I'm such an idiot. Seriously.
Shuya-nii is ridiculously strong, and the Butterfly Mansion is Demon Slayer Corps territory. Who could possibly hurt him here?
Watching Shuya and Saeko locked in that deep kiss, Nezuko felt pure regret flood her chest. If she had known Saeko was here, she never would've come. Or at least she should've waited and walked over with that gentle big sister and the others.
Wait… hold on.
Only now did Nezuko realize what had been nagging at her. That warm, beautiful woman who had hugged her earlier—what was her name again? Kanae Kocho? Shinobu's sister?
Wasn't that the ex-girlfriend Shuya had mentioned? The one who was supposed to be dead?
How the hell was she alive now? And worse—Nezuko had basically led the whole group straight here. If that gentle, stunning Kanae saw this kiss right now… what would she think of Nezuko?
Clang!
The wooden sword slipped from Nezuko's numb fingers and hit the floor with a dull thud.
Crap!
Shuya and Saeko broke apart at the sound. Saeko turned, spotted Nezuko, and gave her an easy, confident smile while tucking a strand of purple hair behind her ear.
"Hey, Nezuko. Good morning."
"Sa—Saeko-nee… good morning," Nezuko answered stiffly, cheeks burning.
Seeing how calm and graceful Saeko looked made Nezuko feel even guiltier for the jealous thoughts that had just flashed through her mind. Of course Shuya liked her—Saeko was beautiful, strong, and carried herself like a queen. Compared to that, Nezuko glanced down at her own flat chest and felt instantly hopeless.
Saeko's gaze moved past Nezuko to the group behind her. "And good morning to you too, Shinobu-san… and everyone else."
Shinobu gave Shuya a quick side-eye. She wasn't the only one who had seen the kiss—everyone who had followed Nezuko had gotten an eyeful. Just as she suspected, this ridiculously powerful woman who could go toe-to-toe with any Hashira was clearly very close to Shuya.
Still, as the mistress of the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu kept her expression polite. "Good morning, Saeko-san."
Her eyes flicked toward her sister Kanae, silently screaming: See? This is the kind of man our contract partner is. You still want to push Aoi and Kanao into this mess?
Kanae didn't even notice the look. Instead she walked straight up to Saeko with a bright, warm smile.
"Hello! I'm Kanae Kocho, Shinobu's older sister and the former Flower Hashira. You're one of Shuya's contractors too, right?"
Saeko blinked, surprised for half a second. So this really was the dead sister Shuya had joked about. And "contractor"? Apparently Shuya could even bring people back from the dead now.
She didn't comment on any of that. Instead she smiled politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Saeko Busujima."
"Nee~ Can I call you Saeko?" Kanae asked, eyes sparkling with genuine friendliness.
"Of course," Saeko answered easily. Anything that helped Shuya was fine by her. Besides, Kanae had been a Hashira—her sword skills were probably excellent. The two women fell into easy conversation almost immediately.
A few steps away, Shinobu stared at her sister in quiet disbelief.
That's it?
She had been waiting for Kanae to storm over and tear into Shuya for being a shameless player. Or at least for some delicious tension between the two women. Where was the drama? The explosion? The part where they both turned on Shuya?
Instead they were chatting like old friends.
Shuya watched Shinobu's cute little frown form and couldn't resist. He reached out and gently poked her cheek. "What's wrong, Shinobu? You look kinda disappointed that your big sister and Saeko-senpai didn't start fighting."
Shinobu's forehead twitched. A vein popped. She slapped his hand away, slapped her usual fake gentle smile back on, and answered in her sweetest voice.
"Not at all~ I'm actually thrilled my sister came back to life and made such a beautiful, talented friend so quickly."
"Really?" Shuya grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "That's great to hear. Then you won't mind if I introduce you girls to a few more amazing women just like Saeko-senpai, right?"
Shinobu's smile froze. Her fists clenched so hard the veins stood out on the backs of her hands. She looked one second away from exploding.
Aoi, watching from the side, felt her eye twitch. This was the first time she had ever seen anyone tease Shinobu this boldly since she became the Insect Hashira. And after seeing Shinobu walk out of Shuya's room earlier looking thoroughly rumpled… was this just their weird couple thing?
She had no idea, but her soul was shaking. She quickly grabbed Kanao and pulled her a safe distance away, just in case Shinobu actually snapped and Shuya's blood ended up on her clothes.
The room naturally split into four awkward groups: Nezuko staring at her feet in embarrassment, Saeko and Kanae chatting animatedly, Aoi and Kanao hiding on the sidelines, and Shuya standing way too close to a visibly furious Shinobu.
Shuya knew exactly how to fix this.
One big emotion to wash away the current one.
"Shinobu."
She looked up, startled for a split second.
Shuya caught her chin gently, leaned down, and kissed her right there in front of everyone.