Miss Shinobu Is the Gentlest

The air in the dojo seemed to grow thick. Shinobu Kocho picked up the wooden sword Kanao had used earlier and smiled at Kiyohiko.

"All right, I'm going to start now, Mr. Kiyohiko."

Shinobu's voice was as light as if she were announcing the start of afternoon tea, but the wooden sword in her hand spun through a dazzling flourish.

"Since your reflexes are so good that you even managed to catch Kanao, let's play a simple game. If you can touch the hem of my clothes, even once, today's training is over. Otherwise..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, her lips curling into a cruel arc of "delight." "Every time I hit you, you have to say 'Miss Shinobu is the gentlest' out loud. Understood?"

"Hey! What kind of humiliation play is this?!"

"And those rules are completely unfair! Why don't you compete with me in strength?"

Before Kiyohiko could finish protesting, the beautiful butterfly had already vanished from where she stood.

A sharp crack exploded against his left shoulder.

Pain. Agonizing pain.

It didn't feel like a wooden sword hitting flesh at all. It was more like a pair of iron pincers had clamped down hard on his muscle.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! You're trying to beat me to death!"

"Hm? I didn't hear your line."

Shinobu Kocho appeared at his right side like a ghost, the tip of her wooden sword resting lightly against the soft flesh at his waist. "It seems you haven't committed it to memory yet. Do you need me to help 'carve' it in?"

Smack!

Another heavy blow landed on his side.

Kiyohiko dropped to his knees, clutching his aching side, and forced the words out through gritted teeth. "Miss Shinobu... is the gentlest."

"You're the gentlest, all right?! You're using this as an excuse to settle a personal grudge!"

For Kiyohiko, the next twenty minutes were nothing short of hellish torment.

Shinobu Kocho was simply too fast, unreasonably fast.

Kiyohiko didn't understand. Shinobu Kocho hadn't been this fast during their earlier training. Back then, he had still barely managed to dodge, but now she was completely beating him one-sidedly. Had Shinobu Kocho been holding back during all those previous sessions?

Kiyohiko suspected that Shinobu Kocho might even be using a Breathing Style. Why? Just because he had asked Kanao to train with him?

"Left! No, above!"

Kiyohiko rolled clumsily to the right, trying to dodge the purple afterimage.

But Shinobu Kocho seemed to have anticipated his prediction.

A small foot clad in a snow-white tabi was already waiting in the path of his roll.

Thud.

He crashed headfirst into Shinobu Kocho's thigh.

"Oh my, you ran into me yourself."

Shinobu chuckled and pushed off lightly, leaping into the air like a feather. Her wide butterfly haori spread out beneath the setting sun, breathtakingly beautiful.

If one ignored the way she was descending from above, poised to stomp on his ribs and break them.

"This woman... she's definitely doing this on purpose, isn't she? Why? Is she afraid I'll be a bad influence on Kanao?"

Kiyohiko ranted inwardly as he wriggled frantically across the floor to dodge.

But in the instant his thoughts wandered, Shinobu's attack suddenly changed. She stopped darting around as though toying with him and abruptly pressed forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.

Close combat.

This was the range at which Kiyohiko had subdued Kanao earlier, and the only distance at which he might have even the slightest chance of winning.

"Good chance!"

Kiyohiko's gaze sharpened. His demon instincts let him catch the momentary stiffness as Shinobu swung her sword. Instead of retreating, he advanced, spreading his arms and trying to use the same trick again, locking Shinobu down the way he had held Kanao.

But he had forgotten the most important thing.

Shinobu Kocho was the only woman who could not cut off a demon's head, yet had become a Hashira through poison and skill. Her flexibility and speed were more fearsome than strength.

The instant Kiyohiko's arms were about to touch her waist, Shinobu's body suddenly bent backward as if she had no bones, and she slipped under his arm at an incredible angle.

The next moment, the world spun.

Kiyohiko felt a small, icy hand seize his wrist. Then a deft force came through it, and he instantly lost his balance.

Kiyohiko landed flat on his back on the wooden floor, the impact making all his internal organs tremble.

Before he could recover, a weight pressed down on his chest. Shinobu Kocho straddled him, her knees pinning his shoulders firmly as she twisted his wrists back in both hands, holding his entire body fast to the floor.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

The specially modified dojo kept the sunlight outside, and only the last ray of the setting sun had slipped in. It fell across Shinobu Kocho's profile, giving her delicate features a golden-red glow. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and a few black strands hung down, tickling Kiyohiko's cheek.

Her breathing was a little quick from the exertion, her chest rising and falling gently. At this distance, the scent of Wisteria was so strong it was almost suffocating.

"Got you, Mr. Kiyohiko."

Shinobu lowered her head. Her purple eyes were unfathomably deep, reflecting Kiyohiko's panicked, slightly dazed face.

"That move you used against Kanao won't work on me. After all... I'm an adult."

He felt as though his brain had shut down.

Not just because of the pain in his body, but because of their current position.

They were too close.

This was definitely closer than normal social distance, even closer than a normal grappling hold. He could feel the warmth of Shinobu's inner thighs through the fabric, and the warm, damp breath spilling across his face.

His heart began pounding uncontrollably. "Um... Miss Shinobu..."

Kiyohiko swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to hide his panic with humor. "I know I'm handsome, but isn't this... a little too enthusiastic? If the other Corps members see us, my innocence doesn't matter, but your reputation will suffer."

"Innocence?"

Shinobu Kocho raised an eyebrow. She suddenly released one of the hands holding his wrists down, hesitated for a moment, then gently poked Kiyohiko's cheek.

"A demon, talking to me about innocence?"

"Or... are you hoping I'll do something 'improper' to you?"

"Cough, cough, cough! Of course not!"

Kiyohiko shouted as if someone had stepped on his tail, his face instantly turning dark red.

"I'm a respectable man! I have no interest in a bad woman like you!"

He desperately turned his head away, not daring to look into Shinobu's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through him. "I just... just think the floor is a little hard! Right! The floor's too hard, and it's hurting my back!"

"Is that so?"

Shinobu looked at his ears, so red they seemed ready to bleed. The smile in her eyes was finally no longer that false perfection, but tinged with a hint of genuine slyness at a prank well played.

"Since your back hurts, we'll have to give it a proper 'treatment.'"

As soon as she finished speaking, her fingers suddenly tightened and pinched his cheek hard. She didn't use much force, though; it was more like a... punitive cheek pinch.

Shinobu finally stood up, brushed the dust from her haori, and looked down at Kiyohiko with a mischievous smile.

"Hurry up and get up, Kiyohiko. There's still a long way to go before the hour is up..."