Kiyohiko's Revenge Plan

The Butterfly Mansion lay beneath a thin veil of morning mist, the air filled with the scent of Wisteria and dew. It should have been a peaceful, lovely morning for getting up early to practice tai chi or do some yoga. But for Kiyohiko, it was a day of revenge thick with the smell of gunpowder.

At that very moment, the handsome Kiyohiko was plastered above the infirmary doorframe like a giant gecko, looking extremely shifty.

"When's the system going to reward me with immunity to sunlight? I really don't want to play the floor is lava anymore."

The morning sunlight streamed into the corridor, forcing Kiyohiko to assume this shifty pose to finish setting his trap.

"That wicked woman... that demon wearing a beautiful woman's skin..." Kiyohiko muttered indistinctly around a thin string held between his teeth, which he was using to secure the trap. A blazing fire called "justice" burned in his eyes.

"She actually dared to poison sacred daifuku. It was supposed to be my moment to look cool, damn it... If I don't get revenge, I'll write my name backward!"

What angered and annoyed Kiyohiko most was that he had been so serious, so yasashii, and looked so good at the time, only for her bitter melon juice snack to ruin it all.

It was so hard for him to be serious for once, yet she'd made him lose so completely.

Kiyohiko carefully balanced a wooden basin in his hands. It contained no water, but the flames of revenge: a mixture he'd made from a large amount of flour, chili powder, green plum powder, and all sorts of other powdered things he'd specially stolen from the kitchen.

This was his carefully designed "justice from above" trap. All it would take was for that wicked woman, Shinobu Kocho, to push the door open as usual.

The moment she did, her whole body would be covered in powder, and her nose and eyes would come under a relentless assault. Imagining the scene, Kiyohiko couldn't help letting out a villainous chuckle.

"Heh heh heh... tremble, Shinobu Kocho! I'll show you what happens when you make me mad!" He stretched out his arm, trying to tie the string attached to the wooden bucket to the doorknob.

It was delicate work, requiring tremendous concentration and patience.

Just as he was about to finish the knot, a strange sensation suddenly came over him, as though needles were pricking his back.

It wasn't bloodlust, but an utterly pure, unadulterated "gaze."

It was hard to describe. It was like taking a dump in the school bathroom and suddenly finding your bro's head peeking over the partition, silently watching you.

Of course, Kiyohiko couldn't have been more familiar with the feeling. That gaze had been fixed on him for three straight days before.

Kiyohiko froze. He had already guessed who was behind him. Slowly, he turned his neck.

At the other end of the corridor, less than three meters away, a girl in a Demon Slayer Corps uniform and a pure white cape stood silently.

Her black hair was tied in a side ponytail, adorned with a pink butterfly hairpin. Her purple eyes were like the surface of a still lake, reflecting Kiyohiko's comical, contorted pose.

Kanao Tsuyuri.

That familiar problem girl.

And... a "witness to the crime scene" at this very moment.

Kiyohiko's hand shook with fright, and he nearly fell straight off the doorframe. He scrambled to catch the teetering wooden basin and hung in midair like an acrobat, making for an extremely awkward scene.

"Ahem... cough, cough!" He quickly adjusted his posture and jumped back to the floor in a less-than-handsome pose. He tucked the basin behind his back, though it was impossible to hide, and forced a smile uglier than a crying face.

"Yo! G-good morning, Miss Kanao! Up for a walk this early? You're really diligent, haha, hahaha..."

Kanao said nothing. She merely tilted her head slightly, wearing her trademark gentle smile, as though it had been tattooed on her face semi-permanently. Her big eyes stared at him without blinking, then glanced at the wooden bucket behind him, still dripping flour water, before returning to his face.

Silence. Dead silence.

The silence was even more frightening than Shinobu Kocho's sharp tongue. If she had cursed at him, he could have talked back. But this "I'll just quietly watch you" attitude filled Kiyohiko with inexplicable guilt and unease.

"Um... let me explain." Kiyohiko wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and tried to use his gift of the gab to turn black into white.

"This actually isn't a trap. It's a... an ancient Eastern blessing ritual! Right! I wanted to surprise Miss Shinobu and wish her another energetic day..." Kanao kept smiling, showing no reaction.

She slowly pulled a copper coin from her pocket.

"Wait! Don't take out the coin!" Kiyohiko turned pale with fright. Once she flipped it, it could well be "heads, report him" or "tails, execute him on the spot."

Kiyohiko took two steps closer and lowered his voice, trying to sway her in a "we're on the same side" tone:

"Look, you think she's too strict too, don't you? She smiles all day while making people drink awful medicine, and during daily training she treats them like punching bags. How about this? Pretend you didn't see anything, turn around, and count to ten. Once I finish this great project, I'll treat you to something delicious! Real sweets, absolutely no bitter melon juice!"

Kanao flicked the coin with a finger. The crisp sound of metal rang through the corridor. The copper coin tumbled through the air, catching the faint morning light. Kiyohiko's heart rose into his throat, and he stared fixedly at it.

Kanao caught the coin, covered it on the back of her hand, and glanced at the result. Then she looked up at Kiyohiko, her smile seeming to deepen by 0.01 millimeters. She said nothing, merely stepping back to clear a path. She seemed to mean:

Go ahead.

"Yes! I knew you understood me!" Kiyohiko pumped his fist excitedly, as though he'd just won an Oscar for best actor.

"Good little sister! That's loyalty! If anyone at the Butterfly Mansion dares bully you from now on, tell them my name, Kiyohiko! Though it probably won't do much good."

With her tacit permission, Kiyohiko immediately turned around and went back to his unfinished "great undertaking."

He didn't notice that Kanao hadn't left. She stood quietly where she was, watching with interest as he clumsily tied the string. Her once-empty eyes grew more colorful because of the strange creature before her, gesticulating wildly as he matched wits and courage against the air.

Master, no wonder you care so much about him. I want to see you happy too.

Kanao watched the busy Kiyohiko, and her smile deepened a little more.