The Shadow of the Insect

~Chapter Four~

Shinobu wasn't happy at all that her sister liked the shadow. But what should she do? The feelings of others are none of her business.

Kanae was at the butterfly pond and was lost in her thoughts. "Did he notice that I confessed my love to him?" she sighed. "Maybe I have to tell him that more clearly."

When Shinobu and Aoi finished the household chores, they went to Kanae to report to her. "Miss Kochou, the tasks you divided us are done. Is there anything else I can do?" said the little clerk of the Butterfly Estate. Kanae in return replied, "Ah, thank you very much for your efforts, I think there is nothing more you can do for me, you can have the rest of the day off, we have no patients, thank god." Aoi and Shinobu answered at the same time, "Yes, thank you."

The blue-haired girl then went to the kitchen and Shinobu stayed with the sister. The flower Hashira looked at the little sister and asked, "Can I help you?" with a lovely smile. She hesitated a little because she was kind of embarrassed, "Can you tell me about the Shadow Hashira? You said he changed a little..." She was amazed what she was hearing, "Ara, Shinobu. Has the Neltha caught your attention?" she giggled. Shinobu obviously blushed and immediately denied it. "That's not the truth!" she yelled. "I just want to know how his past was!"

Kanae just laughs at it, "I said that just for fun. I will gladly tell you everything I know about him. Now you have to pay close attention." She was prepared for anything.
"His birthday is on May 3rd; he is 19 years old and he likes dogs." Shinobu waited for a moment, she thought there was something else to come, but she was disappointed.

"That's it? You couldn't find out more? Are you kidding me?" she said with a louder voice. Kanae just laughed, "I swear to you, that's all I know about him." She was a little angry, "Who cares that he likes dogs, these disgusting furry animals!" "But think about it what it looks like, someone who looks so dangerous is petting a dog, I think that would look cute." Shonobu replies in disgust, "Yes, cute..." With that sentence, the conversation has ended when the crow got a new mission for two of them.

"KAHHH, MISSION FOR THE FLOWER HASHIRA KANAE KOCHOU, SHINOBU KOCHOU, GO TO TAKAYAMA VILLAGE TO KILL A GROUP OF DEMONS, THE SHADOW HASHIRA IS ALREADY ON THE WAY!" screeched the crow. The two immediately packed their things and said goodbye to Aoi.

Shinobu and Kanae have already made it halfway, and Kanae started a conversation. "When you see Neltha you can ask him a few questions yourself, maybe he'll answer you." Shinobu was annoyed by her sister again and said, "I don't care now."

You could see something on the horizon, it was a village. It wasn't their destination, but a little stopover doesn't hurt anyone. Kanae's eyes shone, "Look Shinobu, a village. Don't you want to stop there? I think that would be good for us." Shinobu just sighed, "I think that would be really good, my feet hurt like hell."

When the two of them stood at the entrance of the village, they were greeted by many people. Shinobu was just amazed, "How many are there!"

 The village was not a normal village. It was a village known for its trades. They traded everything, food, weapons, jewelry...and humans.

The two wandered through the village and saw all sides of the village. On the one hand there were the rich and wealthy and on the other side the poor. The gap between rich and poor could not be shown more clearly than here in the village.

They bought something to eat and went to the bridge to kill the time. Suddenly they heard loud whispers from the people behind them.

"Hey you brat, go on! Why else did I spend so much on you!" said the bald slave trader.
The slave trader hit a young little girl who was tied to a leash. He hit the girl so hard that she started bleeding badly. "Sister do you see that? The guy beats the little one." "Yes, I See that.", she replied angrily. She never gets angry, otherwise she's always a very sweet person. The two sisters saw that and wanted to intervene, but someone came before them.