⚠️ WHAT'S UP? WHAT'S WITH THE CAUTION SIGN? 

I DON'T KNOW. IT'S CATCHY, AT LEAST TO ME. SO I'M GOING TO BE USING THIS FOR A WHILE.

⚠️

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"..." Kanae was silent. She moved her body and looked at the ceiling. Her face was thoughtful.

She reached out her hand, her eyes were staring at it, and spoke,

"You see Shinobu, through all the years of being a demon slayer, I am confident to say that I know about a demon's intrinsic racial behavior. 

They are inherently vile creatures, a menace to humans. They kill, slaughter people with no remorse, and feed on them. Demons treat humans like cattle." 

It has been approximately 8 years for Kanae since she started as a demon slayer.

"..." Shinobu was silent as she too agreed with what her sister said about the demons. 

"I hate them so much. I want to eradicate their race."

"Nee-san…"

"I-It… It was because of a demon, mother and papi is not with us anymore." Kanae spoke with a trembling voice.

She clenched her hand that was raised, firmly, expressing her anger at the thought of the demon who was responsible for the demise of their loving parents.

"..." Shinobu looked down and bit her lips.

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Then,

"Haah." Kanae released her hand and sighed defeatedly.

She continued saying, 

"But I think, what happened was just inevitable."

"..." Shinobu continued to listen.

"I could say that the hate I had in me wasn't useless as it was one of the factors that fueled me to become strong, but now, I don't feel that hate anymore." She was talking about how their parents died. 

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"Why do you kill a demon Shinobu?" Kanae asked a question.

"... To save people because as you've said they harm humanity?" Shinobu replied seriously.

"So, they're on the negative right?" Kanae questioned.

"…" Shinobu couldn't say anything. It's not like she didn't agree with her sister about the demon being in the wrong. 

She was confused about what her sister was trying to point out. 

"Heh. Remember I said that I don't feel the hate anymore towards the demons?" Kanae snorted as she noticed Shinobu's confused expression.

"...Yes" 

"I mean it, seriously. As I grew older, experiences were stacked with one another. Through that, I found out that there was no good and bad from the demons.

It's just that they are designed as a predator in the food chain and they are above us at that. Just a difference of perspective. Demons see us like a lump of meat for consumption, the same as we humans see pigs and cows. And there's nothing wrong with it.

Coming to this understanding made me question myself, 'Why did I decide to become strong?' 

I am aware of it earlier before I came to this realization that I did it for me and you. I wanted to protect us from danger, to never experience that again. Too never lose someone important. 

But, I was doing it wrong. What I want was to 'protect' not actively 'fight'. 

In that recent mission, when I found out you were injured, I was immensely frightened. I thought I might lose someone close to my heart again.

At that moment, reality hits in and I found it was just 'me' and 'you' now. " 

"..." 

"Let's…" Kanae muttered as she looked into her sister's eyes.

"Haaaah" Kanae took a deep breath.

"Let's resign from being a slayer, Shinobu."

"..." Shinobu, looking at Kanae, found an unbending resolve written in her eyes.

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"... Do you not trust my combat skills, nee-san?" Shinobu asked. 

She understood that her sister wanted to protect her and the most effective solution to that was to prevent being placed in harm's way. 

But,

What did she train for then? 

To become strong, right? 

Shinobu felt down and useless.

But she didn't hate her sister because she knew she cares for her.

Yet decided to ask anyway just for the sake of satisfying her curiosity.

And –

"I don't." That answer came immediately.

*💢*

'At least show some hesitation, grrr!' That answer annoyed Shinobu.

Kanae continued, 

"You're weak, you can't bear the constraints of using a standard nichirin sword that's why you changed your style."

You're short, the only thing you had in you is your remarkable speed and reflex but you would be at a real disadvantage if you fight against tougher and tall demons.

Even if you tried to add some poisons in your arsenal, I am afraid that would just be useless against demons since they are physiologically in a state of constant evolution so they are likely going adapt to it. I am talking about higher demons here.

You…" Kanae looked at Shinobu for a second.

Then,

"It's unfortunate that you had mother's dominant genes so you might not grow taller than that, probably." She shook her head showing her disappointment. 

"💢"

"You won't have my perfect proportions. I am tall after all while you are not. 

My bust is larger than yours. Mine buttocks are perkier too. 

Overall, I'm going to be more pretty, beautiful, and sexier than you. Hmm hmm." She nodded her head repeatedly, confident about her statement.

*💢💢* 

At the moment, Shinobu was fuming. Tick marks covered her head.

"What's 'you' being more beautiful and sexy got to do about your earlier statement of me not having trusty combat skills, huh?!" 

"Eeeh? But a woman's most deadly weapon is her charm, you know? There is a pretty big chance that if you're pretty like 'me' and sexy, of course once again like 'me' you could enchant a demon and use that timing to kill it." Kanae said raising her chin.

"Like a certain Mero-mero woman, for example." Kanae raised her free hand and did a half-heart sign.

*💢💢💢*

"That's impossible! And… What you did at the end was entirely unrelated. You're at it again Nee-san." Shinobu complained.

<< That's right. Shinobu knew one of her sister's strange traits is when she sometimes does weird stuff like this one which Kanae called 'Anime referencing'. 

How did she know that Kanae was doing some 'referencing'? 

Well, Shinobu was told by her sister about this 'Mero-mero fruit' that could turn a person to stone if you enchant them and other more peculiar fruits.

Shinobu doesn't know where her sister got that nor does she have an idea what is an 'anime'.

Sometimes her sister just suddenly goes, "You thought it was mother, but it was me Kanae!" with a smug face. That happened when Shinobu ate a soba dish and she praised her mother but it turns out Kanae was the one who cooked it.

There was a "Yare yare daze" and a "Zawarudo" and many others. 

Shinobu was confused. Her sister suddenly becomes weird sometimes. >>

"Tehee ~ Don't mind. Don't mind. " Kanae said weakly knocking her temple and slightly showing her tongue.

*💢*

It's not like she was upset being called short.

*💢* 

That her chest was small. Or she wasn't pretty—

"Urghhhhh" Shinobu growled, pulling her hair. She was frustrated.

"Anyways, it's not like we're going rogue and getting away from this place. Hell no, I won't run from this comfy place. If we did that, grandma Tsu would be disappointed in us. She was so generous and gave us this mansion, and all so, I am not going to abandon this place, ever. Besides, I want to still be of some help to the organization too." Kanae spoke, interrupting Shinobu's moment.

"Haaah. Then what do you mean by resigning, Nee-san." Shinobu replied after she composed herself.

"What I wanted to say was for us to retire in the 'front-line'. We wouldn't be battling demons actively. I plan, to make this mansion a hospital. Since the organization is seriously lacking in the support and healing department, I've thought that we should be the ones to fill that. You and I are well-versed in the field of medicine because we were taught by our parents after all.

This could help those students who failed the final exam by allowing them to be helpful in the organization if we educate them and recruit them afterward.

We could also accept disciples and teach them our breathing techniques. I know you had developed a new one, I hope you will master that too and perhaps teach it to some disciples. 

We'll train and educate Kanao too of course." Kanae explained with a pumped-up face.

"..." Shinobu didn't utter anything. 

'That might… No, it's a good thing actually. That way I won't worry about Nee-san, me, and Kanao's safety if we should just stay in a safe place Shinobu thought.

Shinobu too cared deeply about her sisters and she did not want them harmed.

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A while later, 

"Let's do that, nee-san." Shinobu agreed to Kanae's plan.

"Alright. Then, after my mission on 'Your-Resting-Place' village let's quit together, okay?" Kanae asked, smiling.

"Ye— wait what? You had been assigned a mission? When? Why haven't I heard of this?" Shinobu questioned. 

"Yes, I have a new mission. It was assigned to me just now. I will be departing tomorrow, probably be out for 3 weeks minimum and a month at most.

You didn't hear of it because I haven't told you. But now I did, Lol." Kanae answered Shinobu's questions one by one. 

"What do you mean by 'I'? I'm not included? We're a team right?" Shinobu was upset, her face was formed into a frown. Her eyes looked at Kanae prying for answers. 

"Shinobu, originally, I'd like you to be with me on this mission too. But I'd rather you sit on this out. You just had an injury, and you haven't completely mastered your new technique. I've been informed that there could be a strong — No, the extremely strong demon at that place. My guess? It's likely going to be an 'Upper-Moon'"

"*Gasp*, nee-san, I know that I would be a burden for you if that was really true, but I am going to ask, why you? I know that you're strong, but there is someone stronger than you. And if it's really going to be an upper-moon, then shouldn't Gyomei san fitting for the job? He is the strongest after all." Shinobu asked, with a worried tone.

"It's because of the information leak about this particular demon that I was picked specifically for this mission."

"What do you mean?"

"The information about this demon was that it has a fetish for a young and pretty woman. So no one besides me is fitting for this mission." Kanae said, elated. 

"But nee-san you said that the demon is likely going to be an upper-moon, that's too dangerous. I know you know that most of the past 'Pillars' were slained by an upper moon because we learned that at the academy. Then why?" 

"It's a 'possibility' not 'exactly'. Nothing's sure about the info if it was really an upper moon or not. But a strong demon can only be that…" Kanae muttered the last line inaudibly.

'Since most of the slayers that were sent to investigate had been lost in contact till then.' Kanae thought with a grim expression.

"But nee-san —" Shinobu wanted to complain.

"It's going to be alright, Shinobu. I will have a squad who will be on standby and some reckon team to call for support if anything happens. And demons can't live under the sun, so I will just opt for the investigation, most preferably done in the morning. That way, I will have an advantage."

She continued,

"The opportunity is just too good to pass up. If we could snuff out some info from the demon about Kibutsuji Muzan then, the risks are justified." She said her voice was firm.

"..." Shinobu was doubtful. Her face was dark and her mind wasn't present at the moment.

She was thinking about something until she felt a hand caressing her cheeks which brought her out of her stupor. 

"It's fine. I'm going to be careful. After all, I don't want to die, yet." Kanae spoke tenderly.

"...Promise?"

"It's a promise" Kanae gave her a confident smile.

…