"This space is bigger than I thought," was Shinichi's first impression as he stepped into the laboratory.
He was right.
Despite being piled high with sophisticated instruments, glassware, and research materials, the large underground room didn't feel crowded.
Several huge bookshelves overflowed with medical texts and handwritten notes.
On a long table in the center, an alcohol lamp burned with a quiet flame, heating test tubes filled with bubbling, multicolored liquids.
Lady Tamayo stood before a microscope, her entire focus on the sample on a glass slide.
She was so absorbed she didn't even notice Shinichi's arrival.
The first to spot him was Shinobu, who was hovering lightly in the air near the ceiling.
The moment she saw him, a bright light flashed in her violet eyes.
"Shinichi! What are you doing here?" she chirped, landing as lightly as a butterfly beside him.
"I came to see how you were all doing," he said, "and to ask about the research. Any breakthroughs?"
As she descended, Shinichi instinctively started to reach out to steady her, then quickly retracted his hand, realizing it might seem like he was treating her like a child.
Shinobu keenly noticed the small, aborted movement.
Her brow twitched for a fraction of a second, but her smiling expression didn't change.
"Ah, Shinichi-san. My apologies, I was so engrossed I didn't hear you come in," Lady Tamayo said, finally looking up from her microscope, pulled back to reality by their conversation.
"Not at all, Lady Tamayo. I should be the one apologizing for interrupting your important work."
"Nonsense, we should be thanking you. The imported equipment that Chinatsu-san provided has been an immense help, and Kocho-san expertise in toxicology is frankly astounding…"
"Oh no, you're too kind…"
"Ahem!" Shinobu, who was standing nearby, coughed pointedly, interrupting their polite, endless cycle of humility.
"Get to the point!"
A flash of embarrassment crossed Shinichi's face, and a sweet, amused smile touched Lady Tamayo's lips.
Recognizing that their time was indeed precious, she quickly updated Shinichi on their research.
Most of the professional terms and chemical formulas went straight over his head.
Fortunately, Shinobu stepped in, translating the complex science into simpler terms.
"So, you're saying it's actually possible? You can create a cure?" Shinichi asked, his voice filled with awe.
Lady Tamayo gave him a firm, positive nod, her expression one of profound relief.
"Yes. Thanks to Kocho-san help, and by analyzing Nezuko's blood, we have isolated the critical factors—the key to a demon overcoming the sun, and the key to shedding their demonic form. Of course," she added, her tone hardening, "a cure alone won't be enough to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji. For him, Kocho-san and I are developing something else entirely. A specialized, multi-stage poison."
Hearing this, even though he was prepared for it, Shinichi was still stunned.
A surge of excitement and pride washed over him.
He glanced at Shinobu, who was now standing with her arms crossed in the same posture as him, and the affection in his eyes was palpable.
She was still the brilliant mind he'd always admired, now armed with an entirely new perspective.
Soon after, Tamayo excused herself and returned to her microscope, murmuring about a critical phase of cell evolution.
With her occupied, Shinobu became Shinichi's sole guide.
She had her white lab coat sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing the strange, dark purple lines on her forearms.
Snap!
She suddenly grabbed Shinichi's wrist.
"Great, you're just in time," she mumbled with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "experiment… guinea pig…" and other words that didn't quite register with Shinichi.
He understood soon enough.
Pulling him over to a workbench, Shinobu picked up a dropper with giddy interest.
She carefully squeezed a single drop of glowing blue liquid into a beaker of viscous purple fluid.
"Ding~" she even provided her own sound effect.
The next second—
FWOOSH—GULULULU!!!
The mixture in the beaker began to churn violently, and then exploded in a huge, colorful cloud of smoke!
With lightning-fast reflexes, Shinobu tossed the still-fizzing beaker directly at Shinichi, completely enveloping him in the plume!
The smoke smelled like… rotten eggs mixed with expired strawberries.
"Cough! Cough, cough!"
Choking, Shinichi stumbled out of the cloud, waving his arms, his face and hair dusted with a fine powder.
"Shinobu, what was that?! Are you just using me as a test subject for fun?" he asked, completely exasperated.
Shinobu tilted her head, looking at him with clinical curiosity.
"Shinichi, are you sure you don't feel anything… special?"
"Does being extremely annoyed count?" he grumbled, trying to brush the dust out of his hair.
"Ah, a failure then," Shinobu sighed, sticking out her tongue, not the least bit discouraged.
She picked up a notebook and began scribbling furiously.
"Hmm… blue fern extract had no pain-inducing effect. Perhaps I'll try dragonfly toxin next time."
Shinichi just stared at her.
"...Are you actually trying to hurt me?"
He looked at her regretful expression, clearly disappointed that she couldn't see him in "excruciating pain," and felt a wave of dizziness.
Okay, please give me back the elegant, gentle, smiling Shinobu I used to know.
No one mentioned a complete personality rewrite was part of the demon transformation.
"It's okay, Shinichi! If that one doesn't work, I have other fun potions! Come on!"
Before he could protest, she grabbed his wrist again and dragged him to another table.
"I don't—"
The words died in his throat.
Her demonic strength was astonishing.
He could only follow passively, feeling the cool touch of her fingertips and her boundless energy.
A feeling of amused helplessness washed over him.
"Slow down, Shinobu, I'm not going to run away."
He would soon regret those words.
Shinobu treated him like a living test dummy, trying out anesthetics, paralytics, and even a temporary blinding agent, dosing him as if he had the regenerative abilities of a full-fledged demon.
Across the lab, Tamayo watched their antics, a barely perceptible smile on her lips.
She spoke softly to the dazed Shinichi.
"Kocho-san ideas are certainly… active. While her methods are unique, they have provided several new research avenues. Using potions to aid the slayers in battle, for example. Her intuitive understanding of toxins far exceeds my own expectations."
Just then, Shinobu seemed to have a flash of inspiration.
She yanked an empty test tube from the mouth of a nearly comatose Shinichi and flew to another corner of the lab.
"Shinichi! Try this one!" She returned holding a small glass bottle.
Inside, a liquid sparkled with fine silver light, like a swirling galaxy.
"What is that?" Shinichi asked warily, a few bubbles still popping from his lips.
"Don't worry, it's the good stuff!" she assured him, her eyes shining.
"In theory, this potion should rapidly accelerate healing, replenish stamina, and maybe even cure fatigue! Here, try it!" She uncapped the bottle, ready to pour it down his throat.
Shinichi yelped and scrambled backward, holding up his hands.
"Wait, wait, Shinobu! That's okay! I have the Forest Breathing, I don't need it! Save it for someone who really needs it, like Sanemi! He's perfect! He gets covered in wounds every time he fights!"
What followed was a chaotic chase around the laboratory, with Shinichi dodging and weaving while Shinobu relentlessly pursued him with her miracle cure.
Tamayo just shook her head, a gentle fondness in her eyes.
...
Outside, Yushiro was pressed against the door while eavesdropping.
His teeth were grinding so hard his jaw ached, a vein pulsing on his forehead.
"Those two idiots! How dare they disturb Lady Tamayo! Bastards, bastards, bastards!"
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