For that is the last time you see Kocho Kanae alive.

»»————　♔　————-««

"Thank you for your help, (Y/N)-sensei!"

The Mizunoto-ranked slayer bows deeply towards you. You wave him off.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just make sure to take care of the wound and to not overwork yourself."

The Kakushis carry him off. You wipe your medical shears and scalpel off on your sleeve and turn to examine the clearing. Everybody has been treated and you are about to start home when you hear the cooing of your dove overhead.

What now?

"Northeast! Northeast! The Flower Pillar, Kocho Kanae, has been fatally injured! You must head northeast immediately!

"Kocho Kanae has been fatally injured!"
   
Your blood chills to ice in your veins.
In the blink of an eye, you are dashing down the mountain, leaving everything behind in the dust except your medical kit.

It can't be. Kanae-san can't be fatally injured. She's the Flower Pillar, she's strong. There's no way she'd let herself get killed.

"Where is Shinobu?" you ask your dove flying overhead.

"Kocho Shinobu is also on her way there!"

Please, just hold on a bit longer, Kanae-san. I'll be there soon.
   
The ground evens out beneath your feet. After a few minutes, the lights of a town and the rising sun begin to appear on the horizon. You ignore the stares and whispers that follow you until you hear some coughing coming from a dark alleyway and a frantic yet familiar voice.

"Nee-san! Nee-san! Don't die yet, (Y/N) will be here soon! Just hold on a bit longer!"

Shinobu!
   
"Kanae-san!"

She's in horrible shape. She coughs, blood dribbling out the corner of her mouth and staining the collar of her uniform. Her white and pink sword lies snapped in half beside her in the pool of her blood that you try to ignore as it grows bigger and bigger, staining the soles of your shoes as you hurry forwards to turn back the hands of time.

"I'm here, Kanae-san! Don't die on me just yet!"

You take a moment to examine the wound.

It's too deep.

She's coughing up blood, an indicator that one of her lungs has been punctured. From the way she is wheezing and the amount of blood that is dribbling down her chin, it looks as if both have been punctured and have collapsed. Her chest has also been slashed multiple times, with clean cuts through her collarbone and ribs. The edges of the broken bones poke through the skin and you try to ignore the sharp white shards piercing through at odd angles.

If you didn't operate on her now, she could suffer cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, shock, and then death.

"Kanae-san, I'm going to put you to sleep temporarily. I need to remove the excess air between your-"

As you pull your anesthesia-filled syringe out, she stops you. Her hand, which was once so warm, comes to rest atop yours and she squeezes it gently.

She's ice-cold...

"Don't... waste your valuable medicine on me," she coughs out. You hear a gurgling sound as more blood dribbles down her chin. Her other hand comes to rest on Shinobu's cheek, caressing it fondly.

Sorry, Kanae-san, but that's a wish I can't fulfill. My duty as a doctor is to save those who are suffering and on the brink of death.
   
The anesthesia you use was one created specifically for emergency surgeries. Once injected, it would take about a minute to render the patient asleep. You grasp her hand and after feeling for her vein, quickly inject it in. She flinches slightly at the pain.

"Shinobu, leave the Demon Hunters. I know you're working hard, and you really are. But maybe..."

She closes her eyes and you wonder if the anesthesia is already working. You pull out your scalpel just in case, but a few seconds later, she blinks them open and shudders.

"You too, (Y/N)-chan. Leave the Demon Hunters too. I just want both of you to attain happiness and love as any normal girl should and live until you turn old. That's... enough... for me. You've gone through too much and I just... want you to live your life without any more regrets..."

"No!" screams Shinobu. "I won't ever quit, I'll avenge you for sure! Tell me, tell me, who was the demon who beat you just now?!

"Please, nee-san!" she begs as you attempt to operate on her before it is too late. "I can't live a normal life after someone did this to you!"

But it is too late. Her eyes slowly flutter shut and that is the last time you see Kocho Kanae alive.

"Nee-san! Nee-san!"

"Kanae-san!"

»»————　♔　————-««

The air is somber as you stare at the tombstone in front of you. Shinobu and the other Butterfly Estate girls are clinging to your arms, sobbing. You clutch the bouquet of flowers to your chest before placing it by the tombstone.

"Nee-san..." sobs Shinobu as she holds you tightly, nails digging into your arm.

You squeeze her tightly in return and stare down at the earth, tears threatening to fall from your eyes.

They burn and sting, but you do not allow them to fall, even if it hurts you.

Kanao is sweating bullets behind you. You gently grasp her hand and pull her close towards you, patting her back. She is trembling violently and her grip on your hand is like a vice.

There is a moment of understanding that flashes between you two as to why you are not crying when you make eye contact. But it only lasts for a brief second before you look down, ashamed at yourself.

You cannot stand the atmosphere of the graveyard. It is too familiar, too suffocating as if you are the one being buried.

You need to get out, now.

"... I'll be taking my leave now, Shinobu," you whisper as you detach yourself from Kanao and step back. There is no response from her, only more sniffles and choked-out sobs. You give everybody one last group hug before turning to leave.

As you walk to the entrance of the graveyard, you notice a familiar head of fiery hair standing there. Upon hearing your footsteps, he perks up.

Kyojuro's face is unusually somber. He is not wearing his usual smile and his normally bright eyes are dull. A bouquet of lilies and chrysanthemums is in his hand.

Your nose twitches at the strong scent of the traditional funeral flowers. They were pretty by all means- canary yellow and snow-white, to be exact- but they evoked such strong memories of pain in you and all you wanted to do was sneeze and bury those memories back where they belonged.

"I heard what happened to Kanae-sama," he began. "I'm sorry for your loss."

You nod duly, but it's more out of obligation than anything else.

"Thank you."

"Do you mind if I go pay my respects?

You soundlessly step out of the way and watch as he lays the flowers down and does the customary bows. Shinobu and the other girls hardly spare him another glance. It seems as if he too cannot stand the atmosphere of the graveyard and as soon as he is done, he is immediately making his way back to you.

The walk back to your estate is silent. His hand subtly brushes against yours the entire time, as if he is asking for permission to hold it. In response, you wordlessly grab his hand and squeeze it tightly.

His hand is warm and calloused. He runs his thumb over your smooth skin and for the first time, realizes how delicate you are. Your fingers are long and thin, free from the callouses that come with swinging a sword; however, Kyojuro can feel prominent calluses on the insides of your index fingers and the pads of your thumbs from hours of gun practice and he absentmindedly nudges them, wondering about the history behind them. He can easily feel the bones beneath the thin skin on the back of your hand and he is careful to not apply too much force.

This is who he strives to protect, he realizes.

All too soon, you arrive at the front gates of your estate. You don't want to leave and neither does he.

"Come inside," you say suddenly. "I still have to tell you the story of how I managed to become the official doctor."

"But I-"

"This is my way of coping, Kyojuro. I know Kanae-san wouldn't want me to cry over her death. Instead, she'd want me to tell stories and laugh. Besides, she and Shinobu-chan also played a big part in my first few months here."

He cannot refuse your insistence. At that, you lead him to the patio outside where you get Taro to make some tea for you two. The gazebo overhead prevents the scorching sun from reaching you two and Kyojuro cannot help but glance curiously around at your villa.

It isn't the first time he's been here, but that was late at night and he couldn't make out all the details. He admires the lush greenery growing in and even around your villa, with flowering plants and vines climbing up the trellis of your garden and the posts of the gazebo. Honeyed flowers in an array of colors are aplenty throughout the courtyard. Kyojuro notices that there are even pots of them stacked along the wall and the exterior of windows and balconies, casting their floral and herbaceous scents around the estate. Their scents range from sugary-sweet to spicy like cinnamon; from a perfume-like musk to a cleanliness that is reminiscent of the first day of spring after an April shower. Even more flowering vines and plants are growing from the gutters of the rooftops, swaying gently in the breeze and casting speckled rays of sunlight onto the red brick patio. An outdoor pool and bath are located off to the side. The cold blue water sloshes back and forth against the edges of the pool and Kyojuro cannot help but want to take a swim.

If he didn't know any better, Kyojuro would have thought he was in the middle of Spain, not at an estate belonging to a doctor in Japan.

"As you know, I joined the corps around the same time as you, give or take a few months," you began, sipping your milk tea. He takes a hesitant sip of it, as he's never had black tea before, much less with milk, only to discover that it's quite delicious.

"I briefly mentioned the exam I had to take the first time we talked. I told you I passed with full marks, but unless it weren't for Sanemi's intervention, I wouldn't even be here right now."

That got his attention.

"How? What happened?"

You stared at your exam results with confused shock.
   
Over half of your answers had been scored as incorrect.

But that couldn't be. You still remembered some of the questions and the blatantly obvious answers, yet they were marked as incorrect.

You gritted your teeth and glared at the proctor. Therefore, there was only one explanation for how this could've happened.

"Excuse me, but I request that my results be re-examined."

All eyes were on you as you stood up. You glared at the proctor with a newfound fire in your eyes. He hardly spares another glance at you and yawns.

"Those are the final results. Take it or leave it."

You were taken aback at his rudeness. You raise an eyebrow in barely-concealed bitter anger.

"Oh really? Because some of these so-called 'correct' answers aren't correct, as far as I remember. For example, question 35. Which of the following signs and symptoms usually signifies rapid expansion and an impending rupture of an abdominal aortic system? I answered D, lower back pain- which was the correct answer since the impending rupture puts pressure onto the lower back- but for some reason, you marked it as incorrect. Why is that?"

As you spoke, you noticed the proctor gradually beginning to lose confidence.

"Could it be that you purposefully tampered with my answers to prevent me from getting into the corps?"

"N-No! That's not it!"

You tilted your head to the side and stared him down, upper lip curling up slightly. So engrossed in conversation were you that you failed to notice the Wind Pillar entering the room behind you, who was curious as to what was going on.

"Oh? Then what is it?"

An idea hit you. You hit the palm of your hand with your fist in realization.

"I know! Why don't you show me the answer key then?"

The proctor looked at you as if you'd grown another head.

"Are you insane? No! Why would I?"

"But you change the test questions every year to preserve academic integrity and to prevent cheating, right?"

"W-well, of course..."

"If that's the case, then there shouldn't be the problem! I already know my wrong answers, so it should be a learning experience!

"Unless you really did tamper with my results. I wonder what would happen if that came to light?"

"Long story short, Sanemi stepped in and threatened the proctor to re-examine my results or else. It turns out I had gotten a perfect score on that section.

"And that is why I am very close with him, like a little sister. I owe my entire position to him."

"I see..." said Kyojuro. "So they tampered with your results based solely on your gender?"

"That's right. Naturally, they were fired after that incident came to light."

"Serves them right!" he declared. "Antiquated thinking such as that has no place in a modern society like ours!

"But earlier, you mentioned that the Kocho siblings played a role in this. What did they do?"

A wistful smile appears on your face. It is both a painful and tender moment to look back on in the wake of her death and you only wish you could turn back the hands of time to save her from her inevitable fate.

"After I had been appointed as the head doctor, I could still tell that some people, including the Pillars, were doubtful of my skills. It is understandable, as women in the medical field are still a new concept and I am the first female doctor to serve the corps. But Kanae-san saw me not for my gender, but my sheer skill. She helped to build my reputation as a trustable doctor who cared deeply for her patients and excelled at what she did. Gradually, the corps's perception of me changed until I was regarded as a highly respected individual, which persists to this day.

"At that time, I had just started my career as a doctor and wasn't making that much, so I needed a place to stay. The Kocho sisters let me stay at their estate free of charge until I had saved up enough money to buy this estate. I am forever in their debt."

You clench your hands and make a fist.

"I like to think that I'm a capable doctor who can pull people back from the brink of death, but occasionally, I am reminded that I am human and that I make mistakes that can cost someone's life. At times like that, I question Kanae-san's words about my proficiency. I couldn't even save the ones I care about the most; how am I any good then?"

"Kanae-sama is correct," he whispered, reaching across the table and taking your hand in his. He rubs circles into the back of your hand with his thumb. The small motion calms your internal anger and distress and you visibly settle down.

"You are immensely talented, not just for your age, but for a doctor alone. You have saved far more lives than you have lost and you are every bit deserving of your position and title. I'm sure Kanae-sama is very proud of you from up there.

"You've done well, (Y/N)."

Something wet is slipping down your cheeks. You suddenly realize you are crying, but when did that happen?

Kyojuro watches as big, fat tears fall from your eyes in steady waves. The look on your face is one of agony and confusion and his heart aches at the sight of it. His natural instinct as a big brother is to protect the weak and to comfort those who are suffering and you are no exception. 

Gently tugging your hand, he stands up and pulls you into a warm embrace. The move takes you by surprise and you instinctively flinch, but soon lean into his touch, eyes fluttering shut in bliss.

He's warm and strong, but surprisingly gentle with you. His arm wraps around your waist, hesitantly tugging you close as if he is asking for permission. In response, you grip the collar of his shirt tightly and bury your face into his chest, feeling the rise and fall of it.

You can't stop your tears from falling. When was the last time you heard that? Years ago, when you were just a toddler?

You choke back another sob and try to halt your tears. His hand leaves yours and soon it finds its way to the back of your head. Kyojuro pats you reassuringly, running his fingers through the soft strands of your hair and pulling you even closer. You sniffle and snuggle closer to him, squeezing your eyes shut.

"You've done well, (Y/N). You've done well."

»»————　♔　————-««

The reflection of yourself, red eyes, puffy nose, and all, stares back at you as you soak your feet in your pool. It seems to mock you for your appearance and you glare at it. It glares at you back. You roll your eyes and lean back, splashing your feet up and down. The water is nice and cold, perfect for a hot day like today.

You're almost about to drift off when you hear a Kakushi respectfully clearing their throat.

"Um, (Y/N)-sama, Kocho-san is here to see you..."

Shinobu?

You dry your feet off and walk back over to the patio, where Shinobu is sitting stiffly. You notice Kanae's haori draped over her shoulders like a bloodied butterfly. Her hands are clenched into angry fists by her sides and her eyes are closed.

"Shinobu-chan...?"

You gently take a seat next to her, not wanting to provoke her. You hardly even settle down before she throws herself into your arms, head buried into your chest.

"Why did nee-san, out of all people, have to die...?"

She sniffs, wiping her nose.

"Why?" she shouts at the top of her lungs, taking you by surprise. "Why did she have to die? Why not that filthy demon who killed her?"

She stops to catch her breath. Still clinging to you, she takes a deep breath before letting out a shrill, high-pitched scream.

It echoes through your estate, rattling your eardrums and going to the moon and back. It is a scream of anguish and anger that comes from the depths of her soul and sends shivers down your spine. It's haunting and chilling and at that moment, you know it will be something you will remember for the rest of your life.

You pull out a handkerchief and gently wipe at her eyes when she is done. She hiccups and coughs, sniffling and you dab the outer corners of her eyes, wiping away her tears.

"Nee-san didn't deserve to die," she choked out. You pat the top of her head soothingly and she buries her face into your shoulder.

"Hey, (Y/N)-chan?"

"What is it?" you ask as she lifts her head from its resting spot on your shoulder. Her tears have left behind a wet spot on your haori, but that is of the least importance right now.

"Promise me that we'll stick together from now on?"

She holds her pinky out. Without any hesitation, you link yours with hers securely.

"Butterfly sisters forever?"

She nods and the faintest hint of a smile tugs at the corners of her lips.

It resembles Kanae's smile, in a way.

"Butterfly sisters forever."