eyes.
"This coin was a special aid my sister made for her so she could perform even the most basic daily activities."
Shinobu pointed to the copper coin in Kanao's hand.
"Do it on the positive side, don't do it on the negative side!!"
"All her current behavioral logic depends entirely on the outcome of this coin toss."
Giyu Tomioka listened quietly.
His deep blue eyes fell on Kanao's delicate yet lifeless face.
In the vibrant, Wisteria Butterfly Mansion, this little girl seemed like an out-of-place ghost.
Giyu's brows furrowed involuntarily.
"This kind of behavior isn't really suitable for being a Demon Slayer Corps!"
She gritted her teeth; of course she knew all this.
However, psychological trauma cannot be easily resolved using pharmacology alone.
Kanae gently patted Kanao on the back, not Giyu at Giyu's bluntness.
Because she knew that Giyu's ability to say such things proved that he was already seriously considering the little girl's future in his own way.
"Mr. Tomioka is right."
Kanae looked at Giyu with tenderness.
"So, if possible, I hope Giyu can help her."
"Your unwavering rationality, no matter what dire situation you face, might offer her some unique inspiration."
Help her?
Giyu stared into Kanao's empty, purplish-red eyes.
How can you help someone who has closed themselves off regain the will to wield a knife?
Water Hashira's brain started working wildly, trying to find a way to crack the coin's mechanism using probability, muscle memory, and even physical stimulation.