Watching the three of them train with fiery determination, Kanao Tsuyuri's thoughts drifted far away—
Back to a long time ago.
A foul-smelling river.
On both sides stood collapsing wooden houses, rotten and broken.
Children lay scattered across the ground—some already dead, others barely alive, their empty eyes staring into nothingness as they waited for death.
Flies buzzed over corpses.
The air reeked of decay.
From inside one of the broken huts came the sharp cry of a little girl being beaten.
A man dragged her out by the arm and threw her onto the dirt.
That girl—
Was Kanao.
Her body hurt.
Her stomach was empty.
Sadness. Pain. Emptiness. Loneliness.
Born into poverty, she had been sold to slave traders.
They treated her worse than livestock. At the slightest displeasure, they kicked and beat her.
By then, Kanao had already abandoned her emotions.
Even when she was sold—
She felt nothing.
No grief.
No fear.
No resistance.
She had stopped thinking altogether.
"Excuse me, may we trouble you for a few minutes?"
A gentle voice called out.
Passing by with her younger sister, Kanae Kocho stopped the slave trader.
He turned, irritated, seeing two neatly dressed, beautiful young girls.
Kanae pointed at the small girl tied with rope.
"Why is she bound like that? Did she do something wrong?"
The slave trader snorted.
"Isn't it obvious? She's filthy. Covered in fleas. And she might run. It's safer to keep her tied."
Kanae looked at the girl with soft eyes and knelt down.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you. My name is Kanae Kocho. What's yours?"
"She doesn't have one," the trader snapped impatiently. "Her parents never gave her a name."
Kanao stared blankly at Kanae's beautiful face.
Her mind was empty.
She didn't even know what she was thinking.
"Are you done?" the trader barked, raising his hand to shove Kanae aside.
Before he could touch her—
Smack!
Shinobu Kocho slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch my sister!"
Her brows were tightly furrowed, fury clear in her eyes.
"Tch!"
The trader clicked his tongue.
"If you want to talk to her, pay for it! Otherwise stop wasting my time!"
Shinobu glanced at Kanae, who was still looking at the girl with pity.
"Fine," Shinobu said lightly. "We'll buy her."
She pulled out a stack of money from her sleeve and flung it into the air.
Coins scattered everywhere.
"This should be enough."
Before the trader could react—
Before even Kanae could process it—
Shinobu grabbed the girl's hand, and the three of them ran.
"Hey! You brats! Get back here!"
The trader wanted to chase them—
But money was flying everywhere.
If he didn't pick it up now, passersby would.
Shinobu looked back with a triumphant smile.
"You'd better collect it quickly. It's windy—and crowded."
Kanao ran alongside them, wide-eyed, watching Shinobu talk and laugh.
Kanae held her hand tightly, smiling gently.
"It's okay now," she said softly.
Footsteps approached, pulling Kanao back to the present.
She turned.
Shinobu and Aoyama were walking over.
Tanjiro was shouting encouragement at the top of his lungs.
Aoyama strode forward and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Stop yelling! How's your training going? Have you blown up the biggest gourd yet?"
Tanjiro lowered his head quietly.
He could burst the small gourds now.
But not the largest one.
On the courtyard wall, Zenitsu ran back and forth. When he saw Shinobu, he waved enthusiastically.
"Shinobu-san! Look at me! I'm training!"
Shinobu smiled and nodded.
"Keep it up, Zenitsu."
Instantly, Zenitsu looked like he'd been injected with adrenaline, sprinting even faster.
Tanjiro glanced at Aoyama.
"Aoyama-senpai… can you encourage me too? Shinobu-san encouraged Zenitsu, so could you—"
Before he finished—
Aoyama raised his fist.
"I can encourage you like this. Want it?"
Tanjiro snapped into attention instantly.
"No, sir! I'll train properly!"
"That's better."
Nearby, Inosuke dragged three massive stones proudly.
"Aoyama! Look! I can pull three now! Impressive, right?!"
Without a word—
Aoyama punched him.
Thud.
Inosuke collapsed face-first.
"Call me senpai," Aoyama said calmly. "Don't make me remind you again."
Inosuke didn't move.
Tanjiro hurried over.
"Inosuke?! Get up!"
No response.
He flipped him over and removed the boar mask.
"He's unconscious! You knocked him out!"
"Ah…"
Aoyama paused.
He'd forgotten to hold back.
He cleared his throat.
"Take him back. When he wakes up, tell him to continue training."
This time—
He genuinely hadn't meant to knock him out.
It was… accidental.
Probably.
Shinobu withdrew her gaze and turned to Kanao.
"You three entered the Corps at the same time. Would you like to train together?"
Kanao looked at Shinobu—
Then at Aoyama in the distance.
She hesitated.
Her coin was no longer with her.
He had kept it.
After a moment—
She stepped toward him.
"Would you like to train together?"
She asked softly.
Shinobu blinked in mild surprise.
But it made sense.
They were from the same generation.
Aoyama smiled.
"Of course."
This time—
There was something he had wanted to tell her during their last training.
He wouldn't miss the chance again.
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