Nezuko rushed forward and pulled Shuya behind her, glaring at Kanao with pure anger. The quiet girl just tilted her head, looking genuinely confused about why Nezuko was upset. She had seen both Shinobu and Kanae do the exact same thing with Shuya. On top of that, Kanae had told her to spend more time getting close to him.
To Kanao's simple mind, she hadn't done anything wrong.
Aoi snapped out of her shock and quickly stepped in front of Kanao, shielding her. "Don't bully this child," she said sharply, staring Nezuko down.
Nezuko opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. A bitter feeling welled up inside her. Who was really bullying who here? She was the one who had been here first. She had been first!
Aoi noticed the tears forming in Nezuko's eyes and felt a pang of guilt. She realized Nezuko clearly liked Shuya, and the poor girl had just watched Shinobu, Kanae, and now even Kanao move in ahead of her. It really was heartbreaking.
Aoi gently pulled Kanao aside and whispered, "Kanao, why did you do that?"
Shuya was just as confused. He had only met Kanao twice—once when he asked her that question about Kanae, and now today when she suddenly grabbed his sleeve and kissed him after he gave her candy. He couldn't figure out how things had escalated so fast.
Kanao reached into her kimono and pulled out the coin Kanae had given her. She flipped it high into the air without hesitation. It spun, then landed cleanly on the back of her hand. She pressed it down and revealed the result.
Heads.
Kanao looked up at Aoi and spoke in her soft, halting voice. "Sister said… get in contact with Shuya…"
Aoi's eye twitched. That wasn't "contact." That was a full-on kiss! Even if Kanao's Japanese wasn't perfect, there was no way she misunderstood that badly. Aoi tried to explain what "getting closer" actually meant, but Kanao just tilted her head again. She clearly had her own very literal understanding of the word, and Aoi's explanation wasn't changing her mind.
Aoi let out a helpless sigh. She turned back to Nezuko and bowed her head. "I'm really sorry. This child doesn't understand these things at all, but I promise she has no bad intentions. I'll take her away right now."
She gently pulled the still-expressionless Kanao out of the training hall. Kanao didn't resist. She simply kept chewing the candy in her mouth while staring straight at Shuya the entire time they left.
Shuya stood there with his mouth slightly open, completely stunned. Yesterday Shinobu had warned him to stay away from Kanao. Now, right after signing the contract with her, she had apparently changed her mind and sent Kanao to… do this? He couldn't wrap his head around it.
Saeko walked over with a teasing smile. "Shuya-kouhai, you look pretty happy. Four beautiful girls' lips in one morning already?"
Shuya snapped out of it and grinned back. "This is nothing. Last night I tasted eight."
Saeko blinked, counting in her head. Six contractors plus Makomo made seven. Where was the eighth? Shuya answered before she could ask. "Shinobu."
Saeko raised an eyebrow, surprised but not entirely shocked.
"Anyway, enough about that," Shuya said, waving it off. "Saeko-senpai, can you put the demon hunting on hold for a while and teach Nezuko Breathing Style instead?"
Saeko thought about it, then reached out and gently patted Nezuko's head. "Sure. No problem. I actually like this kid a lot."
She looked at Nezuko with a warm but slightly meaningful smile. "Nezuko, I'll be counting on you from now on~"