The Butterfly Estate rises on the mountain slope, a traditional-style residence with a complex layout.
Its size is considerable, to the point of being comparable to the Headquarters itself. Though it wasn't surprising, since the estate not only serves as Shinobu's home, but also functions as the base of operations for the Kakushi.
Due to its owner's personal tastes, the decor and architecture of the place blend elegantly with the surrounding nature. Even so, it has everything necessary for the daily life of the Corps: training fields, an infirmary, storerooms, and dormitories.
Normally, it's a place of peaceful calm. After all, the Insect Pillar was a quiet woman, and her successor, well, she didn't talk at all. If anyone within these walls had to be pointed out as loud, that would, without a doubt, be Aoi Kanzaki.
But today was different.
Even before Marcus crossed the main entrance, the ruckus coming from the infirmary sent a sharp pang shooting through his temple.
"Do you have the slightest fucking idea of what you're saying, Tanjiro?!"
It was a high-pitched, frantic voice.
"That they don't make sense?!"
"They're training exercises based on physical contact! Direct physical contact, WITH GIRLS!"
With his hand already on the frame of the sliding door, Marcus stopped, the burst of yelling that erupted from inside convincing him not to go in just yet.
"THEY GIVE YOU MASSAGES!!"
"In the exercises, you get to touch their hands!"
"And in the takedown drills, you can even touch their bodies!!"
Zenitsu's voice rose in pitch with every word. Then, Tanjiro's voice could be heard with a certain resignation.
"But... those training sessions don't really help me improve..."
"THEY DON'T HELP YOU IMPROVE?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY DON'T HELP YOU IMPROVE?!"
"DO YOU AND THAT BOAR ONLY HAVE MUSCLES IN YOUR HEADS?!"
"THIS IS PARADISE, YOU IDIOTS!"
"All you have to do is spend the whole day being affectionate with cute girls, and on top of that you get stronger!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT?"
Even through the closed door, Marcus could perfectly picture Zenitsu gesticulating like a madman.
"LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND TELL ME! What is it that doesn't sit right with you?! What right do you have to be unhappy?!"
"And you, you stupid boar! What do you mean you don't feel like fighting against someone shorter than you?!"
"THEY'RE GIRLS!"
"You poor wretches! Savages! Underdeveloped! Primitives who have never in their lives touched a woman!"
Zenitsu's voice was already cracking.
"You have no idea how wonderful women are!"
"When they walk past you, you can smell their perfume!"
"Just looking at them is a gift to the eyes!"
And, faced with those two blockheads who didn't seem to understand a damn thing, Zenitsu delivered the finishing blow:
"You don't know what happiness is! You're two empty-headed morons who wouldn't recognize bliss if it bit you on the nose!"
"TOMORROW! Tomorrow you're both going to look for Miss Aoi and take back every single thing you said!"
"NO! YOU'RE GOING TONIGHT!"
Shaaa!
The sound of the sliding door gliding open cut the heated argument off cold. Or rather, it cut off Zenitsu's solo monologue.
"It's nighttime and you should be sleeping… Where exactly do you think you're going?"
Upon hearing that voice, Zenitsu froze on the spot.
Tanjiro, on the other hand, lit up, and sprang up out of the bed.
"Senpai!"
Marcus looked him up and down.
He was wearing the infirmary pajamas and had bandages spread across a good portion of his body, but he looked like he was bursting with energy.
"Don't go jumping around. If you tear your stitches open, you're gonna regret it."
"Got it!"
Tanjiro went still in an instant, though he didn't wipe the smile off his face for even a second.
In the bed next to him, Inosuke, who still hadn't taken off his mask, turned his head to look at him.
"Hey, Tonjiro's brother! That muscly spider, I took her down all by myself, ya hear me?! Before the reinforcements got there!"
Only then did Marcus notice him. Inosuke was lying in bed, completely wrapped up in bandages, with both legs suspended in the air by a sling... a pretty pitiful sight, honestly.
And yet, his tone was overflowing with arrogance.
"Oh, really?"
Marcus smiled at him.
"Well then, you're quite the prodigy, little piggy. Tanjiro wasn't even capable of finishing off his opponent on his own."
'... You're quite the prodigy…'
Around the boar mask, you could practically see thousands of tiny suns sprouting up.
In the entire room, only Zenitsu remained paralyzed. He still had one foot propped up on Tanjiro's bed, and his hands suspended in midair mid-gesture.
"Zenitsu Agatsuma."
Zenitsu's foot returned to the floor at the speed of light, his arms snapped to his sides all at once, and he went as stiff as a broomstick.
"Yes, sir! Mr. Pillar of the Demons, sir!"
It was obvious that Tanjiro had already told them about the promotion. Inosuke, true to his nature of not respecting anything or anyone, still didn't give it the slightest bit of importance. But Zenitsu, who was already considerably afraid of Marcus to begin with... was now quite a bit more afraid.
Marcus narrowed his eyes as he scanned him from head to toe.
"…"
The seconds passed in absolute silence and sweat began to bead on Zenitsu's forehead.
Marcus still wasn't saying anything, and Zenitsu's sweat got thicker.
Finally, Marcus spoke.
"From what I heard, it sounds like you're pretty enthusiastic about the training."
Zenitsu froze.
'... He's not mad?'
He blinked a couple of times, just to make sure this wasn't a dream. And once he confirmed it, his smile bloomed in all its glory.
"Y-yes! I'm willing to accept any training the Corps has in store for me!"
Marcus walked over and gave him a few pats on the shoulder.
"Very good. I'm glad to see we have members as conscientious as you."
Zenitsu's eyes lit up with pride and, turning his head toward Tanjiro, he snorted loudly. 'You see that? Your senpai is praising me! ME!'
Tanjiro looked at him without a word.
"That being the case..."
Marcus continued.
"Starting tomorrow, Tanjiro will be the one in charge of your training."
"Yes, s—HUH?!"
Zenitsu's face fell apart and he turned his head with a chilling slowness.
"S-Sir... Mr. Pillar of the Demons... my training... wasn't the Butterfly Estate handling it...?"
"Your enthusiasm isn't a mistake."
Marcus made a gesture with his hand.
"But what Tanjiro said isn't either."
He looked him dead in the eyes, now completely serious.
"The training currently being given at the Butterfly Estate is no longer appropriate for you. You've mastered Constant Total Concentration Breathing, so I can't let you keep wasting your time on useless things."
Marcus rested both hands on his shoulders, which drew an involuntary shiver out of him.
"Enthusiasm only bears fruit when it's applied in the right place."
"So starting tomorrow, Tanjiro is going to put you through hellish training. I want to make sure that next time you decapitate your demon without taking a single scratch."
Having said that, he turned to Tanjiro.
"And you, the same. Training Zenitsu is also part of your own training. You can't relax for even a second."
Standing at attention, Tanjiro nodded enthusiastically.
"You can count on me, senpai!"
"As for Inosuke..."
Marcus scratched the back of his neck.
"You'll continue with the Estate's method. Your injuries are too severe, and you wouldn't be able to handle intense training in the short term."
'Inosuke gets to keep doing the Butterfly training?!'
Upon hearing this, Zenitsu's head whipped around violently, and flames of envy shot out of his eyes, aimed straight at Inosuke.
Paying him no mind whatsoever, Inosuke tried to force himself upright, which made his suspended legs swing back and forth.
"I can... cough, cough...! I CAN HANDLE IT!!"
Marcus's green eyes shifted to an intense gold.
An invisible Red Arrow materialized in an instant and pushed Inosuke down firmly, putting him right back on the bed.
"Stay lying down. Heal those wounds first and then we'll talk about training. I trust you. Even if you train a little less than these two, I'm convinced you'll catch up to them in no time."
Feeling that invisible force crushing him down, Inosuke struggled for a few seconds, but he couldn't move an inch.
What was strange, however, was that he didn't get mad.
The "I trust you" bounced around inside his head several times.
He felt... weird.
….
As they left the room and made their way down the hallway, Shinobu glanced at Marcus out of the corner of her eye.
"I didn't know you were so good at calming kids down, Marcus-kun~"
He returned the look.
"Don't even think about pawning the responsibility off on me. Just because I know how to do it doesn't mean I want to do it." He gave her a half-smile. "In the future, raising the kids is still going to be your job."
Shinobu: "... ???"
No...
Why had that sentence, once again, sounded weird to her? He was talking about the three boys they'd just left in the room... right?
Kanao's room was in the most secluded part of the estate.
When he slid the door open, a soft floral fragrance came out to greet them. But before Marcus could enjoy it for even a second, he froze in place at the scene unfolding in front of him.
Kanao was sitting in the center of the room, dressed in a white nightgown that reached down to her ankles, with her long black hair, now loose, falling over her shoulders.
And she was smiling.
Although it was more of a tense smile.
In front of her, Nezuko was trying with all her might to climb into her arms. She had both of her little hands stretched out forward and her eyes were shining with an unmistakable determination.
But there was no way to move forward.
Both of her legs were firmly held down. One by Ivy. The other by Pearl.
Ivy had knelt down on the left, hugging Nezuko's left leg so tightly it looked like she never wanted to let go. In her eyes glimmered a strange and bewildering maternal spark.
Pearl, for her part, was kneeling on the right, with both hands firmly clamped around Nezuko's right leg.
And meanwhile, in Nezuko's eyes, Kanao was the only thing that existed. She turned her head toward the "obstacle" on the left. Then toward the "nuisance" on the right. And she furrowed her brow with a pout of frustration.
Then she fixed her gaze back on Kanao and stretched out her little hands. Her eyes were screaming a single word: HUG!
Kanao smiled with resignation, not really sure who to help.
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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎
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