In His Place

Chapter 3

 On the way to the Butterfly Mansion, Shinazugawa and I had our fair share of talking. He didn't open up to me, it was only small talk, but even small talk better than silence.

 Though he seems gruff and rude, he can be pretty respectful. He's not kind, per se, but he seems to have a good heart underneath it all.

"We're here!" I finally say as we walk up towards the front gate.

 He looks hesitant as we walk inside, trying to nonchalantly keep a firm hand on his hedge trimmers. Butterflies swirl around us, tickling our skin. I can't help but chuckle at all of the fluttering colors around us, but I mostly am laughing at the stressed-out Shinazugawa, who's trying to swat the persistent bugs away.

 At my laughter, his ears turn a pink hue and he lets a butterfly land on his shoulder. I think I caught him with a small smile as he looked at the monarch resting on his dirty white clothes, but I could never be sure.

 A small girl with pigtails catches our gaze from seemingly a mile away. I wave at her, not recognizing her. The girl trots up to us, flinging a clean bedsheet over her little shoulder. The bedsheet drags on the ground as she makes her way to us, making it dirty again.

 "Are you the Kanojos?" She asks in a firm yet high-pitched voice. She places her small hands on her hips and looks us up and down in a judgmental way.

 "No, we're not," I smile, ready to explain, "I'm Kumeno Masachicka and—"

 "Sorry, I'll need to find one of my sisters," the little girl interrupts. Before I can even finish my sentence, she hurriedly turns away, the bedsheet dragging on the ground behind her.

 I can hear Shinazugawa quietly snort from behind me, "Reminds me of Teiko," he whispers to himself.

 I smile, but I try not to show that I heard him. "That must be one of the younger Butterfly girls," I say, turning to face Shinazugawa again. "Um... Kanzuki...? Kanzaki...? Oh yeah, Aoi Kanzaki," I snap once I realize who she was. "I've never met her before. She seems so firm for being so young, huh?" I chuckle, placing a hand on my hip.

 Shinazugawa nods, "I've met kids like that before," he says vaguely. He must be talking about that "Teiko" girl he whispered about. I wonder if they were family of his.

 After a couple of minutes of silence, we hear another voice from inside the thin open walls of the mansion. "Aoi! How the hell did the blanket get all dirty again?!"

 At the mention of Aoi's name, I nudge Shinazugawa's shoulder and raise my eyebrows. "I was right~" I mouth. Shinazugawa rolls his eyes, tensing up at my nudge.

 A couple of seconds later, we see Aoi trot back out of the mansion with a more familiar face following behind her. The girl is older than Aoi but holds a similar scowl. Her black hair is pinned up in a short ponytail by the colorful butterfly hair clip that every girl residing at this mansion has in their hair. Her drooping side bangs end with a purple tint that matches her hair clip and eyes.

 "Ah, hello, Ms. Shinobu!" I smile and bow slightly. Shinazugawa watches me with a shy expression, debating if he should bow as well.

 "Masachika," she nods. I've come here often for medical help and housing. It's the closest Wisteria House to most of my missions and my childhood home, so I'm familiar with the two eldest Kocho sisters. "What do you need now?" Shinobu asks, looking Shinazugawa up and down.

 "This is Shinazugawa," I smile, gesturing toward the white-haired boy. He nods in response to my sudden introduction. "He's pretty curious about the Demon Slayer Corps— "

 "Wouldn't your mentor be better for explaining this stuff?" Shinobu asks, raising her thin eyebrows.

 "Okay, yeah, but he's also injured," I explain, holding up Shinazugawa's arm. It's evident he doesn't like me touching him, but he deals with it so he doesn't make a scene. "I tried to bandage him up, but I didn't do a very good job."