I'm not Muzan Kibutsuji!

Chapter 8: Butterfly house

Masaru decided about five minutes into his stay at the butterfly manor that Shinobu—The butterfly lady who was a little terrifying, was actually the one he liked to be around most. This wasn't because the little girls running around the mansion weren't cute, it was more... that they looked utterly terrified of him. Masaru couldn't exactly blame them, but it still made him uncomfortable to look at their faces, knowing that they probably thought of him as an evil demon. He could only hope that they'd warm up to him eventually. Shinobu, despite looking at him vaguely like she wanted to cut him open, didn't treat him any differently then any of the other slayers. He was grateful for that, though she still made him a little antsy. 

It seemed Tanjiro had passed out once the meeting was over and hadn't woken up since, and Masaru hadn't seen him since either. Zenitsu and Inosuke were definitely there as well, but Masaru had no clue where, as when he'd tried to find his friends, he had gotten lost and found the kitchens. Aoi promptly banned him from going anywhere without her, Kanao, or Shinobu's permission. Masaru had a room with Nezuko, probably because the other slayers and the little butterfly girls were scared of her too.

Originally he had been concerned on whether Inosuke and Zenitsu were even in the mansion, but his worries were soon squashed, because on his fifth or sixth day there he had definitely heard Zenitsu's screaming. And when Shinobu visited the day afterwards, she mentioned a particular patient of hers biting her to stop her from giving him medication. Masaru could only assume a particular Boar-headed friend of his would be the only demon slayer unhinged enough to do it.

Masaru took the days he had alone with Nezuko as an opportunity to bond with her and learn more about the demon girl. She was very childlike, but could write basic things like her name if prompted. She was very curious in Masaru, but didn't seem uncomfortable with him. She drew a picture of all five of them together, and gave it to Masaru. It now had permanent residence in his inner slayer uniform pocket. She was sweet, and definitely represented what Masaru thought a little sister would be like in his head. However, only talking to a demon who had a muzzle and the occasional doctor was making Masaru stir crazy. Once the gash in his arm was mostly healed, he decided to get out and train.

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Masaru had gotten some dummies to practice his sword techniques on; and while it was fun, he didn't quite know how he could improve. Every time he thought 'well it's good enough' his mind went back to why he was there in the first place. Rui could have killed him easily; Tanjiro almost killed Rui, and Giyuu, the weird haori guy, did kill Rui. Masaru was weak compared to them. He wanted—no, he had to get stronger.

And now here he was, feeling like an idiot. He knew it—he was weak. He couldn't even touch Rui, let alone his fellow demon slayers who took the lower moon out. There was only one thing he could do—improve. He just didn't quite know how too.

Then he noticed her. The butterfly child. Shinobu had mentioned her—she was a tsuguko; A Hashira's personal student. Kanao, she'd said. Kanao was training too; and it as unlike anything he'd ever seen before. She traveled with grace and purpose, as if every movement was a dance. It was beautiful. She delivered slashes to the dummy quickly and precisely. She was light on her feet.

Masaru watched her movements. He then understood the best way for him to get stronger. Masaru was quick and he could put force into his swings; but he wasn't graceful nor particularly flexible. Even the girl's breathing was practiced. It was incredible.

He approached her slowly, trying not to startle her. When Kanao saw him, she flipped a coin? And then asked why he'd come to her. It was an odd conversation, but she eventually agreed to teach him how to be graceful.

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Kanao didn't like choices. Making them. Every choice was a decision that could lead to a mistake, and a mistake made Kanao useless. If she wasn't told to do something it was.. hard to choose for herself. Shinobu had told her to train. Shinobu could make decisions easily. It almost made Kanao jealous. She had been practicing in the courtyard when she noticed the boy. Masaru, Shinobu had said. Blood red eyes matching the demon kings. She felt frozen looking at him. He smiled at her and introduced himself and Kanao didn't know what to do so she flipped her coin and it was heads and she was talking to the boy.

He asked her to train him. It was an odd request. Masaru was in the house of a hashira.. why not ask Shinobu? He was intent on it, so Kanao hesitantly led him to her favorite part of the Butterfly house. There was this beautiful little pond out back; no one visited there except Kanao. It was a good place to practice balance and flexibility, which seemed to be what he was trying to learn.

She perched up on one of the rocks, and the boy followed after her. His eyes dug into her soul.. they felt... dangerous. Kanao knew that he was a slayer and a human, but it still unsettled her deeply. Then, he smiled, and the unsettling aura around him seemingly vanished.

He sat down next to her, mimicking the pose she was in. Kanao looked over at him... the boy already looked sore. She didn't really know how to teach him, but it would likely be helpful for him to get used to stretching... right? Kanao went through some of the exercises she was used to, trying to correct Masaru when he made the mistakes. He was pleasant. He didn't ask her anything uncomfortable, just made some small talk, and he seemed not to expect any replies.

After a few hours, Kanao went to the kitchen to find Aoi. She flipped her coin before asking for tea and took some back for Masaru as well. The boy was lying on one of the mats on the floor and groaning in pain. Kanao did not envy him. She set down the tray and poured both of them tea, which seemed to make Masaru perk up from where he had been lying.

Kanao found herself somewhat relaxed by his presence after a couple of hours. It was an odd shift between subtle terror and comfortability, but it wasn't unwelcome. Masaru was diligent. Kanao could see slight improvements in his technique already. After they had finished the tea, Masaru tried to pay her back by teaching her his breath style.

She flipped her coin, and it landed on tails . . . But Kanao realized, ever so slightly shocked by her own feelings, that she wanted to do it anyway. Masaru looked at her expectantly, holding out his hand and smiling. It was odd. This feeling. . . Like an old friend was greeting her again. Kanao took his hand.

He lead her through the forms and poses, trying to get her to plant her feet on the ground. Despite the fact wind breathing relied heavily on brute strength and speed, Kanao found that once she got used to it, she was able to put a little more force into her swings. It wasn't unwelcome. The next few days passed like that; with Masaru and Kanao training each other. Though, admittedly, Kanao was definitely doing more teaching. Masaru had less of a clue then she did about how to teach someone else about breathing styles and techniques. Masaru grew more flexible gradually, until he was passable.

Soon enough, Masaru's other friends awoke and that was how Kanao met Zenitsu, Inosuke, and Tanjiro Kamado and everything in her life was flipped on its head in an instant. 

A/N: now you're probably thinking, hey Author, why didn't you have another chapter? Why is this 4 days late? And the answer is that I got the flu and it sucked. 0/10 I couldn't even write. I had to finish this chapter after I had stopped having a high fever. See you people in like 3 weeks! <333