Location: A Wealthy Household
In a luxurious study, a young boy named Toshikuni sits reading a book. A maid enters, concerned by his trembling. "Master Toshikuni? Are you unwell?"
The boy does not answer. He seems to be engulfed in something as he does not reply.
The book drops from his hands. "She... she did it," the boy whispers, his voice warping into a deep, demonic resonance.
Suddenly, his head swells grotesquely. The maid screams, but it is cut short as flesh expands, consuming her and the woman of the house instantly. He bursts out of his child disguise, regenerating into his true, adult form, shirtless and trembling with ecstasy.
"Well done, Akaza!" he roars, his face contorted in a terrifying smile. "A demon that conquers the sun has finally appeared!"
He stands amidst the gore of his former 'family,' laughing maniacally. "I no longer need to search for the Blue Spider Lily! For hundreds of years, I have searched for it to no avail... but now! I only need to consume that girl!"
His eyes glow a piercing plum red. "Once I absorb her flesh... I will truly become the perfect being!"
He issues a telepathic command to Nakime (now Upper Rank 4). "Find the Ubuyashiki Estate. Find the girl."
---
[The Butterfly Mansion - Recovery Ward] - Recovery Ward Time: 3 Weeks after the Black Pine Fortress Battle
The sunlight filtered through the curtains of the private ward. It was peaceful, quiet, and smelled of antiseptic and wisteria.
Then, a groan broke the silence. A groan so dramatic, so exaggerated it seemed almost deliberate, that it sounded less like a wounded.
Manjiro Asakura lay in bed, wrapped in so many bandages he looked like a budget mummy. His internal organs were slowly knitting themselves back together.
"Aoi-chan..." Manjiro rasped, reaching out with his one un-bandaged hand toward the ceiling, his fingers trembling theatrically. "I think... I see the light. It's beautiful. It looks like...my time has…"
Aoi Kanzaki, who was changing the water in a vase, didn't even look up. "You are not dying, Manjiro-sama. You ate three bowls of tempura uddon for breakfast. Please stop summoning the afterlife."
Manjiro let his hand drop with a dramatic thud. "Cruel. The staff here is cruel. I fought the Number One Demon. I lost bits of myself! I am a shell of a man! I require... sympathy. And perhaps some peeled apples."
From the hallway came squeals. Sumi, Naho, and Kiyo poked their heads in. Upon seeing his 'condition,' they immediately rushed over, crocodile tears in their eyes.
"Manjiro-sama is walking towards the light!" Kiyo wailed. "We'll peel the apples so please come back to us!" Sumi cried.
Manjiro winked at them with his good eye. "Ah… my three guardian angels. Did you know the God of Death loves apples?"
Aoi nearly dropped the vase. "Please stop corrupting the children!"
---
Just then, the door slid open.
Shinobu Kocho entered. She was smiling. In her hand, she held a syringe the size of a shinai.
"My, my," Shinobu said, her voice dripping with terrifying sweetness. "If you have enough energy to manipulate my apprentices, surely you have enough energy for your injection. It effects are... immediate."
Manjiro instantly sat up straight, ignoring the screaming protest of his body. "I'm healed. It's a miracle. Praise the sun. I was just joking, Shinobu-chan. Put that away."
"Sit down," Shinobu ordered, tapping the needle to check for air bubbles. "Or I will make it hurt. I am not a nice person. I am a doctor."
Manjiro immediately shut his mouth. He knew when he was outmatched.
---
Just as Shinobu prepped the needle, the sliding door was practically torn off its hinges.
"MANJIRO-KUNNNNN!"
Mitsuri Kanroji (Love Hashira) burst into the room. She was crying so hard her tears created a small sprinkler effect. She rushed to the bedside, shoving Shinobu slightly to the side (Shinobu's vein popped visibly), scooping him into a crushing hug that buried him entirely in… softness.
"GWAA—" Manjiro gargled, his soul briefly leaving his body. "I think... I'm suffering from suffocation... but I don't want to be saved."
"I heard the news! They said you fought an upper rank 1! I was so scared!"
Manjiro patted her head weakly, looking at Shinobu with a 'help me' expression. "Mitsuri-chan... you're... crushing... the patient..."
"I brought you everything!" Mitsuri sobbed, pulling items out of a bag that seemed physically impossible to hold that much. "I have Sakura Mochi! Ohagi! Honey Castella! And I knitted you a new sweater since its almost winter!"
Mitsuri shot up, gasping. "I'm so sorry! I just..." She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her cheek, blushing furiously. "When I heard you fought him alone... and nearly died... my heart stopped..."
A purple aura erupted behind them.
The room temperature dropped to absolute zero. "Ara ara," Shinobu smiled, "Kanroji-san. while I appreciate the snacks, this is a sterile environment. And the patient needs rest, not..."
She gestured vaguely at Mitsuri's everything.
"…that."
Mitsuri blinked, sensing the rivalry but interpreting it as concern. She puffed out her cheeks. "But love heals faster than medicine, Shinobu-chan! Everyone knows that!"
Manjiro grabbed a daifuku with his good hand and took a bite, watching the two dangerous women stare each other down.
---
Outside in the hallway, Tanjiro was pushing Zenitsu in a wheelchair (Zenitsu's legs were actually fine, he just refused to walk). Inosuke was crawling on the ceiling.
They heard the commotion. They peered into the room.
Zenitsu saw the scene: Manjiro lying in bed, being hand-fed mochi by the voluptuous Love Hashira, while the beautiful Insect Hashira adjusted his pillows, and three cute girls fanned him.
Zenitsu froze. His face went blank. Then, it turned purple. Then, red.
"GYAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Zenitsu launched himself out of the wheelchair, defying physics. He pointed a trembling finger at Manjiro.
"YOU! YOU TRAITOR! YOU SLOTH! YOU SCOUNDREL! YOU WOMANIZER!" Zenitsu shrieked, his voice cracking three octaves.
"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME, NOT HIM! IT'S NOT FAIR!"
"WHY?! Why does the universe reward YOU?! You're a lazy bum! You're mean! You call me an idiot! And yet... YOU HAVE A HAREM?! IS THIS THE ISEKAI PROTAGONIST PRIVILEGE?!"
Manjiro chewed his mochi slowly, ignoring Zenitsu as Mitsuri wiped a crumb from his lip. "Zenitsu… how nice. You came to visit your big brother… how touching."
"DON'T CHANGE THE TOPIC YOU BASTARD!" Zenitsu tried to draw his sword, but Tanjiro restrained him in a bear hug.
"Calm down, Zenitsu!" Tanjiro shouted, struggling. "Manjiro-san is seriously injured, he almost died!"
"I'D BREAK EVERY BONE IN MY BODY FOR A HUG FROM KANROJI-SAN!" Zenitsu roared, kicking the air. "TAKE MY LEGS! TAKE MY HAND! IT'S A FAIR TRADE!"
Manjiro smirked, leaning back into his pillows. "Sorry, Zenitsu. It seems I have the Rizz Breathing, You can't learn it. You're born with it."
Inosuke dropped from the ceiling, landing on Zenitsu's stomach. "Shut up, Monitsu! That guy is the strongest! He is the King of the Mountain!" Inosuke snatched a castella cake and ate it wrapper and all.
---
Later that afternoon, the chaos had subsided slightly. The door opened again. Sanemi Shinazugawa walks in.
Sanemi looked at Manjiro, scanned the bandages, and the pile of gifts. "Tch," Sanemi spat. "You look like trash."
Manjiro grinned. "Nice to see you too, Shin-azu chan. I see you brought me... absolutely nothing. How thoughtful."
Sanemi marched over and slammed a small jar of high-quality ointment on the nightstand. "It's for the scars. Don't think this makes us friends. Just... get well soon."
Manjiro shifted. "Speaking of doing well… how was working with Tengen?"
Sanemi's eye twitched violently. "Don't ask. That flamboyant bastard."
(Sanemi's Retelling)
"It was messy," Sanemi grumbled. "Tengen and I got poisoned. But we took those demons down. Upper Six is gone."
Manjiro nodded. "And Rengoku and Gyomei got Akaza. I got Kokushibo. That's three Upper Moons down in one night. Four if you count the pot-guy." He whistled. "Muzan must be balding from stress right now."
---
Night fell. The visitors left. The ward was silent, lit only by the moonlight filtering through the window.
Manjiro couldn't sleep. Since he rarely slept at night
The door slid open quietly. Shinobu stepped in. She wasn't wearing her medical coat, just her casual haori. She sat in the chair beside his bed without a word.
"Can't sleep?" Manjiro whispered, not looking at her.
"I have to watch your condition," she lied smoothly. "Your heart rate spiked earlier. I wonder why."
Manjiro chuckled. "Jealous?"
"Hardly," Shinobu scoffed, but she reached out and adjusted his blanket. Her hand lingered near his arm.
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Manjiro," she said softly. "Remember the promise you made four years ago? The night of my sister's funeral?"
Manjiro turned his head. He saw the crack in her perfect mask. Her eyes were tired, haunted by the memory of Kanae.
"I remember..." Manjiro said, his voice losing the playful lilt, becoming soft and serious, "I don't break promises. I told you I'd kill the King of Demons. I told you I wouldn't let you bear the burden of revenge alone."
He shifted his hand, the bandaged one toward her. "Having a few broken bones is a cheap price for the future, Shinobu."
Shinobu looked at his bandaged hand. Slowly, tentatively, she placed her own hand over his. Her skin was cool against his feverish warmth.
"You are an idiot," she whispered, leaning her head down to rest her forehead on the edge of his mattress, her hand gripping his tightly. "A reckless, impossible, suicidal, annoying idiot. You nearly died."
Manjiro smiled, a genuine, soft expression that he rarely showed. He squeezed her hand back. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
Outside the door, Mitsuri, who had come back to check on him, peeked through the crack. She saw them holding hands. Instead of bursting in, she smiled, a soft, sad, yet happy smile. She left a small bag of cherry mochi by the door and walked away quietly.
"Get well soon, Manjiro-kun," she whispered to the empty hallway. "The Love Hashira isn't defeated that easily!"