Giving the Haori, Going on a Mission

"Shinobu!?" Hiruma's voice stretched out, his face beaming with uncontrollable joy, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his chest.

His eyes flickered with confusion, as the scene unfolding before him felt too dreamlike.

"What's wrong?" Shinobu Kocho asked, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she propped her chin on her hands. Her purple eyes blinked playfully as she said, "Surprise, surprise!"

"Hee hee hee!"

Hiruma nodded. This was something he never could have imagined, even in his wildest dreams. Calming himself down, he pointed at himself with a smile and reminded her, "But, could you get off me first?"

"Of course! I quite like how we're interacting right now, hehe!"

"Eh?" Shinobu tilted her head curiously. She quickly realized that she had been leaning into Hiruma's embrace in a rather intimate way.

"Aaaah!"

Shinobu shrieked and scrambled up, as if she had been burned. She hastily got off Hiruma.

She lowered her head, not daring to meet Hiruma's eyes, her face burning red, from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.

Shinobu knew Hiruma had always known; he had deliberately not said anything. What a pervert.

The more Shinobu thought about it, the angrier she became. She immediately kicked Hiruma and pouted, scolding him, "You pervert!"

Hiruma innocently fiddled with his hands, blinking his eyes in bewilderment.

What just happened?

Shinobu glared at him and said, "Wait for me!"

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Hiruma nodded fervently, like a pecking chick. He then sat up straight, looking exactly like the most obedient child in kindergarten.

Shinobu skillfully climbed down the ladder. A moment later, she climbed back up, holding a golden haori.

"Here!" Shinobu pouted, looking like a little hamster hoarding nuts, clearly still upset about what had just happened.

Hiruma took the haori. It was embroidered with triangular patterns resembling rice balls, and in the bottom right corner, the character "truth" was stitched in black thread.

The only flaw in this haori was that the stitching was a bit clumsy, making it look slightly odd.

"Shinobu, what is this?" Hiruma was dumbfounded.

"I made it. It's my first time, so it's okay if you don't like it!" Shinobu said indifferently, but her eager eyes, hoping for praise, couldn't be hidden.

As soon as she finished speaking, Hiruma immediately put on the haori. It fit him perfectly. He beamed with a genuine, radiant smile and said, "Thank you, Shinobu! I can wear this haori for the rest of my life, hehehe!"

"I love it so much!"

"Just as I expected from Shinobu! Not only a medical genius, but also a girl with skillful hands!" Hiruma gave her a thumbs-up. If he had a tail, he would have been wagging it to the sky.

"I'm gla... glad you like it!"

This sudden praise made Shinobu quite pleased with herself, but the young girl still pretended to be nonchalant.

Suddenly, a wooden sword whizzed past the eaves and hit Hiruma squarely on the head. Immediately after, the old man's scolding voice rang out.

"Shin, what are you yelling about on the roof in the middle of the night?"

"Are you trying to tear down the house, you brat?"

"Get down here!"

After scolding his disciple, the old man turned his gaze to Shinobu. His expression visibly softened, and his tone became much gentler.

"Shinobu girl, it's windy on the roof, come down quickly!"

"Don't let that kid fool you!"

Hiruma: (¬_¬)

Doesn't the old man even bother to hide his favoritism anymore?

That night, Hiruma slept hugging his haori, a smile never leaving his face.

As the sky began to show the first light of dawn, the Blade flew in from the distance. It skillfully pecked open the window of Hiruma's room and landed beside him.

It pecked Hiruma's forehead, ending its silent wake-up service. Hiruma sat up, clutching his forehead.

The Blade gave Hiruma a disdainful look and urged, "You're too slow! They've all gone on a mission, you useless master!"

"Who's the master here, me or you?" Hiruma muttered. But the "they" the Blade was referring to must have been his older brothers.

Don't those two need to rest at night?

"Quick, quick, quick! A seaside town, there's a demon!"

The Blade kept urging him on. Hiruma quickly changed into his uniform, put on the haori that Shinobu had personally sewn, grabbed his sword, and rushed out of the house.

The old man and Shinobu were waiting outside the door. The old man handed Hiruma a large bundle, containing dry rations for the journey.

"Be careful, and do your best!"

Once Hiruma truly sent his disciple out on a mission, the old man began to worry. He knew all too well how dangerous demon slaying was.

But the bird had grown and needed to spread its wings to fly. All he could do was trust his disciple.

"Go, Hiruma!" Shinobu Kocho said with a smile as radiant as a flower, her eyes fixed on Hiruma. "I'll be waiting for your good news at headquarters!"

"Okay!"

"I'm leaving!"

With the Blade leading the way, Hiruma followed closely. Only real combat and death could forge a powerful swordsman.

He was full of confidence for his first mission. Hiruma's goal was to kill Muzan.

Fish Scale Village.

As the sun set, the tide came in, and waves rolled in one after another at the edge of the sea, shimmering with light.

This coastal fishing village was Hiruma's destination. At this very moment, our protagonist, having eaten all his rations, was sitting listlessly under a coconut tree at the village entrance.

"Can anyone give me something to eat? I'm starving!"

"To fail before even starting the journey, am I going to starve to death before I can kill Muzan?"

Under the fiery red sunset, a girl carrying a fish basket, guided by the Blade, hurried towards Hiruma.

The girl was wearing washed-out clothes. It was her first time seeing a crow that could speak human language, and she didn't want anyone to starve to death at the village entrance, so she followed.

"Huh?"

"Someone's really here!"

Looking at Hiruma, who was so hungry his eyes were spinning, the girl looked at the Blade and asked with a smile:

"Is he your master?"

The Blade, finding Hiruma too embarrassing, turned its head away and said haughtily:

"I don't know him. I was just passing by."

The girl took off her basket and offered the half-eaten rice ball to Hiruma.

"Here's something to eat. Thank you, kind person!"

Hiruma's eyes lit up, and he devoured the rice ball in a flash, though it wasn't quite enough.

He immediately handed the girl a stack of money and said, "Hello! I'm a traveler journeying abroad. May I ask if you are from this village?"

"A traveler?" The girl looked confused. "What business do you have in Fish Scale Village?"

"If you're fleeing famine, you should leave immediately!"

"It's been unsafe here recently. Goodbye, Mr. Traveler."

The girl returned the money to Hiruma. A few rice balls weren't worth that much.

Hiruma only cared about three words from everything the girl said: "unsafe."

"Unsafe" was good. It meant there were actually demons here.

"Blade, keep an eye out for me. I'm going to the town to get a good meal, hehe!"

"It's Blade, you useless master!"

The Blade glared at Hiruma, who had already taken off, its crow life never having been so speechless.