"Master!"
Inside the Butterfly Mansion, Yuichiro Tokito, clad in a green haori, excitedly ran towards Shinichi while carrying Maru-ni in his arms.
"Don't call me master, Yuichiro. You've really grown up now, becoming a Hashira in such a short time," Shinichi said, sitting on the steps with a mix of pride and complex emotions in his eyes as he looked at Yuichiro.
"Eh??" Yuichiro's smile froze, clearly showing question marks popping above his head.
Meanwhile, Maru-ni, who had been lying obediently in Yuichiro's arms, suddenly jumped down and ran straight to Shinichi.
The little dog circled around Shinichi, sniffing him intently.
Suddenly!
Maru-ni lifted his head, his round eyes widening in disbelief as he howled.
"Awoooooo!!" (Master has another dog behind my back!)
Shinichi, who had been about to pat Maru-ni's head, froze.
He then remembered that he had indeed interacted with Taro, the little Shiba Inu belonging to the hunter girl Yae, not long ago.
"Uh, Maru-ni, your nose is really sharp," Shinichi awkwardly scratched his head as he was caught red-handed.
Yuichiro tilted his head, watching his master and Maru-ni, sensing there was some juicy gossip to uncover!
After a while...
The fat Maru-ni lay on Shinichi's lap, snoring contentedly as Shinichi massaged him.
The dog's smug expression made Shinichi couldn't resist giving him a light tap on the head.
"What are you so proud of? You're a dog, not a cat."
Yuichiro sat beside Shinichi.
After hearing Shinichi's explanation earlier, he finally understood why Shinichi didn't want him to call him master anymore—because Yuichiro was about to be promoted to Hashira, making them peers among the Demon Slayer Corps' highest-ranking swordsmen.
Within the Demon Slayer Corps, swordsmen of the same rank generally don't address each other with hierarchical titles like "master" or "apprentice."
At most, they might use honorifics.
"No, Master, I can't accept that. You saved my life and my brother's life, taught us Breathing Techniques, and it's because of your influence that we could join the Demon Slayer Corps. No matter what, you'll always be my master!" Yuichiro declared firmly, staring at Shinichi.
Shinichi's hand, which had been stroking Maru-ni, paused.
He looked at Yuichiro and shook his head with a smile.
"You stubborn kid, is that really necessary?"
"I don't care. I'm going to keep calling you master. If that's not allowed, then I'll go to Oyakata-sama and refuse the Hashira promotion," Yuichiro said earnestly.
This startled Shinichi.
If Oyakata-sama heard about this, he wouldn't take it lightly.
Given Oyakata-sama's frail health, Shinichi didn't want to trouble him with such trivial matters.
Waving his hand, Shinichi said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this for now. Where's your brother, Muichiro?"
That's right—Muichiro was also about to be promoted.
It was almost infuriating how terrifying talent could be.
The Tokito brothers had only held swords for a few months, yet they had skyrocketed from the lowest Mizunoto rank all the way to Hashira.
The demons in Shinichi's jurisdiction as The Forest Hashira and in the neighboring Water Hashira, Giyu's territory had practically been wiped out by these two brothers.
"Muichiro? He didn't come with me, but Gin sent me a letter. He should be returning to headquarters soon, right?" Yuichiro said uncertainly.
Gin was his younger brother Muichiro's Kasugai Crow.
As for Yuichiro's Kasugai Crow, well, you might be wondering what it's called.
Did you think it was 'Kin'? Wrong!
Yuichiro's crow is named 'Moku Moku'. (lol)
"Alright, no more idle chatter you two. Our Butterfly Mansion is quite busy, you know~ Since you have nothing better to do, why not have some cookies and stay to help move things around~"
A gentle voice sounded behind Shinichi and Yuichiro.
When they turned around, they saw Shinobu in her Demon Slayer Corps uniform, holding a large tray piled high with honey cookies and a steaming pot of Wisteria Tea.
"Thank you, Shinobu-san," Yuichiro said politely.
He held deep respect for the Insect Hashira who had saved his younger brother Muichiro.
After learning about Shinobu's history with his master, his admiration only grew.
After all, in the near future, she might just become his master's wife~
Picking up a cookie and taking a bite, Yuichiro couldn't help but grimace.
Sneaking a glance around to make sure no one was watching, he quickly stuck out his tongue to let the overwhelmingly sweet taste dissipate in the air.
When he turned back to look at Shinobu, sure enough, she was sitting behind them with a smile, her violet eyes filled with nothing but the image of his master.
Yuichiro sighed inwardly: 'So what Tachibana said was true'.
By the way, the "Tachibana" Yuichiro mentioned was his frequent teammate during demon-slaying missions – Tachibana Tsumugi, a girl who looked like a tomboy but was actually a Kanoe-ranked swordsman.
When they first met, Tsumugi had put on quite the senior act in front of Yuichiro.
However, it was rather humbling when Yuichiro surpassed her rank to become a Tsuchinoto-ranked swordsman in less than half a month.
This had deeply discouraged 'Tsumugi-senpai', who avoided speaking to Yuichiro for a while out of embarrassment.
But after surviving multiple life-or-death situations together and being saved by Yuichiro several times, that awkwardness faded, and they became close friends.
Aside from her sunny, unladylike personality, Tsumugi had another trait: she adored gossiping about all sorts of interesting tidbits within the Demon Slayer Corps, especially the amusing relationships between the Hashira.
It was through Tsumugi that Yuichiro truly understood the peculiar dynamic between his master and the Insect Hashira.
Oh, and he also learned some little stories about the Flower Hashira and Wind Hashira.
"The Forest Hashira and Insect Hashira, the Wind Hashira and Flower Hashira," as Tsumugi put it, "If I could see these four come together in my lifetime, I'd gladly let a demon chew me up the next second."
When Tsumugi learned that Yuichiro was the Forest Hashira's disciple and his brother Muichiro was the Insect Hashira's disciple, she nearly fainted from excitement.
After recovering, she enthusiastically dragged Yuichiro into days of discussion—even chattering nonstop during missions.
What were they discussing?
Of course, how he, as a disciple, could play the perfect wingman for his master!
Yuichiro hadn't taken it seriously at first.
But now, seeing Shinobu's eyes filled with nothing but his master, he thought...
'Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all'
It is said that the Insect Hashira's dessert-making skills were originally excellent, but they mutated just to suit the Forest Hashira's tastes.
Yuichirou, who has tasted the honey cookies, can confirm this is true!
If Tsumugi were here, she would surely scream at this sight.
Meanwhile, Shinichi, who was drinking tea and eating cookies, suddenly felt a gaze upon him.
Turning around, he saw his disciple staring at him with a very strange look.
"Brat, what's with that weird look?"
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