Butterfly Estate — Training Hall
"Ah—ow—ow—! It's going to snap!
It's really going to snap!
Why are girls' hands this strong?! This is murder! Legal murder!!"
Zenitsu's signature shrill screaming marked the official start of the day.
The first rehabilitation session: flexibility stretching.
Kanzaki Aoi and several Kakushi helpers were pressing down on Zenitsu's arms and legs, forcibly pulling open his stiffened muscles and tendons.
"Please endure it, Zenitsu-san!
If your tendons aren't stretched properly, your body will never fully recover!"
Beside them, Tanjiro was also stretching his legs, sweating profusely as he encouraged Zenitsu—despite grimacing in pain himself.
"Shut up! You're built like a rock, you don't get to talk!"
Zenitsu wailed.
"I want to go home! I want Grandpa's eel rice! I don't want to be dismembered here!"
Meanwhile, in another corner of the hall, a completely different scene was unfolding.
"Heh."
Inosuke, dressed in loose training clothes, sat cross-legged on the floor with a rice ball he'd stolen from the kitchen. He calmly chewed while watching Zenitsu scream, letting out a cold laugh.
"Too weak, Sleepy Pill."
He swallowed the last bite, brushed rice grains from his hands, and looked utterly disdainful.
"This is hell to you?
You people seriously misunderstand what hell is."
"Don't just stand there mocking people!"
Aoi shot him an irritated glare, panting as she held a towel.
"Inosuke-kun, it's your turn!
Get over here and lie down! Your muscle damage is the worst—you have to stretch!"
"Huh?"
Inosuke raised an eyebrow, chin lifting arrogantly as if he'd heard a joke.
"Stretching?
This young master doesn't need such low-level rehab."
Before anyone could react—
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
A series of bone-chilling sounds erupted from his body.
His shoulders, elbows, knees—even his spine—twisted and dislocated at angles that flagrantly violated human anatomy.
He bent his head all the way between his legs, poked his face out behind himself, and made an infuriating face at Aoi.
"See that, woman?
My bones are soft. I can fold them however I want.
This kiddie stuff? I mastered it before I was weaned."
Absolute silence.
The towel slipped from Aoi's hands. Her face turned green.
Zenitsu stopped crying, trembling violently.
"B-big bro… so gross! But so awesome!"
Tanjiro, meanwhile, was shining with excitement. He immediately pulled out a small notebook.
"So that's it!
By actively dislocating joints, you can expand attack angles and defensive options—
even maneuver freely in tight terrain like Mount Natagumo…
Inosuke-kun is a genius! Please teach me!"
"Pay up."
Inosuke snapped his head back into place and extended his hand without hesitation.
"This move lets you escape even if a demon grabs you—ultimate survival technique.
Tuition: one thousand gold pieces."
"Deal! Put it on my tab!"
Tanjiro answered instantly.
Reflex Training
If stretching was physical torture, then the next drill—medicine splashing—was pure psychological humiliation.
Rules were simple:
Both sides tried to grab a teacup from the table. Whoever grabbed one could splash medicine on the opponent. If the opponent failed to block with their cup, they lost.
The opponent?
Tsuyuri Kanao—always smiling, unfathomably strong.
"Um… maybe I'll pass…"
Zenitsu shrank back after seeing Tanjiro, soaked and wringing water from his clothes.
"That girl looks spaced out, but she's so fast I can't even see her move! She's a monster!"
"Tch. Bunch of idiots."
Inosuke shoved Zenitsu aside and plopped down across from Kanao, legs wide, posture domineering.
"Hey, smiley girl.
This young master wants to make it interesting."
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing toned forearms, then slapped a gold coin onto the table.
"If I win, this coin's yours—and I won't drink the medicine.
If you win…"
He pointed at the foul-smelling bowl of concoction.
"I'll drink the whole thing."
Kanao blinked her violet eyes, still smiling. Without a word, she flipped her coin.
Heads. Challenge accepted.
"Begin!" Aoi shouted.
Kanao moved—faster than lightning, without any visible wind-up.
But the instant she did, Inosuke's skin had already sensed the faint disturbance in the air.
"Left!"
Inosuke shot his hand out—but not for the cup.
He went straight for Kanao's wrist.
It was a foul by the rules—but this was Inosuke-style combat: win by any means necessary.
Kanao deftly twisted her wrist to evade.
And in that instant—
Inosuke's other hand slithered across the table at a razor-sharp angle, snake-like, and seized the medicine cup.
"Hah! Got it!"
He leapt up to splash it—
Only for a slender hand to press down on the lid of his cup.
Kanao still smiled serenely, violet eyes calm as water, as if humoring a mischievous child.
Their hands locked over the cup.
"Tch."
Inosuke clicked his tongue.
Then suddenly—
He leaned in close. Their faces were inches apart.
Using Absolute Pitch, he unleashed an ear-splitting ultrasonic screech, bat-like and vicious.
"SCREE—!!!"
A trick he'd perfected just to scare Sato the butler awake at night.
Kanao's pupils shrank. Pain spiked in her ears. Her grip loosened for a split second—
Splash!
Inosuke seized the opening and flung the medicine.
Kanao leaned back instantly, but a few droplets still splashed onto her bangs.
"I won!"
Inosuke jumped onto the chair, hands on hips, laughing triumphantly.
"See that?! This is strategy! All's fair in war!
Pay up—no, better yet, my money's safe!"
Dead silence.
Aoi trembled with rage.
"Inosuke! You used sound attacks! That's shameless!"
Only Tanjiro reacted differently.
He rushed over at once and handed Kanao a handkerchief.
"Are you alright, Kanao-san?
Inosuke-kun just wanted to win—he didn't mean any harm. Please wipe it off, it'll sting if it gets in your eyes."
His voice was gentle, carrying a pure warmth.
Kanao took the handkerchief. As she looked at Tanjiro's smile, something rippled in her usually empty gaze for the first time.
Her cheeks flushed faintly. She nodded softly.
Inosuke, still standing on the chair, rolled his eyes and bit into his gold coin.
"Tch. Sickeningly sweet."
The shameless act had gone exactly as planned.
As the boss, solving a subordinate's future love life was also part of the job.
Evening
Training ended. The three dragged their exhausted bodies toward their rooms when a Kakushi stopped them at the entrance.
"Um… may I ask who is Hashibira Inosuke-sama?"
The Kakushi held a heavy parcel, looking perplexed—as if they'd never handled a delivery like this before.
"This was retrieved from the mountain post station.
It's a letter and supplies addressed to you."
"Mine?"
Inosuke's eyes lit up. Fatigue vanished instantly. He snatched the package and ripped it open.
Clatter—!
A cascade of golden light spilled out.
Before Tanjiro and Zenitsu's stunned eyes, gold coins poured out like a waterfall.
Along with them: boxes of beautifully wrapped wisteria flower cakes, and a thick book.
"T-T-Tons of gold?!
Big bro, did you rob the national treasury?!
Share some! Just a little!"
Zenitsu pounced on the pile, drooling.
"It's my old man's allowance."
Inosuke smugly stuffed the coins back into the bag, weighing it with satisfaction.
"Not bad. That grindy-head still has some conscience.
This much gold will let us eat free at the Butterfly Estate for half a year.
Later I'll just buy the chef—tempura every day."
He opened a box of wisteria cakes, stuffed one into his mouth, then tossed the rest to Tanjiro.
"Here. Local specialty. Pretty good. Made with wisteria honey."
Finally, he picked up the book.
"The Teachings of the Eternal Paradise Cult (With the Leader's Personal Signature)"
Inosuke: "..."
He flipped it open.
Inside was Doma's smiling face, with a handwritten note:
To my dear Inosuke:
Having fun out there? If you run out of money, just tell Dad.
I heard you made friends—how wonderful! I sent some wisteria cakes; remember to share.
Also, show them this book. If they're willing to join the cult,
your mother and I would be very happy.
Love,
Your father, Doma
"Ugh—"
Inosuke gagged.
"That idiot… still this disgusting."
Tanjiro leaned in curiously.
"Inosuke-kun, what's that? Is this your family's… rulebook?"
"No."
Inosuke casually tossed the book into the trash.
"This is trash. Too stiff even for wiping your ass."
Then he turned serious, eyes sharp.
"Listen carefully.
Don't believe a single word in that book.
Especially the guy named Doma…"
He touched the iron fan at his chest, voice low with an indescribable emotion.
"He's the biggest liar in the world."
Tanjiro froze.
He could smell it.
When Inosuke said those words, his scent was unbearably complex—disgust, vigilance—
But no killing intent at all.
Instead, buried deep within was a resolve—
a determination to drag someone out of the mud.
"Alright! Loot distribution complete!"
Inosuke snapped back to his usual self, tossing a handful of gold coins to Zenitsu.
"Blondie, buy something good to eat.
Stop crying all the time—you disgrace me."
Another handful went to Tanjiro.
"Kamaboko-head, get clothes for you and your sister.
If you're with me, you have to look good."
"Let's go—back to sleep!"
He slung the bag of ill-gotten gold over his shoulder and swaggered toward the ward.
Late Night
Inosuke lay in bed, idly playing with the fans his father had given him.
Zenitsu and Tanjiro were already snoring from exhaustion.
Inosuke couldn't sleep.
He thought of Doma.
The monster from the original story who devoured humans without remorse.
The psychopath who mimicked emotions without ever feeling them.
Yet for over ten years—
That same monster had clumsily cooled him with ice when he was sick.
Mocked him while secretly leaving the best medicine by his bed.
Stood guard all night whenever Kotoha had nightmares.
"…Dad."
Inosuke whispered, confusion lacing his voice.
He knew Doma was a demon.
A being that had to be destroyed.
"I won't kill you."
He clenched the fan, emerald eyes blazing with near-mad obsession.
"Killing you would be too easy.
I'll turn you human.
I'll drain that filthy demon blood from you and pour it into medicine that restores humanity.
I'll make your dead heart beat again.
I'll make you feel pain, sorrow—and love.
I'll make you kneel before my mother,
as a human, spending your entire life atoning."
That was a punishment far crueler than death.
"Just wait, old man."
Inosuke closed his eyes, tucking the gold coins under his pillow.
Outside the window, a butterfly rested silently on a branch,
as if listening to the young master's vow.
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