"Say ahh."

"Ahh."

"Good! There's no problem with your jaw now!" Shinobu smiled. "I'm sorry I can't see all of you off. But please do your best from now on."

"Sure! Thank you so much!" Tanjiro eagerly replied before asking about the Breath of Fire.

"Ah. You don't just call the Breath of Flames, the Breath of Fire. There's a difference and we have a very strict phrasing. For details, it might be good to visit Rengoku-san.. I shall ask the crow but the reply may take some time..." Shinobu replied while looking at her crow on the window.

The door then opened. "Kochou-san, are the guests leaving--? Ah..."

Tanjiro turned around to see who was it that came.

'What?! She looks just like Oyakata-sama!'

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you still have a patient. I'll come back later."

Tanjiro immediately stood up and shook his head. "No! No, miss! It's fine! I was just about to leave! You can come in-"

"Tanjiro-kun~" A melodious voice whispered on his ear, halting him from talking. He immediately got the chills.

"This is a bit sudden but the beautiful woman standing infront of you is Nao-sama. She's Oyakata-sama's younger sister."

Tanjiro gasped.

'So pretty! And they look alike but also different!'

"You're always welcome to stop by, Nao-sama." Shinobu said in a happy tone as if she didn't just whispered in an ominous tone to Tanjiro.

"The patients recovered faster thanks to your medicine! Thank you for your help!"

The paleskin beauty stepped inside.

"I'm glad that they got better."

"They'll be departing now. Would you like to see them off, Nao-sama?"

"!!" Tanjiro immediately felt embarrassed. This was Oyakata-sama's younger sister. Such a kind young woman made their medicine! He felt so grateful!

"I don't want to be a bother." Nao answered shortly.

"No! I'm afraid we'll be the one's bothering you! We already bothered you and Shinobu-san a lot so its fine!" Tanjiro said this because he was truly grateful and because he was afraid that Zenitsu would catch a glimpse of her...

It would be bad if he ended up scaring her....

Tanjiro could already imagine how disastrous that would be.

Nao looked away. "It's not a bother..."

"O-Oh..? R-Really? Thank you, Nao-sama!"

Nao blinked at him, a bit dazed at how vibrant he is and how easygoing he seemed.

That made Tanjiro notice her eyes, the delicate lavender color that contrasted beautifully against her pale skin and long black hair.

'Such a person really exists..?' Tanjiro couldn't help but think that he was staring at a life-sized doll. The plain blue kimono on her person didn't hinder her beauty. In fact, it made her features stand out even more!

Shinobu cleared her throat.

" Tanjiro-kun~" He immediately got the chills again.

"Is there something wrong? Why are you staring at Nao-sama? It's a bit rude you know?" Shinobu said bluntly.

"Are you perhaps blinded by her beauty? Ahaha! Nao-sama is really pretty, right?" Even though she's laughing, Tanjiro couldn't help but gulp nervously.

"Kochou-san." Nao was frowning.

"I'm so sorry! But it's true! Nao-sama is really pretty! Right, Tanjiro?"

"A-Ah.. yes. Yes! Yes!" Tanjiro nodded his head vigorously.

"Nao-sama is really pretty! Just like my sister, Nezuko!"

"Nezuko..? The d-demon girl..? Ah.." Nao immediately took a step backwards.

Seeing this, Tanjiro felt uneasy and came to his sister's defense. "But there's nothing to worry about! Nezuko won't hurt humans! She's a good girl!"

"....." The silent response he got made Tanjiro nervous.

"Right now, she's sleeping in her box."

"....."

'Ah...' Tanjiro immediately got the hint after seeing the uncomfortable look on her face.

♤♡◇♧

Nao flipped another page silently. The quiet atmosphere in the workroom was soon disrupted when the door opened.

"In the end, Nao-sama wasn't able to see them off." Shinobu curiosly peeked at the book she was reading.

"Common Poisons 101? Nao-sama, should I be scared for my position?" She said jokingly.

But Nao brushed her words aside. "I saw you mixing the potent ones. You're drinking them. This is your countermeasure in case you meet a strong demon and he decides to eat you. What kind of demon are they? You have one in mind, right? For you to go this far and turn your body like this.."

Shinobu smiled. "Nao-sama, this is great! You're talking more than usual! I'm glad for you!"

"I learned that there are twelve demon moons, composed of six upper moon and six lower moon. Is he an upper moon? Pillars like Giyuu-kun can handle a lower moon and you're creative so I don't think you would have a hard time either. But if it's an upper moon, you'll be defeated at your current level so you resorted to this. Are you planning to pass everything to your Tsuguko when you get eaten? Even that girl could only stall when faced against an upper demon." Nao said in a serious manner as she closed her book.

Shinobu clapped her hands together.

"Wow! Nao-sama is really talking a lot today! Is it perhaps because of Tanjiro? And you're calling Tomioka-san in such a familiar manner! Are you perhaps close?"

"You don't have to avoid my question. You can just tell a frail girl like me that it's none of my business."

"Oh my! Nao-sama actually has a temper?!"

Nao sighed. "A lower moon has only one eye with a number on it but upper moons have both of their eyes numbered."

Nao stroked the word 'poisons' with her fingers.

"I met three of them. One of them was very kind to me or atleast he guarded me and was nice to me because it was his job. I tricked him so I could escape so he's probably angry at me. I might have even condemned his life."

Shinobu listened attentively. This was crucial information against the demons and it was the first time that Nao-sama was opening up so she listened as she went on.

"His name is Akaza. He has short pink hair with numerous stripes on his body. He is Upper Moon Three."

Shinobu nearly gasped. Such a high ranking demon was tasked to be a guard dog for Nao-sama?

Nao continued. "Then there's this very unique demon with blonde hair." Shinobu stiffened but Nao didn't pay her any attention.

"Did you know that he asked me to be his follower? He's so disgusting that everytime I see his face, I feel like throwing up. He likes to eat girls, you know? I wonder if he was a playboy when he was human. But considering that he doesn't know how to feel, its impossible. He smiles fakely everytime I see him. It's a good thing he was immediately banned from seeing me. He is Upper Moon Two. His name is -- oh..Kochou-san?" Nao stopped talking as soon as she saw Shinobu's shaking figure.

"Ah.." Nao immediately understood.

"Is he the one you hate? He's the one who killed your sister?" Nao confirmed it as soon as she saw her fuming with anger.

"Nao-sama is really well-informed. I was told you were hardly told about the affairs concerning the Demon Slayer Corps yet you're so knowledgeable."

Nao met her gaze blankly. "This place has a lot of books and documents.. so it's only natural for me to learn a few things. "

Shinobu's face contorted into a bitter smile. She got used to her meek demeanor that she forgot that this woman is Oyakata-sama's younger sister.

'So foresight really runs in the family. It's not just Oyakata-sama.'

"But I'm not like my brother. I'm inferior compared to him." Nao clarified.

Shinobu doubted that. Nao was so healthy and knowledgeable about medicine and poison, that she was in no way inferior to her brother, Oyakata-sama.

And in such a short amount of time, she was able to gather information already?

"And that demon you seem to hate. His name is Douma. Even without his mouth talking, you'll have to prepare because his face is annoying enough already."

Shinobu tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Oh? Then I'll gladly take Nao-sama's advice."