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Chapter 136: Three Supremes in One Faction
Seeing Kocho Kanae slowly shift her gaze toward her, Kamado Nezuko, who had grown a bit restless listening to their conversation, couldn't help but lower her head once more.
Don't look at me, don't look at me... she chanted continuously in her heart.
But Kanae seemed completely oblivious to her awkwardness, keeping her eyes fixed right on her. The moment the older girl's gaze locked onto her, Nezuko couldn't suppress a shudder.
She absolutely did not expect the woman's next words to be: "Little sister, do you also want to learn a Breathing Style to avenge your family?"
"Eh?"
Nezuko froze for a moment. Weren't they going to talk about Suyan? She immediately breathed a long sigh of relief in her heart.
Just as she was about to open her mouth and refuse this rival in love who was desperately trying to create more 'rivals', she heard Kanae continue speaking to herself.
"Then do you want to learn Flower Breathing from your big sister Kanae?" Kanae asked. "This is a Breathing Style I created all by myself. Plus, when you use it, a really pleasant fragrance drifts off your body."
Fragrance? Nezuko had a hard time understanding that. Weren't Breathing Styles meant for killing demons? What did she mean by a fragrance drifting off your body when using it? Was it to give the demons a better dining experience when they ate you? No matter how she thought about it, that just didn't sound right.
Nezuko avoided Kanae's enthusiastic gaze, scratched her cheek, and politely declined. "But... I've already started learning my family's Sun Breathing from Suyan-niisan."
"Eh?"
Kanae's expression instantly plummeted. Looking genuinely distressed, she pouted, "You're such a sweet, soft girl... it's really a pity that you won't learn Flower Breathing from me."
She wasn't actually surprised that Suyan knew something like Sun Breathing. After all, the man was capable of doing something as outrageous as resurrecting her from the dead. Compared to that, knowing some so-called Sun Breathing seemed entirely trivial.
"Sister..."
Beside her, Tsuyuri Kanao blankly tugged at Kanae's hem and said, "I know Flower Breathing..."
"Kanao, are you trying to comfort your big sister?" Kanae looked at the emotionally stunted girl in surprise. Then, she pulled Kanao into her arms again, affectionately rubbing her own cheek against the girl's delicate face. "I'm so happy."
Kanao didn't say a word, unconsciously narrowing her eyes as if thoroughly enjoying her older sister's affectionate nuzzling.
Kanae continued, "Work a little harder, Kanao, and push yourself to become a Hashira. That way, counting Shinobu, our Butterfly Mansion will have three Hashira. The three of us are just too amazing."
Kanao had no idea what Kanae was talking about; she only knew that she just needed to blindly agree to whatever her sister asked of her.
"Sister!"
Standing not too far away, Kocho Shinobu felt a flare of anger upon hearing this. A second ago, her sister was saying she wished for them to find happiness, and now she was saying she wanted Kanao to become a Hashira?
"Alright, alright, I was just casually mentioning it."
Kanae pursed her lips, complaining softly, "It's just a pity that little Aoi, whom I had such high hopes for, didn't live up to expectations. Otherwise, our Butterfly Mansion—a mere logistics division—producing three Hashira-level members would have definitely shocked the Demon Slayer Corps, right?"
"Ah?"
Aoi felt a sharp, phantom jab to her chest. She looked at Kanae with a pained expression. Wait, how did I get dragged into this? "Sorry, sorry, Aoi! I didn't mean it like that."
Seeing the awful expression on Aoi's face, Kanae hurriedly apologized. She quickly moved to comfort her, "Even though you didn't become a Hashira for the Demon Slayer Corps like Shinobu did, you manage the Butterfly Mansion perfectly every single day, and that is a truly amazing accomplishment."
"Besides, with your big sister here, fighting won't ever fall on your shoulders again. You and Kanao just need to focus on being happy every single day."
Hearing Kanae say this, the color finally returned to Aoi's face.
However, hearing the woman casually take the burden of fighting back upon herself made Aoi think of how she had already died once because of it. Aoi couldn't help but subconsciously advise her, "Kanae-nee, can't you just leave the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"After all, you've already died for the Corps once. There's no reason for you to keep fighting, is there? And... and aren't you with Lord Suyan now? Why won't you think about yourself a little more?"
Even though Aoi's own family had died at the hands of demons—giving her a deep, visceral hatred for them—the words she spoke to Kanae were absolutely genuine.
Hearing Aoi's sincere emotional outburst, Kanae was slightly taken aback. She didn't immediately refute it, but instead carefully pondered the girl's words.
Then, she nodded in hearty agreement. "You make a good point, Aoi. After all, my life isn't entirely my own anymore, so I have to take responsibility for it. I've decided! Let's all go ask him together and see what he thinks."
Saying that, Kanae enthusiastically grabbed Aoi and Kanao's hands. She was ready to drag them all along to find Suyan.
Shinobu stared at her sister in silent exasperation. How could she not see right through her sister's true intentions?
This was completely intentional, wasn't it? Claiming she wanted to ask Suyan for his opinion was just an excuse to drag them all along to see him!
But Shinobu didn't expose her. After all, she had just promised Kanae that she wouldn't stop Aoi and the others from interacting with him.
Watching the enthusiastic group preparing to seek out Suyan, Nezuko weakly raised a hand and asked, "Can I... leave now?"
Stealing that kiss from Suyan had already exhausted every ounce of courage she possessed. Asking her to face him again right now was simply impossible. Not to mention having to face him alongside such a large group of people.
However, right at that moment, a loud crash echoed from a short distance away.
"Suyan-niisan?!"
This instantly sent the ever-concerned Nezuko into a panic. The sound had come from the exact direction she had just run from. Suyan was right there.
Without a second thought, Nezuko snatched up her wooden sword from the ground and sprinted toward the training room.
Kanae and Shinobu exchanged a glance for a few seconds. Out of their sheer trust in Suyan's strength, neither believed that the man was in any real danger.
But this worked out perfectly. Not only had Nezuko run over there, but now they knew exactly where Suyan was.
Kanae let out a soft chuckle and suggested, "Let's go take a look too."
Without waiting for anyone's objections, she pulled the girls along and followed right behind Nezuko.
Soon after arriving at the training room, the girls immediately spotted Suyan.
And locked in a passionate embrace with him, sharing an intense kiss following their spar, was the purple-haired girl—Busujima Saeko.
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