Faced with Shuya's question, Kanao Tsuyuri pulled a coin from her kimono.
One side of the coin had the word "heads" engraved on it, the other "tails."
Kanao gripped the coin tightly in her hand. She looked up at Shuya, then lowered her head to stare at the coin again.
Shuya knew that because of her severe autism, when Kanao had first been brought back to the Butterfly Mansion by Kanae and Shinobu as a child, she had been so broken that she acted like a robot that only followed orders.
It was only through the two sisters' careful care that she had slowly begun to improve.
But even now, she still couldn't make decisions on her own.
So whenever she faced a choice, she would flip the coin and let the result decide her next action.
However, right now, Kanao was clutching the coin so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.
A flicker of genuine conflict appeared in her pink eyes—something Shuya had never seen before.
Drops of sweat began to form on her forehead and slowly slide down her delicate face————
"Shuya-oniichan, what's wrong with her?"
Nezuko couldn't understand why a simple question from Shuya had made the beautiful girl hesitate for so long.
If he had asked her, she would have answered right away.
"Shh."
Shuya didn't speak. He simply shook his head at Nezuko and motioned for her to stay quiet.
Watching Kanao struggle with the decision, Shuya was genuinely curious—could this question become the key to unlocking her true self?
If this didn't work, what would happen if Kanae appeared in front of her again?
If that was possible, both Kanae and Shinobu would surely be happy for her.
"Insect Breathing! Bee Sting Dance! True Drag!"
But something even faster than Kanao's decision came—a sharp flash of cold light.
The attack wasn't aimed at any vital spot on Shuya's body. It wasn't meant to kill. It was more like————
A warning?!
Even so, if Shuya hadn't used Ken to reinforce his body, that strike would have punched a hole straight through him.
He had no desire to get stabbed for no reason. He immediately twisted his body and easily dodged the sudden attack.
"Shuya-oniichan, are you okay?"
Nezuko frantically patted Shuya all over in worry. Only after confirming he wasn't hurt did she turn toward the person who had just attacked him.
Her voice was filled with anger as she shouted, "Big sister Shinobu, why did you suddenly attack Shuya-oniichan? Aren't you two friends?"
That's right. The one who had just used Insect Breathing to strike at Shuya was none other than its creator—Shinobu Kocho.
"Shinobu?"
Shuya tilted his head and looked at her, equally confused by the sudden attack.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare lay a hand on this child!!"
Shinobu pulled Kanao into her arms and glared coldly at Shuya.
Even the fake smile she always wore on her face disappeared in that moment. Her eyes were more serious than Shuya had ever seen them.
Then her tone suddenly softened. She put the smile back on and said in her usual light voice, "Hey, Mr. Scumbag, you can do whatever you want to me, okay?"
"But please, please don't touch this child. Because if you do… I really will get angry."
To Shinobu, after her sister Kanae died, the Butterfly Mansion they had built together and the girl they had adopted—Kanao Tsuyuri—were the only two remaining connections she had left to her sister.
As long as Shuya could defeat Muzan and Upper Rank Two—the demon that killed Kanae—then he could do anything he wanted to her.
She didn't even mind being used as a substitute for her sister.
But this child… absolutely not!!
Hearing that, Shuya was speechless.
It seemed Shinobu had completely misunderstood.
No wonder she had attacked him out of nowhere. The strike wasn't lethal—it really was just a warning.
Still, he could understand.
After all, in the original story, after Shinobu became the Insect Hashira, she had taken in three adopted sons besides Kanao. All three had passed the Final Selection and become official Corps members.
But none of them survived. They all died during later missions.
Only Kanao remained. Even though Shinobu taught her the Flower Breathing style that Kanae had created, she had never once considered letting Kanao join the Demon Slayer Corps.
Perhaps even teaching her Flower Breathing was only meant to give Kanao a way to protect herself.
Yet Kanao had secretly joined the same Final Selection as the main characters on her own.
And that had been the very first decision Kanao had ever made entirely by herself.
"Can you let me explain, Shinobu?"
Shuya could only give her a helpless smile.
Shinobu replied softly, "Mm-hm. I'm listening."
Even as she spoke, she instinctively kept Kanao protected behind her back. There was no sign that she actually believed him.
Shuya had no choice but to explain everything—why he had asked Kanao that question, what he had been hoping to achieve, and how conflicted Kanao had looked when she wanted to flip the coin but couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Kanao… so you miss big sister too?"
Shinobu turned to look at the still-struggling Kanao. There was a hint of relief in her voice.
The smile on her face became a little more genuine.
She could easily guess why Kanao was hesitating.
Because it involved her sister Kanae, flipping the coin had become a habit she relied on for years.
But not flipping it this time… was because she didn't want the coin to make a decision about Kanae that her heart didn't actually want.
Realizing that, Shinobu couldn't help but think— if her sister could see this moment, she would probably be happy too.
She pulled Kanao into a gentle hug, stroking her hair as she whispered, "Kanao, when it comes to big sister, please never use the coin to decide. Okay?"
"Mm~"
Even though the voice was very small, Shinobu clearly heard it.
"Thank you."
Shinobu turned to Shuya and thanked him softly. Her tone had grown noticeably gentler.
She took Kanao's small hand and extended an olive branch to Shuya. "Aoi has already prepared dinner. Come with us, Mr. Scumbag."
Nighttime.
Just as Shuya was about to take Makomo with him and return to Greed Island, a gentle voice called from outside the door.
"Hello? May I come in now?"