A soft, pale hand waved in front of Nezuko's face, snapping her out of her daze.
"I'm fine," Nezuko answered on instinct.
"Really?" the gentle voice in front of her said warmly. "That's wonderful to hear."
Nezuko blinked and looked up—only to be instantly caught by a pair of soft, kind purple eyes.
The woman who owned those eyes had a beautiful, gentle face to match. She stood right in front of Nezuko, watching her with clear concern.
Nezuko stared, still a little lost. "Who… are you?"
"Me?" Kanae Kocho clasped her hands together, a warm smile blooming on her face. "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Kanae Kocho. I'm Shinobu's older sister."
"Shinobu's sister?"
Nezuko scratched her head and gave the woman a closer look. Now that she mentioned it, the resemblance was obvious—same delicate features, same soft purple eyes, even the same butterfly-shaped hairpin.
But for some reason, this woman named Kanae felt much easier to approach than Shinobu. Was it because Shinobu had attacked Shuya yesterday afternoon? Nezuko wondered blankly.
"Oh my, what an adorable child."
Kanae didn't hesitate. She pulled Nezuko straight into a warm hug. "Hey, hey—want to be my little sister?"
"Uwu~ So soft and big—"
Nezuko barely had time to react before her face was buried in gentle warmth. For a second it felt exactly like being held by her mom.
"Sister!!"
Shinobu's pained voice cut in from the side. She stepped forward, clearly used to this exact scene.
Kanae looked at her little sister with a teasing, black-bellied smile. "Ara ara~ Is little Shinobu jealous?"
"Jealous my ass! You can't just go around adopting random girls as sisters—it causes trouble for everyone!"
Shinobu's fists clenched, a vein popping on her forehead. This annoying big sister hadn't changed one bit. She loved claiming cute girls as little sisters the second she saw them. Kanao was one thing—they'd both taken her in. But Aoi and the three little girls at the mansion had all been scooped up the same way after their parents were killed by demons.
And every single time, it made Shinobu think of that damn scumbag Shuya.
"But this child really is adorable," Kanae said with a pout, gently stroking Nezuko's head as the girl melted into the hug. She turned to Aoi beside her. "Right, Aoi?"
"Uh… yeah, probably."
"Anyway, no means no!" Shinobu glared at Aoi first, then planted her hands on her hips and shut it down completely.
"Eek~ Little Shinobu is so scary."
Kanae made an exaggerated frightened face, then turned to the dazed Kanao. "Kanao, you must never copy big sister Shinobu, okay?"
"Mm."
Kanao looked at Kanae, then at Shinobu. She really wanted to flip her coin, but she had promised Shinobu yesterday that she absolutely would not use it when it came to anything involving Kanae. So she just gave a small, dazed nod.
Shinobu didn't catch the real reason. She just puffed her cheeks and scolded, "Sister! Please stop teaching this child weird stuff!"
"What's the big deal?" Kanae asked innocently. "I think Kanao's learning just fine. And it's cute, isn't it?"
"Sister!"
Shinobu stomped her foot. "If you keep this up, I'll—"
Kanae immediately raised both hands in surrender and let Nezuko go, pouting. "Little Shinobu is getting less and less cute every day."
Aoi watched the whole scene, tears of joy stinging her eyes. She had stayed at the Butterfly Mansion because Kanae's gentleness had drawn her in. After Kanae died, fear kept her from fighting demons, but she stayed anyway—because she couldn't leave Shinobu alone.
And now… everything was back. The gentle Kanae. Even the easily flustered Shinobu from before.
Kanae noticed the tears in Aoi's eyes and asked softly, "Huh? Aoi, why are you crying?"
Before Aoi could answer, Kanae turned to Shinobu with fake seriousness. "Little Shinobu, look what you did. You bullied Aoi again and made her cry."
"???"
Shinobu's mouth fell open in pure confusion.
"No, it's not like that!" Aoi quickly wiped her face. "I—I was just really happy."
"Oh, I see."
Kanae looked at Aoi, then at Kanao. She gently pulled both girls into her arms and spoke with quiet warmth. "I'm sorry, Aoi… Kanao. Even though it wasn't my choice before, I promise I won't leave you again."
"Sister—"
"Kanae-nee—"
Both girls stayed in the hug, soaking up the unique gentle warmth that only Kanae gave.
"Hey."
Kanae let them go and asked suddenly, "Aoi, Kanao… will you be my sisters for life?"
Both nodded without a second of hesitation.
"Then—" Kanae's voice stayed calm and gentle. "Please become Shuya's people."