Haruto paused at the entrance to the Butterfly Mansion, then pushed the door open and walked in under Genya's puzzled gaze.
Several people sat inside, making the room rather noisy.
Murata, whose hair was parted down the middle, stood to one side talking to one of the girls from the Butterfly Mansion. He looked full of energy, without a single bandage on him.
Farther inside, Haruto spotted Shinobu bandaging Tanjiro.
The girl's face was turned to the side, her expression utterly focused. White gauze threaded through her slender fingertips, round and round, round and round and round and round...
"Miss Shinobu..." Tanjiro ventured weakly.
"Shinobu..." Yuri ventured weakly.
"You're about to wrap up his entire head!"
Though only his forehead was injured, Tanjiro's whole head had been swathed in bandages. He gave an obedient smile.
Shinobu Kocho's hands paused, then she silently began unwinding the bandages.
What am I doing...?
A man chuckled behind her. Shinobu Kocho pressed her lips together as a faint blush crept up her ears.
Haruto sat down beside Tanjiro. Genya wanted to take over bandaging his junior fellow student, but Shinobu Kocho refused.
"Don't worry. I'll take you home in a little while," Haruto reassured Tanjiro. "The Kakushi have already been to your house and explained what happened to Kie and Nezuko."
Shinobu pricked up her ears. She knew about Nezuko, but who was Kie?
She trimmed the gauze, finished dressing the wound, and left with her tray.
Haruto turned his head to watch her enter the back room. He said nothing more about it, merely patting Tanjiro's shoulder. "You met Giyu?"
"Mr. Tomioka? He arrived just in time last night and killed the demon. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"He's something like my junior fellow student. We didn't technically study under the