The three little girls immediately gathered around Su Chen.
"Brother Su Chen, you're finally awake!"
"You scared us so much when you collapsed this morning! We thought you were badly injured!"
"Waaah! Brother Su Chen, I thought you'd never wake up!"
"How long was I out?" Su Chen asked, sitting up and clutching his head.
It must have been from overusing his abilities earlier. He still couldn't completely control the exhaustion that came after.
He looked around the room. He didn't see Shinobu Kocho.
Just then, one of the girls, Kiyo, spoke up. "Brother Su Chen, did you know? Lady Shinobu came back this morning!"
Su Chen pretended to be surprised. "Really? That's wonderful."
Kanzaki Aoi handed Su Chen a wet cloth. As he wiped his face, she said, "Lady Shinobu was the one who took care of you all morning."
The three little girls all chimed in.
"She was so scared when she saw the wound on your back, Brother Su Chen!"
"I've never seen Lady Shinobu look so worried before!"
"That's right! You have to be more careful when you train! I've never seen a wound that big!"
Hearing this, Su Chen reached back and touched his shoulder. He could feel that the wound had been treated. His torso was wrapped in several layers of bandages, which carried a faint, clean scent of medicine.
Su Chen smiled. "So, where is Shinobu now?"
"Lady Shinobu went to see the Master!" Kanzaki Aoi replied. She didn't notice the casual way Su Chen had just used the Hashira's name.
"She also said that we should tell her right away if you woke up," Aoi continued.
"That's right! Brother Su Chen, let me tell you..." Kiyo started to say, but Kanao suddenly stood up.
She moved protectively in front of Su Chen. "All of you, stop talking!" she said loudly. "Su Chen needs to rest!"
It was the first time Kanao had ever spoken so loudly.
Kanzaki Aoi and the three little girls were completely stunned into silence.
Seeing their shocked faces, Kanao immediately realized what she had done. Her face turned bright red.
She had just thought it was too noisy and wanted to stop her sisters. She didn't expect her reaction to be so strong.
In the end, Su Chen was the one to break the silence. "It's alright. Kanao, why don't you stay with me for a bit?"
He looked at the others. "Kiyo, Sumi, Naho, and Aoi, you can go get back to your work now."
The little girls still wanted to stay, but Kanzaki Aoi was perceptive. She realized Su Chen wanted to be alone with Kanao.
She ushered the children out of the room.
"Then we'll head out, Mr. Su Chen. Please get some good rest."
Su Chen smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
With a soft creak, the door slid closed.
Only Su Chen and Kanao were left in the room.
Su Chen watched her silently. The girl's face was still very red, and when she noticed him staring at her, she looked like she might faint.
"Kanao," Su Chen called softly.
She seemed to be lost in her own world and didn't hear him.
"Kanao?" he tried again, his tone still gentle.
"Ah!" Kanao jumped, turning to look at him shyly.
Su Chen said slowly, "I'm really sorry for breaking your Nichirin Sword yesterday."
"No... it's no problem," Kanao quickly waved her hands, lowering her head so she didn't have to look at him.
"Are you really okay?"
Su Chen had moved closer at some point. The distance between them closed quickly, and his eyes stared intently at her.
Kanao tensed up like a startled fawn.
She could feel his warm breath, which made her face flush an even deeper crimson. This just made Kanao feel even more embarrassed.
Su Chen gave a mischievous smile. He decided not to tease her anymore.
But he still asked, "Kanao, does it affect you a lot to not have a Nichirin Sword?"
Kanao didn't respond. Just like before, she stood there blankly. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else.
"Ah!" she suddenly snapped back to reality. "Su Chen, what... what did you say?"
Su Chen waved his hand. "Nothing."
He thought to himself that he should just forge a new Nichirin Sword for Kanao himself in the future. It shouldn't be a problem if he just learned how.
Thinking of this, Su Chen suddenly remembered something.
The Hashira Training Grounds!
...
The sun was scorching.
At the Flame Hashira's Training Grounds, Kyojuro Rengoku and his younger brother, Senjuro Rengoku, stood waiting. They had clearly been waiting for a long time.
Finally, Senjuro couldn't take it anymore. "Big Brother, why do we have to keep waiting for this guy named Su Chen!"
Kyojuro Rengoku's eyes widened, and he replied with great spirit, "Because we are awaiting Mr. Su Chen's arrival!"
Hearing such a loud and passionate reply, Senjuro was stunned.
That's my big brother, all right...
Senjuro wiped the sweat from his forehead. "But do we really have to stand right here in the hot sun to wait?"
"Of course!" Kyojuro boomed, flames seeming to burst from his eyes. "Because this is also training!"
The bright sun beat down on Kyojuro, making his figure seem exceptionally tall and proud.
Just as Senjuro was about to give up, two figures finally appeared in the distance.
"You're late," Senjuro said with clear dissatisfaction as they approached.
"Sorry, something held us up today," Su Chen offered a simple apology. He then looked at the Flame Hashira beside him.
Kyojuro Rengoku.
He wore the standard Demon Slayer Corps uniform, with a white haori that had a flame-like pattern at the bottom. He had thick eyebrows, large, spirited eyes, and an intense gaze.
This was Su Chen's first impression of him.
Su Chen glanced down. Sure enough, the guard on his Nichirin Sword was shaped like a flame.
"Hello. What are we training today?"
A girl's voice suddenly rang out.
The Rengoku brothers finally noticed Kanao standing behind Su Chen.
Originally, Su Chen hadn't planned to bring Kanao. But she had insisted on coming. When he asked her why, she wouldn't speak, but she just continued to follow him.
Seeing her persistent, wide eyes, Su Chen finally gave in.
Forget it, he had thought. Bringing her along probably wouldn't be much trouble.
So, he let her come train with him.
Su Chen, however, was shocked. He hadn't expected Kanao to actually speak to a stranger. She was always so hesitant and quiet with him, so how could she speak so naturally to someone else?
Su Chen had thought Kanao's emotional issues were still severe.
But now, he didn't know what was going on.
"We will not be training today!" Kyojuro announced, first answering Kanao's question. "Instead, we will be conducting a test on Mr. Su Chen!"
Then, his body, which had been standing still under the sun for hours, finally moved.
He turned his bright gaze to Su Chen. "Mr. Su Chen! It has been a long time!"