"Um…" Sumi trembled, bringing a cup of hot tea to Sanemi Shinazugawa. Seeing his fierce gaze and sinister face, her beady eyes welled up with tears from fear.
"Please… please enjoy."
"Hm?" Sanemi took the cup, drank it in large gulps, and then his expression stiffened and he spat it out.
So hot!
"You… what are you trying to do!?" He slammed the teacup down, his voice rising. Sanemi looked at Sumi, and seeing the girl utterly terrified, he clicked his tongue in annoyance, no longer looking at her. He propped his chin up impatiently, looking at the butterflies outside the house.
He cursed under his breath, thinking, 'What a hassle.'
If it weren't for the Pillar Meeting that day, where his wounds became too large and affected his training, he definitely wouldn't have come to bother Shinobu.
"Mr. Shinazugawa, are you bullying someone from my Butterfly Mansion?" Shinobu appeared at some point, smiling as she looked at Sanemi Shinazugawa.
"Lady Shinobu…" Sumi quickly walked behind Shinobu, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Sumi, please go attend to other matters. I'll handle things here."
After the girl left, Shinobu sat opposite Sanemi.
"It's quite rare for Mr. Shinazugawa to come looking for me, isn't it~"
Sanemi Shinazugawa raised his injured left hand and placed it on the table, his tone awkward.
"Whatever method you use, as long as it works quickly, help me treat this."
Shinobu looked at the bandaged arm that was still bleeding, recalling Sanemi's actions that day. With a smiling face, she brought out her medical kit.
"Hehe~ Don't worry, it will… work quickly."
She took out the necessary tools from the medicine box, dipped a cotton ball in alcohol, and pressed it firmly onto Sanemi Shinazugawa's left hand.
"I'll disinfect it for you first. This might sting a bit~ Mr. Shinazugawa, please don't move."
Sanemi scoffed. A mere disinfection? How could he, the dignified Wind Pillar, be swayed by such minor pain?
The alcohol-soaked cotton ball, held by tweezers, was pressed onto the wound. A huge stinging sensation accompanied by intense pain.
Sanemi let out a muffled groan, caught off guard. His left hand reflexively tried to pull back, but Shinobu held it down.
"Oh my~ Does it hurt a lot? Shall I try a gentler method?"
Shinobu's tone was light, as if she were thinking of him, if only her tweezers would move away from the wound for a moment.
Veins bulged on his left hand from the pain, and cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Sanemi gritted his teeth, struggling to force out a "no need" through his clenched jaw. His bloodshot eyes, stimulated by this, seemed to become even more bloodshot.
After disinfecting, Shinobu withdrew the tweezers. Allowing Sanemi to act on his own accord that day was her small revenge. Finally, she treated his wound and bandaged it up.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving. Mr. Shinazugawa, please make yourself at home."
Shinobu stood up, nodded, and prepared to leave.
"Kochou!"
Sanemi suddenly called out to her. Shinobu frowned. Was there something else?
She turned slightly, showing no impatience at all.
"What is it?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa picked up his nichirin blade from the floor and walked over to Shinobu.
"Why are you helping those two demons?"
Why was he still dwelling on this issue? The Master had already agreed. Sanemi was truly difficult.
"Then why does Mr. Shinazugawa care so much?"
"No matter how good a person they were before, once they become a demon, they will only harm people."
Sanemi Shinazugawa said loudly, the scars on his face becoming even more ferocious with his agitation.
Trust demons?
That was simply a dream!
As if remembering something, Sanemi clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white.
His angry gaze fell on the hair ornament on Shinobu's head.
"Your sister died at the hands of a demon, how can you be so foolish as to…" believe demons!
"You don't need to tell me, I know perfectly well myself." Shinobu interrupted him.
The face that usually mimicked her sister's gentle smile suddenly turned cold, her dark purple eyes staring directly at Sanemi.
"I will not forget my sister's death, nor will I forget her last wish."
"I will not let any evil demon that commits wrongdoing go, but I will also not kill a demon that protects humans."
"You!..." Sanemi Shinazugawa's chest heaved violently.
He punched the wall forcefully, and the hard surface cracked in a spiderweb pattern.
"Mr. Shinazugawa, this is the Butterfly Mansion my sister left behind. Are you trying to destroy it?"
"Tsk!"
"Anyway, I absolutely refuse to accept it!"
Gritting his teeth, Sanemi Shinazugawa stormed out of the Butterfly Mansion, looking up at the dark night sky. The image of the woman who always wore a gentle smile, Kanae Kochou, appeared in his mind. He had originally intended to go find Yoizumi, but Sanemi's disruption plunged his already vexed mood to rock bottom. He looked up at the high-hanging moonlight.
A familiar figure appeared high up. The other person noticed him and waved.
He leaped onto the eaves with a tip of his toe, looking at Yoizumi, who had returned to his normal size. Indeed, the clothes fit him well.
Yoizumi wiped away dust with his hand, offering Shinobu a clean spot to sit.
"Yoizumi, why are you here?"
"It was too stuffy, so I came out for some air." His calm, well-like blue eyes looked at Shinobu. He felt that Shinobu was a little different.
Sitting beside Yoizumi with her knees hugged, she felt the cool breeze of the night. Her dark purple hair was blown by the wind, and her gloomy mood dissipated somewhat.
"You don't have to stay in your child form anymore, do you?" she said with a hint of regret, as she hadn't seen enough of it yet.
"Only for now. I'm not used to that appearance."
For a moment, the air was silent, with only the chirping of insects and birds. Neither of them spoke.
Yoizumi's gaze, which had lingered on Shinobu, did not withdraw. They looked at each other until Shinobu was the first to look away.
"You're angry," Yoizumi suddenly said.
Shinobu looked at Yoizumi in surprise, not understanding why he would say that.
"Because… this part of you is furrowed." His slender finger hovered over Shinobu's brow, not touching it.
"What happened?" He might have upset her that afternoon, but her mood then was definitely not this bad. Yoizumi could understand that much.
"Would you be willing to listen to me talk?" Shinobu lowered her eyelashes. It was that obvious, even Yoizumi had noticed.
"Yes."
Her expression was dim, and her voice carried sorrow.
"Ever since my beloved sister was brutally murdered by a demon, every time I see the tears of others whose loved ones have been killed by demons…"
"Every time I hear their desperate screams…"
"Anger constantly builds and swells within me."
"My sister was a very gentle person."
"She sympathized with demons, even mourning for them as she was dying."
"I can't think that way. Pity those who kill? There's nothing so foolish in the world."
"But that was my sister's idea, and I must inherit it."
…"To keep the smile my sister loved from disappearing, I must continue to smile."
"I'm a little tired. Demons always lie, they are despicable and selfish."
"…" Yoizumi didn't know what to say to comfort her. He had known from the beginning that there seemed to be something hidden behind Shinobu's smile, but was what she carried a little too heavy?
"What kind of expression is that?" Shinobu looked at Yoizumi, seeing his confused face, his usually indifferent expression troubled as he tried to think of comforting words.
"I didn't lie to you…" he squeezed out dryly.
"I know~"
If someone with Yoizumi's personality learned to lie, she would also be troubled.
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