The Story of a Handsome Demon and a Bad Woman

"Where was I...? Oh... the bad woman..."

"That woman was really bad. Not only did she like bullying the demon, scaring him every day and feeding him nasty medicine, but she was also a liar. A liar through and through."

Kiyohiko gazed at the night sky, as if the story really were written in the stars.

"She was furious inside, so angry she wanted to tear everything in front of her to pieces, but she insisted on smiling. Every day, she wore a gentle mask, copying someone else's way of speaking and the way they moved."

Shinobu Kocho's fingers tightened sharply around her knees.

"She inherited a dream, but that dream was too heavy. It weighed on her until she could barely breathe, and it clashed completely with her instinctive anger."

Kiyohiko paused.

He could feel the girl beside him trembling slightly.

"The handsome demon saw all this and worried about her. He thought, Is this woman stupid or what?"

Kiyohiko sighed and turned his head, his gaze leaving the moon to fix firmly on Shinobu Kocho's profile.

"So, the demon decided to do something. Since she hated demons so much, but still had to try to accept them for the sake of that dream... why didn't he share the burden of that dream and fulfill it for her?"

Hearing that, Shinobu Kocho turned and stared at Kiyohiko in a daze. In the falling moonlight, she could even see the boy's bright red cheeks and his trembling eyes.

"So, one day, the demon suddenly went up to the bad woman and said-"

Kiyohiko's voice grew incredibly soft, yet carried immense weight.

He looked at Shinobu Kocho's face as she turned toward him. Her purple eyes were brimming with tears that threatened to fall.

"So... try putting a little faith in me."

"The things you can't do, the things you don't want to do, the things that cause you pain... try leaving them... to me. Let me share the burden."

They looked at each other like that, neither saying a word. Three seconds later, Kiyohiko sprang up from the roof tiles as if he'd been scalded, his movements as stiff as an old, neglected puppet's.

"Ahem! So... what did you think? Wasn't that a brilliantly made-up story?"

He laughed awkwardly twice, his voice turning a little shrill with nerves and completely ruining the beautiful atmosphere he'd worked so hard to create.

He began waving his arms around, gesturing wildly in the air as if swatting at nonexistent mosquitoes.

"Haha... hahaha! Actually, I've always thought that if I weren't a demon, I could become a novelist and be famous throughout the Taisho era! Just look at that plot, all those twists and turns! And those characters, so vividly drawn! Um... I won't charge you any royalties. Just consider it a bit of fun! Just a bit of fun, that's all!"

He didn't dare look Shinobu Kocho in the eyes. He was afraid she'd notice how red his face had become. His gaze darted wildly between the roof tiles, the distant treetops and the moon overhead, while a torrent of nonsensical babble poured from his mouth.

"Wow, the wind is awfully noisy tonight. Looks like tomorrow will be a good day to air out the bedding... Anyway... um, I'm going back to sleep! Staying up late is bad for your skin. I'm a demon, so I don't need skincare, but you should get to bed early too! Haha, bye!"

Just as he was about to turn and flee, putting an end to an awkward scene embarrassing enough to make him dig out a whole apartment with his toes-

"Pfft..."

A tiny laugh, as soft as a bubble popping, caught him by the ankle and rooted him to the spot.

It wasn't her usual cold laugh, laced with chill and mockery, nor was it the fake laugh she used to conceal her anger.

It was a genuine, irrepressible laugh, the kind that belonged to an eighteen-year-old girl.

Kiyohiko stiffly turned his head.

Under the moonlight, Shinobu Kocho was still sitting there, hugging her knees.

But she had buried her face in the crook of her arms, and her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Not because she was crying, but because she was laughing.

After a while, she slowly raised her head.

At that moment, Kiyohiko felt as if the world around them had fallen silent.

Her purple eyes, usually as unfathomable as deep pools and even carrying a hint of something inhuman, now looked as though they had been washed clean by the moonlight, startlingly clear.

A little glimmer of moisture still clung to the corners of her eyes. He couldn't tell whether the story had moved her or she had simply laughed too hard.

The mask on her face called the "Insect Hashira" had completely vanished. In its place was a lively, shy face with a faint blush.

She looked less like the usual Insect Hashira and more like an ordinary girl amused by a clumsy boy.

So she really was quite pretty when her smile didn't look so fake.

"What a stupid demon..."

Shinobu Kocho spoke softly, her voice gentle and sweet, with a trace of the nasal sound that came from having just cried and laughed.

She looked at the flustered Kiyohiko, the corners of her mouth lifting in the faintest of smiles. There was no calculation or wariness in that smile, only pure tenderness.

"The story was terrible, and the lines were corny."

She raised a hand and tucked the hair the night breeze had mussed behind her ear.

"And... I don't accept those 'bad woman' and 'handsome demon' characterizations."

Though she argued with him, she didn't look away.

She simply watched Kiyohiko in silence, her gaze lingering on his face for a long time, as if getting to know this strange creature all over again.

Under that gaze, Kiyohiko felt that all his disguises, all his embarrassment and all his nonsense were being gently accepted.

"But..."

Shinobu Kocho turned her head slightly and looked toward the distant night sky. Her voice grew somewhat distant, yet reached Kiyohiko's ears with unusual clarity.

"Since that demon wants so badly to try... I suppose I'll let him give it a go."

With that, she stood up, patted the dust off her haori and slowly walked toward Kiyohiko. Then she flicked the stunned boy on the forehead.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Kiyohiko clutched his forehead, tears instantly springing from his eyes. He reeled backward and nearly rolled straight off the roof.

Shinobu Kocho took the opportunity to put some distance between them, then winked at Kiyohiko, who was still crying out in pain. It was her most playful and genuine expression of the night.

"That's your punishment for eating all my pickled ginger. I haven't forgotten what happened this afternoon."

Despite saying that, she pulled a small glass bottle from her sleeve and casually tossed it over to him.

Kiyohiko fumbled to catch it and found a few pieces of konpeito inside.

"Good night, Kiyohiko-kun. And... thank you for your story."

"Consider it a gift in return. After all, I don't like owing people, especially... fools."

Kiyohiko stared blankly as the petite figure leaped lightly off the roof and disappeared into the depths of the Butterfly Mansion's corridors. All she left behind was a faint trace of wisteria in the air, a scent that seemed less unpleasant than before, and the heart in his chest that was still pounding wildly despite his being a demon.

[Shinobu Kocho's Bond Value has increased. Current Bond Value: 55]

Shinobu Kocho's Bond Value, which had only just begun to rise, had jumped to 55, but Kiyohiko acted as though he hadn't heard the system notification.

He looked at the bottle Shinobu Kocho had given him for quite a while. Then he drew his sword and looked around. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he cup his face in both hands, feeling how red and hot his cheeks were.

"Why is my face so hot?"

"Why is my heart beating so fast?"

He was a little confused. Kiyohiko, why the bubble teapot are you blushing?

I only said all that to keep that bad woman from bottling things up until she developed a split personality. It was for Bond Value, for the rewards. It's not like I actually like her, so why am I so worked up?

Heaven knew how red Kiyohiko's face had been when he said those things. Even now, thinking back on it, he couldn't calm down for a long time.

An illusion, an illusion. It has to be an illusion brought on by staying here too long. How could I possibly fall for that nasty bad woman? What would I even be after? Getting bullied by her every day? It's not like I'm a masochist.

Kiyohiko stood up, pretending to be calm, but the color in his face betrayed his unsettled feelings the whole time.

Meanwhile, Shinobu Kocho landed lightly on the wooden corridor outside the sitting room. Her toes barely made a sound as they touched the floor, and only her butterfly-wing-patterned haori traced a gentle arc through the night. She didn't immediately push the door open. Instead, she stood in the shadows, letting the cool night breeze brush her cheeks, which felt a little hot from her earlier laughter.

"Stupid demon."

She repeated the words in a whisper. This time, her voice held less of the playfulness it had on the roof, but there was a trace of attachment, enveloping her like silk, that even she hadn't noticed.

She had a faint feeling that the heart she'd long ago frozen in hatred had been cracked open by that corny story.

"If you really can do it..."

Shinobu Kocho cupped her cheeks in both hands and murmured:

"We'll talk about it then."

With her hands behind her back and a slight skip in her step, Shinobu Kocho pushed open the door and returned to the room.