For a moment, he was immensely pleased with himself. "Well? Still dare to try anything?"
When Shinobu Kocho heard his voice, it seemed to drift and spin around her. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a moment to steady herself before finally getting up from the ground.
She turned in a circle and shouted at the Wind Pillar, "Tetsu no Sosuke, you're not getting away with this..."
The Wind Pillar pointed at himself in bewilderment.
Shinobu Kocho turned some more, but before she could even spot Tetsu no Sosuke, she plopped back down onto the ground. She clutched at it, as though even the ground were spinning...
In the end, she simply crawled over to the foot of the wall and vomited noisily.
Only after throwing up everything in her stomach did her head finally clear.
With tears in her eyes, she turned to look for Tetsu no Sosuke, ready to settle the score... only to discover that he had long since disappeared with the Wind Pillar and the Flame Pillar.
Shinobu Kocho gritted her teeth. "I never should have gone soft... I should have let those two give you a proper beating!!"
But there was no use saying that now. She leaned against the wall and spent a good while collecting herself before she finally began to wonder. "Where did they go?"
"So, that's what happened... The Insect Pillar clearly meant well, so don't blame her."
The Flame Pillar explained everything in a few words. Then he picked up the tea Tetsu no Sosuke had poured for him, took a gentle sip, and said contentedly, "That hits the spot!!"
The Wind Pillar snorted. "You ought to be happy to have a sister-in-law like her."
The corner of Tetsu no Sosuke's mouth twitched. Yeah, so fucking happy!