"Are you ready to go?"
'Am I?' Mizuki thought, contemplating her decisions. 'Can I do this?' She asked herself, staring off into space as Mitsuri stared at her with a small frown.
"You'll do great, Mizuki! You don't need to talk to the adults at all, you can just bond with Kanae." The pink-haired woman convinced the little girl.
Mizuki sighed as she saw the pleading look of the older female. "Okay! Let's go, we shouldn't be wasting our time, Mitsuri!"
She enthusiastically exclaimed, standing up and grabbing the foods they'll be bringing.
As soon as she got out of the door, she halted abruptly and sheepishly looked back at Mitsuri who was following suit. "I don't know the way... hehe." She said, rubbing her fingers together in a shy manner.
"Kanae! Shinobu! Kanao!"
Mizuki flinched, shock visible on her expression. She should've been used to this by now, Mitsuri has this habit of hers to call people to announce herself home.
"Ah, Mitsuri. You came! Is this the little girl you were talking about?"
A woman gently spoke, she has long black hair and two pink and green butterfly pins on both sides of her head. Her double-side bangs framed her face perfectly. She's wearing a butterfly patterned haori and the demon slayer uniform, except, instead of a skirt like other female slayers, she was wearing puffy pants just like Kyojuro.
Beside her was a short girl. She has short black hair tied into a bun which has a purple butterfly pin adorned in it. She also has short double-side bangs with a purple gradient on the tip which greatly complement her purple eyes. The only problem was she was wearing a frown, unlike the one wearing a haori who has a gentle smile on her face, her pink eyes shining.
The girl with purple eyes was wearing a white haori, her demon slayer uniform was the same as the taller ones.
Behind them was a small girl, probably the same age as you, who walked towards them and stared at Mizuki and Mitsuri with wonder in her eyes.
She's wearing a pink yukata and her black hair was swept to the side with a pink and white butterfly pin adorning it. Her pink eyes are wide and dull as she only continued to stare at Mizuki.
"Say, Kanao. Would you like to play with Mizuki over there?" The long-haired woman spoke with gentleness, staring at who she claimed to be Kanao.
Kanao mindlessly gulped as she stepped forward towards Mizuki, she held one of Mizuki's hands and started walking away. She was confused internally. She didn't know why she decided to hold the girl. Most importantly she decided to do this herself. It was her own choice.
The longer Mizuki followed Kanao, the more she found herself wanting to interact with the child even though her presence is still unsettling and she couldn't help but feel like something was off. Maybe it's because Kanao keeps looking back at her as if expecting something from her.
It makes her slightly uncomfortable as if she's supposed to say something. She glanced at Mitsuri and noticed that the pink-haired slayer is grinning from ear to ear while watching the two walk away with an almost gleeful expression as she too walked away with the butterfly sisters and went inside the manor.
Mizuki was then surprised to see their beautiful garden once they arrived. It was covered with flowers, many different kinds that she had never seen before, including a lot of trees. There was also a pond with water lilies floating in it and a pond full of fish. They were beautiful.
"Is this your home?" Mizuki asked as she gazed around the place in awe."Yes," Kanao muttered softly. "It's beautiful." Mizuki nodded her head. Kanao agreed before tugging on Mizuki's pink haori sleeve. Mizuki followed Kanao to a bench near the pond, sitting beside each other on the grassy field instead of the benches after setting everything down.
Mizuki immediately felt relieved when Kanao started playing with her, smiling as she would happily show off what she made in her spare time. "What did you make?" Mizuki asked while pointing at the small origami on the ground. Kanao shook her head, refusing to tell her. After getting curious, Mizuki picked up a flower-shaped paper and began folding it. When she finished, she placed the flower on her lap before turning to Kanao who was already trying to fold another flower on top of it. Mizuki giggled and let her continue. She watched amusedly as Kanao tried to make another flower on top of the first one, it took her a while to finish but she managed.
She finally gave the flower to Mizuki who inspected it, amazed at how Kanao could make so many flower shapes in such a short amount of time. She admired Kanao for doing something as simple as making a flower shape. She smiled and handed it back to Kanao who received it graciously, holding onto it tightly. Mizuki thought she might've gotten attached to it since she kept clutching it, but Mizuki was wrong. After the little girl hugged the flower origami, she gave it to Mizuki who in turn gasped in surprise, a small blush coating her cheeks as she accepted the flower that Kanao offered her.
Meanwhile, with Kanae, Shinobu, and Mitsuri. They were talking all about planning to bond. While Shinobu and Kitsuri were busy talking with each other, Kanae turned her head slightly to the left when she noticed a shiny coin on the table not so far from them. Her smile widened even more.
Back to the little kids, after they ran out of paper to make origamis, Mizuki and Kanao decided to watch the fishes in the wide pond that the Flower estate has to offer. Each one of the fish was given a name by the two little girls who were giggling none stop. They were named after various flowers, some of the names are similar to those from the flower garden, like 'Daffodil' and 'Sunflower'.The fish swam around lazily, occasionally jumping when one of the girls would reach out to them, giggling madly every time that happened. They were adorable and sweet, and they were all so colorful and lively. Mizuki was mesmerized. She couldn't help but smile brightly.
The day soon turned to an end as night reached the Flower Estate. Mitsuri wanted to let Mizuki stay but she knew that she had to train the little girl and so, with a heavy heart, she called Mizuki and asked her to say goodbye to her friend as they had to get home soon.
Who knows how long Mizuki and Kanao will ever meet again?
"Mizuki! I have a surprise for you!"
It has been a week since they last visited the Flower Estate, and Mitsuri decided that she wants to surprise the little girl.
"Really?!" Mizuki beamed, jumping up and down in glee. "What is it? What is it?" She excitedly asked.
"Come on then, follow me!" Mitsuri, who returned the excited gestures, exclaimed. Pumping her arms in the air, she turned back to walk out of the Flame Estate.
The walk took at least 5 hours maximum and while on the way, Mizuki embarrassingly needed to be carried by Mitsuri because the little girl fell asleep.
"Mizuki." Mitsuri gently shook the little girl who is still sleeping in her arms. "We're here now, Mizuki," Mitsuri whispered.
As expected, the little girl woke up and blinked sleepily at Mitsuri who smiled at the sight of her. "We made it!" The little girl squealed happily.
"Yeah, we did. Let's go, come on!" Mitsuri said as she helped the little girl stand up properly.
They walked inside and Mizuki saw a kakushi here and there mending the place. "What place is this, Mitsuri? It's so big and- and beautiful!" Mizuki exclaimed in amazement. Stars fluttered in her eyes at the sight of the beautiful estate.
"Welcome to the Love Hashira's Estate!"
"Love... Hashira?"
Mitsuri paled. She forgot to tell you that she became a Hashira. How stupid of her...
"Now that you're settled in, I have something to tell you, Mizuki." Mitsuri seriously yet gently started. "From now on, you will be my tsugoku. You will officially train after me and in return, I will teach you the breathing style that I proudly made!"
Mizuki was shocked to the core. She was flabbergasted. Does that mean she'll never have to leave Mitsuri's side? Once she passes the final selection, she can go with Mitsuri on her missions!
"Yay!" Mizuki yelled in happiness. Her face was the perfect definition of a perfect life and a perfect day.
Mitsuri giggled, "I have one more surprise for you, Mizuki." She continued. She then stood up from the engawa and went inside but not so soon after, she came back with a long box in her hands.
"Inside this box is a gift that I want you to open once you come back from your final selection." She gently explained. "But that would only happen once you turn 15! You have to train first~"
Mizuki's bright expression brightened even more. She doesn't care how many years she has to spend 8 years of training. It's her goal to make her sister figure proud of her. And most importantly, it's her who chose this path.
"Since I made Love Breathing specifically made for my body, I have a different sword that I used for it," Mitsuri explained. "For now, I will let you borrow the sword I used when I was training under Kyojuro."
"Are you ready?"