It felt so warm.
So reassuring.
It was as though, long, long ago, some hazy figure deep in his memories had once spoken to him just as gently.
Inosuke stopped struggling. He stared blankly at Shinobu, his eyes beneath the mask full of confusion. Miraculously, he actually quieted down and obediently lay back beneath the covers. Even his breathing grew cautious.
Watching this, Rokuya nearly spat out his tea.
"Shinobu, I never knew you had a talent for looking after children," Rokuya teased mercilessly. "You tamed this hotheaded wild boar with a single sentence. Did you use some strange drug on him?"
Shinobu turned and smiled at Rokuya. There was a hint of mischief in her eyes.
"You must be joking, Lord Kai Hashira. How could I compare to you when it comes to looking after children?" Shinobu unhurriedly arranged the medicine bottles on her tray. "Aren't you far more gifted at tricking unsuspecting boys? After all, you managed to trick someone into going all the way to a cliff to train while hanging upside down."
Rokuya was at a loss for words. Just as he prepared to retort, an exceptionally piercing scream suddenly came from outside in the corridor.
"Help! I'm going to die! I really am! My legs are going to break! Let go of me!"
Accompanied by howls like a pig being slaughtered, several sweating Kakushi members rushed into the Butterfly Mansion carrying a stretcher. Lying on it was the blond boy, Zenitsu Agatsuma.
Tears covered Zenitsu's face. His hands gripped the edges of the stretcher, and his entire body was racked with exhausted spasms.
Rokuya frowned slightly. He stepped forward to take a look.
"What happened? Did you run into an Upper Rank?" Rokuya asked coldly.
One of the Kakushi members wiped the sweat from his