A Physical Examination with Extras

Kiyohiko froze in the doorway, one foot just inside and the other itching to pull back immediately.

He whipped around to look at Aoi Kanzaki beside him.

A traitor! I was only walking a little slower, and you used that time to snitch on me?!

"Ahem! Rumors! They're definitely rumors!"

He pointed righteously at Aoi Kanzaki beside him. "That Kuihua... Miss Aoi Kanzaki must have misheard me! I shouted, 'Long live Lady Shinobu'! Really!"

"I didn't say anything! You admitted it yourself just now!"

Aoi mercilessly exposed him, then shoved Kiyohiko into the dark dojo and slammed the door shut behind him.

As the doors closed tight, the last sliver of natural light was shut out.

Now, all that remained in this enclosed space were a demon and a woman who specialized in killing demons.

Shinobu Kocho smiled and beckoned him over, twirling the wooden sword in her hand with a flourish.

"It's all right. I don't mind. Dreams are projections of the subconscious, after all."

She stepped lightly toward Kiyohiko, drawing closer one step at a time, her wooden sword dragging across the floor with a faint scraping sound.

"Since you're so energetic, Kiyohiko, let's begin today's 'rehabilitation exercise.' As your doctor, I have a duty to check how much of your physical function has recovered."

Kiyohiko swallowed, his back against the door, with nowhere left to retreat.

"Um... Doctor Shinobu, since this is a physical examination, could we do it a little more gently? Maybe with a stethoscope? Or you could check my pulse?"

He pointed at the wooden sword in her hand. "No matter how you look at it, that thing doesn't look like a medical instrument, does it?"

"This is a tool for testing your 'reflexes.'"

Shinobu tilted her head, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. "The rules are simple. I'll attack you, and you can dodge or run. But-"

Her voice suddenly grew grave, though her smile became even brighter.

"You absolutely must not attack me back. The moment you intend to attack, even if it's just a flash of killing intent, I'll switch to a real sword."

This woman really is a devil!

"This isn't fair! This is one-sided bullying!"

Kiyohiko protested.

"When demons eat people, do they care about fairness?"

Shinobu asked softly. The next instant, she vanished from where she stood.

So fast!

Kiyohiko's pupils contracted.

Although she hadn't used a Breathing Style, her sheer speed was already beyond the limits of an ordinary person.

A gust of wind struck his face as the wooden sword sliced through the air, heading straight for his left shoulder.

His body reacted before his brain did.

Kiyohiko lunged sharply to the right and rolled awkwardly across the floor.

"Smack!"

The wooden sword struck the door where he had just been standing, shaking loose a few wisps of dust.

"Whoa! You're serious! If that had hit me, it would've broken a bone!"

Kiyohiko crouched on the floor, cold sweat pouring down his face.

Luckily, he'd gotten a speed-boosting reward from farming Zenitsu earlier, or he really would have been hit.

"Oh, you dodged?"

Shinobu Kocho turned around and raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Then I'll speed up a little."

A game of cat and mouse began in the dim dojo.

Shinobu moved like a dancing butterfly, graceful and unhurried. Her attacks weren't heavy, but they came from extremely tricky angles, aimed specifically at the most painful pressure points and joints on the human body.

Kiyohiko, meanwhile, was like a startled monkey, scrambling up and down, rolling and crawling in a frenzy.

"Time out! Time out! My shoelace came undone!"

"Whoa! Not the face! I make a living with this face!"

"Not there! That's a man's dignity!"

Though his cries sounded miserable, Kiyohiko was surprised to find that his body seemed lighter.

With every dodge, every contraction of his muscles, he became more proficient than he had been a second before.

Moreover, as time passed, Shinobu's movements were fast from Kiyohiko's perspective, but not entirely impossible to track. If he had been dodging on instinct before, now his brain could keep up with his body.

Twenty minutes later.

Kiyohiko sat slumped in a corner of the dojo, panting.

Shinobu Kocho, meanwhile, stood a few meters away, neither flushed nor out of breath, gently wiping the nonexistent sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.

"Hmm... your form was a little ugly, but your reaction speed barely passes."

Shinobu Kocho put away her wooden sword and looked down at him. Her purple eyes held a little less coldness and a little more curiosity. "You really are a very strange demon, Kiyohiko."

She crouched down and brought her face close to his, that faint scent of Wisteria surrounding him once again.

"Even when you were backed into a corner, you didn't bare your fangs. Why is that?"

Bullshit! She's actually asking why I didn't fight back? Didn't you say yourself you'd use a real sword if I attacked you? How would I dare? Even if I weren't afraid of dying, I'd still be afraid of the pain!

Of course, Kiyohiko didn't dare say any of that.

Kiyohiko considered himself a frank person; speaking his mind directly was his style.

So he chose to follow his heart.

Looking at that exquisite face so close to his, Kiyohiko was dizzy from the scent, but he still managed to put on a roguish smile.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you, Miss Shinobu."

"Besides, if I injured such a pretty face, who would bring me deer blood to drink from now on?"

Shinobu Kocho was taken aback.

She didn't seem to have expected such a flippant answer.

Then she burst out laughing. This time, her smile seemed a little more genuine than the mask she had worn earlier.

"What a smooth talker."

She stood up and lightly tapped Kiyohiko on the head with her wooden sword.

"Rest for ten minutes. Next, we're going to test your Blood Demon Art. Prepare yourself."

Blood Demon Art?

How was she going to test a healing-type Blood Demon Art?

"Um... Miss Shinobu, I think you might have misunderstood something."

Kiyohiko raised both hands in surrender, trying to cool down this activity that was called a test but was actually a one-sided beating.

"My Blood Demon Art isn't an offensive type, and it's not some flashy skill that can conjure cannons or ice. It's a healing type... pure support, understand? A healer! I'm a healer!"

"So I can't use it on thin air. I need someone who's injured. Since no one's hurt here, why don't we just call it a day-"

"Oh my, of course I know about your Blood Demon Art."

Shinobu Kocho cut him off, her smile not fading in the slightest but growing even brighter, a certain light flickering in her purple eyes.

"As for there being no one injured... who said there wasn't anyone injured here?"