"Maru-ni! Long time no see! Did you miss me?" Shinichi exaggeratedly laughed as he immediately turned around and sure enough, a chubby little black-and-white Shiba Inu was standing behind him with a resentful look.
Although Maru-ni was itching with frustration at his irresponsible, terrible owner, when Shinichi crouched down and beckoned to him, the little dog still ran over shamelessly.
Soon, under Shinichi playful scratching, Maru-ni face broke into a wide smile."
"Maru-ni! Maru-ni! Where did you run off to? Huh? Shinichi-kun!"
Just as Shinichi was teasing Maru-ni, he suddenly heard a surprised call.
Raising his head, he saw Kanae Kocho, dressed in her butterfly-patterned haori and behind her, Shinobu Kocho wearing a stern expression.
"It really is Shinichi-kun!" Kanae greeted him cheerfully.
Shinichi stood up, holding Maru-ni and smiled in response.
"Kanae, Shinobu, hello."
Noticing their black Demon Slayer Corps uniforms, he added.
"Welcome to the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Hmph!!" Shinobu, standing behind Kanae let out an almost imperceptible snort, though Shinichi didn't hear it at all.
With no immediate missions to attend to, Shinichi decided to chat with the Kocho sisters.
Kanae lowered her voice and spoke to Shinichi with deep gratitude.
"Shinichi-kun, I really can't thank you and Maru-ni enough. If it weren't for you, Shinobu might have really..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
If Maru-ni hadn't appeared in time, Shinobu' situation could have turned dangerous.
Even now, days later, whenever Kanae remembered how Shinobu had gotten separated from her and nearly faced disaster, she couldn't help but shudder in fear.
"No, it's nothing really. In fact, I think the Final Selection has some serious flaws. When I get the chance, I'll bring it up with the Master. At the very least, we should ensure the safety of every candidate participating in the Final Selection" Shinichi said somewhat awkwardly.
Interfering with the Final Selection wasn't exactly a praiseworthy act.
"Oh my, is that so? Shinichi-kun is truly amazing" Kanae replied with admiration.
Shinichi waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all, not at all. It's just my duty. Speaking of which, I should thank you for taking care of Maru-ni. Has this little glutton caused any trouble?"
Kanae smiled gently. "Not at all. Maru-ni is very well-behaved and adorable. Everyone at the medical ward loves playing with him. Though it would be even better if he didn't scare Shinobu so much. Shinichi-kun, you wouldn't believe it—Shinobu was nearly frightened to tears!"
"Sister!! I wasn't!!" Shinobu, who had been silently trailing behind them, flushed bright red upon hearing her sister expose her weakness.
She raised her fists and protested loudly.
Both Kanae and Shinichi burst into laughter and even Maru-ni in Shinichi's arms made a rumbling sound, as if laughing too.
"Stupid dog!" Shinobu grumbled under her breath, left to sulk alone.
Suddenly, Shinichi seemed to remember something.
"By the way, Kanae, did you just say 'medical ward'?"
Kanae nodded. "Yes, the Master knows that Shinobu and I come from a medicine shop, so he hopes we can help establish one for the Demon Slayer Corps. We've been preparing for this these past few days, but there's still one issue—should we give the medicine shop a name?"
Hearing this, Shinichi nodded.
It made sense to have the Kocho sisters, who came from a medicine shop, help set one up for the Demon Slayer Corps.
As for the name, Shinichi casually suggested.
"Since you two sisters are in charge, why not just call it the Butterfly Mansion?"
"Butterfly Mansion huh?" Kanae violet eyes lit up at the name.
"That really suits it well."
While Shinichi and Kanae chatted about various things, Shinobu who had been following behind them, had strong opinions about the situation.
Shinobu had mixed feelings about Shinichi.
Though she was grateful for Maru-ni help during the Final Selection, it also made the somewhat proud Shinobu feel ashamed—after all, didn't that mean she had "cheated" to pass the Final Selection?
Moreover, Shinichi inexplicably caring behavior toward her and her sister also struck Shinobu as odd.
It wasn't that she disliked it, but she simply wasn't very willing to accept it.
But the most crucial thing was!
Shinobu couldn't stand the way Shinichi talked to her as if she were a child!
It was too much! She was already 11 years old!
Well, Shinichi couldn't really be blamed for that.
From the perspective of his past life, 11 years old—still in elementary school—was indeed a child, wasn't it?
Raising her head, Shinobu saw her sister and Shinichi chatting happily.
Suddenly! A thought sprouted in Shinobu mind.
Could this guy be getting close to her and her sister because he liked her sister?
This sudden idea took root and grew rapidly in Shinobu mind.
'It must be! Back in Takinogawa Village, he often came to our house with Grandpa Moriki and talked to my sister. No wonder! So this blockhead had such ulterior motives! No way! I won't let him be with my sister! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!'
Because Shinichi had inherited the Moriki surname, which contained the character for "Mori" and since she had already apologized and promised not to call him "Cold-Face Guy" anymore, Shinobu had given Shinichi a new nickname—Blockhead.
Yes, a blockhead with ulterior motives toward her sister.
Meanwhile, the "ulterior motives" blockhead Shinichi was completely unaware of Shinobu strange behavior behind him.
Instead, he was earnestly discussing some medical knowledge from his past life with Kanae.
Though Shinichi hadn't been a medical student in his past life, as a qualified university student, he could master any subject outside his major.
Late-night talks in any university dorm always started with which girl was the prettiest and ended with whether aliens existed, covering everything from astronomy and geography to history, the future, international affairs, sci-fi, and fantasy...
In short, as someone who could be considered half a man from the future, many of the things Shinichi mentioned surprised and delighted Kanae.
She couldn't help but praise "Shinichi-kun, I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable. Could you help us establish the Butterfly Mansion together?"
"Huh? This... I might..." Before Shinichi could explain anything, a Demon Slayer member suddenly came running over, panting heavily.
"Forest... Forest Hashira-sama, we have an urgent request for reinforcements from Nara Prefecture. It seems there are many Demons gathering there..." Before the newly arrived member could finish speaking, the sound of flapping wings echoed through the sky.
Landing steadily on Shinichi shoulder, Eizo shouted loudly into his ear.
"Shinichi! Nara Prefecture needs Hashira support! Please head there immediately for reinforcements!"
With an apologetic glance at the Kocho sisters Shinichi said.
"I'm sorry, Kanae. I don't have time right now, but I'll definitely come help after I complete this mission!" Saying this, Shinichi quickly left with Maru-ni and the newly arrived member, immediately heading in the direction of Nara Prefecture.
Left behind, the sisters looked at each other in bewilderment.
Shinobu expression was slightly dazed as she tugged at her sister sleeve.
"Sis, that blockhead... no, Shinichi, is a Hashira now?"
Kanae was equally shocked.
In fact, she and Shinobu had been busy setting up the medicine shop recently and didn't know Shinichi had been promoted to Hashira.
"Yes... Shinobu, were we a bit rude just now? According to team regulations, we should address Shinichi-kun with honorifics, right?"
Shinobu: "No way!"
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