Shinobu Kocho

"I'm sorry, I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

Chika Fujiwara rushed to Eriri's side, clasping her hands together and bowing, a pitiful expression plastered across her face.

Anyone unaware of the situation might think she had done something terribly wrong to Eriri.

"Chika-chan, what are you doing?" Eriri asked, clearly confused by Chika's behavior.

Without answering the question, Chika Fujiwara swiftly dropped her pitiful expression and leaned in close to Eriri with a mischievous grin.

"Hehe, Eriri, can you help me plead with the group system to lift my mute? I'm sure it'll listen to you. Just send my apology scene to the group so it can see how sincere I am!"

"Hmm, it's a small matter, but what's in it for me?" Eriri hooked her arm around Chika's neck and whispered something into her ear.

"I don't think I have anything you could use..."

"Oh, you definitely do."

Eriri whispered something else into Chika's ear, and suddenly, Chika's entire face flushed bright red.

"Well? What do you say?" Eriri smirked, pinching Chika's cheek.

Chika rolled her eyes, embarrassed, and replied softly, "O-okay..."

Her shy reaction stunned Arifureta and the others, who stared at both of them, trying to figure out what kind of secret deal had just been made.

[Kashiwagi Eri: Ahem, group system, you know Chika-chan didn't mean any harm. Can't you forgive her this time? I even made sure she apologized to you.]

[Ding! Kashiwagi Eri uploaded memory clip: 'Chika-chan's Adorable Apology!']

[Ding! Chika Fujiwara has been unmuted.]

[Chika Fujiwara: Woohoo! Close call. But hey, Eriri, when did you make me apologize? I realized my mistake all on my own and sincerely apologized to the group system!]

[Ashen Witch: What shady deal did you two make behind our backs?]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: So corrupt! My innocent heart is being tainted!]

[Flower Hashira: Chika-chan, mind telling me what agreement you made with Eriri? Smirk.jpg]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Eating popcorn while watching drama.jpg]

[Arche Eeb Rile Furt: Eating popcorn while watching drama.jpg]

[Asuna: Eating popcorn while watching drama.jpg]

[Red Devil: Eating popcorn while watching drama.jpg]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Eating popcorn while watching drama.jpg]

[Iron-Blooded Hot-Blooded Cold-Blooded Vampire: Looks like something interesting happened between Chika and Eriri.]

[Chika Fujiwara: No, no! They're just making things up!]

[Ashen Witch: Oh, I'm not making anything up! I have proof! Here's a pic of embarrassed Chika-chan. Blush.jpg]

[Asuna: Busted.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Aren't you all supposed to be focusing on using your points to power up?]

[Arche Eeb Rile Furt: True, time to go into seclusion and spend my points. Logging off for now.]

[Red Devil: I'm logging off too. Time to prepare for my next god-slaying mission.]

…

As part of the mission reward, group members who completed the task could stay in the task world indefinitely. If they wanted to return to their original world, all they had to do was think "Return." This saved them the 2,000 points needed to purchase a Cross-Boundary Talisman.

Thus, no one was in a rush to leave. Instead, they followed Kanae to her home, the Butterfly Mansion—a medical facility operated by the Demon Slayer Corps.

Despite the long distance between the wilderness where they fought Upper Moon Zero and the estate, Eriri's power allowed them to cross it in an instant.

It was already past 8 p.m., but the Butterfly Mansion was still brightly lit, with many staff members busy inside and outside.

Demon Slayer Corps members faced constant danger, and casualties and injuries were a daily occurrence. The Butterfly Mansion was almost never idle, especially at night when demons were more active, and waves of injured members were brought in for treatment.

"Sister, you're back!"

A joyful voice echoed as a petite girl in a Demon Slayer uniform appeared before them. She had black hair with purple tips, purple eyes, and her hair was styled in night-curled waves, with a mint-green butterfly hairpin. Her delicate face was full of determination.

"Shinobu, I'm back," Kanae said softly, her gaze filled with warmth as she looked at the girl who stood just under five feet tall—her younger sister, Shinobu Kocho, the future Insect Hashira.

"Sister, who are they?" Shinobu asked seriously, though curiosity sparkled in her eyes.

"These are the friends from the chat group I told you about. Without them, I probably wouldn't have made it back today," Kanae explained, introducing Eriri and the others.

Upon hearing that her beloved sister had narrowly escaped death, Shinobu's heart raced with fear, and her attitude toward Eriri and the others became much more friendly.

"Thank you all for saving my sister. You must be Eriri—my sister talks about you often. You're so beautiful!"

"And Shinobu is so adorable!"

Eriri's weakness for cute girls kicked in, and she couldn't resist petting Shinobu's head. But Shinobu quickly pulled away.

Kanae then led them to the sisters' residence, and the first thing they saw was a spacious inner hall. The wooden floors were polished to perfection, and in the center sat a young girl with a blank expression.

She looked even smaller than Shinobu, wearing a plain pink kimono. She had sweet, serene features, large pink-purple eyes, and long hair tied in a side ponytail with a butterfly clip. However, her expression remained vacant, even as Eriri and the others entered.

This was Kanao Tsuyuri, the adopted sister of the Kocho siblings.

"Kanao, I'm back. Did you miss me?" Kanae patted Kanao's head, but received no response—just a blank stare.

Neither Kanae nor Shinobu seemed surprised by Kanao's behavior. As for Eriri and the others, they knew her backstory from Demon Slayer, so they understood why Kanao acted this way.

"Eriri, do you think you can help Kanao regain her emotions?" Ruri Gokou asked, her eyes full of hope. Seeing Kanao's lack of emotion pained her.

Kanae and Shinobu both turned toward Eriri with hopeful expressions.

"Helping Kanao with that is easy, but when it comes to matters of the heart, I think it's better for her to overcome it on her own."

"Why?" Shinobu asked impatiently, her concern for her sister evident.

"My solution involves rewriting her mind and emotions, erasing her traumatic memories, and replacing them with happy ones. But that would create a completely different Kanao. Do you see why I'm against that now?"

Eriri walked over to Kanao, sat down on the floor, and gently pulled the blank-faced girl into her arms. Kanao stared up at her, unblinking.

Shinobu sighed softly. She had worried so much for her adopted sister.

"Don't worry. Emotional scars heal over time. In the meantime, I can restore her physical health."

Kanao's body was frail due to years of abuse and malnutrition. Though she had been nursed back to partial health at the Butterfly Mansion, she still had many deficiencies.

Eriri channeled her cosmic energy through Kanao, swiftly repairing the damage and even strengthening her body beyond its previous limits. Future training would be much easier for her.

Kanao could feel the changes in her body. She knew the beautiful woman in front of her was responsible, but she didn't know how to express her gratitude. Her large eyes stared at Eriri blankly.

"Thank you so much for helping Kanao," Kanae said, even though she couldn't see the changes. She knew Eriri wouldn't lie about something like this.

Kanae, now kneeling beside Eriri, was so overjoyed that she wrapped her arms around her from behind. Eriri's head was now sandwiched between two very soft pillows.

"Ahem, sister, aren't you being a little too intimate?" Shinobu's eyebrows twitched as she looked at them.

"Ara, ara, it's fine, Shinobu. Could you be a dear and prepare some tea for our guests?" Kanae smiled, showing no shame, her hands still resting on Eriri's abdomen.

"Fine, sister."

After a long, thoughtful glance at them, Shinobu sighed and went off to make tea.

Soon, everyone gathered around Eriri on the floor, chatting away.

Suddenly, Ruri Gokou remembered Kanae's Flower Breathing technique. Excitedly, she asked, "Kanae, can you teach me Flower Breathing?"

"Yes! I have so many points now. I wonder if we can use points to learn the technique faster?"

"I'd love to learn as well. It would be a good addition to my combat skills."

Chika Fujiwara and Elaina chimed in, their enthusiasm palpable. Eriri and Arifureta watched with interest too.

"Sure, no problem." Kanae smiled softly and stood up from behind Eriri, leading Chika Fujiwara, Ruri Gokou, and Elaina to an open area to begin teaching them the Flower Breathing technique.

All of them were already quite strong, and even the weakest among them, Ruri Gokou, had benefited significantly from the points she'd earned through her daily sign-ins, making her physical strength far surpass that of an average human. As for Elaina, she was at the formidable level of Second Level, Eighth Stage.

With such abilities, learning the breathing techniques came easy to them. In no time, they had mastered the fundamentals of Flower Breathing, something that would have shocked the other Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, who would surely exclaim that each of these women had the potential to become a Hashira.

As for Eriri, she had already fully grasped the mechanics of breathing techniques back when Kanae used Flower Breathing to attack the chains of the Upper Moon Zero. It was easy for her to understand how the technique worked. Essentially, it involved using a special breathing method to enhance lung capacity, allowing the body to take in large amounts of oxygen quickly, which greatly increased a person's physical abilities.

However, for those who reached a certain level of power, such techniques would become ineffective. Flower Breathing might be useful in the early stages, it would eventually become obsolete as Kanae and the others progressed to higher levels. At most, it would be a flashy technique for someone like Ruri Gokou to show off.

Eriri, in fact, could easily perform Flower Breathing and could even reverse-engineer other forms of breathing techniques, including the legendary Sun Breathing.

As time passed, Shinobu returned to the hall with a large teapot and eight cups. She glanced at the training session, where Kanae was teaching Fujiwara Chika and the others the breathing techniques, and although she seemed to have something to say, she held back, given the distinguished nature of Kanae's friends.

Watching how effortlessly Fujiwara Chika grasped the breathing techniques, Shinobu couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. In the world of "Demon Slayer," learning such techniques was no easy feat.

Due to her naturally weaker constitution, Shinobu never had the strength to decapitate demons, which meant she couldn't inherit her sister's Flower Breathing technique. This was why she had to create her own unique method of using poison to kill demons.