Let's Do Something Adults Should Do

"Ha... I'm finally alive again."

Kiyohiko used the wooden box behind him for support as he got to his feet. Before he could steady himself, a faint fragrance suddenly swept up to his nose.

At some point, Shinobu Kocho had risen and stepped in close. She was considerably shorter than Kiyohiko in his current form, but the calm, unhurried pressure she exuded made him take an involuntary step back.

"You recovered faster than I expected, and your muscles haven't lost much firmness from hunger, either."

Shinobu Kocho tilted her head up slightly, studying his face at close range. Her purple eyes reflected Kiyohiko's uneasy expression; she was close enough to count his trembling eyelashes.

"Your endurance really is worth studying. In front of the Master just now, the way you looked ready to cry but kept turning your head away for dear life was... quite a magnificent performance."

"Hey, I don't think that's your line."

Kiyohiko protested with a red face, trying to cover up his embarrassment at how fast his heart was beating.

"Besides, Miss Shinobu, even if I'm a demon, men and women should keep their distance. You're too close..."

"Oh my, are you embarrassed?"

As if she had discovered a whole new world, the amusement in Shinobu Kocho's eyes deepened. Rather than step back, she reached out, gently lifted Kiyohiko's crooked collar with her fingertips, and leisurely straightened it for him.

"Now that you've become my 'charge,' please be prepared for a thorough examination."

Her fingertips brushed the skin of his neck, sending a faint electric tingle through him. Kiyohiko froze on the spot. Looking at the smiling woman before him, he felt the alarm labeled "danger" ringing madly in his head.

She really is a wicked woman.

"All right, don't just stand there like a block of wood."

Shinobu Kocho withdrew her hand and turned gracefully, her haori tracing a graceful arc through the air. She pulled a long, slender syringe from her sleeve, its needle gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

"Come now, Mr. Demon. Since you've turned back into an adult, let's do something adults should do-like drawing blood for a test."

"W-wait! Aren't things moving a little too fast? And isn't that needle a little too thick?!"

"Moshi moshi? Are you listening? Mr. Demon doesn't get to refuse."

Shinobu Kocho closed in with a smile.

"Fine, stick me wherever you want. Just be gentle."

Kiyohiko sighed and resignedly rolled up his sleeve, holding out his muscular forearm.

The cold needle pierced his skin, followed by a slight sting.

Normally, Kiyohiko would have been gagging by now at the Wisteria stench filling the room, which to him was comparable to "canned herring boiled with durian." But at that moment, his thoughts were like a runaway horse, flying off to the farthest reaches of the sky.

The Master just accepted me, but since I'm a demon, I can't exactly wander around alone. I probably won't see Tanjiro and Zenitsu for a while, either. If I want to increase my Bond Value, I'll have to start with the people at the Butterfly Mansion.

Let me think. Who's at the Butterfly Mansion again?

Kanao... that strange kid. Getting her to like me more will be a little difficult. I could say ten things to her and she might not even answer once.

"Moshi moshi?"

I remember there's another girl at the Butterfly Mansion. Her name is... hmm... I can't quite remember. Something Aoi?

"Mr. Demon?"

As for this wicked woman... forget it... I don't want to talk about her.

With my emotional intelligence, I'll have this wicked woman under my foot sooner or later. Hahaha.

In the examination room, Shinobu Kocho looked at the demon before her.

The syringe was already half full, the dark red liquid slowly rising in the glass tube.

Normally, watching one's blood being drawn would cause some physical discomfort or nervousness, whether one was a human or a demon. But this idiot demon hadn't so much as furrowed his brow. His once fairly bright eyes had completely lost their sparkle, and he was staring blankly at the corner of the room.

What baffled Shinobu Kocho most was that it would have been one thing for him to space out, but every so often, an... extremely strange smile appeared on his face, a mix of foolishness and smugness.

"..."

The smile on Shinobu Kocho's lips stiffened for an instant, and a small, cross-shaped vein popped up on her forehead again.

She was being ignored.

"Moshi moshi?"

She called out softly once more, her voice twice as sweet and twice as dangerous.

Kiyohiko didn't react at all.

"It seems Mr. Demon's brain might need an examination too."

Shinobu Kocho was still smiling, but her smile had taken on a somewhat "nuclear-friendly" quality. Without removing the needle, she raised her other hand and curled her slender index finger, aiming it at Kiyohiko's smooth forehead-

"Thwack!"

A crisp flick to the forehead.

"Ow, ow, ow! Who sneak-attacked me?!"

"Finally back with us?"

Shinobu Kocho pulled out the needle and deftly pressed a cotton ball over the puncture, her purple eyes gleaming.

"This is the first time I've seen someone space out so badly while having blood drawn. What were you thinking about? How to escape? Or... how delicious my blood would be?"

She deliberately leaned a little closer, and the fragrance of Wisteria on her washed over him even more strongly.

"Gag-cough, cough! Don't get so close!"

Kiyohiko's expression changed. This time, he really was feeling sick. Pinching his nose, he leaned back with a look of disgust.

"Who'd want to drink your blood? It reeks of Wisteria. I was thinking about something very important in my life. Could you not interrupt my inspiration?!"

Shinobu Kocho froze for a moment, then narrowed her eyes.

She had already learned that he hated Wisteria, but the way he always came right out and said such infuriating things was both maddening and funny.

Kiyohiko loosened his grip on his nose slightly, though his brow remained furrowed. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask: why is the smell of Wisteria on you so strong?"

"That's not a concentration you could get from just a sachet or perfume, is it?" Kiyohiko looked Shinobu Kocho up and down. His eyes held less of their earlier playfulness and more confusion, along with a strange hint of concern that even Kiyohiko couldn't explain.

"Do you roll around in those flowers every day? Or do you eat Wisteria every day? I know the stuff keeps demons away, but doesn't turning yourself into a walking poison gas bomb make you uncomfortable?"

Shinobu Kocho's hands paused slightly as she arranged the medical instruments, and her figure, with its back to Kiyohiko, seemed a little stiff for an instant. But she quickly recovered, and when she turned around, she was still wearing that perfect, flawless smile.

"Oh my, it's for self-defense." Her voice was gentle, as if she were talking about the weather.

"After all, unlike the other Hashira, I don't have the strength to cut off a demon's head, so I can only rely on little tricks like these to protect myself. What's wrong? Does Mr. Demon think it smells bad? This is just the thing to make a naughty child like you behave."