⚠️ LIKE USUAL IM GOIN' TO ADD THIS CAUTION SIGN HERE TO REMIND YOU THAT ANOTHER RANDOM BULLSHIT WILL HAPPEN.

DON'T BLAME ME I'M INNOCENT TEHEE ~ ⚠️

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…

"Areh ~ Looking back, you did declare in front of us that you will marry 'Shin' right? Have you finally found him, Shinobu chan?" Kanae asked mischievously covering her mouth with her palm.

*Puff* 

A cloud of smoke puffed out of Shinobu's head. Her face and ears were completely red. 

"A-ah –" She stuttered. Her eyes were darting over the place and –

*Tackle*

Shinobu dived back onto Kanae's chest, finding cover to hide her embarrassed face.

"O-Onee-chan! Don't bring that up right now." 

"Ara- ara ~ I hope I can meet this 'Shin' guy, one day. Kanae said teasingly. She patted Shinobu's back.

'Awawa. That's so embarrassing.' Shinobu thought as Kanae reminded her of her fantasies in her childhood.

"Hehe ~ You're so cute Shinobu chan." 

"Uuuuwu" 

And so Shinobu stayed rooted within Kanae's chest for a while.

.

.

.

A moment later, Shinobu's face came back to normal.

'Huuuuuh haaaaaah' She took a deep breath to compose herself.

As she did that she smelled Kanae's flowery scent which was her favorite that brings a very calming effect.

'Flower?'

'?!'

Shinobu quickly broke out of the hug. 

"That's right! Nee-san."

"Awe~. You're back on calling me that? You can always call me 'Oneechan' you know? Like old times." Kanae suggested with a smile.

"It's not that nee-san." A slight blush crept up on her cheeks as she remembered she called her sister 'Oneechan' earlier but it disappeared immediately. 

For Shinobu, 'Oneechan' and 'Oneesan' had different meanings. She believed that 'Oneechan' appeared to be childish, while 'Oneesan' sounds a little bit more mature.

"Are you the one who taught Kanao some forms of 'Flower Breathing'?"

"Hmm. No, I didn't. Why are you saying that?" Kanae tilted her head.

"Earlier, when I came back from the Open Hall, I taught Kanao the basics of 'Flower Breathing'. But… " She stopped.

"But? What's the problem?"

"She absorbed the lesson remarkably in just one session… I was so stunned, I thought this wasn't normal. It's like she's been trained about it before. 

So I probed for more. I did some little spar with Kanao and this was what surprised me: She did some advanced techniques, nee-san. It wasn't at a mastery level but it was still surprising that she did that. "

"..." Kanae glanced at Kanao briefly before she returned to look at Shinobu.

"But I didn't teach her anything. None at all." Kanae replied, she had a confused expression.

"… Then why? Was it … ?" 

.

.

.

** Gasp **

It took both sisters a while to realize something.

Shinobu and Kanae train and spar with each other oftentimes.

After they took Kanao in, they always brought the girl to watch their training since no one else was going to look after her. Kanae and Shinobu didn't want the girl to be left alone and feel left out.

"She must've learned from observing our fights," Shinobu said in conjunction.

"Hmm… then she must be really talented if that is true. A little genius ~"

Kanae once again moved her eyes to Kanao. 

She saw the girl had a blank expression on her face while ingesting some food in her mouth. She was munching, making her cheeks look like that of a squirrel.

*Nom* *Nom* *Nom*

"Cute ♡" (Shinobu)

"Adorable ~" (Kanae)

Kanae and Shinobu looked at each other and smiled.

They went beside Kanao on either side. 

The sisters hugged Kanao and moved their heads at her level and cuddled, making contact cheeks-to-cheeks.

"Hehe ~"

"Hmm. Hmm" 

Kanao didn't know what was happening. She was just eating, minding her own business as both her older sisters suddenly went and cuddled with her.

She didn't know what it was but she felt... Comfortable?

Her heart was strangely feeling warm inside.

Her gaze turned hazy and she tasted something salty as water droplets were falling in her eyes. 

"..." Kanao stopped eating. She moved her tiny hands to cup a feel of the arms that were hugging her petite body.

Kanae and Shinobu noticed that there were tears in Kanaos eyes. She was crying.

"Are you okay hurt somewhere, Kanao?!" (Shinobu)

"What's wrong?" (Kanae)

Kanae and Shinobu asked in a worried tone. 

"Hic Hic Uuu " 

They heard a sob and then,

"Waaaaah" 

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaah"

"What?! Kanao?!" Shinobu panicked.

"Uwaaaaah" 

Kanao continued to weep. Her voice was slowly turning louder as her tiny hands were holding on to Kanae and Shinobu's arms tightly.

Kanao's loud wailings resounded in the dead of the night. Her cry resembled that of someone who has broken and lost. Someone who had been searching for comfort years after years and finally found it, she broke down. 

The sisters were surprised at this display. It was very rare – No, it was actually the first time they had seen this expression. Not knowing what caused such action, Kanae and Shinobu just hugged the girl. Patting, caressing, and stroking the girl's head was what they did to give comfort.

.

.

.

.

.

.

…

In a dim lighting room, 3 girls were laying on a tatami mat. Shinobu was on the left side while Kanae was on the opposite. At the center of these girls was Kanao. 

She was asleep and had a peaceful face. In her two hands, she was firmly clutching onto Kanae and Shinobu's arms.

"She's fallen asleep Nee-san," Shinobu said, she was looking at the child with tender eyes.

"It's the first time I heard her cry." Kanae, patting the girl's head, spoke.

Earlier Kanao was crying her eyes out, producing tears nonstop like a dam that has been opened. 

She went on and on until she fell unconscious while hugging her older sisters' arms. 

They carried Kanao to their room after they clean her face which was drenched with tears and some snot sticking out of her nose. They tidied things up.

Shinobu and Kanae, ever since losing their parents, they tried to be in the presence of each other as much as possible to the point they even shared the same room.

After they took Kanao in, the girl too has been sleeping with them since then.

"She must've been holding in that for years," Shinobu said. 

Kanao and the Kocho sisters throughout the years they had shared with, had never seen the child have any facial reaction to something. They were very shocked that her usually stoic face was replaced by a crying mess, just now.

Both of them could feel the bottled-up sadness and longing from the child's cry.

*Rustle*

Kanao's hands moved unconsciously, grasping their arms in another firm hold as if afraid that they will leave her alone.

"We are not going anywhere Kanao," Shinobu said in a caring tone, while gently brushing her face.

"Hmm. We promise." Kanae nodded. Her eyes gleamed, and her facial expression had a tough resolute look.

.

.

.

Moments later,

"Shinobu?" Kanae called out.

"What is it Nee-san?" 

"... How do you feel about the demons?"

"What are y –"

"Do you still feel that there will be some demon out there that will be different and someone who is on the 'good' side?"

.

.

.

Shinobu took a moment to answer before speaking,

"I… I don't know. Maybe? I hope so." 

Shinobu wasn't sure what to answer. In her times as a demon slayer, she had experienced that demons were cruel in nature.

But just because of 'that' incident in the past, a 'demon' she believed who saved them, she couldn't decide on that.

…