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Kanae watched the show before her, an incredible feeling of deja vu grabbing her.
There was only blood ...
She had arrived too late to save this couple from the deadly desires of demons and, in itself, it was a usual scene in the daily life of a slayer, she herself remembered very well that night when her own parents were massacred , the terror she had felt as she tried in vain to hide her little sister from the sight of the monster.
And this memory seemed to have materialized again in front of her: a destroyed front door, the bloody corpses of the parents, a demon becoming ashes after being beheaded and then, two frightened little girls in the arms of one other, the oldest seeking to protect the youngest.
Dark blue eyes filled with tears stared at her with dread. The Flower Pillar could not blame her, they had just escaped certain death after all, it was only natural that they should be terrified of any stranger in front of them.
However, what struck the young woman was the mark in the shape of flower petals drawn along the left temple of the girl with dark blue eyes and pigtails, just like the one Kanae had. The second also had a mark that looked like a blurry butterfly below the right ear. The Pillar knew on whom she had already seen a similar mark: her little sister Shinobu.
And these two children were now orphans ...
Kanae did the only logical thing that came to mind: she offered to come with her.
***
The eldest was named Aoi and the youngest Makomo, eleven and nine years old respectively. The two had a little trouble adjusting to their new environment, which was the Butterfly Estate… It was normal, a very cruel reality had just fallen on them. It would have been stranger if they had accepted this new life without blinking.
Seeing their interactions together, Giyuu, then visiting the Estate, asked her, the most seriously in the world, if they were not their doubles. Shinobu had burst out laughing after that but, thinking about it a little, Kanae felt that he was not wrong.
Aoi had a rather angry personality, not hesitating to say what she thought and very protective of her little sister. Conversely, Makomo was fairly quiet, always patiently listening to her sister's rantings with an amused look.
It was clearly the attitudes Kanae and Shinobu had between them ... This realization left her perplexed for several days.
***
Following the fiasco that had been this fight against the Upper Moon, the girls had expressed their wish to join the slayers. It has been two years since the Butterfly Estate became their new home.
Kanae was hesitant to teach them how to handle a katana but Shinobu seemed very interested and even Giyuu had started teaching, with the help of his former teacher, to his adoptive sister, now twelve, at her request.
The Flower Pillar quickly gave way.
***
The marks of slayers normally appear after a long and rigorous training, as well as multiple missions. It therefore took several years before the mark arrived and the symbol appearing had always to do with the Breath technique used.
However, as Giyuu pointed out several years ago at a Pillars meeting, children may now be born with the brand. The child he had taken in being the perfect example of this possibility.
Kanae didn't have to torture her mind for long to find out which Breaths were most suitable for Aoi and Makomo.