Ahem... I Have a Friend

The night was like water, soaking into the overlapping black roof tiles of the Butterfly Mansion. A cold waning crescent moon hung above the treetops, bathing the Wisteria tree in the courtyard in a ghostly pale light.

Shinobu Kocho sat alone on the highest ridge of the roof, her legs pressed together and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her butterfly-patterned haori fluttered gently in the night breeze.

Here, where only the moon and the wind could see her, she finally took off the mask of "gentleness" that seemed welded to her face. Moonlight reflected in her purple eyes, but they held not a trace of warmth.

"Sister..."

She murmured under her breath, her fingers gripping the edge of her haori tightly.

"Can demons and humans really get along?"

"If I keep smiling and keep trying... will that dream come true?"

Only the wind answered her, whimpering as it swept across the tiles.

The anger inside her gnawed at her organs like a venomous snake, crying out every second of every minute to "kill all the demons." But she wanted to fulfill the dream her sister had always believed in. That gentle wish bound her like a chain, forcing her to suppress her nature and play someone she simply was not.

So tired.

I'm really so tired.

Just then, the sound of roof tiles knocking together came from behind her. It was extremely faint, but whoever made it had done nothing to hide their presence.

Shinobu Kocho's gaze sharpened for an instant, then relaxed again.

Yawning, Kiyohiko emerged from the shadows beneath the eaves.

As a demon, his normal routine would naturally be to sleep during the day and be active at night. Now that the sun had set, he was at his liveliest.

He had come out for some fresh air and to see if he could sneak some leftovers from the kitchen. But when he looked up, he spotted the petite figure sitting on the roof.

In the moonlight, Shinobu Kocho looked so fragile.

The Insect Hashira, who always wore a perfect smile and said cutting things with a deceptively sweet air, looked like a little girl who had lost her way.

"Tch."

Kiyohiko curled his lip. His feet, which had been heading for the kitchen, abruptly turned, and he climbed up over the tiles.

If I weren't doing this to raise my Bond Value and get rewards, I wouldn't come over. Thinking this, Kiyohiko slowly approached Shinobu Kocho. He plopped down a full five meters away from her. He sat cross-legged with his arms folded and turned his head the other way, stubbornly presenting her with the back of it.

"Oh my, isn't this Lady Kocho, who's only one and a half meters tall? Why aren't you sleeping? Careful, or you won't grow any taller."

The words coming out of his mouth begged for a beating, but he couldn't help glancing her way.

"Oh, right, I shouldn't have stuck my nose in. After all-'That's none of your business, Mr. Demon,' and 'I don't need a demon to teach me how to cherish life.' I understand. I remember it all, and I absolutely won't overstep!"

Like a recorder, he repeated the harsh words she had said in the dojo that day in a snide tone, stressing every word as if afraid she wouldn't hear his resentment.

The air was silent for a few seconds.

Kiyohiko had already planned how to bicker with her. He couldn't beat her in a fight, but surely he could outtalk her? Otherwise, wouldn't his years of defending his parents' honor have gone to waste?

But the sharp-tongued retort he expected never came.

Shinobu Kocho turned her head slightly and looked at his back as he sat in the distance. He was a demon, yet he was acting like a sulky child.

Normally, she would probably have smiled and made a few barbed remarks to make him jump with anger. Something like, "Mr. Demon, you have such a good memory," or "If you're so aware of that, why don't you get down from here?"

But right now, she didn't want to do that.

She couldn't say exactly why. Perhaps this idiot demon was so stupid that she couldn't bear to bully him?

"Good evening, Mr. Kiyohiko."

"Did you enjoy my pickles?"

Shinobu Kocho's voice was soft, the night breeze scattering it a little. It no longer had the confrontational sharpness it had carried during the day.

Kiyohiko's back stiffened. He muttered and finally turned around, though his gaze still wandered away from Shinobu. "They tasted pretty ordinary. Too much ginger. It was so spicy my tongue hurt. I ate a little and threw the rest away."

Kiyohiko lied without a blush or a flicker of his heartbeat. He couldn't help feeling that if he admitted they were delicious, it would be like indirectly admitting that he thought highly of Shinobu Kocho.

Even though the two weren't necessarily connected.

"Is that so?"

Shinobu Kocho hugged her knees and rested her chin lightly on her arms. "I think ginger is wonderful. That spicy sensation makes you feel like you're still alive."

When Shinobu Kocho finished speaking, she turned to look at Kiyohiko, her gaze falling on his hand. She still remembered how the idiot demon had grimaced in pain that day, yet had raised that injured hand to lecture her.

"Your hand..."

Shinobu Kocho's voice softened involuntarily. "Does it still hurt? I know your regeneration is very strong, but... poison at that concentration would even affect an Upper Rank... Are you really all right?"

Kiyohiko followed Shinobu's gaze to his hand, then looked up, meeting Shinobu Kocho's purple eyes by chance. For some reason, it felt as though a cat's paw had scratched at his heart.

This woman was just feeling sad, and she was so harsh with me during the day, but now she's giving me this... look I can't defend against. He quickly turned his head aside, a suspicious redness appearing at the tips of his ears in the moonlight.

"Stop pretending to care about me. If you have time to worry about me, why not worry about that body of yours that's been pickled all the way through with Wisteria?"

Shinobu Kocho seemed especially tolerant of Kiyohiko tonight. Even then, she didn't teach him a lesson; she only watched him quietly.

The two fell silent for a while. In the end, Shinobu Kocho took the initiative to break the awkward silence.

"Hey, Mr. Kiyohiko."

She spoke softly, her voice blending into the night breeze as it drifted to Kiyohiko's ears.

"Do you know any ghost stories? Since you're a demon, you must know quite a few, right?"

Kiyohiko turned to look at Shinobu Kocho as though she were an idiot.

"Huh? Telling ghost stories on the roof in the middle of the night?"

Kiyohiko grumbled, but when he saw Shinobu Kocho's rare appearance with her daytime disguise stripped away, he recalled what Aoi Kanzaki had told him about her. Living as someone else for her sister's sake, inheriting a dream she doesn't even believe in?

Shinobu Kocho looked at Kiyohiko and suddenly noticed that he was acting as if ants were crawling all over him. One moment he scratched his head, the next he touched his face, and then he stared blankly at the tiles beneath his feet.

At last, as if he had made some kind of decision, Kiyohiko cleared his throat and settled into a more comfortable cross-legged position. Even in the darkness, though, Shinobu Kocho could still see the flush on his cheeks.

"Ahem... Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll be generous and tell you one. Listen closely..."

"I have a friend. He's a demon, and he's handsome, kindhearted, and suave, but he ran into a mean, nasty woman..."

"That friend is you, isn't he?"

"Shut up! Let me tell it! It took me a lot of courage to decide to say this, so don't interrupt me!"