"Shinobu!?" Hiruma drew out her name, his face overflowing with uncontrollable joy as his heart began pounding as though it were about to leap out of his chest.
Confusion flickered in his eyes. After all, what was happening before him was a little too dreamlike.
"What's wrong?" Shinobu Kocho smiled with crescent eyes, propping up her chin with both hands. Her purple eyes twinkled as she said mischievously,
"Surprised? Didn't see that coming!"
"Hee hee hee!"
Hiruma nodded. This was something he had never dared dream of. Once he calmed down, he smiled and pointed at himself as he reminded her,
"But could you get off me first?"
"Of course. I rather like how we're positioned right now, hehe!"
"Hm?" Shinobu Kocho tilted her little head suspiciously. Then she quickly realized that she had been lying in Hiruma's arms in an extremely intimate position.
"Ahhh!"
Shinobu sprang up with a scream as though she had been burned, scrambling off Hiruma in a fluster.
She lowered her head, too afraid to meet Hiruma's eyes. Her face was burning red, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.
Hiruma had known all along. He had just deliberately kept quiet. What a pervert.
The more Shinobu Kocho thought about it, the angrier she became. She immediately kicked Hiruma and snapped indignantly,
"You dirty pervert!"
Hiruma poked his fingers together innocently, blinking blankly.
What had happened?
Shinobu Kocho shot him a glare. "Wait here!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Hiruma nodded like a pecking chicken, then sat properly, looking exactly like the most obedient child in kindergarten.
Shinobu skillfully climbed down the ladder. A moment later, she climbed back up carrying a golden haori.
"For you!" Shinobu Kocho puffed out her cheeks, looking just like a little hamster hoarding food. Clearly, she was still holding a grudge over what had just happened.
Hiruma took the haori. It was embroidered with triangular patterns resembling rice balls, while a black-threaded character for "Hiruma" had been stitched into the lower right corner.
The only flaw in the beautiful haori was that the stitching was somewhat unskilled, making it look a little odd.
"Shinobu, what is this?" Hiruma was dumbfounded.
"I embroidered it. It's my first time making one, so if you don't like it, forget it!" Shinobu Kocho spoke as if she did not care, but the expectant look in her eyes, clearly hoping for praise, could not be hidden.
The moment she finished speaking, Hiruma draped the haori over himself. It fit perfectly. He broke into a dazzling smile from the bottom of his heart and said,
"Thank you, Shinobu. I could wear this haori for the rest of my life, hehehe!"
"I love it!"
"As expected of Shinobu. Not only are you a medical genius, you're also such a skillful girl!" Hiruma gave her a thumbs-up. If he had had a tail behind him, he would have wagged it straight into the sky.
"I-I'm glad you like it!"
The sudden praise filled Shinobu Kocho with pride, though the young girl still put on an indifferent front.
Suddenly, a wooden sword scraped past the eaves and struck Hiruma right on the head. Immediately afterward, the old man's grumbling voice rang out.
"Hiruma, why are you shouting on the roof in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
"You brat, are you trying to tear the house apart?"
"Get down here!"
After lecturing his own disciple, the old man looked at Shinobu Kocho. His expression visibly became kinder, and his tone softened considerably.
"Shinobu, the wind's strong on the roof. Come down quickly!"
"Don't let that brat sweet-talk you!"
Hiruma: (;一_一)
Was the old man not even trying to hide his double standards anymore?
That night, Hiruma slept clutching the haori, and the smile never left his face.
As the sky began to pale with dawn, Saber flew in from the distance. It skillfully pecked open Hiruma's window and landed beside him.
It pecked Hiruma on the forehead, completing its silent wake-up service. Hiruma sat up, clutching his forehead.
Saber gave Hiruma a disdainful look and urged, "You're too slow. They've all gone out on missions already, useless master!"
"Who's the master here, me or you?" Hiruma muttered. But the people Saber referred to had to be his big brother and the others.
Did those two idiots not need to rest at night?
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! There's a demon in a seaside town!"
Saber kept urging him, and Hiruma hastily put on his uniform, draped on the haori Shinobu had sewn herself, grabbed his sword, and rushed out of the house.
The old man and Shinobu Kocho had been waiting outside. The old man handed Hiruma a large bundle filled with dry rations for the journey.
"Be careful. Don't push yourself beyond your limits!"
Only when he was truly sending his disciple out on a mission did the old man begin to worry. He knew better than anyone how dangerous demon slaying was.
But once a bird had grown up, it had to spread its wings and fly. All he could do was trust his disciple.
"Hiruma, do your best!" Shinobu Kocho beamed, staring at Hiruma without blinking. "I'll wait at headquarters for good news!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm off!"
Saber led the way, with Hiruma close behind. Only real combat and death could forge a powerful swordsman.
He was brimming with confidence for his first mission. Hiruma's goal was to kill Muzan.
Fish Scale Village.
At sunset, the tide rose over the sea. Wave after wave rolled at the horizon, shimmering beneath the light.
This little coastal fishing village was Hiruma's destination. At that moment, after eating all his rations, he was sitting half-dead beneath a coconut tree at the village entrance.
"Can someone please give me something to eat? I'm starving to death!"
"Is this going to be dying before I even accomplish anything? Am I going to starve to death before I kill Muzan?"
Under the fiery red setting sun, a girl carrying a fish basket hurried toward Hiruma, guided by Saber.
The girl wore clothes faded pale from washing. It was her first time seeing a crow that could speak, and she did not want someone to starve to death at the village entrance, so she had followed it here.
"Huh?"
"There really is someone here!"
Seeing Hiruma's eyes sparkle with hunger, the girl looked at Saber and asked with a smile,
"Is he your master?"
Saber found Hiruma far too embarrassing and turned its head away. In a cold, lofty tone, it said,
"I don't know him. I just happened to pass by."
The girl took off her basket and handed Hiruma an unfinished rice ball.
"Food! Thank you, kind person!"
Hiruma's eyes lit up. He wolfed down the rice ball in just a few bites, though unfortunately, it was not nearly enough.
He immediately stuffed a stack of money into the girl's hands. "Hello! I'm a traveler wandering abroad. Are you from this village?"
"A traveler?" The girl looked puzzled. "What brings you to Fish Scale Village?"
"If you're fleeing famine, you should leave immediately!"
"Things haven't been peaceful around here lately. Goodbye, Mister Traveler."
The girl returned the money to Hiruma. It was only a few rice balls; they were not worth that much.
The other party had said a lot, but Hiruma only cared about three words: "haven't been peaceful."
That was exactly right. It meant there really was a demon here.
"Saber, keep watch for me. I'm going into town to get a proper meal first, hehe!"
"It's Saber, you useless master!"
Saber glared at Hiruma as he ran off without a trace. Never in its life as a crow had it been so speechless.
Before you continue