"Eh!?"
A short, sharp shriek squeezed out of Kazama Aoi's throat. She was completely petrified.
Her mind went utterly blank, leaving Zenitsu's earth-shattering "Please marry me!" to loop infinitely in her ears.
Who am I? Where am I? What did I just do?
I just gave him a piece of candy, didn't I? How did this escalate to marriage?! Is the logic of this world a little too jumpy?!
"Ehhhhhh?!"
Beside them, Tanjiro was also completely floored. He scrambled forward, grabbing Zenitsu by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "Zenitsu! Calm down! What are you saying?!"
"I am very calm, Tanjiro!" Zenitsu shoved him aside, his eyes shining with an unprecedented, resolute light. He turned back to Aoi, pressed his hands together, and bowed deeply. "Beautiful and gentle lady! I, Zenitsu Agatsuma, swear here and now that I am willing to spend my entire life protecting you! Please... you must marry me!"
To the side, Inosuke tilted his head, looking perplexed. "Marriage? What's that? Can you eat it?"
"You guys..." Tanjiro felt a massive headache coming on. It felt like not a single one of his fellow recruits was normal.
Aoi felt her cheeks heating up at a visible rate. She wanted nothing more than to find a hole and crawl into it.
Facing Shinobu Kocho's testing, she could at least rely on psychological games to maneuver. But facing this kind of illogical "sweet critical hit," she was utterly helpless.
"Th-that... Zenitsu-san..." she stammered, trying to salvage the situation. "You... you might have misunderstood something... I... I only..."
"There is no misunderstanding!" Zenitsu snapped his head up, cutting her off. "This is a fated encounter! Guidance from the Gods! In my moment of greatest pain and helplessness, you descended like an angel to save me!"
I just gave you a piece of candy, for heaven's sake! Aoi roared inwardly.
"Hehehe... what a touching scene."
Aoi turned her head stiffly. Shinobu Kocho had approached them at some point, that impeccable, sweet smile still plastered on her face.
Shinobu's gaze drifted slowly over the tearful, love-struck Zenitsu before landing precisely on Aoi, who looked like she was on the verge of crying herself.
"If it's alright, may I draw that blood sample now?"
"Y-yes! Of course! Absolutely!" Aoi nodded like a woodpecker. She rolled up her sleeve without a second thought, baring her pale, slender arm. "Kocho-san, please! Go right ahead! I'm ready!"
Tanjiro watched her "prepared for martyrdom" expression, his lip twitching slightly.
Kazama-san... seems really afraid of Zenitsu.
"Eh?!" Zenitsu let out a heart-shattered sound. He looked at Aoi's voluntarily extended arm, then at the glinting needle in Shinobu's hand. In an instant, his brain conjured a dozen horrific scenarios.
"Noooooooo—!" He let out an earth-shattering wail and lunged in front of Aoi. Spreading his arms like a mother hen protecting a chick, he blocked her. "What do you think you're doing to my fiancée?!"
"Fiancée?!" Aoi and Tanjiro shouted in unison.
"Don't talk nonsense! I never agreed to that!" Aoi shook her head frantically.
"Eh?" Zenitsu looked as if those words had pierced him through the heart. He turned back in disbelief, tears falling like strings of broken pearls. "You... you actually rejected me? After such a sincere confession..."
"Because we've known each other for less than ten minutes!" Aoi felt her sanity burning away.
Avoiding his gaze, Aoi looked up and met Shinobu's beautiful purple eyes directly. "Kocho-san, I am so sorry for wasting your time. I am ready now. Please, start as quickly as possible."
"All done."
In just a few short seconds, Shinobu withdrew the needle and precisely pressed a clean cotton ball against the puncture site.
Aoi wanted to leave this den of chaos immediately—right now, this instant. She turned and practically bolted.
"Aoi-san—!" Zenitsu screamed piteously behind her, struggling to chase after her while Tanjiro held him back with all his might.
Aoi didn't slow down for a second; if anything, she ran faster.
"Hah... hah..."
The fresh air, carrying the scent of grass and trees, surged into her lungs, slightly calming her frantic heartbeat.
No one should... be able to catch up here, right?
She breathed a sigh of relief and slowly slid down a tree trunk to sit, burying her face in her knees.
So embarrassing. This is so incredibly embarrassing.
[Ding! Mission Issued: Please complete "Skinship" with any one of the Hashira within three days.][Success Reward: Unlock Wood Breathing, Second Form: Verdant Leaf Whirl.](Description: A spinning slash accompanied by a trail of leaves. The blade creates a circular airflow that can deal with multi-directional attacks simultaneously, breaking through encirclements. Low stamina cost and high flexibility.)[Failure Penalty: Freeze Breathing Styles.]
"...Huh?"
She wondered if she was hallucinating from the sheer terror Zenitsu had put her through.
"Skinship... with a Hashira?" Aoi's lip twitched uncontrollably.
She had just escaped one disaster; how did she fall into an even bigger pit immediately?
"You're noisy..."
A cool, detached voice came from above. Aoi snapped her head up. It was the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.
He had appeared before her at some point, his mint-green eyes gazing at her quietly, devoid of any emotion.
"To-Tokito-san..." Aoi scrambled up from the ground and bowed respectfully. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."
He didn't acknowledge her. He simply went back to silently watching the clouds drifting above. Aoi stood frozen in place, caught between staying and leaving.
She cautiously tilted her head back, following his gaze toward the sky. The sky was a vibrant blue, with a few white clouds floating lazily by. There was nothing special about them.
Just as she thought this eerie silence would last forever, Muichiro suddenly moved. He leaped lightly down from the branch, landing before her as silently as a falling feather.
That innate sense of detachment made Aoi instinctively take a step back, her back hitting the tree trunk. There was nowhere left to retreat.
"You..." Muichiro finally spoke, his voice as cool as ever. "You smell like sunlight."
Eh?
Aoi froze. The smell of sunlight? She looked down and sniffed her clothes; there was only the faint scent of soap and the sweat from her recent run.
Before she could grasp the meaning of his words, Muichiro reached out his hand, appearing as though he wanted to touch her hair.
Aoi's pupils contracted, and her mind went completely blank.
What... what is he doing?!