Butterfly Mansion

Waiting outside the door for the next ten minutes, the door reopens to show a rather upset girl. Turning around without saying anything, I proceed to follow the girl inside.

Upon entering, I am almost immediately greeted by the sight of three young children who I would guess would be around the age of two or three. Confused slightly by their existence, I am broken out of my staring by noticing that the rude girl was no longer next to me and was now down the hall.

Catching up to her, she proceeds to show me around the Butterfly Mansion showing me the baths, kitchen, courtyard, and the place that I would be sleeping.

"And that's everything you need to know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will go and try and teach Kanao."

Before the girl can leave however, I quickly grab her by the hand. The girl squirms for a second before turning towards me while looking angry.

Removing my hand quickly, I proceed to mumble, "Sorry. I just didn't catch your name and so I wanted to ask you."

With flushed cheeks, the girl answers with a huff. "My name is Shinobu Kocho, but since you'll be staying here for a while, I guess it's fine if you call me Shinobu."

Smiling at her sudden kindness, I say, "Alright, I will Shinobu."

Shinobu then turns around and quickly walks away. Not having anything to do with my time, I decide to introduce myself to the other members of the Butterfly Mansion.

Stepping back into the main area, I see that the three girls are still sitting there. This time however, there is the addition of a twelve-year-old girl with deep blue eyes that fade to lighter blue at the bottom, along with rectangular pupils, straight black hair with a parted fringe, and twin-tails. This girl immediately notices my presence and stands up quickly before standing in front of the three toddlers.

"Who are you and how did you get in?" The girl asks with clear hostility.

Wanting to cleanse the tense atmosphere, I answer. "My name is Shiro Urokodaki, one of the new residents of the Butterfly Mansion. I think someone named Goto transported me here. And, uh, I think that I think I'll be staying here for a while since it was the orders from the Master. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl who was on the defensive immediately lets out a sigh of relief before bowing to me apologetically.

"Apologies for the hostility I had just shown you, but I couldn't help but be safe, just in case. My name is Aoi Kanzaki, a servant for the Butterfly Mansion."

Accepting her apology, the three toddlers, at knowing the situation was safe, proceed to run up to me energetically. Introducing themselves one at a time, it begins.

"My name is Sumi Nakahara." Says the girl with button like eyes and low twin tails fastened with blue butterfly clips.

"My name is Kiyo Terauchi." Says the girl with circular, black eyes and shoulder-length black hair with thin bangs framing her face with two pink butterfly clips on each side of her head.

"My name is Naho Takada." Says the girl with button-like black eyes and hair parted in the middle with two braided twin tails tied with green butterfly clips.

"These three are also servants of the Butterfly Mansion, but since they're so young right now, they can't really do much." Aoi sighs, but upon saying that, she receives the stank eye from all three of them.

"Might I ask why Master is forcing you to stay here?" Aoi asks while giving insincere apologies to the three toddlers.

"He said something about how I will be learning other breathing forms and becoming an important part in ending the war."

Hearing this, Aoi instantly grips my shoulders and asks, "Wait, Master said that?"

Nodding my head, Aoi continues. "And can you learn multiple forms? I was pretty certain that it was almost impossible."

Nodding my head again, I say, "I already have three breathing forms, so that must've been why they think I can learn more."

"And which ones have you learned so far?"

"Water Breathing, Thunder Breathing, and Ice Breathing."

Aoi then thinks deeply. "I can understand Water Breathing because of your family name, but how did you learn the other two?"

"Apparently Sakonji had connections with Mr. Kuwajima and so he came over during the start of spring and taught me. Ice Breathing, I learned on my own." I say with a hint of pride.

Looking at Aoi though, I can see a depressive aura hanging around her.

"Alright, I understand, but since you came here, you'll be learning Flower Breathing from Master Kocho?"

Nodding my head, she proceeds to sit down in the middle of the room.

"Since you'll be staying here for a while, why don't we hold idle chatter, at least until Master Kocho comes back."

Following her example, I sit down at the table along with the three toddler servants. For the following hour, we proceed to talk with each other and watch the silly movements of the toddlers, until Kanae enters the room.

"Seems like you've made quick work at making friends with the other residents." Kanae says with a smile when she sees the five of us interacting. "Wait here for a moment while I grab Kanao and Shinobu. After that, I'll explain what we'll be doing and what I expect while you live here."

After saying that, Kanae instantly leaves my line of sight, leaving me in an awkward silence with the servants.

"Ah, she saw me slacking off of my duties, I wonder what punishment I'll receive" I hear Aoi whine.

"I don't think you'll receive any punishment. She looked happy to see that we all became friends." I reassure. "Mabey."

Waiting for a short while more, Kanae returns with Shinobu and Kanao behind her. "Alright, since we are all here, I would like to formally introduce myself. My name is Kanae Kocho, the current Flower Hashira. On my left is my sister, Shinobu Kocho. On my right is my adopted daughter, Kanao Tsuyuri."

Understanding that the six-year-old child I first met was called Kanao, I watch as Kanae brings her forward and starts praising her. "Isn't she the cutest thing. Doesn't it make you want to protect her. Since you're around her age, I expect the two of you to become the best of friends."

Hearing the unadulterated joy in Kanae's voice, I can do nothing but smile.

"Anyway," Kanae continues while handing Kanao to Shinobu. "During your performance in the Hashira meeting, what was the form that you use? Giyu has his own eleventh form, but it doesn't look anything like that."

"Um, I call it 'Calm Before the Storm'. A technique that absorbs any oncoming attacks in which allows me to then use that absorbed strength in my next strike." I answer.

"Powerful." Kanae says flabbergasted. "During the meeting, you also used Thunder Breathing. What else can you do than what you showed?"

"Every other form and a seventh form called 'Smite' which calls down a super-hot lightning bolt wherever I will it to."

"So, you're telling me that in your short-lived life, you've been able to master two breathing forms." Kanae says while rubbing her forehead.

"I don't think so. Even with my training, my techniques still both lack power, flexibility, and the speed that Sakonji showed when I trained under him."

Kanae laughs when I say that. "Well of course they will, you're nothing more than a child right now, but when you grow up, you'll easily be able to surpass the power of Retired Water Hashira Urokodaki."

Looking at Kanae with a smile, she continues. "I need to know how far you're progressed, so what else can you do?"

"I have my own personal breathing form called Ice Breathing, but I've only been able to make three techniques with it so far and I'm also close to being able to do Total Concentration: Constant."

"Well at least I now completely understand why Master wanted us to teach you our forms, your level of growth is outrageous. I also want greater depth on your Ice Breathing, but we can get to that later."

Hearing that the conversation between me and Kanae was done, Shinobu steps in.

"Wait! Everything he's listed is impossible! There's no way someone so young can master multiple forms and have techniques that rival that of Hashiras!"

"Thanks for the compliment." I say giddily while rubbing the back of my head.

"That wasn't a compliment!"

Hearing Kanae chuckle, Kanae says, "Oh don't be that way Shinobu. When he grows up, he's most likely to become the strongest Hashira in history. Even strong enough to rival Gyomei. So, I recommend that you build a relationship with him and snag him while you can."

Confused by what Kanae was implying, I watch as Shinobu's face turns red before turning away and huffing.

"Now, I know it's late, so why don't we all eat with each other."

Hearing that the three toddler girls run to the kitchen with Aoi to presumably prepare us our meal. Not wanting to be rude, I sit down at the table and wait patiently. Seeing that I was so respectful, Kanae proceeds to seat Kanao by me and then drag Shinobu to the other side and get into a loudly whispered conversation with her.

Turning, I look and find that Kanao was already staring at me. Locking eyes with her again, I formally introduce myself to her.

"Hello, my name is Shiro, I hope we can get along well with one another." Beaming a smile, it disappears when something unexpected happens.

"I'm Kanao."

Hearing a response from the mute girl, my eyes are wide open with wonder. Showing a brighter smile than before since she replied to my initiation of conversation, I quickly dart my eyes to find Kanae and Shinobu having ended their conversation and looking at Kanae with disbelief.

"Sister, she just talked to someone didn't she?" Shinobu asks in a quivering voice.

"Yes sister, it appears that she did." Kanae answers back.

Kanao, at hearing the question that Shinobu asked, looks to Kanae as if asking if that was the right thing to do.

Understanding the look in Kanao's eyes, Kanae says, "That's perfect, you can keep talking with him. In fact, I highly recommend that you continue talking with him."

Hearing this, Kanao turns her attention back to me and we lock eyes once again. Before I can start talking though, food is brought out by the three toddler servants with an Aoi watching over them carefully. Not wanting to be rude at the hospitality being shown, I decide to eat first before speaking with Kanao.

The food was delicious, but I feel like I'm biased since I had only been eating stew or bread for most of my life. Near the end of the meal, I look over to find Kanao holding chopsticks in her hand. Slowly, Kanao grabs a piece of the tuna and eats it.

Kanao then turns her head towards me and sees me staring at her, causing her to quickly look away towards Kanae. Also looking at Kanae, I see that both her and Shinobu have a wide smile on their faces.

Having finished my meal, I am ushered out by the three toddler servants and forced to sleep without having talked with Kanao more. Taking a bath first, I then head to my room and fall asleep.