In the silent dark night, Kanao let out a soft breath and then fell silent again. If Mizuki's ears weren't fine, she might have thought it was auditory hallucination.
Mizuki knew that Kanao spoke slowly, not because she couldn't speak, but because she lacked initiative and was not good at thinking for herself.
After opening her heart to Tanjirou, the child's condition had improved significantly.
She wondered how the Kocho Sisters had raised the child all these years, completely neglecting her physical and mental growth, only to benefit Tanjirou in the end.
Mizuki did not rush to question Kanao, waiting patiently instead.
This was the first time the child had slept next to her. Previously, she only had experience training with her in combat, so she wasn't very familiar with Mizuki yet.
After waiting for about another two minutes, Kanao spoke again: "Young Miss Mizuki, are you still awake?"
Her voice was very soft; it would be difficult for someone in deep sleep to wake up because of it.
Just like Nezuko, who was already sound asleep, hugging one of her arms, a faint smile hung on her lips. She wondered what Nezuko was dreaming about.
"I'm awake," Mizuki replied simply, lowering her head to look at the sleeping Nezuko.
If Mizuki had to name the most correct thing she had done, she now felt it must be saving Tanjirou's family and changing their fate.
Perhaps because she had already made the choice, she could only bite the bullet and move forward, regardless of the outcome.
Since she had made her choice, Mizuki was absolutely unwilling to think about anything that would cause her regret, especially when the lives of an entire family were the stakes.
She could regret failing to keep Michikatsu or failing to help Yoriichi.
But she would never regret saving Tanjirou's family and allowing Nezuko to turn back into a human immediately.
Kanao asked softly, "Young Miss Mizuki, are you planning to help the other Hashira activate their Demon Slayer Marks next?"
"Mm." Unable to fathom the girl's thoughts, Mizuki chose to respond briefly, letting Kanao decide how she wanted to ask her questions.
She only needed to answer Kanao's questions.
If she asked too many questions, the girl might crash mentally.
Kanao paused, then asked, "Can I also participate in Young Miss Mizuki's training?"
Finally, she added a very reluctant supplementary sentence: "Because I have already activated my Demon Slayer Mark."
It was hard to detect emotional fluctuations in Kanao's tone, but her words were already capable of expressing her thoughts.
She probably felt that since the training was meant to help everyone activate their Demon Slayer Marks, it might be inappropriate for her, a swordsman who had already activated hers, to want to join in.
"Of course you can." Mizuki, understanding her meaning, felt slightly amused and helpless.
This child was too straightforward.
She wouldn't make much difference either way.
Except for Himejima Gyomei, who couldn't participate in the training due to age issues, Mizuki welcomed everyone else, including the swordsmen who had already activated their Demon Slayer Marks.
Ultimately, this wasn't just training the Hashira; it was also Mizuki's own training.
She wanted to see how many Demon Slayer Mark Hashira working together she could withstand now.
"Thank you." After receiving Mizuki's affirmative reply, Kanao's heart fluttered momentarily, but she calmed down quickly after thanking her.
The room quieted down, and Kanao obediently lay down next to her.
Perhaps because she wasn't that familiar with Mizuki, although Kanao liked the warmth, she didn't hug her openly like Nezuko, but just curled up beside her.
Mizuki suddenly felt like teasing her and asked aloud, "Speaking of which, how do you feel about Tanjirou, Kanao?"
Just to be clear, she wasn't trying to gossip.
Kanao shifted, seemingly unable to grasp Mizuki's meaning: "What's wrong with Tanjirou?"
This straightforward child was probably straightforward in certain other aspects too.
Mizuki didn't beat around the bush, stating clearly and concisely: "I just want to know if you find Tanjirou reliable, if you think he's a great person, a good man, suitable to be a husband, and so on."
Originally, when she heard the first half of the sentence, Kanao's head unconsciously nodded, and the words 'very reliable' were almost out of her mouth. But upon hearing Mizuki's final remark, she was completely stunned.
Kanao was just quiet, not good at thinking for herself, and lacked her own initiative; it wasn't that she understood nothing.
Therefore... "Eh?" Kanao blankly uttered a sound, paused, and then followed up with another sound.
"Eeeh~" A volume never before heard came out of Kanao's mouth.
She replied somewhat stuttering, "W-why would you think that?"
Mizuki, not afraid of stirring up trouble, said, "I just thought Kanao seemed quite fond of Tanjirou."
"You seem happier when you are with him."
This was a bluff. Mizuki knew Kanao liked spending time with Tanjirou because he was the only person besides her sister with whom she could communicate freely.
As for her feelings for Tanjirou, Mizuki only sensed a potential spark, but it wasn't fully developed yet.
Kanao was already not very articulate, and now that Mizuki had put her on the spot, she didn't know what to say, burying herself in the quilt and becoming a deserter.
How, how strange.
She clearly hadn't thought about these things, so why was her heart beating so fast?
Mizuki didn't press the issue either. She smiled, withdrew her gaze, and resumed staring blankly at the ceiling.
Tonight, probably three people wouldn't be able to sleep.
One was her, one was Kanao, whose heart was in turmoil, and the other was Nezuko, who had just woken up because of Kanao's gasp and was now pretending to sleep with her eyes closed while listening to their conversation.
Big Sister Kanao likes Big Brother?
Wow~
That was probably her thought right now, too excited to sleep at all... And while these three were unable to sleep, each preoccupied with her own thoughts, the Kocho Sisters also began a late-night heart-to-heart talk they hadn't had in a long time.
"Little Shinobu..." Kanae, lying flat and staring at the ceiling, suddenly spoke.
Kochou Shinobu turned her head to look at her: "What is it, Big Sister?"
Hesitating for a moment, Kanae said, "I saw..."
"Hm?"
"You and Young Miss Mizuki..." Kanae paused, finding it hard to say.
From a certain perspective, Kanae's ideal was for humans and demons to coexist peacefully.
But precisely at this moment, she didn't know what to say.
Kochou Shinobu was momentarily stunned, but not overly surprised.
Although she hadn't loudly advertised it to the whole world, she also hadn't intended to hide it.
Since her sister brought it up today, Kochou Shinobu didn't want to change the subject. She turned her head back, her purple eyes calmly gazing at the ceiling.
"Do you find it strange, Big Sister?"
"...No, it's just..." It was a little strange, but she didn't know what to say.
She even started regretting whether she should have brought it up with Little Shinobu.
"I have already figured it out," Kochou Shinobu said calmly, placing her palm lightly over her heart, "My feelings for Mizuki."
Kanae's eyes widened slightly. It sounded like her own younger sister was the one who initiated it?
Thinking about it, Young Miss Mizuki certainly didn't seem like the type of person who would proactively bring up such a matter with Little Shinobu.
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