That day, Shinobu Kocho returned to the Butterfly Mansion in a fury.
Meanwhile, Tomioka Giyu spent the entire night unable to sleep.
Did Shinobu dislike the gift?
But she wore the butterfly hair ornament every single day.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand why she had become even angrier after receiving it.
Naturally, Giyu had no idea that Kanae had secretly replaced the original gift.
In truth, Kanae had not intended to create such a misunderstanding.
She had merely asked Aoi Kanzaki to purchase several sets of clothing for Shinobu at the same time, including undergarments and daily necessities.
Originally, Kanae planned to give those items to her sister personally.
However, after noticing Giyu's painfully awkward attempts at apologizing, she suddenly had an idea.
If she gave Shinobu the clothing in Giyu's name, perhaps the two emotionally dense Hashira might finally grow closer.
After all, although Tomioka Giyu was misunderstood by almost everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps, Kanae knew he was genuinely kind-hearted and dependable.
Thus, the misunderstanding was born.
Shinobu received the package believing it had come from Giyu.
And the worst part
The size was perfect.
That alone nearly caused Shinobu's mind to explode.
Her face burned bright red the moment she opened the package.
"This… this was from Mr. Tomioka?"
Her first reaction was embarrassment.
Her second reaction was horror.
How did he know her size?!
Had he secretly been observing her this entire time?!
Inside the Butterfly Mansion, the girls quickly learned of the incident.
Aoi looked conflicted as realization dawned on her.
"So that's why Kanae-sama suddenly wanted to buy those things…"
Kanae immediately placed a finger against her lips and smiled innocently.
"Please keep this secret, alright? If Shinobu learns the truth, she'll definitely get angry."
The moment Aoi imagined Shinobu's smiling face with veins bulging at her temples, she instinctively shuddered.
And thus, rumors began spreading through the Demon Slayer Corps.
At first, it became:
"Tomioka-san gave Shinobu underwear."
Then it evolved into:
"Tomioka-san personally went shopping for women's undergarments and gifted them to Shinobu."
Meanwhile, the person at the center of the rumor remained completely unaware.
In fact, Giyu felt strangely happy lately because the other Hashira had finally started talking about him more often.
During dinner, Giyu sat at his usual isolated corner seat.
Suddenly, Kanroji Mitsuri sat directly across from him, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Tomioka-san," she whispered nervously, "why did you give Shinobu-chan something like that?"
Giyu was pleasantly surprised someone had started a conversation with him.
Though his face remained expressionless, internally he was overjoyed.
"I wanted to apologize to her," he answered honestly. "Because I made her angry."
Mitsuri froze.
Then her imagination began racing wildly out of control.
Apology?
That kind of gift?
Could it be
Inside her mind, an utterly dramatic scene unfolded.
Giyu wrapped his arms around Shinobu from behind while whispering softly into her ear.
"Shinobu… I'm sorry I ruined it before. But it's because you're too beautiful…"
Shinobu's face turned scarlet as she struggled weakly in his embrace.
"Tomioka-san… please stop…"
Then Giyu calmly replied:
"It's alright. I'll buy you another one."
Mitsuri's entire face instantly turned bright red.
Steam practically rose from her head as she collapsed face-first onto the table.
At that exact moment, the other Hashira arrived carrying their meals.
Iguro Obanai immediately noticed Mitsuri's condition and pointed accusingly at Giyu.
"You shameless pervert! What did you say to Kanroji?!"
Shinazugawa Sanemi stared at Giyu with deep suspicion.
For once, he did not insult him immediately.
Instead, he instinctively shifted his seat farther away.
Gyomei Himejima pressed his palms together while tears streamed down his face.
"Namu Amida Butsu… Tomioka, you must purify your heart."
Tokito Muichiro glanced over briefly.
"I don't really care."
Only Rengoku Kyojuro enthusiastically slapped Giyu on the shoulder.
"Excellent spirit, Tomioka! Continue advancing forward!"
"Winning over Kocho's heart requires persistence!"
Giyu nodded seriously.
As expected.
Shinobu still had not forgiven him.
He needed to continue apologizing sincerely.
And so, completely unaware of the horrifying rumors surrounding him, Tomioka Giyu became even more misunderstood.
Later that evening, Giyu returned to the Butterfly Mansion.
Most of the Demon Slayers had already departed for missions, leaving the mansion unusually quiet.
Inside one of the rooms, Shinobu sat alone at a desk, writing notes regarding medicines and wisteria poison formulas.
The moment Kanae spotted Giyu arriving, she revealed an understanding smile before quietly slipping away.
However
She did not actually leave.
Instead, she pressed her ear against the door from the adjacent hallway.
This was not eavesdropping.
No.
This was important concern regarding the emotional development of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Inside the room, Giyu walked over curiously and looked down at Shinobu's notes.
The pages were densely packed with medical formulas, poison calculations, and diagrams.
Shinobu mistook the footsteps for Kanae's and casually pointed at a section of the notebook.
"Sister, do you think there's anything that needs improvement here?"
Giyu stared blankly at the page.
He barely understood any of it.
Most of his education came directly from Urokodaki Sakonji after he joined the Corps.
"…I don't understand any of this," he admitted honestly.
Hearing Giyu's voice, Shinobu instantly looked up.
The moment she saw his expressionless face standing beside her desk, her temper exploded.
Without hesitation, she punched him directly in the chest.
Thud!
Giyu stumbled backward several steps while clutching his chest.
"…Strong punch," he observed calmly. "With enough physical strength, you could probably decapitate demons."
Shinobu's eye twitched violently.
That was absolutely the wrong thing to say.
Especially now.
"Mr. Tomioka," she said with a terrifying smile, "if you continue harassing me like this, I'll report you directly to Oyakata-sama."
But Giyu completely misunderstood her anger yet again.
"I'm sorry, Shinobu," he said earnestly. "I didn't know you disliked it."
"I can buy you another one next time."
"Maybe white would look better."
Shinobu froze.
Giyu continued speaking completely seriously.
"Or I could take you to buy one personally."
In Giyu's mind, he was obviously talking about butterfly hair ornaments.
But from Shinobu's perspective
This man had just offered to personally accompany her while shopping for undergarments.
Shinobu's smile darkened immediately.
"Take me… shopping personally?" she repeated slowly.
Giyu nodded.
"Of course. You can try it on, and I'll see whether it suits you."
That was the final straw.
Shing!
Shinobu instantly drew her slender Nichirin Blade.
"Tomioka Giyu," she declared with murderous intent, "you are an absolute scoundrel!"
And thus
The two Hashira immediately started fighting inside the Butterfly Mansion.
Outside the room, Kanae realized things had escalated far beyond her expectations and hurried inside to stop them.
After considerable effort, she finally explained the entire misunderstanding.
The truth was revealed.
Shinobu's face instantly turned crimson from embarrassment.
"Sister!" she cried while hugging Kanae tightly. "Why would you do something so strange?!"
Kanae smiled helplessly while gently patting her head.
"I simply wanted you to have someone dependable beside you."
"I think Tomioka-san is genuinely a good person."
"And someday… I want to entrust you to someone like him."
Standing nearby, Giyu misunderstood everything once again.
In his mind, Kanae was asking him to protect Shinobu during future missions.
Thus, he answered immediately and seriously:
"Don't worry. I'll protect Shinobu."
Shinobu's face became even redder.
"Stop saying embarrassing things so seriously, Tomioka-san!"
"…?"
Giyu tilted his head slightly in confusion.
Why was she angry again?
After thinking carefully, he reached a conclusion.
Perhaps Shinobu wanted him to make that promise in front of everyone next time.
Tomioka Giyu silently nodded to himself.
Understood.
He would work harder.