The Idiot Demon and Shinobu Kocho, Who Secretly Held a Grudge

Kiyohiko muttered as he carried the food box inside and kicked the door shut behind him.

The moment he opened the lid, a rich aroma with a distinctive rusty scent filled the small room.

Inside was a huge earthenware pot filled with dark red pig blood soup. Though it had cooled a little, to a demon's nose, it was like a spring to a traveler in the desert. He didn't spare a thought for table manners. He picked up the pot, which was bigger than his face, tipped his head back, and gulped it down.

"Gulp... gulp... gulp..."

The dark red liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach, soothing much of his hunger.

"I'm alive again!"

In less than a minute, he had licked up the very last drop of soup. Kiyohiko sprawled unceremoniously on the bed, which wasn't particularly soft but at least had cotton padding. He patted his slightly swollen belly in satisfaction and let out a long sigh.

With his bodily needs satisfied, his brain finally had time to start working.

He rested his hands behind his head and gazed at the wood grain on the ceiling. His thoughts drifted back to what had happened in the examination room.

"Come to think of it... what's the deal with Shinobu Kocho?"

He frowned, unable to make sense of it.

"One second she was being pretty gentle, looking all moved like, 'You're such a good person.' I was ready for her to give me a grateful hug, and the next second she went dark, grinning like some witch about to eat someone."

"The Bond Value finally climbed back into the positive, and she sent it straight into the negatives again."

He rolled onto his side, his finger idly tracing circles on the bedsheet.

"It's not like I said anything out of line, right? I just wanted something tasty to eat and a soft bed. Aren't those basic human rights for an injured person?"

The more Kiyohiko thought about it, the more wronged he felt, and the more sense his reasoning made.

"Yeah, that's right. It definitely wasn't my fault."

He nodded solemnly. "Based on my years of watching anime, there are usually only two possible explanations for someone running hot and cold and changing moods on a whim. First, she's a tsundere, and a textbook one who'd never admit it; second... she just has a nasty personality and enjoys tormenting people."

Remembering the gentle smile Shinobu Kocho always wore, and the chill beneath it that sent shivers down his spine, Kiyohiko shuddered.

"It's definitely the second one! Either that or she's going through menopause early!"

Having reached that conclusion, Kiyohiko felt relieved. If there was something wrong with her head, he didn't need to reflect on himself.

"Forget it, forget it. Since that pig blood soup was pretty tasty, I'll let her off the hook. As long as she doesn't come stab me with a syringe in the middle of the night, it's fine."

With his stomach full, he grew sleepy.

Although he was a demon and didn't need to sleep as long as humans did, the earlier fight and what had just happened had taken quite a toll on him mentally.

In the room free of the stench of wisteria, Kiyohiko soon closed his eyes, and his breathing grew steady.

But between waking and sleep, the image of Shinobu Kocho's smile stiffening for that instant still flashed through his mind.

"Still, if her smile weren't so fake, she'd probably look pretty good."

"I kinda want to see it..."

Shinobu Kocho's room

Shinobu Kocho sat at her desk, but she wasn't studying pharmacology books as she usually did. She rested her chin on one hand and used the other to sprinkle a little fish food into the round fishbowl on the desk.

Inside the bowl, a red-and-white goldfish swished its tail happily, opening its mouth to swallow the falling pellets. The goldfish was exceptionally round, with a bulging belly that made it look like a floating balloon.

"Eat up, Fugu. You have to get nice and round to be cute."

She spoke softly, her signature gentle smile on her lips.

Looking at Fugu, she suddenly thought of that infuriating fellow from earlier that day, though she didn't know why.

Shinobu's fingers paused, and she sprinkled a little more fish food than she meant to.

"He really is infuriating."

The smile slowly faded from her face, replaced by a rare, genuine expression tinged with weariness and confusion. She drew back her hand and looked at the fish food powder left on her fingertips, her gaze growing thoughtful.

Today... was too strange.

Ever since her elder sister died, she had worn her "sister's mask." She imitated her sister's manner of speaking and her smile, doing her best to suppress the rage churning inside her like magma. She could maintain perfect composure before any human or demon. Even when killing demons, she could inject them with poison while smiling.

But today, faced with the demon named Kiyohiko, she had let the mask slip.

And more than once.

"He actually dared to say I smelled like a pickled-vegetable jar..."

Shinobu Kocho's temple twitched. Even now, thinking about it gave her the urge to inject wisteria poison straight into his brain.

"And then there was that pig blood and duck blood... The mood was so nice, and..."

She remembered the flutter in her heart at that moment.

When the boy frowned and said earnestly, "You must be suffering," and when he said, "Since you hate demons, I'll help you kill them all," her heart had beaten faster.

"Idiot demon."

Shinobu Kocho muttered the insult, but her voice was much softer than before.

She turned and looked at the mirror in the corner of the room. The girl in the mirror seemed to have a little less of the composure she usually maintained so deliberately, and a trace more of lively annoyance.

"Do I get angry that easily? Or..."

She touched her cheek.

When faced with demons who only wept and begged for mercy or acted arrogantly, she had felt nothing but cold killing intent. But with Kiyohiko, she felt helpless, angry, amused, and even a tiny urge... to tease him back.

Those shifts in emotion felt unfamiliar, but she didn't dislike them.

It was like a pebble tossed into the still water of a silent lake.

"If my sister were still here, she'd definitely like him."

Shinobu Kocho murmured, "After all, he's what she always dreamed of... a demon who can live in harmony with people."

Though he had a nasty personality, spoke harshly, had no taste, looked unreliable, had low emotional intelligence, and was greedy for food...

At least he hadn't lied.

His eyes had been clear while he endured his hunger.

"Oh well. Since the Master has acknowledged him, I suppose I'll make an exception and keep observing him for a while."

Shinobu Kocho rose, went to the window, and pushed it open.

A breeze carrying the scent of wisteria from the courtyard swept into the room.

"If he dares lose control..."

Her hand brushed the hilt of her sword, and her gaze turned sharp in an instant, before giving way to a playful smile.

"I'll tie him up and slice him up for research. Hmm, that's a good idea."

In any case, she would add a little something extra to his physical examination tomorrow.

That was what he got for making her angry so many times today.